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a-lil-bi-furious · 3 years

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10 Favorite Female Characters from 10 Different Fandoms

(List your 10 favorite female characters from 10 fandoms, then tag 10 people)

Thanks so much for the tag @aconfusedidentity! I just think that women 💕😍💕 this turned into an essay, whoops. In no particular order:

1) Kira Yukimura - Teen Wolf SHE!!! I love her endlessly. Awkward and sweet and oh so adorable. I love how shy she seems, but how obvious it is that she loves the mischief and chaos that comes with accidentally discovering she’s a kitsune and adopting a bunch of supernatural friends and the adrenaline rush of fighting for their lives and winning. She’s secretly so excited by the danger and the adventure and I love that for her. Also, she’s gorgeous and brilliant and funny and could easily kick anyone’s ass and I just think she’s neat. She deserved so much better. Jeff, we duel at dawn. I’ll see you in the desert where you left my love 😠🔪

2) Kara Danvers - Supergirl I just love her so so much. I will endlessly fawn over heroes who champion compassion and believe in the good of others above all else. I also appreciate that Kara is sweet and awkward and loving but is also allowed to express her rage. So many of her scenes dealing with anger are incredibly raw and emotional and as someone with similar struggles it’s just so refreshing to see. Also her DIMPLESSS I’m dying

3) Bonnie Bennett - The Vampire Diaries

Bonnie is the only person in Mystic Falls who never once makes me want to poke my eyes out. She’s gorgeous, brilliant, courageous, and powerful and no one would have survived in that town if she wasn’t there to save their asses. She deserves the world and I would personally fight Julie Plec if I saw her on the street for how she treated my girl. 🔪 She was used and abused and never got the credit or love she deserved, so now I will give it! I adore her.

4) Piper Halliwell - Charmed

My favorite of the Halliwell sisters has switched multiple times throughout my life, but as an adult I’ve pretty consistently settled on Piper. She just overall feels so relatable to me? She’s the sister who balances them all out. And I really appreciate the way her character evolved from being shy and sweet to bursting out of her shell to take shit from absolutely no one. She’s got a piping hot temper (get it? piping I’m hilarious) but circles back to make (mostly) level headed decisions to protect the ones she loves. Plus, she’s got the coolest powers and if I could have them I would (freeze time and blow up shit with my hands?? sounds DOPE).

5) Olivia Baker - All American

Have I mentioned yet I have a thing for compassionate characters?? Liv cares so deeply for all of the people in her life. She’s the voice of reason and the guiding light, a source of love and acceptance, and I love her for it. Her empathy for others means she neglects herself, though, so I really need my girl to keep working at valuing and taking care of herself too. Also, she’s one of the prettiest people I’ve ever seen, I am FULL heart eyes.

6) Alice Kwan - Good Trouble

I’m actually devastated by how little content there is for Alice. And how few gifs especially! 😒 She’s hilarious for one, like, legitimately has me laughing which doesn’t happen much with shows. But she’s also just...smol and innocent and kind and really needs to learn to stand up for herself more often. Every episode I go in hoping to see more scenes with Alice because I love her and I actively miss her all the time 🥺

7) Isabelle Lightwood - Shadowhunters

My love 💜 Brave, smart, resourceful, gorgeous...I just love everything about her. Like so many of my favorite female characters, she could easily kick my ass (and, like, anyone else’s) which I love. I really appreciate what the show did for her by allowing her to be secure in herself and confident and more than just a pretty face. Also love that they had her and Clary actually be friendly and caring instead of at odds, A++.

8) Julie Molina - Julie and the Phantoms

I JUST LOVE HER AND HER LITTLE LEOPARD FEETS 😭 God, she is so talented! Her voice feeds my soul and makes my heart so full. I love that she’s kind and caring but also always shown to be strong in her convictions and conscientious of her own wants and needs. She sets boundaries and holds them and I have mad respect for that.

9) Ilana Wexler - Broad City

Listen, Ilana is just so fucking funny I can’t even handle her. I swear, this show is on crack and I love it. Ilana is a lot to handle, but is also exactly the kind of person to just make you feel like literally everything about you is okay and make you feel comfortable to say or do whatever you would normally inhibit yourself from, y’know? I’m a fairly reserved person, but Ilana would crack me open like a nut. I also really appreciate how openly and casually sexual she is, without it feeling like she’s being outwardly sexualized. It’s her expression of her sexuality, and I feel like women are almost never presented that way.

10) Raven Reyes - The 100

Raven is (one of) the love(s) of my life! She’s brilliant and resourceful and incredibly determined. And she endures so much. One of the things I most appreciate about Raven is her representation as someone with a disability. She gets shot, which causes damage to her hip that they don’t have the means to fix. For a couple seasons she’s in constant pain and has a leg brace which significantly hinders her mobility, but she is still strong and determined and presented as capable which I think is really valuable. I also just think that she’s so pretty and kind and reasonable. I just...I love her. I try to forget about this show most of the time, but I would never forget her <3

Tagging: @welldressedllama @momentofmemory @daughterofluthien @spikeface @donnas-troia @jamesqueerpotter @fearlessflame77 @rhyslahey @aphroditegifs @sillyteecup to participate if any of you would like (no pressure, of course)! And anyone who isn’t tagged but would like to!

#Kira Yukimura #Kara Danvers #Bonnie Bennett #Piper Halliwell #Olivia Baker #Alice Kwan #Isabelle Lightwood #Julie Molina #Ilana Wexler #Raven Reyes #10 favorite female characters #Tag games #long post

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radioactive-synth · 4 years

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#FOOCtober2020 - Oct 9 - Loadout and Living Space OR Grudge

Vaughn has some unresolved business with his long-dead father.

a big thank you for @theartofblossoming for proofreading this drabble for me!

"Why you have done this to me?"

He could not comprehend this.

Years later, and he still could not find an explanation for the abuse that he'd suffered. Emotional trauma, unseen wounds that still bled, low self-esteem, you name it, he has it.

But he cannot say he had a horrible childhood. A loving mother, a caring uncle and a cousin that was as close to him as a brother.

"I had a more decent living than others."

Even when the war started and the resources were less and less, he always ate well, wore good clothes and had access to higher education.

"Thanks to your payroll."

'He has a lot of money, that's why I can't say anything', was his habitual response to his cousin's oft repeated question on why he did not tell the truth. 'I'm too young to work, and mom's payroll cannot cover all our necessities'.

Ryan Hudson. For twenty two years, he was known as Ryan Hudson-Zander. Born of Séan and Maryanne Hudson, he was their eldest son. Being young parents, Séan and Maryanne did not know how to properly show affection to their first son. Séan was mostly away on his army duties, whilst Maryanne worked as a nurse. Eight years later, their second son, Michael, was born.

'You see, our old man needed him to be perfect, so he could be my role model', his uncle had said. 'And he was. But he was not perfect.'

"It was not my fault that you never received love."

Being put under a lot of pressure, Ryan needed to meet the expectations his father had of him. The world was changing, and they could not afford to let emotions take over their judgement. He finished military school and entered the ranks easily. He was already a Master Sergeant even before his brother had finished military school, too. Just like his father wanted.

'It's hard to believe that they were brothers', his mom said. 'One was cold and calculated, the other warm and gentle. How did I even fallen in love with the wrong one?'

Ryan had met Olivia long before she had finished her own studies. They had liked each other and dated before Ryan asked her to marry him. Olivia's father, Theodore Zander, was a kind, but unphased man. He was not impressed by the young American soldier, but he couldn't help but notice how his daughter was head over heels for him. He only agreed to let them marry if Ryan would take her last name.

'Papa thought that the Hudson name was too American, so he wanted me to keep our last name after marriage. And for what offspring we had, to also be Zander. That was his only requirement.'

"You never deserved the Zander name."

Even before they had their own child, Olivia showed that she had maternal instincts. Michael and Miriam had their first and only child, Vincent Nathaniel Hudson. Even before the kid formed his first word, his aunt was more present in raising him than his own mother. Whilst Michael was away doing his duty, he had no idea that his wife used his sister-in-law to take care of their son for a long time.

'I always dreamed of having my own children. Taking care of your cousin... that made me wish to have you. The day I found out I was pregnant, it was one of the happiest days of my life. I can't remember how he reacted, but I know your uncle was more happy than Ryan was.'

"Did you even want me?"

On the thirteenth of February, 2045, he was born. His father and uncle received some time off to come and visit Olivia at the hospital.

'Michael was happier than him. He had come to visit with your cousin, who was almost three years old. Vinnie said that you were as small as a toy and asked if I would keep you', Olivia laughed at the memory.

His father did not give any sign of affection. Olivia thought that the war troubled him but that could not be the reason. His uncle was an army medic, who retired a few years later and was still the same warm, kind person he always knew. His duty meant that he needed to face the horrors of the war and yet Michael's heart never changed.

"What war wounds had you received?"

As a young child, Vaughn had always tried to get Ryan's attention and affection by trying to initiate hugs, asking him questions, or just hanging around, yet his father considered him 'an inconvenience', to put it mildly. The only times Ryan ever spoke to his son were in a neutral or cold tone. He never raised his voice nor his hand toward his son... unless his wife was at work.

'Why do you always need to get on my nerves, boy?'

Vaughn still shudders at the memories of being taken up and then thrown on the couch, then told to sit still if he wanted to move on his own again.

"I was just a child, how could have you done that?"

'I can't forgive myself for what you endured, my baby. You didn't deserve any of that', his mom had said.

'You can't take the blame for another person's actions, mána'.

No. He never blamed her, or felt any remorse towards his mom. Yet she never got rid of the guilt that gnawed at her for years.

"It was my fault that I was silent."

'Michael was so much better. I know how much he cared for us.'

That was true. Michael Hudson always cared for the Zander family. He was best friends with Olivia and loved Vaughn just as much as he loved his own son.

'There were times when I wished I had called Michael 'Dad'.', he had told Nick and Hancock.

"I miss you, uncle Michael."

Years had passed, yet no sign of improvement was shown from Ryan. But as Vaughn got taller and heavier, Ryan could no longer throw him away yet the insults never stopped.

"Only to destroy me emotionally."

'You look just like him!', he heard other people say, comparing him to his father but they stopped saying that after the 'incident' with the blade.

"You pushed me to do this."

'I can't believe you did that, Vonnie! What you were thinking?' Vincent had asked after seeing the deep cut on his cousin's cheek.

"I found it hard to look in a mirror because of you."

'I do not want to be him! I'm tired of people telling me I look like him! Not anymore!', Vaughn cried out.

'There are other ways to be your own person. Now let's see what we can do with that cut, then later we'll look in the mirror, alright?'

Ronin bun and beard. Yes, he had worn the same style ever since he was 14 years old. His cousin was right. He was always right.

'What are you trying to achieve with your hair? This is not how men should look!' his father commented. When he had tried to cut Vaughn's hair, he had ended up with a broken hand, just hours before he needed to leave on duty. No-one had known the truth besides his cousin, who was feeling so proud of him.

"I never wanted to be like you."

Vaughn figured out what he wanted to do when he grew up.

'A Doctor! So I can help people.'

'You are breaking the Hudson tradition! Why the hell d'you want to play doctor?'

"I am a Zander. Not a Hudson."

Vaughn never had any problems at school, as far as lessons were concerned. He was the perfect student, or as some bullies liked to say, the 'teachers's pet'.

'At some point, you will be taken away. Don't think you will stay like a parasite until you finish school.'

"You wished your own son to sign up for certain death."

But the army never came for him. Olivia had faked his medical documents, making him unfit for drafting due to 'bad eye-sight and other health issues'.

"Your dream never came true."

He had graduated med school and got a job as a family doctor in a small clinic.

"But mine became true."

'Have you ever seen a girl in your life or what?', his father asked.

"You never allowed me to love who I wanted."

He had met Thomas at the Library. Two years older than him, Thomas was a very gentle man, smart and fun loving. He was mesmerized by the charm Thomas had. But it was not to be for the long term.

‘You seem to meet that boy more often than your group of friends. Better not be what I think it is, or you will be dead.’

He needed to break up for both their safety. He could not stop crying for two weeks.

“But now I am free to love who I want.”

-------

His hands were grabbed by each of his husbands'. He didn’t look, but smiled slightly at the gesture.

'You are free to do more than to love who you want.'

'He wounded you, but you are better than him. You need to remember what you have achieved.'

'And the people that surround you.'

They were right. They were always right. He had lost his family because of the bombs, but found a new one. He had reunited with his mom. And now, not only does he lives his dream as a doctor, but he is in charge of a growing group of people that defend the innocents. But most importantly, he was married to two wonderful men, and together, they raise their adopted son, Oliver.

'You were wrong about everything. I am not a Hudson, I am not worthless, I am not a parasite. People appreciate and respect me, because I help them. I earned their respect with my actions, not with my rank. And yet, I have a higher rank than you ever had. I am married, we have a son, we have a big house and a castle. I have a big family, that love and respect me. You never thought that I would have any of these, but I do. You hurt me, and I will never forgive you.’

His husbands had let go of his hands and he had slid his power fist, ‘Ares’, onto his right arm.

‘You don’t deserve to have your name remembered on a stone. You don’t deserve to be buried next to your brother. You had done nothing to deserve anything you had. Not the Zander name. Not even the Hudson name. You were the worst husband. The worst father. The worst uncle. The worst brother. Eíthe na kápseis stin kólasi, árrostos bástardos.’

He stepped closer, and hit the power fist on the tombstone, shattering it into pieces with just one blow.

He could not remember what he had said, nor in what language he had yelled but what the other two knew that he was letting out all the pent up rage he had felt over the years. It would not erase the memories but at least, he could move on.

They only sat a few meters away from him, and kept an eye out. Minutes passed, and his knees gave up. He was breathing heavily and the other two got closer cautiously. They each put one of their hands on his back. The reaction they got was a sob, followed by crying. They also kneeled beside him and wrapped their arms around him, as best they could.

‘We are here, love. It’s ok now. You are ok now.’

They couldn’t remember how much had passed, until he finally calmed down. He raised his head just slightly toward the nearby tombstone.

‘I am… so-sorry, uncle. I am sorry that you had to see that.’

#fooctober2020 #oc vaughn zander #fallout oc #fallout 4 #sole survivor #fallout #fallout ocs #blue.txt #y'all i did wrote something for once

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one-shot-plus-size · 3 years

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Home is where the heart is. Part 6.

Imagine : Clayton Cardenas meets Olivia Mazru, who is on vacation in the USA for the first time.

Chapters: 6/10

Each of the 7 chapters will cover 3 days of Olivia’s vacation, and 3 chapters will cover the time after returning home.

Part 5

Clayton took her for breakfast and then for a walk to Central Park. Their hands were all the time intertwined, they walked through the green area. All the time his hand embraced her, his thumb gently smoothed her skin. At noon, they took the food out of the pub and settled on the grass in the quietest part of the park - Sheep Meadow.

- And how do you like it? - Clayton was looking at her pushing pasta into her mouth.

- I am not used to such noise, you know I live in the countryside. In a small house in the forest, I have a garden and a sacred peace. This city is vibrant with life, it also has its charm. But in the long run it would be tiresome - she smiled at it, putting a little shrimp in her mouth.

- How is it where you live ? - he rested his hands on his knees.

- I have a beautiful little house made of wood. I built it myself, my colleague is an architect. She helped me to put on paper what I had in my head, then she adjusted it to the building conditions in the area. The family helped me with the construction and in about two years my dream places were created. - She was looking at it.

His eyebrows reached the hairline, he was surprised how resourceful it was.

- I don't care about the picture - she pulled the phone out of her pocket.

She searched the photo gallery on the phone until she found this one picture of her house. She turned the device in his direction, Clay looked at the photo.

- This is a photo a few days after the construction and cleaning up of the site. Now I have an access road, I've given myself a place where I park my car. A friend helped me to make a terrace at the back of the house and a porch in front.

- I will be honest, right ? - He was looking at it.

- Sure - she nodded her head blocking the device and putting it away.

- Marry me - he laughed - he has lived in this world for 33 years and I have never met such a resourceful and overwhelming woman as you. You have your own company, you work on a full-time basis and you have built a house with your own hands. I am in shock, the guy you give your heart to will be the happiest guy in the world.

She snorted under her nose and twisted her head.

- Poland is not like the United States. In my country, people like me are somewhat excluded. Maybe not excluded but more unwanted. There, people with colorful hair, numerous earrings and quite a lot of overweight are different, avoided. Guys want beautiful women, slim with normal hair color. Well I don't fit in, I've never been like most people and never will be. My introverted character doesn't help to meet new people. Some time ago I realized that I want to live on my own terms. This is my life, I am what I am and nobody can dictate my conditions. - She looked at it - I'm sorry, I'm talking nonsense.

