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j-graysonlibrary · 11 months

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The Xiang Chronicles: Book Two Chapter 11

Title: The Xiang Chronicles: Book Two

Author: Jay Grayson

Word Count: 98k

Genres: Fantasy, adventure, drama, LGBT+

Available on: my website

Synopsis: With another Xiang in the mix, for the first time in history, Pangu decides to reevaluate his methods and his place in the world. Along with taking his little sister Heidi as his last disciple, he also chooses to take the more political path in his efforts to end the discord throughout the land—particularly within Terra. (And gaining favor from the handsome Lord of Ultimos does not hurt.)

Heidi butts heads with everyone in the group, save Raine, and tensions are higher than ever. There are failed love confessions, in-group fighting, and demons from Kira’s past but that all comes to a head when they meet a servant of Shakti who is more than what she seems.

Could it be that the Mistresses of Shadow are more nuanced than previously believed? Or that the strict dichotomy between light and dark are, perhaps, a touch exaggerated? That and more begin to plague Pangu’s mind and his faith wavers…

Full chapter 11 under the cut

Chapter XI:

Negotiations had, so far, lasted for three consecutive days. The past two days saw Pangu and all of his disciples, along with the lords of Meala and Alf, sitting in a circle on the floor of the main hall, talking through every possible outcome of an alliance with Viren. Sometimes, things would get heated when Evie, especially, raised concerns and worries for the people being forced under new rules and a way of life they did not agree to. Every time, Pangu would sit, silent, and listen while taking notes, promising to add every point to the letter.

The letter, itself, had been written, re-written, edited, and re-written again at least seven times—each version being more fine tuned and precise.

But, there still seemed to be no end so the disciples, having grown tired of sitting around and, essentially, contributing nothing, decided to leave Pangu by himself on the third day. So far, they had seen what the process was like and they knew he would be safe in there without them.

While he was holed up in the lord’s abode, they took to the streets of Kuniser to do some exploring.

Kira was pretty sure Pangu was glad for their absence anyway—he probably got more work done. Or, at least, he did not have to sit there and worry that one of them (Heidi) would say something out of line at any moment. It was almost funny how she had taken that position from the second disciple. Although, when Kira compared the things he had done and said in the past, he started to wonder if his offenses were even really that bad.

At the very least, he knew when to say something catty under his breath.

Heidi’s bluntness and lack of tact regarding social situations was not the only thing on Kira’s mind as he stared at her from across the market plaza.

Since they had, collectively, decided to leave Pangu to his own devices, the woman had been attached to Raine’s hip. She picked out jewelry from one of the stalls, holding each piece up to her own body while Raine nodded occasionally, giving his feedback.

Kira was not alone in his viewing of the two. Baiya stood right beside him, although he was far less invested in the scene across the way.

“You know,” he said as he shuffled through the selection of beads and crafts before them, “if you squint really hard, you can pretend Heidi is just Pangu.”

Kira’s eyes narrowed and he jerked his head over to address Baiya. “That has to be about the dumbest idea I have ever heard. Possibly the dumbest thing you have ever said. Which has some heavy contenders.”

Baiya rolled his eyes and decided not to take the bait and fight him. Instead, he suggested, “Or, you could go over there and join them.”

“You go over there.” Kira did not skip a beat.

“No, you go.”

“No, you.”

The Agni disciple nearly argued back again but then he closed his mouth and crossed his arms. With his scarred eyebrow arched, he subverted Kira’s expectations. “Maybe I will.”

Yet, Kira did not respond with any flavor of surprise. Rather, he seemed quite doubtful. “Last I noticed, you were still pissed at her for the supply town incident.”

Of course, as the Terran menace was the only one Baiya could vent to about the topic, he was the only one who knew. And, while he was technically correct, Baiya did not appreciate the fact being wielded against him in such a way.

“Don’t bring that up.”

“What are you going to do about her knowing your secret anyway?” Kira carried on despite the upset, “Are you not worried she will say it at any moment?”

Baiya’s eyes narrowed until they were practically gone.

He did not especially have anything to say since Kira, pretty much, covered the expanse of his worries. With Heidi’s rather loose lips, it was a constant threat that she would just blurt it out, perhaps even without intending to. Still, he did not like to think about it if he could help it as constant fretting would only give him gray hairs.

“…Do you think she is telling Raine right now?” Kira tossed the idea into the air as they both watched the other pair—talking and sharing a quiet laugh.

Baiya’s eye twitched. “Looks to me like she is just flirting.”

“But your secret is soooo much more interesting.” The tone of Kira’s voice changed to a higher pitch, causing him to look over. In front of the Terran disciple’s face was a child’s toy—some cloth doll with cold, dark eyes that Baiya could only describe as soulless and off putting.

He raised his arm up, in defense, while stepping away. “Get that thing out of my face. Put it back where you found it.”

“Does it bother you?” Kira grinned and bounced the doll around closer. “Do not tell me you are one of those people with an irrational fear of dolls, Baiya. How embarrassing; what would Pangu think?”

To show he had no fear, only irritation, Baiya swatted the doll and, by extent, Kira’s arm away. “You know, I could bring up plenty of your secrets to harass you with too.”

“Plenty?” Kira scoffed. “I only have one left.”

“Only one?” He found that hard to believe.

The other disciple stood his ground, finally setting the doll back onto the vendor’s cart and resting his hands on his hips. “Yeah, just one. I care little about hiding all the people we have thrown in ditches together—I just keep my lips sealed for your stupid sake since you do not want Pangu thinking badly of you.”

“That is—” Baiya attempted to come back with something but was interrupted by a voice at his side.

“Excuse me.” The intrusion caused them both to turn around in sync. It was not often they could be snuck up on but, considering the bustling nature of the market plaza, it was difficult to be aware of every single person. Luckily, the man who called out to them did not seem to be a threat. He held out an envelope and asked, “Song Raine Sei?”

Kira took the letter. “Yeah, that is me.”

The courier smiled and ran off, giving them their privacy back.

Baiya immediately looked down to Kira. “Are you seriously going to open Raine’s mail?”

“No.” he rolled his eyes dramatically. “I plan on taking it to him.”

Even if he said that, he still looked the letter over in his hand. It was definitely an official letter and the seal on the envelope suggested a lord had written it. Upon further inspection, Kira could say for certain it was from the King of Kyrie.

The two walked across the marketplace, disrupting whatever bit of flirting Heidi was sadly attempting in order to hand over the letter. “A courier mistook me for you—looks important.”

Raine’s face twisted in confusion as soon as he took it. “King Din Raime Cast…? Why would he have sent me a letter?”

“Must be urgent, right?” Baiya guessed.

“Oooh, open it,” Heidi enthused.

Raine was clearly reluctant but also too curious not to. He broke the seal and pulled out the parchment inside. There was only one page which, unfortunately, did not clarify whether this would be good or bad news.

As his eyes scanned over the script, everyone else leaned in, a little bit at a time. “Well?” Kira asked after a moment.

“He asked for aid if we have the time,” Raine repeated the general message, although there was not much context to be lost in. In fact, the details of what he needed help with were incredibly vague. “He fears there is an issue regarding a Chaaya but he is not sure…that is why he wants Pangu’s help.”

“I suppose the news of the necromancer has not reached Kyrie,” Baiya muttered.

“Yes, but couldn’t there be another one?” Heidi asked. “Kira was one before, right? What if Shakti is just making some all over?”

Raine sighed—she was not wrong. “I just worry that, if Pangu hears of this, he will immediately want to head for Kyrie. He is so eager to prove his use now that he will undertake anything.”

“A trip to Kyrie could also clear his head,” Kira offered a difference of view. Personally, he was eager for any adventure that took them out of Terra. Even if the scenery and atmosphere in Meala was worlds away from the plains and hills he was used to, it was still Terra and he could feel it on a gut level.

“It would be my first time seeing the country,” Baiya added with a smile.

“Come on, Raine,” Heidi egged, “Road trip! Road trip!”

The first disciple closed his eyes and knew there was no maneuvering around this. Even if he kept the news to himself, one of them would tell Pangu and, once the Xiang was made aware, he would insist on going. At least to check out the situation.

When Pangu was finally released from his meeting for the day, he looked tired but happy. In a serendipitous turn of events, Dio and Evie had decided to aid Viren and they approved the letter Pangu had written and rewritten many times over the course of the past three days. Everything was set up to be sent back to Ultimos and, other than following behind the carrier falcon, there was nothing else for them to do.

He sat down with his disciples in his room at the inn they had been staying at and kicked his shoes off to better relax. Though his head still throbbed with all of the new information he had taken in, there was relief in it being over for the moment.

The things Pangu had learned about Meala, it’s history, and it’s important cultural fixtures that Dio and Evie wished to preserve through any treaty with Viren, were more vast than his old mentors had ever suggested. From their brief and cursory lessons on the region, Pangu would have guessed the indigenous people were simple or, at least, less structured than the rest of the world. He had been proven ignorant and lacking.

A faint thump pulsed in his brain but he hoped it would ease as the information overload settled in. Thankfully, the joy of succeeded in his negotiations helped to take some of the edge off of the headache.

Raine laid out some food in the meantime which was less of a cohesive meal and more of a collection of snacks from the market outside. Kira and Heidi were the first to take their pick while Baiya collected some of the vegetable heavy dishes together to pass to the Xiang.

Dinner was silent and, once the food was cleared out, Raine retrieved the letter from his King. “I received this today,” he told Pangu and passed the paper over. “We do not have to go but I figured you should have a chance to decide.”

The other disciples either leaned in or held their breath as the Xiang read. His eyes scanned over the page in a matter of seconds and his brow started to knit together.

“This is from the King?”

“Yes.”

“It is quite vague.”

Raine sighed and took the page back. “He does not appear to know the details of the situation. Or, he worried about including them in a letter that would pass through another country to reach me.”

That made sense so Pangu started to nod. “It must be a desperate situation for him to reach out to you when he knows your position.”

“I figure he must also believe your power as Xiang would be helpful as well,” Raine added.

He paused but then resumed his nodding. Kira leaned even closer. “So…? What is the verdict?”

“Road trip?” Heidi asked with restrained enthusiasm and then stuck her bottom lip out.

Pangu gave a small smile. “After I send off my falcon for Viren, we can leave for Kyrie. If we come across any miasma we missed on the way over, we can stop and take care of it.”

“You are sure?” Raine asked, regarding the Xiang with concern. Of course, he knew that he would want to go and there would likely be no way to talk him out of it but he still worried. He knew from experience how badly pushing oneself too hard could turn out. He did not wish to see the same thing happen to Pangu.

***

The last three disciples were notably more excited about the trip than the Xiang but that enthusiasm did not last as long once they were on the road. Kira kept having to remind himself that he would soon be out of Terra but the country’s territory just kept stretching out in front of them. Then, the weather changes were frustrating Heidi who could not figure out when to remove her outer robe as it kept swaying from one temperature to the other. Baiya went mostly silent—especially after Pangu kept muttering to himself about his concern for Viren. Knowing that the Xiang’s focus was still on the Ultimos Lord was quite disheartening.

Raine was the only one who had expected this exact outcome. It was because they had not talked through their issues as he had wanted them to. Traveling to Kyrie could not act as a distraction when all of their same problems were traveling with them, in their hearts. It was not as if, once they passed the border, all would be forgotten.

Kira only wished that were the case. As the sun began to set, it became abundantly clear that they would not be escaping Terra’s grips by the end of the fifth day of travel. He had never seen so much of the country before this past week and he had lived there for most of his life.

While he understood they could not simply speed through, pushing their mounts and themselves to the limits, he did feel they were taking a few too many breaks. Heidi’s training could have been cut a little shorter, at least, he considered. She was decent enough with her element and, if Pangu insisted she needed more work then it could have waited until after they passed the Kyrie border.

In the meantime, Kira sparred with Raine and Baiya, keeping in top form and also needing to expend some of his anxious energy into something. The closer they came to the border, without passing it, the more unease started to settle into his chest.

Already, he requested—privately—that Pangu take them a little further north in order to avoid one of his old childhood towns. They would wind up passing through another place familiar to him but, at least, he had never stayed there with his mother.

As the less populated border town came into view, Kira gulped regardless. All things considered, he had been living there not too long ago as it was home to one of the first hideouts he had procured after fleeing the military. His saving grace, he hoped, was that he had lost quite a bit of color in his skin and, perhaps, because of that, no one would recognize him.

The wooden shacks of houses were just as he remembered as well as the half paved path winding between buildings—pebbles focused more on the Kyrie side and dirt on the Terran side. Accordingly, there was a Terran flag flying at one end and a Kyrie flag on the opposite. A couple of soldiers, from either military, milled about which was definitely a change from the last time Kira was there although they did not seem particularly militant.

In fact, the soldiers barely gave them more than a weak salute. At least, until they spotted Raine and then their backs straightened and they greeted the group more properly.

“Song Raine Sei,” one of the Kyrie soldiers, naturally, addressed him directly. After a deep bow, he looked to Pangu, “and the Xiang. What I can do for you?”

Raine looked to the horizon, at the disappearing sun and large, pink clouds that were, already, losing their glow. “Point us into the direction of the inn, for the night. In the morning, we can meet with whoever is in charge.”

“I can arrange that,” the soldier easily agreed and then shuffled around, his eyes bouncing from one end of the town to the other, just about able to scan the entire place with that simple motion. “To the inn…follow me.”

“It really is like a power of his,” Heidi mumbled under her breath as she kept her eyes on the star-struck soldier.

They were taken to one of the larger buildings on the main road. Unlike those around it, there were two stories and parts of it were reinforced with newer wood, evident by the brighter hue and lack of tarnish. A balcony wrapped around, up top, and a couple stood there, watching the group as they walked inside.

Kira turned his head away, unsure if he actually recognized the two or if his paranoia was getting the better of him. No one else had noticed as they were most likely too tired to think of anything besides crashing onto a cot and, for that, Kira was grateful.

Just one more day, he told himself.

#the xiang chronicles #my novel #my writing

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descendantsramblings · 3 years

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Style Headcanons

So basically, I’m a big hater to the way the costume team worked on them. The whole “All Isle kids wear Leather” and “Auradon Kids always look like they’re on their first kid and on the way to the country club” thing drives me crazy. It sorta feels like they made costumes before giving them personalities (The leather on Carlos and Evie feels like it clashes with their personalities. Lonnie’s dresses in the first movie doesn’t fit the personality we see, even though she didn’t have much of a personality until movie two. Audrey dressed like a thirty-four year old mother who just picked up her kid before going to the country club. Ben’s only good outfit was his swim trunks.) So here are some personal headcanons and pictures of what I imagine for them. (I started making them at 1am last night lol)

Villain Kids

Evie

As someone raised to want to be a princess, she wants to dress like how she imagines a princess would.

She loves pastels and is no stranger to pairing pastel blue with a neutral red or bright white.

The only pants she really wears are either athletic shorts or those little flowy elastic shorts, otherwise she’s all skirts.

She’s sorta a prep but not in the same way a character like Audrey would be.

