#'known each other for decades but only kinda friends with a bit of bad blood but also willing to die for the same cause' platonic dynamic

[torc87]

OFMD Season 2 Episode 8 Thoughts

Ok, , now we know that the whole 'never killed any man after my father ' thing was a flat out bold faced lie. Not just a 'the ocean killed them, the fire, than man I ordered' but just a bold faced lie. Ed killed the two navy soldiers w his bare hands. That is Not a man who hasn't killed in 30 years.

Also, did he fucking get DRESSED UNDER WATER? He comes out of the waves fully dressed, and in prepared to ignore his clothes not being washed away by the waves or that he could find them again, but he put on leather under water? W boots? Huh?

Swede being a poison tester - Ricky is very very cunning. Though ...this is Spanish Jackie. She killed Geraldo herself just bc he was a hostage to One single person. I find it a bit surprising she wouldn't poison the Swede if it meant getting her bar back. Not to mention, she is in Danger from Ricky. He has a grudge w her, much bigger than Jim's issue bc Jim's was indirectly w Jackie. Ricky is vengeful and clever and cruel. And ...um the song about British not being slaves, sung in the bar of a black woman who is Not British, feels very very threatening to me. I am very shocked that Jackie doesn't poison them all, Swede being a cold blooded collateral damage.

Poor Zheng! Stede is really really trying to be sympathetic but omg is he bad at it! He is not getting that he went apeshit at losing 2 of his crew ( I'm not counting Archie, he barely knew her), two of his crew he had known for a year or two at best, while Zheng lost, permanently, every single person she knew or cared about for decades ( however long conquering China took). And possibly a blood family member if Auntie is literal. He could stand to show more care. It's like he only shows that side competently to Ed.

Omg the reversal of Ed's little 'i am one w nature's talk! I was waiting w baited breath for him to remember he HATES nature. But this was even better. But good on him on not lashing out at Pop-pop. Blackbeard would have strangled him back. Hope his days of sitting and thinking did him some good!

We get confirmation! Ed can read!

( Also, how did the soldiers know it was a letter between men? Nothing they read says that. It could have been from a woman)

Izzy is famous! More confirmation that he is well known and probably expected Stede to recognize his name and know his captain. The Great Izzy Hands. He has a reputation of his own!

Also omfg is Ed good at fighting! He was facing such a horde of soldiers alone!

The mimic of the dream running to each other scene!

And then blame!

Reality!

Zheng is Still fighting if the English!

Auntie being a mirror of Izzy and admitting that Zheng needed more soft in her life and Auntie was trying to protect her but she can't do soft herself!!! That is putting Izzy's motivation to hate Stede so bluntly!

Izzy sounds amazing in that scene, fierce and defending his crew and strong....and I kinda miss him being cringe-fail. Awkward ineffective little turtle-duck.

Omg Yes! I knew Spanish Jackie would poison them! The poison training is a surprise.

Um, after all of Stede's "we need a plan" the three of them just rushed in there w out a plan?! Really?

They took some blokes UNDERWEAR?! wtf wtf wtf?

Ed actually Noticing Izzy falling behind! Finally.

No no no no no no no no no no no!!!!! He was JUST starting to move beyond Blackbeard! Just starting to enjoy being on the crew, getting friends, rebuilding his connection to Ed!!! No no no no no not fair!!!

Hmm, Buttons landing on Izzy's grave....interesting. Maybe he is magic. Though I still say it would be funnier if he walked off and Ed just didn't notice.

Aw, the wedding! How fitting that the crew does the ceremony. Ed and Stede aren't captains anymore. Though I'm surprised Zheng isn't.

Also, where are the other 19 of Jackie's husband's? If they died...um...she's acting like she has one.

And...ok, weird ending to a pirate show w the main characters not pirating.

[drbtinglecannon]

I think so often about how Darius and Raine were classmates back in the day, so they've known each other for decades, and how the conversation progression from "Welcome to the Castle, nerd, you still dating that criminal, Edalyn?" to "Hey, so, sorry Kikimora did... *hand waves* that to you, but uh. Eber and I are actually rebels too. Yeah, ye-- ok well, you tried to kill us first, so." must've been

Like can you imagine being Darius? You've been at the top of your career as a Coven Head for years, your mentor died suddenly and was replaced with a child, and you've been on track to try to overthrow Belos ever since because you always suspected foul play, then in comes that bard dork you went to high school with who was friends with the resident Weird Delinquent™, but whatever, you have more important things to worry over than them messing up the induction ceremony that was recorded live, until low and below that dork is both a rebel AND going to fucking blow it all by being too noticeable, so now you and your Furry Colleague who's also a rebel have to go catch Dork, only for Dork and Delinquent to almost fucking kill you guys somehow like what even was that??, but you manage to quell the situation only for after you release Dork they get caught again by that annoying Brown Noser Kikimora, so now they're under a tight leash by Evil Old Lady Terra who you've been carefully avoiding the line of sight of for years, and goddamn, Dork, you are so bad at this, like yes, great, more rebels! but also low profile much? Ever heard of it??? Now can we please get your gf to help us? Ugh, fine, your wife, whatever, can she help or not?? Titan, Raine, this is serious we need more help. Oh. Oh, ok you can send her flowers but can't ask her to join our group because 'she needs to stay safe'? Eber are you seeing this shit I have to deal with? Edalyn's been a criminal since I met her but yeah ok, we need her to avoid breaking the law now. ...Stop saying I have a son, all I did was give him a phone and teach him to sew and care about his well being.

But on the flip side

Can you imagine being Raine? You've been quietly toiling away through the coven ranks, giving up your relationship and stomaching loss after loss of promising students all to reach the top with the goal to overthrow Belos, and then the guy who inducts you on crystal ball -- which was horrible btw why did it have to be live?? -- is that rude popular kid from high school who had the mean friends, but ok, it's been decades, not worth compromising your mission over, just let bygones be bygones... until Rude Guy and Furry Colleague show up and trap your crew during one of your raids and, oh Titan, Eda is at risk too, but if you can take them out maybe the Day Of Unity will be delayed, but then you find out the love of your life went and had kids without you and you cannot dwell on that rn cuz you have to get her to safety as Rude Guy captures you, except you slip away easily haha take THAT for underestimating bard magic back at Hexside! Aaand there's Kikimora, and some horrifying sigil stuff happens, and now that annoying Old Evil Lady Terra from HECK is watching you like a hawk and you're 100% certain she's trying to drug you so you have to low-key alter every drink she gives you, and then Rude Guy informs you he and Furry Colleague were rebels all along too. Like, thanks for the heads up, jerk! I almost killed you guys! You don't get to be mad at me over this!! Fine, whatever, let's work together, strength in numbers, and you can't turn down extra help in this fight. ...Eda is not my gf!! She's not my wife!!!!! No, I won't let her get involved again. ...except, I'll just send her these potion ingredients, to save her kid. Yes it has to be in the form of flowers. To get past the house demon! You know what? You don't get to criticize me over this, Mr. 'Thats MY angry blond kid!'

Now imagine being Eberwolf and having to deal with two middle-aged professionals acting like this on top of trying to lead a rebellion.

Anyway I'm so normal about how weird and hilarious this dynamic could be.

[shadowstalker732]

ALRIGHT LETS GIVE THIS POSTING THING A GO

MY REVAN TIME (one of them at least)

Also spoiler warning a guess for a game over a decade old? (Am I meant to say spoiler warning? Who knows not me)

(Please don’t yell at me about stats I do what I want)

Anyway first playthrough where I don’t stop and hard restart Tarris or Dantooine 13 times because choice reasons and me forgetting that stealth is useless and just letting the game auto level for me (learnt that the hard way), I’ve basically done Tatooine but I haven’t beaten the dragon yet cos I wanted to bugger off to another planet first and chose Kashyyyk. And I’m down in the shadow lands now (do not worry Zaalbar I WILL GET YOU BACK) and yeah that’s where I’m at.

ANYWAY, Shay or Shar Stalker (because the game won’t let me do non-binary) is a light side Revan. Good of heart dumb of ass and yet will still rob you dry if you place bets on a strategy game against them. Height wise around the 1.6m mark (5′3″ for the Americans). Prefers the double lightsaber look (currently got a short green one and a normal blue one for amnesia version). Not a flirt but definitely had something going on with my Exile in the past but that ended in the Mando war at some point… teenagers in war don’t usually do well mentally wise.. back story and post events of Kotor under the cut (also warning it’s long, like super long, and goes into their future story? As well)

SO BACKSTORY,

Shar got some Mando blood floating in their veins from some ancestor and that causes them to go full buir sometimes hence why Mission, Zaalbar, HK-47, T3-M4 and Juhani get bed time stores aboard the Ebon Hawk and chocolate space milk whenever they stop (Rev gets some too because who doesn’t love some good old Choccy milk), droid duo get cleaned basically daily while Bastila gets the bird for even thinking that this is a waste of time and resources.

Wait I said backstory… TEMPLE LIFE!

Rascal trio with Exile and Alek at their heels. All three, good of heart dumb of ass. Shar was a prodigy and excelled in basically all Jedi subjects at the time, was pretty popular with most people and just a nice person who didn’t stand for bullshit. Got into a few “heated” (honestly that’s an understatement) arguments with council members about how some things in the galaxy were handled but mostly had a positive response from people. At this time their main saber was purple and their off hand a short cyan. Joined the Republic in the Mandalorian wars a few months before their 17′th birthday. Didn’t not return to the Temple once after leaving for war.

The War 

(I should mention I get most of my knowledge from wiki skims (not deep reads) and other Tumblr posts so if it’s off canon… it’s my story and Star Wars is my sand box so I MAKE THE RULES HERE BABY!)

After many battles and the relationship between the battle trio growing stronger with time it was also weakening. At one point Shar and Exile had a romantic relationship going but only kept that going for a few months, they both decided that this was not the time to be doing this and if they both survived would actually give the lovers thing a shot (doesn’t happen). Throughout the war all three realise that they must make sacrifices to stop the war, the old saying “sacrifice one to save the many” is said often between the three at first before it becomes second nature. During one of the battles Shar’s cyan lightsaber is completely destroyed including the crystal being completely shattered. After taking the mantle of the Revanchist only uses the name Revan and never removes the helmet unless it’s only the trio and only then will respond to their old names. All three are slipping mentally in this war but have all managed to hold onto the Light side by trusting each other. After the mass shadow generator event Revan looses all contact with Exile (force and otherwise) and assumes death, despite it being Revan’s own order it’s a major pushing point towards the dark.

The End of the War

Revan faces off against Mandalore the Ultimate and slays him, in his dying breathe speaks of the Sith Empire growing in the Unknown Regions and how this war wasn’t only about giving the Mandalorian’s a good fight but also to weaken the republic for Ultimates Empire allies. Not many Mandalorians knew of the Sith truth behind the war and just followed their Mandalor’s word that this war would bring them the honour of a good fight, and it did in a way. After Revan learns of the empire growing hidden amongst uncharted routes, knew that the council would never believe them and so took matters into their own hands. Taking a fleet and insisting it was to chase down the last of the Mandalorian high command, Revan left for the unknown regions.

The Unknown 

Yeah everything went to shit. Rev and Alek get captured and Sith tortured and kind probed by old man Sith Emperor but in that time Revan gains acute knowledge via reverse mind prob, of how the Sith empire is running, where resources are coming from and key weak points. During this time Alek falls completely and Revan fains it for now. Torture continues for a good while until Revan makes the choice that they have been making all through out the war “sacrifice one to save the many”… Revan embraces the dark side and makes a plan, a plan to empower the known galaxy enough to destroy the “true” Sith empire by uniting it as their own Sith empire. Revan knows light will always rise to face the dark and that the light side is strong, someone will rise to take them down after the “true” Sith empire is defeated and only in death will Revan have fulfilled their promise to the unknown Mandalorian and finally be able to be one with the force. Revan embraces the dark fast and is soon sent off by the Sith emperor who thinks Revan is under his control to take control of the star forge and start building the Sith army in the known galaxy, Revan assumes command with now Malek as their right hand.

Beginning of Darth Revan

Basically what is described in the first Kotor game, Darth Duo go find star maps, get to forge, start fucking up the galaxy yadeyadeya. Malek pulls a sick move and fucks up Revan’s plan to stop the Sith Emperor and boom Amnesia time baby. Oh also during Sith times used a red and their old purple lightsaber but when they got captured by Bastila both lightsaber’s goy yoinked and locked up on Coruscant for simple reasons. 

No Memory Time Baby

Council is smart as fuck and call them Shay Stalker AKA their old name to see if that will reawaken light memories or thoughts in Revan and basically try and nudge amnesia Rev to stay lightside cos they don’t want to see their lost padawan fall back to the dark, (Jedi are a complicated subject), also ONLY SHAY no mention of their other name Shar at all! So that will cause problems later for poor Rev when they start remembering things :), basically the game from here on. Memories of a calm life on a farming planet before joining the military, lost both their siblings (AKA Alek and Exile) while away on service. Joined to stop the Sith from taking any more innocent lives. Throughout the game Shay try’s to help as many people as they can and choose the option that will benefit good and innocent people, constantly says fuck to corporations and nasty people, is not afraid to kill a bitch. As I haven’t completed the game fully (but I am planing a lightside finish and I’m not exactly sure when the “I am Revan” bit comes in I’m gonna leave this as it is. Oh and blue main saber and a short green saber with a crystal they managed to purify (AKA was red but returned to its natural colour through meditation and force cleansing, also helped by Bastila)

Memories

Like I said I haven’t finished the game yet BUT after the whole “oh fuck oh stars IM REVAN?????” Lots of shit starts to make sense and the force “spell” (I’m gonna call it spell) that repressed Revan’s memories had already begun to weaken somewhat before this point but this kinda opens the flood gates but not too far just enough for it to not make any sense at all. Team is there for Rev and the game finishes lightside. (Also I know I said this rev not gonna romance but this is post game stuff now and I just don’t wanna romance Bastila in game so yeah) ANYWAY, Revan and Bastila build a healthy relationship together and Revan starts to regain a lot of memories that their friends help them through. Revan remembers why they took the name Revan and actually goes to Coruscant to the high council to explain why they put on the helmet in the first place and the Council adheres to Revan’s request and returns the original helmet. The Star forged one stays in storage for now. Revan also requests their old armour and lightsabers to help regain memories as to why they fell, the council is hesitant at this request and only allows Revan to meditate with their old things at the main temple with a council member present. Over one or two years a lot comes back but there is still a few key dates, names, moments and details missing. Oh and Revan uses force powers to make Bastila preggers. IF BOBA FETT CAN SURVIVE A SARLAC AND PALPATINE CAN EXIST IN THE SEQUELS. REVAN CAN PULL FORCE BULLSHIT TOO!

The Unknown part 2: Electric boogaloo 

Revan finally remembers what made them go dark and realises they fucked up their own plans pretty bad and the Republic IS WORSE OFF THAN HOW IT STARTED COS OPPS REVAN ACCIDENTALLY KILLED A SHIT TON OF FORCE USERS LIGHT AND DARK SO yeah. Bastila was holding the brain cell of the force bond in this moment and Revan decides the best course of action is to go face the Emperor alone… fucking brilliant Revan how the fuck did you win the Mandalorian wars again my good sir? Revan tells Bastila that they (Rev) has been assigned a mission to infiltrate the remanence of Revan’s old Sith Empire and basically destroy it from within and that this mission is basically so hush hush that Bastila isn’t meant to know but Revan thought it only fair to say that they would be gone for potentially a long time for this mission and Bastila, unaware that this would be the last time she saw them, accepted this goodbye and hoped they would return before their baby was born. But Revan has always been a good lier… even to themselves. Without anymore fuss they left the Known Galaxy leaving all their friends and family behind never to be seen again to face off against the bitch that started it all. (I haven’t read the novels or played the SWTOR game and never plan to do either so again I say this is wiki knowledge that I’m doing what ever I please with that knowledge because Star Wars is a sand pit and I’m the kindy kid that’s decided to sit and play with it today)

Mmmmm Watcha SaaaaaaaAy

Revan gets their ass handed to them and imprisoned for three hundred years and tortured and mind probed AGAIN. Also cut off their connections to any other force user to ensure old dude couldn’t get to them as well. Absolutely not having a good time here. After the 300 years of PAIN the force within Revan gets so fucked up that their physicality splits into two entirely separate beings, Dark Revan and Light Revan. When this happens the prison breaks and Light Revan makes their escape and gets out barely alive while Dark Revan hangs back and swears allegiance to Sith Empire and starts plotting to overthrow old dude cos Sith. Light Revan makes it back to the council and they heal them and have a very hard time believing they are Revan until Revan perfectly describes a gift they gave Bastila before they left that now a descendent of Revan now owns. The council doesn’t understand how Revan split into two entire different beings but accept “the force acts in mysterious ways at times”. Revan is FINALLY given knighthood and helps prepare the republic for the Sith Empire that hasn’t attacked yet but definitely will soon. And this is where Tarre comes in.

Mando Time Yeah!

My Tarre will get his own beefy post (def not as big as this one) maybe tomorrow or the next day so for now it’s just what Tarre does and means to Revan. ANYWHO, Tarre becomes Light Revan’s padawan. (I should mention that Light Revan despite being called Light Revan is leaning towards a grey area within the force but isn’t down right evil like dark Revan is. Dark Revan is killing puppies of an endangered species cos their bored evil). Tarre is Revan’s padawan and becomes a knight. Revan enjoys teaching Tarre about the force and understanding how Tarre was brought up a Mandalorian and with the peace between Jedi and Mandalorian’s at this point was welcomed into the Jedi temple later than most. Revan raises Tarre like he is their own son/little brother and they form an extremely powerful force bond because of it. I’ll go in depth on Tarre’s post but Tarre still gets Mando training for 4 months of the year but the jedi training is the rest of the year. Revan joins Tarre when he return to Mandalore to continue his Mando training and learns more about Mandalorian history and culture while there. While on Mandanlore Light Revan truely feels relaxed for once despite random Mando’s sometimes jumping out and challenging them to fights because apparently Revan is now a ghost story and a feared mighty warrior legend and when anyone finds out that Revan is “alive” immediately tries to prove that they are stronger than Revan (which they are not). A few years after Tarre is knighted the war with the True Sith Empire begins.