Clayton was staring into the space in front of him, holding a box of food in his hands. His eyebrows were wrinkled in thought.

- You don't say stupidity, people can be cruel without any reason. And how you handled all this is admirable. Wear yourself proud, because you deserve it - He leaned slightly and wet her on the cheek.

- Thanks - she blushed.

After the meal they lay down on the grass and talked about everything and nothing concrete. They simply enjoyed their company. After resting they went to METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART.

- Do you want coffee? - Clay stood before her.

- With milk, please - she smiled and sat on the stairs.

- Good - he nodded his head.

He put his hands on her knees and leaned on them. He leaned down and kissed her a little bit harder first. Her hand rested on his cheek and smiled slightly. He broke away from her, cmocked her in the forehead and went to the coffee shop. Olivia ran her thumb over her mouth and smiled like a fool.

- It's good to be in love - a voice was heard behind her.

She turned around behind her, saw a middle-aged woman with a smile from ear to ear.

- That boy of yours must love you - she looked at him - you can see it from people, I used to be like that too. Please nurture love is the most important thing in your life.

- Thank you - she smiled slightly.

She turned her head when Clayton ordered coffee. She looked at him, his ass was perfectly exposed by dark jeans. The horizontal line shirt emphasized his shoulder muscles and slim figure well. Hair in total disorder added to his charm, he turned to her as if feeling her gaze. He smiled widely and returned to the woman in the booth with his gaze. When he smiled on his cheeks two sweet bouquets were formed on his cheeks like in small, plump children. The smile was spreading all over his face, he looked so charming then. She smiled to herself and let her head down. She wanted to have such a guy with her, all her co-workers' jaws would fall down. After a few moments, Clay fell down next to her giving her a cup of coffee.

- Thanks - she nodded her head.

She looked at the streets and the cars driving around, this city was really bustling with life. Crowds of people were walking the streets, people were hurrying. Businessmen in well-cut suits, women in perfect suits. Everyone was in a hurry, chasing for money. For a fortune which, after death, will be of no use to any of us. But each of us had different priorities in life, each of us wanted to experience them differently.

- What are you so proud of? - Clay poked her on the shoulder.

- Nothing concrete.

He nodded his head slightly and stared at the space in front of him.

- When do you start recording the second season of Mayan's MC?

- In just over a month we start working on the set.

- Cool, I watched all seasons of Sons of Anarchy on Netflix when I worked at home for some time. I was absorbed by this series endlessly, Kurt Sutter did a good job.

- Have you watched us? - He looked at her - in the sense of Mayan's MC?

- Of course I did - she was nodding her head - a bit illegal, but I had no other choice.

- Oh - he laughed.

- You know, in my country there is no such access to series and films as here. Sometimes you have to exercise yourself to get over something.

- He promises you that when we record the second season he will send you records with episodes so you don't have to break the law - he laughed.

- I take your word for it - she patted it on the shoulder.

- SAMCRO's favorite character?

- Chibs - she laughed.

- Why ? - He was drinking coffee by peeking at it.

- Throughout the whole series he probably went through the biggest change, even though he was broken so many times, he was hurt so much, he was still such a wicked Scotsman. Then I guess Jackson didn't quite understand the ending, but after a while I know that he was just being eaten by remorse.

- And at Mayan's?

- Honestly it's hard to say, this is only the first season, it's not known how the characters will develop. But if I were to say now it would probably be either Bishop or a young part of the club. Bishop because he emanates such strength, decisiveness and power. And young because there is a great relationship and interaction between them. Your role of Angela Reyes is really cool, you play him great.

- Thanks - he blushed on his cheeks.

- You play really well, you are talented.

- That's enough or I'll blush.

- Too late - she laughed.

- Shut up - he snorted at her.

She leaned her chin against his shoulder. He looked at her and smiled slightly.

- So where are you going to take me today, what?

- What would you like to see? - He finished his coffee.

- I was planning a Time Squer in the evening.

- So we will go there - he nodded his head - any more special wishes ?

- I guess not for today anymore, but I will come up with something for tomorrow.

- How about if he plans a great day tomorrow, then we'll go to dinner in the evening. And we will spend the next day in bed ? You're out in a few days, and I'd like to give you some more pleasure.

He noticed how he bites his lower lip.

- If you want to, of course - he added quietly.

Olivia put the coffee mug on the step between her legs, grabbed Clayton's beard and turned his face in her direction. She dipped him in the mouth without taking the look away from him.

- She wanted to - she smiled slightly.

He leaned harder towards her, nudged her nose and kissed her lightly. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the taste of her as she opened her lips, he entered them with his tongue. He broke away from her and looked around him biting his lower lip.

- Come on - he squinted and rose.

He dragged her behind him to the Museum building, walked quickly to the ticket offices.

- Can we use the toilet? My girlfriend wants to pee terribly - he gave the cashier his company smile.

- You have to buy the tickets - the cashier did not even look at them.

Clayton snorted under his nose, took the amount deducted to the counter. Then he dragged Olivia to the bathrooms.

- What are you doing? - She followed him.

- You'll see - He pushed her into the bathroom.

He looked around again and followed her into the room. He locked the door behind him, pressed her firmly against the wall and kissed her. A moan came out of her mouth when he rolled his hips into her. She felt his penis pressed against his pants, her hand slipped down on his crotch. She rubbed them a few times, and he broke away from her. He leaned his forehead against her forehead and moaned.

- Do you like to do this in a public place ? - she looked into his eyes.

He smiled wide, his hands slipped on her pants. He unbuttoned them and slid his hand into her panties, he felt how wet it was. He slipped his fingers inside her, she moaned in his ear. He moved them strongly and quickly, stabbed his teeth in her neck.

- Clay...- she moaned constantly.

- Come on, baby - he whispered in her ear - he feels you clench, come on my toes. And I'll give you what you need.

He moved faster and faster, she leaned her forehead against his shoulder. When she had an orgasm, she stuck her teeth into his shoulder, and he hissed. He pulled his fingers out of it and put them in his mouth, stared at her eyes.

- You taste so good - he muttered.

She grabbed his hand, slipped her fingers into her mouth. She braided them with her tongue and kept eye contact with him all the time.

- Enough - he muttered.

He grabbed her ass and led her to the sink, on which he had planted her before taking off her pants. When he kissed her, she was getting to him. She unfastened his belt buckle, button and lock. He helped slide them down to his knees together with the boxers. She embraced him with her hand and moved him several times.

- Fuck - he leaned his forehead against her shoulder.

She braided him with her legs at the waist and attracted to herself. He moved his penis along her entrance, irritated her for a while, and then finally went deep into her.

- If they catch us it will burn - she moaned.

- A note of adrenaline - he laughed.

He did not brake, they did it quickly. Initially she was worried that someone might catch them having sex in the Museum bathroom, but as the pleasure grew, she did not care. She was sticking her teeth into his shoulder when she had a second orgasm, Clayton needed a longer time to come. He stabbed his face in her neck and grunted when he was falling down inside her. Olivia was smoothing his hair while he calmed his breath, raised his head slightly. He wetted her in the mouth and slipped out of her. First he wiped himself and packed into his boxers and pants and then cleaned her up. With a soaked towel, he helped her put on her underwear and pants. He pushed her to the door for a while and kissed her deeply.

- You are the first woman I have done such a thing with - he smiled at her mouth.

- I am usually not like that.

- Usually you are polite and laid out ? - she improved herself in the mirror.

- So that you know - he nodded his head.

He opened the door, slid his head through the door and looked around the hallway. When he saw that nobody was there, he pulled Olivia out of the room.

- I won't believe you are a good boy - she laughed following him.

Part 7

#Clayton Cardenas #Mayans MC #Mayans fandom #Love #Olivia

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morganamysticblog · 4 years

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The Royal Romance - Book 2 - Fanfic

This is from The Royal Romance – Book 2 – after Drake and MC confront Bastien…

MC – alone in her room on the train – So that was fun. NOT!! Drake’s statement that this conspiracy and set up goes all the way to the top is right. But it’s not Queen Regina like he thinks. This goes all the way to King Constantine. And the worst part of it, now that I’m really thinking about all of it, I’m pretty sure Liam knew the whole time.

(MC pulls out her laptop and opens it up.) I wonder if I my hacking skills from college can get into Cordonian palace security. (After a few minutes…) Wow, that was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Cordonia royal security is crap. I have full access to everything. Security cameras, past recordings, everything. At least they have good cameras in pretty much every possible location except bedrooms.

Now…how far back should I go? Liam started acting weird right after the Royal Regatta. Let’s start there.

MC accesses the security logs and finds one in a small dining room with King Constantine, Liam and Bastien. The video and audio are great. All color, full sound.

Constantine – Liam, I see you’re getting rather close to that commoner girl, Heather.

Liam – Yes father. I believe she is the one.

Constantine – You’re blinded by your heart son. Keep your eyes open to your responsibilities. Have fun with the girl for a while, do what you will with her, but she will not be Queen. Madeleine has been born for this, trained since birth. She will be your choice at your Coronation.

Liam – But I have no feelings for Madeleine father.

Constantine – Feelings have nothing to do with this, Liam. This is for the stability of Cordonia. You will make the correct decision when the time comes, or I will make it for you.

Liam – (hanging his head, frowning) Yes father.(Liam leaves the room leaving Constantine and Bastien alone.)

Constantine – Bastien, watch him closely. We need a plan to rid ourselves of that girl when the time comes, if she doesn’t leave of her own volition.

Bastien – Yes sir.

Constantine – I will think on this and let you know when we need to initiate a plan.

Bastien – Of course sir.(MC stops the video.)

So he did know. He knew this whole time. Drake was right, the royals just mess with people. This all makes so much sense now. He’s been trying to distract me, keep me off balance. Especially now on this engagement tour. “I want to talk about our future…come with me to this super romantic cave.” The trip to the Eiffel Tower. And even tonight at the speakeasy, wanting to take me on a midnight tour of Paris. He said he would use his resources to help me find out who set me up. Yeah right. He’s using his resources to mess with me and keep me away from the truth.

I can’t stay here anymore. I am done with being someone’s plaything. I need to let the others know I am leaving. (Picking up Jackson’s leash) Come on baby, I know it’s late, but we’re going for a walk. (MC packs up her personal things and leaves the train.)

(Down the street MC finds a decently lit park and sits down.)I can record messages to everybody and then send them all at once after I’m on my way to the airport or wherever.

MESSAGE TO HANA –Hana, you are such an amazing friend. I want to thank you so much for always being there for me since the day we met. I hope you realize how wonderful you are and how strong you really are. Never give up on your dreams. I wish I could stay and help you find your path, but things have gotten to be a little too much for me. Please keep in touch. You can call, text, video chat, whatever, any time. Take care of yourself Hana. Good bye.

MESSAGE TO MAXWELL –Maxwell, my little brother. I will never be able to thank you enough for taking me in and making me a part of your family. It’s been quite a while since I had that. I could always count on you to make me smile, no matter how bad I felt. I wish I could give you one last big hug, but I really need to be out on my own now. I want to thank you for everything you’ve done to help me with trying to clear my name. But, I’m done investigating. I just want to move on with my life. Take care of yourself, Bertrand and little Bartie. I hope you realize you’re the glue that holds the Beaumonts together. I will miss you so much. Keep in touch. Good bye.

MESSAGE TO LIAM –Liam. I don’t know where to even begin. You are one of the sweetest, most romantic men I have ever met. I truly thought we had a connection, even though it felt like I was a contestant on The Bachelor – Royal Edition. But, based on what I know now, I don’t know if any of it was real. If you did actually care for me, or if it was all part of the game. I know what happened, Liam. I know who set me up. And I know you knew about it. All of the offers for romantic getaways, all of the sweet things you would say when we were at different functions, the way you looked at me. It was all to distract me from finding out the truth. That may not have been the only reason, but it was a big part of it. You offered to help me find out the truth, but instead you kept keeping me away from it, lying to me. I feel like such an idiot allowing myself to be played like that. I actually trusted you and believed you. Let your father know he won. This “commoner” won’t be around to distract you any longer. Even after everything, I wish you the best. Take care of yourself and I wish you a long and happy marriage to Madeleine. Good bye Liam.

MESSAGE TO DRAKE –Drake – I hate having to say good bye to you like this, but I can’t stay here anymore. Not after tonight. Well, the part before the bar with you. That part was amazing. You have been so wonderful this whole time. I told you before that you were the one I want to be with. I meant it. You see yourself as always being in Liam’s shadow. I see him being in yours. You have been there for me every time I needed you. You saved me from the horse at the Derby. You helped me on the boat at the Regatta. This is when I started getting feelings for you, by the way. Getting to spend your birthday with you. And then the night with Tarek. That night I knew you were the one for me. I would love to be able to stay here with you, and only you, but I think it’s better if I leave, go back to the States somewhere, I don’t know. You were right, Drake. The royals love playing with people’s lives. And I was their latest target. So, I’m taking myself out of the game. Constantine is the one who set me up. And Drake, I know Liam is your best friend, that you trust him, that you have been to hell and back several times with him, but he knew, Drake. He knew the whole time. I thought he was offering to take me on those romantic excursions because of his feelings for me…which I pretty much blew off all of them to spend time with you by the way. But now I realize he was doing it to distract me. Get my mind off the investigation, take blame away from him. I’m sorry, Drake. I didn’t want to tell you like this. I hope you know this epiphany has nothing to do with how I feel about you. I hope you know how much I care about you, how much I…how much I…how much I love you, Drake. Bye.

MESSAGE TO OLIVIA –Hey Olivia. Well, I know how much you hate when I text or call you, but you’re just going to have to deal with it this time. I’m leaving. The information you need to finish the investigation we’ve been on…it’s Constantine. He’s the one that set us both up. He wanted to make sure that Liam chose Madeleine. He used Bastien to set me up, and he had the information on your parents ready to release against you. He would have been the only one who knew the truth that they were trying to assassinate him. In a way, after all this, I see why he has so many enemies. I think your parents were right to try to stop him from his major power trip. Use this information however you wish. I can search through the security videos again if you want true confirmation, but you’re smart enough to know it’s the truth. Take care of yourself Olivia. I know you don’t like letting people in, but I do consider you a friend. Keep in touch if you want. Good bye.

Well, that’s done. It’s 6:30. Everyone will be waking up soon. Might as well hit “send all”. (MC pushes the SEND button on the phone.)Now to find a cab so we can get to the airport Jackson.-

Inside the train – phones begin to beep.

Maxwell – hmmm, it’s little early for my alarm. Huh? Voice message. (He listens to the message.) Woah. I’m her little brother!! Awww. Wait…she left? (Maxwell comes out into the common area of the train.

Hana – Heather’s gone? What happened last night? (Hana comes out of her cabin and finds Maxwell.) Maxwell…what happened? Heather’s gone.

Maxwell – I know. I got a message from her. I know she and Drake talked to Bastien, and then they disappeared for a while. I haven’t talked to either one of them since.

Liam – sitting on the edge of his bed, he pulls his phone out and sees the message alert. He pushes the play button and hears Heather’s sweet voice. But the words she says to him are not so sweet. She knows. She knows all of it. Well, not all of it. He wasn’t trying to distract her, only spend time with her. He still loved her, even after everything that had happened. He hated having to keep the truth from her. It took all his willpower not to tell her. Maybe he should have told her. He would have lost her anyway, but at least it would have proven how much he cared for her. She hated him now. He should have seen it. She had been avoiding him lately. He sets the phone down and puts his hands over his face. Tears stream down. He just lost the one bright spot in his life. And there was nothing he could do about it. No apology could ever fix this. Slowly he regains his composure and walks out of his cabin. He finds Maxwell and Hana talking. Apparently Heather left them goodbye messages as well.

Maxwell – Liam, there you are. Heather’s gone. She left me and Hana messages saying how great we are and then just goodbye.

Liam – She left me a message as well. I…I need to get ready for today.But just as Liam is getting ready to head to the boutique car to change, Drake comes out of his cabin. Anger all over his face. Before Liam can say a word, Drake punches him in the face.

Drake – You son of a bitch. You know this whole time. You covered for your father, you lied to her. You lied to all of us. I hope your satisfied. Watching us all run around like little rats in a maze. I thought you were actually real. You’re an even better actor than your father. You’re going to be a wonderful king. And just so you know…the nights you kept inviting Heather to come spend time with you…the reason she never showed…she was with me.

Drake walks away as Liam stands with his jaw on the ground, rubbing his sore face. Hana and Maxwell, just stare, speechless.Drake leaves the train and starts walking down the street.