Evie has respect for most aesthetics, even though she doesn’t fully fit just one. However, she hates crocs and those little pastel shorts that white boys wear, she will announce it often.

Wouldn’t be caught dead in neon colors.

owns a blue fur coat (it’s fake fur, obviously)

Carlos

Baby boy is a total softie

You know that one gay little sweater in movie one, that’s where they went right, more of that.

He’s into the soft boy aesthetic and only strays from it for formal wear

loves layering sweaters over button ups

Cuffed jeans, always because ya know, bisexual

Owns a floral button up from Jay, normally he hates patterned button ups but it’s his favorite shirt.

Loves striped sweaters, he owns about 6 variations of them in different colors (all include red, white, or black of course)

Jay

In theory, Jay doesn’t really have one aesthetic, he’s willing to try on just about anything

Most of his clothing was bought by Evie or Carlos, especially his formal wear

The only clothes that Jay will buy for himself is athletic wear

He doesn’t really see the point of buy clothing that he can’t go straight to practice in.

Still has the beanie, but he owns one in just about every color to match it to his outfit.

Listen, we know Jay’s main color is yellow/gold, but why did we always see him with more red/blue in the movie? What type of snow white aesthetic were they trying to give him?

Jay owns a button up that he write on, he refuses to wear it actually buttoned though

Mal

She loves the grunge/alternative aesthetic, she thinks it makes her look more like she belongs to the Isle

She wouldn’t wear skirts until after she and Evie became friends, Evie bought her her first skirt (a purple plaid one) and she fell in love with it

Mal has a whole jewelry box of just chains, both necklaces and ones that attach to clothing

Owns a pair of Demonia Swing-815 boots (black patent) and a pair of Demonia Camel-203 boots (holographic purple)

100% owns one of those studded hot topic belts.

Has a headband with little horns that symbolize her mother’s horns

Instead of the leather half gloves from the movie, she has those little fishnet gloves and covers her hands in rings.

Uma

Her style is similar to Mal’s because if Mal is going to do something, Uma will do it better.

Uma only wore outfits that were super Fem and had skirts until Mal started doing it

Then it was Uma always wearing pants, because of her love for plaid skirts she owns a whole collection of plaid pants

the only jeans she owns are black or dark wash.

Her first ever large purchase was a pair of Doc Marten 1460 Zip Tartan Lace up boots (they’re green, black, and blue plaid)

She and Harry bought matching Doc Marten Jadon platforms (his are more shiny though)

Isn’t as into chains as Mal, more into chockers.

Harry

When the E-boy aesthetic came out, Harry was all over it

Harry definitely has one of those chains with a little lock on it.

I’d like to imagine he has baby gauges

the before mentioned platform doc martens, he definitely treats them like his baby

Even though Harry dresses like an e-boy, he always has his pirate hat on

Definitely wears cloth masks as a fashion piece he actually would wear his in the pandemic though, unlike some people who wore them before but not for safety

Harry is actually really good at graphic liner, he owns a gold, red, and white eyeliner to add color to the outfit if it’s mainly black

gold>silver

Bought plaid pants because Uma did, he want’s to match with his captain

Gil

As we know (maybe you don’t) it’s in the canon that Gil’s mother taught him to sew and he enjoys it.

So Gil doesn't dress in one aesthetic or even close to being in one, he wants to try out everything, both making and wearing them.

He does stick to a monochrome color scheme though, mainly shades of brown with white or black thrown in. Sometimes he adds a little red or yellow though to “honor” Gaston

Most of his clothing is more comfortable than anything

Only owns three pairs of jeans, the rest are different types of pants (he loves corduroys)

Owns a pants chain that harry bought him but he only really wears it when Harry and Uma are wearing one so he won’t feel left out on it.

Dizzy

Baby girl has seen the Isle steal the childhood innocence from people, she dresses in kidcore as a way to keep hers

Her outfits always has at least 4 different colors in it.

No stranger to neon colors, she has a pair of overalls that are neon rainbow and covered in gummy candy and she only wears them with a neon green tee, Evie and Carlos hate this outfits, Jay loves it because of the disappointment it brings to the two fashion fans

Dizzy’s outfits in the movie were colorful obviously but they should have been just more over the top

She loves patterns and has no fear of pattern mixing

definitely owns some funky earrings, clay rings, and statement necklaces

puts beads on her shoe laces, especially on her converse (they were white ones, she drew all over them)

Auradon Kids

Ben

Okay so Ben’s animated and movie outfits were bad, you can’t convince me of anything else

Why was Ben not dressed in the soft boy aesthetic? You’re trying to tell me that Belle’s son wouldn’t be a soft boy?

He has a jean jacket with his father’s beast symbol painted on the back

Absolutely loves graphic crewnecks, often layers them over collared shirts

He and Carlos go shopping together often in their free time

Lover of funky crew socks, ones with paintings, patterns, logos, whatever. But his socks always match

After he and Mal started Dating, he bought a white jean jacket and let her paint it, he wears it all the time even though it didn’t match his original clothing, he bought more clothes in her color scheme to match it

He owns like 6 pairs of high top converse (light blue, yellow, white, navy, black, and Purple after getting the jacket back from Mal)

Chad

Listen, out of everyone he was the closest to how I imagined he should be, that being said, he had a little soft boy thing going on in some movies that I don’t think fit his personality

Polos and button ups are basically all he owns, but he does have some of those pastel simply southern esc graphic tees (Southern people probably know what I’m on about, all the guys who act like Chad at my school have like 5 of them each)

Owns 6 pairs of those horrid little southern boy pastel shorts in different shades of blue (plus 1 white pair)

Will not wear jeans, ever, the only pants he owns are khakis

All over the shirts that have logos embroidered into the shirt over the chest.

Definitely gets asked if he’s on the way to golf/ the country club, the joke is that he is, he has to meet his father there after school

prep.jpg

Audrey

Listen, I’m not an Audrey stan, but they did her so dirty in the first movie

She should have been the stereotypical mean girl outfit wise, I mean, mini skirts, all pastels

Owns a pink teddy coat, and a white one, she actually cares about if they get dirty though, takes good care of them

definitely has a collection of tennis skirts, pairs them with sweaters/crewnecks or blouses that have a slight puff to the sleeve

The type of girl to wear rufflely rompers on her birthday every year, pink, white, or baby blue obviously

loves those tiny shoulder bags

preppy and looks good in it.

cropped polos and tube tops

Jane

This account is a Jane should have been cottage core/ fairy core fan page, her outfits were almost there, just not there, she’s literally a fairy but can’t use magic nor did they let her dress like one, I hate it here

Baby girl loves gingham and floral patterns, some of her dresses are a little more to her mother’s taste than hers (her mother bought them) but as long as it’s a pattern she likes she will wear it.

Cardigans are her best friend, she owns one in multiple shades of pink and blue, plus a white one (all of her clothing fits a pastel pink/blue/white color scheme)

Babydoll dresses her a her favorite style of them (the one I put in the top right corner is what I imagine her birthday dress as)

People try to mockingly ask if she’s on her way to a tea party/picnic (like they do with Chad and the country club) if the answer isn’t actually yes one of her friends still say yes, no one can be rude to her about it

She owns a corset (Evie bought it for her, it made her nervous at first but she loves it)

Owns kitten heels and flats mainly also two pairs of mary janes (in white and blue)

has one of those little pearl purses that aren’t really useful but they’re cute

Lonnie

Last but not least, our funky little lesbian (she is, Jay is just her emotional support queer man) Lonnie, she sticks to the teal, blue, and pink color scheme they gave her in movie one

She mainly wears sweats (or athletic clothing) otherwise it’s graphic tees tucked in (many of them are from the men’s section)

Only wears sneakers, she has places to be but also collects them (also owns 1 pair of pink crocs, Evie tried to burn them)

Carlos and Ben talked her into wearing a collar shirt under a graphic tee once (they bought her a sleeveless button up which she hated at first) and now she does it anytime she wants to look like she put effort into her outfit.

Wears a lot of necklaces and rings (she loves to layer necklaces, she thinks it makes her sweats look less boring)

Uses a mini backpack instead of a purse, easier to carry more things.

Has two pairs of custom painted air forces.

Hates wearing bracelets but always has to have a hair tie on her wrist so they don’t feel empty .

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alias-b · 4 years

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sins of my youth. 001

Billy Hargrove x OC! Evie Fenny~ Also posted to my AO3

Summary: It was common knowledge that Billy Hargrove hated Hawkins. Hated Cherry Lane. Even loathed the strange girl next door. Evie Fenny wasn’t too fond of the chaotic Cali transfer either. An awful high school tradition sparks a chain of events that changes everything, ultimately bringing two frayed souls together.

A/N: Hey!!! I'm definitely not giving up on LFTM, I've had this story whirling around my brain and it's been pulling at me for a while. Hoping I can slow down, care for myself, and juggle both fics at my own pace. Thank you guys for reading and for being so supportive. I hope everyone who enjoyed WTL also enjoys this fic, it's a totally different direction. I'm excited to share it! I'll tag warning in each chp like I always too. TW: Light bullying, hints at an inappropriate relationship between a teacher/student, and teenage jerks.

Chapter 1: Fast Times

A blaring bell trilled. Lunch time. So close and yet so far. Scrambling high schoolers like zoo animals clamored into the cafeteria. Knocking shoulders and bouncing around. No one really cared about knowledge today, the last day of school before winter break began.

1984. Coming to a close.

“Evie!” A hand rose to wave. One pink scrunchie around the elegant wrist. Heather Holloway. Cute as a button smiling there. Hands pulled headphones down to acknowledge her. Evangeline Fenny. Best friends since the sandbox and now seniors. “This stupid day is dragging.”

“It’s killing me.” Evie whined to herself, settling her beat up lunchbox on the table. Red and blue pattern, scribbled all over with song lyrics in black marker. “Mrs. Stockard fell asleep at her desk, I wanted to die.”

“She snores so loudly.” Heather sparkled when she laughed, sweeping her hair back into a high ponytail with her scrunchie. Evie held a mirror up for her to see out of habit. “Thanks.” It was particularly louder than usual. Teens pregaming the parties to come over the two week vacation.

“Going skiing with the folks this year?”

“No, they’re going up to the cabin and I’m staying home after Christmas.” Heather unpacked her lunch, carefully organizing it. Evie pulled a regular PB and J out, amused.

“Sushi?”

“My mom’s going through a phase.” Heather poured herself a bit of soy sauce and plucked up chopsticks.

“Your rich is showing, Heath.” Evie giggled when a foot kicked at her under the table.

“Trade you a piece for half the pear.”

“Deal.” They switched. Evie tucked some unruly dark curls aside, sitting back.

“So...there is a party tonight. Loch Nora. Bunch of schools.”

“Which ones?” Evie’s brow rose.

“Ridgemont will probably crash, but who cares. It’s winter break, we’ll go and have some fun then crash at my place. Eat chips, make fun of them, and pass out like we always do.” Heather bounced a little. “C’mon, Evie. I’ll pick you up and we can walk from my house.”

“I’ll think about it.” That meant yes to Heather. She grinned, reaching across to pat her friend’s arm playfully.

“It’ll be fun.”

Evie just whined and crunched on her pear, brows scrunching. Parties weren’t the same since the incident. But, she picked the popular, social butterfly for her closest friend.

The two couldn’t have been any more different.

Heather Holloway. Rich girl from Loch Nora befriending Evangeline Fenny, a Cherry Lane girl, in preschool. They switched beaded hair ties and the rest was history. Bonded over music and fashion. Heather was classically stunning as if she jumped off a magazine.

Students used to make snide comments. That Heather kept Evie around because she made her look prettier. Sweet Heather shut that down. Loudly. Whenever the subject came up. Evie Fenny was a bigger girl. Plush. Fat. It wasn’t a dirty word. She was a strange and pretty teen who carried herself too high to be bothered with comments.

Water off a duck’s back was the saying.

Used to be she hid herself under big sweaters, tunics, and flared jeans. But, that was before the incident. Afterward, she came to school with a new haircut. Louder makeup. Even louder, fitted clothing. Flaunted the hourglass and caught eyes on her hips swaying. Sat next to Heather at lunch as if nothing had changed. Red glossed lips only smiled and the student body took to her. Those who stayed angry burned alone.

Thick skin, no pun intended.

“If that asshole Tannen shows up, I’m dipping.” Evie decided with one breath.

“I’d say that I’ll protect you, but you made your point last year.”

Ah, the incident.

“I’m never going to live that down.”

“It was legendary.” Heather beamed, crushing her fist into her opposite palm. “Bam. Prick went down. My friend is Wonder Woman. Super Bitch.”

Evie broke to laugh, eyes rolling.

“Truthfully, I don’t recall it all.”

That was a lie, she remembered every second of it. Sometimes her knuckles warmed at the thought.

“I just...didn’t think you had moves like that. Your mom is basically Dolly Parton. You don’t even like violence. You squirm during horror flicks. You love your cat, your guitar, and all plant life...and you beat the hell out of Ridgemont’s golden boy asshole quarterback.”

It did earn Evie some Hawkins’ fame. Ridgemont was their main rival. The Bulldogs. Football players found a soft spot for the teen.

“Don’t tell my mom she’s Dolly Parton, that’ll go straight to her head.” Evie joked, popping her water bottle open to drink. Heather’s big eyes lifted behind her.

A flood of cologne wafted before two fingers tugged a curl. Little harder than they should have. Water choked to spill onto Evie’s chest.

“Whoops, you got all wet, Fenny.” A tongue clicked. Billy Hargrove slid around the table. All his glory. Heather plucked up a napkin to offer it.

“Watch it, Hargrove.” She huffed down at herself. The yellow tee tucked into her jeans was soaked through.

“Girls can’t help it around me, I guess.” He had one hand in his pockets and another cradling his silver lighter. Flicking it open and closed. Eyes narrowed. “Polka dots, huh. I had you figured for florals.”

“You’re an asshole.” She covered her damp shirt and bra with her striped cardigan. Thick fall colors warmed her skin. Noted the fact that he'd thought about it.

“Whatever you say, Ivy.”

Billy knew her name. They were neighbors. Unfortunately. Right down to sharing the same space between their bedroom windows. She’d had dinner at their house. Susan Hargrove was new and eager to make some friends and Ms. Fenny was eager to be friends with everyone. Perfect match.

Evie glared up at him. Fucking Adonis.

“Heather, you going tonight?” He ignored his neighbor and leaned over with one palm on the table, back to Evie as he sat down to flash that darling smile.

“Maybe.” Heather gestured with her chopsticks.

“I can work with maybe.” He acted like the girl behind him wasn’t there. Frankly, Evie was used to being invisible. It was better than being bullied. Most days. “Maybe I’ll see you there.”

“Maybe you apologize to my friend and say her name right.” Heather winked at him.

“Who?” Billy stood and turned, mocked some surprise. “Oh. Evangeline. So quiet, I forgot you, chica.”

She wasn’t sure if that was a jab at her mixed heritage or him just being a smartass. Billy rolled her name off his tongue like it was a joke. Like it wasn’t a real word. Blue eyes alight at her stony expression. Sly and alert.