I don’t know what to call this bit sooooo UWU

Battles, fights, old shit, it’s a war. Revan proves to be supper fucking useful in leadership but doesn’t do as much “sacrifice one to save the many” moves anymore. Revan keeps predicting what the Sith are gonna do an THATS cos Dark Revan is leading the, and Revan knows Revan best but not the reverse. Light Revan knows how Dark Revan will act but Dark Revan doesn’t know how Light Revan will act since Light Revan technically includes Shay/Shar, Mandalorian War Revan, Amnesiac Shay, and post Amnesia. While Dark Revan is only really Darth Revan and post Amnesia so Light Revan technically outweighs Dark Revan. I’ve probably butchered that explanation or done it too late but that’s how it’s gonna be cos it’s midnight and I wanna finish this and post it today. ANYWAY, final battle between the Revan’s. They have a massive duel on the battle field and eventually Light Revan strikes Dark Revan down but also receives some pretty nasty injuries. Light Revan understands the need to be whole again and as Dark Revan “dies” reunites with that half of the force and Revan returns but Revan is so done, so fucking done with living and trying and they had a good run and now they have what was Dark Revan’s and Light Revan’s injuries all on one body and sure if Rev really tried they could probably suck the life force out of some Sith warriors to keep themselves alive but… they just don’t want to. Eventually Tarre finds the fallen Revan reunited at last and stays by their side as Revan finally lets go and becomes one with the force. After the battle Tarre brings Revan’s body back to the Temple to be burnt as Revan had requested but their armour, lightsabers, and other possessions would be taken to a place only Tarre knew of to be sealed away until a far descendent of Revan’s comes along to claim them as their own. The war isn’t over and Revan’s passing only fuels Tarre further into defeating the Sith empire that the republic eventually does after 20 years of war. 

Conclusion 

And that’s the overall story of this Revan, I know very long, very deep, wtf this is your second post after a what? 1 year break? Actually let me check… yeah nope about a year has passed since my Crash post. If you have made it this far thanks for reading my first ever “decent” post about something I’ve been developing for a while now in bits and pieces. Sorry it was so long but then again I did miss a lot of shit. If you want to interact and ask more questions about this Revan go ahead my ask box is open (don’t be weird tho and just cos I post long doesn’t mean you have to ask long unless it’s legit). I’ll try and get the Tarre post out tomorrow around this time too or earlier depends. Thanks again for taking the time to read my word vomit. Also sorry if there are any spelling mistakes I have missed.

Have a good one!

[mermaidsirennikita]

Hello, I hope I'm not bothering you, but do you have any good "enemies to lovers" recs, may they be books or movies?

I neeeever am bothered by people asking for recommendations.  Those are my favorite asks because I am nothing if not in love with my own opinions, lol

Books

Obviously, The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn, the best Bridgerton book, because I’ve been blogging about it lol.  If you haven’t read it, it’s basically “rake tries to seduce the beauty of the ton, beauty’s older sister cockblocks him, he realizes that He Is Into It” 

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne is a classic.  Very light and fluffy contemporary, two people who’ve always hated each other begin competing for the same job and fall in love.

Kate Quinn’s Mistress of Rome series is a saga and the initial big ship of the first book (which you do have to read lol) is not enemies to lovers.  However, the NEXT ship which dominates the last two books of the series (which is four books long, and tbh... I recommend the second book but it’s a prequel and can be skipped technically) is SOOOOOOO GOOD.  It’s really “childhood friends to young lovers to SEVERE ENEMIES still secretly in love” and it’s literally epic lol.  Essentially, the series is set in Ancient Rome and Sabina (very bitchy Roman noblewoman) and Vix (child of a former gladiator, soldier) are friends who I think lose their virginities to each other?  And are in love as kids.  But then she fucks him over and marries the emperor.  Who he actually begins to loyally serve!  But he haaaates Sabina because she.... constantly backstabs him lol.  But he also looooves Sabina and gets off on everything she does.  And she wants him so badly.  And it is delicious.  And I live for it.

Both of the Evie Dunmore books I’ve read, Bringing Down the Duke and especially A Rogue of One’s Own are very enemies to lovers.  In Bringing Down the Duke it’s a bluestocking versus a duke who for political reasons is her enemy.  In A Rogue of One’s Own it’s another bluestocking versus a rake who has known her basically all their lives.  They have to begin working together and fall in looove.

Sarah MacLean LIVES for this trope lol.  Her first true enemies to lovers was Twelve Scandals to Start to Win An Earl’s Heart, in which the heroine is a scandalous young woman and the hero is a duke determined to avoid scandal--and he rebuffed her before the book began, so they hate each other.  But he also has a massive boner around her, of course. 

My favorite MacLean book, A Rogue By Another Name is another “childhood friends turn enemies to lovers”.  The leads, Penelope and Bourne (last name lol) were best friends as kid and he basically fell off after life set in.  Her family now has hold of his ancestral lands, and Bourne essentially blackmails Penelope into marrying him so that he can get those lands, after which she DESPISES him even though they had..... extremely great sex lol.  It’s SUPER GOOD, and it involves borderline voyeurism, which is great.

Then No Good Duke Goes Unpunished is very enemies to lovers.  The heroine was set to become the hero’s stepmother--then he woke up covered in blood with her missing. He then finds out, after years of being despised by society as a presumed murderer, that she is very much alive with a fake identity lol.  It’s WILD.

The Rogue Not Taken is an enemies to lovers roadtrip romance.  The heroine thinks the hero is a horrid rake who purposefully ruins marriages.  He thinks she’s a stuck up brat.  They end up journeying together and he eats her out in a moving carriage.

Theeen there’s Daring and the Duke.  The hero literally thought the heroine was dead (MacLean loves this) and is OBSESSED with her, but she hates him because the man who raised them both basically pitted them against each other after their days of being childhood sweethearts.  It’s very dark and delicious, and there are blow jobs!  Blow jobs don’t happen enough in romances, especially historical romances.  More BJs!  They are fun!

If you’re interested in a dark and BONKERS romance, Desperate Measures by Katee Robert is a retelling of Disney’s Aladdin about a modern Jafar and Jasmine getting together after he takes over her father’s criminal empire.  It’s definitely extremely explicit and a bit fucked up.  The book comes with content warnings; the first sex scene is dubcon.  (Like you’re reading from her perspective and she WANTS IT but she says no.)

Beach Read by Emily Henry is a cute contemporary in which the hero is a literary author and the heroine is a romance novelist.  They find themselves in neighboring beach houses and basically challenge each other to write in the other person’s genre.  Very light enemies to lovers.

A Heart of Blood and Ashes is a fantasy romance by Milla Vane!  Essentially, the hero’s parents were killed by the heroine’s father and he’s out to kill her father and overtake his throne.  Luckily, she’s on board.  But he needs to marry her in order to accomplish his goals.  They do not trust each other whatsoever and torment one another a lot.  For context, within the first fifty pages she gives him a handjob while her hand is covered in her own brother’s blood (and yes, he did kill her brother).  It’s great.

The Worst Best Man is about a wedding planner who suddenly finds herself needing to work with her ex-fiance’s brother... who she holds responsible for her fiance leaving her at the altar.  Very fun and sexy contemporary.

The entire Four Horsemen series by Laura Thalassa.  In each book, the heroine falls in love with a literal embodiment of one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, who is here to bring the end of the world.  VERY heavy enemies to lovers.  Kinda dark at times?  Kinda fucked up at times?  I love it a lot?  It begins with Pestilence; War and Famine have already been released, but Death has not.

From Lukov with Love by Marina Zapata.  It’s a figure skating romance; a down on her luck skater pairs up with a male skater who is extremely successful, and who she’s known for years and hated.  Verrrrry slow burn, but fun.

Movies

The Proposal, of course, starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds.  You’ve probably seen this, but the setup is that she’s his evil boss, he’s her assistant, and she’s about to lose her visa so she bribes him into marrying her so that she can get citizenship.  But ruh-roh, they have to go to Alaska for his family reunion and he’s also got a great body and is like, an Alaskan Rockefeller?  

Obviously, Clueless which is enemies to lovers by way of former stepsiblings, and also by way of the only valid retelling of Emma.  Emma itself is not enemies to lovers, really, but Clueless amps that aspect up a bit.

If you want a super tragic version, warning lol--House of Flying Daggers.  It’s a wuxia movie, so melodramatic to the max.  She’s a blind daughter of the leader of a vigilante group, he’s a soldier who’s gone undercover to follow her to their stronghold.  Many reveals and one of my favorite dramatic love stories ensues.

Princess Diaries 2, duh.  Baby Chris Pine?  Anne Hathaway?  PLEASE BITCH.

365 DNI.  If you haven’t watched yet, watch it and thank me later.  The greatest cinematic contribution of the last decade.

Down with Love.  It’s a delightful take on like, 50s/60s sex comedies in which the heroine writes a book that convinces women to ignore love and men, which makes the hero look bad and makes it difficult for him to get laid.  So he sets out to basically.....  wear a different persona?  And seduce her?  It is one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen, and I adore it.  Renee Zellweger and Ewan Macgregor have great chemistry in it too.

The Thomas Crown Affair, starring extremely hot Pierce Brosnan and Renee Russo.  She’s an insurance investigator, he’s a billionaire who basically is suspected of stealing priceless works of art because he’s bored.  She investigates him and immediately begins fucking him.  Has a scene where she dances with him while wearing a completely transparent dress.  Then they fuck everywhere in his house.  I have never wanted to be between two people more.

The Painted Veil.  A socialite marries a dorky scientist for convenience, then cheats on him.  He finds out and basically forces her to go to China with him, where he is fighting the cholera epidemic, as an extremely long and petty murder suicide attempt.  But they get to know each other!  And the ice begins to melt!  Warning: tragic but lovely.

Casino Royale YES I SAID THAT.  The James Bond reboot movie that explains why he’s such a whore!!!  HE WAS BROKEN!!!  Basically James Bond is not like... a learned man... in this movie.  So he’s a cocky bastard and the Bond girl is impossibly sexy Eva Green as Vesper, who’s the “money man” on his mission.  They begin as bickering assholes and then fall in love.  But also!  Tragedy!

The animated Anastasia movie is one of the finest enemies to lovers movies of any time, I will defend this forever

Anyway....  Hope this gives you some ideas!  Lol

[furimmerich]

"What do you want?"

Miles' pen halted and he contemplated brushing the question off for a moment. "What do you mean, Wright?" he instead settled on an equally curt question. It only seemed fair.

"I mean, like..." Wright only sat still, his mouth open, as he tried to think an explanation for it. "Your goal. What do you really want?"

The emphasis on the want was unnecessary, but Miles acknowledged him with a wry scoff. "...justice, what else?" It seemed he had answered a bit too slowly, as Wright was on him--metaphorically, of course--in an instant.

"Just justice? That's a bit of a meek want, especially since it's something you only recently were driven towards." The attorney's huff at the end was a bitter reminder of his still-present ill feelings towards Edgeworth's sudden 'death' several years prior. "You don't have anything else that's, say," the man's volume suddenly dropped, "more personal?"

The arrow hit its mark, but the prosecutor would not back down yet. "Seeking justice is as much a personal concern as a professional concern, mind you," Miles simply retorted, straightening his files. "I have no such of the personal desires you inquire me for, Phoenix Wright."

"Really?"

"Certainly."

Wright stared through him with pursed lips, his urge to press forward obvious and obnoxious; as always. "No...perhaps, romantic wants?"

"Had I not told you I have no interesting in being wed?" Edgeworth's own lying annoyance rang through his ears and he cleared his throat in an attempt to silence it. "I care not for romantic relationships; I keep everything purely professional."

"So, we're purely professional best friends?" The defense attorney had started to get dangerously close to the prosecutor. "I think that's a little contradictory, Edgeworth."

His tone alerted said man to keep an even voice, "I think not? We've known each other for more than twenty years, I'm sure you, of all people, understand that." Phoenix then flatly murmured something including the word 'liar' and 'locks' and Edgeworth found his own breathing had suddenly silenced. "Pardon?"

"Nothing." The response was choked out, but a response nonetheless. "But you're sure?"

"Incredibly sure, so, stop asking. I'm trying to work," the prosecutor continued to emphasize his point with a pen click. "And shouldn't you as well?" It was more of a plead to leave his office than a suggestion.

The former hummed questioningly before processing his demand. "Ooh... nah," Wright grinned, "Apollo and Athena have everything under control," he paused, "probably."

"Prob-" Miles sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're too carefree. You should be more wary about your job, Wright. I'd rather you not lose it again."

"Hey, you can't joke about that!"

"I assure you, I'm not joking."

"You're cruel!" Despite his words, Phoenix laughed. Miles couldn't help as he smiled a bit, though he quickly hid it with clearing his throat. "You don't needa worry about it. You...You helped me and I'm...so, so thankful."

"I was merely helping..." the taller man blinked, thinking through his words carefully, "...a friend." The hesitation in his reply visibly displeased Wright, but otherwise the attorney said nothing else.

After a few moments, the office went silent, besides the occasional paper rustle as Edgeworth organized files. He was quite grateful for it. He would finally be able to finish these final documents...

"You look quite cute in glasses, did you know that?"

"...P-Pardon?" Miles tried to wrap his head around what he said.

Phoenix sat there with a smile on his face, staring right at him. "Glasses. You look cute in them."

"...c-cute..?"

"Attractive? ...Hm..." the defense attorney tapped his chin in thought. "One of those. I like them." He gently reached out, slipping his index under Edgeworth's chin. "And your eyes..." he didn't finish his sentence, but what he wanted to say was in the air.

"Wh-What kind of n-nonsense..." Miles trailed off into a mumble, but he didn't pull away. He only averted his eyes for a moment.

"It's not nonsense at all, Miles."

"N-Ngh...You..."

"Gimme a kiss?" Wright tilted his head, leaning over the prosecutor's desk. "Please?" Desire gleamed in his eyes.

"W-Wright..." Miles could barely breathe, and he liked it. Wright's finger against his skin was hot, and he liked it. In a moment of feverish temptation, he cupped the former's cheek and brought him into a kiss. Warmth flooded his face as he felt lips move against his and, god, it was intoxicating. And it almost stung.

After a moment, they separated, if separated meant barely centimeters apart still.. Miles was surprisingly disheveled and Phoenix looked surprisingly happy. "Holy shit...I've been wanting to do that for years," he murmured.

Despite his own joy, something still hurt. Attraction. Was it romantic? Did he only want his body?

"...please." His tone was so pathetic it hurt, but Edgeworth could deal. "Please, tell me it isn't just physical."

"What isn't just physical..?"

"Please don't just be physically attracted to me," Edgeworth practically begged. "I-I can't handle that kind of--"

"No?" Phoenix seemed to realise he sounded more questioning. "No," he repeated firmly. "God, no. Miles, I love you for you. I have for...what, since we were kids? Your courage, your kindness, your passion, your honesty; you're amazing in every single way. I'm lucky enough that you're just as handsome in and out."

Miles knew he meant it. And, god, he felt more for the man in front of him than he could verbalize. Relief relaxed his nerves and he pecked Phoenix on the lips again. "I...love you."

The other man chuckled, a smirk on his face. "I know. You're a bad liar." Though his smirk wasn't mean. Not mean like von Karma's when Miles messed up, or like Gant's when he had presented forged evidence. It was a nice smirk, because it was Phoenix.

"Maybe I am, but what does that make a certain bluffing defense attorney?" He received an indignified scoff in retort. "You're just as bad as me, darling," the nickname rolled off his tongue easily. It seemed to fluster Wright as well, as he stuttered in response. Miles decided he'd keep it.

He must've been smirking a lot since Phoenix rolled his eyes exasperatedly. "I never knew you were such a sap," he mumbled into his palm as he sat back down, "It reminds me of Larry and that's scary."

"I'm nothing like Larry," Miles retorted, "Unlike him, I have an IQ above than room temperature." The former laughed and Miles couldn't help but relish in the fact that he made him laugh.

"Cut the guy some slack, he's just...uh..."

"He's the complete opposite embodiment of someone with a good head on their shoulders."

"...kinda. But he's still our friend."

Edgeworth ignored the faint spark of displeasure in his chest, pressing the edge of his pen into his finger. "Indeed."

*

After a few moments of silence, Phoenix allowed himself to stare, his point of interest being, obviously, Miles. He figured it wasn't inappropriate, considering what had just been passed between the two of them. Over two decades of holding out his feelings, and, finally... A small grin played out on his face. It didn't go unnoticed by the perceptive man across from him.

"What're you smiling about?" Edgeworth inquired, shuffling around files, though he'd guessed that the prosecutor had long since given up his full attention to the paperwork.

"I'm just happy, that's all," Wright hummed. When the former perked an eyebrow, the latter rolled his eyes, "I just had my first kiss, let me sap over it."

And, apparently, that was enough to surprise Miles. "First kiss?" he echoed. A thoughtful look flashed across his face for a second.

It'd been a retort in the spur of the moment, so Nick hadn't really thought about it. Heat slightly rose to his cheeks. "Yeah. First. You better be honored."