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mcchoices · 5 years

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TRH Choices Insta-Live Recap 7/15/19

*Sorry if there are typos! I’m typing this live!

If you haven’t heard - They Royal Heir will be a series

The second book is already in the works

Liam has a last name and we will eventually find out!

We will not meet MC’s parents/family

Probably won’t be backstory either they referred to Riley/MC as a “blank slate”

“The title is the warning label,” - About the baby plot

They said you could just leave off at the end of book 3 and live happily ever after if you didn’t want a baby

They said they didn’t have the resources to give ever LI a different baby route so they had to settle on one overall plot. MC is already a very important Cordonian figure and if you’re not with Liam they didn’t want it to be perceived as Liam taking your baby- you and LI are still raising your child.

“What if the baby doesn’t want to be the heir?” “That may be something you have to face... Hmmmm...”

In their minds Liam respects your choice to marry someone else and that he’s optimistic, open to love and knows he doesn’t have to settle

Maxwell as a dad - Kids were never a “no” for him but a lot has happened and he’s gone from “not sure I’m ready” to “I’m ready” and they say he’s probably the most equipped to do it and he’s more ready than he thinks he is.

The “fun uncle” line was supposed to be a hint that he was already an uncle.

Drake not raising his kid as a commoner - The kid is already going to be born into the court life and he’s now seeing that he can be more influential through his child in the noble life. His journey through the books has been him gaining more power and voice in the court and that he can still keep his child grounded.

Hana as a mother - Hana “always wanted love” and there is without a question that her and MC are going to be very involved parents. Hana was also very aware of the privilege in her life but it didn’t outweigh her need for non-physical things

“Will we meet/birth baby?” - Stay tuned to find out if we’re going to give birth/meet baby this book (I was hoping they would say!!)

Outfits question - “Cowboy hats” “Excited for outfits for other characters - Coming soon”

“One word or short phrase for the most exciting thing to happen in the book” - “Kind of already happened - Flashbacks” “Ending” “Motorcycle” “Animal attack - Could be a metaphor!”

“Are the dogs gonna have puppies?” - “You’ll have to stay tuned!”

"Will there be opportunities for MC to exercise her duties?” - “Yeah it’ll get into some of that.”

“Will the characters you didn’t choose get to find love?” - “Not in this book.”

You will see your other animals again and characters from RoE

“Why was Olivia not an LI?” - We didn’t see that emotional relationship developing that way. We like her better as a little prickly of “I’m not your friend” and you are “She is my friend!” We thought adding her to your group would be best, but there wasn’t enough time for her to open up to MC as it took years for her to open up to Liam. It would be out of character in the confines we were writing.

Also one of the writers favorite part of the book revolves around Olivia

Originally was going to be a 6 chapter book focused around Bertrand and Savannah’s wedding

“If we had better resources there could have been a better way to go about this book. I hope you can still love it even with some of its faults.”

“Does MC get a fancy new hat?” - “Well you might say a cowboy hat”

“Will everything be unicorns and rainbows between MC and LI or will there be drama?” - “Hmmmm... There are some things that are going to come up in the course of family stuff with having a baby and everything. Everything is more external drama than internal.”

Won’t answer how many chapters :-(

“Probably 19” and then they all kinda screamed???

“Will Anton escape from jail?” - “Not that I’m aware of”

“Do we get to find out our LI’s fav music on the road trip?” - “Roadtrip music is very important!”

“There are some songs from the choices universe that will be playing when they get to America” - Look out Platinum!

There will be more flashbacks

“What kind of accent does Liam have?” - “A Cordonian accent” “Whatever sounds sexiest.”

“How old are all the characters?” - “When we got there art we requested a range - Everyone is over 21.” “Drake is the oldest (out of Liam, Hana, Max)” “Bertrand is like 5 years older than all”

3 out of the 4 writers would romance Hana

“Parting words” - “Cowboy hats”

#playchoices #TRH #TRR #Recap

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veridium · 4 years

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5 Questions for Writers

Tagged by the great @teknon to answer some questions about writing. Thank you so much for including me!

Passing it along, I tag @bitchesofostwick, @local-thembo, and @star--nymph to join in the fun if they wish to. (Really I’m just a fan of ya’ll so anything I get to see of your process is terrific).

1. Do you have a favourite character to write? Who and why?

These days Olivia is still probably my favorite. Though, I have to say, the more Fire in Her Mouth goes on and expands into my other OCs’ storylines, the more I enjoy alternating their perspectives. It was always the plan to start off squarely in Olivia’s POV and then gradually extend branches out through the girls and canon characters in the Inquisition ensemble.

I echo a similar sentiment to Trish’s: I just really enjoy getting to write women and non-binary characters for all of their troublesome possibilities. I like playing around with the idea of “good” representation. It’s incredibly cathartic to write characters who are profoundly wounded, jaded, and prone to hurtfulness, but who are also incredibly strong, wise, convicted.

2. Do you have a favorite trope to write? Or one you want to write?

I mean, there are certain tropes I work with by virtue of taking on a DA:I longfic: the reluctant hero, for example, is present in the way Olivia grows in her role. I think tropes can be useful as basic frameworks but I find more fun in playing around with their rules than I do following them.

Maybe here I’d say I’m referencing more stereotypes than tropes. For example, I try to dispute the idea in Olivia’s storyline that she, like so many worldly heroes, craves a remote, domestically tranquil life at the end of the line with the kids, spouse, and picket fence. That’s not to say to do so is wrong or foolish; I just wanted to write a character who always wants some sort of skin in the game when it comes to the world’s events. Even if it costs her everything, she’d rather say she devoted her all. I think sometimes we give those kinds of iconic happy endings to characters because it makes us as authors and audiences feel a lot better about the trials they endured regardless of whether those endings fit their journey/personalities. What are we making ourselves feel better for, though, when we do that? Are we trying to reconcile the idea that our characters can be hurt and still be “deserving” of that kind of ultimate, normative end? What happens when we dare to imagine something else, somewhere else, as their endgame -- a place that subverts the notion that all we’re trying to do is be deserving or “whole” enough of something we might not even want?

For me, I’m more interested in the ways in which life’s solaces arise in and out of our lives, rather than in a solid destination after we have “suffered enough.”

3. Share your favorite description you’ve written?

This always changes for me! Especially when I’m leaning on prior passages for inspiration/tie-in for themes on what I’m currently working on. Right now, I’m still pretty hooked on Chapter 100, “A Serpent’s Parable” from FIHM. It’s partial monologue, but the parallel description is something I’m very proud of:

Isolde then sighed and pushed over her chalice. It fell loudly, and after the initial impact, it melted down and elongated into a serpentine shape. Extending both ways until a head, erect and pointed towards her, formed with slithering tongue and all. Pure black even in the eyes, its belly scales looked like opals as it wound towards her.

“For the purpose of this, let me introduce a parable. When you are faced with the task of fighting evil as we have been, it is all rather easy...in fact, fun, to think you are victorious by virtue of distracting the creature that holds the venomous bite.”

The smoke-born rats and vermin with pronounced front teeth billowed in the air around it, scattering and circling it. In random turns they began sneaking jabs, biting and scratching away, and cowering just in time into amorphous plumes. The snake hissed in pain and turn around in every which direction the assaults came from. With every attack it grew more frustrated, more incensed at the ghostly antagonists. Eventually it became too preoccupied to advance.

“Over time you learn that they learn. Spats and skirmishes, illusions and petty diversions, they only do so much. You realize that the snake, though made angry or even miserable at your actions, still grows. Your bravery does not stop it taking someone you love, it merely means that they become tomorrow’s meal rather than today’s, for you and your kind were made forever its source of power. Its sustenance for which you must give your life so that the rest of the world makes sense.”

The snake’s shadow stretched farther and farther until Olivia could nearly reach and place her hand within it if she wanted to. The vermin spirits crept in and out of shape, sniveling and striking as they had before. Their growing enemy, sadly, no longer bent and writhed in reaction.

“You are faced with a choice: continue being the hero who’s deeds become songs and silly secrets, suck poison from wound after wound until your mouth no longer waters, pretend that your adventures keep people as safe as you feel you are in your anonymity. Maybe you have saved a child or feed a few hungry mouths. Yet the snake’s fangs are sharper with every year, its mouth so wide it can consume more and more of what is dear to you without hope of salvation. Unless you decide enough is enough.”

Olivia had lost focus on the snake in favor of Isolde. By the time she halted her speech it was almost too late: the snake, offensive once more, lunged for her. In the same sharp moment as it split its mouth to fill itself with her, a blade broad and tipped like that of a staff's swung down. Its sound and shine blinded her to the gore of the head's severance before it fell upside down, gaping with a now limp tongue. A last remaining hiss lost to the sound of the blade cutting the air.

With every last drop of bravery in her body she withheld a scream. Her heart nearly erupted under the weight of its many terrors. Much like her nerves, the snake’s body contorted, until its muscles no longer lingered with life. The rats no longer trifled their foe. Nothing but death had been served on the table.

“At last,” she finished, “you cut the head off once and for all.”

4. Share your favorite dialogue you’ve written?

This also changes so often! Dialogue is one of, if not the, most fun part(s) of writing for me. I convey my message and themes most starkly in the way my characters talk to each other, and it’s where I put the most forethought. One of the ones I most often return to is the back-and-forth between Veronica and Cybel in Chapter 98: “Humoring Stars.” --

“Are you really so sure that everything that does not meet your eye is simply lies? That you, a Mage who spent the majority of her life in a Circle where knowledge was a controlled resource rather than a respected right, are the best person for determining such things?”

Oh, you son of…

“Just because I lived in a Circle does not mean I am without independent thought,” Veronica refused. She was a hard shell to crack but even she was not immune to the coerced inferiority years of Circle life embedded. No one who experienced their captivity was. And to call it out in such a way only made it more painful.

“I did not say that. What I meant was—”

“Shut your mouth. I do not give a shit about where you come from or how special you think you are. You are not going to stick a knife where you think it will hurt me into believing your stories. And if you try to do the same to Gem, then…”

Cybel’s eyes narrowed. “Then, what? You will kill me?”

“I m—”

“You know, Veronica...and that is your name, so I will refer to you as such.” Cybel took on an air of confidence, re-approaching with stiffened shoulders and tilted chin. “Either you have a thirst for death that is beyond the likes of which I have seen anywhere, meaning that deep down your motivation is not merely the safety of your friend and leader; or, as I reckon, you think being a predator cornered is more powerful than a predator caged.” They continued their advance, so stern and so suddenly cold that Veronica’s need to keep eyes on their hands turned into her backing up in sequence with them. It was enraging.

Veronica was backed against the rail, ass and waist pressed like paper. Her hands gripped either side. Cybel looked as they did back when they were threatening her with an arrow to her neck. Curls of hair around their face, tough bottom lip, appraising the validity of a shot yet fired. They halted so close to her that their freckles were countable, as well as the weathered loose strings on the edge of their tucked scarf.

“So what is it then?” they asked when Veronica had no salted quip to offer. “Blood lust, or bloody fearfulness?”

Who are you?

Veronica’s breath caught on the rigidity of her chest. She could be stabbed or choked right then and there. She could be tossed over the edge. Maker, she could be poisoned even if Cybel’s hand was quick enough with a vial or cloth dusted with the right material. Everything about her expedited training was about evaluating what dangers were posed both in front of her nose and beyond all senses. It was intoxicating to think in such a way when previously you were kept like a lamb to a flock, the shepherds heavily armored and sword-wielding rather than gentle guides with sticks. But blast them for thinking it was their right to point it out.

“I will say it again,” she answered with an unprecedented humbleness to her voice that even surprised her, “I do not fall for your attempts to strike at me until I am too weak for your lies.”

Cybel’s irises raised and lowered between Veronica’s eyes and mouth, their own lips parted with their tongue pressed against the back of their teeth. “And there I have my answer.”

#writing stuff #fire in her mouth #the foxes #olivia sinclair #veronica crespin #cybel #writers tag #writing asks #friends!!#thank you!

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kitkatwinchester · 4 years

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Happy FFWF! Do you like using OCs in your story? If yes, who's your favourite OC?

Happy FFWF!

Okay, fair warning, I was not intending for this answer to be as detailed as it was, but as I started typing, I kind of got carried away, so sorry about that. XD

I do, yeah! I only have two as of right now. One is for Supernatural, and one is for X-Men, and they both originated on QuoteV. Because I can, I’m gonna share a little bit of background on each of them. I also linked each of their names with biography cards I have written for them on QuoteV.

My Supernatural OC is Seraphine Kris Parker, nickname Sera. Her parents were killed by demons when she was only six and she was put in an orphanage, which she eventually ran away from and, in doing so, stumbled upon Singer Salvage Yard where she met Bobby and the boys. She winds up basically growing up with them as a “Third Winchester” and their sister (her age is right in between Sam and Dean’s, so she’s two years younger than Dean and two years older than Sam).

My X-Men OC is Olivia Rae Summers, nickname Liv. She’s the younger sister of Scott and Alex Summers (I used ages from the new X-Men, so Alex is the oldest, Scott is the middle child, and Liv is the youngest). Like them, she’s a mutant, but her abilities are vastly different, because she has ice powers (kind of like Bobby Drake, but a little different). She finds out about her mutant genes at the age of 17, and she goes to live at the Institute with her brothers and the rest of the X-Men. From there, she learns to fight and hone her abilities and joins them on several dangerous missions, coming into herself and her powers in the process.

With all of that said, despite the fact that Supernatural is my most prominent fandom, I actually love Olivia Summers more.

Obviously (and I’ve said this multiple times), I have a thing for sibling relationships, so both of these characters are siblings to canonical characters because I wanted to play with sibling relationships and the undying love they have for each other.

I started writing fan fiction in the Supernatural fandom, so my first OC was Sera, because I wanted to incorporate more sibling relationships between her and the Winchesters with a little more creative freedom by incorporating my own character. That said, because of my love of the show and Sam and Dean’s relationship, as well as my constant efforts to keep characterizations realistic, Seraphine’s role in the story wound up feeling a little forced and stilted. While there were a lot of things I liked about her character, trying to find a way to fit her into Sam and Dean’s backstory was almost impossible. I started it with a story called “The Third Winchester”, but once she actually met the boys, I found it hard to figure out how to work her into their lives. This became especially true after I took my unintentional break from fan fiction and came back with a better idea of writing. When I look at her now, I love the character of Seraphine and the backstory I created for her, but I think, if I want to create a story for her, it has to be her story and not one directly tied to the boys--at least not in the same way--because it messes with the core of Supernatural too much and that bothers me. So, I love the character, but her story line needs some re-writing.

That said, let’s talk about Olivia and why I love her so much.

Liv actually started as part of a roleplay with one of my ex-friends. We started watching X-Men: Evolution together, and she decided she wanted to do a role play for it, so we both made characters and started going for it. That’s how Liv and her back story was born. That said, in the role play, she wasn’t as developed as she is now. She was still Alex and Scott’s younger sister, but since we were role playing, a lot of the subtle details were figured out as we went along. After a while, our role play kind of got boring and started taking directions I wasn’t 100% in agreement with. When the friendship itself eventually ended, I decided to take the character and expand the story we had created into my own thing as an actual full length story. When I did that at first, the story was honestly practically a word for word of my portion of the role play (with my friend’s permission, obviously), but that meant filling in gaps where my friends’ character had been involved in the role play, and that started to get complicated, so I kind of slowed down on writing that story. However, what made Liv’s story different from Sera’s is that I gave myself complete writing freedom. Since X-Men has so many different versions and so many different story lines, I felt like I could pull resources and canonical ideas from tons of different areas, which left a ton of room for me to do whatever I wanted. Plus, X-Men isn’t based around the sibling relationship between Alex and Scott. In fact, since in any story, Alex is usually dead sometime in the story line, we don’t get much of their relationship at all, which means I have the world in front of me to develop it and bring it together as I wish. I can spend Liv’s story putting as much sibling whump, angst, comfort, and everything in between involving her and her brothers without feeling too tied down to a specific canonical story line or characterization, and it’s awesome.

In fact, because of that, I’m actually re-approaching the original story line for Liv with my older, wiser 20-year-old self and re-writing the few chapters I already had written with future chapters in mind, and I’m planning to post them on AO3. This is definitely gonna be my longest story yet, and because of this creative freedom, my tags are basically going to say “screw canon, I took the characters and that’s about it”. My intent is definitely to include some canonical background, but honestly, most of the story is going to be my own, and I feel like I have the liberty to do that with Liv in a way that I didn’t with Seraphine--not right away anyways.