The California transfer vibrated after leaving the basketball team before the season ended. Word was that he was persuaded to leave after some fight with Steve Harrington. Billy was a strange one too.

Often, he seemed lax when he was alone like the world didn’t matter. Other days, he was rocking and quick on his feet. Hungry and itching for something. Anything. It was a scary look on such a pretty boy. You could never gauge where his mind was. Where it would go next.

“Evangeline.” He sounded out again even slower. “Your mom lose a bet?”

“It’s a poem.” She replied flatly, sitting back to cock her head at him. Billy snapped his fingers to point.

“Sounds like the name of some chick whose man died in her arms.”

She huffed at him, leaning in.

“...That would be what the poem is about.”

“Fucking depressing.” Billy tapped his chin. “I got it. I’m going to call you, Angel. I won’t forget that.”

“You are not calling me-”

“Trying to compromise with you, Fenny. You cast the first stone.” Billy flicked his eyes to Heather. “Bring your friend with you to the party, Heather. Some guys like angel cake.” He winked and slunk off to his band of merry assholes. This school worshiped him. Kissed the ground he walked on since he started in fall.

“What a fucking slimeball.” Evie grumbled to herself, stuffing trash aside to ball it up. Thought about tossing it at Billy's big head. Heather gave this conflicted look as if to say, but he’s cute, right?

“Ignore him.”

“Bad enough his family moved in next to me.” They packed up their lunches. “God, I want a smoke so bad.”

She didn’t keep the habit up just to save her singing voice. Her mom picked up cigarettes only after the divorce last year. Smoked out her window and hid it, but Evie knew. No judgment there. Better than other habits moms pick up after divorces.

“I’ll pick you up at seven tonight?” Heather walked out with her after the bell rang.

“Yeah, I’ll see you in fifth.” Evie turned to go to her locker and stuffed the lunchbox away. Grabbed a book to hurry to class. History. Three more periods left. Students fidgeted around her.

“Hey, Evie.” Steve Harrington batted his eyes at her. Friendly enough these days after he left the popular cliche and broke up with Nancy Wheeler. Sometimes having your heart stopped on made you nicer. Not always. “You, ah, do the paper?”

“All six pages.” Evie set it on her desk. “You?”

“I made an attempt.” It was strange because Steve never gave her the time of day before this year. Maybe the guy was lonely. He tapped his pencil and the chatter quieted when their teacher walked in. Late as always.

“Class, pass your papers to the front.”

“Hopefully they don’t come back with red wine stains.” Robin mumbled behind her, one leg crossed up so she could draw on the rubber side of her sneakers. Evie caught a snort, taking the papers to pass them along. “I like the jacket.”

“Thanks. New haircut?”

“My own dad didn’t notice.” Robin beamed.

“Psst, Evie.” A note flicked on her desk. Tammy Thompson. Pretty girl, kind of shy. “To Steve.”

Evie considered herself a professional middle man for lovesick note passing. Discreetly, she gave it to Steve, head cocking. He furrowed his brow upon seeing it, but wrote back.

Whatever the reply, it made Tammy’s shoulders fall.

AP Biology was next. Teacher treated it like his kingdom and didn’t pose much of a challenge because he was disorganized as hell. Evie was relieved to share the class with Heather.

Billy, Tommy, and Carol also had it too. Hargrove bitched for a week about how the other science classes had no openings. Strange because he wasn’t an idiot. Still got his work in and maintained a B average. Probably due to his dad. Neil Hargrove seemed like a real hardass. And all of Cherry Lane had heard him and Billy arguing at some point.

Evie might have also witnessed some more physical spats through the windows.

She figured it was why Billy hated her. She knew something about him. Something he hid because it made him feel smaller. He caught her eyes once and barked nastily before taking off in his Camaro. A gust of smoke.

She never brought it up.

Dads could be real assholes.

“Watch the movie. Fill out the worksheet.” Their teacher was as ready for this day to be over as the students were. Lights went down. Yawns followed. Evie propped her elbow up on the high lab table she shared with Heather, doodling new lyrics between answering questions.

A crumpled paper hit her hair. Stuck into brown curls. Heather turned back to glare at Tommy shrugging with a sleazy grin.

He was no artist. Evie smoothed it for a wide, big lipped and breasted caricature of herself. She drew on it and scribbled a note back. Smiling sweeter when she flicked it at his chest. Carol and Billy leaned in on either side to see Tommy’s expression sour because Evie gave him nothing.

“You got my hair all wrong.” She’d written. Fixing it for him.

Billy snorted and turned back to defacing his textbook.

“Bitch.” Tommy muttered to himself, tossing it away. Evie finished her sheet, dug for her compact to reapply a lip color. Caught Billy behind her. Intent on whatever vulgar drawing his mind was concocting. Blue eyes flicked like he’d been aware of her this entire time.

The mirror snapped shut.

** ** **

Study hall. Last period of the day. Most kids who had it were skipping out early during the hour. Slipping away one by one through the library. Evie was one of those kids.

“Leaving so soon, Miss Fenny?” The smooth as silk voice lowered, startled her enough to drop her notebooks and folders.

“Fr...Mr. Bowers.” Evie dropped before her English teacher standing so close to her. Second period. Been in Hawkins three years teaching the junior and senior classes. Fredrick Bowers. Dream of a man to all the teen girls. “Sorry.” She bit her bottom lip, eyes lifting to see him and his shadow blocking the light from touching her.

“No, I’m sorry, Evie. I figured you’d heard me coming.” Sky blue eyes centered on Evie there before he came to one knee. Helped her gather lose papers strewn about.

Mr. Bowers had a name and face all the teen girls drew little hearts around in pink gel pen.

Evie thought she saw those same cartoon hearts bubbling up behind his back. Popping like gum. Styled toffee blond locks, trimmed mustache, and groomed side burns. A simple patterned shirt tucked into fitted slacks with the sleeves rolled up. Never a tie. Something groovy about him that stuck from the seventies. Mid thirties and hell of a smile.

Evie tucked hair aside, displayed her blush in full view obscenely when he flashed those sparkly whites at her. Eyes crinkling.

“I’ll warn you next time.”

Her heart plucked like a song when their fingers brushed. Dashing and broad. A Jane Austen character come to life. Enough to make any young girl melt. And how quickly she did.

“Next time.” Evie gave this scoff. Pulling her notes close as they both came to their feet with hard intent eyes.

"I wanted to give you something. A book to read over the break." He pulled it from his leather messenger bag and peered around.

"An assignment?" Evie sparkled at him so he was lighter.

"No, it's just because I believe you're so clever and mature. I think you'll read it with an open mind and we can talk about it like we talked about all the others. It's complicated material. I, ah, really shouldn't be giving you this book." He offered it. "But, there were quite a few I wasn't allowed to give you. After that chat we had over The Crucible. I'm just so fascinated by what you think."

"Lolita. I know what happens in this one." Evie peered at the battered title. Rough paper between her fingers, it was clearly an old copy. She peered at his chest instead of his eyes. "We-"

"Don't you miss talking? You know. Last year. Someone who knows what you're going through. I want all my students to be comfortable around me."

"I am comfortable, we..." Evie glanced as someone passed far down the hallway.

Bowers helped her after her dad left. A shoulder. A confidant. A crush that... She felt her heart close in on itself.

"I thought you said we couldn't anymore."

"I miss you." He whispered that. Lush and blunt. She barely heard it. Eyes snapped up.

Someone missed her. Someone wanted to listen. Someone who saw her depth.

His wife left him before he came to Hawkins. Evie learned a great deal about her too.

"I won't tell, I never do." She hid it away into her bag, matched his tone. "We can...talk. Not here."

"Good." He swallowed. "I just think you blossom under guidance and support. I always knew you were one of those girls."

Evie blushed again. Eyes on her shoes.

“I wanted to say I was impressed with your paper as well. As always.” Fredrick gave her arm a pat and left his hand there. Fingers pressed into the knit fabric of her cardigan. His lip twitched.

“Good. That’s…I’m glad.” Evie’s eyes flickered over stormy blue ones, swaying. Lashes gave a dreamy bat. “I was thinking, ah, about you when I wrote it.”

“Really, you should speak up in class more.” Fredrick gave her one subtle squeeze and dropped his hand. “All those funny poems you shared last year.”

“My songs.” Evie corrected softer and he only smiled to nod.

“Right.” An idle step backwards before he leaned over her. A great deal taller. The shadow crept over her eyes this time. “You have a Merry Christmas, dear. And speak up again in class, Evie. You know I love to hear from you.”

A sensation like a fizzling sparkler glowed in her belly. Out her spine. Spread over skin.

“I know.” She giggled at him, peering around. “Merry Christmas, Mr. B. We'll talk.”

“Small town, I’m sure I’ll see you out and about.” A wink and he was gliding off. Shoulders back and chest perched high.

“You might.” Evie swooned against her locker. Watched him go. Gasped a breath into her lungs. Swept all the clouds aside to fill her backpack with work. He made her feel so special, like no one ever could.

“Anyone...” She sang to herself, “who knows what love is...” Fingers plucked up a final book. Evie hummed and thought of small cartoon blue birds spinning around her head as she went into the restroom. Washed her hands and lingered to see her reflection.

Evie was in a strange place. In and out of her skin. Torn between love and hate for her body.

Usually, it just took a brave face. Her dad always used to tilt her chin and tell her to put on her bravest face before leaving home.

She hoped the one she chose was convincing.

Her mom would always spin her favorite Bible or Dolly Parton quotes. Which helped on occasion even if she wasn’t sure which source the words came from half the time.

A sigh. This was her flesh. She’d live in it as best she could. Dreamed herself into something better.

Footsteps hurried down the hallway until the door shoved open. Humming cut.

“Hargrove!” She gasped, dropping her messenger bag. “Billy, you can’t be in here!”

“God damn it, Fenny. You again?” Billy skidded to hush her. Pressed them back into the wall. The heat of his body engulfed her frame, standing a good few inches taller. “Do me a fucking solid. Hide this for me.”

Billy had no sense of boundaries because he was stuffing a baggie into her front jean pocket.

“What are you doing?” She seethed at him, smacking his arms off her to put some distance. “Get off me!”

“Don’t say a word. Got it?” Billy lifted a finger with an intent look. Smelled of leather and his heavy cologne. Hairspray too. It all overshadowed the cigarette scent. He smoothed his tee out and turned to see the door. Scrambling like a spider, Billy jumped up on the toilet, threw his messenger bag outside, and pulled himself up. Wiggled his way out.

Evie heard a thud and groan.

“What the fuck?” She whispered, more so to herself as he disappeared. Hands pulled what was clearly concealed weed bundled up several times and bagged from her pocket. “Shit.” More footsteps before the door burst as she shoved it away.

“You see that Hard-grove kid?” A thick accent asked. Security guy. Useless.

“Uh!” Evie pulled her bag up. “Who?...This is the ladies room! Can’t a girl have a moment here?”

“Sorry!” He cringed away before she jumped into mushy period talk. It always worked.

Evie rolled her eyes and marched out to find Billy. Casual as can be, he tossed his bag into the trunk of his car and stilled to light a cigarette. Grumbling, steps hurried up the hill.

“Asshole!” She tossed the weed at his chest, made him catch it awkwardly and stuff it into the trunk with a hiss.

“Keep a lid on it, will you?” He slammed it shut. No one was around to see them.

“Don’t do that shit again.” She pushed into him to go, Billy’s big hand wrapped around her wrist. Tugged her square into his chest. An unkind grin swept.

“I had you figured, didn’t I? You didn’t say anything.” Billy blew smoke into the air, plucked the cigarette out to flick it with his free hand.

“Let go.” Evie huffed. “I would have been in deep shit too for that.” She wiggled and pushed at his chest.

Billy flicked his bright eyes over hers. So brown they looked black in winter. He never noticed that she had a dusting of freckles across her nose and cheeks like he did. Pale for a girl with darker features. Indiana falls and winters must have taken the color right out of her. Looked like a lot of the mixed gals he knew back home.

Big curls. Soft and curvy.

Angry at him over something he did.

There's no place like home, he figured.

“You’re so weak.” Billy laughed at her. Took another drag. “They told me you freaked out on a guy last year.”

“You want to be next?” She twisted away from him and turned. It wasn’t a real threat. He’s seen her tend to plants like they were humans. Feed neighborhood cats and nurse her own. Old black cat with not long left. Little fucker was always creeping him out from her bedroom window. Constantly staring with huge green eyes like it knew something Billy didn’t.

“Babysit your own weed.”

“You walking home?” Billy was relentless, voice lifting.

Evie huffed and turned.

“What, are you going to say I probably need the exercise? My bike chain broke.”

“Christ, I was gonna offer a ride. Figured I owed you for saving my damn weed and my break. Not like it's out of the way.” Billy turned to open the passenger door. “Quit being a drag and get in. I don’t bite hard...unless asked.”

“You’re such a creep.” She eyed him there. Wondered how he stayed warm in a tee, jeans, and leather jacket. “Not waiting for Max?” He gave this annoyed look.

“She’s going out with her stupid friends, not my problem today.” Billy got in, gesturing. “At least close the door if you’re not coming. I went through the effort to open it for you.”

“What a gentleman.” Sarcasm.

Evie came back toward his car and debated it. Smelled like it might rain with the sky turning grey. And she really didn’t want to walk in these shoes. Rationalizing it, she slipped inside and shut the door. Settled her bag in her lap. Even buckled up. Billy revved the engine and skidded to speed out without a second glance.

“You going to the party with Heather?”

Evie peered at him watching the road with this hard look on his face. Ghosted a smile. Bingo.

“You’re being nice to me to get to Heather, huh. You know you’re not the first guy to pull this. Could have just asked me about her.”

Crystalline eyes flared up at her face.

“What? Dorky chicks like you turn me on, too.” He replied rougher, not bothering to watch the road.

“Wow. Spread it on thick, Hargrove.” She turned from him.

“I always do.” He hit a hard corner. Christ, he drives fast. “I got a shot?”

“She thinks you’re cute.” Evie shrugged. Far too used to this. Eyes slid to his profile. Wild curls still golden on grey days. The boy glowed. It was absolutely insufferable. Leaves whirled by, brown and dead. A smile crossed her face. “Listen. Since you’re saving me a walk. I’ll help you.”

“Help me? I don’t need your help, I just wondered if she was gonna show.” He scoffed, turning on Cherry Lane.

“You want to know what Heather likes. It’ll help you.” She crossed her arms, nearly flying forward when he screeched to a stop in front of his house. Billy shot her a look, filled with pride. “You got a pen and paper, bud?”

He snatched her bag, tore a page from her notebook and dug into his glove box for a pen.

Ass. She hugged it back to her chest.

"Talk."

“Okay.” A breath. “The thing about Heather is she’s a romantic. Jane Austin girl. Pride and Prejudice. If you can quote that just once like Mr. Darcy, she’s yours... Well? Are you writing?”

Billy did a double take and huffed, grumbling. He actually marked it down.