The magenta-clad man smirked in response. "Well then. That certainly does please me." He gazed over him for a moment, a certain gleam in his eyes that sent a shiver down Phoenix's spine. Something in his voice stood out, too. "Glad to know I was your first, darling."

Possessiveness, that's what it was.

If he was being honest, Phoenix didn't mind. In fact, it was kind of arousing.

Blushing at his own dirty thoughts, he mustered a reflection of his partner's smug expression. "Want another one for good measure?" he offered slyly. And it would've been a successful cover up of embarassment had he not went to prop his head up on his elbow, missing the edge of the desk, and promptly slamming his nose into the wood. "...ow."

Miles chuckled. "Hm. Let's move somewhere more...comfortable for that, shall we?" He gestured for Wright to get up as he did the same. Sliding from behind his desk, he took the defense attorney's hand and guided him to the sofa that sat perpendicular.

Wright found himself flushing red at the implications behind his words.

As he went to take a place besides where Edgeworth had sat, he was stopped by a hand on his waist, which did not help the blood flowing to his face. "Uh- Er- E-Edgeworth?" There was definitely a minor voice crack in there.

"Come now, Wright, you wanted another kiss, did you not?" Edgeworth kept his gaze locked on him and he slowly pulled Wright onto his lap. "I'd say it's easier this way. Any objections?"

Phoenix would've been damned had he turned down the golden opportunity. "The defense concurs," he managed, swallowing thickly.

"Let us continue the proceedings, then." The prosecutor's hand slowly lowered to the former's thigh, giving it a firm squeeze.

Phoenix let out an embarassing noise. "M-Miles!" he tried to scold, but, god, did he melt into his hand. It was just the perfect distance away from somewhere else incredibly vital that it gave him both a shock of pleasure and the want for more.

"Yes?" Miles gazed at him innocently, but his hand slowly snaking further towards Phoenix's crotch betrayed his look. "Something the matter, darling?"

Wright opened his mouth to speak, but once he felt himself being gently palmed he couldn't form sentences. He only hummed lowly, relishing the partial friction. "You...nnh..."

All the while, the chief prosecutor kept his unknowing façade. "I cannot hear you if you mumble, Wright," he smiled, as if he wasn't the one reducing the other attorney to a blushing, muttering mess with his own hand.

"You-" Phoenix gasped as he just barely resisted from thrusting his hips forward in desperation for more. "-are a bad liar." Miles' smirk deepened.

"And yet you weren't able to find out my truth." His hand stopped. Fuck.

Lightly panting, the man stared at him with lidded eyes. Nine psyche-locks had appeared earlier when Phoenix inquired him about it. It was less than surprising. "Well, let me ask you again," he paused, gathering his breath. "What do you want?"

Edgeworth was much more prepared for the question now, finally looking him in the eye while he answered. "You. I want you to be mine and no one else's, in heart, soul, and body." He cupped his face, rubbing his thumb against the outline of his cheek.

The sentiment touched his heart, and he smiled lop-sidedly, still a little pleasure drunk. "Well." Phoenix leaned into his touch. "I'm all yours, Mi."

"Would you like that kiss, now?"

"Yes. Please."

Without waiting, the defense attorney smashed his lips into the prosecutor's, a shiver running through his nerves as the latter reciprocated with just as much hunger. Everything felt so good and right and nice, and he was getting too warm-

Phoenix pulled away after a heartbeat to mutter 'jacket' as comprehensibly as he could. Thankfully, Miles got the memo and carefully slid the blue jacket off. The former relished the cooler air that seeped into his dress shirt, but he still had too many layers for comfort. "Are-Are we safe in here? N-No one's gonna...?"

"The door's locked," Edgeworth responded without missing a beat. He'd started to trail kisses down Phoenix's jawline. "I'm rarely disturbed." His lips met the attorney's throat and oh, god, Phoenix loved it. "We'll be fine."

Wright shakily hummed in response, all his senses being narrowed down to where Edgeworth touched. All his competence had been reduced to nothing as he desperately tried to balance. "Mi- Hah~"

"Say my name more, my darling."

Phoenix obliged happily, breathily repeating 'Miles.' It seemed to drive the other man past his self-control. The attorney's waistcoat was all but dragged off, his under shirt following. The former now attacked his skin with bites and the latter couldn't keep his wits about him. "Mi- Oh, fuck-"

"Language, Phoenix," the more dominant man chastised, his breath brushing against Wright's ear, his fingers lightly circling the rings around his nipples. A moan escaped from the latter, the first to have been unstifled.

"G-God- Miles~" Nick dragged out. He'd long last lost his ability to sit straight, just barely propping himself up. "Please-"

The prosecutor caught his gaze. "Please, what?"

"Ravage me."

*

Well.

It was an unexpected reaction, to say the least, though not unwelcome.

Miles made haste to uncover more of Phoenix's body--deftly undoing his belt and working down those blue jeans. It proved quite difficult when he realised the man was in such a position that prevented them from slipping past his hips. Hm. He hadn't really wanted to change their position either.

A brief, enticing thought popped into Edgeworth's head, and he thought on it for a moment.

"Phoenix, can you stand?" To that, Phoenix nodded breathlessly. "Good. Stand."

Watching his darling comply eagerly filled him with a carnal instinct. "Jeans. Off, now."

Wright was left in his boxers, allowing Edgeworth a near full view of his body. Unsurprisingly, the man was quite toned, though you'd never be able to tell under the suit. His eyes trailed down to his hips.

Seeing how hard the defense attorney was made him chuckle, though he wasn't much better himself.

Miles figured he'd admired him long enough. There would be a more "personal examination" soon, after all. He held out his finger, beckoning Phoenix back onto his lap. "Are you sure you want me to 'ravage you'?" he murmured, exhaling slowly at the friction between Phoenix's length and his own. "I may not be able to hold back."

"It's been decades of miscommunication, I sure as hell hope you don't hold back," Wright shot him a stern look, which would've been somewhat intimidating, had he not been all but naked.

"Hm, point taken," the chief prosecutor shrugged slightly, now tracing the waistband of the former's briefs to his back, taking in the slight arches of his spine. Slipping in his hand, it didn't take much for him to pass over Phoenix's ass. Miles relished the gasp and hum that came from Phoenix as he lightly massaged and groped him.

He suddenly paused, realising something. A problem. Miles sighed quietly; Not without the attentive defense attorney noticing, though. "Wh-What is it?"

"Lube. We have none. I mean, we can continue, but the strain for you..."

He heard Phoenix swear under his breath and mutter something else, scratching his chin like he always did when thinking. "...do you have any lotion here?"

"Lotion? Well..." A glance around the office confirmed it. "No."

"Hm." Wright didn't give up, though. He was quite single-minded. "Gimme your hand. Don't ask questions, don't call me gross, it's perfectly acceptable." Why he'd ever need his hand at this moment was beyond the prosecutor; He offered his other hand nevertheless.

Miles didn't know what he expected, but it sure as hell wasn't Phoenix slipping three of his digits into his mouth.

In retrospect, it should've been revolting, yet he couldn't be more turned on. There was something about how the former's tongue ran along his fingers. Something about how his eyebrows arched up, his eyes fluttered shut. Apparently Phoenix Wright could make anything look attractive as hell.

Even the way Phoenix popped off, a wet noise barely there, with a thin string of saliva still connecting from his lips to the tips of Miles' fingers-

Ah, he'd started overanalyzing things again. Edgeworth shook his head, staring at his fingers. "Saliva as lube. I guess that works."

Wright lit up positively. "Okay, now, please, pleaseplease-" he basically guided his lover's hand back to his ass. More quiet pleads fell from his mouth in anticipation. Miles found it adorable.

Now having some way of entering easier, Miles pushed his first digit into the defense attorney's entrance.The latter moaned quietly.

He made sure to go slow, just incase it still stung, which was inevitable. He paid quiet attention to the man's reactions, though.

If Phoenix was in any pain, he didn't seem to show it.

Feeling reassured, he carefully added another.

Phoenix bit down on his lip, his body arching against Miles' fingers. "Oh, god~ Yes~"

Edgeworth smirked and leaned forward to steal his lips in a kiss, meanwhile pushing in the last finger. Wright's moan in his mouth was immaculate.

The shorter of the two pulled away, panting heavily.  "Is-Isn't it...ready..."

"Maybe." Miles was then suddenly aware of the suffocating layers of his own clothes. He'd been so occupied on Phoenix's pleasure to focus on his own. He sighed, his pants feeling especially tight.

He'd taken out his fingers when he was sure Phoenix was stretched enough- and, god, the sight of the panting, blushing, moaning mess of a man in front of him would be burned into his memory for a while.

[nomoregoldfish]

Imagine catching Amado building secret airport in the jungle; Enemies to friends /w benefits (2/2)

This one goes out of my hands. I don’t even know what kind of monster it is now, smh. The formatting seems screwed up. Please read it on AO3 if you want. Again, if tubmlr flag the gif below, I’LL RIOT.

"Is this a date? What's the dress code? Cargo pants don't count." Amado sounds flirty when you call him the other day. It's not really his fault because you are the one who asks him out.

Since the formidable drug trafficker hasn't sent any sicario to make you disappear, you figure you still have chances to make him reconsider the plan of building an airport. You're willing to do whatever it takes to save the jungle and the ruins.

Plus seeing Amado again is not a bad idea.

You can't justify why you ignore your go-to outfit including cargo pants. Instead, you put on your tightest jeans.

You pick up Amado at four in the morning. The tall man looks sleepy and slightly confused, which is kinda cute. You offer him black coffee in your vacuum bottle. 

After the first sip, Amado turns to you with his misty down-turned eyes, "No cargo pants today?" You try not to smile, "Shut up."

You're taking him to the Palenque ruins, another Mayan site in Chiapas, just few hours drive away.

You manage to get there before the sunrise. The site hasn't opened yet but you know a secret route because you also worked on the excavation project there. 

"You have a thing for sneaking in, uh, Ms. Geologist?" You shouldn't encourage him but whatever, the banter is... fun. 

Walking with Amado in the dense mountain forest actually is a perfect date in your dictionary. Your shoes are wet with morning dew but nobody cares. Listen to birds chirping and fogs croaking in the dim light. 

"You're really not afraid of darkness, are you?" Amado sounds genuinely curious. "Why would I be? I worked on this site for years, I've known the whole place by heart." He nods, like some acknowledgement.

It's almost dawn, you look at the tinted horizon when you reach the top of the mountain. The entire ancient city of Palenque is quiet and peaceful wrapped in the jungle, reminds you why you chose what you do with your life.

"I want to show you something." It's the Temple of the Inscriptions, one of the most iconic Mayan architecture lightened up by the morning sun. Starting from the history, you explain to Amado not only the symbolic significance of the temple and the secret tomb inside, but also the epic war Emperor Pakal waged against Yaxchilán. 

Amado doesn't stop you. You keep talking, sharing your involvement in those excavation projects with him, how excited you are when a new site is discovered, how proud you felt for your team when Palenque was recognized as World Heritage Site not long ago, which meant more funds, more human resources, and better equipment for all scientists working on it for years. You want to continue to study the whole area, even several rival/ally sites in Guatemala and Belize, to find more satellite cities, battlefields, to be able to define the border of those ancient powerhouses and finally draw a map of the mysterious kingdom.

He looks at you like you're some kind of heroine. It's heartwarming but you're not sure, "So, what do you think?"

Amado's playing coy, but you're persistent. "Come on. I'm a geologist. I can't hire assassins. What else am I supposed to do to make you change your mind? Put on my most expensive dress, show off my ass, wine and dine you?"

"Though I'd love to see you in a nice dress, jeans are great, too." The northern banditote smirks, eyeing your lower body, "Plus the whole speech, I told you I love it when you talk about your job. You seem to know exactly what you're doing."

Amado doesn't promise anything. He says he'll figure something out.

You exhale deeply. At least the guy listened, you appreciate it. 

Then you find out there's nothing left in your vacuum bottle, the fucker drank all your coffee, "How am I supposed to drive back without any coffee in my system?"

Amado pulls you in for a kiss, warm and tastes much better than your shitty coffee. The fresh stubble overnight of his stings and it feels so good, you can't help cupping his face and kissing back. 

Then he announces he'd drive if you just say "El Señor de los Cielos, please." You tell him to fuck off but toss the car key to him anyway.

You haven't contacted each other after that for a while. You tell yourself it's nothing. It's not like you two have had something. 

You send people every week to monitor the construction of the airport from a hidden spot on the mountain. Meanwhile you complete the scan of the area surrounding the soon-to-be airport and find a possible target. You have to be on the ground again to confirm it. 

Unluckily you break your ankle one day in the jungle. And you don't want to put any colleague's life at risk to get near the cartel's territory. You decide to wait on Amado, you believe he's a man of his words. 

Amado surprises you one night at your camp. He jokes that a geologist can sneak into a drug cartel's property, it'd be humiliating if he doesn't return the favor. His face and neck are perfectly tanned, you want to immerse yourself in that hot chocolate. You almost jump out of excitement because you haven't seen Amado for a month. Then you remember you're confined to your desk and seat due to the injury. 

"You're expecting someone else? Ms. Geologist." Amado sounds a bit down. "I..." You want to ask him so many things. Has he figured it out? Who is in charge of the airport when he's away? And where has he been? Why does it take him so long to come back? Maybe minus the last question. It'd sound desperate. 

He says he flies from Juaréz, "One of the longest domestic flights," he claims as looking around your tent office, sketches and maps scattered all the place. When his eyes meet yours again, it's so gentle, full of fondness.

"You only want to talk about business?" He's getting close, "I just fly almost 2,000 miles and you're not even standing up. Look who's more cold-blooded than drug traffickers."

Before you realize what happens, Amado lowers his body and carries you off the chair. He doesn't touch your ankle but it still hurts when you're suddenly moved.

Amado finds out. The man in black examines your injury carefully. You never saw him so concerned before. He quickly comes to the conclusion that your injury is worse than it looks and needs better treatment. 

No, you're not gonna leave your job. You have papers to write, new budget to apply, more areas to explore. Slowly it'd recover.

"Don't you want to wade across rivers, trek through jungles, and climb mountains again? If you love your job so much, you have to get better treatment, immediately! And take some good rest. Give it a few more weeks? Oh God, you're insane." He's so mad at you.

You finally agree, and Amado insists on carrying you again to his vehicle. You know it's not your priority right now but holy fuck, he's fucking built. And you're inches away from his big nose which you've had a crush on for a while.

He's gonna fly you to the state capital Tuxtla Gutiérrez.

"You don't fly 2,000 miles just to see me, do you?" You poke him during the flight, sitting next to the sexy pilot in the cockpit is a treat. 

"Dear Ms. Geologist, remember I have a job, too?"

The pain is getting worse, Amado notices it then hands you a joint from nowhere. You're about ask whether it's legal to have weed on the plane, then you realize you're with a real drug dealer. "Not to bad to have a narcos friend, huh?" OK, you gives him that as the weed kicks in. 

"So now we're friends?" You're obviously high, and bold. Because you find your hand dangerously near his groin for no reason, fumbling. "I always wanted to touch it." You giggle. 

Amado politely removes your hand and tells you to behave.

"You know what? You could've been the most popular guy at our camp. Someone might trade blowjobs for your weed since we're just low-paid scientists and assistants." You're high like a kite.

You also "threaten" if Amado extends any further in the jungle to build more airport facilities when you're put away, you swear to God you'll...

"You'll what? Shut up and rest, cabrón. Or I'll take you directly to DF, better physicians there anyway."

And the fucker did, a day after a Chiapas physician suggests you seek the best orthopedic treatment in DF for speedy recovery.

Then Amado disappears again. You know he's probably running a drug cartel in the north, and only checking in on their hidden project near the southern border once a month or two. It's the way it is. Your lives only collide when it's meant to be. There's no fucking way you two see each other like normal people do. 

You still miss Amado, miss the banter, even his northern accent. 

During the two-month therapy in DF, you receive reports that the airport is completed, and the potential target site nearby is now a giant warehouse. You also learn a big donation is made specifically to the Yaxchilán excavation project, of course, anonymously.

That's what Amado meant by "figuring something out." You're not even mad. What's the alternate outcome when you're up against the narcos? Report it? The entire cabinet is probably in their pocket. You should be relieved that no one ends up dead during the little stupid game you played.

You can't even return the drug money because, a) you can't tell anyone where it's from; b) INAH's been underfunded for decades, the project fucking needs it, so do your colleagues.

You call that number again after you get back to the ground. You don't know how to end this, or is there anything to end? 

"Come over next weekend, I'll be there and I can explain." Amado sounds poised and calm, like he always does.

You tell yourself to keep it civil. This is a losing battle since day one.

Amado meets you in front of a warehouse, he looks great, all charming smile and open arms. All you can think of is the location of the warehouse, it must be the one. Most likely it's being buried.

"You bring flowers, how nice." It's the white birds of paradise, which suits him, El Señor de los Cielos. You tell him you're grateful for the injury advice he insisted.

"Can I show you something?" Amado opens the door of the warehouse. It all feels like yesterday, when you showed him the sunrise at Palenque, talking about your future plan. How naive were you.

Some jaw-dropping scene in front of you. The entire site of ruins, intact, locked inside the warehouse with minimal structure to shield from the rain and sunshine.

"What? You thought I'm gonna show you cocaine? No offense, baby, you can't afford the Colombian white magic. This is all you get, some fucking broken rocks with barely recognizable inscriptions." The bastard shrugs.

How did he find this site? "Sorry. Let's say I accidentally took a copy of your scan map last time at your camp, when you were busy with your ankle problem." You fucking knew it, it's never what it looked like when it comes to Amado Carrillo Fuentes.

Yet you can't believe what you just see. It is NOT real. It can't be.

That's when harsh reality kicks in. It always starts with a but. "You can't work on it, not now." Amado explains the situation and his plan for your ruins, which he thinks it's better to keep them under the radar for now. No tomb raider would dare to approach it, you can work on many other sites first.

"Then what?" You keep digging. Amado sighs, giving you a melancholy smile, "This line of work doesn't tend to last very long. It will be yours one day. Before that, it's completely safe. You have my word." 

Amado's kind of.... correct, and practical to be honest. INAH doesn't have enough resources for thousands of projects. Even with the hard work you and your colleagues pulled, it's estimated less than 10% of the total area of Palenque was explored and partially restored.

You carefully examine the site, making notes and sketches to create a hasty profile.

Amado focuses on something else, "It seems you walk just fine. Fully recovered, no rush? Good. And has your budget been approved? Got more money? I mean, the efficiency of any bureaucratic system is questionable in this country. If it still falls short, I can...." 

You can't tell if he's been an asshole or a saint, God forbid.

"For fuck's sake, I don't want your fucking money. I just, I want...." You turn around, look defeated, "Your dick, OK? Who cares about your dirty drug money? You Sinaloan monkey!"

Amado bursts into laughter, "Why don't you take both, dear Ms. Geologist?" He put your hand below his belt buckle, "I think you made it very clear last time."

"It's your fucking nose, narizón." You gently caress it, and he's getting hard beneath the fabric and it's fucking huge.

You're on your knees, trying to take Amado's full length in. Fuck, it's difficult. You're embarrassed and he's like "Shhh, it's okay, baby."

Instead, Amado's going down on you, making your knees weak af. You have to grab the stones to stand still. 

Amado eating your out with patience, salt and pepper stubble rubbing against the most sensitive part of your body which gives you more trouble, and fingering you at the same fucking time. Let that sink in for a moment.

You don't stand a chance, you come so hard.

Amado's taking you from behind, big hands on your hips to keep you still against the ancient structure. Rock into you with deep, short thrusts. You're wet for him like rivers during monsoon season. 

Your legs are shaking when he hits right at the spot again. "Wanna to make a good girl like you squirm and scream." Fuck, Amado always gets what he desires as he pulls you hair up, leaving hickeys on your neck while he fucks you thoroughly.

The best orgasm through your whole life. And the fucker is proud of it, "Told you. You'd better take both, baby. The green and the big D."

Does it mean you really gonna take money from narcos? This is so fucked up. 

Later Amado fixes you some nice margarita, casually asking if you want to join him for a business trip to Belize the next day. "I have to buy some stuff in Belmopan. Maybe we can stop by Lamanai with my private jet after that if you'd like."

How the fuck does he know you wanted to visit the Mayan ruins in a remote foreign town for years? 

The concern becomes less shocking when you see Amado buy a bunch of Boeing 727s in Belmopan like a Sunday grocery run.

[hyannah]

Anon Archives vol. 4 (right?)

full res: x I miss him too. He was the first of the cast I ever designed and without him, there would simply be no TBoA. Rest assured there will be no shortage of him in the comic :) I understand that the concept of Wolfe with facial hair will be like marmite for most of you, but it’s probably something that you should prepare for regardless! Wolfe no longer has use of his hands due to extensive nerve damage and he has to get imaginative with ways to keep his grip on things - but some tools, like razors - are simply impossible for him to use anymore due to his tremors. Before the gang comes together he will be looking quite worse for wear. 

full res: x She calls him “Marty” :) Her mother called him that so it makes him happy. He’s not her father but he loves her as one would. He was the one who delivered her as a baby, though during the process there were complications. She broke her leg on the way out and though Martin was able to treat her, it caused her to walk with a slight limp growing up. Teaching her to dance wasn't just Martin's idea of physiotherapy but his way of showing her how dearly he cared for her. Music and dance are our good doctor's love languages, you see. He will have Twinkletoes refer to him as “Sir” when he reprimands her, but due to some of Martin’s own issues growing up, he hates disciplining children. If he absolutely must, it’s firm but merciful, and under no circumstances would he ever raise his hand to them.

full res: x Michael Graves is one of three of Ashwick’s Senior Wardens, the other being Hunter Gerhardt and an as of now unannounced third. Wardens are the town’s law enforcers who work directly under the church’s orders. Neither entirely police nor militia, they’re a bit of both. Wardens patrol the streets at night and make sure no one is out after Curfew. Wardens are simultaneously feared and revered amongst the deeply religious townsfolk who view them as God-sent, but no one strikes pure terror into their hearts quite like Graves. While Hunter is known for being terrifying but sometimes merciful, Graves holds no such reputation. If gunshots are heard in the night or blood stains the cobblestones in the morning, townfolk know to keep their mouths shut and heads down.

Thank you so much! I still have some demons to battle but I want to get better, and your support means the world.

Thank you! I kinda wanna die when I look at that piece. Damian deserved better than my art in that funky phase and I will capture his true beauty one day.

LOL Bloodborne has been a huuuuge visual influence on me over the last few years. Expect to see some similarities I'm sure.

Thank you ;.; I used Paint Tool Sai religiously but I've unfortunately fallen out of love with it in the last year in favour of Clip Studio Paint. I would highly recommend CSP and since it comes with a one-month free trial you'd be missing out not to give it a go. I occasionally use Photoshop for some final touches but not enough to say it's worth paying that silly subscription fee for. Lately, I've been using Procreate on my iPad. It was one hell of an investment (😔💸) but it was worth it - the iPad feels great to draw on.

Thank you! Yes, definitely expect that. There are a few timeskips in canon and I have outfit changes planned.

Wolfe can sometimes be seen circling a bed or chair a few times before sitting/lying down not unlike a dog would. Rose cannot - and I truly mean this - fathom numbers. To say she is bad at math would be a terrible understatement. Martin needs a few shots of whiskey a day to keep him going but he never seems inebriated so it’s impossible to tell (unless you’re Hunter). Hunter is so tall that churches are the only buildings he doesn’t have to duck to get in to and he Riker Sits everywhere. Gloria is a little superstitious, and Graves is a cigarette smoker. Twinkletoes likes pigeons.

I would certainly recommend it! If drawing inspires you, give it a shot! Though whether or not I recommend going to school for it is a more complicated question. The good thing about pursuing a career in art is that at the end of the day your work ethic and portfolio are your best friends. Having degrees and connections will help in the industry for sure (and why I DO recommend art courses for people who have the money and want to experience student life), but if you're a poor kid that can't shell out the dough for art school or if you studied a different field, or if college didn't/isn't working out for you, it's not the end of the road. You can build your career on your own terms if you're driven enough.

Hm, let's see. I think Wolfe and Gloria would appreciate some sweet treats! Hunter rarely eats anything that isn't meat, and Rose has lived on the road most of her life so campfire food is what she's used to. She's the kind of person you'd see eat something horrifying like uncooked beans straight from the tin. Gloria appreciates her guilty pleasures and Wolfe recalls her sharing taffy with him as a little boy. But those memories are hazy now, and he's long since forgotten the taste.

Oh jeez, that would mean the world to me! As for the dialogue, it’s probably a bit of both honestly haha.

Hunter: 43, Wolfe: 23, Gloria: 41, Martin: 45, Rose: 19, Graves: 38. Some of you may recall Hunter being younger but I had to make a few timeline adjustments. Otherwise, everyone has remained the same.

Oh, well, it just might be! Wolfe is used to carrying the frail and sickly through the Charnels, but human touch in that regard is alien to him.

You're right about one thing, Ashwick is certainly in the title! I'm pretty close to revealing it so hopefully you won't be stumped for too long. I can reveal however, if I haven't already (and I think I may have, I haven't read the previous Anon Archives in years), that TBoA was going to be called Memento Mori.

He raises an amused brow at your sentiment but if you're under 35 you're all toddlers and babies to him. Plus he can't go 5 minutes without thinking about his wife so it's safe to say he’s settled down.

Haha, yeah! All of the above. Though it goes both ways. Hunter’s antics drive the poor man up the wall for sure but Hunter will be the first to tell you that doc is a force of nature too when he’s got to be. They’ve known each other for decades. They’ve taken bullets and bruises and stabs wounds for one another. Martin makes sure Hunter doesn’t get himself killed (at least he did before Malignancy took that off the table) and Hunter makes sure Martin doesn’t work himself to death. Gloria just wonders why they both have to be so damn dramatic.

1. Rose's candles simulate artificial sunlight and can temporarily vanquish Spectres from the area at night until the wick runs out. These are especially useful to the common folk who may be suffering from seeing their dead loved ones night after night. Her special coloured candles are different, though. They block a Malignant from being able to possess their Host's body and thus allow the Host to keep control of themselves when night falls. You'll learn more about the ins-and-outs of this mechanic in the comic.

2. I can't share that! You'll just have to wait and find out. Though it is a wonder how someone as formidable and self-disciplined as Hunter could fall prey to a Malignant's manipulation … I suppose even men like Father Gerhardt have been vulnerable at one point in their lives, huh?

It’s private, sorry :( It was a kind gesture from a fan who wanted to show their appreciation but it quickly got a little out of hand and very inappropriate. I’m good friends now with the few who did join so it’s not so bad and we have a good laugh, but it’s given me a small taste of “Fandom” on a grander scale and it was enough for me to realise it makes me pretty uncomfortable to be in the middle of it. I love being able to communicate with you all but I don’t love being in awkward situations so much. I might try again in the future, we’ll see.

Malignancy is unpredictable and what happens to one Host won't necessarily happen to the other!

ohohohoh who knowsssssss ;D

Nope, she’s Hunter’s danger noodle gal.

Yes, I love them!!!! I recall checking them out after you sent this message quite some time ago. I had heard a few of their songs before but I've been listening to them regularly ever since. I appreciate the recommendation since music is a really big thing for me.

Oh thank you very much! They're my own characters yes :) I first created them when I was 16 for a college project. One day I would like to share that with you all because it's come a long way. The comic is in development. Thank you all for your questions, I think that’s most of them. If you don’t see your ask in here it’s because it was asked already, I got a similar question and took a screenshot of that instead, it was too inappropriate, I can’t reveal the information yet, or I simply didn’t see it. As always if you’re looking for more prompt responses please message me off anon so I can reply privately since I respond to most anons in bulk!

[scvrletwtch]

( summer bishil, female, pansexual, she/her ) rome welcomes Luna Lakhani, a vampire. they are 31/868 years old and have been in the city for eight years. they are known to be loyal + insensitive, which makes sense because they’re irritated about the marriages. i heard they’re betrothed to Rowan Korcari and to Rosalie Leong - a dragon and a seelie princess.

--- hello hello, i’m nona & i’m super excited for this !! i’m late but i’m usually like, a full day late to openings because of work so i feel pretty lucky rn. i have luna, who is A Huge Mess™ & astoria whose intro will be up soon-ish ( i haven’t started writing it yet oops ) . anyways i think i messed up luna’s timeline somewhere in this and might have repeated something bc i edited stuff and moved things around and then got distracted by youtube and forgot how old she is for like 30 minutes so excuse my lack of organisation 

before the turn ;;

luna was born lalita in tamil nadu in india. she had a lot of sisters and two brothers.

she was close to her siblings and her mother, but often clashed with her father over things.

she just wanted a quiet life. she was actually a pretty nice person as a human.

the worst clashing with her parents though, was when they arranged a marriage and she fought it at every turn. she drove away eight possible suitors before they managed to confirm one.

well, the man they arranged for her to marry turned out to be a vampire. he liked humans and he tried to protect them, and he’d just been traveling a lot to avoid suspicion of him not ageing. he helped her to gain control of her life. despite the marriage being arranged when she was 28, she managed to push it off for quite some time. he helped with the excuses, figuring it would happen eventually (he intended to turn her because he’d grown lonely traveling alone, but he didn’t intend to tell her what he was until after). he tried to protect her, though.

rape/violence tw: but he couldn’t protect her from everything, and one night she was jumped by a group of men who were angry at her father. they held her down and their “ leader ” forced himself on her. she was left bloody and covered in cuts and bruises. her betrothed found her and healed her with his blood.

death tw: later that night, she informed him she didn’t intend to go through with the wedding. he was livid, and he killed her in a fit of rage. 

after the turn ;;

luna woke up alone, starving. she remembered dying, and before she could stop herself, she killed her youngest sister when she came to find her. she’d killed two more of her sisters by the time her betrothed returned. he’d gone to get her a daylight ring from a witch friend, thinking that she’d be safe enough in her home. he compelled what was left of her family to forget her, and took her away.

she grew more and more bitter. she wanted to grow old with her sisters and die of old age, and she wouldn’t get that. she hadn’t wanted her own children or spouse, but her sisters had, and she’d intended to spoil their children. but she couldn’t.

suicide attempts/violence/murder tw: she didn’t want to be a vampire, and the entire time she was with him, she continued to make attempts at her own life. she stayed with him for a few months, but she grew more and more bitter. she wanted to grow old with her sisters and die of old age, and she wouldn’t get that. she hadn’t wanted her own children or spouse, but her sisters had, and she’d intended to spoil their children. but she couldn’t.

she eventually ran away from him after a few months, though. she was halfway across the world, on a murderous, angry rampage, when he found her next, two hundred years later ( she was 330 at this point ) . she was furious that he tracked her down and fought against everything he tried to do. he didn’t want to risk hurting her. she tried to make him fight her, and when he refused, she threatened his life, and he let her kill him. 

this took up approximately the first 450 years of her life.

connection #1: she actually met someone good for her a few years after that though. they had both become vampires through less than ideal events, and neither had wanted it. both were a little unstable but they started to keep each other in check. they didn’t always stay together, but they’d check in on each other every so often, make sure neither had gone back to the years where they hadn’t cared about the human lives they took.

she tracked down some of her mother’s side of her family in mexico when she was maybe 500 ( i’m going to have to put together a timeline for both hers and astoria’s lives at some point but i’m still not awake enough to right now lol ) . turned out that her mother was from a line of witches and they accepted her, although she definitely left out the killing parts of her history. they’re the ones who started calling her luna, and she kinda dropped her surname, too. it let her be herself but separate from the girl who killed her family in her youth.

she started writing when she was living with them, and when she had to move on because people were growing suspicious, she kept writing. she hid out in greece for a while and moved from island to island and through the country for 100 more years.

when she was 700ish, one of the witches contacted her, said they were having problems with vampires. she went back to mexico and got caught in the middle of the conflict, and took the witches’ side ( family above everything ) .

she was with her family when the war started, and most of them were killed. she brought the few who were left to rome with her eight years ago.

other details ;; 

she really likes to read, likes to be around books more than she really likes to be around other people, supernatural or not, if she’s entirely honest.

she has learned to control her emotions a lot more. but she uses cynicism and  often says what she thinks before thinking and then is just kinda like, “ oops ” if she offends someone. 

but she’s so loyal to the people she cares about. she kinda mellowed out after meeting connection #1 & her mother’s family, and while her personality didn’t change, she grew a little more reserved, caused a lot less trouble ( at least large scale trouble anyways ) and was a little bit better of a person ( she really isn’t that bad just bad at controlling emotions ) 

she’s super protective of her family and friends. 

her feelings on the marriages are of irritation because she feels too out of control about it. she likes to be in control of everything. losing control reminds her too much of her early life as a vampire ( which she’s really not all that proud of, although she doesn’t really feel guilty about what she did, per se, just about how out of control she was ) .

connections ;; 

friends ;; literally anything, tbh

best friend other than connection #1 ;; someone she’s known for at least decades. they know about her past and put up with her bad days

connection #1 ;; her vampire friend who she met in... when she was about 450 years old. they probably have a lot better control over their emotions.

family members ;; her mother’s extended family’s descendants are witches and only a few are left. 

exes/flings/etc. ;; someone she had a fling with during her darker days would be interesting tbh but i’m kinda open to anything. she wouldn’t have stayed in an actual relationship for long ( she has a few trust issues ) and she wouldn’t have had a lot of casual sex either except in the darker days

enemies ;; something she’s definitely made over time. 

[another-blog-bites-the-dust]

Queen of hearts.

Summary: Being tied to the mob was hard...loving someone who was on a side you were fighting against made it even harder.

Warnings: Drinking, lil bit of mature themes, swearing, mentions of drugs, blood, implied murder, violence.

A/N: Okay so a kinda modern day set fic- a mix of old and new. It's a mob!AU and I got the idea from @borhap-socials and I was totally in love with this concept!! Brian and reader are the very definition of star-crossed lovers in this mini-series I'm doing 😫 will they be together in the end??? Maybe! Maybe NOT! 😏😩 I hope y'all enjoy! 💖

Part 1.

—–———

You were barely paying attention to what your father was saying and he noticed. He snapped his fingers in front of your face and you flinched, giving him all your attention. "Did you hear what I said?"

"Yes! What you always say! Be safe, be vigilant, be logical, blah, blah, blah, and all that jazz!" You made the motion with your hands "Can I go now? Only Mary will be wondering where I am and it is her birthday party after all."

He sighed and rolled his eyes "Fine, but if you feel like anything is off- come home."

"I will." You reassured him with a smile. He had been on edge for the past few weeks. "I'll try and be home before midnight." You gave him a hug and went to pull away but he held you and pat your back. He would never admit it but you knew he was scared. Scared that you'd end up like one of those people he trusted and had lost- that someone would find you in a ditch or floating in the Thames. "I'll be fine."

"I just worry..." he pulled back with a small smile. "As I've always done." He sighed "You're the only one I have left." Your eyes flickered down to your feet, you were supposed to be upbeat and excited about going to the party at Mary's, but now you felt deflated. He didn't mention your mother, but you knew he was talking about her. She was in a car accident years ago, it was the only time you had ever seen your father cry.

He was notorious, he had a reputation. He was one of London's most fiercest mob bosses. You hated that you were automatically tied to it because of him and being his only child, he expected you to eventually take over someday- there was a great weight resting on your shoulders. The past few weeks had been tough for him, a rival family had upped their threats, taking down people linked to your fathers businesses and that only made him retaliate much more forcefully- you were wondering if the city had run out of body bags yet.

You could cut the tension looming over London with a knife.

He said that he hoped you'd have a good night just before you left the house, the guards outside all gave you a small, friendly smile as you made your way to your car. You got in and irritatingly sighed seeing the time on your watch- you were already late. You sped to Mary's house and hoped that she would be too busy interacting with other guests to notice your lack of presence.

Brian sighed into his- much needed- whisky. It had been a long day for him. He had listen to his father drone on with how successful they were becoming. Brian didn't see killing people as something to celebrate but when you were in the business, it was something to pop a bottle of champagne open over. Growing up with a mob boss as a father meant Brian was already automatically in it- he didn't have a choice. In fact, he was sure the second his mother announced she was pregnant with him, he was inducted into the 'family business'.

"There's a drop tomorrow, Bri. We'll be at yours at seven." Roger spoke in a hushed tone. Brian sighed again and took a sip of his drink. There was better things he could be doing on a Thursday evening than waiting for Roger, Freddie and John to come over and then intercept a drugs drop on his fathers behalf. Brian halfhearted hummed and Roger narrowed his eyes "I thought you said that you wanted to come to this bloody party earlier this morning but your acting like someone has cut your balls off." Brian sent Roger a glare "What's the matter with you?"

'What's the matter with me?' Brian mentally replied. 'I've just watched a man get shot less than an hour ago, scrapped my hands with a nail brush until they were red-raw trying to get the dried blood out of my skin and then toss on clothes and come to a party. The mood to party had certainly disappeared after all that bullshit.' Brian shook his head "Nothing."

Roger looked completely unconvinced but decided not to press him. Brian barely knew the woman who's birthday it was, he just knew she meant a lot to Freddie and at this stage in his life, Brian was just happy to get out the house and focus on something else for a few hours. John was tearing up the dance floor and Freddie was chatting away with the birthday girl. Roger left to get them both another drink, leaving Brian with his thoughts again as he downed the last of his drink. When his eyes looked up, he choked slightly. His jaw dropped seeing the most beautiful thing he had ever laid his eyes on walk through the front door.

Mary gasped and tapped Freddie excitedly when she caught a glimpse of you. "Y/N! Oh Y/N!" She squeaked, running over to you and pressed a kiss on each cheek before you engulfed each other in a hug. You could smell rosé perfuming her lips. She pulled back and raised her eyebrows "You're late!"

You playfully rolled your eyes with a cheeky smile "It just took me so long to haul up this huge bag up the stairs!" You pretended to peek in it "It's a gift for some girl because it's her birthday...I think she's 84?" You joked and she playfully shoved your shoulder while giggling. "Happy birthday, lovely!" You handed her the bag.

"You've perked up a bit," Roger observed aloud as he handed Brian a glass and placed his empty one on the table beside them. "What's got you so smiley?"

Brian didn't even notice he was smiling, he had been doing so as soon as you walked in- grinning even wider seeing your interaction with Mary. "Look at that girl," he motioned towards you. "Fuck- she's stunning!"

Roger followed Brian's line of vision and lowly whistled "That ass!" Brian nudged Roger and sent him a disapproving look. Roger scoffed "Oh come on, Bri. I've known you for years- you're an ass man. I bet that's one of the first things you saw."

"I actually saw her gorgeous face first...then focused on her smile...then her eyes..." his voice was getting dreamier by the second before he sighed with realisation. "Then her ass." He uttered and Roger let out a bark of laughter, clapping his friends shoulder. They stiffened slightly hearing a scream coming from the direction you were standing in. The flat was small and all ten people that were in it looked around to you and Mary who was clutching a dress with tears in her eyes.

"Vintage Valentino! The dress! This..this is it!" She yelled and you widely grinned. She had pointed it out in a magazine ages ago when they did a piece on vintage fashion and she fell in love with it- banged on about it for what felt like decades. You found it about bought it for her. One of the limited perks of having your father do what he does. "This is too much!" She gasped.

"No! No!" You smiled and kissed her cheek "Worth it for you. I adore you, I love you, my best friend in the whole world- you're like a sister to me. Nothing would be ever too much for you. Happy birthday." You squeezed her arm and she almost burst into tears. "Try it on! Let me see it on you!" You stopped her before she left to go into her room "Actually, show me tomorrow. I'll come over and we can go shopping and afterwards we can have a fashion show and binge on wine and junk food while listening to cheesy songs!"

Mary smiled so wide that it almost hurt, her eyes all sparkly from tears. "I honestly think you're my soulmate!" She chuckled. "Thank you, thank you so much!" She pulled you in for another hug and then went to place the dress in her room.

You decided to get yourself a drink, you knew she'd spend at least another ten minutes in her room admiring the thing. You walked up to where the bar was and noticed a tall man with curly hair looking at you. You coyly grinned and took a small detour to talk to him. "Hi there," you greeted. It was only when you got closer that you noticed the man with blonde hair standing next to him.

"H-hi!" Brian managed to croak out before taking a large gulp of his drink.

"Hey," Roger nodded his head and outstretched his hand "Roger- or just Rog. This is Brian, or Bri if you can't be bothered saying his full name." Roger joked and you laughed. Brian couldn't help but smile at the sound...despite being annoyed by Roger's comment.

"Nice to meet you Roger, you too Brian." You shook their hands. "I'm Y/N and I'm about to get myself one of those," you pointed towards their glasses "If you'll excu-"

"Here." Brian cut you off, swiftly grabbing Roger's untouched glass out of his hands and pushing it into yours. He didn't want you to leave just yet. The blonde shot Brian a deadly glare and uttered a string of curses under his breath as he left to get himself another drink. Your eyes followed an annoyed Roger for a moment before looking back at Brian who's lips were curved into a smile that reached his mesmerising eyes.

"Thanks," you chuckled out, your teeth sinking into your bottom lip. "How do you know Mary? You work with her?"

Brian swallowed hard "Uh, no...I'm here with Freddie. She was kind enough to let us come- Roger, our other friend John and myself." No, he didn't work with her because he worked mainly in disposal of bodies and not Biba.

"Sounds like Mary," you softly smiled to yourself. "She's very kind. I've been her friend since I've been born!" You smirked- she brought a sense of normality to your life. "The amount of trouble we've been in together, I tell you!"

Brian- finding a bit of confidence that was probably more Dutch courage from the drink- bit down on his lip and leaned in little so you could hear his low voice over the music. "You seem too good to be bad."

You blinked, an almost unknown tingling surge flowing through your veins hearing him say that in such a dark tone. You challenged back, a little bit of shameless flirting would do no harm. "You'll just have to hang around and see how troublesome I can be, Brian..." you purred his name and sipped away at the whisky in Roger's glass. Brian balled his fists a little seeing your tongue dart out ever so slightly before your lips touched the glass. His fingernails digging into his palm relieved barely any tension. You grinned while taking a better look of Brian, your head cocking to the side ever so slightly. "You have nice eyes." You could happily see yourself floating in them, somewhere in between the stars they held.

They looked like little galaxies- endless and infinite.

Brian felt his heart skip a beat and he melted a little at your sweet, sincere tone. "They aren't as half as nice as yours...your eyes are beautiful." He whispered and you felt your cheeks flush. "You're beautiful." You bashfully turned away but he turned you around to face him again, keeping one hand on your arm. "Even more so when you do that..." he gently bobbed your cheeks and nose with his finger. "It's cute seeing you blush and get all flustered."

"No!" You groaned with a grin "Surely not!"

Brian rested his head against the wall and looked at you like you were a field of sunflowers in summer. "It's true." You mirrored his moves slightly and leaned against the wall, a small- yet what felt like a canyon-like gaping- distance between you both.

You stayed in the same spot with him talking for hours about everything and anything that came to mind- and flirting when the chance cropped up. Between the sweet, subtle brushing of your hands together and the occasional gentle, playful nudge, you both felt yourself more naturally and effortlessly drawn to each other. You had a lot in common and what you didn't, you found the subjects you were both alien to, interesting. "Maybe you should take me to the museum and tell me all about it." You suggested after he was talking about a piece of art. Brian blinked in shock.

"L-like a date?" He quietly asked.

A small flicker of confusion and worry flashed over both your faces. Neither of you had ever held a steady relationship before and had only been on a date or two outside of being very briefly with other people. Being linked to the 'business' made it ridiculously difficult to find anyone and build a relationship with them. Maybe it was time to change that.

"Sure," any hint of brief panic had gone. "Yeah, a date. Why not?" You shrugged a shoulder with a half grin.

Brian flashed you a smile, showcasing his pearly whites "Then it's a date. I can meet you on Monday outside the Tate around two?" You happily agreed to that- it wouldn't be too hard to slip away from home on your own to the museum for a few hours in the middle of a Monday afternoon. He then noticed you mindlessly tapping your foot. "Do you want to dance?" He asked and you shyly nodded. Brian took your empty glass and placed it down with his. You walked into any space you could find in Mary's small living room that was now being used as a makeshift dance floor. The limited space meant you were extremely close to Brian- not like either of you were complaining. His hand found your waist while your hips swayed, you shuffled forward and-almost intentionally- swayed them against Brian's.

You felt his grip tighten on you a little and he bit back a small groan feeling you grind against him. Your hands went to the back of his neck and you hummed the song that was blaring through the speakers before leaning forward to speak in Brian's ear. "Your hair is so curly...I love it." You tugged it ever so slightly and heard him whine in delight. You devilishly smirked, his arms snaked completely around your waist and he was slowly dragging you off the 'dance floor' to the empty hall. "Do you like that?" You pulled it again and Brian couldn't help but groan.

He pinned you against the wall, his body pressed against yours and his hands roaming wherever they desired. You contently sighed feeling his hands brushing over your neck, he pulled you forward slightly and you both spent a few antagonising moments just looking at each other with half-hooded eyes, noses brushing against one another's. "You really are so beautiful," he whispered and placed an innocent, whisky laced kiss to your lips before pulling back barely an inch. You cupped his cheek and pulled his face forward to close the distance again. You both coaxed a moan from one another's throats as you began to deepen the kiss, Brian's tongue softly brushed over your bottom lip making you involuntary part your lips just enough for him to slip it into your mouth and clash with your tongue.

Your hands clutched at Brian's jacket and his tightened around your waist as the kiss became more passionate. You gasped feeling his lips leave yours and reposition themselves on your neck, gently kissing and sucking away before he sunk his teeth into your flesh, drawing a broken yelp from your mouth. That would need covering with concealer in the morning. Your fingers were twisting in his hair and he groaned against your skin feeling your fingernails softly rake his scalp before you both swiftly broke apart hearing a throat clearing.

"Was wondering where you went," Roger said with a shit-eating smirk on his face at the end of the hall.

You and Brian fixed yourselves a little, completely flustered while wiping away the saliva from your mouths and smoothing out the creases on your clothes. You then noticed the time and gasped a little. "Oh god, I have to get going. It's almost midnight."

Brian ignored Roger's presence for a moment "Thanks for a great night...Cinderella." He joked and you giggled. You asked him for his phone and you added your number with a little red heart emoji at the end of your name.

'Y/N ♥️'

He watched you doing it with a hazy smile on his face. He was completely and utterly enamoured with you.

He gave you another kiss "Goodnight, Brian." You leaned in and whispered in his ear "Text me or give me a call if you want to talk. Can't wait for our date." You pulled back and winked. Brian bit down on his lip and placed his hand to the small of your back, pulling you in again for yet another kiss before releasing you- he was already addicted to those lips of yours. He knew he'd have withdrawal over the next few days. With bright red cheeks, you pat Brian's chest and then also bid Roger goodnight as you passed him.

You headed off to wish Mary happy birthday again and to say goodbye. Roger slowly approached Brian who was giddily grinninglike an idiot. "Well don't mind me," Roger held up his hands. "You two seemed to have hit it off."

"God, she's everything I've ever wanted, Rog." Brian dreamily sighed "Smart, funny, and her kisses- Christ almighty." He bit his balled fist and screwed his eyes shut.

Roger raised a brow at Brian before moving his eyes down. "I can tell..." Brian lightly shoved him, muttering a string of curses as he turned his back tried to sort himself out to make it look like he didn't have a boner.

"Oh bugger off," Brian grumbled and they walked back through to the living area. "Got a date with her on Monday," a smile returned to his face. Roger was genuinely happy for him- he always wanted to see his friend find someone special. "We talked for ages. She's really amazing, Rog."

"So you keep saying, mate!" Roger chuckled "I hope it goes well between the two of you." They stayed another little while at the party, Brian's mind constantly occupied by you.

•••

You quietly stepped though the front door a little passed midnight. "Y/N?" You walked into the living room and found your father looking over some paperwork "How was your night? Did Mary like her gift?"

"Yeah," you nodded "She loved it! I had a good night- a great one!" You sillily smiled at the thought of Brian. He was making you all giddy. You decided not to to tell your dad about him. "I'm going to get some sleep, night dad."

"Goodnight! I'm glad you had a nice time!" He called out as you hurried up the stairs with a stupidly large smile on your face.

'Unknown: It's Brian...is it Monday yet? X'

You smiled and text him back before saving his number. You were wanting the same thing he wanted.

'Y/N♥️: I'm afraid not. I wish it was though! I had a great time with you tonight...I can't wait to see you again. X'

Brian read you text over and over, eventually placing his phone to his chest and longingly sighing and wishing that the days would fly by. The two of you were rather smitten with each other.

But little did you or Brian know was that your two families were violently feuding.

And now you were both standing in the middle of it.

———————–————

•Part Two•

Tags- (Tag list is open! Just let me know if you want to be tagged or not or if I've forgotten to tag you!)

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[lemoynebraider]

A different choice  | Bill Williamson 

Warnings: Chapter 6 spoilers, kinda angsty  This is not a Bill x reader one shot, it’s not even Bill x anyone one shot, just my sappy feelings about this man and how he deserved better.  Anyways, big thanks to @cactilads for putting her ass in the air and beta reading my eternal bullshit. Love you babe xoxo

Everything was falling apart. A family that was once inseparable, became a bunch of strangers. Love turned to hate, friends turned to enemies and all that was left were broken hearts and lots of doubts. All the effort they’ve put into this in the past couple of decades, gone in a matter of few unfortunate months. Some people died and those unlucky enough to survive, mourned and argued. 

Bill was angry with everyone for all the doubts, but mainly with himself because he had just as many of them as any other member of the gang, unable to admit it. Not because he didn’t want to, but because he was afraid to do so. He knew he could survive by Dutch’s side, or at least, he was naïve enough to believe it, aware that no one else would bear his presence, if he decided to choose otherwise. So instead, he made his anger known, helping the people stray away even more. Scoffing and snapping at everyone, jumping into conclusions thinking that someone’s gonna stab him in the back at night, quite literally. Looking back at the things he said made him regret it, however, as stubborn as he is, it didn’t make him stop. Bill has always been naturally bad at controlling his anger but this time, he wasn’t trying to control it at all. Instead, he tried to find ways he could blame this on anyone but himself or Dutch, even despite knowing that everyone was to blame, Dutch most of all for letting this go this far. So even despite this, he decided to stick by his side due to Dutch being able to tolerate him. 

All of this went on for days, weeks even. People grew angrier and more impatient, some even left in the darkness of a night. Gone without saying goodbye. Arguments were heard throughout Beaver Hollow more constantly, almost as if they were pre-scheduled, repeating on daily basis, while the Pinkertons were getting closer each day. The gang was stuck, bound to one place because there was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. There was nowhere they could’ve gone, without putting themselves in danger. 

_______________________

Bill tried to do what he knew he could do best and that was fully focus on his job, which eventually wasn’t so true because his focus shifted and he didn’t hear the footsteps approaching him.  “Can I talk to you?” It startled him. Not only because he was not aware of someone standing behind him, but after all those days of pointless bickering of everyone around the camp, hearing someone talk to him in calm voice without any signs of anger, truly surprised him. Abigail took the opportunity to catch him on guard duty, the only time he was alone, without the presence of at least one of Micah’s puppets. She knew he was playing them like a fiddle and they all let him do that, including Bill.  “There isn’t much we can talk about.” Bill scoffed, not to her surprise since she was used to this kind of behaviour from him even on good days. “I don’t want to listen to any of you traitors.” He immediately continued, raising his voice a bit, not letting her say more. A short moment of silence followed after, before Abigail finally decided to speak up again.  “I don’t want to argue about who the traitor is but for the love of God, I know that even you can see that what Dutch is doing is entirely wrong.” Of course he knew she was right, yet he still seemed to be offended that she spoke so badly of Dutch. Bill was ready to give another one of his angry monologues, anger boiling inside of him.  “You are better than this, Bill.” She surprised him before he had a chance to say anything. “And it’s not my intention to turn you against Dutch, I just hope that in the end, you’ll be able to choose what’s best for you and not what’s best for him. You’re smart enough to know the difference.” Abigail did not give him the opportunity to respond. She walked away, to avoid any further arguments, not really expecting anything from him.

The tense mood of Beaver Hollow didn’t calm down, but Bill’s contribution to the overall mess was much less noticeable. He sure still was angry, but at the same time, he wasn’t sure anymore if his anger was in the right place. So he spent majority of his time ignoring everyone, seated somewhere near the camp yet still out of sight.  There was no coming back, the gang was doomed and sooner or later, he’ll have to choose who he’ll stay loyal to. How selfish of him to think of any other options than sticking with Dutch. But was it truly selfish? Perhaps it was selfish of Dutch to expect from people to stick by his side after everything that happened, caused by his own ignorance and poor attitude towards their problems. 

—————————

“Who amongst you is with me, and who is betraying me?” 

Another fight, another dead person from those very few that stayed until this point, but this time, it was officially over. Dutch had a gun pointed at each side, the small groups that were formed upon Arthur’s arrival to camp. The Pinkertons were on their way, determined to take whatever they want no matter what it costs. They have been chasing them for months and the gang had always managed to slip away someway, somehow. So to say they must have been truly frustrated, was an understatement. They were furious, hungry for blood just as any other criminal out there. In the end, you can’t make a country civilized in a civilized way. 

So this was it. The ending of an important chapter of everyone’s lives and all there was left to do was to choose.  It felt as if the time had stopped, despite the actual lack of it. In fact, there wasn’t any time left. Bill still did not realize the danger of this situation, taking painfully slow steps forward, as if they weren’t going to die any minute now. The reason for his slow pace was his uncertainty, the doubt about whether his choice was right and he thought that perhaps, he could still choose differently. However, once he was in his place, facing the opposite side, the people that were once his family, he knew for sure there won’t be any takebacks.  But for the first time, Bill realized that his choice was a good one. Whether he lives or dies today, he won’t have regrets. He raised his gun towards the opposite side, standing side by side with his brothers. And even though it hurt, pointing the gun at Dutch, Bill Williamson was sure he made the right choice, he did what was best for him. 

[brokenmusicboxwolfe]

I said I’d post these rambling text posts I’d left in my drafts, and so here you go. I’ve resisted the urge to reread it, so here’s hoping I don’t regret this! LOL ....

Wow, it’s amazing the emotional impact of finding a notebook from when you were 12!

I’d actually forgotten I had a “security notebook” (one I carried to make school endurable) that early, but it geez it brought back memories. 

That isn’t always good.

Now, it’s not full of deep thoughts. It’s also not a “Dear diary” sort of confessional. It’s all random.

 Doodles. Tree filled landscapes, the TARDIS, a creepy clown,  space ships....and lots and LOTS of Pac Man! LOL

Notes exchanged with friends. I was apparently appalled that my teacher told the class ghosts were real.

A list of ALL the comic books I owned at the time, still years before filling that Uncanny X-Men gap of #62 I’d fix when I was 14 and went into my first comic shop.

Several pages of a story was calling  Gama II that I have no memory of at all. I wonder where I was heading with the discovery of a space ship captain (female, of course) in suspended animation. I probably didn’t know myself yet.

 The back cover is filled with a “where I am” that starts with the Milky Way Galaxy (or “galaxiy” as I spelled it), getting closer and closer in finer detail until  it ends with me sitting on my bed.

Let me point out my spelling was horrendous! As someone that read non-stop, you’d think spelling would rub off, but nope. So source is “sorse”, neighboring is “naboring”, captain in “captin”, hidden is “headen”, weird is “weard”...actually I misspelled more words than I got right! You can totally see why my 6th grade teacher openly laughed in class about her best student being the worst speller she had ever seen. But let me also say, I NEVER actively worked on improving my spelling, yet when I graduated I was valedictorian. Of course, if it weren’t for modern spell check I STILL couldn’t spell “valedictorian”! LOL 

Just remember, so  called “smart” people can be ridiculously bad at some things!

But what really knocked me for a loop were seeing notes from and referencing a certain boy. We had become friends, which in retrospect seems rather odd. We only seemed to have fondness for writing messages in code and for those early video games in common. It seemed like a lot at the time. I do wonder if writing notes to each other that no one else could read didn’t create a false sense of closeness to me. That was my undoing.

Well, maybe my undoing was actually trusting my two best friends. 

If I had little in common with the boy, I had far, far less with the girls. They weren’t very bright and I can’t honestly think of a single thing we shared an interest in. Still, I almost never had a friend that liked or thought the same as me. Surprisingly, that isn’t a deal breaker with friendship. Friendship is more about the good will involved, the willingness to care, and I had long before learned to take it where ever I could find it. The trouble was, I still hadn’t yet learned that even real friends can’t be trusted.

See, I had the girls over two my house, which I rarely did. We went for a walk on the railroad track, which was pretty much where we could go since they weren’t woodsy types. And like is common with many girls, the subject turned to boys.

 They were all swoony over this boy or that boy, and me being me I was a bit quieter. I was shy about sharing something so private, and to be honest, most of the boys at our tiny school were unappealing. Not that they were all horrible, even many that would be classified as “rednecks”, had nice sides. The boys in my grade often had a sweet side. Now the girls, they were brutal with fights  (which was the talk of the teachers after the blood splattered wall from the “earring incident”). The boys were nice, friendly....but generally not talking to me more than very casually. And for me, attraction to a body comes after attraction to a mind. I need to be talking to the guy, sharing interests, laughing at jokes together, connecting....

You see where I’m going with this. I had a big crush on the boy. 

TBH, I blame my parents! They had met in high school and become friends before they fell in love. I thought that’s how it works: you can be friends without falling in love, but you can’t fall in love without being friends first. Considering it worked so well for me parents (they were happily married, inseparable even,  for over 50years when Pop died) they set a HORRIBLE example for me.

Anyway, the girls coaxed me into saying what boy I secretly liked. They had told me their crushes, and they were my best friends. I could certainly tell them.

Oops!

Come Monday morning it was known. I dunno whether one or both told. I dunno who they told. I dunno why they told. I just know they told. I expect it just slipped out and wasn’t done maliciously. They probably would have been oblivious to the consequences. 

The boy knew. He knew, but didn’t mention it to me. He didn’t mention anything to me. He never spoke to me again. Actually, I’m not sure he EVER said anything to me again, and considering it was a small K-12 school where we graduated together that was kinda tricky.

See, the boy was teased because “Stephanie likes you!” It became the big insult at boys at school. “Stephanie likes you!” How shameful! How humiliating! to have weird, fat, ugly, not girly enough Stephanie likes you! It was social death. There had been another girl they used as the big insult, but she’d been in high school and might have even already graduated. I never even  knew what that mythic girl looked like, only that in elementary school boys used her as an insult. Now I had taken her place.

And so it began, the horrible romantic process of my life. Guys likes me...as friends. Try as I might to resist it, sometimes I’d fall for those guy friends anyway. But I knew full well what would happen if anyone, anyone at all, discovered how I felt.  That would be it. If the guy found out there would be a 99% chance he’d be disgusted. That 1% chance wasn’t worth risking a valued friendship. I trained myself to deny, even to myself, my own feelings.

Looking at that notebook, seeing the boy’s handwriting, his name... This was the moment. The moment I realized I was inherently unlovable. Romantically speaking anyway. Other forms of love were always possible, but my god no one would ever find me attractive. 

Flipping through the notebook felt like a gut punch. Decades have passed, I’m technically middle aged, and I’m STILL just that 12 year old girl.

[jaycal14]

Teen Wolf Chapter 2 - A Clexa Fic.

I know I haven’t updated since my first chapter, but I promise I’m working on it. Here is a little preview from chapter 2. You can find the story posted here. For those of you who read... enjoy!!

The Next day at school

“Alright. Let’s see it.” Raven said gesturing for Lexa to lift up the side of her shirt and show her the bitemark she received the night before. Lexa takes a look around at all the students passing by. No one is paying them any mind, as usual, so she lifts up the side of her shirt slightly to show her the blood-stained gauze pad covering the wound. As Raven reached out towards it, Lexa quickly slaps her hand away.

“Don’t touch it!” Lexa snapped pulling her shirt back down.

“Oh my god, you’re totally full of shit. So, what is this then, payback for ditching you last night? I already apologized but I get it if you’re still mad. The fake blood’s a nice touch, though. Really had me going.”

Lexa let out a sigh of annoyance and started walking the long path in front of campus that led right into the quad with her best friend in tow. “I’m screwing with you Rae, I swear. Something bit me last night.”

“Oh yeah, then what did it look like?” She said, her amused tone still conveying that she was anything but convinced.

Lexa thought back to the night before, recalling it in her mind like a bad dream. “It was big and walked on all fours. It was too dark to get a good look but the way it growled sounded kinda like a wolf or something.”

Raven let out the loudest laugh that had her best friend’s brow furrowing. “Now I know you’re full of shit. There haven’t been wolves in California in decades.”

All Lexa could do was shake her head and roll her eyes. “So, if you think I’m lying about the wolf then you’re not going to believe me when I tell you that I tripped over the corpse of that dead hiker.”

With her eyes wider than they had ever been before, Raven threw her arm out stopping both of them in their tracks and turned to face Lexa. “No way! How? When? Where? What did it look like?” She rushed out excitedly.

“Like it was ripped apart by wild animals.” Lexa couldn’t help the way her face contorted in repulsion thinking about the body. If she hadn’t been completely overcome by both shock and fear, she might have vomited.

“Holy shit!” Raven yelped neither caring nor noticing the weird glances she got from students passing nearby. “That is so cool!”

“Trust me, it was anything but cool. It’s going to haunt me for the next six months at least.”

“Can you not see the beauty in anything?” The two continued their slow trek through campus to get to homeroom. “There is either a savage killer on the loose or some wild animal mauling people in the woods.”

“What is beautiful about either of those scenarios?”

Raven actually took a moment before responding. She had a habit of saying things before thinking them through. “…nothing.” She lamented as they arrived outside Mr. Vie’s classroom. “But Arkadia is seriously the most boring town ever. At least now we’ll be known for something.” She rallied.

“Violent deaths?” Lexa asked skeptically.

“Shut up!” With the final word, Raven lightly shoved Lexa across the threshold into the classroom. They both chuckled and shared a smile with Mr. Vie as they made their way to their seats in back, saying hi to the few students they actually spoke to along the way.

The minute the bell rang and the last of the students quickly shuffled into the door, Mr. Vie stood before the class in his classic vest and tie combo, leaning his back against the desk and arms crossed in front of his chest, surveying the group. Everyone liked Mr. Vie’s teaching style, especially Lexa. He was hands-down her favorite English-Lit teacher and she was thrilled when she found out she was assigned to his class for the second year.

“Good morning class.” He spoke excitedly. There was no need for introductions; he’d had every one of them during their freshman year. “Let’s just cut right to the chase, I’m sure you’ve all heard the news about the missing hikers and that one of them was found alive and well, though the second is believed to be deceased. Let me assure you that the police have everything under control and there is nothing to worry about. Now, with that out of the way, if you would all direct your attention to the syllabus outlining this semester. Please read through it quietly.”

As Lexa and the class followed instructions and began reading the syllabus, a silence quickly fell over the room. She barely read through the first line before she heard the loud hum of her phone buzzing away in her pocket; which was weird since she didn’t feel it vibrating. Lexa hurriedly pulled it out of her pocket to turn it off before anyone else could hear it, but was met with a blank screen. Her face scrunched in confusion and her head snapped back up as she heard another ring. Looking around, she scanned the classroom trying to pinpoint where it was coming from. Eyes passing over everyone in the room, she noticed that not a single person seemed to hear what she was hearing. 

Growing more confused during each passing second, with every loud buzz that sounded, Lexa rubbed her ears thinking it must all be in her head. That’s when the buzzing was abruptly cut off and was matched by a single tone before one of the most angelic voices Lexa’s ever heard began to speak. 

“Mom, for the last time I’m fine. It’s just the first day of school, it happens every year.” Came the voice with a playfully sassy tone. It sounded far away but Lexa could hear it loud and clear. With no explanation as to what the hell was going on, Lexa glanced out the windows of the classroom, letting her eyes scan through the scenery. She did a double-take when she caught the sight of a blonde girl sitting on one of the benches in front of the admin office. She must have been over 100 feet away with a whole wall between them, yet Lexa could hear everything.

‘It’s your first day at a new school. I was just calling to make sure you have everything you need.’ She heard the voice on the other end of the phone. 

“I have everything….” The girl responded somewhat distractedly as she rifled through her shoulder bag, clearly looking for something. “Except a pen. How did I forget a pen?”

‘Do you need me to bring you one?’

“Don’t be ridiculous, I can just borrow one from somebody.”

‘On the bright side, it’s a great way to make a new friend.’ The mom said hopefully.

“Good thinking mom.” The girl laughed into the phone. Both she and Lexa noticed Principal Jaha heading her way. “Hey, I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.”

‘Okay. Have a nice day, sweetie!’ The blonde hung up and the phone, threw it back in her bag and stood up to meet the principal as he approached her.

“Ms. Griffin, sorry to keep you waiting.” Mr. Jaha apologized.

The blonde waved him off with a smile. “No worries.”

“Right this way.” Jaha said, motioning with his arm for her to follow him inside. “So, you said you just moved here from…”

“…Ton DC. We were there for just over a year, but my mom and stepdad wanted to move somewhere quieter.”

“Well, here’s hoping this is your last stop for a while.”

As their trivial conversation died there, Lexa heard their footsteps growing louder, echoing off the cheap tiles as they walk down the hall closer and closer. Right on time with their footfalls, Jaha opened the door to their classroom and walked in with the blonde standing shyly right behind him.

All eyes looked up to see who had come in. “Class, this is our new transfer student Clarke Griffin. I trust you will all do your best to make her feel welcome.” He said to mass of heads staring up at him, then he turned back to the blonde. “There’s a seat right back there for you.” Jaha pointed to the back of the class where there sat the only remaining unoccupied seat in the very last row, second desk in from the windows, immediately to Raven’s right and directly behind Lexa.

Clarke kept her head down and shuffled down the aisle until she reached her seat. As she passed by, Lexa was hit with a whiff of her perfume. She smelled of a rich lavender. Allowing her impulse to take control for the moment, Lexa grabbed one of the spare pens she kept on her desk and turned around to hand it to the blonde.

Clarke’s eyes snapped up and met Lexa’s, each taking note of how beautiful they believed the others to be. Clarke reveling in Lexa’s bright greens and Lexa’s doing the same in the clear blue of Clarke’s. She looked down to the brunette’s offering and breathed a surprised sigh of relief. “Thanks.” She let out as she lightly grabbed the pen from her. Their fingers made contact for a fraction of a second causing each of their breaths to hitch. Lexa quickly turned back before the ditzy smile she felt coming on presented itself and embarrassed her in front of the school’s newest addition.

Mr. Vie came by and set an extra syllabus down on Clarke’s desk, welcoming her to Arkadia High School and instructing her to read through the form with the rest of the class. The silence was restored, and Lexa tried to continue reading but it was proving most difficult as all she could think about was the girl occupying the seat behind her.

This chapter is going to be much longer and I will have it posted to AO3 as soon as I can. Thank you for all of those that gave kudos and comments. I promise it is not abandoned.

[nisxeland-blog]

Characters from Super Mario and How did the characters from Supper Mario got their names the way they decided to go with the characters names for Super Mario

.

When I discovered that out I did 2 things. First, I whipped out the copy of mine (yes, I ensure that it stays which real/nerdy that I continue to have a well used NES hooked up in my room) and made certain I will be able to match the game at will. (I can. Childhood not wasted.)

Secondly, I started down a rabbit hole of reading Mario websites as well as Wikis and Articles. In the procedure, I stumbled upon the etymologies of the names of a number of the main players in the Mario universe. So, in honor of the video game that changed the world, here they are, presented in useful 11-item list form.

Mario.

When Mario debuted to the arcade game "Donkey Kong", he was simply referred to as Jumpman. (Which additionally happens to be the generic brand regarding that Michael Jordan dispersed leg Nike logo. 2 of the most celebrated icons ever before equally have generic versions of themselves called Jumpman. But just at least one has now reached the effort of remaining extremely effective that he shaved himself a Hitler mustache prior to filming a commercial and not one person had the balls to fix him.)

In 1980, as the Nintendo of America team shipped Jumpman to raise him right into a franchise-leading star (Hayden Christensen style), someone noticed that he looked like their Seattle office building's landlord... a guy called Mario Segale.

Mario Segale didn't get yourself a dime for turning out to be the namesake of one of the most prominent video game persona by chance, but he probably isn't absurdly concerned; in 1998 he sold the asphalt small business of his for around sixty dolars million. (Or 600,000 additional lives.)

Luigi.

Luigi has one of probably the weakest label origins of most of the mario bros characters in the Mario universe (once again displaying exactly why, in life which is real, he'd have a larger inferiority complicated than Frank Stallone, Abel or that third Manning brother).

"Luigi" is actually the product of a group of Japanese guys working to think of an Italian name to accentuate "Mario." Why was the Italian label they went with? When they all moved from Japan to Seattle, the pizza spot nearby to the Nintendo headquarters known as Mario & Luigi's. (It has since gone from business.)

Koopa.

Koopa is a transliterated version of the Japanese rap for the adversary turtles, "Kuppa." Stick with me right here -- kuppa is the Japanese word for a Korean plate known as gukbap. Basically it is a cup of soup with rice. From what I tell it's completely not related to turtles, especially malicious ones.

In an interview, Mario's author, Shigeru Miyamoto, stated he was deciding between 3 labels which are diverse for the racing of evil turtles, every one of that happened to be named after Korean foods. (The other two were yukhoe and bibimbap.) Which means among two things: (one) Miyamoto loves Korean food and was looking to provide it with a tribute or even (2) Miyamoto believes Koreans are evil and needs to be jumped on.

Wario.

I kind of skipped the debut of Wario -- he debuted in 1992, right around when I was hitting the generation exactly where I was extremely cool for cartoon-y Nintendo games. (Me and my middle school buddies happened to be into Genesis only. I was back on Nintendo within four years.)

Appears his title operates equally in english and Japanese; I kinda assumed the English manner but did not know about the Japanese feature. In English, he's an evil, bizarro marketplace mirror image of Mario. The "M" turns to become a "W" as well as Wario is born. The name additionally works in Japanese, when it's a combination of Mario as well as "warui," that implies "bad."

That is a really excellent scenario, since, as I covered thoroughly in the list eleven Worst Japanese-To-English Translations In Nintendo History, not every language disparity finesses back as well as forth very efficiently.

Waluigi.

When I initially seen "Waluigi" I thought it was hilarious. While Wario became an all natural counterbalance to Mario, Waluigi felt extremely comically shoehorned (just tacking the "wa" prefix before Luigi) -- like a huge inside joke that somehow cleared each and every bureaucratic stage and after that cracked the mainstream.

Well... according to the Nintendo folks, Waluigi is not just a gloriously lazy decision or an inside joke also been huge. They *say* it's dependant upon the Japanese term ijiwaru, meaning "bad guy."

I don't understand. I feel like we'd have to meet them more than halfway to get that.

Toad.

Toad is built to look like a mushroom (or maybe toadstool) thanks to his gigantic mushroom hat. It is a good thing these gaming systems debuted before the entire model knew how you can earn penis jokes.

Anyway, in Japan, he's named Kinopio, which happens to be a blend of the term for mushroom ("kinoko") as well as the Japanese variant of Pinocchio ("pinokio"). Those combine being something along the collections of "A Real Mushroom Boy."

Goomba.

In Japanese, these men are also known as kuribo, that translates to "chestnut people." That seems sensible because, ya know, if somebody expected you "what do chestnut people seem like?" you'd probably get to food nearly similar to the heroes.

When they had been brought in for the American version, the staff stuck with the Italian initiative of theirs and also known as them Goombas... based off the Italian "goombah," that colloquially signifies anything as "my fellow Italian friend." It also sort of evokes the photo of low level mafia criminals without very numerous competencies -- such as people's younger brothers as well as cousins who they had to work with or perhaps mother would yell at them. That also applies to the Mario Bros. goombas.

Birdo.

Birdo has nothing to do with this particular first Japanese title. Generally there, he's considered Kyasarin, which translates to "Catherine."

In the teaching manual for Super Mario Bros. two, in which Birdo debuted, the character description of his reads: "Birdo thinks he's a girl and additionally would like for being known as Birdetta."

What In my opinion all this means? Nintendo shockingly chosen to produce a character that struggles with his gender identity and then referred to as him Catherine. When it was a bit of time to show up to America, they have feet that are cold so they decided at the last second to phone him Birdo, though he's a dinosaur. (And don't offer me the "birds are descended from dinosaurs" pop-paleontology collection. Not purchasing that connection.) In that way, we would only understand about the gender confusion of his if we look at the manual, and the Japanese have been confident Americans have been either way too lazy or perhaps illiterate to do it en masse.

Princess Toadstool/Peach.

When everyone got introduced to the Princess, she was known as Princess Toadstool. I guess this made perfect sense -- Mario was set in the Mushroom Kingdom, so why would not its monarch be named Princess Toadstool. Them inbreeding blue bloods are always naming the kids of theirs after the country.

Nobody appears to be certain precisely why they went that direction, however. In Japan, she was regarded as Princess Peach from day one. The name didn't debut here before 1993, when Yoshi's Safari arrived on the scene for Super Nintendo. (By the manner -- have you ever played Yoshi's Safari? In an unconventional twist it's a first-person shooter, the only one in the entire Mario times past. It's as something like a country music superstar making a weird rock album.)

Bowser.

In Japan, there is certainly no Bowser. He's simply known as the King Koopa (or similar variants, like Great Demon King Koopa). So where did Bowser come from?

During the import approach, there was a concern that the American masses would not recognize how the small turtles and big bad man could definitely be called Koopa. Thus a marketing team put together dozens of options for a title, they adored Bowser the very best, and slapped it on him.

In Japan, he is still hardly ever referred to as Bowser. Over here, his name has become extremely ubiquitous that he's actually supplanted Sha Na Na's Bowzer as America's many prominent Bowser.

Donkey Kong.

This is a much more literal interpretation than you think. "Kong" is based off King Kong. "Donkey" is a family friendly method of calling him an ass. That's right: His label is a marketable model of "Ass Ape."

Great Mario Bros. is a video game introduced for the family Computer and Nintendo Entertainment System contained 1985. It shifted the gameplay far from its single-screen arcade predecessor, Mario Bros., and rather showcased side scrolling platformer concentrations. Although not the original game of the Mario franchise, Super Mario Bros. is very legendary, in addition to presented many set staples, coming from power-ups, to classic adversaries as Goombas, to the basic idea of rescuing Princess Toadstool coming from King Koopa. Along with kicking raised a few inches off an entire series of Super Mario platformer online games, the untamed good results of Super Mario Bros. popularized the genre to be an entire, helped to revive the gaming sector once the 1983 clip game crash, and was largely responsible for the first results on the NES, with which it's included a launch title. Until it was eventually exceeded by Wii Sports, Super Mario Bros. was the very best selling video game of all of the moment for almost 3 decades, with more than 40 million copies offered outside of us.

[autumn-elwood]

Ricky the Vampire

Summary: Ricky has been alone in his house for a long time so it's hardly surprising when he goes to drastic measures to cure his loneliness. What is surprising is how well his stupid and illegal plan works out.

For those of you who were hoping for a scary story, sorry. This is a really fluffy piece.

Also available on: Blogger

First off, I plead insanity. And loneliness. I plead insanity and loneliness. That is the only way I can really justify the stupid- very illegal- crime I just committed. Okay, wait. I should probably explain who I am since you’re all wondering ‘who the hell are you and what did you do?’

My name is Ricky Galvez and I am an eighty-year-old vampire. Practically a baby in vampirical age and I have no friends. Kinda hard to make friends when you look like you’re twelve and you can hardly go outside or you’ll develop a rash. Well to be fair, I was allergic to the sun even before I became a vampire but still.

And when I say I have no friends, I mean I have any real-life friends. I have plenty of online friends but I don’t have any friends I can touch. I miss hugs.

Admittedly, since the magical world isn’t exactly a secret in this decade I could just reveal I’m a vampire but people get put off by the twelve-year-old appearance.

So a couple weeks back when I was staring at my book collection bemoaning my isolation and slurping a blood IV bag, I got the most brilliant idea of getting someone to come to my house. Internet friends were quickly scrapped because my online friends think I’m twenty and I think I’ve made it clear why that wouldn’t work out. I felt myself about to fall into another bout of depression before my eyes landed across the books “Demon Summoning” and “101 Safe Demons to Summon”. Um… Ricky, why do you have those books?

I don’t know and I honestly wish I had questioned that more before I went all out and summoned a fucking demon, an act that has been illegal for five centuries in the magical and normal communities since the last demon MASSACRE. “Ricky, you dumb-ass,” you must be screaming. “Why did you do that?!”

Because I am insane and lonely, and insane and lonely people do extremely stupid things.

Some of you more optimistic fools are probably thinking, “It couldn’t be that bad, after all, you summoned a demon from “101 Safe Demons to Summon”. WRONG! No demon is a safe demon. Demons are infinitely old and infinitely unpredictable. Even the most amicable of demons have been known to raze a few cities.

After skimming “Demon Summoning” and selecting demon #82 from “101 Safe Demons to Summon”, the demon of souls, I began to draw my circle. The demon of souls is a demon who rarely gets summoned and hardly anything is known about them. I thought it was sad they didn’t get summoned often. I thought they might be lonely because if I was incredibly old demon bound to the shadow realm who saw my fellow demons being summoned on a regular basis, I would be lonely too.

To summon the demon of souls is simple. Place a pomegranate in the center of the circle and chant:

“In umbra ab, Universo Regno resurgemus daemonium animarum tenetur ad me ipsum.”

The candles I put around the circle grew four feet bathing my bedroom in reds and oranges casting dark shadows along my walls. The ground shook and wood split as my floor cracked. Spector like projections rose from the floor, their ghastly shrieks permeating and saturating the air with fear and pain. I clung to my bedpost in terror and unfortunately, pissed myself (Note to self: Don’t summon demons on a full bladder). A hand reached up from the crack and slammed itself on the wooden floor in front of it, clawing at it, and pulled the rest of its body up from the hole.

I couldn’t see it yet but I began to scream. A deep unnatural voice boomed from the floor.

“The mortal, Richard Galvez, why have thou summoned me!”

I opened my eyes, startled that I had noticed I had closed them and beheld the demon I had foolishly summoned. The demon’s appearance perplexed me. It was that of a late teen in a tweed suit. Their vessel appeared to be that of an Asian male but in my stupefied state, I could not recall the specific branch. When I regained my mental facilities, I guessed Japanese but my ability to guess ethnicity has always been spotty at best so don’t trust my judgment.

“I wanted to hang out,” I squeaked out, cursing my prepubescent vocal cords.

The demon blinked in bewilderment. Then they blinked again. They looked awfully confused.

“You wanted to… hang out?” they said slowly.

“Yes,” I replied timidly.

The demon’s face shifted to one of annoyance.

“You idiot,” the demon scolded. “You can’t just summon demons because you’re lonely. How stupid are you? If you had messed up, you could have been eaten or had your body reduced to its atoms! And why would you choose a demon of souls to summon? Do you even know what a demon of souls is? You shouldn’t summon things if you don’t know what they are!”

“What is a demon of souls?” I asked meekly.

The demon glared. “Don’t interrupt me. I’m not finished yet.”

“But–”

“Shh!”

The demon looked about five seconds away from slapping me. I shut my trap.

“You would think at your age, you would have learned to think things through better but you’re still as thick as your average teenage mortal. And look at your room, it’s a mess.”

“Well, some of it is your fault.”

The demon made an agitated zip gesture at me.

“I was not referring to that, brat. I was talking about the rest of it. Your laundry is piled a mile high and you have food growing eyeballs in here. Also, do you ever dust? It’s so stuffy in here. And about the crack in the floor, that’s your fault. You forgot the stability ring.”

I ducked my head in shame. I couldn’t believe I was being chastised by a demon about things I should have known to do. I’m eighty-years-old. I should know not to summon demons. I should know to dust. I should Know to do my laundry. I should know to throw away my food. I am so irresponsible.

“You’re right. You are so irresponsible.”

Oh shit. Had I said that out loud?

“No, you did not. It’s written plainly on your face.”

“Um… I’m sorry, demon of souls.”

The demon grinned flatly. “I’m sorry’s not going to cut it, Richard. I think you need to learn some consequences.”

The demon snapped their fingers and went up in a poof of black smoke. I coughed and waved my hand through the air. When the mist cleared, a small five-year-old boy in suspenders stood where the teenager had been yelling at me.

“What?” I said in confusion.

“I’m going to teach you some responsibility,” the boy-demon replied.

“Um… what?”

The little demon snorted. “Congratulations, for the foreseeable future, I’m your new little brother. You have to enroll me in school, take me to school, feed me and go to school yourself. After you take a placement test, I’ll age your body up.”

“You can do that? Wait, you want me to take care of you and go outside? I have a sun allergy.”

“I can fix that.”

“I can’t take care of you, I–”

The demon exited the circle and stalked up to me like a lion would stalk towards its prey.

“Stop acting like you have a choice. You’re learning responsibility. That’s your punishment for being such an ignoramus. Also, be prepared to get to know the cops because bodies are going to drop.”

“You’re going to kill people,” I shrieked hysterically, my voice cracking on ‘people’.

“No,” the demon rolled his eyes. “My presence agitates people and causes people’s murderous thoughts to amplify in order to collect souls. It’s less active in hospitals since people are already dying but you can’t really just leave me in a hospital all the time.”

“Can you turn it off?” I pleaded, having no desire to see a corpse.

“Sadly, no,” the demon said, not sounding the least bit sad but their eyes looked guilty.

I had nothing to say to that so I changed the subject.

“So, what’s your name?”

“It is impossible for your mortal vocal cords to replicate so I will have to think of something else,” the demon responded, putting their tiny fist under their chin. “Well, I  would have to think up another name anyway. My real name isn’t exactly a mortal name.”

I sat down on the bed and stared at the demon as they paced the room. I didn’t understand the demon’s reasoning for the punishment they had selected but I was afraid that the next time I protested they would set me on fire or throw me into a pocket dimension to be torture. Observing their pacing for a while longer, I wondered if I should offer them a chair or a glass of water. All that shouting must have been exhausting. I shook my head. Why was I thinking these things? An attachment spell?

“Elliot.”

I hummed. Elliot wasn’t exactly the most popular name right now, not that I remember it being exceedingly popular back when I was actually twelve.

“You seem skeptical. I think the name works well. After all, you’re named Richard but go by Ricky and siblings often give each other nicknames. I could go by Ellie for short.”

I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing. The infinitely old demon who could probably rip out my soul without moving a muscle, wanted me to call them Ellie. Okay. I could deal with that. There was literally nothing that could make this situation weirder than it already was.

“Yeah. That works.”

The demon nodded stiffly and materialized a packet for me.

“Here’s your placement test. We’ll get you sorted before we do my registration forms. Hopefully, you do well enough to be listed as an emergency contact,” shooting me a smirk at the last part. It felt like a challenge like an “I dare you to mess up”. I didn’t want to know what they would do if I failed to meet their expectations.

Taking that bogus placement test was a nightmare. I know I understood most of it but there was a lot that just went way over my head. Fuck landing a grade that would put at me reasonable place to be eighteen. I only hoped that I got enough right to land high school because there was no way I was going to be stuck in middle school again. Watching the demon grade the damn thing was, even more, nerve-inducing. There is something truly frightening about a five-year-old going over your test making displeased noises every now and then, especially when you knew that this five-year-old was a mercurial demon.

After an hour, the demon-boy looked up at me. They picked up and straightened the papers in that strange solemn way only authority figures can replicate.

“All right, let’s get started. Your Reading and Comprehension is post-high school. Your History is okay but overall unremarkable. You did well in your chosen foreign language, Spanish. Nowhere near bilingual but well enough to fulfill the two-year minimum requirement. Your Sciences could use improvement and your math and algebra is shit.

“I’d put you at junior year of high school to freshmen in college. Although if you want to do the college route we’d have to do some tutoring in math and algebra I think senior in high school would be the best due to your placement test and it’s reasonable for most seniors to be eighteen. With you being eighteen you could legally have custody of me.”

“Um… How does that work since Elliot Galvez doesn’t legally exist?”

They patted me on the knee.

“Leave that to me, Ricky.”

Unsurprisingly, that did not make me feel any more confident. Guess I’d better add forgery to my criminal record because no court on Earth is going to try the demon how actually did the forgery. Additionally, the child-demon’s partialness to vagueness didn’t make me feel any better either.

“Fine. I suppose senior will work but what am I supposed to say when people inevitably ask why I have custody of you instead of our parents.”

“We’re half-brothers. Your father left when you were twelve and Mom died when I was born. My father was a one-night-stand so he’s not in the picture and there’s no name listed for father on my birth certificate. We have been living with our grandfather until he died of cancer this summer. You’ve been homeschooled your whole life but after taking custody of me, you decided to enroll me in public school and yourself in the local high school.”

“That’s sad,” I said without any inflection in my voice after he finished explaining our tragic backstory to me.

“Not as much as my original idea. I had thought of having our imaginary parents murdered during a home invasion but I thought this was better,” they shrugged carelessly.

I gaped at them completely aghast. I hoped they wouldn’t say anything like that at school. I had a vision of child services sweeping the house and shuddered. The demon chuckled awkwardly like they were embarrassed although I doubt they were.

“Okay. Let’s get your body aged up,” they put their hand on my shoulder. “A duodenum octo mortalium incerta. Solis, nocere puer iste amplius.”

I gasped. My body felt like it was burning. I felt dizzy and weak. I could feel my bones shatter and reassemble themselves. I choked up two of my baby teeth I had never lost, blood dripping out of my mouth like when your body forms too much saliva. Most of it landed on my jeans while the rest dried to my feverish body. I could fill my skin stretch as my bones grew rapidly and how it broke in some areas causing more of my blood to exit my body. I was screaming but it was a note so high my vocal cords couldn’t hit it. My heart pounded against my chest like I was having a heart attack. At one point I threw up, my acidic bile searing my throat and splattering against my floor, mixing with my hemoglobin. When I landed on the ground during the convulsions, I barely avoided landing in my crimson sick. I felt like I was dying. The pain made me feel like I had been suffering through this for hours. At a later point, Elliot kindly informed me the whole transformation had taken place in a matter of three minutes.

For the first time since meeting the demon, they looked scared. Their eyes looked glassy and they had their arms wrapped around their waist like they didn’t want to look at their hands. I don’t think they realized how much growing like that would hurt me.

“Are you okay?” Elliot cried, panic evident in their voice.

“I’m–” I flinched at the sound of my deeper voice. “Fine, Ellie. It’s okay. It didn’t hurt that much.”

The last part was a total lie but seeing the demon so scared was unnerving. Elliot shook their whole body like they were forcing themselves to calm down.

“I should have given you some other clothes before casting the spell,” they remarked absently.

I lowered my eyes to my clothing. They were all ripped up and I was suddenly aware of my boxers digging painfully into my hips. I stood up to strip and almost landed in my vomit as I got vertigo from standing up. I felt so clumsy and awkward with my new long legs.

I glanced at one of my mirrors and was shocked at my appearance. Gone were the chubby cheeks and scrawny shoulders. I looked like a man. I didn’t feel like a man. I still felt like the small twelve-year-old I had been stuck as for sixty-eight-years. I could already feel all the door frames I was going to run into.

I felt a tap on my knee. I looked down at Elliot.

“You can go online and if you find anything you like, I’ll magic it up in your size,” they threw something at me, which I barely caught. “That’s our debit card. It’s mostly for groceries but you can buy anything with it as long as it’s reasonable. It works in all ATMs if you need cash.

I nodded blankly.

“I’ll find you some clothes for you too.”

Elliot looked surprised but didn’t comment.

It did not take long for me to discover I was absolutely shit at filling out paperwork. I won’t bore you with the details but kindergarten registration forms are a bitch when you have no idea what you’re doing. Thank god, Elliot filled out mine. Also, back-to-school shopping is horrible. I bought all the stuff on the recommendation lists and then some, and I still feel terribly ill-prepared.

And then, I also wasn’t sure if I was supposed to make Elliot’s lunch or not. There was a form for free and reduced lunch but I had no clue how to fill it out or if we’d even qualify with our access to Elliot’s freaky debit card. Elliot’s a demon and probably very independent but this whole exercise is supposed to be a lesson in responsibility for me. In most of the sitcoms I’ve had the misfortune to watch, the mom makes the kids lunch but there’s no mom in this scenario. Am I expected to act as Elliot’s dad, mom, and brother? I’m not ready to be a parent!

“What’s with the panicked look on your face?”

I let out a high pitched shriek.

“Panicked? I have no panicked look on my face. Hi, Elliot. How are you?” I stuttered.

They gave me a puzzled expression like they didn’t believe me. Understandable, I wouldn’t have believed me.

“Humans typically take their dinner around 17:00, correct?”

17:00? What did he mean by–?

“Dinner! I forgot dinner! People need to eat,” I stumbled towards the bedroom door and past Elliot.

What should I make? Did I have enough ingredients? I presumably should not serve blood. Elliot’s vessel is doubtlessly human in needs. Mac n Cheese? Spaghetti? Soup?!

Accursed agony. I had tripped down the stairs. I forced myself up, thankful my accelerated healing had taken care of my broken bones and careened towards the kitchen. I slammed open the cabinets expecting meager supplies but was astonished to find the cupboard fully stocked.

“Where the fuck–”

“I bought groceries online earlier.”

I squawked again, startled by Elliot’s sudden appearance.

“Jesus Christ, Ellie. Don’t sneak up on me like that. You just stole twenty years off my life.”

They blinked up at me angelically.

“I thought humans avoided using profanity in front of young children,” they teased.

“Typically, yes but I don’t think I could ever accomplish censoring my language especially when I know you’re not actually five.”

They hummed neutrally but didn’t voice any approval and disappointment.

After checking over our bountiful supplies, I decided to make some vegetable soup with grilled cheese. I burnt the grilled cheese and I had somehow managed to put a hole in the bread. Elliot seemed to enjoy it anyway but I don’t think they have much experience with human food to provide a reliable critique.

At first, I was quite terrible at this big brother gig but as the school year drew closer I began to get the hang of it. I repainted one of the guest rooms and bought new sheets for Elliot. I did a significant amount of cleaning and rearranging in order to make the house livable again. I fixed a laundry schedule and repaired my floor. I disposed of all the garbage in the house. That took forever. I’m so proud of myself and Elliot seemed to approve.

And then the dreaded first day came. I walked Elliot to school extra early, at 7:15, so we wouldn’t be late and so I could meet their new teacher, Ms. Rita.

“Hello! Welcome to room three! My name’s Ms. Rita. Now who’s this sweet little boy,” she sang.

“Well, this is Elliot. I know it’s weird but he’ll be in both the morning and afternoon classes because there’s no one to pick him up.”

She blinked rapidly, seemingly perplexed by my explanation.

“Okie Dokie but I’m sure you could have worked something out with the After School Program instead of enrolling him in both classes.”

After School Program?

“I wasn’t aware that was an option,” I confessed.

Ms. Rita smiled at me sweetly. It felt like a “you poor idiot” smile.

“That’s okay, honey. Elliot can be my little teacher’s aide in the afternoon,” she crouched down to Elliot’s level. “How does that sound, Elliot?”

“Delightful,” they smiled politely at her.

For some reason, she gawked at Elliot’s reply. I wasn’t sure why until I remembered kindergartners do not usually use phrases like delightful. I glanced at my watch and cringed.

“I really should be going, Ellie, Ms. Rita. Ellie, do you have everything you need?”

“Yes.”

“And your lunch?”

They nodded.

“I'll pick you up after school. Have fun.”

Hesitantly, I kissed Elliot’s forehead. He beamed at me and waved good-bye. I felt a tug at my heartstrings and a feeling of fear in my gut. I briefly wondered who I was scared for. Myself? Elliot? Ms. Rita and her classes?

High School was weird to put it simply. I knew no one and somehow they all knew I was new. How they could possibly notice one new face in hundreds astounded me. Students in all my classes kept coming up to me and asking me questions. How old are you? Elliot’s voice echoed in my ears. Eighteen, I answered. Why did you transfer here? I didn't. I was homeschooled before, I replied. Why? I don't know. I've been homeschooled my whole life, I lied. Do you have any siblings? One, Elliot. He's five. Cue awe’s from the girls. I felt like an animal in the zoo.

The syllabuses we received seemed promising and I was really excited. It all whirled by so fast and I was soon walking back to the elementary school. Ms. Rita and Elliot were waiting for me by the gate. Elliot ran up to me, bouncing all the way. He looked happy to see me. I wondered if he was genuinely happy or faking it.

“Hey, Ellie. How was your day?”

“Great! I made three new friends in the morning class; Maria, Chris, and Alex. They're super duper nice. They've been friends since preschool and they invited me to join their soccer game when they saw I was all alone,” Elliot babbled. “I didn't make any friends in the afternoon classes yet. Ms. Rita says I will soon. They're just confused why I'm a teacher's aide and don't know how to approach me.”

My heart clenched. The demon most likely knee the afternoon class was jealous of him. I wondered if he cared, if he felt hurt by their resentment or if he even liked his new friends. Was he using them as a part of the act, or did he genuinely enjoy the children's company? I felt despicable thinking it because I liked Elliot a lot and I hoped he cared for me too and not out of necessity.

Our walk home was, unfortunately, eventful. Elliot and I had decided to have a race home and Elliot tripped over a body. Neither of us dared to move for approximately ten seconds.

“I should have expected this,” Elliot muttered resigned.

I didn't know how to feel. We had just found a body. Elliot was lying on top of it. I felt numb. I picked Elliot up and deposited him next to me. I grabbed my cell phone and punched in 9-1-1.

“9-1-1, what is your emergency?” the operator asked flatly.

“I… We found a dead body on… William St. It appears to be a woman.”

“A body, on Williams?” the operator questioned, sounding more awake.

“Yes.”

“Sir, please stay there. May I have your name and any of your companions’ names?”

“Richard Galvez and my little brother, Elliot. Elliot tripped over the body.”

The dispatcher made an annoyed sound.

“I'll be sure to let forensics know. We'll need to take samples from your brother to separate your brothers DNA from any of potential DNA left behind by the killer if it turns out to be a murder.”

Less than ten minutes later, the cops arrived on scene. They had some kind looking younger cop interview Elliot while I got the third degree. It took them an hour to track down the dead woman’s identity. June Clark, a businesswoman from out of state and registered lycanthropic. I heard one of the cops mutter about a possible hate crime. A few of them who recognized that I was a vampire scowled at me suspiciously. I hate Hollywood for festering that stupid myth that vampires and werewolves hate each other. One of the cops looked like he wanted to drag me to the station and book me but the inspector sent us on our way and thanked us for providing information.

I was asked to hand over my number in case they had any more questions at a later point. I internally groaned, knowing in a couple of weeks, I would know most, if not all, of their names.

Next time a body dropped around Elliot, I wasn’t there. I got a call from the elementary school during my lunch hour explaining I needed to come pick Elliot up. One of the janitors had taken a misstep on the roof and had landed in a bloody heap in front of Elliot and his friends. The school helpfully informed me of a good therapist and that school was canceled for the rest of the day so the police could conduct an investigation. I ran to my school’s attendance office so fast I practically left a dust cloud in my wake. I must have said something about the incident because the office lady looked completely distributed. She literally threw the note at me.

“Get going, boy!” she urged me.

I easily complied, racing to the elementary school like there was a psycho with a stake on my ass. When I got there, most of the children were gone. Elliot stood over by the group of three he had introduced to me earlier in the week. Maria was crying into Chris’s shirt while Chris was trying to stifle his own tears. Alex sat on the ground rocking slowly back and forth like a pendulum, staring off at something only he could see. I assumed it must have been the janitor’s corpse. Heaven knows Mrs. Clark still keeps me up with only the apathetic moon to keep me company. Her empty eyes staring into me, dry blood masking her right. Her face left contorted in a scream.

Elliot stood behind them, murmuring softly. His words appeared slow and hesitant like he didn’t know what to say and I knew he didn’t. His poor attempts to comfort me after the first corpse lingers in my mind. He had told me there was no need to be sad because I hadn’t known her, that her soul had moved on safely and she was resting before being put back in the reincarnation cycle. I observed him for a long time before gathering my thoughts into words and even then I felt my explanation lacking.

“I’m not upset she’s dead. I’m upset someone decided to play god, that someone thought they had the right to steal her away from her life, her family, and her dreams. That, someone, believed she had done something to deserve death. No one deserves to die, Elliot. No one,” I finally articulated.

He was struck speechless by my statement and walked away with a pensive expression.

Back to the present, Elliot put his hand on Alex’s shoulder and began to rub circles on it. Alex did not respond. Over by the steps, Ms. Rita was hunched over with her head in her hands. I walked over to her and sat down.

“I don’t understand how this happened,” she whispered.

“I don’t think anyone could find an explanation for how or why this happened. It just happened and we can’t fix it no matter how much we want to.”

She looked up at me, her make-up smeared and eyes red. Dry tear stains were prominent on her cheeks.

“The kids shouldn’t have had to see that,” she cried.

“No one should have to see that,” I breathed subdued.

She let out a short sob. I wanted to sob too. I was as good at comfort as Elliot, that is to say, not at all.

“It’s not your fault and kids bounce back fast. Most of them will forget about this in a couple of weeks.”

“And will Elliot be a part of the most? The body almost landed right on top of him. He was almost crushed, he could have died.”

“This is hardly the first body Ellie has seen.”

“WHAT?!” she whisper-yelled at me, stunned.

“He was the one who found Grandpa,” I fibbed. “And a couple of weeks ago he tripped over a body when we were on our way home.”

“Oh my god,” Ms. Rita gasped.

I nodded, as I often do when I have no idea what to say.

“But there was so much blood,” she fretted.

The poor woman. I doubt any amount of blood could phase Elliot but I still felt the desire to placate her concerns.

“I keep blood IVs in our fridge for my condition,” I gestured at my teeth. “And I drink the bags in front of him. He’s well desensitized to blood.”

“You’re a vampire!” she exclaimed in surprise. Then she flushed like she had something rude, which in some ways it was rude but I didn’t mind. “I’m sorry. I just never noticed… um… is Elliot one too?”

I shook my head.

“He’s human. A bit psychic though,” I lied.

“He can see the future?”

“No, not as far as I know. He can make stuff float and other stuff. Neither of us knows the full extent of it. He only started showing signs of it a couple weeks before Gramps passed.”

We sat peacefully in the silence for a few minutes, only broken by the upset noises from the children.

“I should take Ellie home. See you tomorrow.”

“Bye,” she said, determination springing into her eyes.

“Children, how about we all go inside and color for a while until your folks get here?” she shouted, forcing any of her feelings from before out of her mind in order to present a strong front for the little ones to cling to.

I admired Ms. Rita for that. I know I could never push my emotions down like that.

It was a struggle to get Elliot to leave Alex but I did it. I felt like the worst human being on Earth but I did it. I thought Elliot was going to send me to the shadow realm when I dragged him away. Seeing him like this made me feel guilty for ever doubting the sincerity of his friendship with the kids. He would obviously protect those kids like a mama bear would her cubs. Excuse me for being cliched, but I pitied the poor son of a bitch who attempt to upset one of them, let alone all three of them.

It was at that point I seriously began to consider if Elliot saw me as a good brother. Guardian? I tried my best but I didn’t know how well I succeeded. I couldn’t help but ask myself whether or not Elliot would leave when he declared my punishment complete. I didn’t want him to leave. The house had been so quiet before, so lonely and although Elliot was often soft-spoken, everything felt oddly better, more alive, with someone else’s breathing.

With Elliot in the house, there was more laughter, more energy. I wanted him to stay even if I had to put up with bodies dropping whenever we leave the house. I wanted to be his big brother despite him being unbelievably older than me. I wanted to see him smile and grow. I wanted to praise him for every good grade and encourage him through every bad grade. I wanted to see him go on dates and be happy. I wanted to be there for him and be his friend.

“What happens when I pass your test,” I questioned that evening at the dinner table.

Elliot paused mid-bite of my shitty casserole, which he seemed to enjoy for some unexplainable reason.

“I guess I would go back to the shadow realm,” Ellie muttered wistfully.

My grip tightened on my fork, steeling myself for rejection.

“Could you stay?”

Elliot’s fork clattered on his plate and he looked at me in shock.

“You’d like me to stay,” he blurted out, incredulously.

“Yes,” I answered without reluctance. “I would love it if you could stay.”

“Thanks. I would really like that,” he smiled at me, a small nervous smile that made me feel like I had done something amazing like save a life.

I didn’t save a life but I think I just changed his for the better. I hope he knew he had changed mine in the same way.

I hope you all enjoyed the Halloween Special. I may choose to expand on this story at a later date so, be on the lookout for that. I hope you guys enjoy the new blog set up. Don't forget to follow or subscribe (whichever damn on it is) for regular updates. Ask box is open for prompts :)

[fannishcodex]

i just think trying to overthrow the govt w/ someone you went to hs w/ 30yrs ago but werent friends w/ & there was a Big misunderstanding at first where you tried to kill each other cuz you didnt know they were also trying to overthrow the govt makes for great comedy material  

legit obsessed w them i wanna see them bicker so bad

'known each other for decades but only kinda friends with a bit of bad blood but also willing to die for the same cause' platonic dynamic

I think so often about how Darius and Raine were classmates back in the day, so they've known each other for decades, and how the conversation progression from "Welcome to the Castle, nerd, you still dating that criminal, Edalyn?" to "Hey, so, sorry Kikimora did... *hand waves* that to you, but uh. Eber and I are actually rebels too. Yeah, ye-- ok well, you tried to kill us first, so." must've been

Like can you imagine being Darius? You've been at the top of your career as a Coven Head for years, your mentor died suddenly and was replaced with a child, and you've been on track to try to overthrow Belos ever since because you always suspected foul play, then in comes that bard dork you went to high school with who was friends with the resident Weird Delinquent™, but whatever, you have more important things to worry over than them messing up the induction ceremony that was recorded live, until low and below that dork is both a rebel AND going to fucking blow it all by being too noticeable, so now you and your Furry Colleague who's also a rebel have to go catch Dork, only for Dork and Delinquent to almost fucking kill you guys somehow like what even was that??, but you manage to quell the situation only for after you release Dork they get caught again by that annoying Brown Noser Kikimora, so now they're under a tight leash by Evil Old Lady Terra who you've been carefully avoiding the line of sight of for years, and goddamn, Dork, you are so bad at this, like yes, great, more rebels! but also low profile much? Ever heard of it??? Now can we please get your gf to help us? Ugh, fine, your wife, whatever, can she help or not?? Titan, Raine, this is serious we need more help. Oh. Oh, ok you can send her flowers but can't ask her to join our group because 'she needs to stay safe'? Eber are you seeing this shit I have to deal with? Edalyn's been a criminal since I met her but yeah ok, we need her to avoid breaking the law now. ...Stop saying I have a son, all I did was give him a phone and teach him to sew and care about his well being.

But on the flip side

Can you imagine being Raine? You've been quietly toiling away through the coven ranks, giving up your relationship and stomaching loss after loss of promising students all to reach the top with the goal to overthrow Belos, and then the guy who inducts you on crystal ball -- which was horrible btw why did it have to be live?? -- is that rude popular kid from high school who had the mean friends, but ok, it's been decades, not worth compromising your mission over, just let bygones be bygones... until Rude Guy and Furry Colleague show up and trap your crew during one of your raids and, oh Titan, Eda is at risk too, but if you can take them out maybe the Day Of Unity will be delayed, but then you find out the love of your life went and had kids without you and you cannot dwell on that rn cuz you have to get her to safety as Rude Guy captures you, except you slip away easily haha take THAT for underestimating bard magic back at Hexside! Aaand there's Kikimora, and some horrifying sigil stuff happens, and now that annoying Old Evil Lady Terra from HECK is watching you like a hawk and you're 100% certain she's trying to drug you so you have to low-key alter every drink she gives you, and then Rude Guy informs you he and Furry Colleague were rebels all along too. Like, thanks for the heads up, jerk! I almost killed you guys! You don't get to be mad at me over this!! Fine, whatever, let's work together, strength in numbers, and you can't turn down extra help in this fight. ...Eda is not my gf!! She's not my wife!!!!! No, I won't let her get involved again. ...except, I'll just send her these potion ingredients, to save her kid. Yes it has to be in the form of flowers. To get past the house demon! You know what? You don't get to criticize me over this, Mr. 'Thats MY angry blond kid!'

Now imagine being Eberwolf and having to deal with two late-30s/early-40s something-year-olds acting like this on top of trying to lead a rebellion.

Anyway I'm so normal about how weird and hilarious this dynamic could be.