THE LAST DOMINO WILL NOT FALL THE LAST DOMINO WILL NOT FALL THE LAST DOMINO WILL NOT FALL THE LAST DOMINO

Okay but I want Azriel to be absolutely head over heels for Gwyn in a way that the other Bat Boys weren’t for their mates (before they got together).

I want Az to become a blushing mess when Gwyn compliments him. (Or even just smiles at him)

I want Azriel to go from “blank face, unreadable, scary shadow singer” to absolutely beaming when Gwyn walks into the room.

Give me the whole inner circle being confused because he’s so relaxed and comfortable around her and LAUGHS (which before ACOSF we had seen him do once, maybe twice) out loud.

(“He’s only known her for like 6 months guys, what is he on?”)

Give me Azriel being completely at ease and visibly relaxing when she walks in the room.

Give me nervous Azriel because “oh my gosh she’s right there and I think she’s looking at me oh my word she’s so perfect.”

Give me Cassian and Rhys subtly teasing him about Gwyn and his face turning bright red.

Give me Azriel getting nervous to ask her to dinner but willing to be straightforward with her because even though it’s terrifying he’s willing to face the chance of rejection (literally something he struggles with, ya know, the whole “I’m not good enough” thing) if it means he also has a chance to spend time with her.

I want this man to be absolutely head over heels for her and and for everyone to be aware of it.

Building a Mystery: A Gwynriel Drabble

"Fuck!"

The shout echoed down the hallway, bouncing off the ceiling, and had Nesta and Cassian halting on the way to their chambers in the House of Wind. They eyed each other, both her blue and his hazel filled with suspicion.

"Az, you're doing it wrong."

"I know what I'm doing, Berdara."

"Oh, really? You're putting the D in the C when you're supposed to put the D in the A!"

Cassian choked on a laugh. Nesta quickly covered his mouth, putting a finger over her own as she pressed an ear against the Shadowsinger's door.

"For the last time, the D doesn't fit in the A! It's too tight!" Azriel said, and Nesta could feel Cassian's chest moving with his muffled laughter against her back as he loomed over her to join her in eavesdropping. 

Gwyn groaned. "Cauldron, can't you just squeeze it in?"

A single snort escaped before Nesta could catch it by covering her mouth.

"Gwyn, I'm telling you, it's too tight! If I push too much, it'll snap!"

"It's literally designed to fit! Bang it in! Make it work!"

There was a distinctive creaking followed by a masculine grunt. Then another.

Thud! Thud! Both rhythmic and telling.

Nesta peered up at her mate, who was staring down at her, amusement lighting his gaze.

We should leave them be, she mouthed up at him. He nodded and when they were peeling themselves away from the door, they heard Gwyn yell, "Harder!"

Thud! Thud!

"Just one more good whack, Azriel! Almost there…"

Thud! Azriel grunted and growled...

"Perfect," Gwyn panted out her praise. "Now, was that so hard? And you didn't break it."

Cassian could not hold in his snorting guffaw at that. Nesta smacked him on the shoulder. The noise, both voice and exertion alike, went totally silent.

Love-tapping an apologetic Cassian in the arm again, Nesta cleared her throat and knocked on the door.

"What?" Azriel asked—no, demanded—through the thick wood, his voice full of an annoyance that he usually only had with his brothers.

"You both all right in there? We heard shouts and—" 

With a high-pitched squeal, Gwyn interrupted Nesta. "We're fine! You can go now!"

"You're sure? We heard a lot of racket coming from—"

The door cracked open enough to reveal a shirtless Azriel glistening with sweat, with his arm propped up at the jamb to allow Gwyn to peek through. An equally sweaty and flushed Gwyn. Wearing a rumpled soft cotton shirt and leggings, her copper ponytail was half undone, as if she'd spent half a day flying high over Velaris.

Nesta smiled softly. She wasn't sure what was going on with them—if they'd gotten their shit together and stopped pretending they weren't perfect for each other—but she was happy for them. 

Gwyn brought out a side of Azriel rarely seen. A teasing playfulness that had only been reserved for a select few. He laughed now—a lot. And it seemed her friend Gwyneth Berdara had been making it a personal mission, a daily quota, to pull as many smiles and laughs as she could. 

Azriel pushed Gwyn in the best possible way. Their equally competitive asses always found something to bet on. And not once had Gwyn backed down, accepting everything he threw at her. Once when Nesta had asked Gwyn about Azriel and their relationship, she merely said, We're just friends, Nesta. Really good friends. He makes me feel safe.

Nesta had taken that moment to offer her observation. I see the way you two look at each other, Gwyn. It's more than friends. You two are just too scared to admit it.

In her typical unruffled Gwyn fashion, she'd brushed Nesta off. 

But now, staring at her two friends, sweat-dappled and red with exertion, she wondered if they had finally taken a new step.