“Mr. Who?”

“Your life amazes me.” She chuckled. “Darcy.”

“Got it. Darcy. I’ll ask Susan about that shit, she’s a reader.” He muttered, tongue sweeping out before he scribbled.

“And she loves museums. First date ideas. Milkshakes. Cheese fries with jalapenos. Cheeseburger gal. Chinese from that corner joint. Always spicy. Easy picks.”

“A girl after my own burning heart.” Billy felt her peer at him again. Lips lifting with this expression he couldn’t read. Blinked her big eyes and went on.

“Definitely loves to snuggle in with something scary even though they freak her out. Must be a curiosity thing.”

“Any excuse to get close to someone, I like it. This is gold, Angel, go on.”

“You know, I think that’s all I got for you.” Evie turned to get out, sighing. That was just a little evil. “Billy.”

“What?” He shut his door and turned from her.

“Thanks for the ride.” She moved to go toward her house. “Knock ‘em dead.”

Billy didn’t reply. Just watched her go into her house before he dug for another smoke.

“Mom?” Evie called. “I’m home.”

“I’m in my room, sweetheart!”

Ramona Fenny was a spirited woman, went by Mona to the neighborhood. A girl of the 60s. Built like Dolly Parton with a pumped hairstyle to match in sleek dark brown, almost black. She worshiped the woman. Looked like she could have modeled atop a cake.

A church going girl who used prayer to get her through the divorce. Never pushed it on others, not even Evie. Too busy pushing other things. Like the free days she lost having her daughter young. She liked what worked in life and this worked for her. Liked the pretty side to things.

Mona was a sunny side up sort of mother.

Best friends with Claudia Henderson as they both went through divorces which was not in God’s plan. Evie liked Dustin, she babysat him on occasion and he was a good kid. Bullied like her.

Mona owned the favored hair salon in town. Worked long hours with a team of women and ran a tight ship. Did hair for all the social elites so she knew everyone and all the hot gossip. And did she love that detail the most. Evie helped out with reception during vacation time. Liked the extra cash.

“I was going to go to Heather’s later, there’s a party.”

“Oh, have fun, baby.” She pushed her kid to go out. To live. To be smart. Never asked her to call. Not out of trust for Evie, she couldn’t be bothered. Never imagined her daughter would be up to mischief.

If only she knew.

Sometimes, Mona keyed in when it suited her. Understood when Evie’s likes and dislikes changed. When she asked to not go to church anymore because it didn’t help her after her dad walked out. Ramona was understanding as long as you didn’t bring up things like depression and anger. There always had to be a way out. Turn the other cheek.

Evie knew her mother always thought the best.

“Great.” Evie crossed to steal the hair brush, helped her mother out with the teasing. Dyed rich and dark locks that used to be a mousy brown. Dark eyes like her daughter. Evie didn’t look like her father with his brighter features. Her lush hair and russet eyes. Thick brows. “You going out? All dressed up...”

“Just into town, couple of errands.”

That was something that changed a week after her dad moved out. Mona’s style revamp. She was a woman of the sixties and seventies and that came back full force. Styled and pumped up like she was walking out of a Nancy Sinatra music video. Men around town noticed it and the woman certainly speculated.

But, her daughter had a style change too after the incident so it must have run in the family.

“Better?” Evie eyed the glittery rings sitting in a ceramic dish. They looked like gumballs there.

“Touch of hairspray and I’ll be right as rain.” Pink manicured nails came up with the can. “Take cover, baby.”

“Got it.” Evie disappeared in a waft of spray. Stole an ice cube from the freezer to crunch it out of this habit she picked up when dad was gone. Cool and melty between her fingers before she swallowed it down. Felt the bulge tense all down her throat. Another followed. Teeth straining to crack it like glass. The chunks went down a little less smooth as she looked for real food and shut the fridge instead.

Evie went into the bedroom to see her old cat on the pillow. His head lifted. Skinny and balding. Blind in one eye.

“How’re we doing, my handsome boy?” Evie dropped her bag and crossed to pet him. Purrs erupted, whiskers twitching. “Bourbon, my darling.”

A scratch of a meow rasped.

“Yes, I love you too. I’d kiss you if my lips weren’t done up.” She smacked her lips and stood. “Outfit.” Clothing pushed around. Her room was a small, intimate space. Few pictures and purple curtains. Desks covered in song lyrics, trinkets, and needle felting projects.

Evie held up garments to the cat, but he was no help. Just purred there like a motor boat. Settled on a black top with some sparkle and a magenta wash denim jacket. Jewelry was a must, she preferred earrings that were huge acrylic hearts. Bourbon had gotten into the window to watch the window across the way.

Billy wandering shirtless and damp. Muscles red and bulging like he’d done a quick work out

“Yeah, not today, my sweet.” Evie plucked the cat from the window and reached to close the blinds. Billy caught her. Winked and licked his lips slower. She made a face at him. Utterly loathing and not impressed at his peacock way of navigation. “Ew."

The blinds snapped down, leaving Billy to laugh there. Evie carried her purring cat out, chiding.

"Don’t make his head any bigger than it already is.”

~~~~

TAGLIST OPEN! Hope you enjoyed! Thanks!

#billy hargrove #Billy hargrove x oc #billy hargrove fanfiction #Billy hargrove fanfic #Billy Hargrove imagine #SOMY #Angel Fenny #writing #mine #Billy x oc #billy x angel

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myshipsareendgame · 4 years

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maybe it’s just due to my OCs i created in my head and wrote, but i really do want to see the back five of the stormlight archive to include our main characters’ children.

the first child is evi kholin II, shallan and adolin’s daughter. she’s rebellious, mature for her age, beautiful (like her parents, duh) and smart as hell. she’s sassy and almost not afraid of anything. almost- because she’s afraid of anything happening to her family or those she cares about. that’s why she’s always pulling a kaladin and tries to take care of everyone, even if it means putting others’ needs before her own. but through it all she’s kind and bright. she brings in laughter into the room and she’s truly is a mix of both her parents.

second comes tenadal, evi’s younger brother. he’s only two years younger, but they aren’t that close. however, they still appreciate each other and if anything happened to one of them, they’d literally go out of their mind. tenadal is a mini adolin, energetic, good hearted and awkward, but still successful with girls. he plans to one day be a great duelist, just like his father

next comes nili, kaladin’s adopted child. nili is a year younger than tenadal, three years younger than evi. however that doesn’t stop those two from being best friends. sometimes evi is more like her older sister, but a sister nevertheless. where evi is confident, nili is shy. where nili is anxious, evi is sure of herself. but they both want to study, they both love talking about boys and books and gossip and shopping. they’re urithiru’s duo. adolin and kaladin’s daughters that make mischief (95% of the time as evi’s idea), but everyone still adores. they do all kinds of stuff together: study groups, shopping days and even sleepovers, so much so that the kholins keep and extra pair of pijamas in the kids’ closet for her. tenadal and she don’t meet for a while, even after a long time of being evi’s friend, but once they do, tenadal doesn’t think he ever saw such a pretty girl. and they grow up together, liking each other in secret.

then kala, she is the youngest girl, evi’s five years yonger sister. kala was named after kaladin and is the youngest child for a while. still, her siblings (including the girl they treat as their own) accept her into their company. where tenadal looks like a mini adolin and evi as a little shallan, kala is a true mix. although all shadolin kids have a very distinctive hair, a mix no one’s seen before, kala’s faciak features truly are a combination.

then, the babiest baby to ever appear and bless their worlds comes. the softest softie ever to soft. little nalan, the youngest kid. everyone wants to pinch his little chubby cheeks, to give him a hug, hold his little figure in their arms. he’s a mama’s boy. all the kids like to paint and do it with their mother as a free-day activity. but nalan showes so much TALENT at such a young age

of course, there are gavinor and danid. gavinor is the eldest kholin kid (in my story he was only three years older than evi) who we all know and love. danid is his best friend. like evi and nili, they met each other when they were little but became insepersble friends very quickly. evi and danid didn’t exactly hit it off, as danid pulled her hair when they were at practice. since then, they decided they hated each other, spatting insults at each other and denying all and every alligation that they have feelings for each other.

so yeah, yep. i guess that’s about it

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a-skirmish-of-wit-and-lit · 4 years

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Book Review: Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore

Oh, how scrumptious!

This book was like rolling through the drive-thru window at Romance-R-Us asking for a happy, tropey book meal with fries only to leave with a three-course meal of substance and intellect, of suffragettes mixed with Oxfordshire academics and Victorian etiquette, and a side of dukedom sexiness plus bluestocking progressiveness that is all about the impassioned details instead.

I am telling you it delivered.

It was everything I craved before I'd even realized I'd been craving it. It was the créme brûlée dessert I never ordered but was delivered to me anyway.

Dunmore's whole plot struck a lovely counterbalance between romance and liveliness while also shedding light on the injustice between the sexes in the 1870's. I appreciated that. I relished it, frankly. It was difficult to predict where the politics of the day would end and when the full-on eroticism would begin, but do you know what? That was half the fun.

The tousled mixture of all those elements together is what made the story all the more delicious through beginning, middle, and end.

Let's just say there's a reason why ROMANCE WITH PLOT is always, always, the best kind, my friends!

The characters leapt off the page, too. Annabelle Archer and Sebastian Devereux, the mains, were like flint together from the moment they met--magnetic, sparking. I couldn't tear my eyes away from them. Their witty interplay was charged, intoxicating. Mind you, I do seem to have a preference for the glacier-like brooding male types who only smolder intensely for the one woman who can bring him to his knees with her saucy mouth, with her shrewd mind, which is what we have here, so take that with a grain of salt if you must, but it hooked me! I couldn't resist the sport of their two fiery stubborn wills.

Don't judge me.

Still, there was unmistakable chemistry and challenge in almost everything about the two of them. In the qualities Sebastian and Annabelle each possessed. It cropped up everywhere from their stations in life to the way they sparred verbally, to how they looked and dressed and carried themselves, as well as to the manner in which physicality manifested between them in intimate moments. (A few of said moments which -*fans self* - I haven't recovered from fully yet.) There's also a "forbidden" obstacle between them which has all the entrapments of the time period in which they reside in addition to the angst and conflict I've grown to adore in romantic fiction as a general rule.

In other words: NO COMPLAINTS HERE AT ALL.

I found the women's suffrage movement backdrop to be a nice touch as well. I liked having a peek into the restraints of that British world, of seeing brave and independent women of that time period fighting for their right to vote, to be educated, to be freed from male property ownership or marriage by necessity. Women supporting women was an undercurrent theme as well, which, hey, we love to see it!

All in all, this was the book equivalent of having my cake and eating it, too. I got the best of both worlds in one fictional universe, and so, like a starving girl, I devoured the story in one overlarge bite. I merely couldn't get enough of the swooning romance and historicism. Inside was a temptation I simply couldn't resist, and I regret nothing except not having handed my heart over to it sooner.

"Perhaps he was in love. Christ. If this was what love did to the least sentimental man in Britain, [he] wanted none of it."

#ashlee bree's book reviews #bringing down the duke #evie dunmore #historical fiction #romance #recs: ashlee approved!#bookblr #book reviews

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jadesjunk · 4 years

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Character Bio Example 1

This is an example of some bio writing work for my Red Dead Redemption Online character Eve.

Name: Eve (Last Name TBD)

Short for Evelyn but hates being called by her full name. Comes from her Irish ancestry and named after her deceased aunt. Comes from Aibhilín or Éibhleann, the latter can be derived from the Old Irish óiph ("beauty.")

Alternate nicknames include Evy/Evie which she went by as a child but doesn’t like to be called that anymore.

Also uses the aliases Eliza or Rose and after arriving Lemoyne she may use Rhode as a last name.

Age: 21

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Lesbian (Unaware)

Appearance

Height: 5’8”

Weight: 180lbs

Eye color: Green

Hair color: Red head/Ginger

Has always been on the skinny side but after running away her increased activity leaves her often more on the underweight side. She tries to maintain a healthy weight despite her higher metabolism.

Often wears her long red hair in a braid either down her back or over her shoulder.

Prefers wearing loose work shirts and pants with mens boots. In general prefers more masculine apparel but isn’t opposed to occasionally wearing a dress or skirt when in an appropriate situation. She does like mixing up her outfits and has a variety of feminine and masculine apparel, often enjoying wearing nice vests when she can afford them.

Her main outfit consists of a black cowboy hat, red work shirt with a sash around her midsection, basic black pants, black boots, red leather work gloves and a red and black poncho gifted to her by her friend Reyes. She wears a black gun belt covered in an assortment of useful items.

Personality Traits: Kind, Stubborn, Determined, Bit Naive, Quiet

Likes and Dislikes

Likes

Animals

Good food

Comfortable clothes

Being out in nature

Warm weather/summer

Gathering plants or animal samples

Harriet

Dislikes

Having to kill (humans or animals, does it out of necessity)

Poor meals

Being cooped up indoors

The cold/winter

Alligators

Men who assume she should be grateful to be hit on

Family (Living)

??? (Father)

Catherine (Mother)

??? (Eldest Brother)

??? (Middle Brother)

??? (Younger Brother)

Savannah (Previously Claire)

Friends

Wes

Reyes

Faye?

Harriet

Trelawny?

Nazar?

Skills/Work

Eve’s main skills revolve around her witchcraft and animal handling. She’s also an incredibly good cook thanks to her mother and those she’s traveled with. She picks up recipes from all over and has a knack for figuring out what’s missing in a dish just as much as she can sort out what she might need in a particular potion. She seems to have a natural connection with animals as well, able to quickly bond with any horse she rides and often can calm horses she doesn’t know relatively easily.

Eve’s witchcraft mostly revolves around making potions. She does like to make trinkets and talismans as well but she puts more faith in producing potions. She generally avoids rituals and sacrifice as it makes her uncomfortable and she doesn’t like the feeling of possibly calling on devils. Eve’s potions are generally more for improving one’s body such as numbing the body to pain or increasing stamina and improving your sight. She has carefully tested some potions with her horses, finding ways to vitalize them much like herself.

With firearms Eve’s main choice is rifles with short to medium scopes. She can use a pistol/revolver but most of the time prefers to use her rifle without the scope instead. When she isn’t pressured or panicking she’s a great shot but her accuracy greatly decreases the more she panics. She’s also pretty bad at riding or driving and shooting and usually prefers to ride shotgun on a wagon. Sometimes she can fire off several crack shots at enemies heads, killing each in a single shot but other times she panics so terribly she can’t even hit their bodies.

Thanks to Reyes she becomes pretty decent with a bow as well but usually only uses it in hunting for stealth kills. She’s okay with it from horse back but like her rifles is far better when still on a horse or on the ground.

Her skill hunting animals varies, oftentimes she tries to shoot from horseback either to kill with rifle or bow or attempts to tranquilize with her varmint rifle. Due to how erratic and at times small her targets are she has a far harder time making clean kills and sometimes even just hitting the body with the tranqs. She’s gotten incredibly good at tracking animals but unless she gets a solid shot standing still before it runs away (or attacks) she typically fails at getting a clean kill. Eve usually tries to avoid doing hunting, preferring to focus more on managing samples for Harriet. When she does hunt it’s usually more for cooking or if she needs ingredients/materials for other things. She will assist in hunts if needed for the gang but otherwise likes to put her skills to use elsewhere.

Backstory/Past

Eve was born to a relatively affluent family far north of New Hanover. (Traveling to Saint Denis is a several day trip south.) She has three brothers who were brought up to take over her father’s business. As their only daughter Eve was raised under relatively strict parenting. While her brothers were allowed to come and go more freely Eve was often stuck at home or only allowed to go out with her family. What little freedom she had came after she was 15 and she was finally allowed her to go on brief horse rides around their land alone.

Age 15-16: Eve stumbles upon an old leather journal belonging to her great grandmother. It was hidden away in the attic of their home in an old trunk with the last remaining heirlooms of her mother’s side. The pages were worn and frail from age and much of the scrawled handwriting was in gaelic. Eve struggled with translating as she wasn’t as fluent as her mother but she manages to translate most of it. The journal mostly contains accounts of her great grandmother’s life. Mixed in amongst the crumbling pages were recipes and notes on what Eve could only think of as potions, spells and rituals. Eve keeps the journal a secret from her family, carefully translating the contents over to a new journal of her own. Outside of working on the journal she also explores in the forest trying to identify plants. She accidentally poisons herself a few times but fortunately never too seriously and her mother doesn’t catch on.

Age 16-17: Eve discovers an old abandoned cabin deep into the woods beyond her family’s estate. Over the course of the summer she slowly begins cleaning the inside and converting it for her own use. She begins using her riding trips sneak away to the cabin and soon even does so at night. She gets caught coming home once by one of her brothers, thankfully the most understanding one who doesn’t ask questions and instead just helps her get the horse put away and back in bed without being noticed.

Age 17-18: Potential suitors begin approaching Eve but many end up getting the message she’s not interested and eventually move on to other women. Her mother and father are frustrated by her lack of interest in men. Soon Eve unfortunately catches the eye of one particularly stubborn man who becomes incredibly enamored with her. She repeatedly turns him down and this frustrates him as he knows she would be well off and would make a beautiful wife. He begins to become obsessed with her, believing he deserves her. The suitor is used to getting his way, being a slick and charismatic businessman.

Age 19: Eve is in her cabin when suddenly the door bursts open. She grabs for her shotgun (in case of predators) and aims it at the intruder. It turns out to be the suitor from town who refuses to leave her alone. After he mocks her and tries to tempt her into marrying him he causes her to panic and she shoots him in the abdomen. He falls flat on the floor of the cabin, blood spilling from the hole in his torso. Eve barely collects herself after retching onto the floor, covers the body in an old blanket and then buries it in the back. She changes clothes, takes her horse (Deseray, a blood bay arabian) and runs away.

Her family never finds out about the murder, they do eventually suspect the suitor had done something but doubted she eloped with him after so many refusals. A widespread search commences but they never pick up any sign of her and eventually it’s called off. They mourn for her loss and pray that she’s alive and well out there somewhere.

After the murder Eve makes it a town or two over before stopping and gathering herself. Still horribly shaken she decides to head towards Saint Denis as a backup plan. If everything goes wrong she has family there and can contact her parents or brothers if it comes to it. At least she knows the area and how to get there. For a brief while she barely scrapes by in the wilderness before falling in with some Irish travellers on their way to Rhodes. She takes up work cooking and caring for their horses while traveling with them.

Eve learns how to better survive on the road thanks to them and is finally taught how to use a gun properly. By the time they part they gift her with a beautiful cob and point her in the direction of a man named Trelawny. The mysterious con artist gives her work to help her survive and helps her get setup at Rhodes stables with her two horses. Trelawny is the main person who teaches Eve how to talk her way out of issues or use her innocent appearance against others. While she’s still relatively naive and unfortunately a little too trusting he helps sharpen her senses and skills.

At some point Eve runs into Harriet and picks up work sampling and studying local wildlife. She doesn’t really understand it at the time but while working for the animal enthusiast Eve begins developing a massive crush on her. (Mostly because she’s never been in love or crushing on someone.) Despite Harriet’s eccentricity the pair get along incredibly well (though most of it is Eve listening to Harriet wax on about animals and how horrible hunters are.) She ends up sharing her knowledge of natural remedies and concoctions, delighting Harriet and helping her with developing her sedatives, revivers and so on.

At some point Eve ends up running into Reyes at a saloon after both end up so drunk they start hitting on people of the same sex. (Eve at the time is still unaware that she’s lesbian.) They get thrown out together and Reyes invites her back to his camp to continue drinking. The pair have a good time, mostly downing more alcohol, singing, dancing and howling at the moon. Eve ends up messing up some of her clothes and Reyes gives her a spare poncho to wear. Eve makes a joke while drunk that since they match they’re the “Happy Ponchos” now. The two pass out before sunrise and in the morning she convinces him to let her tag along.

Reyes ends up teaching Eve how to hunt more efficiently and the best way to use as much of an animal carcass as possible. She continues to sticks around him like a lost puppy and learns more than ever before, becoming incredibly proficient in using a bow thanks to him. Eventually she even manages to craft a bow made of antlers from her best buck kill with his help. Through Reyes Eve also runs into her cousin Claire who has since left home and changed her name to Savannah.

#jadewrites #bio #rdr #rdo #red dead online #eve

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summahsunlight · 5 years

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We Belong to the Stars, CH.10

Word Count: 1826

Pairings: Poe/Evelyn (OC)

A/N: I’m so sorry that I didn’t get this posted the other day like promised! Links are provided below in case you need to catch up :)

Chapter One / Chapter Two / Chapter Three / Chapter Four / Chapter Five/ Chapter Six / Chapter Seven / Chapter Eight / Chapter Nine / AO3

Unknown Regions

Black Squadron pulled out of hyperspace at the last known coordinates for Agent Lothor. They had left early that morning, not to rouse suspicion among their fellow Resistance fighters. Poe glanced out the cockpit of his Starfighter at the barren looking planet below them. "Hey, Beebee-ate, start scanning for any signs of life down there."

BB-8 warbled a response and Poe frowned. "Yeah, you're right," he said, "it doesn't look like it could support life, but this is where the Resistance tracked Lothor too, so start looking. With any luck we'll be out of here before the First Order even realizes we're around."

"Don't see what the First Order would want with this planet," Snap's voice said over the comm line.

"Kyber," Evelyn replied. "This planet was supposedly rich in it a long time ago. Looks like it's been mined to dust."

Poe took a deep breath and flipped a few switches on his control panel. "Snap, Pava, you patrol the orbit; Evelyn you're with me."

Evelyn didn't respond for a moment, and then asked, "And where are we going, exactly?"

He guided his fighter towards the atmosphere of the planet, ordering her to follow his lead. Poe noticed on his scopes that she did so. "We're going to go check out that planet, see if we can find Agent Lothor. I mean, isn't that why your aunt sent us here?"

She sighed, incredulously. "Yes, it is why she sent us. I just... I don't know, Poe. None of this feels right."

"Come on, Evie, let's have a little optimism here."

"Fine. Some of this doesn't feel right."

Poe chuckled as he started his landing sequence. The two T-70's descended down through the sulfuric clouds, heading towards hills of jagged rocks. Poe frowned; Evelyn was right, the planet had been mined to dust. He briefly wondered what this place had looked like before the vultures had gotten their hands on it. "BeeBee, can we breath the atmosphere here?"