So, to try to sum all of that up in a way that’s more concise for those of you who didn’t want to read all of that (sorry sorry sorry!! I got carried away!!), I love my X-Men OC, Olivia Summers, the most, because I feel like I can do the most with the relationships between her and her brothers because we see so little of it in the X-Men story lines as is--the visual ones, at least. And since I’m working on her story right now, keep an eye out for my OC in the coming weeks. :) <3

Thank you so much for asking this! I’m sorry I got so into it, but I honestly really loved this question, and I loved talking about the characters I created, so thank you for giving me that opportunity! <3 <3

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vadaschiquita · 4 years

Note

prompt: reader was once married but cheated with barba. her husband is a musician and writes a song about her (ex: ‘the f word’ from shameless). i just really want to know what barba would do if he heard the song, especially if her husband happens to be playing it at the bar they just happen to frequent.

It was karaoke/open night at the bar Barba and I frequented. I had been a giggly mess trying to force him to participate. The bar was crowded! More crowded than it had ever been before. I knew Rafael could sing. I knew Rafael could sing extremely well.

Not having been like a lot of boys his age, Rafael had sought his comfort in the debate team and in drama club. He’d boasted as much one drunken night where I dared him to serenade me. We’d both been sputtering, laughing messes that night, until he did serenade me.

His voice was smooth like velvet, yet powerful like a father’s stern scold. Where did he find the strength to propel such powerful vocals? Oh, and his operatic was out… of… this world!

How could I have ever known that he would be there? How could I have known he would leave his typical dive and hole in the wall for this one way across town?

Destiny had a funny way of bringing us back to those we had once harmed and alongside her sister, Karma, they were two class A cunts.

It’d been what, five? Six? Seven years since I’d last seen Dave on that eventful night where he had walked into our little apartment in Brooklyn, just above a small pizzeria, and he’d noticed that everything I owned was packed up and ready to be moved. I’d come clean to him that night. Of everything that had been happening in the prior seven months with me… with him… with the men and women I’d been bedding… until I met Rafael.

I’d always prided myself an honest person. Honest with my feelings, honest with my words, honest with my actions, yet the moment it had first happened, I’d vowed to let Davey know. Tell him everything I’d said to her, tell him everything I’d done for her to take me to bed, but when the opportunity came, I just turned the other cheek and not allowed myself to let him taste her on my lips.

Rafael knew, not at the beginning, but he knew, and it wasn’t fair to him that I kept going back to him with the same opener: “This cannot happen again, Raf.” He was a gentleman first and foremost and he would agree, but just as gentlemanly as he was, he was meticulous and calculated.

Rafael knew I was in a relationship, he just didn’t know the… seriousness of said relationship, until my ex-husband stepped foot on that stage.

“Hello everybody,” he said smoothly and I knew Rafael felt me tense next to him. “I hope you’re all enjoying your evening,” he cleared his throat, easing his guitar strap over his head. “I hadn’t planned on singing an original for you guys tonight, but that was before I notice someone rather special to me at the bar,” he glanced my way and my cheeks reddened.

“One of your old school paramours, I’m guessing,” Rafael said in jest, smirking as he took his scotch to his lips.

“May—Maybe we should go,” I stammered, dropping to my feet besides him.

Rafael grabbed my wrist, knitting his eyebrows together, “What’s going on? Who is that?”

Before I could respond, Davey chuckled. “I’d like to dedicate this song to…” he was about to say my name, I knew he was, but he bit it back, swallowing hard and wincing at the taste of it slowly dying on his lips. “Let’s call them Fiona, ‘cause the motherfucker was everything I ever wanted: beautiful, funny… resourceful, and then as the sun set, they turned into this hideous, ugly beast.”

The lively bar cheered for him, shouting words encouragement, and cursing my name. Suddenly, he began playing his guitar, a lively tune that had everybody in the bar clapping and cheering. It was a jig… of sorts, and even Rafael caught himself bouncing his shoulders to the rhythm of Davey’s guitar.

When I was young, I remember I was taught not to say the F wordI guess I forgot, as a grown man with an open heart insideI got married to the F word and my heart slowly died.

The bite and bile he put in emphasizing the word ‘married’ didn’t take Rafael inadvertent, no; Davey had done that shit purposefully.

Rafael turned in a whip, furrowing his brow, his green eyes displaying anger, betrayal,and confusion.

With every howl of someone near us, with every strum of his guitar, with every cocky smile, I could feel Rafael slowly pulling away from me, closing off, and attempting to contain the anger coursing within.

F is for Fiona, with a fist flailing in fireF is for Fiona, I felt like I could fly.

“He’s your ex?” Rafael mumbled lowly and I nodded. “I can see why you failed to mention you were married to the prick.”

I shook my head, opening my mouth to try and explain, but nothing came out. “Raf—” I commenced, but the withering glare he shot at me when he turned to look at me again shut me up.

But then, fucking Fiona, was fucking everyoneFuck you Fiona ‘cause now I’m fucking done.

Fuck you Fiona, with your fist flailing in fireFuck you Fiona, I felt like I could fly.

And this next part, he emphasized, staring right at Rafael.

Fucking Fiona, you know that she was fucking everyoneFuck you Fiona, now I’m fucking done.

He repeated the last line several times, even getting a few of the patrons to join him in the chanting.

Rafael quickly stood from his barstool, swinging his coat over his head, and slipping his arms in. He fished in his breast pocket, no doubt looking for his wallet, and he dropped several bills on the bar top.

Davey finished his jig strumming the chords lively, the patrons all erupting in cheers, and laughing at the lyrics. I’d been momentarily stunned, feeling Rafael brush past me, knocking me on my shoulder. I breathed out, bringing my hand to my all of a sudden clammy forehead when I looked up, seeing as Davey waved out to the crowds of drunks and loud patrons. He winked at me, puckering his lips to blow me a kiss, and I scoffed, feeling utterly disgusted at what he had done.

Or maybe that was I, being disgusted at myself for having placed myself in this predicament.

I turned around, grabbing my jacket and bolting to the door. Once outside, the cool air hit me, jolting me out of my slight stupor and I glanced to my right, not noticing any signs of Rafael. I turned to my left and I saw a wavering figure, briskly walking through the icy sidewalks.

“Wait!” I shouted as I started in a run after him. I knocked strangers’ shoulders, muttering my apologies, but never losing sight of him. “Rafa, please, wait!” his stride was power, how exactly could a short man walk so fast was beyond me. I had almost reached him when I extended my hand to grab at his bicep, “Rafael!”

“Don’t touch me!” he seethed, slapping my hand away from his skin. I’d gotten him to stop and now here I stood face to face to a huffing Rafael, livid beyond measure. I parted my mouth to speak and he raised his hands effectively silencing me, “No. I don’t want to hear it.”

“Rafa, please, let me explain—”

“Explain! Explain?” he grumbled. “You had plenty of time to explain when you showed up to my apartment teary-eyed and strained. You could’ve explained then.”

I shook my head, “I never lied to you.”

“Ha!” he bellowed, doing a one-eighty. “You said you were in a relationship,” I nodded, frantically moving my eyes across his face, over his shoulder, at the sidewalk… anywhere but his mesmerizing green eyes. “Being in a relationship isn’t synonymous to being married,” he snarled his lip, setting his jaw tight at the sound of the word leaving his lips.

“Marriage is a relationship, Rafael,” I smartly retorted and I shut my eyes, wincing at my own carelessness and downplaying at what my then eight-year marriage was.

“Fuck you!” he bit back, leaning forward. I knew he needed to get that out, it was his way of saying, ‘don’t do that right now’. “What we had, that was a relationship. What you have with your siblings, that is a relationship. What Olivia and I have, that is a relationship. You were fucking married.”

“It’s all semantics, Raf! You knew how I felt from the beginning, I never lied to you about that!”

Rafael scoffed, shaking his head, an amused grin on his lips. “Semantics?” he hummed, nodding. “You played me and I allowed myself to be played by the proverbial damsel in distress,” he paused for effect, letting the words hurt me the way he had intended them. “You’re a liar.”

“You slept with me—”

“Yes, countless times. I’m aware.”

“—you never told me no, I’m not the only one to blame,” Rafael’s form was beginning to get blurry and I knew my eyes had started to water then. “We both played a role in this.”

“Yes, indeed, but I would’ve loved to be a willing participant in the wreckage of a marriage, you know,” he smiled sardonically.

“My marriage was already wrecked,” I replied, barely above a whisper.

“You lied. You lied to him and you lied to me—”

“Why does it matter?” I shouted, interrupting him. “Why does it matter, huh? Marriage. Relationship. Whatever. Why does it matter so much now that you know I was married as opposed to when I told you ‘it was complicated’? I didn’t lie. It was complicated.”

Rafael shook his head, the same wry, confused grin on his face. “You—I thought I was fucked up…” he shook his head.

I chuckled, feeling my lash line give way for a few heavy droplets to fall down my cheeks. I shrugged, relenting at his words. He was right, I was fucked up, but that didn’t make me a bad person, right? People cheated… all the time. I wasn’t happy in my marriage any longer and yes, I could’ve told Davey, had a conversation, and probably figured it out together, but instead, I gave in to the easy option. The cowardly way out.

It hadn’t been fair to Rafael then, and it most definitely wasn’t fair for him now. I should’ve told him. I should’ve told him as soon as I had shown up to his door, carrying my bags of clothing and other items. I should’ve been honest with him; we had been together all this time.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“Well,” he began with a shrug, “semantics.”

I could hear myself whimper. Had he really just said that? Shut down my apology with a word.

“Rafael—”

“You can stay at the apartment. I’ll be at my mother’s… I’m done,” he finished, turning and disappearing at the next corner.

tag: @detectivewritings

#prompt #character prompt #character request #character prompts #rafael barba #rafael barba x reader #rafael x reader #svu #law and order svu #angst #argument #fanfic #fanfiction #fic

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beyondthetower · 4 years

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TRR Hogwarts Houses

Note: I didn’t add MC to the list because technically, the game revolves around you making the choices that would define her character. So let's just say whatever house you belong to.

Our boys here just ooze Gryffindor, and both for the very surface ways. However, they both lean toward opposite ends of the scale.

Liam: Our King here leans toward the more Hermione Granger side of things, with a very heavy dose of Chivalry thrown in there. It’s like, his lifeblood. He would die the most heroic death for his lady-love, whether she loves him or not, and he’s not afraid to propose to her even though she’s been super clear he’s in love with someone else (if you so choose). And I mean, the Anton scene? Come on! “WHERE’S MY WIFE?”. That’s like the most romantic, chivalrous, knightly scene there is.

Drake: Drake is the hot-headed, Ron Weasley, type of Griffindor. He does things bravely if not kinda stupidly. He doesn’t think before he leaps he just knows what the right choice is and jumps no matter the consequences he will personally feel.

Hana: I honestly had a hard time choosing between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, because I think she has tendencies for both. But ultimately I think Hana would thrive as a Ravenclaw. While a lot of the things she learned over the years was forced by her parents, she is a natural at problem-solving and looking at the big picture. She seems to be the kind of person that puts her logical self first most of the time and is always ready to think through whatever's in front of her.

Maxwell: My house yay! Maxwell is, like, the epidemy of a Hufflepuff. He’s kind, caring, and loyal. No matter how awful Bertrand is at first, Maxwell doesn’t ever say a bad word and is always ready to stick up for him. When Drake gets pissed at him, he gives him his space but he never stops trying to be his friend. And if you choose his path, he is never pushy about his feelings and never lets on how he feels until MC does. He has a truly kind heart and wants to do everything and anything he can for his friend to be happy, even if that means putting himself last.

My favorite part about both of these girls is that they can easily be put in Slytherin for the stereotype of them being “evil” in one book or the other, but I genuinely think they both represent the very true core traits of the Slytherin house. They’re both ambitious, cunning and resourceful.

Olivia: Olivia is extremely cunning. While she doesn’t always use that power for good in the first book, she is incredibly smart and resourceful when it comes to getting what she wants. She’s also got that ambitious spirit when it comes to finding different ways to catch all of the book 2 and 3 enemies that the others in the group.

Madeline: Come on...Madeline is the definition of ambitious. She wanted to be Queen so badly that she got engaged to the King-to-be TWICE IN A ROW. I can’t even imagine going through that competition once for the love of my life let alone twice for people you aren’t meant to be with. And after she loses, she eventually jumps back up, dusts herself off easily enough and moves on to the next goal.

#the royal romance #royal romance #the royal heir #trr #trh #hogwarts #hogwarts houses

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dearophelia · 5 years

Text

gonna set your flag on fire - chapter 8

chapter 08: let it all come crashing down

An old friend from home needs to speak with you. [read on AO3]

(eternal thanks to @nightingaleseeking and @tarysande for their cheerleading on this project!!)

James reads the message again. And then a third time. The nine words don't change.

Mission FUBAR. Team captured. AA guns online. Nora compromised.

“Shit." The message is dated two days ago, picked up and forwarded by a long-range vorcha comm buoy this morning.

He takes a mental inventory. Chen and Rahiri are back from their mission, but Deck’s team isn’t due back for another three days. He checks the N team roster and comes up empty. Not even a single N1. He sends a message to Abby, hoping she knows something he doesn’t about who's available for a rescue mission, and then dials Liara.

The connection takes a while to establish as it navigates through Liara’s security measures. Though the delay isn’t any longer than usual, James starts to fidget in the silence.

“James,” she answers, smiling. But her smile fades instantly upon seeing his face. “What’s wrong?”

“I need you to send a few agents out to Zorya. Follow up on that Cerberus intel you passed us. Immediately. Please,” he adds as an afterthought.

Her brow furrows, but she taps at her console out of view. “Done. What’s going on?”

Even if he wanted to, there’s no sense in hiding it from Liara: she’ll find out as soon as her agents report back. “I sent a squad to check it out. They’ve run into some trouble.” He pauses. “A lot of trouble,” he corrects the understatement. “And Nora’s on the team.”

Liara blinks at him a few times and her eyes widen. “Do you think –” she cuts herself off, as if not even wanting to imagine the end of that sentence, let alone speak it into the universe.

“Yes,” he says quietly. “They got a message out and that’s what it sounds like.”

“Goddess,” Liara exhales. “James, you have to tell her.”

“I’m not telling Shepard I lost her kid.” He’s certainly not telling Shepard that he lost her kid and that her kid’s under Cerberus control. He has to tell her. Shepard isn’t anywhere near his chain of command anymore, hasn’t been for a long time, but she’s a good friend and she can pull resources he currently can’t. But he doesn’t want to tell her.

Liara shakes her head. “You have two soldiers available who can stage a rescue: an adept and a Shadow, a pair very ill-equipped to storm a base this size.”

James frowns, but he’s long stopped asking how his wife knows everything she shouldn’t. She does well by the information. And Liara’s right: Chen and Rahiri are good soldiers, but there are only two of them and they’re far better suited to stealth and infiltration. They tried stealth and infiltration with the first team and that only resulted in one compromised soldier and the other five captured. It’s time to blow down the front door.

“Even if you add yourself and Abby…James, you cannot do this with four people, do not be that stubborn. We would all tear the galaxy apart for our kids, but Olivia actually has the power to do it.”

“I know,” he says. And so do you, he adds silently, gratefully, though he hopes with all his heart Liara will never have to. She’s right, again: putting an Alliance team together with the right skills and security clearance will take too long. The war may have ended thirty years ago, but Shepard and her role in it haven’t faded into irrelevance. She wouldn’t use Galactic Affairs resources for this – she and Garrus have always separated their family and their work – but that hardly seems to matter. He’d bet a year’s salary that she’ll have half her old crew assembled by day’s end, and probably even wrangled the Normandy. “I’ve had nightmares about this call,” he admits.

Liara offers him a reassuring smile. “Better it comes from you. And now.”

His omnitool beeps with a response from Abby. No joy. Even Abby isn’t available. “Yeah,” he sighs.

“When you have a plan, tell me where I should meet you,” she says.

Of course Liara’s coming; James doesn’t know why he ever considered otherwise. She’s Shepard’s best friend. Dropping everything for each other is what they do. “I will.” Their kids are with Aethyta for the summer; they don't even need to find a babysitter.

“As soon as my agents have anything, you will be the next to know. Good luck.”

“Thank you,” he says. He’ll need it.

***

“I have a name and a paper trail a year old,” Liara says. “Which would you like first?”

Strange how this feels so much like a war council. Tablets scattered across the table, holographic projection in the middle, second cup of coffee steaming in front of her. Garrus at her right, Liara at her left, around the table with Miranda across from her between them. All they're missing is some bad lighting, Hackett on the QEC, and James lurking around the edges, unsure where he belongs.

Except this is their dining room, not the Normandy, and there aren’t any NCOs stationed outside, just their kids sleeping upstairs.

“Name,” Olivia says before anyone can say otherwise. Nora's been with them for three months and it's taken this long to find anything on Project Damocles. She's wanted a name since Chakwas pointed out the chip on that very first scan.

“Doctor Charlotte Turner, head of Project Damocles.” Liara calls up a holoimage of a pale blonde woman with strong cheekbones and an angular jaw.

“Turner’s still alive?” Miranda says, almost in awe. At the blank stares the others give her, she explains. “I lost track of her in the war. She’s brilliant.”

“She has her claws inside my kid’s head, Miranda,” Olivia snaps.

Miranda looks at her through the holoimage. “I realize that, Shepard. But Turner is formidably intelligent. Underestimating her would not be wise.”

Olivia takes a shallow, sharp breath. She isn’t sure whether she’d like to kill Charlotte Turner, or throw her into an Alliance cell deep underneath Vancouver and destroy the key. If they're both very lucky, she won't have to make that decision.

“Her trail goes cold about a year after the…surgery on Nora,” Liara says.

Olivia grimaces and doesn’t want to know what other words her friend may have used there. Bad enough she and Garrus use words like experiment and implantation regarding their daughter. Those words don’t need to see daylight, much less other people.

“But we think she’s still alive?” Garrus asks.

“I found no evidence otherwise,” Liara says. Her eyes flick toward Olivia before focusing again on Miranda. “There’s mention in this file that Turner worked on Lazarus.”

“Lovely,” Olivia mutters. Garrus rests his hand on her knee, beneath the table out of sight of the others. She drops her own hand down and gives his a gentle squeeze.

“She was an early consult,” Miranda brushes past the statement before any other implications have the chance to fall. “Her research was irrelevant to what we needed. She was moved onto other projects.”

Olivia bites her tongue about splitting a fine difference between irrelevant and unnecessary. It isn’t her mind she’s worried about anymore. Nora’s upstairs in her bedroom, sleeping soundly underneath a yellow comforter and glow-in-the-dark stars, blissfully unaware of this very disturbing conversation happening where she ate dinner a few hours earlier.

“And we lose her a few years ago?” Garrus brings everyone back to the present.

Liara nods. “Current Cerberus records are patchy at best and she drops out of them in early 2189. She may still be working for Cerberus, but the last record I have of her is security footage leaving Omega on a transport ship ostensibly headed to Virmire.” She brings up a new image. Despite the dark hair, it’s obviously Turner boarding the ship. “There’s no record of the ship ever landing on Virmire,” she continues. “But it does appear two years later on a cargo run through Aralakh for Kassa Fabrication. According to my agent, the owner either truly does not remember Turner, or is a very good liar with some incentive to cover for her. Likely the former."

Garrus sighs and leans back in his chair. “She could be anywhere.”

“The Alliance has spent the last few years knocking on the door of every Cerberus cell they can find,” Olivia says. “Any chance you know of any they may not have found?” she asks Miranda, though she’s asked it before.

“We were isolated from each other for precisely that question,” Miranda says, the same answer she’s always given.

It was worth a shot. “Here’s hoping she slips up,” Olivia says, though she’s been around the galaxy enough to know that people like Turner don’t slip up.

They only reappear of their own volition and only then when it’s already too late.

***

Olivia stares past the elcor ambassador at a spot on the wall behind him. They really should repaint the meeting room.

“This one disputes your claim.”

She shifts her gaze to the plant behind the hanar ambassador. They should also water the plants in here. Maybe replace them with synthetics.

She lets the elcor ambassador retort – with great irritation, I do not care – before she sits up straight and focuses her attention on the two. “Ambassadors,” she says, and then is interrupted by the door chime. Olivia furrows her brow. Molly’s new, but she knows not to interrupt these meetings. “Yes?”

The door slides open. “Director, Ambassadors, I’m so sorry for interrupting.” The young woman looks nervous. No, worried. She tucks her hair behind her ear. “Director, you have an urgent call.”

“How urgent? Can it wait?” As much as Olivia would like to be just about anywhere else, economic tensions between the elcor and hanar have been rising lately; her office is the last stop before Council trade mediators get involved and come up with a solution that will probably piss off both races and the krogan.

Molly shakes her head. “An old friend from home needs to speak with you.”

Olivia’s blood runs cold.

Adrenaline sparks against her tongue. She swallows against a sharp wave of nausea and blinks rapidly, forcing her vision to clear. There’s a ringing in her ears as she turns back to the other two and she’s never been so thankful that neither race understands human facial expressions.

“Ambassadors,” she says, surprised at how calm her voice sounds while her heart pounds in her chest, “my apologies. This requires my immediate attention. Assistant Director Kali T’Vasa will take my place in these conversations." She stands and grits her teeth together against the vertigo that joins the nausea. Breathing slowly, she gathers her computer and, after giving both ambassadors a courtesy nod, steps out of the meeting room.

She whirls around on Molly as soon as the door closes, surging half a step into her assistant’s personal space. “Who the hell pulled that line?” she hisses.

Molly’s eyes go wide and she takes a step backward. “Commander James Vega?”

Olivia’s heart thunders in her ears and another wave of adrenaline crashes into her, freezing cold and frantic. “Okay.” She closes her eyes tight, forcing the tsunami of panic to hold off for just a little bit longer. Five minutes, that’s all she needs. Talk to Vega, find out what happened, then panic.

With a sharp exhale, she opens her eyes again. “Okay. Uh – pull Kali out of whatever she’s doing and send her in there so those two don’t do anything stupid. And reschedule everything for the next three days. No, a week. And,” she pauses. “I need coffee.”

“Large black triple shot hazelnut latte?”

“Yeah.”

For a moment, Molly looks like she’s going to say something. But she doesn't. “Anything else?”

“No,” she shakes her head. “Thank you,” she adds belatedly.

Molly nods. “He’s connected to your private terminal.”

Olivia manages a small smile for the young woman and steps into her office. She takes three deep breaths – good air in, bad air out – before picking up the call. “What happened?”

It’s a testament to how panicked James is that he doesn’t even say hello. “The mission Nora’s on went pear-shaped. Cerberus captured her team, but they got an SOS out. The chip’s active.”

Everything

just

stops.

Time, air, the galaxy. James on the vidcall.

Her brain ceases processing external signals. Everything freezes in place, silent and unmoving, except for Olivia’s shallow breath, in and out.

The chip’s active.

Air in, air out.

Not good, there’s no good air in here, there might not ever be any good air again, and there’s so much bad air in her lungs she could never hope to breathe it all out. Just…air. Keep breathing. Breathe. Inhale, exhale.

In. Out.

Her lungs burn with the force of it.

“…need your help,” James is saying when everything flips back on again. He stops. “Shepard?”

“Yeah,” she says, blinking a few times. She refocuses on his face on the screen in front of her. Just another crisis, that’s all. She’s spent her entire adult life managing any number of crises. If she can fool herself into thinking this is no different, she can make it through this conversation. Make it through this day. She exhales sharply, straightens her shoulders, and shoves the panic part of her five-minute plan to sometime several days from now. “Yeah. What do you need?”

Just another crisis. That her daughter is at the center of it is a fact she does not have time nor space to dwell on right now. Nora doesn’t need her to panic.

Nora needs her to help.

***

“Here’s a thought,” Alle says, staring up at the ceiling. The concrete floor isn’t particularly comfortable, but if she’s lying down, she isn’t pacing. And if she isn’t pacing, she isn’t driving herself and everyone who can see her insane. “I’d love to just sit here and wait for a rescue, but waiting at least another three days to see if our message even got out is probably not our wisest plan.”

"No," Carlos agrees, "probably not. But – and I'm not saying we shouldn't try – but we don't have any of our gear, our intel was wrong, and now we're down a person."

Alle sits up. She tugs her hair down from its mussed ponytail, runs her fingers through her hair, and then pulls it back up out of her face. Looking over at Rachel’s cell, she sighs. It’s been almost two days since they dragged an unconscious Nora out of the cell. And though the others all thought she was hearing things, Alle will swear to every known god and goddess in the galaxy – and a few she thinks she got from television – that she heard screaming late last night. “We've had worse odds," she says, because they have. This just feels worse. "Anyone got a way out of here?”

She’s met with silence for half a minute and then Micah speaks up.

“Getting out isn’t difficult,” he says. “We rush them when they bring food, that’s not an issue. The problem,” he sighs, “is what do we do beyond that door. Torrini's right: we have no gear, no idea what forces they have, and the blueprints we had are out of date. Any escape route isn’t guaranteed.”

“Yeah, but they can’t have changed it that much,” Carlos says. “It’s a concrete building in the middle of the jungle. We found some walls and doors in the wrong spot, but generally everything was right. They’re not gonna overhaul the entire infrastructure. Some rooms might be missing, but a hallway isn't going to go the wrong way. Right?”

Alle quirks her eyebrow. He has a point. But blind faith that Cerberus hasn’t blocked their exit strategy with their redecorating isn’t how she wants to rescue her best friend. She ultimately may not have a choice, but she’d like to avoid shouldering major parts of their plan onto Cerberus is too lazy to remodel their jungle base. “Doesn’t solve What’s Behind Door Number One, though.”

“And we’re unarmed,” Micah points out again.

“We have an omnitool,” Alle says.

“That hardly qualifies as ‘gear’,” Rachel says, putting air quotes around the word.

“No, but Torrini can walk Wu through how to hack into those force fields with it, and I distinctly remember the goons bringing food having guns. We can acquire gear.” Now that she’s made her way through half a plan – even a half that largely depends on Jonah being able to understand Carlos when he goes full tech nerd – Alle finds herself very reluctant to stop planning. Momentum has carried her through many a FUBARed mission. No reason that tradition should stop now.

With a deep breath, Jonah pushes himself upright from his silent corner. “Problem Number One, retrieve our gear. Our actual gear. I’m not running an extract with an aging pistol we took off someone on the prison catering staff. Number Two, find where they’re keeping Vakarian and spring her.”

Alle swallows. They all know how to leave people behind; they’ve all made that awful decision to choose the mission over people and sometimes she thinks it was a prerequisite for the program. If she’s being honest with herself – and honesty has always sucked but has also always kept her alive – the easiest way to get the five of them out is to ignore Problem Number Two entirely.

She knows she’d never forgive herself, never stop being haunted by a metallic orange stripe and the ghost of a grenade, but forgetting about Nora is how Alle guarantees she gets out of this alive.

Momentum she’ll keep, but fuck honesty.

Problem Number Two is on the board. Jonah put it there and the other three aren’t arguing and maybe they all had to leave someone behind to learn that it isn’t something you do twice.

Jonah cracks his neck. “Problem Number Three, get all of us out of this damn base.” He pauses, waiting for someone to bring up a fourth problem.

They have way more than three problems, but nothing worthy of the board.

“I’m looking for answers to any of those three problems.”

***

Garrus stops by the front door to double check the security system. All green, all safe. He turns off the downstairs lights and heads upstairs.

His omnitool beeps softly with a forwarded message from Liv: the Citadel building department finally signed off on their design, all the finances are authorized, and remodeling on their new place will start next week.

"Thank you," he whispers in relief to the universe for at least one bright spot in this evening of bad news. They didn't have space even before they brought Nora home. In a few months, the boys will have their own rooms, he and Liv will have their own offices again, they'll have a full dextro/levo kitchen big enough that they can both cook at the same time without tripping over each other, and they'll have enough closet space that they can stop storing everyone's shoes in a closet downstairs with the holiday decorations. They'll even have a real guest room, not just a pull-out couch shoved into the corner of Olivia's office, lost anyway when they converted the room for Nora.

He turns off the light at the top of the stairs, casting the hallway into shadows. He passes his sons’ room, pleased to see their light off. Quentus has been protesting the concept of bedtime lately,

Soft light spills out into the hallway from Nora's room, the warm glow of her nightlight. She doesn’t like sleeping with the door closed and it's cracked just enough to see in. He peeks his head around the door. She’s sound asleep, curled up tight around her teddy bear. The stars have lost their glow for the night, but the fish nightlight glows happily in the corner.

It’s hard to believe she’s the end result of some twisted Cerberus experiment. She’s sweet and shy and smiles and doesn’t deserve the horror show someone placed in her head.

No child does, but especially not his daughter.

Between Liara and Miranda, they’d been able to put together a good picture of Turner. Garrus had had enough somewhere around learning she’d worked on a project trying to meld AI with organics. That one wasn’t Cerberus, according to Miranda, which didn’t really make it better. Worse, somehow, when Liara found some tenuous connections to the Alliance. He’d walked away and busied himself with laundry until the other two had left.

Nora looks so peaceful, so unaware of the bomb in her head. He knows he can’t keep it that way forever, but spirits, will he try. He silently steps back out into the hallway and continues toward his own bed.

“You okay?” Olivia asks, shutting down her omnitool for the night.

Garrus sighs. “We’re caught up on laundry.”

“That’ll last until tomorrow,” Olivia observes.

He nods in agreement and walks into the bathroom to get ready for bed. When he comes back out, Olivia’s leaning on the wall, waiting.

“That wasn’t an answer,” she says.

“I know.” He brushes past her.

She pushes off the wall and silently follows him to bed. She doesn’t respond, but everything she isn’t saying resonates off of her: she’s worried, she’s concerned, she isn’t going to push him.

Garrus clenches his jaw and curls his talons tight around the blanket as he tugs the covers back. Her patience drives him insane sometimes. “Our daughter has a dormant control chip in her head. We have no idea what it will do to her, and the monster who put it there is still alive somewhere, doing who knows what. I don't know what you want me to say, Olivia.”

She looks up at him with kind, soft eyes. “You walked away in the middle of the conversation and did what I’m pretty sure is eight loads of laundry. I’m just checking in.”

“Nine,” he says quietly. He sighs and lets the blanket fall back to the bed. “No. I’m not okay. Are you?”

“Nope.”

Though Olivia’s terrible at telling him anything other than truth, Garrus makes a perplexed sound. She didn’t leave and do three hours of laundry.

“I’m very good at compartmentalizing,” she reminds him, climbing into bed.

Garrus nods and slides in beside her.

It’s always scared him a bit, how good she is at turning things off, packing them away to be dealt with later. They're both good at it; it comes with being a soldier, but Liv is the expert. He hasn’t seen her with that kind of targeted focus in years. He honestly hadn’t wanted to see it again.

***

Olivia sits down at the kitchen counter with a heaviness and exhaustion she hasn't felt in a long time. One more call and then her list is done. One more call and then there's nothing to do until the Normandy picks them up in eleven hours. She still has to pack, but she can't justify pushing this call off any longer.

She can tell herself that other things were more pressing, more urgent. That in the grand scheme of this particular problem, it was more important to track down Miranda and pull about a hundred strings with Alliance Command. Starting a plan in motion was, fundamentally, a more critical task than stopping to tell her husband what’s going on with their daughter.

Yet no matter how she spins it, no matter how much logic she puts onto all the other calls she made first, it doesn’t change that she’s calling him last because she doesn’t want to call him at all. Doesn’t want to tell him, doesn’t want to say the words out loud. Doesn't want to see his face when she tells him that their worst nightmare is now their reality. She’d much prefer fabricating a sudden work trip, disappearing for a week, and returning with Nora in tow, crisis already resolved.

But Garrus is her husband and he is Nora’s father, and she needs to tell him. He needs to know. He deserves to know. And as much as she'd like to never tell him about any of this, she needs him to know. She needs him beside her for whatever comes next.

Olivia clenches her back teeth and calls his office.

“Good evening, Director Shepard,” Kyra says.

No matter how hard Olivia’s tried to convince her otherwise, Kyra always addresses her by her title. Olivia gave up five years ago. Tonight, she wishes she’d tried a little harder: she’s Mom right now, not Olivia Shepard, Director of Galactic Affairs.

And Garrus is about to be Dad, not Garrus Vakarian, Turian Councilor.

“Hi, Kyra. I need to speak to Garrus, please.” Her voice sounds so much calmer than she feels.

“I’m sorry. The Council’s in a closed session.”

Olivia nods. “I know.” Her throat’s suddenly bone dry. She swallows a few times before she can get the words out. “Tell him an old friend from home needs to speak with him.”

#no this chapter doesn't give detailed insight into how my brain works during a crisis why do you ask #s:words #s:set your flag #nora vakarian: in any given storm #i feel like i ask this every time i post a chapter but how the fuck was i tagging this story

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commandertheory · 5 years

Text

Ravnica Allegiance Commander Set Review

For each new set, I write an article discussing the new legendary creatures and the nonlegendary cards that I think will be relevant in Commander.

In this set review, I’ll be using two five-point rating scales to evaluate the nonlegendary cards, one that measures how many decks a card is playable in (we’ll call that “spread”), and one that measures how powerful it is in those decks (”power”). Here’s a brief rundown of what each rank on the two scales means:

Spread

1: This card is effective in one or two decks, but no more (ex: The Gitrog Monster). 2: This card is effective in one deck archetype (ex: self-mill decks). 3: A lot of decks will be able to use this card effectively (ex: decks with graveyard interactions). 4: This card is effective in most decks in this color. 5: Every deck in this color is able to use this card effectively.

Power

1: This card is always going to be on the chopping block. 2: This card is unlikely to consistently perform well. 3: This card provides good utility but is not a powerhouse. 4: This card is good enough to push you ahead of your opponents. 5: This card has a huge impact on the game.

The Commanders of Ravnica Allegiance

In this section, I’ll be analyzing the new legendary creatures, offering some ideas for decks build around them, and discussing their potential for inclusion in the 99 of other decks.

There are some nice interactions between lifelinking commanders and Black’s effects that let you trade life for resources (Hatred, in particular, seems pretty good here), but overall, this is a pretty weak, overcosted voltron commander. Although there are some efficient ways to put a lot of counters on him, he’ll never be more than a 6-cost french vanilla creature.

I don’t like commanders that focus solely on what your opponents are doing; there are going to be plenty of games where nobody’s doing anything unfair and her text box ends up being blank. That being said, there are a few pieces of tech that can help Lavinia put your opponents in the slammer. Much like Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir, her ability to shut down unfair stuff combines with Knowledge Pool to prevent your opponents from playing the game. She also combos with Eye of the Storm to keep your opponents from casting instants and sorceries.

Grave Pact, Dictate of Erebos, and Skullclamp are the MVPs here. Sac outlets are necessary or this deck to function, and you’ll also need a few of the better creatures with death triggers in these colors (Treasure Keeper, Archon of Justice, and Corpse Augur are standouts).

Sample list: Teysa Karlov

I think the build is going to end up looking a lot like Lyzolda, with a ton of sac fodder (e.g., Bloodghast) and deathtouch equipment to get the most out of her ping. The major differences are that Judith requires a critical mass of sac outlets (Attrition, Mind Slash, Sadistic Hypnotist, and Skullclamp are all good here) and she can’t use token generators as well as Lyzolda can. The +1/+0 buff doesn’t seem like it’s going to do much; I’m much more partial to boosts of +2/+0 or more in a format with 40 starting life.

The obvious direction to take this is hellspawn tribal, but I don’t think that’s actually the best way to build around Rakdos. There are only a handful of playable Imps and Devils, and the average CMC of the playable Demons is like 6. Unesh and The Ur-Dragon showed us that you need cost reduction to make expensive iconic creatures into a viable tribal deck, while Lyra Dawnbringer made the case for cost reduction from the opposite direction, because that deck doesn’t really start doing stuff until turn 6 or 7.

I think Rakdos needed to have a cost reduction component for the Demon tribal build to be viable; without it, I think your expensive Demons are just going to clog up your hand. That said, I think there is a more goodstuffy Rakdos deck where he comes down to generate massive value and potentially serves as a win condition.

No matter how you choose to build the deck, Krark’s Thumb, Panharmonicon, and Conjurer’s Closet are all useful for tilting the odds in your favor, and if you do choose to go the Demon tribal route, Liliana’s Contract, Blood Speaker, and Mark of the Oni are perfect for this deck.

Sample Demon tribal list: Rakdos, the Showstopper

There are a lot of great mana sinks that happen to be creatures. Apocalypse Hydra and Savageborn Hydra give you a great ratio of power and toughness per mana spent, Hydra Broodmaster gives you an army of dudes, Orcish Settlers annihilates your opponents’ mana bases, Polukranos eats all the small critters on the board, and Realm Seekers lets you get all the best lands out of your deck.

Nikya’s restriction forces you to build your deck creatively since you can’t rely on any of Green’s staple non-creature spells. This means you’re going to be more reliant on creature-based tutoring, like Fauna Shaman and Fierce Empath. Unfortunately, mana dorks aren’t as strong in this list as they usually are, since they miss out on Nikya’s mana doubling. That means you may want to prioritize creatures that ramp you, like Sakura-Tribe Elder, Wood Elves, Farhaven Elf, and Elvish Rejuvenator, and creatures that grant you additional land drops, like Skyshroud Ranger, Sakura-Tribe Scout, Azusa, Mina and Denn, and Oracle of Mul Daya.

Sample list: Nikya of the Old Ways

A Wistful Selkie ETB trigger doesn’t give you a ton of direction for a deck, as the reward isn’t good enough to incentivize repeatable running bounce/blink engines. Her Adapt ability is not very useful for Voltron purposes, as there’s little difference between 7 and 8 power for clock purposes, and you can get to the 7-power threshold a lot more easily using things like Hero’s Blade, O-Naginata, Empyrial Plate, Tenza, etc etc.

ETB triggers, death triggers, untap effects are all good here, as are haste granters that allow you to activate Vannifar the turn you drop her. Vannifar seems especially good at assembling creature-based combos like Deadeye Navigator and one of the Urza block creatures that untap lands.

I like how climbing from 1 to 4 is essentially free, as you can get Scryb Ranger and then Deceiver Exarch/Pestermite/Bounding Krasis to untap her and move up the ladder.

Maindeck Cards

Spread: 4 Power: 3

Only the most spiteful opponents are going to pay 2 mana to deny you one mana, so the majority of the time this is just going to amass a respectable hoard and/or do a decent impression of Thran Dynamo. I think this could be a new white staple, as this color has so few ramp options and it synergizes with the most powerful white cards (e.g. mass land destruction).

At the very least, I think it’ll earn a slot in Enchantress decks, nongreen white decks with high average CMCs or expensive commanders, and Breya/Akiri.

Spread: 1 Power: 3

Kumena wants to run as many Merfolk that generate value as possible, so Benthic Biomancer seems like a great fit. He fills out a spot on the curve that doesn’t have many good options and triggers every time Kumena activates his counter-granting ability, giving you low-cost card filtering. Also notable for Pir and Toothy lists.

Spread: 1 Power: 2

Aminatou can steal it back for you, making this a budget alternative to Gilded Drake.

Spread: 1 Power: 4

It compares unfavorably to Blatant Thievery unless you’ve got absurd amounts of mana. Fortunately, there are a few blue commanders that can make oodles of mana: Teferi, Temporal Archmage, Kruphix, God of Horizons, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix, and Tatyova, Benthic Druid may be interested in this card.

Spread: 1 Power: 5

I’m very excited to see this effect in colors other than Black. I think the best way to make use of it is to use Arcum Dagsson as your commander and tutor up Thrumming Stone every game. The Petitioners seem even stronger than Relentless Rats/Rat Colony because you can activate their mill ability immediately; there’s less of an opportunity for your opponents to cast a sweeper and get rid of all your win conditions.

Spread: 1 Power: 3

Strictly better than many of the Flying Men variants, so it deserves a place in Edric.

Spread: 1 Power: 3

Notable for costing two less and providing 80% of a Fact or Fiction when you’ve got Unesh on the table. It’s an easy inclusion over one of the more expensive Sphinxes that doesn’t have as good of a FoF-to-mana ratio.

Spread: 1 Power: 4

Aboshan, Derevi, Lorthos, and Ojutai 1.0 can all get sick value from this card.

Spread: 1 Power: 3

I like it in aggressive decks that have trouble against control (like Varina), decks that are good at playing out of their graveyard (like Varina), and decks that can break the card’s symmetry with Zombie lords (like Varina).

I like this in Nath, too. Nath’s discard trigger totally breaks the symmetry on this effect and you’re likely to have other cards that trigger when your opponents discard, as well (such as Waste Not or Geth’s Grimoire).

Spread: 2 Power: 3

Very strong in combination with commanders that can pay life for value, like Erebos, Chainer, Savra, Vona, and Tymna. There are probably also enough black staples (and lands) that allow you to pay life for this to be playable in Black decks even without a synergistic commander.

Spread: 2 Power: 2

Najeela is happy to see another cheap, self-recurring warrior in the vein of Bloodsoaked Champion, and Olivia 2.0 probably doesn’t mind easy discard fodder. That said, the primary use for this card will probably be in sacrifice decks looking for a 6th copy of Bloodghast.

Spread: 1 Power: 1

It’s got a very cool line of text but I don’t think there’s a deck for this card. In order to really work well with the Spirit, a card needs to have three characteristics:

Capable of dealing small amounts of damage (i.e., the Spirit isn’t going to add a lot of value to your Blasphemous Act)

Capable of damaging lots of creatures without killing the Spirit (i.e., saving you a bit of mana on an Earthquake variant, once, does not make this guy worth a card slot)

Playable even if you never draw the Spirit (I don’t think Fireball is worth running in most Commander decks, for example)

Fire Covenant and maaaybe Bonfire of the Damned are the only cards I can think of that meet all of those criteria, but you’ll need a critical mass of those kinds of cards for this to be worth running. This probably would have been more interesting as a commander.

Spread: 2 Power: 2

Sacrificing two creatures is a pretty steep cost, but there are a few commanders that are so dependent on sac outlets that they’ll be willing to pay it. Savra seems like the best fit; Mazirek is a possibility. I’d be wary of using it in other sac-oriented decks, however.

Spread: 4 Power: 3

This card seems really good. It’s probably gonna function as RR: Destroy target creature or planeswalker. The next card you cast this turn can be cast as though it had flash.

Spread: 3 Power: 2

In a deck with a low curve that can easily enable spectacle, this card looks quite efficient; almost like a Red Chart a Course. I love that you get a whole two turns to play your cards; that takes a lot of the pressure off.

Spread: 2 Power: 2

Flameshadow Conjuring is probably a good indicator of where this is likely to be good. Decks with lots of ETB creatures (such as Riku of Two Reflections) and commanders that trigger when your creatures enter the battlefield (like Purphoros or Reaper King) will definitely want this card. I’m not sure how good it’ll be in Zndrsplt and Okaun, since that deck tends to have a pretty low creature count and the ones it does run aren’t particularly good when copied. Other notable synergies include commanders with busted ETBs (Breya, Pia and Kiran, Godo, Bladewing, Rakdos 3.0)

Spread: 1 Power: 2

Maybe one day, Ooze tribal will be viable in Commander, but it’s going to take a lot more playable Oozes and either a critical mass of tribal effects as strong as this guy or a commander that explicitly rewards you for playing oozes. In a vacuum this card really underwhelms me, and I don’t know why.

Spread: 1 Power: 1

There are a few Green commanders that want to go wide with +1/+1 counters (Kumena, Mazirek, and Atraxa come to mind), but I just don’t think the rate on this card is good enough. Is the boost from this card going to help you win more easily than, say, a Triumph of the Hordes?

Spread: 4 Power: 3

This could be a budget replacement for Craterhoof, but it’s significantly weaker. Why do they bother to print something so similar to Hoof when what we really want is Hoof? Maybe newer players are afraid to put their shields down and the vigilance text will make them feel safe to alpha strike.

Spread: 3 Power: 3

This is a solid combo piece in Saffi and any other decks that like to put together ETB loops. It could also be good in Elf tribal lists (like Ezuri 1.0) as an Elfball enabler. Funny how we’re getting Beast Whisperer and this card back-to-back; once we get to a critical mass of these effects I could imagine a Samut deck running tons of mana dorks, Kobolds, 0-mana artifact creatures, and other mana-neutral creatures that cast most of its deck in one explosive turn.

Like this: Samut Creatureball Combo

Spread: 2 Power: 3

This seems especially good in Kraj, but it’ll also do good work for other Green decks that can easily put counters on their creatures, like Anafenza 1.0, Ghave, Ezuri 2.0, Marath, and Rishkar. Pir and Toothy like this a lot as well.

Spread: 4 Power: 1

Green has Bane of Progress and a million tutors to find it, so this card doesn’t really stack up against the competition.

Spread: 2 Power: 3

I like this in Omnath, Yeva, Kruphix, and any other Green commander that can act as a mana sink.

Spread: 2 Power: 1

Seems like a crazy amount of work for not much payoff. In contrast, Dig Through Time provides basically the same effect as his ultimate, immediately, for a comparable amount of mana.

Spread: 1 Power: 3

This seems like a very combo-centric card, but there aren’t a whole lot of UW decks that are combo-oriented. Maybe Rasputin Dreamweaver would be interested in this effect, since he runs a lot of expensive stuff to ramp into.

Spread: 1 Power: 3

Apparently, 84% of Arcades, the Strategist decks run Assault Formation. High Alert is another way to keep your deck functioning if Arcades gets removed, and it doesn’t force you to keep paying mana like Assault Formation does.

Spread: 5 Power: 1

If you’re trying to kill your opponents’ mana dorks, there are better ways to do it (like Massacre Wurm or Toxic Deluge), and if you’re trying to boost your team, there are also better options (such as Dictate of Heliod). This seems like another Immortal Sun-type card that does a lot of disparate things at a very poor rate. I really dislike these cards because very few decks are going to want all of the individual components, meaning you’re probably paying for things you don’t really need.

Spread: 4 Power: 2

There are relatively few 4-mana sweepers in Commander, so the arrival of a new one is notable. That said, the mana cost on this one is pretty onerous compared to Wrath of God, Damnation, and Day of Judgment. If you’ve got a very strong mana base then you might be able to consistently cast this card, but the low CMC is not an overwhelming advantage compared to the flexibility of Cleansing Nova or the value offered by a potentially asymmetrical 5-mana sweeper like Crux of Fate, Fell the Mighty, Hellfire, or Winds of Rath (not to mention the power and flexibility offered by some of the 6-mana sweepers in Commander, like Austere Command or Catastrophe). I think this is going to introduce a bunch of new players to the power of board wipes, as they see the “gain life” and probably aren’t as turned off by the card as they might be normally.

Spread: 1 Power: 1

The +1 is not worth a card in Commander and the -1 hits nothing but Sol Rings and mana dorks. The ultimate is basically irrelevant in Commander.

Spread: 5 Power: 3

Easily a new Rakdos staple. Kills almost everything you care about in Commander, and the mana cost isn’t much of a drawback if you’ve got a well-built manabase. Also, Seb McKinnon really kills it on this art and I hope he starts selling prints or playmats of it soon.

Spread: 1 Power: 2

I think the correct line for an opponent (assuming they have a hand they want to keep and a decent life total) is probably zombies, then hand, then life total. I think the knowledge that the captive player’s life total is about to drop will disincentivize attacking them beforehand; damage dealt to them is basically a waste, which means you get a lot of time without any pressure being applied in which to try to find an answer to the enchantment. That said, if you fail to escape from captivity before your life total gets set to 4, it’s probably game over for you.

Overall, I think the design of this card is interesting but I don’t think there’s a deck for it. Maybe if it had been templated as a Curse then there’d be a place for it when Wizards prints a Curse commander in the future. As it stands, there aren’t a lot of Black/Red decks that are willing to pay this much mana and wait this long to kill only a single player.

Spread: 3 Power: 1

I like discard outlets more than most, but the fact that this has black in its color identity means it’s competing with things like Ancient Craving, Ambition’s Cost, Promise of Power, etc. If you could get the full value by reanimating it or blinking it, I’d be a lot more interested, but if I have to use this fairly to get the Bedlam Reveler effect, then I’ll probably skip it.

Spread: 1 Power: 2

I love that you don’t have to damage your opponent every single turn. It’s nice knowing that each card you exile will still be waiting for you the next time you hit someone. This effect might be worth exploring in decks like Neheb the Worthy or Malfegor, as it can act as a second hand of cards that sticks around when your commander makes you discard your main hand.

I don’t think it’s good enough in most RB lists, however, as having access to Black means that you’ve got access to more efficient card advantage.

Spread: 3 Power: 1

I don’t think Domri is going to be very effective in Commander. Neither of his first two abilities protect himself or offer anything especially useful in this format, so I think it’s pretty safe to write him off.

Spread: 4 Power: 2

It’s versatile, but I don’t think there are a ton of commanders that want this effect. Maybe Ruric Thar or Nikya because it’s a creature that controls the board?

Spread: 1 Power: 3

Great in any blue/green deck running Training Grounds, most notably Sliver Overlord, Tasigur, Thrasios, and Kraj.

Spread: 4 Power: 2

They must have been sandbagging this type-line for years.

It’s useful in non-combo Momir Vig decks as a way to trigger both of his abilities while getting value.

It could also serve as redundancy for Mystic Snake in decks that are trying to assemble the soft lock with Deadeye Navigator. Note that you can break through this lock with instant-speed removal by killing either half in response to the soulbond trigger.

Spread: 1 Power: 2

Great in Simic decks looking for outlets for big/infinite mana, like Kruphix and Kydele.

Spread: 3 Power: 2

I’m a big fan of Pongify/Rapid Hybridization and while Inc/Inc isn’t nearly as efficient as those cards, the flexibility and exile effect might push it across the threshold for playability.

Spread: 1 Power: 1

This card has a lot of problems keeping me from endorsing it:

You can’t frontload the counters and drop Simic Ascendancy for the win because it has to see you adding all the counters.

If you’ve given your creatures a permanent +20/+20, why haven’t you won already?

The rate for the activated ability is pretty inefficient.

You’re probably better off leaving this one in the trade binder.

Overall Thoughts

I think this set was better for Commander than Guilds of Ravnica. A lot of Guilds of Ravnica’s power was concentrated in staple effects or variants on existing cards, like Plaguecrafter, Assassin’s Trophy, Beast Whisperer, Knight of Autumn, Goblin Cratermaker.

In contrast, RNA had less support for Goodstuff and more tools for niche archetypes, with cards like Verity Circle, Font of Agonies, and Awaken the Erstwhile adding to the format without stifling creativity. Moreover, the potential new staples that were introduced (Smothering Tithe, Electrodominance) seemed to favor the weaker colors that needed the help (White and Red). Overall, I’m much happier with RNA than the straight power creep of Guilds of Ravnica.

As for the legendary creatures in these two sets, I think RNA ended up with more viable, interesting commanders than GRN, despite having one less slot for them. Aside from Niv Mizzet, Izoni, and Lazav, the commanders of GRN fell flat and didn’t give you a whole lot of room to build around them. RNA’s commanders were much stronger: Judith provided an alternative to Lyzolda BR sacrifice, while Prime Speaker Vannifar and Teysa Karlov provided less broken alternatives to Momir Vig and Teysa, Orzhov Scion, respectively. Meanwhile, Nikya added a new archetype to the format and Rakdos provides a solid commander for BR control (or demon tribal, if you want to build it that way).

Thanks for reading!

Let me know if a reblog or message if you disagree with any of my ratings or if you think there are Commander-relevant cards that I missed.

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#set review #rna #mtg #magic the gathering #commander

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batgirl-87 · 5 years

Note

For the newer ask game: 7, 8, 9, 10, 26! :)

Thank you for asking! =)

Omg these are all good questions that made me really think - you’re putting me to work! =p Which also means this got long, sorry… But I think I should be writing this game’s storyline now after thinking about Olivia Green… =p Also would love to hear other’s opinions on Olivia as well because I am super curious about her!

Talk About Your MC and Jacob Asks

7. What memory or thought does MC/Jacob use when conjuring a patronus? What form does it take?

Jacob, being older has a better memory of their mom and time spent together with her than Keira. So memories like them building a fort in the living room in front of the fire to curl up in to listen to a story their mom would read to them on a rainy day or the time their mom unleashed some of her fiery Irish temper on another parent of some kids who were teasing him and his sister for being “freaks” since they’re part Undine, while their parents did nothing but confirm that yes they were freaks so stay away from them, are memories he holds dear. Their mom went off, partially in French - that family had no idea what was happening but knew they pissed off the wrong person! It was awesome!

Memories with his ‘adopted’ parents are great too, he’s learned a lot from them and appreciates all they’ve done. He loved all the Quidditch practice and support, hiking in the woods and learning more about nature and Native traditions, but while those memories are fond to him I think memories of his birth mom would make for the strongest patronus.

I have debated a lot about Jacob’s patronus (buffalo, bear, elk - trying to stay away from stag!) and while I thought I settled on buffalo now I’m thinking bear… Whether it’s a buffalo or brown bear both are big, strong, calm, grounded, and fiercely protective of their families.”The bear is indicative of someone with a great reserve of patience and inner strength. They are confident, stable people that others may gravitate to in trying times for stability and healing. Though their quiet nature and tendency to spend time away from the crowd can lead to others thinking they are stern or anti-social, bears are often friendly and curious, and can surprise even those that know them best with something they didn’t think of. Brown bears are known to be the “warriors” of the bear archetype, standing their ground and facing danger to protect others or do what they believe is right, not backing down no matter the danger.” ; “Few possess just the right strength of character for their patronus to take the form of a buffalo. Those that do are dedicated individuals who are fiercely protective of those close to them, and not in a general way, either. Anyone foolish enough to attempt to harm another under a buffalo’s care is unlikely to come out unscathed. They are fighters, and it’s not uncommon for a buffalo to have their own personal code or way of acting to which normal morality simply doesn’t apply, which can be dangerous even for the buffalo.”

Unfortunately, Keira being the youngest and having her mom pass when she was about five years old means she doesn’t have as many vivid memories about her like Jacob does. But she does have a lot of memories of her brother Jacob, always being there for her especially after their mom passes, getting into random shenanigans together; and a lot of Quidditch related ones as well like watching his practices or games, accompanying their ‘adopted’ dad on jobs working with Quidditch players, making friends with other players. While it may be a memory about hanging with friends, Quidditch, or spending time with their ‘adopted’ parents Jacob is a constant presence in all her happiest memories. As she gets older I think some memories with her “Uncle Remus” would also be very meaningful to her and help her produce a patronus. And when they both get older I think the memory of winning the World Cup would be a great memory for both Jacob and Keira.

Keira’s patronus is an arctic fox, although it could change as she grows up and has new experiences. (I was also under the impression that typically one’s animagus form was their patronus, or original one since a patronus can change?) “Cunning, stealth, persistence. The arctic fox is infinitely adaptable, living its life in one of the world’s most extreme climates. Arctic fox people tend to be sly, graceful, and have a near magic ability to make something out of nothing, utilizing even the most limited of resources. Arctic fox as a totem can teach us the ability to go with the flow of life, changing ourselves to suit our ever-evolving environments. They adapt to whatever comes their way. They are light on their feet, and very persistent. They are known to do the best with what they have and even in the hardest of times, they don’t give up. But they can also betray you in an instant. Most arctic fox people are known to be cunning even when they don’t mean it and they can lie and con their way out of everything. They do whatever it takes to survive, even if they have to do something they don’t agree with.But nevertheless they are great people to have around if you’re in a jam and need help with something.”

*Spoiler* For the side quest I have yet to see, and therefore obviously do, I’m pretty sure her patronus is going to be some form of a cat because I don’t think a rabbit or horse suits her and her animagus is a cat - I’m not sure what the cat options are exactly but I’m pretty positive I’m choosing the cat option and then we’ll see what type of cat is for her.

8. Would MC/Jacob use legilimency on anyone, anytime, or only when absolutely necessary? Does this change over time? Do they ever become as powerful as Snape/Dumbledore/Queenie (wandless and nonverbal)?

Why do I feel like my Jacob would legit forget about his legilimency ability and then randomly be reminded of it be like “Oh yeah!” =p

I think for both Jacob and Keira they would resort to using legilimency only when necessary, however, I think Keira is more liberal about using it than Jacob but that could be because he forgets about it =p

I believe at first Keira doesn’t want to use it at all when she first finds out at Hogwarts but I think the more difficult and dangerous the hunt for these Vaults and dealing with the Cabal is going to get she’s going to get some more practice with it and realize she needs to use it and it’s a beneficial and useful ability to have. Then when she becomes a Curse-Breaker and is dealing with dark wizards and witches and mercenaries she’ll find again that this ability proves to be very useful. And the more dangerous jobs she takes on the more she may rely on it and use it. Whereas for a professional Quidditch player legilimency isn’t really needed as much so… hence Jacob forgetting about it =p

But neither of them would use it on anyone at any time unless they’re doing some fun party trick or something =p But they wouldn’t take advantage of it and misuse it or use it just because they’re bored or something.

I am a big fan of nonverbal and wandless magic, personally =p So I think, even if they don’t plan on using it all the time both would work towards improving their skills so they could do it at least nonverbally. I think Keira would work harder to be able to do it nonverbally and wandlessly while Jacob would be find if he couldn’t do it nonverbally and wandless, hopefully at least one if possible, but he has to admit being able to do so without a wand and nonverbally would be cool and could prove useful sometimes (especially if the Cabal ever finds him or something because now he’s become paranoid about that) so he’d probably work on it but wouldn’t mind taking longer and be more lax about it than his sister. They’re bother hard working and determined people but his sister his more intense than him =p

But Keira works hard to be able to cast any magic she can nonverbally and/or wandless so this wouldn’t be anything special compared to other spells and abilities. She wants to be a badass and feared opponent!

9. Would MC/Jacob fight at the battle of Hogwarts or go into hiding/avoid the conflict? Would they survive?

Not only does Keira fight at the Battle of Hogwarts but she saves Remus, Tonks, and Fred (and Sirius beforehand) - FIGHT ME!

I cannot allow them to die - CANNOT DO IT! Can’t save everyone BUT SHE WILL SAVE THEM EVEN IF SHE DIES DOING SO!

Here’s what I’m thinking =p While visiting her beloved relative Tonks who is now a badass Auror, and getting a tour of the Ministry she maybe pockets a time-turner thinking ‘this is cool and can come in handy some time’ or she gets one from another country’s ministry or during her own adventures as a Curse-Breaker or doing some other jobs… (for another time =p) Point is, she’s getting her hands on some sort of time-turner because she thinks it could come in handy some time - right?! Who wouldn’t think that?

And then after what happens to Sirius in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries gives her a good reason to use it and she goes back to save him from getting killed by Bellatrix (after he punches Lucius of course because that moment is iconic =p) And then during the Battle of Hogwarts clearly she’s going to use it again to save Remus, Tonks, and Fred after they are found to have been killed during it. And she definitely goes through a whole reflection moment of all the ‘what ifs’ and consequences she may have to deal with if she does this - ‘Well what if it’s their time and doing this messes things up and someone else has to die to balance it out? Go back and try and save them too? But if it really is their time to go then me attempting to save them won’t make a difference and they’ll still die some other way because it’s just their time, right? And I have to accept that. But it really feels like it’s not their time….And if by saving them some dark wizard and witches end up living as well instead of dying we can just arrest them later or deal with that later because a couple of them living isn’t going to make that much of a difference (at least not to Keira) And highly doubt by saving them somehow that means Voldemort won’t be defeated, don’t see how that’s related…. And if I need to go back in time a few different times to get things right I will! And if I have to die in order to keep them alive and safe, fine.’ - there’s a whole lot she thinks about but ultimately she’s doing this. She’ll deal with the consequences as long as they are saved.

But can she do it alone? Well guess it’s good she saved Sirius, right because he is probably the only one who knows about her time-turner and what she did to save him so they together go back in time to save Remus, Tonks, and Fred - you think Sirius is going to let Remus die?! Hahahaha no!

Honestly, Remus is the driving force behind all of this. Keira loves Remus possibly more than anyone else and he deserves to be happy! He finally gets reunited with his best friend who was wrongfully imprisoned and has a bit of happiness back where he doesn’t feel so alone and is relieved that Sirius isn’t this horrible people everyone tried to make him out to be AND THEN HE DIES?! NOPE! (Plus Keira loves Sirius too and she doesn’t want him to die! He just got out of prison, again, after being wrongfully put in there, he doesn’t deserve to just die like that!) Remus finally finds someone who loves and accepts him beyond his Marauders who wants to marry him, they have a child, again he’s happy and not alone AND THEN THEY DIE AND LEAVE THEIR SON!? UMMMM NO! No no no no no, not happening. Remus is not going to die and leave her, Tonks isn’t going to die and leave him, and they’re going to be awesome, amazing parents and Remus deserves to have a happy life DAMNIT!

And then there’s Fred who has nothing really to do with Remus but… come on, she’s not going to be okay with Fred dying who’s like her own little brother - she had an instant connection to the Twins! And the Weasley family is one of the most warm, welcoming, caring family in the whole wizarding world AND twins being separated like this when they have such a close and special connection - No, she could not live with herself if she knew she could save Fred somehow and not do it. None of the Weasley’s deserve to lose Fred and he doesn’t deserve to die. If one has to die it can be Percy =p JUST KIDDING!

Anyway, that’s my brief explanation of how Keira saves Sirius, Remus, Tonks, and Fred while also still sort of having it canon because they do die and then she just goes back in time and saves them =p Also I don’t care if it’s not canon because I refuse to accept their deaths and no one will ever make me and no one can make me feel bad about creating a way to save them. I know this wasn’t exactly the question so…

Yes, Keira and Jacob will fight in the Battle of Hogwarts. Both are fiercely protective of those close to them and have a strong sense of justice. And if Keira is going to fight to try and keep her friends and family safe then Jacob of course is going to be there to try and keep her safe! Plus they both like action and some danger. (Jacob is very much a typical Gryffindor in the sense that he’ll leap into action without really thinking about it or worrying about his safety and Keira… she sort of accepted her fate back when she was in Hogwarts that she wasn’t going to live to see graduation and then when she did every day after that is like a bonus day she didn’t think she’d get so she’s like ‘I already lived longer than I thought I would’ so she can be reckless. Plus they love being in the action and the thrill of battle! They like the adrenaline rush and may have too much fun with it =p Why she’s a Curse-Breaker and takes on other dangerous jobs and he plays Quidditch)

I feel like Keira would be there from the beginning while Jacob would show up later, sort of like Charlie, liking to make a dramatic entrance like taking out some dark wizard before they attacked his sister who would be like “so nice of you to show up!” (they’re Black’s, they like to make dramatic entrances and exits, okay?!)

10. What happened to Olivia Green? Is she an evil agent of R or as she wrongfully manipulated like Jacob?

What did happen to Olivia Green!?!? Isn’t that the question of the century….

So I am Year 5 Ch 14 I think, so I don’t know if there’s been any more information on Olivia Green than the little we know which is she worked with Duncan and Jacob on these Vaults and was a Gryffindor… right? Well if there is more please let me know because that’s pretty much all I know. But I will say, and I don’t know what it is, but learning about Olivia Green made me instantly suspicious and feel like she’s the evil one behind all of this despite having no evidence of that!

Either, I feel, she’s sort of like the Peter Pettigrew of this story and betrayed Jacob and Duncan (or would have if he hadn’t died) to gain power and position in the Cabal and/or whatever is in the last Vault or she would have/tried to but the Cabal ultimately still chose Jacob over her and now she’s seeking revenge on his little sibling and using them to get to the last Vault before the Cabal to sort of show them they chose the wrong person (like I’ve said, I like the idea for my Jacob to have joined the Cabal as a sort of undercover mission), or she is a hermit somewhere living traumatized by everything they endured with the Vaults. (Idk why I like this idea of MC finding out she’s alive and living in some little cottage in the outskirts of Hogsmeade or something and they go to visit her and when they mention the Vaults it causes her to go off on MC and warn them to stay away and just triggers her, bringing her back to all this trauma she faced when she and Jacob and Duncan looked for the Vaults). But as fun as that idea is I for some reason instantly got an evil vibe from the mere mention of Olivia. Maybe I’m just looking for another candidate for R who isn’t Rakepick or Rowan? It’s freaking Peter isn’t it?! (If it’s Peter you all owe me $5 because I’ve been saying this! =p)

Anyways, I know nothing about Olivia but for some reason I don’t think she’s easily manipulated - maybe because I feel like my own MC is better at manipulating than being manipulated and I’m here for to smart, powerful witches to go at it, like two mini Rakepick’s or something =p And even if R is some male leader of the Cabal (is this considered a spoiler based on some things I’ve heard of/seen?…) and she could be some right hand like Bellatrix Lestrange - I’m sorry, but we all know Bellatrix Lestrange is way scarier and more powerful than Voldemort, at least I believe so and she’s the real one that should be feared than no nose. So I think even if Olivia is this sort of Bellatrix Lestrange she’s going to be more powerful and scarier to deal with. She’s probably just using the Cabal to get what she wants! Again, I probably just want some badass woman villain who is not Rakepick so I’m making Olivia that. Maybe I’m also over the kids vs adult thing too and while Olivia is older than MC they’re both still relatively young and it’s not like MC would be fighting against someone 15+ years older than them. But again she could be some traumatized hermit living in the woods!

Maybe she is R and like Voldemort rearranged the letters in her name to give her a new one that starts with R (from Green)? Maybe she’s the reason Jacob and Duncan got involved with the Vaults in the first place and she’s the puppet master pulling all the strings here! Or maybe she’s a traumatized hermit in the woods who is devastated and heartbroken over the loss of her two best friends, maybe more than friends, who died and joined the Cabal or went missing or whatever… But I’d prefer Olivia to be the evil R or at least evil than Rowan because I am not here for a betrayal of a close friend - Please don’t make Rowan the Peter! I’ll be so disappointed (but not surprised because it’s a common trope, right? But still disappointed… Honestly, if any friend was to betray MC I still think Tulip is the most likely candidate.)

So I’m open to either of those options but I’m clearly hoping for a badass woman villain and an epic showdown between her and MC personally… Whether she’s a Peter, Bellatrix, or Voldemort type or a mix. I can easily see the puppet master behind all of this being a smart, manipulative woman using others and playing them to get what she wants and then easily getting rid of them once they’ve played their role and she no longer has a use for them. Give me a cold-hearted badass villain please! =p

Ooooo maybe she’s acting like some poor, traumatized, heartbroken witch in the woods but it’s all an act and she’s just trying to manipulate MC some more! Give me a reveal from her homely, tattered shawl she flings off to some cool, black armour or something! I SHOULD BE WRITING THIS STORY =P

But please, I would love to hear other’s opinions on Olivia and what happened to her, what she’s doing now possibly, etc. and if you have any opinions on what I want to happen with her because this is something that I’ve been very curious about because so far for me (since again I’m behind most people!) she was mentioned once briefly and then never again and we go around asking about Duncan but not her and like - what is up with this bitch?!

26. How does MC’s hairstyle change as they get older?

I feel like my MC went in the opposite direction of other’s MC’s I’ve seen since those I’ve seen start off with short hair and grow theirs out but mine started with longer hair and cut hers shorter. Not that she cuts it very short but it starts out long to her shoulder blades and then by Year 5 it’s cut up to her shoulders. She likes to have her hair long enough to pull back into a ponytail or bun. I also think when she was younger she straightened her hair and was frustrated by it’s natural wave but as she grows older embraces the waviness of her hair (maybe it’s embracing her House of Black side and realizing we have awesome hair! =p) And that’s pretty much where she normally keeps her hair throughout her life, either to the tops of her shoulders or to her shoulder blades, maybe sometimes a bit longer even but nothing too drastic in terms of hair style/cut - she’s a Black and has to show off their awesome hair =p Also there are more important things going on than her hair style and she’s blessed with nice hair so she fortunately doesn’t have to worry much about it (Bill is probably super jealous =p)

Like I said she likes to be able to pull it up into a ponytail or bun (most likely a messy one) to get it out of her face, especially for Quidditch, but she doesn’t really know how to do hair (possibly because her mom died when she was so young) - she’s lucky she managed to put it up in a ponytail or bun! So whenever Penny or one of her friends offers to do her hair she gets a little excited because she has no idea how to do it =p She’s not a fan of pigtails at all. Fortunately with her House of Black genes she can wake up and have her hair already looking perfect or have that “messy-chic” style so she can be relatively low maintenance with it. Quite literally she woke up like this. =p (Let me know if you all want to hear this dumb little idea I had about Sirius and James involving their hair =p)

It’s seriously like, boom, ready for the day =p

(This is more what I see her hair being, particularly the length, post-hogwarts and also for this current Year 5, it may grow out for Year 6 I’m not sure yet, and she still may grow it out to the above lengths as well throughout her life but these are pretty much her consistent lengths; honestly this is a very good reference for her hair, wavy, a little messy but still looks good - rolled out of bed looking like this - dark with a red tint [guess hers is more shades of brown but you get it], and I love this length - oh no now I’m thinking about cutting my hair - [although like I mentioned it fluctuates from this length to the above, longer ones])

(And this is a good reference for her hair when it’s longer - I had another gif but I can’t find it now so these will have to do but you get it. It’s Megan Fox hair, she’s essentially Megan Fox =p )

(And an obligatory biker moment =p)

#plasticdodecagon #hphm #hogwarts mystery #hphm mc #my mc #hphm jacob #olivia green #thank you for the ask!#asks

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lifelsss · 5 years

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( EMMY ROSSUM, CISFEMALE, SHE / HER ) — ✧ that looks like BEATRICE “BEA” ZSASZ ! they’re the TWENTY EIGHT YEAR-OLD daughter of VICTOR ZSASZ. [ they are also a BARTENDER AT HOLE IN THE WALL at paragon. ] i hear they’re ADAPTABLE & HUMOROUS, but tend to be UNAMBITIOUS & SELF-DESTRUCTIVE. her file says that her power is SOUL REMOVAL & MEMORY SUPPRESSION.

do you have a persistent feeling of emptiness ? i am a persistent feeling of emptiness.

name: ZSASZ, beatrice victoria. nickname: bea. age: 28. date of birth: october 29th, 1990. hometown: gotham city, nj. parents: victor zsasz & olivia moreau.

current location: paragon, ny. occupation: bartender.

what did you DO to deserve this ? in all probability, something TERRIBLE.

( death tw , murder tw , violence tw , child abuse tw )

you don’t ask to be brought to this earth , and yet you are. you are born in the dirt / in the grime / in the scum. become a part of it. you have always been a part of the SCUM of the earth.

you share a name with a man who doesn’t know you exist. it almost seems like no one knows ( to this day , you’re not even sure yourself ). from the moment you are born , you are vanishing.

you grow up in the shadows. in the blind spots. you slip in and out of focus ; NO ONE is ever watching you closely. you find ways to entertain yourself. you do whatever you want.

you become the older sister , which is to say , a shade closer to invisibility. ghost-like.

more scar that skin ; more KNIFE than man, he comes in the middle of the night to free his offspring from meaninglessness. existence is a curse , and he intends to break it.

throat slashed , olivia is set FREE. saved from her emptiness. you’re next.

you don’t remember what DEATH feels like anymore , but it grips and clings to every part of you. there is death in every BLINK of your eyes. death becomes a part of you. it steals a part of you. you carry that new emptiness like a badge. like a brand.

moments later , you’re NOT dead anymore. you have no memory of this , but your brother brings you back. your father steals you both away. if you knew , you'd want to UNDO it.

your father steals you both away. he tries to groom you , BOTH of you. to make you his legacy. an heir. like you were born with a knife in your hand. you don’t take to it to well. there’s no PASSION in you, no fire anymore. whatever once burned inside you is now ash.

the first time you stab someone , you throw up immediately after. he cornered you. gave you no choice. there’s no pride in your father’s eyes , but there is a glint of SATISFACTION. you’re not the legacy he wanted , but you will do whatever it takes to survive. your talent for killing is nothing spectacular , but you’re adequate.

you show no remorse when you take someone’s life , but you gain no satisfaction from it either. eventually , you feel NOTHING. in you , there is no passion , no conviction , no purpose. you are every bit as EMPTY as the rest of them.

he tries to free you. it would be so easy. he KILLS you , but your brother always brings you back. despite yourself , you survive. he tries again. and again. and again. and every time , you come back to life. each new scar means another day you survived.

you have dreams in which you FLOAT above your body ; broken / bloodied / LIFELESS. you watch yourself take your last BREATH , you see yourself bleed out. you don’t KNOW these aren’t dreams. you always forget.

your father is a flickering GHOST. he leaves for months at a time ; you and your brother fend for yourselves. you slip into a role that doesn’t seem like a good fit. those who know you now would never consider you a mother figure.

you catch a break ; someone offers you a ticket out ; by some wild twist of FATE you accept the plaid skirt and the mary janes. student at gotham academy is another role you never thought you would fit into. it’s a strange refuge away from home. a place to BREATHE. a place with friends.

your reputation precedes you. everyone knows your name. everyone knows where you come from ; the SCARS give you away. the resemblance is there , not just in your features , but the markings on your skin that are just like his.

you’re not their star student , but you’re not the worst. some naive , stupid voice in the back of your head tells you that things could be better. you got a taste of it at the academy. you could drift away from the dirt and the scum. one day. one day your scars might HEAL.

there’s the reputation that follows you when you enroll , and the one you create. all the BOYS know your name , and the way you giggle when you moan their names.

you graduate , dip your toe into college. you quickly realize it’s not for you. you drift away , slip back into what is FAMILIAR. it’s grimy , and bloody , but it’s what you know. deep down , you know it’s where you’ve always BELONGED. the girl who wore clean socks and spent her nights at the library was just a fake. even the friends you had were too good for you.

you are a VICTIM of circumstance. you were never meant for the cleaner life. you drift through life aimlessly. unconcerned for your own well being. living only in the moment.

you meet a man who is almost a MIRROR. you see yourself in him , so you decide to marry him. you’ve lived with yourself this long , so you’re sure you two will make it. you push each other away constantly , but always come BACK to each other. until you run away for good.

the wind blows you towards PARAGON. you face the ghosts of who you once were , everyone you left behind in your path towards self-destruction. you no longer know if there’s something better out there for you ( you get the sense that there isn’t ). but you’re here now.

let me start by saying that finding positive traits to describe bea is a struggle. she doesn’t have a lot going for her. she’s resourceful and generally fun to be around. kinda funny sometimes. that’s pretty much it.

on the other hand, she’s messy, obnoxious, unpolished, impolite, lazy, unmotivated, self-destructive, unambitious, irresponsible, tactless, reckless, selfish, and i could keep going. she’s an unapologetic disaster capable of fucking her way in and out of any mess.

she pretty much functions on survival mode 24/7. she does whatever she needs to do to get by. she doesn’t like relying on anyone.

she’s really really do whatever it takes to survive. literally, anything. forget about moral codes. she’s not above anything.

she’s also very apathetic. just kind of floating by. her upbringing kind of led her to believe that she’s a bad person and she doesn’t deserve good things. she has a really toxic world view where she’s constantly punishing herself and putting herself down, but doesn’t particularly care.

she’s...a piece of work, really.

doesn’t really give a shit about her own well being, she’ll put herself in dangerous situations just for the thrill of it. also because, again, she's constantly punishing herself for existing, pretty much. there’s a lot of self-hatred here ok.

she smokes like a chimney and drinks pbr like it’s water. she’ll also snort whatever you put in front of her. she treats her body like a trash can.

since her engagement fell apart [ just thrOWING THIS OUT THERE, IF ANYONE WOULD WANT TO APPLY FOR HER EX-FIANCÉ, JUST HIT ME UP, THERE’S A WC ON THE MAIN ], she’s sort of reconnected with her old gotham academy squad. she’s living with sia and working at gráinne’s bar.

here’s her pinterest ! here’s her playlist !

here’s a bonus picture of her in her natural habitat !

#「 “ hold the fuck up ” i say. i am the fuck up. please hold me. — MUSINGS 」#sidekick.intro #death tw #murder tw #violence tw #child abuse tw

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katmstanton · 6 years

Text

Fatherhood - Ch. 11

Okay how about we put away the tissues for a bit hmm?

Tags: @mrsrafaelbarba @sweetsummertime99 @madpanda75 @obfuscateyummy @julie-yard @esparza-army @tiredrainbi @ctfarhan @surrealdiaries @dreila03

Chapter 11:

The rest of the weekend went relatively easy with Rafael and Jake staying in due to continuous downpours outside. Olivia and Noah had visited a few times but had not stayed at Rafael’s since Jake’s first night at home and as much as he hated sleeping alone he was grateful for the time with Jake.

Even though she was not actually at the apartment they stayed in constant contact through text messages and late night calls. It was during one of those late night calls she had let him know she had reached out to Melinda and Langan about the situation and both were wanting to help.

She also let him know she had called Carmen and explained, in a short sense, what had happened so she would not be blindsided come Monday. As much as Rafael disliked Langan he knew he was the best family lawyer they knew and was glad for the partnership.

“Thank you mi amor.” Rafael stated as she explained Langan would be by Rafael’s office the next day to go over everything and get the ball rolling.

“I know you are not his biggest fan Rafa but he is the best.”

“I know. I just feel like he secretly wants to marry you or something.” Rafael stated bluntly and he swore he could hear Olivia’s eyes roll while she laughed.

“Rafa I think that is the least of your problems! Plus.. I think I have enough lawyers in my personal business don’t you?” She said cheekly and he let a slight grin go across his face as he responded.

“Damn right. Although, I think your lawyer may need to invade your personal business a bit more in order to truly be able to answer that question.”

“Rafael Eduardo Barba!” Olivia gasped as they both laughed.

“Anyway Counselor.. I called in a favor and had it arranged for Melinda to take care of the DNA tests for you and to keep it under wraps for privacy for you and Jake. She said she could do it tomorrow morning and hopefully get the results back within a few days.” Olivia stated trying to change the subject back to a more PG conversation.

“Looks like Jake and I will be having a busy Monday. We are stopping by the school board as well tomorrow to get him enrolled.”

As they stayed on the phone both Olivia and Rafael continued to talk about their boys, their situation, and their relationship.

“Liv..”

“I know Rafa.. but do you think this is the right time? Jake just moved in and -”

“-Liv just because Jake is here does not mean we can’t live together.” He stated bluntly not allowing her to finish her sentence.

“I just don’t want to overwhelm him, or us, Rafa.” She stated as he felt his frustration growing.

“Olivia. I am not asking for us to move across the country or world. I am asking for us to move in together. We pretty much live together already. These few days apart have been the longest time sleeping alone since our first few months of dating over a year ago.”

Olivia could hear the frustration in his voice as the conversation continued.

“Rafa it’s just..”

“No Liv. It’s nothing. It’s simple. Either you do or you don’t. That’s it. There is no in between. I thought we were on the same page about this but I guess we aren’t.” Rafael stated a bit more snarkier than he meant to and wanted to shoot himself in the foot once he did.

“Rafael. You know I do. However, I also know the situation and needs of our family have changed since we first talked about this. I am not going to discuss this with you when you are this snarky or when you are upset. When you decide to lay off the caffeine and be a bit more human and a lot less robotic let me know.”

The phone went quiet and neither wanted to speak as they were both getting more frustrated by the minute. She was upset at his snarkiness and the exaggerated sassiness and he was getting frustrated at her not actually wanting to have the conversation.

“I love you. Good night, Rafael.”

When Olivia got off the phone Rafael was mentally exhausted and confused on what had just taken place. However, he knew she was right and this was not the time or the place to further discuss the issue as they were both tired.

Plus he felt it was best to have such a conversation in person and added it to his “to-do” list for the following day.

As Monday morning came his mood from the day prior was still present and as much as he didn’t mean to be short with everyone he was. However, it seemed, while he was short and had a shorter patience level than normal, Jake was the only one he was not taking his mood out on that morning.

As the two of them made their way to Rafael’s office, after a quick stop at Melinda's office, the two shared a few laughs and smiles about books, games, and the stories Melinda was telling them about Olivia.

After stopping for a much needed coffee, orange juice, and a pair of muffins for them both, at Jake’s insistence that he actually eat something other than a coffee bean, they were finally making their way into the court house.

“Why is everyone staring at us?”

“They usually don’t see me with anyone but Olivia and occasionally Noah. I am sure they are trying to figure out who you are and why you are with me.”

Jake looked around cautiously and nervously before speaking.

“If they ask what will you tell them?”

Before Rafael could answer Langan greeted them at the door ending their conversation earlier than Rafael wanted it to end.

“Barba.” He stated as the two shook hands while Barba placed a protective hand on Jake’s shoulder.

“And you must be Jacob.”

He went to give Jake a high-five. Jake cautiously greeted the man and looked to Rafael for comfort as he did not know who the other man was. Rafael nodded to him in assurance and Jake returned the high-five with a smile.

The three walked into Rafael’s office and as Jake entered he was in awe. He had never seen so many law review books or resources in one place before and as the two older men talked quietly he looked around at the books and items on the walls.

He remembered Rafael telling him he was a lawyer and about his office but to see it in person really allowed him to understand just how powerful and good Rafael was. Jake was eyeing a few awards on a shelf as Rafael called his name.

“Jake.. I need to talk to Mr. Langan. Do you mind hanging with Carmen for a bit? I think she is going to hit up the library if you want to help her look for a few things.” Rafael stated as Jake noticed the young lady standing by the door.

“Hey Jake!” She said as she smiled at him.

“Sure.. umm.. Maybe I can look at some books while we are there.” Jake said nervously but understood the two men needed to talk.

“Don’t worry.. I know they BEST ice cream and pizza place in town and it’s next to the coolest book and game store in town.” Carmen whispered to him while Rafael was distracted.

Jake beamed at her as they both figured out their game plan for being out of the office longer than normal before saying their goodbyes to the two men eyeing each other down in Rafael’s office.

#rafael barba #Olivia Benson #Barson #barson fanfiction #law and order svu #law and order svu fanfiction

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