"There. Proof of life," Azriel grumbled. "Satisfied?"

Nesta's smile curled up on one side. "For now." Turning her attention to the redhead tucked beneath the Shadowsinger's powerful arm, she asked, "We were concerned with all the yelling. What were you up to?"

"We were building bookshelves," her friend returned a little too quickly.

"Building bookshelves? Is that what you are calling it these days?"

"Good for you, Az," Cassian chimed in. "Nes and I built a whole damn library last night, too."

Azriel's forehead made a thud as it met the door. 

Nesta turned and punched Cassian in the shoulder at the same time as Gwyn. 

"Fuck that hurts! But nice form," the giant Illyrian baby said as he rubbed his arm.

Gwyn's sweet face tilted up to Azriel's and dipped in the barest nod. With a sigh, he moved aside and swung an arm toward the inside of his personal space.

Chaos.

Absolute chaos.

A mess.

Papers and boxes and tools were strewn about. Piles and piles of books. And behind it? 

Two tall bookcases; one empty and one now full. And Nesta couldn't help but notice the titles were mostly…romance and adventures.

Some of Gwyn's absolute favorites.

"Gwyn likes to read in here," Azriel explained, clutching his neck at the nape.

"I just like your chair."

His lips twitched. "So, I wanted her to be able to come in here to read whenever she wants without having to lug up her favorite books every time." He featured with disdain to the bookshelves. "I had to buy those from a store and put them together. I'd rather have made them from scratch, but with the missions—"

Gwyn's hand took his, lacing them together. She squeezed. "It's perfect, Shadowsinger."

He offered a small smile and Nesta swore Azriel was blushing as he said, "You deserve more than labeled pieces of cheap wood, Berdara. I promise I'll build you something nicer."

And Nesta watched as Gwyn bounded over the debris to show off her present, Azriel right there to make sure she didn't impale herself on any tools. The shadows swathing around them, serene and lingering, as if they too could see the change before them.

Cassian took Nesta's hand as they relished in their dear friends' happiness and excitement. 

Yes, those two were indeed building something.

Alwyn Scribe to me is a character of all time. Was illiterate up to age 17, then very soon after learning to write became regarded as one of the best scribes in the world. Lies at any given opportunity. Once tried to smuggle a vial of poison into prison by hiding it up his ass. God’s specialist little guy despite spending most of the series an atheist. Started several holy wars while once again not believing in any of the religions involved. Kept refusing to break up with his girlfriend despite all the red flags and the divine omens that she was evil. Really cares about preserving books and history but also wrote shit that was fully not true and tried to get it into an archive. Historians cannot agree whether he was good or evil because he switched sides so much. What more could you want from a man

What if Anakin was a Twin?

Remember the arc in “The Clone Wars” where Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ashoka meet the Father, Sister, and Brother? What if Anakin had a sister to replicate the Brother and Sister, and together they would bring balance. 

She would be older by a minute or two and be a lot more apprehensive when meeting Qui-Gon in the “Phantom Menace”. (She had dreamt about them taking Anakin away.) She would go with Anakin to Coruscant to be trained to be a Jedi, Anakin would be Obi-Wan’s padawan and she would be Qui-Gon’s. But after Qui-Gon dies she would be assigned to someone else, or maybe she wouldn’t have a consistent master but go on missions with other Jedi. 

In “Attack of the Clones” she would go with Obi-Wan to Kamino, while Anakin went with Padme and they would finally reunite on Geonosis.  Somehow she would find out about Anakin and Padme.

She would be a general in the war and would fight with Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ashoka in different battles. (She would be like a big sister to all of her clones.) And when the council heard a distress signal that hadn’t been used in over 2,000 years, they send the four of them.

That’s where Anakin and his sister discover that they are the ones that will bring balance to the force. They are mirrors of one another, and the farther to the dark one of them falls, the other goes the other way. So if say, hypothetically, Anakin was to fall, she would become stronger in the light side of the force and vice versa. 

This is ultimately one of the things that prevent Anakin from falling, she can sense him slipping. And at the end of the war makes the case to the council that Anakin’s relationships with those around him kept both of them from falling and eventually led to them k-wording Palps and bringing balance to the force. So the Council would be like “yeah I guess maybe we won’t ban people from certain attachments, but we’ll teach that being fearful of losing those we love can cause someone to slip.” Just in time for Padme to give birth to twins. 

And what if, hypothetically, I had a fanfic in the works based on this exact idea...

When I waited in anticipation, for two years, for Season 2 of The Bad Batch, never for one moment did I think it would result in my partner chanting ‘Let Tech fuck!’ whilst eating breakfast.