BB-8 chirped an affirmative and then found a spot that the two Starfighters could land safely. Poe entered the coordinates and proceeded to land his fighter. Running through the post flight procedures, he quickly assessed the situation, just in case they had to make a run for it. Opening the hatch of the X-wing, Poe released his harness, and climbed out onto the wing. He left is flight helmet on the seat, and then edging his way to the end of the wing before jumping down.

Evelyn was waiting for him. Pieces of her hair had come loose from her bun and were blowing in the cold breeze. She pointed over shoulder, alerting him to the settlement. Both pilots were concerned that neither of their droids had detected any life, even though the settlement looked well taken care of.

"Is it possible they left in a hurry?" Poe questioned.

"CeeBee says that there are still several ships parked in the hanger," Evelyn replied.

Poe looked towards the settlement. Now he was getting bad feelings. "Let's go," he said, gesturing in the direction of the settlement. Pulling his blaster from the holster strapped to his thigh, the commander led the way over the rocks towards their destination. `It wasn't easy going, they had to climb over rock formations, the droids had to use gripping extensions from their bodies to keep up with their masters. Poe almost wished he had just asked the two droids to stay behind with the ships, but he knew that BB-8 would not have been happy about that. Besides, they might need them to help with locating Agent Lothor.

Evelyn still didn't like the impression this place gave off. It was too quiet. There was no sound of wildlife, no birds, nothing, and she supposed that was the case because of the extensive mining that took place that destroyed the planet, but still, she'd been on rocks like this before and never felt so on edge. Even though she was shut off from the Force she could still feel the tingles of the dark side.

At the entrance was the first sign that something terrible had happened; bodies laid smoldering. Poe clutched his blaster, tightly. "No wonder no one answered our communications. Everyone is dead."

CB-2 rolled behind Evelyn's legs. BB-8 was a bit braver and rolled forward, his photoreceptor peering into the destruction of the outpost. He turned towards Poe for a moment, as if he was asking permission to proceed further.

"Do you think if you access the main computer, BeeBee, you can see if Agent Lothor sent any transmissions?" Poe inquired. BB-8 beeped an affirmative. "Okay, let's do this...quickly."

"Quickly, I like the sound of that," Evelyn murmured as they stepped further into the destruction of the outpost.

Panels flickered, smoke lingered in the air, mixing with pungent smell of burnt bodies. Poe grimaced as the fresh air grew thinner and thinner the further they got into the compound. He covered his nose with his hand, following BB-8 as they made their way through the carnage.

BB-8 slithered into a large open room, Poe, Evelyn and CB-2 behind him. A large communication console stood before them and at the base the body of their missing agent. Poe let out a heavy sigh before ordering his droid to hook up to the panel and see if anything had been transmitted. If Lothor had managed to get his reports out before the First Order killed him, well, the Resistance still had a chance of recovering them.

Evelyn stared at the wounds on the man's body. Lightsaber. Kylo Ren. She tried to keep the tears out of her eyes but it was impossible; memories from another night, another massacre surfaced and she could not push them away. To this day she still could not understand how someone she had trusted, had loved, had turned against them all so quickly and violently.

Poe watched her as the emotions played out across her face. While BB-8 worked, he reached out and placed a hand over one of hers as it gripped the console. Truth was, he would never understand how Kylo had betrayed those he supposedly loved and cared for. Her tear-filled eyes rose to his and his heart broke. So many years of pain, and he'd contributed to a lot of that pain. "You couldn't have stopped him; he was corrupted, Evie, coerced by the First Order."

"Knowing that doesn't make it less painful," Evelyn whispered with a shake of her head.

"No, I suppose not," Poe whispered back.

BB-8 became panicked. He swiveled his head around, shrilly addressing Poe.

Poe's brow furrowed in concern. "What do you mean a super laser?"

Evelyn felt her breath hitch. "Like the Death Star?"

The little droid's only response was that the Agent Lothor had transmitted data and plans about a base, a base that had the potential to move from system to system and the power to destroy the sun. Poe and Evelyn exchange worried glances. "Download everything you can, Beebee, we need to get this all back to General Organa," Poe ordered his droid. It felt like ages for BB-8 to complete his work and detach from the console, but in reality, it was probably only five minutes. Poe wanted to investigate more, but he got the feeling that their actions on this outpost were not going to go unnoticed by the First Order. It was time to go.

Poe, Evelyn, and the two droids went back the way they came, through the death, flickering lights, back to the murky skies of the planet. Halfway back to their ships, Poe’s comm went off and Snap’s voice shouted, “Commander, we have company!”

“Damn it!” Poe cursed, just as several TIE-fighters swooped down through the clouds. “Evie! Run!”

“How did they know we were here?” Evelyn cried, as they scrambled over the rocky terrain towards their fighters.

“My guess, they’ve been monitoring this system, waiting for us to show up. Snap! We need cover, now!”

“We’re on our way, Poe!”

On cue, two x-wings swooped low, providing cover fire so Poe and Evelyn could make it to their ships. Snap and Jess cleared out the first wave of TIEs with no problem. Poe knew, after what happened with the Hervuion Grace, that these things were never simple. More enemy fighters would be coming. First sign of trouble, you get out of there. Leia had admonished him, instilled him that they could not afford any losses… in hindsight perhaps the first sign of trouble was the dead bodies. There was no time to dwell on that now. He needed to get his squad home.

Poe powered his x-wing up; immediately his panel was lighting up and screaming alerts. The TIEs had damaged his hyperdrive. Poe cursed and ordered BB-8 to get working on repairing it. Out of the corner of his eye, as he lifted his fighter into the air and sped towards space, he saw the TIEs closing in on them. “Get out of here!” he ordered his pilots. “As soon as you’ve made the calculations for lightspeed, make the jump!”

“What are you going to do, Commander?” Pava asked, a little uncertain.

“I’m going to try to get some of these TIEs off your tails,” Poe said, turning his fighter away from the rest of his squad.

“Liar. You’re hyperdrive is down.”

“Fine. You caught me, Pava. Now, make the jump. I’ll see you back at base. I can handle myself.”

“You stay behind you’ll be killed,” Evelyn snapped.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this! Now, get out of here!” Poe shouted.

“I’m not leaving you!”

“Lieutenant, I’m giving you a direct order! Make the jump!”

BB-8 reported that Snap and Jess had made the jump back to D’Qar, but Evelyn was still sticking with him. Poe grumbled to himself as he maneuvered out of the way of the latest onslaught of TIE fighters. “How much longer until the hyperdrive is ready, buddy?” he asked the droid. Poe felt a little panicked when BB-8 replied it was going to take another minute. One more minute could mean life or death for them. Poe glared at his scopes as Evelyn refused to leave him. When we get back to D’Qar she’s getting a piece of my mind…

Evelyn gasped over the commlink. Poe snapped his head about, shouting her name. “I’m fine,” she responded, tensely, “one of my engines just flamed out. CeeBee’s on it.”

Poe ground his teeth. “Evie. Jump. NOW!”

“Not until you tell me that you’re ready to make the jump yourself.”

“Fine. But don’t think for one second that I’m forgetting this, Evelyn!”

Her response was to fire at a TIE that was closing on him rapidly, that he was unable to shake… Poe clenched his jaw, knowing that she had just possible saved his life. BB-8 screeched that the hyperdrive was ready. “Set the course, buddy! Evelyn, punch it! I’m right behind you!”

#star wars #star wars fanfiction #poe dameron #evelyn skywalker (oc)#poe x oc #poe dameron fanfiction #kaleb skywalker (oc)#leia organa #snap wexley #kare kun #snap wexley x kare kun #jess pava #bb-8 #we belong to the stars

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kyidyl · 4 years

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So I felt like writing today and I was taking a look at my writing folder and like....the number of unfinished stories I have might be getting out of hand. I’ve got:

The three stories that make up my main world. The series is called The Broken Kingdom, and the stories are (in order of past, present, future): The Incidental Queen, The Lost Light, and The Time Lost Savior. This is the one I post pics from occasionally.

Spring - This is the massive GoT fanfic that I’ve been writing. A post s8 fix it fic that I actually have open to reading by the public, which can be found here.

Several World of Warcraft fics that I’m not gonna post the titles of bc I don’t wanna cross the streams between Tumblr and my AO3 account.

Happily Ever After a romance novel essentially about a brilliant physicist who meets a famous actor and falls in love. It is 100% fluffy wish-fulfilment and practice in character writing for me. And in the kind of romance novels I like - where the conflict comes from outside the relationship and it’s them v. the world, not them one v. the other. No breakups. Adult conversation. Fun travel to cool locations bc rich actor. It’s great. The heroine is a black woman because I wanted to write the kind of story that I’d seen a lot of black women asking for - the one where they get to be the treasured princess. She isn’t a literal princess, but she gets treated like one with no hidden terribleness in store for her. The fact that she’s doing a PhD in a field where, according to my research, only 9 black women have ever been awarded a PhD is just icing on the cake. Listen, I have feels about her, ok? Lots of feels. And about him, but like I’m proud of her...he is a great but he was a lot easier to construct for me.

Zombie, a post-apoc story that takes place about 100 years after, well, zombies. A scientist has found a cure after all this time, but to help anyone she has to get from Martha’s Vineyard, MA to the CDC in St. Louis. This shouldn’t be a big deal, as there are safe trains that criss-cross the country. But when someone sabotages her ride, she and her marine escort are thrown into the wilds with the monsters, and now there’s a lot more between her and her destination. She starts a hopeful scientist with no experience in the reality of the nightmare, and he starts as the biggest nihilistic grump ever because he has far too much experience in said reality. Over the journey though they learn and grow and come to value each other.

Immortal - an interview-with-a-vampire style story where the subject of said interview is an alien who was exiled to earth before humanity even evolved. Over the course of several heat-soaked louisiana nights, she tells the story of humans from the perspective of a witness, giving long dead humans their voices once again. She also tells the story of how and why she came to earth, and why she’s so long-lived.

Ghost - A woman dies in a car accident, but instead of passing into the next world, she clings to the husband she left behind. After figuring out how to communicate with him, the two of them are thrown into a whole dangerous world of supernaturals that they didn’t know existed. Hijinks ensue, but it also includes an element of tragedy - after all, how can you move on if the person you love isn’t really gone? Is it better or worse to be able to communicate with them, even if you can’t touch them anymore? Is it really a relationship if the only thing you have together is dreams?

Sunshine - This one is based on a dream I had. Evangeline - Evie, thank you very much - is a cheerful, idealistic demon is beginning her first semester as a teacher at the Academy of Preternatural Excellence. An intra-faculty competition teams her up with an equally sunny, smart angel named Lily (that woman was named after her, not the other way around, and you better not use that woman’s name in her hearing. It’s LILY, not LILITH.), the god Thoth in the form a of quiet, kind librarian, the furie Tisiphone, the wrath demon Aeshma, and Lily’s brother Tamiel, who is a really grumpy, scowly angel. Lily and Evie get on like a house on fire, Thoth’s quiet, understanding composure hides power the rest of them instinctually respect and treat as leadership. Aeshma and Tisiphone are in a centuries-long relationship that seems unbreakable, and together they aren’t anything you’d want to mess with. Evie and Tamiel, well...she’s too sunny and he’s too dour, but over time they find a way to compliment one another. As the semester grinds on, a threat from outside the school puts pressure on the team. And once Evie explodes...well, there’s no stopping her. This one is funny and I really enjoy these characters. I liked the idea of a sunny, idealistic demon and a grumpy, mean angel interacting.

The Eshaar - I can’t really give a synopsis of this one bc I yoinked some of the plot points for the D&D game I DM and I have a couple of my players following me, but basically the world in question has seven different species of humanoids on it, with complicated inter and intra species politics. The story centers around one scientist, a member of a species called the Eshaar, re-discovering the history of her people and the planet, and the corruption that is once again threatening her world.

The Season - This is a mixed superhero/horror story that I started way back in 2005 (at the time I was living in FL and this was the hurricane season that spawned Katrina.). A series of cat 5 hurricanes devastate the east coast of the US in more ways than one. The storms carried a virus, and everyone living on the coast was exposed. Most became mindless beasts similar to zombies, but others? Others gained superhero-ish powers. Once the storms have passed, the US erects a wall between the devastated areas and the rest of the country. It’s an unseen wall made from sophisticated technology, stretching far into the thermosphere. It keeps both the virus and the monsters it created out of the rest of the country, but trapped the survivors on the other side. The problem is that all of the major east coast cities are on the viral side of the wall, so the rest of the country still depends on trade through the wall. The story follows a superhero team as they come together and try to eek out a living, and eventually establish a new order on their side of the wall and incite a revolution.

Dawn - An alien anthropologist is sent to earth on a routine monitoring mission to check in on the species that was seeded there by her people several generations previous. On reaching earth, a malfunction keeps her in cryosleep, her ship cloaked and orbiting the planet. Thousands of years pass, until she awakens years after the rise and fall of the humans on Earth. She realizes that everyone and everything she knew back home is gone, and while still coping with this tragedy she is forced to go down to the surface of earth to find fuel for her ship so she can return to her planet and find out what is left of it. While she’s down there, she can’t resist trying to find out what happened to the humans while she was asleep, and if there are any of them left.

Ok well I don’t expect that anyone read all of that but the point is that I can’t choose so I wrote a list instead, lol.

#writing #creative stuff #I have too many stories in my head #random

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booksandwords · 5 years

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Meet Cute: Some People Are Destined to Meet (Anthology)

Read time: 10 Day Rating: 4/5

Contains stories by Katie Cotuguo, Nina LaCour, Ibi Zoboi, Katherine McGee, Sara Shepard, Meredith Russo, Dhonielle Clayton, Emery Lord, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Jocelyn Davies, Kass Morgan, Julie Murphy, Huntley Fitzpatrick and Nicola Yoon

Overall Thoughts So I will start by saying I enjoyed this collection. There is a bit of something for everyone the couples are M/M, M/F and F/F, one of the main characters is trans. There are different time settings, different writing styles and the meet-cutes appear at different points in the stories. IOn the writing styles I think it is important to know that they run the gambit of perspectives (1st, 2nd and 3rd). The stories are charmingly brief (20-25 page each) making it a great palette cleanser or pick up put down book. Now here's the but. Meet Cute really needed an introduction. Either whoever at Alloy collated it or whoever bought the authors together. Due to the diversity within the stories, I was wondering what the brief was. Even just a definition of a meet-cute would have been better than nothing. One other issue I had was that all the meet-cutes were implicitly or explicitly coded as romantic. I would have really liked one that was just a friendship or someone to tackle an ace protagonist. Standout stories: Click, Oomph, Say Everything.

Siege Etiquette by Katie Cotuguo This is a Queen Bee (Hailey) and Farm Boy (Wolf) hiding kinda from the cops in a bathroom. They have shared pasts, misunderstandings abound and there is a definite attraction. It's written in 1st person for only one person (Hailey's) something I don't read a lot but it works. It's an interesting premise well-executed in less than twenty pages. I can see where it could go if it was longer but it works really well at this length.

Print Shop by Nina LaCour It's Evie's first day at a new job, it's not what she expected but she is trying to make the best of it. One of the jobs given to her is setting up social media for the print shop. Lauren is a disgruntled customer. Evie identifies as queer and she has one of the most adorable coming out stories, it was essentially an accident. Nina LaCour has an engaging style. Her story is a meeting of worlds, a meeting of times. It's the perfect length and frames itself well.

Hourglass by Ibi Zoboi Hourglass focuses on Cherish, an African American girl living in a town where there are only 4 other African American families. It is set at the end of her senior year, right before prom. Hourglass is less about the meet-cute and more about female friendship and the end of an era. That is not to say the meet-cute isn't sweet, it is and it challenges some norms and expectations. I was sort of disappointed with Hourglass. I like Cherish. I wanted to know more, I wanted to see what choices she made. Or at a bare minimum, I want to see her rock that dress.

Click by Katherine McGee Click is fantastic. Unlike some of the other stories, it feels entirely self-contained and uses an alternating perspective. The main characters are the hurting and technologically inclined Alexa and the creative Raden, those alignments alone deserve applause. I feel like there is some inspiration taken from not only real-world dating apps but Scythe. It just made me happy. It's a hopeful story with endearing characters.

The Intern by Sara Shepard The main characters are slightly eccentric rock star Phineas and Clara the daughter of a celebrity and not what her father expects. Clara is involuntarily interning at her father's record label for the summer. Phineas and Clara meet as part of her role at V. It's a simple story about how two young people spend a day finding out each other in New York. Honestly, I got The Sun Is Also A Star vibes. It's not bad, it just feels a bit unoriginal and there aren't enough details given for me to really enjoy it.

Somewhere That's Green by Meredith Russo Somewhere That's Green is an opposite attract story. Nia is a young trans woman struggling with having her community acknowledge her identity. Lexie is a Christian girl at her school who appears to be leading the charge to have her use the male facilities rather than the female ones. While I appreciate Nia and Lexie I have issues with Meredith Russo's writing. Meredith Russo is a trans woman with that in mind her writing feels overly cliche and perhaps wasteful. It is a very personal opinion. The story isn't bad, I enjoyed it, I just wish there was something more real about it.

The Way We Love Here by Dhonielle Clayton This is a reasonably clever play on the red string of fate but also uses time travel elements. It's another wonderful, hopeful story with unexpected protagonists. The artistic, driven Viola and the creative but sick Sebastian. Its focus is the possibilities and alternatives life can offer. I would like to know where Dhonielle Clayton drew their inspiration from the setting is on an isolated island which you cannot leave, it all feels very mythological both using eastern and western elements. I really enjoyed it.

Oomph by Emery Lord Oomph is super sweet and the perfect amount of nerdy. The main ladies use Natasha Romanov and Peggy Carter as nicknames, well actually names. They are in an airport waiting for flights. It's very cliche but it's a cliche for a reason. It's just so good. The smores are brilliant. I loved the writing, it's funny and cute.

The Dictionary of You and Me by Jennifer L. Armentrout I'm nopeing all the way out of this one. I have issues. I'm a librarian and this is all kinds of bad and just annoying stereotypes that push my buttons. Basically, I know too much and I can't turn my brain off. It is kind of cute but it is also kind of creepy. Essentially she is a librarian and he is a patron with an overdue dictionary. When she rings him to try and get the book back they flirt. I just can't not see how wrong it is.

The Unlikely Likelihood of Falling in Love by Jocelyn Davies This is another one with perhaps reverse archetypes. She is a math nerd, he is a musician. The plot revolves around her mathematical inclination and a final assessment. Their meet-cute really is adorable and the thing of daydreams, eyes meeting through train carriage windows. Sam urns it into an exercise in probabilities which is adorable. I do like Sam, the plot and the ending. The writing is well suited to the character which is in and of itself isn't easy.

259 Million Miles by Kass Morgan 259 Million Miles focused on missed opportunities with a side of social conscious. The main characters, Philip and Blythe, are likeable and human. It is truly standalone and doesn't ask for more. The ending brings out mixed emotions as one wants from a story dealing with humanity. But it was nice to have a story that was basically a locked room, a true two people put together with only one thing in common. Though in the battle of the futuristic meet-cutes, it loses to Click... easily.

Something Real by Julie Murphy This is the only review I'm spoiler warning so see my Goodreads for this bit.

Say Everything by Huntley Fitzpatrick This is such a well written and unexpected story. But I don't know if it is a meet-cute, there is too much history there. Emma is a fantastic character, I appreciate her resilience and forthrightness. Sean is well, Sean is something. But Emma is an unreliable narrator. The story is written in 2nd person, the only one in the book written as such. Like the book of quotes idea popularised by A Walk to Remember The Book of Lost Opportunites sounds like a brilliant idea. It is such a strong story though, at least to me.

The Department of Dead Love by Nicola Yoon This is the perfect last story, the perfect last line. It is a visually stunning story that plays on some unexpectedly heavy ideas. While I was torn on the three central characters I loved the writing and world. Nicola Yoon has a way with words that evokes emotion.

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unicorns-bookshelf · 5 years

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Disclaimer: I have voluntarily reviewed this book after receiving a free copy from Hidden Gem Books.

The review may contain very minor spoilers!

I have to admit – despite my love for the sci-fi genre and all the opportunities it presents, I haven’t actually read many books that were straight out space operas with spaceships, aliens and grand intergalactic adventures. I have, obviously, consumed other media from that genre but the books for some reason rarely found their way to my shelf. Because of that, when I read Caspian’s Fortune’s description, I immediately thought that this was exactly what I was looking for to help me fix that obvious oversight on my side.

Caspian Robeaux is an outlaw and his life isn’t an easy one. He has a huge debt with a dangerous and influential Priestess Veena, his ship (a rather necessary tool to run his courier jobs) is in dire needs of repairs and the money from his most recent job was stolen and almost gambled away before he managed to get it back. Not to mention that his only friend and companion is a sassy robot called Box, who spends all his days teasing him and watching soap operas on the internet. He doesn’t need any additional trouble but it comes anyway in shape of a Coalition Commander who will do everything to make Caspian return to his used-to-be home and face the injustice he’d experienced in the past.

The plot is simple enough - the local depressed prick is forced to get a grip and change his miserable situation for the better with the help of quirky, colorful companions. There are space ship battles, sassy banter and mysteries to be uncovered. I felt like the beginning was a little slow and it took me a bit to get into it but it might have been because it was my first ARC and I wasn’t sure what to expect, so I was rather critical at first. Nevertheless, I began really enjoying the book only after Cas and his friends left the Devil’s Gate.

The characters were solid, likable an easy to root for. Caspian, despite doing his best to look like an asshole who doesn’t care about anything other than his own business, is just genuinely a good guy. He’s willing to put the well-being of others above his own safety and freedom. He always chooses to do the right thing while complaining about it throughout the whole process. Despite his bitterness about the way Coalition treated him, he clearly misses the days he’d spent serving on their ship and enjoys the moments when he’s allowed to act as a part of the crew, fitting in with them naturally. I found the moments when he reacted like a crew member would just to think “Wait, I’m not a part of this anymore” a few seconds later quite cute.

Box was a delight most of the time, although he did have some annoying moments, especially when he kept suggesting Cas and Evie should hook up. Besides that, he had a fun, vibrant personality which nicely contrasted with the common trope of a stoic, emotionless robot companion. Also, binge-watching tv shows when you’re stressed is totally relatable.

Evie gave me a lot of mixed feelings when she first appeared. On one hand, soldier lady with a huge sword is a big yes in my books, on the other I was so afraid that she will become one of those women that are only introduced to fall in love with the main character and once they do, they lose any hint of personality and skills they might have had before. I was just waiting for Cas to save her from grave peril or say something nice so the awkward romance could unfold.

And then it didn’t happen.

Evie stayed badass but also kind through the whole book. She is loyal to her crew, strong and resourceful. Despite being often annoyed with Cas she’s always willing to see the best in him and is ready to call him out on his bullshit. I really appreciated that she didn’t end up getting the sexist treatment female characters often get.

Besides the three main characters, Caspian’s Fortune has a solid cast of supporting characters, mostly the crew of the Tempest. My personal favorites were Greene, who was a good leader with a strong moral compass and Laura, whose little crush on Evie was adorable. There were also very interesting alien characters from different races, each one diverse and properly described, despite not playing that big of a role in the story. It was a nice piece of worldbuilding that I appreciated.

Besides the alien races, the worldbuilding was rather limited. We got to learn about the places where the action took place, mostly the Coalition and its relationships with neighboring planets and territories. I felt like there wasn’t enough info about Veena and the Sargans overall. What was the Priestess of? What was the deal with the Sargan Commonwealth? However, as it wasn’t really the focus of the story, it didn’t bother me that much, just something that made me curious.

All in all, Caspian’s Fortune is a really enjoyable read with a likable cast of characters and fast-paced action. It’s not revolutionary and has some flaws like limited worldbuilding and a bit of a slow start but it’s a solid beginning of a promising series. I’m definitely interested in seeing more of Cas’ adventures when another book comes out.

Rating: 4/5 Get it on Amazon here!

#caspian's fortune #books #book review #book reviews #sci-fi #sci-fi review #my reviews #arc reviews

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imaginedisneydescendants · 7 years

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I Haven’t Been Faking

*Requested* Reader is the daughter of Anna and Kristoff. She meets the VK’s when they first come to Auradon and is really nice to them, which kind of surprises them. Mal thinks it’s a prank but it turns out to be genuine and from that point on she grows a huge crush on you.

Paring: Reader x Mal

Word count: 2,057

A/N: This is set during the first movie. Anyways, I’ve been experiencing writers blog, and this is a bit lame haha. I hope you like it!

Request | Masterlist

(Y/N) could hardly contain her joy; practically buzzing with excitement.

Today was the day that the VK’s, who Prince Ben had personally chosen, was to attend Auradon Prep. You and Ben were probably the only ones who were looking forward to having them here. The rest of the student body tried to express their displeasure by organising a protest, but as soon as it began, it was shut down by Fairy Godmother. Despite that minor setback, you didn’t let it get your spirits down. You were determined to make everyone see that the VK’s weren’t what they feared them to be. But above all, you were just excited to make some new friends.

With a grin and a spring in your step, you ran down the dorm room corridor, not even caring if there was anyone standing in your way. If you did accidentally knock someone over, you’d just blame it on your clumsiness; as you often did. Before long, you reached the edge of stairs before you jumped onto the staircase rail and slid down to the bottom, just like you always did back home in Arendelle. Jumping off the rail and landing on the ground, you stumbled a bit before you gained your footing and bounded for the doors of the main entrance.

Bursting through the doors, your gaze locked onto the future king of Auradon just outside, with Audrey who was hanging off his left arm.

"Hey, guys!” You ran over to them before you greeted them both with a smile.

Ben turned around to see you before he gave you a grin. "Hey (Y/N), I knew you’d be here on time."

“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss this for the world!” You exaggerated, throwing your hands up with enthusiasm.

As Ben was about to answer you, he was cut off by Audrey, "Hang on, you're not actually supporting this insane proclamation, are you (Y/N)?”

“Why not?” You questioned with a snort, staring at her incredulously, "Its defiantly time for a change, Audrey!"

Ben smiled brightly at you, he knew he could always count on you to back him up with your infectious optimism. However, Audrey just rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"You cannot be serious," Audrey scoffed rolling her eyes, "Well, I, for one think it's a terrible idea."

"Come on Audrey, just give them a chance," Ben pleaded as he stared into his girlfriend's eyes.

After a while Audrey sighed, indicating to Ben that he had won this fight, "Oh alright, anything for my Benny Boo, but I still think it's a terrible idea.”

(Y/N) simply ignored her blatant display of distaste. You had no time for that kind of negativity in your life.

Suddenly, the sound of heels suddenly caught the three teens attention, they all turned around to see Fairy Godmother rushing out from the entrance of the school towards them with a marching band in tow.

'Is a marching band really that necessary? We don't want to scare them off with the bands horrible playing,’ (Y/N) thought as the marching band began to set up beside them. Students stood on the grass, with blue and gold flags in hand, preparing to welcome the new students.

"How wonderful, you three are already out here to welcome the new students!" Fairy Godmother beamed with delight. "Would you three be able to show the new students around for me after introductions?" Fairy Godmother asked kindly, clasping her hands together.

Audrey was about to protest when you elbowed her in the rib, and smiled sweetly, "Of course Fairy Godmother, we would love to show them around!”

Audrey glared at you, in which you gave her a cheery grin back. Fairy Godmother then gasped excitedly, "Oh! Here they come, everybody look alive!”

On cue, the marching band started to play a loud cheery tune and the students started waving their flags with enthusiasm. You could feel your heart speed up, you couldn't believe that you were going to meet the descendants of villains from the Isle of the Lost. You began fixing up your (h/c) hair and smoothed out your (f/c) coloured dress, before you clasped your hands in front of you, putting on your best smile.

The limo came to a stop and the driver immediately stepped out of the car. The driver then made his way to the back of the car before he stopped at the last door and opened it.

A boy that was as young as fourteen that had black and white hair, white at the tips and black at the roots, fair skin that was covered in light freckles, and had red, black and white clothing came tumbling out of the limo while kicking, yelling and screaming. He was followed by another boy, who looked about eighteen. He had long dark hair, a red beanie on his head, dark olive skin, muscular build and his clothes had a colour palette of dark browns, reds and yellows. They were both fighting and arguing over some type of scarf. Not exactly the kind of entrance you were expecting, but it sure was funny.

Two girls that both looked about sixteen, also emerged from the limo, manoeuvring around the two fighting boys. The first one had beautiful long ocean blue hair but her fringe was pulled back into a V-braid. She perfect fair skin and her clothes were a mix of blue, black and white. Around her neck was a ruby red necklace that was shaped like a heart.

However, the second one made your heart skip a beat and caused your cheeks to burn. She had curly purple hair that reached just a little bit over her shoulders, piercing green eyes, fair skin and her outfit consisted of the colours of green, magenta, black and dark purple. You couldn’t keep your eyes off her, nor did you want to.

The marching band came to a stop and the students ceased cheering and waving their flags. The marching band parted way, as Fairy Godmother walked over to them with a smile and her arms open wide as if she was going to hug them, Ben, Audrey and (Y/N) followed closely behind Fairy Godmother.

"Guys, guys, we have an audience," The girl with the purple hair hissed. The two boys immediately stopped quarrelling, while the blue haired girl twirled in delight, taking in the scenery.

"Just cleaning up!" The boy with the long dark hair let out a chuckle while smiling at Fairy Godmother. "Get up," He hissed at the younger boy who he then pulled up roughly, chocolate was evident all around his mouth.

"Leave it like you found it ~" Fairy Godmother sang cheerfully, "And by that, I mean just leave it.”

The older boy threw the items that he had into the back of the limo hesitantly. The purple haired girl then locked eyes with you and you could’ve of sworn that her eyes flashed. She flashed a slight smirk in your direction which made a pleasurable shiver run down your back. The others started to notice that you and the purple haired girl were staring intensely at each other for far too long.

Fairy Godmother then stuck her head in between the two of you, to break up the staring contest you two were appearing to be having.

"Welcome to Auradon Prep. I'm Fairy Godmother," Fairy Godmother introduced before doing a little curtsy, "Headmistress."

The purple haired girl eyes widened, "The Fairy Godmother? As in bippity-boppity-boo?"

"Bippity-boppity-you know it," Fairy Godmother nodded. You snorted at the pun.

"Yeah, I always wondered what it felt like for Cinderella, when you just appeared out of nowhere." The purple haired girl chuckled with a smile, "With that sparkly wand and warm smile, and that sparkly wand!"

"That was a long time ago, and as I always say, don't focus on the past or you'll miss the future!" Fairy Godmother smiled, waving her hands in front of her as she quoted her saying.

The four villain kids just stood there, looking at the Fairy Godmother like she was loopy. 'Well, I can't blame them...she sorta is loopy,’ You thought, as your mind wandered.

"It's so good to finally meet you all," Ben stepped forward, along with Audrey and (Y/N), "I'm Ben."

"Prince Benjamin!" Audrey corrected quickly with a grin, "Soon to be king!"

The dark blue haired girl suddenly lit up and walked towards Ben, "You had me at prince. My mum's a queen which makes me a princess."

"The Evil Queen has no royal status here, and neither do you." Audrey glared at the girl. The dark blue haired girls smile flattered and she backed away. Audrey’s nasty comment made you feel sad for the poor girl.

"This is Audrey," Ben introduced with an awkward chuckle.

"Pleased to meet you all!" You smiled brightly.

Bouncing up and down, you proceeded to hug each of the villain kids. When you reached the purple haired girl, you wrapped your arms around her tightly and held onto her for longer than it was necessary. She didn’t seem to mind it nor fighting it, so you continued to hold her.

“Okay, (Y/N), I think that’s enough hugging,” Ben suggested with an awkward chuckle, prying you off the purple haired girl. "Sorry, she’s a little friendly when it comes to meeting new people,” Ben apologised, patting your shoulder softly.

You let out a chuckle as you felt the heat rising to your cheeks. The girl whose name you needed to know, was clearly flustered as well.

After you had shortly introduced yourself, you had gotten to learn the VK’s names. The boy with black and white hair was Carlos, son of Cruella de Vil. The purple haired girl was Mal, daughter of Maleficent, Mistress of all Evil. Jay was obviously the son of Jafar, and the dark blue haired girl was Evie, daughter of the Evil Queen.

Ben had just started the tour of Auradon Prep but was soon called to attend to his princely duties. You were then instructed by Audrey to give the four Isle kids a tour of Auradon Prep — not that you didn’t mind.

You had shown them every possible place you could think of, even the gardens, but everywhere you went, the unlikely group received a lot of stares throughout the day. But for most of the tour, you didn't seem to notice their stares as you were too busy focusing on Mal. You'd be lying if you said that you hadn’t flirted with her on a number of occasions during the tour. You loved the reactions you got out of her when you'd say flirting pick up lines here and there. Her cheeks were a brighter red than Peter Pan’s feather!

The whole time (Y/N) was flirting, Mal couldn’t help but think to herself, this has got to be a joke. She eyed the girl suspiciously. She was way too perfect. No way was she potentially flirting with her — she had to be faking it somehow. As if someone like her, a princess, would be interested in a villain like her.

As (Y/N) was about to use yet another pickup line or flirty joke on her, Mal let out a frustrated sigh before she let out a low hiss, “Quit doing that.”

You turned to her, raising an eyebrow in question, “Beg your pardon?"

“That — flirting with me. Stop acting like you’re really interested in me,” Mal muttered under her breath so that her friends wouldn’t hear.

"Act? Whatever do you mean?” You whispered in confusion. You had no idea what she was talking about.

“You’re not really into to me, are you? You and I both know that your happiness and interest in me is fake. Admit it — you hate us and would rather be off doing something else instead of showing us around."

You were surprised at her words. “But Mal, that’s where you’re wrong,” You told her with a soft smile “You see, I haven’t been faking anything. Especially not my interest in you. I don’t hate, not at all. The flirting is purely and completely on purpose."

Mal shut her mouth and stayed silent; her cheeks still red. It suddenly dawned on her that she had a massive crush on you — Mal was head over heels for you and you were head over heels for her.

#descendants #descendants 2 #disney descendants #descendants imagine #disney descendants imagines #mal x reader #reader x mal #mal descendants #mal

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zydrateacademy · 6 years

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Review - Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey

Some of my readers may recall that I found Origins to be lackluster, or at least my review gave off that impression. I believe one of my quotes was, “An extra year of work and this is all they could come up with?” I’m going to be honest, while I did have a good couple dozen hours on Origins I feel that kind of opinion was premature. I actually found Origins to be quite fun, and I would go on to play and beat it up to three times, including a full playthrough on my YouTube channel. Origins was fine and the combat was fun. Odyssey comes to us with a lot of the same ‘feel’. The combat is largely the same but with some tweaks, and I’ll get onto that shortly. I do have some vague gripes but I’ll attempt to salvage what little I know of the game’s story to start people off with.

Also, there will be spoilers in this review. We return to Layla Hassan, the vaguely ‘rogue’ Abstergo employee that found Bayek and Aya in the previous game. Apparently there was a bit of a timeskip or there’s even more lore I’ve lost out on not reading the comics, because there’s some implication that she went full on rogue and is in hiding from Abstergo, now. I’m not even really sure what her motivations are anymore other than a more classic artifact hunt, from the precursor race that has haunted the series. She finds the spear of Leonidas which has the DNA of two siblings, which she can use to hunt through their memories due to an upgraded Animus, as opposed to digging through one’s own ancestors. I still find it a bit odd. In the first couple of AC games, it was implied that the precursor race and their technology was a mostly recent find and the two secret societies were practically scrambling just to get their hands on one. Here in Odyssey, we’re practically tripping over them. The main antagonists have one that is some kind of mind-reader. The spear of Leonidas turns out to be one. There’s a series of mini quests where you find a half-dozen “Apples of Eden”. Remember that? From The first three games? The entire plot centered around one, and now we get several! So we’re put in the bodies of one of two protagonists, Kassandra or Alexios. Most sources I spoke to have chosen Kassandra, and there’s some consensus that her voice acting is stronger. I admit my choice is a bit more personal. I, like many people, are starved for proper female protagonists. Evie in Syndicate was plenty of fun but the game still forced Jacob gameplay on you from time to time. Playing as Aya in Origins was mostly a gimmick, only in naval combat (a precursor to Odyssey’s current style) and during some of the finale segments. She wasn’t customizeable, couldn’t change her gear or anything so again, mostly a gimmick. Yikes, this is a lot of negative for what is really a good game! Maybe I’m getting it out of the way? I did say there are several improvements, so let’s get down to the mechanics of the game. There’s a lot of them, now.

The combat is a lot more fluid and reminds me of the days in Unity where you actually had to think about how you fought. In Origins, I basically dodged everything and used the heavy attacks exclusively. That’s been tweaked here, as I feel Kassandra’s dodge is a bit shorter range and the full on dodge puts her much further away from the enemy that is desirable so you must decide what kind of dodge to use and when, but mostly it forces you to learn how to actually parry. Parrying has been in pretty much every AC game but this time it actually opens enemies up for combo attacks, wherein you can mix and match light and heavy attacks, and there’s eventually a perk to pick up to give you bonus damage if you do exactly that.

You have three kinds of damage trees you can actively focus on this time around. Between Hunter, Warrior, and Assassin, which are all self explanatory. Rather than keeping them all even, you can actually choose to focus on one style over another. I am personally trying to keep my Assassin and Warrior lines fairly even. Stealth is, as in Origins, incredibly powerful but you won’t be able to one-shot enemies anymore if you are under geared or have been neglecting your spear (which is your blade in the absence of the hidden one). Open combat is however, extremely common so I can’t imagine going full Assassin and being able to get much done. Maybe by better gamers than I. Moving on, the world is... extremely large. I’m not sure how much larger than previous games they’ve claimed but it’s probably true. Adding to that fact is Fast Travel is only linked to Synchronization points rather than any and every city or major outpost. With a further lack of those, you’re forced to run or mount your way through the world and I’m here to tell you... you’re going to actually want to. Most of the world’s various points are in fact, relevant to something. Ancient ruins have tablets as loot that you’ll need to upgrade your ship. Alpha animal dens typically have high amounts of leather, mines have metals. Many points even have clues against cultists (which I’ll get into later), legendary gear or just fighting will lower the power level of the region which unlocks Conquests, a fun full-battle gimmick which again, I’ll describe shortly. Basically, there’s almost always a reason to actually explore a majority of question marks on your map as you’ll walk away with something that’s worth your time. Browsing my map just now, I can see I’ve skipped a few but I imagine something will take me to them in the future.

This game has a couple of new features that mixes things up. We’re in the Peloponnesian War, which reflects as an actual game mechanic. Every region is controlled by either Athens or Sparta. Your character is a mercenary and can choose to fight for either side at any time without any consequence, and you’ll be forced to after a certain point. I picked up a contract (which are constantly spawning quests, so there’ll never be anything to not do) that required me to kill three Athenian region leaders. Unfortunately, I had been favoring Sparta up to that point and all the regions within my level at the time were all controlled by Sparta. I had to kill and weaken my own favored people in order to shift the control so I could do it all over again against a different faction for epic gear and rewards. Doing all of this unlocks conquests, where are full on battles where you fight hordes of your chosen enemy faction while dealing with captains, bosses, and mercenaries that like to pop up during them. It’s probably the more fun of the new mechanics but I can already see it as just ‘going through the motions’ at a certain point, but they’re worth doing due to the amount of experience they offer.

Speaking of Mercenaries, the game has a bounty and “Wanted” system, reminiscent of earlier games. In games like AC2, your wanted meter affected how quickly Ezio got caught by patrolling guards. In Odyssey, you get hunted by enemy mercenaries which you can choose to kill or knock out and recruit them to your ship’s crew. There’s even an entire tier system as your character earns their way up a “tier” listing and eventually become the top dog. It’s all very similar to Shadow of Mordor’s orc hierarchies but it’s a less complex variant. They all have their unique names, backstories, and weaknesses but there are no over-bosses and nothing you can really do to manipulate their flow. You can only really control your bounty meter, which you can pay it off or kill the sponsor who hosted the contract against you. Beyond that, it lends to some interesting encounters. One merc helped me against a legendary animal quest, but more often than not they’ll come swarming when I’m trying to stealth or fight through an enemy fort, usually resulting me in fleeing. When they show up, it almost always complicates matters so unless you’re actively hunting for the gear they carry, it’s best to keep your bounty as low as possible.

Also having the same ‘feel’ as Shadow of Mordor’s orc mechanic is the Cult of Kosmos. I only found this story arc, maybe an entire fifteen hours into the game but that’s because I spent several doing nothing but exploring the map as my level allowed. Still, it’s a very interesting idea. Once you discover their existence you’re given an entire menu to hunt them down, and doing so is necessary to power up Leonidas’ Spear, alongside several very powerful legendary sets of armor. The idea is that you don’t have all of their identities unlocked and cannot track them all immediately (though it does give you a handful of freebies to get you started). Instead, you have to explore the world or actively investigate some of the clues they give you. This one is fairly straightforward;

However I once had one that said he was in a “Wolf’s Den” in a certain region, so I had to do some actual footwork. Another was near Athens and just told me to “help people nearby”, which turns out that I just had to do several side quests before their identity was revealed. So some of them are locked behind the story, you won’t get them all right away. It’s a very interesting way to go about it. As I said earlier about the world, you might just trip over some clues as you’re out exploring. While some cultists might be locked behind story, there WILL be some just actively wandering the world and you might not know you’re killing one until the “confirm cultist kill” message pops up. Next we have the naval combat, which I have mixed feelings towards. Black Flag is the series golden boy in terms of naval combat, and is one of the best games in the series if you can stomach the more lackluster main story missions (though the story was great overall and I liked Edward’s arc). While there’s certainly some complexity to be had in Odyssey’s ship combat, I still find it a bit more flighty and fast paced, but not in the best way. In BF, the ships felt... meatier. While not being slow, they were big and they hit the waves in a convincing manner. In Odyssey and even Origin’s own special segments, everything just hauls ass and cuts through water like it’s not even there. Even ramming is considered a major part of ship combat and frankly, I’d prefer the balancing flow of firing volleys and bracing against their own shots at the right time. You even get extra rewards if you manage to cleave a ship in two when you’re finishing them off.

I’d rather just shoot stuff, honestly. It still retains its enjoy-ability and I don’t at all ever hate going out to sea, I just don’t like more extended fights and I’m still not sure which of the three actions nets the most rewards; Cleaving, Boarding, or Shoot N’ Loot? I’ll figure it out eventually. So there’s a couple more of points of contention before I summarize.

It can be glitchy at times. I did a Spartan Kick againt an alpha lion for him to clip into the rocks. The game lacks the movement control Unity once had, so holding shift while trying to run away has Kassandra mount every brazier, stick or overhang which can lead to me losing more health than I’d like when fighting stronger enemies. There are some reports of people not getting legendary items (which only ever drop the once). You have to manually save, because right now it’s all cloud saved so if that gets lost or corrupted, you could lose dozens of hours of progress and that kind of thing causes gamers to quit. It’s not nearly as bad as Unity’s release but there are the occasional game breakers which I’ve yet to experience, thankfully. Finally, I’m a bit iffy on the leveling speed. Using very simple math based on my level and hours placed, I net around one level per hour. There was plenty of exploration within that but I was still actively doing stuff, clearing forts and the like. The world is massive and there’s plenty to do in general, I just feel like there’s a lot of footwork to get anything done. Since enemies scale with you (at 50, all regions will be at least 46, where the rewards cap out), I feel the level locked regions are a bit pointless. This ties into a current bout of controversy, so let’s dive into that before I summarize.

Microtransactions are still a thing. People are exhausted but we expect it from Ubisoft. While it’s mostly cosmetic, there are sets of gear you can buy that have their own stats and bonuses as legendary sets have their own boost when you wear all five pieces. They aren’t any more powerful than other gear, though having a full legendary set right off the bat will certainly give you an edge. The main debate is that the scaling for endgame becomes a bit skewed and I’ve heard from some players that the last few levels are a hell of a marathon to level through. The story offers a permanent 50% experience and money boost (including a variety of cheaper, more temporary ones) which some reviewers have stated does actually make the game better. I imagine such a boost probably makes questing a better incentive and thus leveling quicker. One reviewer made mention of “Pay to play the game less” I find incredibly inaccurate and they probably haven’t actually played (because of course!). As an actual player, I will say the game is massive. The story is long, the regions are large, and you can’t exactly just sprint through the main story and ignore everything else. Especially when several of those “everything else” can be a lot of fun! Even at level cap, you’re probably still hunting those last few cultists, switching some regions to your favored faction, ekeing out those ship upgrades, getting money to fully upgrade your legendary set, or even finding a full legendary set that suits your playstyle the most if you haven’t already. There’s a lot to do and while offering a permanent boost for 20$ is certainly a bit scummy, the “pay to play less” is a horrendous misunderstanding of the game. The game is good! It’s an improvement on Origins in several ways and for once I actually enjoy exploring the variety of question marks that litter my map. I’m only halfway through the world, there’s so much I want to do, armor sets that I wish to acquire to suit my more stealthy playstyle. The world is gorgeous and photo mode has returned to accentuate that fact. There’s no assassin order nor are there Templars, just a cult you’re set out to destroy for some personal slights. You’re a mercenary and the world is yours. Odyssey will also be receiving some support and attention as they won’t be releasing one in 2019, so for a game we’ll be ‘stuck’ with for a couple of years, we’re in good hands.

#Assassin's Creed #Assassin's Creed: Odyssey #Odyssey #AC:O #ACO #Ubisoft #Uplay #Gaming #pc gaming

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anonplusultra-blog · 6 years

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Week more like a month.... fuuuck I’m slow at writing.

@galpaladinsoftherealm

Season

How did she did it, how did she defeated my eye sight? I have tracked people through fog and complete natural darkness, yet, all that time sitting in that chair next to me and all I could perceive was the fragrance she sprayed on her body hours ago, a perfume, lilac and something oily and clove. Although, I guess I should have guessed that was not the owl's perfume in the room, I guess I'm too open minded.

I went back to the alleys with the bag of crystals in my secret pocket, going back home, with the crew. The air was as terrible as usual, but, the filth was not what was bothering me, but the idea of a war with the resistance, not like this silent war, but one with blimps and bombs, and death. Are we safe here? Which side am I on?, I mean I love crystals but, what if the Magistrate wins?

But there I was the abandoned house we claimed as a home. It was the first time in a while I realized of bad the state of the place was, how rotten the stair to the second level were, how big the black spots on the walls were, how much useless crap we had gathered and could not sell, well no one would buy it.

"She is here!"

"She is here!" A loud youthful voice echoed down the stairs as brown haired boy with far too much mud on his overalls, was running from the upper floor. A few seconds after two other kids came down as well, the fair almost a teen Jodie in a light ciel dress that once saw better days and, Ann the youngest of the three, red hair and curls, freckles and eyes a lighter tone than mine.

Then tears began to flow down my cheeks. The three of them hugged me tightly, showering me with sweet words, it felt overwhelming, but, I was crying because all this might be gone with the war. The warmth, the love, our...family.

My head sobered up, it was not important to pick a side, but to survive, protect my family, take them as far away from the battlefield as possible.

"Sister, please don't cry, you are gonna make cry as well. You are back home," Ann soothes me with watery eyes. I look up again, the dirty walls look less terrible now, but, I have to be strong for them.

"Pack up, we are leaving as soon as possible"

"Is there anything wrong sister?" the fair Jodie inquired.

"I-I bought a farm, we don't need to live in this dump anymore. The last job I completed paid handsomely and, I believe that the fresh air and actually owning a place is better than hiding from the citadel officers and the filth"

"If you believe so, then we will follow you, Boss," Jodie was good at reading people, she knew I was hiding something from her, yet, she followed me no matter what.

With our most precious belongings in our pre-owned chests and left town before the sun was down. We stop at the old Miss Linda's Inn to meet with Evie, she was very excited to see me again, and even more to meet the "puppies". But there was a war ahead of us, so I discussed the plot with her in private, told her about the hired assassin and the battle it could chained afterwards.

"So what should we do?" concerned but decided.

"Well we need to protect my crew, if the assassin delivers, the Paladins will strike first as retaliation, and they will attack on the heart of the Magistrate. We need to get them as far away from the District as possible..." I took a pause pretending I didn't planned the next words, "Maybe to your farm, its far enough from the first siege."

"Yes, also I need help with crops… well real crops, not my veggie garden. That won't be enough to feed a fam- a crew." A blush on her pale soft skin, why did we met on such dire situation?

"We will help. As a family… but we have an assassin to catch first," I have to focus on the main issue here before dreaming about a future, "if we hurry we can catch her down the main road to Timber Mill, she must be an hour ahead of us."

"On a horse, please" cocky and sassy as per usual, "it will take us minutes to catch up with… her."

Before she could ask any more questions, I took her staff and got on it the wrong way, it was as good as a distraction as anything really, the less she knows the better. And it worked, she went to the cart driver and gave him instructions to get to the farm and a copious amount of gold for the service.

We soared up into the purple dawn of night, we need to fly low to find her but high enough to keep some stealth at our stalk. After twenty minutes in the night sky, I saw her riding solo on a honey haired horse, her body suit contrasting heavily against the beast fur.

"I found her, take us lower so I can catch up with her"

"But, where, I don't see anyone," she looks at me and gasps surprised, "why are your eyes…? Oh, reflecting light, like a cat."

"Yeah I can see in the dark, it's a tigron thing I guess" I came to terms with it, she have to be right, its the only explanation for my skills and peculiarities.

She smiled content and proceeded to dive through the foggy night down to about seven feet from the ground, enough for me to jump off safely and chase by foot. I land on the cushioning of my forefoot bending my knees to absorb the impact and turned it into energy for my horizontal leap, my hands guiding my weight as I barrel roll forward. As I land back on my feet I begin to run using the momentum. My eyes locked on the honey colored horse as I close the gap between us, the animal slows down, there is no one on its back.

I turn around tracking her perfume- A stinging pain on my chest, my legs collapsing, I-I can't move.

"You are very fast kitty cat, but so loud, no wonder why the owl gave me this task instead of you. I could hear your boots stomping on the soil as you jumped off your horse, and your coat flapping as you ran-"

"N-no horse" It hurts to talk.

"Shush, let my poison do the talking an-" And then a dull sound as she got clubbed in the back of the head. "Oh, you have back up," she turns around, "I will take care of… Evie, what are you doing here?"

"I, we are chasing …you, you can't kill the owl's daughter, not on Paladins turf, its… Never mind just give her the antidote now!"

"Oh, I see, she is your new pet. I get it, a tigron with pink hair and beautiful eyes, can't blame you," the assassin reaches in between her breast, as it were a pocket, and takes out two small vials with green and silver liquids on each, removes the cork of both, "she is paralyzed, I have to help your pet swallow." Evie simply nodded, as if she was granting her permission. The assassin removed the three poisoned darts from my chest fast and painfully, she did so sitting on my hips and remained on the same position, the vials on her hand, "I have to mix these potions, you will drink most of it, but, for it to work you need to keep some underneath your tongue, don't bite me as I feed it to you."

She pours each potion in her mouth and slowly leans in to me, a seductive look in her face, I part my lips and close my eyes. She has soft plum lips, such soft lips, and a skilled tongue. The antidote must be very strong as my own muscle started dancing with hers in my mouth, was this potion supposed to feel this good, or as warm.

The kiss ended, a deviant smile drawn on her lips, "Now I get why you had to hit me as hard Evie, she is a keeper," her eyes intensely focused on mine, "My name is Skye, I don't usually kiss strangers, well that is a lie, I love kissing strangers, but, I still need to know your name kitten."

Twice in two days, two kisses from two gorgeously dangerous women, why was this happening?, was there something on the air?

"I'm M-Maeve..."

Author’s note: Almost there, almost there. H3y there, if you like my fics pls leave a comment or a like or better yet a reblog, those feel really good

#flank trio week #flank trio #maeve #evie #skye #maevexeviexskye #paladins champions of the realm #fanfic

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