HOT TAKE:  Aayla Secura was being prepared to be a future Council member.  In the scenes that aren’t direct Council chambers meetings, she’s frequently there with the other Jedi Masters to strategize, with a consistency that no other Jedi are (Luminara, for example, doesn’t get the same amount of appearances). Almost every scene is one where they could have easily added in another Jedi Council member, they could have added Shaak in for her in almost every scene, they could have added Saesee, they had models for both of those characters.  And it’s not that she’s giving a mission report that’s unique to her, she’s just there, as a presence, consistently, as part of even the most sensitive missions. SO, I AM FULLY CONVINCED AAYLA SECURA WAS BEING PREPARED AS A FUTURE JEDI COUNCIL MEMBER AND I LOVE THAT FOR HER BECAUSE SHE ABSOLUTELY DESERVES IT, AAYLA IS KIND AND COMPASSIONATE AND GETS SHIT DONE AND TEACHES AHSOKA AND PUTS HER LIFE ON THE LINE FOR THE CLONES AND CARES DEEPLY ABOUT PEOPLE. /THIS IS AN AAYLA SECURA STAN ACCOUNT JUST IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING

we don't give percy enough credit tbh honestly if i was 12 and my mom died and my best friend was a goat and my father was a sea god and i was expected to go around the country looking for my uncle's thunderbolt with a girl that i was pretty sure hated my guts while literally everyone in my life was hiding things from me and never giving me any information so i had to peice everything together and still being called dumb i would go on a homicidal killing spree. i think percy managed to beat up ares because of the unhealthy amount of rage and agitation that was building up inside of him. honestly i don't blame him at ALL pop off king

Okay but Haja is such a good twist.

Because we're set up with: ah, here is the comic relief bad guy. He's faking being a Jedi, he's scamming people. Oh ho he had the Jedi right in front of him he could have been rich!

But nope. Yes he's taking credits, but he is helping the mother and child get off world.

And he doesn't set up Obi-Wan when he tells him about a ship.

He literally goes in front of an Inquisitor playing Jedi.

Usually characters like this are set up as cowards, but he's not.

In fact when Obi-Wan holds him up I'm pretty sure the reason he helps isn't the blaster on his chest but Obi-Wan telling him there's a girl who's kidnapped.

He's using the Jedi as a symbol of hope to draw people to him because he does seem to want to help, but he's not selfless he probably needs credits to run his operation.

The Show has shown us Obi-Wan is at rock bottom and the universe has kicked him in the face, but he keeps meeting people who are so brave, who help him inadvertently like the girl who gives him spice, and overtly like Haja.

Obi-Wan can't be Obi-Wan Kenobi for the universe right now.

So others have to be Obi-Wan Kenobi. Others have to be brave and stick out their necks and help people.

Like yes, we had our sad Obi-Wan in the desert moment. Loved that.

Now we're getting Obi-Wan with hope restored.

But to do that he has to let go of his attachment to the past. To his grief and guilt and Anakin.

You know what? I want Valkyrie shenanigans. Give me Nesta, Emerie, and Gwyn debating if - no, not it - how long it would take to suffocate a man with their legs. Straight up, manslaughter by the power of thighs, and spite alone. 

Nesta is out of the running because Cassian distracts her too much. Emerie obviously would rather do something else with someone else. Gwyn is too competitive to let this go and she is a woman of science - she needs to know. 

Cassian snorts and tells her “good luck” - not quite picking up the chaotic determination she has. Enter Azriel, who agrees to be her sparing partner, and when she asks if she can try a new move, for curiosity sake, he allows it. He does not know what he is signing up for and his shadow didn’t snitch on their favorite girl. 

She’s pulling some Natasha Romanoff shit. 

Em and Nes find them in a very suggestive position but Gwyn is gleeful to have Azriel’s head locked between her legs, and she’s so close to literally sitting on is face, and she’s squealing. “ONE MINUTE AND THIRTY-SIX SECONDS! THIRTY-SEVEN! THIRTY-EIGHT…” 

He’s NOT tapping out - he’s not going to admit defeat - but he’s turning blue and he’s slapping her knee as he’s biting back whatever he wants to say. 

Cassian is standing behind them, shell shocked. Of ways to go, Azriel, is this really it, you kinky son-of-a-bitch?! Gwyn is so delighted to have this man on the brink of death - and Azriel is too stubborn to admit it. 

He’s literally flapping around like a fish out of water. He’s struggling and she’s not letting up. At this point, Emerie and Nes are blockading Cassian who’s pretty sure Azriel is too dumb to admit he’s out breath. The Valkyries want to see this through. 

Gwyn’s weakness? Tickling - and she’s screaming as he found her weak spot. She tumbling off him, crying in laughter, and he gasping for air, blue in the face. He’s glaring at the audience and basically same energy as this. 

Tbb s2 spoilers

Crosshair if Rampart interrupts his breakfast one more time: