#Annika Grace

[yorkcalling]

Discovery: Anni

Anni, real name Annika Grace, is an American acoustic singer songwriter who has just hit my radar. When I first heard her new track Guest List, it struck me so powerfully, I knew I had to share it. (more…)

[edsonjnovaes]

4 filmes sobre crescimento para quem passa pela crise dos 20 e poucos anos

4 filmes sobre crescimento para quem passa pela crise dos 20 e poucos anos

A palavra alemã Bildungsroman significa “romance de educação” ou “romance de formação”, em que o protagonista precisa cometer erros para aprender com eles – e, assim, amadurecer. Giovanna Ribeiro – AdoroCinema. 1 de mai. de 2022 A PIOR PESSOA DO MUNDO A Pior Pessoa do Mundo segue Julie (Renate Reinsve) em sua busca por si mesma. A jovem não sabe exatamente o que deseja em uma carreira ou…

[burnyouwithacigarettelighter]

(3) TENDER LIKE A BRUISE ─── ethan landry 𖦹

ೃ⁀➷ “Let me hold your tenderness for a moment, Forgetting all pains that the tenderness has caused….” — Luffina Lourduraj

pairing. spiderman!ethan landry x reader

warnings. heavy swearing, mention of blood+death, alcohol

summary. ethan calls during a patrol, frantic, and you have no choice but to find and save him. (1) (2) (3) (4)

a/n. another bit of the spiderman!ethan landry universe. i'm being pretty carefree about the timeline atm, so basically you and ethan have been fake-dating for a few months already. also, do tell if the relationship progression is too fast or too slow!

iii.

Your fake-dating label has stuck, following you everywhere. 

From having an awkward dinner with Ethan’s parents (which would have been one with his entire family, but Quinn could not keep a straight face and had to leave), having double-dates with Annika and Mindy, Ethan having to ward off weirdos hitting on you at parties (which, was actually rather welcome), and the like.

Sometimes, entirely to keep your cover straight, you and Ethan have to engage in some… physical contact. Mostly, it’s hand holding, or wiping something off his cheek, him tucking your hair back behind your ear, fixing his shirt collar, him tying your shoes — all the little intimate things that make your fake relationship seem so much more real. 

It’s kind of sweet, actually, how in-tune you guys are becoming with each other. Like, Ethan knows how you like your coffee, and you know what shirts he likes to keep at your place more than the others. You can trust the boy to pick an amazing place to order food from, and he can trust you to wash his Spidersuit like no-one else. (Seriously, he is shocked at how you can clean it in forty minutes and he can spend four hours in his sink without doing much at all.)  

However, once, you and Ethan had to kiss. Well, “kiss”. It was drunk couple stuff, trying to fly under everyone's radar. 

Your friends were beginning to think it was a little odd you had never done anything while drunk together, because everyone did. Sure, you two could be very private considering PDA, but everyone saw how sweet you were in front of others, so it was getting suspicious.

To void these pesky suspicions, during a low-key drunk night between friends at Chad and Ethans place, you downed a full shot of gin, let it burn in your throat, and pulled yourself onto the equally drunk Ethan. 

You had climbed atop his lap, his fatigued head thrown back against the leather couch. Your hands graced the sides of his face, and through your alcohol stained lips you whispered close in Ethan’s ear. 

“I’m going to kiss you, Ethan. Fake, though,” You said simply, your mind addled with that familiar alcohol fog. 

You waited for his familiar hum of acknowledgment, the one he voiced when he was brushing his teeth, or drinking something, all his little sounds you’d grown to know. 

When he did, you leaned your head at just the right angle that to everyone, it looked like you were going to town on Ethan, when in reality you were pecking the side of his lip. 

Your hands had carded through Ethan’s soft, curly locks, tugging slightly and repositioning yourself on his lap, his own hands settling nervously on your waist. You moved onto hovering around his neck, sending shivers down his spine with your hot breath on his skin. 

Ethan could taste the citrus stains you left on the side of his mouth, and he was beginning to feel feverish. His entire body was incredibly warm, either from the alcohol, or how close you were to him now. 

He gulped, watching you on his lap, pretending to do everything he had exactly zero experience in. You - this, made him so incredibly nervous, he was losing his mind over your touch. 

And as soon as it started, it was over, and you pulled yourself off the flustered boy. Chad whistled at the intensity of the action, a “proud dad” moment of sorts. 

Ignoring it, your hands itched towards another shot of alcohol. Through the corner of your eye, you saw Ethan, breathing heavily, eyes coursing over you. 

His gaze, low and deep, made your heart skip a tender beat, beginning to thump louder in your ears—

You downed another shot, and let it wash those thoughts away. Perhaps it is denial, or perhaps you don’t want to lose him. 

(Somewhere deep in you, you’re terrified of losing him. Literally and figuratively, you could lose Ethan in so many ways it's beginning to hurt.

One of those ways comes far too soon for your comfort.) 

-

It’s Halloween. 

You’re stuck in someone's house, and a drunk girl you don’t know the name of is regaling you on her outfit choices for the night. 

Quinn and Mindy are fighting over who's the better superhero, Spiderman or Iron-Man (and when Quinn heatedly declares Spiderman is some friendless, familyless freak, you snort), Tara and Chad are… doing whatever their newly blossomed situationship requires to make even more tense, and Annika is passed out on Mindy’s shoulder. 

Ethan is on patrol tonight, after he left you alone in the middle of the party. Apparently, it had something to do with candy and costumes making criminals more “devious” (whatever that meant). 

Sometimes, you really wish trick-or-treating wasn’t just for kids. 

You slip away from the drunk girl, whose friend group has since found her, and sneak into the very same bathroom Ethan had jumped out of earlier. In the mirror, you finnicked with the costume you were wearing. 

“I couldn’t exactly find anything similar, so I made it myself.” Ethan had said a few hours ago, holding up the costume. It was an odd black-and-white version of his Spidersuit, with a white hood and pink underarms. 

“It’s made of a mix of spandex and a flexible carbon-fiber I stole from the evidence locker at the NYPD - the same stuff as my suit. And, I know, not morally great, but whatever, I’ll make up for it by catching the criminals who owned that stuff.” Ethan continued, stretching the fabric. 

You raised a brow, taking the slim piece of fabric off his hands. “And why exactly do I have to be some Spiderman dupe tonight?” 

Ethan scratched his cheek, gaze veering from yours.  “If I’m wearing this, you’ve gotta wear that. To keep the cover, obviously.”

You two were sitting on your bed, Ethan already decked out in his own well made Spiderman “costume”. Everyone else was dressed, too, just waiting for you to finish.

“So,” You leaned in closer to Ethan, “this is just a matching couple costume… for the cover.”

Ethan nodded rapidly, still avoiding your eyes. 

You surveyed him for a moment: his brown eyes were coursing across the whole room, on anything except you, lips bitten between his teeth, hair askew, slight blush blazing across his face. 

Something about that look of his just got to you, and the sound of the blood rushing to your face was positively deafening. 

You pulled back, trying to ease your stuttering heart. “Isn’t this a bad idea? Wearing the suit and all, aren’t you scared of someone finding out?”

“I think it’s ironic.” Ethan said under his breath, a small smile gracing his face. “And it’s the opposite. If I pretend to be some superfan, people won’t think I’m him.” 

You puffed up your cheeks, blowing the air out. “Okay, fine. I’ll wear your couples costume. Just don’t, and I mean it, Ethan, do not leave me alone at the party to go on patrol.”

“[Name]. You know I can’t promise you anything, I mean, what if there's a dog or something getting stolen out of an apartment—“

Without thinking, you stopped his rambling by pulling him close to you, hands gripping lightly at his arms. The two of you held still for a moment, staring deep into eachothers eyes. 

You would have been ready to say anything, but the heartfelt words you had thought of, the feelings you knew were burning in your heart, about to burst at any moment, died in the sudden hesitance you felt from Ethan. 

Unknowingly, your face contorted into one of hurt. “I know. I know, I’m sorry, I - I know that's selfish of me to ask, I just…” You let go of him, “there will never be enough time in the world for you to be both Ethan and Spiderman. Which one - which life, relationships -  do you value more?” you turned away, whispering under your breath. 

And if Ethan had heard you, he didn’t say anything. Tension settled in the room, with a terribly miserable air of regret. 

Suddenly, Mindy had called out from the living room that you’d all be late to the party if you didn’t hurry up. Ethan exited your room quietly, and you didn’t see him look back at your door with so much guilt it was choking him. 

Remembering that bitter start to the night, you sighed, patting down your spandex suit. 

Then, someone on the other side of the bathroom door started banging it, but you couldn’t make out what they were saying under the blaring music reverberating throughout the entire house. 

“Wait a minute!” You shouted, straining your throat. You began to continue in the loud tone, but the familiar buzz of your phone interrupted you. 

Quickly, you fished out the device from a sleek thigh pocket you were thoroughly impressed with Ethan for designing, and clicked it on. 

“Speak of the devil,” You mumbled to yourself, seeing the ever-present contact name of ETHAN LANDRY buzzing atop your phone screen. 

You answered, pressed the phone to your ear. However, before you could get a word out, Ethan began frantically shouting into the phone. 

“[Name]! Goddam—it, okay, I need you to - to - I left my backpack at your place, and I can’t do this without—“ 

“Ethan! Ethan, Eth— slow down, I can’t—“ 

“Get my bag, please, and don’t find me, just— leave it at Blackmore, near the fountain, I’ll swing by— and— oh, for fuc—“ 

And then he hung up. Or, more precisely, probably broke his phone swinging away from whatever was causing him to act like that. 

You felt your heart drop, finally registering the intensity of Ethan’s voice. The boy was often lighthearted and dorky, extremely endearing in his polite awkwardness, so hearing how alarmed he was now was sending you for a loop. 

You shook your head, storing such feelings away for later. You made a mental note of Ethan’s requests: bag at your apartment, leave at Blackmore fountain.

Nervously, you cranked open the window in the bathroom, eyeing the slingers attached to your wrists. You’d found out entirely by accident after sticking to a beer bottle that Ethan hadn’t merely created a fake pair of web slingers for the costume — he’d supplied you with a functional pair of his own. 

Ethan had done a full run-down of his suit once, entirely fascinated with the thing. He was so proud of his own creation, rambling about how the web-fluid took ages to perfect, and about the one time his father got in trouble for “forgetting” to keep track of evidence from the NYPD locker. 

This identity was entirely Ethan’s own, and he was so incredibly happy with it. You realized then how selfish your comment had been, how it must have stung him so. 

You bit your lip, and pushed yourself back on track, slipping on the matching mask the costume had. Surprisingly, the vision in it wasn’t terrible, and it was merely a little foggy. 

Then, at the window, you decided you needed to use the web slingers. You knew this could go extremely wrong, seeing as you obviously hadn’t been bit by a radioactive spider, so your agility, physical build, and pain tolerance were at an all time low in comparison to Ethans, but you remembered how frenzied the boy-hero was— and swung out the window. Time was of essence. 

You finnicked with the webs, feeling the cool night chill bite your face, and tried desperately to replicate how Ethan so easily thwipped building to building. You just barely made it into an alley a few blocks away from the party-house, and almost hit your head on a lamp post on the way there, so you knew after this incident you’d never even approach the web-slinger cuffs. 

You ran the rest of the way to your apartment, climbed up your fire escape, and shimmied the small gap for Ethan in the glass window open with your foot. After a moment of scanning, you nicked Ethan’s characteristic green canvas bag, and braced yourself to swing once more. 

Your web made a slippery connection with the building in front of you - Danny’s apartment - and you swore you saw your life flash before your eyes when you almost fell. 

After several moments of climbing down the wall with webs, a situation which closely resembled rock climbing with a rope, you broke into another run, heading to Blackmore University. 

You would have felt dead tired by now if not for the adrenaline pumping through you, your anxiety for Ethan up to your ears. That, and maybe the amateur web-slinging that almost killed you, were the only things keeping you upright as you ran around New York. 

However, as you made quick shortcuts through other alleys, you heard a familiar cry come out from an approaching block. 

“Fucking—“ You heard the boy cry out, heaving, alongside the sounds of an intense scuffle. 

Without any acknowledgment of doing so, your body pulled itself to the dimly lit backstreet lane, and you found yourself watching Ethan, partially unmasked, fighting a group of several masked people, weapons and duffle bags of money thrown on the ground. In the distance, you could vaguely hear an alarm — perhaps a banks — beeping on and off. 

“E—“ You stopped yourself mid sentence, breath catching in your throat, and when one of the men threatened to grab the pistol lying haphazardly to Ethan’s side, you shot a web at the gun, bringing it to you. 

Quickly, you slid the offending weapon away, and did as much as you could to help the still-fighting Ethan. From throwing measly punches of your own, tossing weapons away, or pinning the burglars to the wall with webs, you did it all, until it was just you and Ethan, sitting on the cobblestone, breathing heavily. 

He slipped his mask fully back on, and turned to say something to you, obviously seeing your own mask on, as well as your use of his web slingers. 

But, then replacing the bank's alarm in your ears, several police sirens could be heard making their way down to the backstreet lane you were occupying. 

“We have to go. Can you swing?”  you said to Ethan between gasping for air. 

“I’m out of web fluid. It - it’ll take too long to refill,” he pointed lazily to the long-forgotten backpack. 

“I’ll do it, then,” You said, trying not to show your hesitancy. Before Ethan could voice his own surprise and fear, you wrapped an arm (and several webs, as you knew you could not fully support his built body) around him and shot a thick string of webs at the closest tall building. 

“You’re—“ Ethan’s eyes were wide open, “doing it wrong! We’ll— fall!”

“Just—“ you swung to the next building, completely unaware of how terrifying your technique was to an expert, “bare with it! I promise not to - kill us!”

“I’m unsure how - trustworthy - your - words are!” 

“Stop - distracting me!” You said, making a close call on a parked garbage truck, before making your last swing to the fire escape window at your apartment. 

Thank god the bank was not all the way across the world to your apartment, for you didn’t know how long your poor swinging skills and decent luck would last. 

You two entered your room, and you immediately ripped off the white hooded mask you were wearing, taking in fresh bouts of air like a fish entering water. You felt extremely relieved that you two had made it back safe, alive — but Ethan clearly felt differently. 

He tore his mask off, rapidly turning to face you. “I thought I told you to leave the bag at Blackmore!” Ethan’s finger was pointed accusingly, “I told you not to find me, for fucks sakes, [Name]!”

“Excuse me?” You said, in shock. “If I hadn’t found you — and I was going to Blackmore, I was taking fucking shortcuts, Landry — if I hadn’t found you, alright, you could be dead right now. You said it yourself, you were out of web-fluid!”

“Not then! I would’ve made it out fine!”

“Is this fine to you?” You gestured to his bloodied state, beaten up and bruised. “What? Were you gonna drag your broken bones up my fire escape, ask me to fix you up again?”

Ethan’s eyebrows creased. He had no answer for your words. “Just— I fucking told you not to fucking find me!”

“Jesus christ, Landry, you are fucking stubborn. I did find you, okay, but not on purpose— I fucking stumbled upon you. So don’t get all up on me for something you did.” 

“You didn’t have to help either,” he said viciously, “I have escaped worse situations without your help. I have done this for years without you, okay?”

You let out an incredulous laugh. “Oh my god, are you serious right now? I wouldn’t have to help you if you didn’t call me, if you didn’t forget your web fluid, and if you just fucking listened to me and didn’t go on patrol tonight.”

Ethan went silent, digesting your words.

“You know this is your fucking fault, right?” 

And as soon as the words left your mouth, you regretted them. You wanted to catch the air and stuff it right back down your throat, undo your harshness, realize how increasingly broken Ethan’s tone was. 

Realize how he stared at your cuts and limp, realize how guilty he looked as he asked why you went to find him. 

Why you put yourself in danger. 

Ethan’s mouth opened and closed, unsure of how to tread further, his anger falling off him in waves, revealing the pain he held underneath. 

“Fuck, Ethan, I’m sorry, I—“ you started, but stopped when Ethan looked you in the eye. 

“You could’ve died,” he whispered, “and you were - you were swinging and fighting armed men, [Name], I—“

“Ethan, I wanted to. I wanted to help you, it was my own goddamn choice. My own stupid choice.” 

“No - no, you were right. I should’ve never called you, I have done this all before, in worse moments, all by myself—“

“That does not mean you should, Ethan. Being alone in this kind of danger is not smart.” 

“I’d rather be alone than endanger you.” 

“Ethan, I’d rather be endangered than have to lose you.” 

You stared deep into eachothers eyes, not unlike the way you did at the beginning of the night. Except this time something had changed, perhaps the way you unearthed your hearts to one another now made it so much easier to breathe, to feel, to do. 

But there was still hesitation there. Untread territory and past regrets making things - this - so much harder to make real. 

You and Ethan wanted to do so much more, to do all the things you pretended to do, but instead, you wrapped your arms around his broad back and hugged him like there was no tomorrow, like you were the last people on earth before a meteor struck. His arms snaked around your waist similarly, longingly, and terribly grievous.

It felt like connecting broken pieces of a heart together, and though you did not kiss, you felt so equally joined to him like you had. The hug was long and intimate, so close you could smell the dull impression of his cheap cologne from earlier, the lonely heat of your bodies joining to warm you both so completely.

You felt so at home in his touch. You could only wish he felt the same. 

(And Ethan did. He melted into you, the only thoughts in his mind being that this felt right. 

Somewhere, deep in his mind, where he kept his guilt hidden, he felt he was just going to lose another thing he loved. That this love was futile, fading, the loss inevitable. 

But today Ethan wanted to be selfish, breathe you in, and be at peace, even for a second.) 

a/n2: no kiss, and not quite to the official relationship yet, folks! but we’re getting there, slowly but surely. have these lovely crumbs for now. though, big milestone: the acknowledgment of mutual love!

taglist: @iloveneilperry @backtotheshitshow @hazehepburn @powowowy @ifilwtmfc @oscarisdaddy69 @al1v3cvp1d2 @bloodyeverything @diamondci1ty @l5bryinth @gojosbucket @volturi-girl-imagines @sflame15-blog @thatoneembarrasingmoment @bajadotcom @cerealzzz @elynka @theapulidooo @solaceinwriting-blog1

(strikethrough: wouldn’t allow me to tag!)

[xoxoskai]

ELIAVA HEADCANNONS

May 2024 is too far, and the delusion preservation is imperative.

Eli listens to classical music just for Ava.

Ava sometimes sneaks into the library at the King's mansion just to swipe a book or two that she may have seen Eli reading. Other times, she bribes Creighton.

Eli is practically adopted by Silver the moment Elsa reveals his little crush (privately, of course) on her daughter. It does not stop Cole from throwing jabs at him whenever he comes over to hang out with Aunt Silver and to spy on his girl.

During their childhood, they've been locked together by their friends/siblings/cousins in the same room/closet plenty of times.

As a sign of rebellion against her parents, Ava once dyes her entire hair pink. The mortification hits her soon after and she refuses to talk to anyone until one text, one silent drive to the salon later she's sharing her snickers bar with Eli as a form of thanks.

Eli always leaves an anonymous bouquet of pink roses (her favorite) for Ava before her recitals in her dressing room. It's the only sign that he attends her recitals at all (Eli has attended every single one of them).

Whenever Eli goes AWOL, only Ava knows he's hiding in the library in a dark nook that has space behind the shelf just enough for two people. Sometimes, she joins him. Other times, she lays her head against his shoulder as he reads in the quiet.

All the teasing garnered from her friends due to Eli's attention suddenly stops one day. Becomes more...cautious.

Eli swears he had nothing to do with it and that he would never threaten them (he's lying, he nearly makes Remi cry).

Ava, like her mom, also writes journals where a lot of pages have Eli's name written, circled, crossed and scribbled out.

For prom, RES hosts a masquerade theme but every single boy in the school is terrified to ask Ava to prom. Glyndon decides to go without a date as well and Cecily flies in to join them. Both friends pretend not to notice Ava dancing with a masked stranger on the dancefloor at midnight.

Eli never stays longer than five minutes at any of Ava's birthdays/sometimes she never finds him at all, but she always finds his gifts in her room.

Ava has a jersey with Eli's number on it that Cole secretly swipes out of her closet to burn but gets caught by Silver.

Ariella is Eli's partner-in-crime.

After Eli leaves for University, Ava shows up at the King's mansion under the pretense of hanging out with Elsa but it's just to sneak into Eli's room and look at all his awards and trophies longingly she does not miss him.

When they finally start dating, they are met with long-suffering sighs, "finally"'s and "took you guys forever."

Ava drops little hints of herself wherever she can find a place for it. Scrunchie on his gearshift. Perfume bottle on his desk. "Accidental" kiss mark on his collar. Her ring on a chain around his neck.

Ava makes Eli watch all the chick-flicks she can because she's appalled when she finds out he hasn't watched Mean Girls.

"BOo, yoU wHoRE" - Remi says, sitting next to Cecy, Glyn, Annika and Ava wearing a facemask matching theirs.

The moment Cole opens the door to see his daughter and King's spawn standing together, hand-in-hand, the first thing he says is "No"

And it's final, too. No amount of convincing from both Silver and Ava seems to work.

When he finally comes around and they all sit down for dinner, they have a "Daddy, can you pass the salt?" moment after which Eli is chased out of the house by Cole and his gün.

Eli sneaks in thru the balcony into Ava's room anyway. Both Ariella and Silver know and choose not to tell Cole.

Eli's only saving grace with Cole is that Eli would kilI for his daughter or die trying and Cole wouldn't want any man willing to give anything lesser for his Ava.

●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○

Part two?

[asurprizinglysanefangirl]

Name meanings of Star Trek main characters

TOS –

James - Supplanter; Holder of The Heel

Spock – I don't know

Leonard - Lion Strength; Descendant; Lover

Nyota – Stars

(Bonus - Uhura – Freedom (crafted from the Swahili word uhuru for the show))

Mongomery - Mountain Belonging to The Ruler; Man Power

Hikaru – Radiance; Light

Pavel - Small; Humble, Modest

Christine - Follower of Christ

TNG –

Jean-Luc - God Is Gracious; Bringer of Light

William - Resolute Protector; Will, Desire; Helmet, Protection

Data - Facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis

(Bonus - Soong – Grandson, Descendant (it's a Chinese surname))

Deanna – Valley; Devine; Goddess; Church Leader

Beverly - Beaver Stream, Meadow

Geordie - Land-Worker, Farmer

Worf – I couldn’t find anything for either his first or last name

Tasha – Christmas Day, Birthday (Of Christ)

Wesley - Western meadow

DS9 –

Benjamin - Son of The Right Hand, Son of The South, Son of my Days

Kira - Mistress, Lady; Beam of Light; Black; Glitter, Shining

(Bonus - Nerys – Noblewoman; Hero)

Jadzia - Princess

Julian - Youthful; Jove's Child; Downy Bearded

Odo – Nothing [Cardassian meaning] (The following is extracted from the ST Wiki -  "Odo's name stemmed from the Cardassian word for "nothing", Odo'ital, which was the loose translation of the "unknown sample" label in Bajoran on his laboratory flask. After he was discovered to be sentient, the scientists began jokingly referring to him as "Odo Ital", in a similar manner to a Bajoran name, which eventually got shorted into simply "Odo".)

Odo - Wealthy; Inheritance; Richness [Human meaning] (Because apparently it's also a human name!)

Quark - I couldn't find anything

Miles O’Brien - Soldier; Who Is Like God?; Merciful

Elim - Place of Strong Trees

(Bonus - Garak – To Sojourn, To Dwell. Check this article out for more information)

Jake - Supplanter; Of Jacob

Nog – Agriculture (it’s a Chinese surname)

Ezri – Helper, My Help

Voyager –

Kathryn - Pure

Chakotay – Man who walks the Earth but only sees the Sky

Tuvok – I don't know. (There probably is someone who knows the Vulcan meaning of Tuvok and Spock out there.)

B’Elanna – (Belanna is an actual name) A noble woman who is beautiful

(Another bonus - Torres - Towers)

Tom - Twin; Innocence

Harry – Home Ruler

The Doctor – The name Jason means Healer, so I sometimes think of that as his name

Neelix – It was created for the show

Kes – I couldn’t find anything

Annika (Seven of Nine) - Grace; Favor; Gracious; Elegant

[futuristicsaladparadise]

My top 10 girlies. If I had to get rid of all but these (and I might), these are the ones I couldn't bear to part with.

Shamsa Kabil Nasr Mansour (back left), aka This Poor Girl, broke my heart a little when I first saw the treatment she had received from previous owners. I just want to hug her and tell her everything will be all right, even though she may have to go to the hospital in the future. Her eyes are still messed up and will never sit right, so she wears glasses. She was so damaged, I decided her backstory would include surviving a military attack on her home. She currently lives with her aunt, uncle, and big sister in the US, where she is learning to read and speak English.

Ivy Ling (front left) is practically perfect, and fits in nearly every modern decade. I love her unique eyes.

I wanted a Ruthie (Ruth Ann Smithens, back row) doll for some time, but not AG's Ruthie, because she didn't look like the books. Everything magically fell together (seriously, I wasn't even looking for a face and ran across the head on eBay, and they eyes and wig were the first things to fall out when I opened their respective containers) and Ruthie was born. I think she looks a bit like Liesel Matthews from the 1990s version of A Little Princess, too.

LaRae Bliss Turner (front) was an accidental find. I had been lowkey looking for an Addy mold doll for about a year, and knew I wanted different eyebrows. I kept coming back to the listing, even saving a screenshot and finally decided that she was the right doll for me. I'm still working on her backstory.

Blaire Wilson (middle back): I thought I didn't like Blaire. Blaire was blah. She had hobbies I wasn't interested in, I don't like her name, and the previous dolls I had seen had those weird downcast eyes. Then I was looking for a secondhand version of Rebecca's Hanukkah outfit and found a listing of this girl dressed in the full outfit. The price wasn't bad, and I thought I could always donate the doll if I didn't like her. Well, she's grown on me and now I can't make myself give her up.

Annika Jessalyn Nazarbayev (middle front): Annika was one of my very first dolls, and is the doll I've had the longest. Since she was originally Jess, I tied her story into that. She's Jess's niece (her mom, Heather, is Jess's older sister), and her middle name is a nod to Annika's past and her character relationship to her aunt.

Nellie Brigid O'Malley (back): I gave my Nellie a middle name to distinguish her from AG's version. She's another book-based character doll, and might just be my favorite. Don't tell the others.

Tabitha Danielle Crow (front): I never intended on keeping Tabby. I bought her as a damaged Rebecca to fix up and donate, but now I don't want to let her go. Her last name actually belongs to a friend of mine; the two of them look like they're related.

Dubheasa Ni Mhaoileidigh, aka Dovie, (back right): Dovie is also an ex-Rebecca and since, logically, I do not need 2 Rebecca-based dolls (nor 4 Josefina molds, nor 2 Josefina mold redheads with green eyes), I shouldn't keep her. Emotion trumps logic though, and I keep bringing her out. She has a sweet, timeless look that I wish AG played more into.

Last, but not least, Apolline Renee Kincaid: I bought her as a semi-dupe for Cecile who was retired well before I started collecting. I also have a penchant for creating my own characters and wanted a 1920s girl (I came up with the character about a year before the first mentions of Claudie), so she lives near New Orleans during the end of the Harlem Renaissance movement there. I love that she has the older Sonali face mold. Apparently I prefer the older dolls, as I didn't choose to keep any of the ones I had bought that were recently released.

Face mold totals: 4 Josefina, 2 Sonali, 2 Jess, 1 Marie-Grace, 1 Addy

Who would you have in your collection of 10 or fewer dolls?

[problematicraccoon]

yall i am childfree in this reality but i just got done making a pin board for a royal dr where im the queen of an island kingdom and i have two daughters named Annika Rose and Farrah Grace with Chris from stray kids T0T help me hes such a girl dad im gonna cry

[ihatesocialmedia45]

Ch 2: Secret Agent Man

So, I *have* already posted this on A03, but I like adding it onto Tumblr as well. Here is ch2!

Romantic playlist for your listening pleasure (and immersion!) "Homelander's Theme (Reader's Theme)" ⏬ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lcsddnb3Oc&list=PLS41qcbRSTzvdPNfdVcjf5Uy4kWNiuKIX

"She was at the Vought New Year's event! How hard could it be to find her?!"

"I'm sorry, sir, but I need a clearer photo. This snippet from VNN is too blurry for me to gather any intel!"

"45 million fucking dollars a year, and you can't find a person -  after I give you a picture?! What the hell are we signing your checks for.."

Annika blanched, but her eyes were resigned. She sighed. 

"I'm sorry, Homelander. Maybe, if you leave the picture with me... I can reach out to Finance, and see who bought tickets to the event. Then, I can go from there?"

For a second, Homelander was appeased, if not a little angry - that had been all he'd wanted. Did she have to make him yell at her in order to get it? He turned to leave... but a feeling of discontent rippled through him, growing stronger with each step he took. What was wrong with him? Each lurch he took toward the door felt too heavy, as though his body was fighting against his exit. He stopped, furrowed his brow. Annika looked up at him, a mixture of wariness and fear etched into the bags under her eyes.

"Sir?" 

Homelander grit his teeth, and clenched a fist - only to realize what had felt so wrong. "Leave the picture with me," she'd said. Homelander tightened his jaw, muscles twitching delicately under his skin.

"You know what, Annika?" his voice was too sweet, dripping honey, when he hovered backwards toward her, in that smooth, uncanny way that made him look like a marionette flying through the air. He knew they all hated it when he chose to fly like that, feet dangling obscenely, like those of a hanged corpse, as he lifted only a few feet off the ground. That was why he did it: control, of the narrative. Of their perceptions of him.

"I'll take it from here. I feel just awful, for taking up your time like this..." he placed a hand on his heart, and sending a mock concerned look down at her. Quicker now, almost harsh in its urgency, Homelander snatched up the blurry picture from Annika's desk - and immediately, all was well. The photo, folded neatly into a small square, fit perfectly in the palm of his hand, just like the person captured in it had last night; Homelander felt a peace wash over him that comforted as well as unsettled. The feeling, however brief, of wholeness, seemed to sing from between the slats of his ribs, bubbling in his veins. 

It was perfect.

It was pathetic.

Homelander snarled lightly, feeling a small twinge of satisfaction when he saw several members of Crime Analytics shiver. Good.

Without another word, he rose in the air again, sending the smallest hint of heat through his eyes, listening in grim amusement as all the hearts in Crime Analytics pattered in double-time. It was good for them, he thought as he graced down the hall. Those nerds, locked in that lightless dungeon, hardy ever getting any exercise... maybe an occasional jolt to the heart would benefit them.

Homelander lay on his stomach in bed, laptop set on the soft duvet; he clicked away, looking through everything he'd amassed during his brief search of the girl from New Year's. After threatening Annika into silence, he'd taken her idea and gone to Finance, presenting his demands of finding the woman - it was top priority. After around thirty minutes of pacing the halls, they'd procured everything he'd wanted: a name, a real picture of their face, where they worked. He stuffed down the relief and let disdain take its place, grabbing the files they handed him with a wolfish glint to his eye. It was bad enough that he felt this way, obsessing over some girl who likely didn't care nearly as much as he'd imagined - but to have an audience to his shame, however buried it may be, was a bridge too far. He needed to take this on himself. No witnesses.

And so that was what he'd done - and he'd had to say... maybe he'd been a bit too harsh on Annika for her reluctance to jump into this project. Finding people was work, with half of his leads directing him to dead ends; social media accounts she'd deleted, blog posts which were interesting but gave him nothing further to work with - he'd skipped over those, waving his hand dismissively. He kept up the search, typed her address into Google Maps, hoping to glean something, anything about her through this look out onto her street - but, to his mounting frustration, the girl remained elusive. Instagram - nothing. Tiktok - nothing. Even LinkedIn, Twitter, fucking MySpace... all provided no answer. She was nowhere to be found, the warmth of her presence absent from any platform he searched. 

For a dark moment, the thought of streaking across the sky to her, slicing through the air like a bullet, raced through his mind. Yes, Homelander purred, he'd go to her apartment - she had given him her address, he thought, excitement black and tantalizing in his gut. He'd go to her apartment, and...

What?

Kiss her?

Kill her?

Both scenes played in his mind.

Her lips, plush and velveteen against his, the scent of bergamot in the air.

Her blood, smeared across his suit, congealed in his hair, sweet as syrup on his tongue. Her heart, clamped in his jaws.

Even in his darkness, the desire to taste her, hot and shameful, permeated his being.

He'd kill her, punish her for cracking him open, humiliating him.

He'd whisper sweet nothings into her ear, the roll of his hips gentle as she clung to him, panting.

The thought made his stomach - among other things - jump. Not now, Homelander thought, stuffing that train of thought into the recesses of his mind.

Bringing his focus back to the laptop, he poked his tongue out in concentration, typing her name into Facebook's search engine, snarling when she didn't come up. But before his mind could darken, he found something else, that stilled the restless beast within.

Another person, with her last name, her eyes - those enormous eyes... copied into this older woman's face. Her mother. He clicked on her profile, hating the tremor in his hand.

Scrolling through her page, he felt his eyes cloud over with disinterest. There were photos of her mother, a man who he presumed was her father, other girls, a young boy, all sharing her likeness - siblings? But they were so young... she had to have been in her late twenties, early thirties at most. But these were... children. She must be the eldest.

He dragged his way down the page, a roll of disgust washing over him despite himself. There were no pictures of her on her own mother's page. Plenty of the brats - the girls dancing on stage, the boy proudly brandishing a tooth with a jack-o-lantern smile... but none of the girl who'd voiced a murmured desire to kiss him, that cold winter night.

I'd kiss him.

Then kiss me.

Please.

"Fuck!" Homelander hissed, shoving the laptop away from him.

He paced around the room, hands in his hair, taking a few deep breaths to center himself. 

She is nothing, he thought, letting the words sink in before repeating them back. She is nothing, and you are everything.

"Nothing," he whispered. Tried to believe it.

Suddenly, he felt a strange pulling sensation in his stomach. Like a piece of dental floss, coming from his navel -  and someone behind him was giving it an insistent yank. At the same time, the sound of his own voice called to him, and he felt his body chill as he realized where it was coming from. The mirror.

"Jo-ohn...!" it teased. Homelander screwed his eyes shut, hanging his head.

Not this, not now..

Sighing bitterly, he trudged over to the John in the mirror, avoiding his paternal, if condescending, gaze.

"John," he started, giving him an amused look. Homelander looked above him, avoiding his gaze. The mirror John sighed.

"Look at me, buddy." Homelander shook his head, lip beginning to quiver before he stopped it.

"John..." his voice sounded sad now. The thought of his pity had Homelander wrenching his gaze to meet him, resolve shining brightly, jaw tight. Mirror John smiled appreciatively.

"Atta boy. That's what I like to see."

"Now, John.. why are you getting so worked up? I don't understand... over a human?" His voice was incredulous, though not unkind.

"It's natural for us to be lonely. Nobody... nobody, could understand this pain. They're not meant to. That's the burden of a god."

"I wish I'd never met her. I hate her," he whispered, a low roll of thunder sounding within him.

Mirror John tutted. "Now, that's not true, is it? Lying is beneath you, John."

A beat of silence passed, Homelander's glare murderous. But then he sighed, dropping his head.

"No..." he mumbled, defeated. "I... I just..." the unvoiced longing caught in his throat. He closed his eyes hard - and the visions started, the sound of her weaving around his heart and squeezing.

' I'd kiss him...' ' I'd kiss him...' ' I'd kiss him...'

The weight of her in his lap, her lips parted in a throaty moan as he filled her.

Her lifeless corpse in his arms, the steam of her entrails curling around him like incense.

'He'd looked so... lonely,'

'I'd kiss him...'

Then fucking kiss me

'Goodnight, Homelander. Happy New Year.'

Call me John.

'I'd kiss him.'

Then kiss me.

Please.

"Fuck! Why did she have to be there at all?!"

Another moment of quiet, still as graveyard air.

"What do I do?" he asked, raising his head - only to see that Mirror John was gone, leaving his own troubled reflection in his place.

[esotheria-sims]

While Aruena was adding the final touches to her painting of Marcus, his father coincidentally happened to come by just then, in anticipation of an audience with the royals.

Entering the salon, Gabriel momentarily stopped in his tracks when he locked eyes with his own son (didn't he just say goodbye to Marcus and Annika back home?), but he quickly realized his mistake. Marcus had told him that he'd been asked by the queen to sit for a portrait - which, by the looks of it, appeared to be all done.

Scanning the canvas with keen eyes, Gabriel couldn't help but swell with paternal pride. He could readily admit that, as a father, he was biased towards his children; but the fact that Her Grace had chosen Marcus, over all her other subjects, as her muse, must have counted for something!

He approached, showering the queen with compliments for her artistic talents. The words, chosen carefully to acknowledge not only the beauty of the portrait but also the skill of the artist, served a dual purpose - expressing genuine admiration while subtly assuring her of his loyalty. After all, a bit of harmless schmoozing could never hurt!

And indeed, it didn't. Gabriel's little bootlicking routine ended with him and Aruena becoming best friends. xD

[indianariesolive]

My Unpopular(ish) opinions/takes on Legacy of the Gods series by Rina Kent

Contains spoilers ⚠️

Starting off strong, let me just get this off my chest, I really dislike God of Malice. This is mainly due to the insufferable MCs; Killian & Glyndon.

First of all, I found Killian really difficult to empathize with. Sure, what his dad said about regretting having him sucks but that's no excuse to be an a$$hole. I'm sure that if a mid/ugly guy with no money & prestige did the same things he'd done when first meeting Glyndon (iykyk) they'd be mercilessly ripped apart by the fandom. Also that one line in his POV when he said that the main reason why he chose to be a med student was because that gave him a free pass to poke & prod into people's innards & watch them squirm in agony 🤢

Coming to the 2nd part, Glyndon. As a protagonist she was such a blank slate. Killian at least had personality! (A bad one but he had one nonetheless). Same can't be said about Glyndon with her wimpiness coupled with an absurd inferiority complex (despite being talented & surrounded by a powerful & loving family & friends) as well as her lack of a deep connection with her friend group. On a more serious note, I despise the absolute double standards with which she views Killian & her brother Landon. Both are clinically diagnosed psychopaths but she has none of the grace & understanding for her own brother but readily excuses her boyfriend's behavior even though both of them are the same person, different font. 🙄

Moving on to the 2nd book, God of Pain is one of my favorites in the series but not without its fair share of drawbacks. Even though Annika appeared to be a manic pixie dream girl at the beginning she grew on me as chapter by chapter, her POVs revealed her to be more complex & headstrong, contrasting the whimsical image she's perceived as (both by her love interest, the MMC Creighton as well as the other characters like her friends & family). She's a sweet, soft girl with a dormant badass side that can get dangerous when provoked & that's precisely what Creighton had to learn through the hard way.

Getting to the gist of my main problem, I really hated the way everyone treated Annika after the you-know-what. I mean, what else was she supposed to do, watch her beloved brother get murdered by the love of her life? Everyone cut her off 'cause 'she hurt Cray-Cray who's like our brother'. Well, SHE HAD TO DO THAT TO SAVE HER OWN BROTHER, YOU ABSOLUTE DUMBASSES!!!! Y'all brains weren't braining here. Also, that scene near the end where there's this huge confrontation Creighton has with Adrian Volkov & Annika with her quick thinking just snatches a guard's gun, negotiates & diffuses the situation without bloodshed was just chef's kiss. 😌

Also, everyone gushes over Lia & Yan's friendship but Yan's bond with Annika, how he plays the role of the fun uncle while Adrian glares & has to rein them in as the level-headed dad. 🥺

That brings me to this sidenote: Glyndon could take a page out of Annika's book & learn a lesson: How to Love Your Brother & Stand Up for Yourself.

Regarding Jeremy & Cecily, I don't have any major complaints. I like how Cecily put Jeremy in his place & made him grovel for disrespecting her with his trust issues. Putting his mommy issues aside, Jeremy was overall a good character for a dark romance. He's got the hot biker thing going.

Moving on to Landon & Mia. I have nothing against Mia per se. She's pretty cool. I only hated how the author ruined her bond with her twin Maya. Also, I'm kind of ashamed to say that I wasn't the biggest fan of Landon at first but then going through his POVs made me realize that I'd been bought into the anti-Lan propaganda by Glyndon. He actually cares for his siblings, unlike Killian. He just has an unconventional way of showing it. Plus there wasn't a huge power-gap/imbalance between him & Mia so that's another point in his favour.

Last but not the least, God of Fury featuring Nikolai & Brandon has got to be among my top favorites. I only dislike the unnecessary mud-slinging with the irrelevant ex Clara. Everything else was perfection. I never expected Nikolai to be such an adorable & funny character. Also something I find really funny was that both in this book as well as in her POV, Glyndon claimed to be the one closest to Brandon. The way she described her dynamic with her brothers was, "Bran & I are a team against Lan." And not only did Brandon shut her down in a gentle yet firm tone, also her dense arse never noticed anything wrong with Brandon like!?!?! Landon was the one who'd picked on Brandon's tendency to hide & repress his emotions & stuff, and he was the one who'd tried to help Brandon open up, even if his attempt was unsuccessful. So much for her being the one on the same team lol.

[princesssarisa]

The name meanings of some more Barbie movie characters.

@paexgo-rosa

Barbie Fairytopia and Barbie Fairytopia: Mermadia

Elina: "Torch" or "light."

Laverna: The Roman goddess of thieves.

Azura: "Sky blue."

Nalu: "Wave."

Delphine: "From Delphi," a city in Greece known in ancient times for its oracle priestess.

(Fungus) Maximus: "Greatest."

Shellie (Delphine's pseudonym): "Clearing on a bank," though in this case it's a play on the word "shell," since she's a snail.

All the other characters' names are words from nature: stones, plants, etc.

Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus

Annika: "Grace" or "favor."

Brietta: "Little hill" or "little power."

Wenlock: A place in England, meaning "white area."

Aidan: "Litte fire."

Ferris: "Man of vigor."

Ollie: Short for Oliver, meaning "olive tree."

Rayla: "Ray of light."

Rose: Self-evident.

Blush: Self-evident.

Lilac: Self-evident.

Eric: "Eternal ruler."

[lucientelrunya]

Rules: pick a song for each letter of your url and tag that many people.

I was tagged by @forerussake thank you!!

L - Long way home by Walk off the Earth & Lindsey Stirling

U - Undone by Tommee Profitt & Fleurie

C -Canaid Lia Fáil (feat. Julie Fowlis) by Einar Selvik

I - In the flood by Lovisa Berdahl

E - Eye on you by WONHO

N - Nightlight by Illenium & Annika Wells

T - Throne by Bring Me The Horizon

E -Endless War by Within Temptation

L - Love like Ghosts by Lord Huron

R - Red Light by Stray Kids

U - Unter meiner Haut by Gestört aber GeiL, Koby Funk, Wincent Weiss

N - Narcissistic Cannibal by EarlyRise

Y - Ya'aburnee by Halsey

A - Animal I have become by Three Days Grace

Phew, that was a lot. I don’t have that many songs with an U... and I surely don't have that many people to tag. Let's see:

@s1utspeare, @kholran, @sunriseverse, @daydreamorama, @lacommunarde, @nope4ever, @mausyi, @adelaiderowan and everyone else who wants to do this!!

[xoxo-susu]

Fav Vloggers ˖⁺‧₊˚ ♡ ˚₊‧⁺˖

Mira Daisy, urmomsushi, Annika's Leaf, Avery Grace ♡

[burnyouwithacigarettelighter]

(2) TENDER LIKE A BRUISE ─── ethan landry 𖦹

ೃ⁀➷ “No other word makes my mouth as tender as your name.” — ‘Soft Human’, Emery Allen

pairing. spiderman!ethan landry x reader

warnings. swearing, mention of blood + death, mildly suggestive

summary. after that first night, ethan and you have acquired an unspoken bond. your friends sense this bond, but, unfortunately, think it’s something else entirely. (1) (2) (3) (4)

a/n. more spiderman!ethan. im really loving this au, but i also have no idea what im doing. expect some more fics, though not entirely in chronological order.

ii. 

The rest of that night went like this: you ordered pizza, but by the time it got to your apartment, Ethan fell asleep on your couch. 

So you forced him to wake up, all but shoved three slices of pepperoni pizza down his throat, then locked him in your room and made the boy rest. 

(Waking him up was far harder than you thought it would be. He slept like the fucking dead, and looked like it too, hands perfectly by his sides, staring straight up at the ceiling.)

You were cleaning up the boxes in the living room when you heard a commotion in your bedroom, alongside Ethan’s familiar, profuse apologizing. 

“Ethan?” You called out, walking down the hall. “What’s going—“ 

Suddenly, the door to your room opened, and out came Ethan, hair messy from sleep, being pinned against the hallway wall by Mindy. 

“What the fuck were you doing in—“ Mindy said furiously, her hand balling up the fabric of your (Ethan’s) shirt. 

“Hey- Hey! Mindy, put him down! I’m right here,” You said, wide eyed. You could see the pain blooming in Ethans side as Mindy man-handled him, his brows twisted taut, eyes squeezing shut. 

At the sound of your voice, Mindy let go of Ethan immediately. From your room behind her walked out Annika and Tara, who were cautiously stepping away from the two of them. 

Ethan’s hands held his bandaged side subtly, leaning against the wall like he had when you first let him into your room. 

The guilt churned in your chest — how could you not think about your friends entering the apartment with him in there? Of course Mindy would be hostile, for Ethan had never come over if Chad wasn’t there first. 

Without thinking, your hands graced both of Ethan’s arms. “Are you okay?” You whispered in his ear, and waited for his curt nod before turning to Mindy, Annika and Tara’s prying eyes.

“I’m— we—he came over to study, and he fell asleep so I…” You racked your head for a plausible excuse, so you didn’t have to tell everyone he was fucking Spiderman and that he almost bled out in your shared bathroom just three hours ago. 

“Study?” Tara cut in, raising an eyebrow. “Weren’t you at the party?” She gave Ethan a pointed look. 

Ethan opened and closed his mouth, looking between you and the rest of your friends. “I left, like, an hour in. I have Econ tomorrow, so I needed to - to study.” 

Mindy took a deep breath in, then flared her nostrils, letting the air out. “Okay. Okay, I’m sorry,” She backed away, hands in the air like she was getting arrested, “just wanted to know why this dude you don’t even talk to was sleeping in your room.” 

Then, she walked off, down the hall into the living room, hands still in the air. Annika and Tara slipped away similarly, but Annika gave the both of you a particularly long and suspicious look. 

You looked at Ethan. Ethan looked at you. 

“How’s my stitch work?” You said lightly, trying to break the silence while gesturing to his side. 

A small smile broke on Ethans face. “I think my head needs the concern more,” he said, rubbing the part of his head that hit the wall. 

“Well, I’ll get you an ice pack if it's that bad. Now sleep. I’ll wake you up when you need to leave - if Sam catches you in here, it’ll be a repeat of last time.”

Ethan grimaced, touching his nose nostalgically. “Noted.”

After Ethan entered your room, stretching and letting out the yawn he had been holding in, you closed the door, and made your way to sleeping in the living room. Any looks you got from your friends, you ignored. 

This knock-on-your-window-patch-Ethan-up-let him sleep-over-situation repeated several times.

It wasn’t one you particularly liked, however. Over time, you and Ethan grew closer. It's a little hard not to get to know each other when one is saving you from near-death, and knows your biggest secret. 

You found out how sweet Ethan was, his consideration far more than mere politeness. He was a good person, one who often put his life on the line for people he didn’t even know. So, seeing the boy in pain every time he snuck in tugged at your heart-strings. 

You didn’t exactly… know why Ethan was so good. Any time he talked about becoming Spiderman, he seemed so tense, so guilt-ridden. His voice had an intonation of loss, of pure grief that he wouldn’t let anyone touch. 

(If anything, that grief was hurting him more than the injuries you were patching him up for.) 

Besides that, even now, you two had never hung out in normal circumstances, and most times you saw Ethan, he was clad in that red-and-blue latex suit. 

It had you wondering what exactly you two were. A walking first aid kit and the hero? Or friends?

It's not like you didn’t understand - becoming so close so quickly would make everyone suspicious, so keeping this relationship on the low was absolute key. 

(But that didn’t mean it didn't hurt a little.)

Ethan coming over in secret like this had now been happening at least weekly for five months straight. During that, the nature of your relationship evolved: sometimes, Ethan’s injuries were bearable enough that he swung back out your window (to your adamant behest), or, he was awake enough to watch a movie with you in the living room, or even just knocked on your window during his patrols to say Hi.

One night, you forgot someone was home. You’d done up a nick on Ethan’s neck - a place he couldn’t reach by himself - and you’d forced him not to swing back to Brooklyn, even if his police walkie was rattling off several alarming police codes. 

“Ethan,” You said, holding the walkie up. “This is going to get you killed.”

“I’m fighting crime! Of course I’m going to get hurt.”

“And I would much rather you didn’t get hurt.” 

“Am I cutting into your study time?”

“No, dumbass, I just don’t want you to swing injured. I care, you know? About you.”

Ethan paused at that, looking at you carefully. “I — um,” his face was pink, “okay, fine. I’ll… stay. But just for tonight - next time, I’m going no matter what you say.”

“Just promise me to stay safe, alright?”

Ethan nodded, slightly hesitant. “I’ll try.” 

“Good.” You pressed the walkie talkie into his chest, “So, Chinese or Thai tonight?”

“I’m thinking Indian, actually,” Ethan said, trailing behind you into the living room. “Do you remember that place from last time? They made the best—“

Then, catching the both of you completely off guard, Quinn’s door swung open wide. 

Out came another one of her regular hookups - the prison suit guy, whose forehead stitches were now a light scar - who looked shocked at the sight of you guys and quickly scurried out. Then, out came Quinn herself, who waved the guy goodbye. 

Quinn almost ducked back into her room without saying a thing to you guys, obviously ridden with fatigue, but quickly spun back.

Quinn blinked, rubbed her eyes, then blinked again. 

“Are you two —“ She pointed to you two, jaw dropped, obviously wrong thoughts in her mind, and you were both quick to correct her. 

“No! No — we,” Ethan started and stumbled, looking at you for help.

“Econ! He came over for econ help.” You finished for him, placing your hands on your hips.

Ethan nodded vehemently, “I’m hopeless at the statistics.”

“Didn’t you ace stats in highschool, E?” Quinn said pointedly, quickly sobering. 

“Well, these— these ones are harder, okay!”

“It’s really hard,” you tried to convince her. “Everyone is almost failing this unit. I’m barely getting by with the extra textbooks I had on the subject.”

A beat passed. 

And then Quinn seemed to consider this, leaning her head against her doorframe. “Well, whatever. Now go bang or study stats, I don’t care, just be quiet. I’ve got swim practice tomorrow.”

You and Ethan both gave her a perfect, agreeing smile, and she disappeared into her bedroom. 

“Oh my god,” You whispered to Ethan first, “She thought we were—“

“She thought we were…” He repeated, eyes wide, finger tugging at one of his curls. 

“That is the funniest thing I’ve heard this week, my god.” You shook your head, flopped on the couch, and that was that. 

(Inwardly, your reaction stung Ethan a little. 

Was it really… really so implausible that you two would be, well, together?)

And about the misconception of being together? Your whole friend group believed what Quinn did, too. 

One similar night, after Ethan changed into a pair of his clothes (after the first few instances of patching him up, he began keeping clothes in your room) and you were about to put a movie on, you two had  walked into the living room, and found your entire friend group waiting for you there. 

Sure, dressing Ethan’s wounds happened often enough that they were home and asleep while you did so, but you didn’t think you two were that loud. At least, loud enough to wake the entire house. 

It was early morning, 2-am or something, and Ethan had been texting back his dad, pretending he was just coming home from a party. Ethan had to regularly assure his father that he was indeed safe and sound, something you weren’t exactly privy to the origin of. 

(There was a cloud of mystery concerning Ethan becoming Spiderman, his family’s undue concern for him, and his and Quinn’s deceased brother, Richie. You couldn’t put a finger on it, but you just knew it was all connected.)

Ethan was just behind you when you stopped at the sight of your friends in the living room, your jaw dropped. Ethan bumped into your back, stumbling and apologizing, until he saw what exactly had made you stop. 

“What the — what are you guys doing here?” You said first, at their piercing gazes. 

“We’re staging an intervention,” Quinn said, trying to be serious, before breaking and letting out an ungodly laugh. “Oh my god, you guys need to stop fucking in the bathroom!”

“What?” both of you said in shock. Your face burned red, as did Ethans, who looked at you. 

“E, I am so proud of you man, but you guys gotta be normal about this shit,” Chad said, scrubbing his face. 

“Why the bathroom, exactly?” Tara leaned back, eyes red with sleep, like she had been waiting for hours and was slowly succumbing to the fatigue. 

“Just! Hol— hold on, a sec. We aren’t fucking in the - in the bathroom, okay?” You said, arms gesturing wildly. Your face was practically on fire now, the whole room feeling a touch too warm. 

“We aren’t even together!” Ethan added on quickly, though shying further behind you. 

Annika snorted, then leaned her head on Mindy’s shoulder. “You guys don’t have to hide it. You do know we can hear you in there, right?”

What? You weren’t making any undue noise in the bathroom, you had made sure of it. Any possible noise they could hear would just be the dry bandage and Ethan’s overdramatic whining, which—

Ethan’s whining. 

“Oh my god,” you whispered under your breath, brows becoming permanently furrowed. You jabbed Ethan lightly in the side, “This is your fault, you know?”

Ethan spluttered, “How is it—“

“You’re always so loud in there, and I keep telling you to—“

“And that!” Mindy cut in, pointing at you two. “We cannot forget to mention that.”

“‘That’ what?” Your head swiveled to Mindy’s pointed finger, letting go of Ethan’s sleeve that you hadn’t realized you were holding. 

“”’That’ what”’?” Mindy mocked in an (incredibly inaccurate) impression of your tone. “Jesus, I mean all the arguing and the teasing and the touching!”

Everyone nodded simultaneously, as if your (not real!) predicament was extremely easy to notice. 

You blinked rapidly, looking at your friends then back at Ethan. “This is - so ridiculous,” you said, under your breath. 

“Is it, though?” Ethan shrugged, head tilted and considering the facts against you two. “I mean,” he explained himself, “all of a sudden I’m always over “studying” and you’re sneaking me around the house instead of letting everyone know I’m here. We spend a little too long in the bathroom together, you keep your window a smidge open for me, and you keep my clothes in your closet.” 

Well. With all that splayed out on the table, it did sound like you were hooking up. It was a great cover, if you were being honest, if only it didn’t make things so damn awkward. 

Suddenly, as if Ethan knew what you were thinking, his arm snaked around your waist and pulled you close to him. 

“Okay, fine,” Ethan started, looking at your group of friends. “You caught us. We’re, well, dating. Surprise?”

Through Chad’s cheers and everyone else’s relieved sighs (that of which they didn’t have to painfully watch you and Ethan sneak around the apartment together anymore) Ethan whispered to you, disguised as a kiss to the crown of your head. 

“This fake dating cover is gold. The perfect excuse. You’ll help your friendly neighborhood Spiderman, right?”

In response, you nodded your head slightly, then looked up at him with a plastic smile, talking between it. “Thanks, babe. I’ve become your personal nurse.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of my sidekick.”

“Just don’t ‘Death in the Family’ me, Landry.”

taglist: @iloveneilperry @backtotheshitshow @hazehepburn @powowowy @ifilwtmfc @oscarisdaddy69 @al1v3cvp1d2@bloodyeverything @l5byrinth @gojosbucket @diamondci1ty

[xoxoskai]

THE WHITE MASK THEORY;

PART TWO

Before I go into detail about Ava and her relationships with the Heathens, I want to clarify a few things.

I wasn't aware that Rina had confirmed that we haven't met WM yet. A lot of you pointed it out in the previous post and that's how I found out. However, I think it's even more anti-climactic if it's someone we haven't met so far to be WM because there will be no excitement involved in the grand reveal. A five-book buildup for it to be someone completely new is not dramatic or shocking at all. It'll be like the no-name nanny being the villain in God of Ruin. Most people, me included, were dumbfounded at the reveal and of course, Maya's ridiculous fall from grace.

How are you going to look at normal sibling jealousy and kidnap the sister because you thought it would do justice to the other one? You're telling me the Bratva with Kyle-fricking-Hunter, Rai-mother-Sokolov, Adrian-Daddy-Volkov as the Obschak and Kirill-dilf-Morozov as the Pakhan couldn't track down the silly nanny who kidnapped a mafia princess for shits and giggles? That they haven't been able to for the past decade? Make it make sense.

It would have made a lot more sense for it to be the Irish mafia back for more revenge.

Now, Eli King.

I swear, his character is all kinds of perfectly mysterious, makes him such an enigma.

Eli being awol most of the time can perhaps make him WM. Infact, him telling Killian "It's nothing personal, family business" before they waterboarded him could imply a lot more.

(Plus, Eli was the one carrying Niko out when he stabbed himself to save Jeremy and thus, missed Creigh getting shot.)

However, this also shows that Eli prioritizes his family over a game of tag with mafia heirs and the Heathens trying to off Creighton for being with Annika is not something he would let slide. Maybe he is closer to them than he lets on but Eli participating in the initiation feels like a far cry. Especially because Creigh has specifically mentioned that Eli is more of a strategist type, not known to use his fists to absolutely destroy someone.

Eli having his own inside contacts feels like a given. And I do believe it's a huge give-and-take type of scenario. Eli, heir to the King Empire, I'm sure realizes the importance of having connections. Especially connections with the mafia. I'm guessing his point of contact would be Killian in that scenario.

Interestingly, someone I accidentally left out in my observations is Kayden.

For everyone who doesn't know who Kayden is, he made his first appearance in God of Ruin and is confirmed to be Gareth Carson's love interest.

In my defense, we haven't seen a lot of him at all. But is he a viable candidate? Absolutely. Would I be disappointed to see him as WM? Absolutely not.

What, however, will disappoint me is that Gareth Carson being the green mask and Kayden being the WM, DO NOT GET A BOOK. AND THAT IS TOO CRUEL. AN MLM, PROFESSOR X STUDENT WHERE THEY ARE BOTH PARTAKING IN THE INITIATION FOR WHATEVER GOD-FORSAKEN REASON AND IT BEING THE PEAK OF FORBIDDEN ROMANCE IS,

You guessed it,

Not getting a book.

This is the exact same reason why I ruled out Remi Astor as well. If WM is simply meant to be a side character, why would they be such an enigma? Why is there not a book?

Kayden also checks a lot of the WM boxes of

Being leaner than the rest, hello he's a professor. He's not going to be fighting for his life every day in the mafia (or he might, we don't know his origins)

Cherry would not be able to seduce him. Kayden plays for the same team so, yes, it makes sense.

In the epilogue of God of Wrath, we see Jeremy proposing an initiation where they chase a pre-decided target only. We know why Nikolai, Killian and Jeremy would appreciate it, Gareth was not having it, but WM was. (It feels like repetition but Gods, the hatecrime it is to not have their book).

But the prospect of the Heathens allowing a professor at their university into the mix seems a little far-fetched. Not to mention, I think it was clearly stated that Kayden had arrived at Brighton recently and there was no mention anywhere of WM being a recent member.

Now, Ava Nash.

Remember I said, "Eli realizes the importance of having connections with the mafia"? That it's a give and take? If Ava Nash is really WM,

Do we really believe Eli wouldn't know?

Do we really believe he would not be keeping tabs on her?

Now, the million-dollar question is - what do the Heathens gain from forming an alliance, as discreet as it is, with Eli King?

The most I can think of is, Brighton is basically RES' turf. The Heathens are far from their powerful parents and between the mafia and the powerful families of London, The Kings, The Nashs, The Knights and The Astors hold a lot more power and influence. At some point, I'm sure they would call in a favor when the times comes for it, to wipe out the Irish mafia's main base or whatever it is these people want to do.

Would Eli really not keep tabs on Ava after two of her closest friends start dating two leaders of the Heathens?

Between all the Heathens and Ava, I think she has the most complicated and interesting relationship with Jeremy.

"Say the word and I'll bring him to you?" Bestie hasn't exchanged a single word with that man as far as we know.

"When she's not around?" What context and scenario would lead Jeremy to meet Ava when Cecily isn't around? ("Break Ava"? Bro we know you're a mafia prince but the little princeling of the King household would uproot your family if you tried. )

Jeremy, as the leader, obviously knows who the WM is.

The scene is God of Wrath where Cecily is following Ava outside before encountering Jeremy is single-handedly carrying my theory.

-> Ava, drunk, still seemed to know her way around the forest behind the Heathens mansion despite only exploring it once with Cecily and Annika (God of Pain, Chapter 5)

-> Jeremy, when spotted at the beginning, is wearing a jacket that he's discarded by the time he finally encounters Cecily. Unless my man wants to flex his Russian roots and channel his inner Queen of Arendelle, it does not make sense for him to lose his jacket when stepping out of the house.

-> Cecily is tracking Ava using an app on her phone when she suddenly changes directions back towards the house at an alarming speed that indicates she was on the back of a motorbike.

This brings me to my theory that-

It is not surprising that Jeremy was out of the house as soon as Cecily was. Which means, he'd have gone ahead and intercepted Ava first to send her back. His jacket is missing cuz, she was wearing a short skirt and was going back on a motorbike, so she needed coverage.

Yes, shocker that Jeremy is being civil to her, but I need to remind you this is much earlier than him falling for Cecily + the entire AnniCreigh shitshow. So, if Ava is really WM, to some extent, he was probably civil with her.

Either Ava went back with a bodyguard or someone else with connections to the mafia (*cough* Heir of the King Empire *cough*) was informed and came to pick her up.

The Heathens would gladly form an alliance with Eli just for inside intel about their girls all the time and vice versa if Ava really is WM.

Interestingly, according to the timeline, this is also the part where in God of Pain, Creighton tells Eli that if he's so bored, he should go to Ava and gets "If I go to her, I'll kill her" in response.

Is this because he found her wandering by herself through the forest at midnight?

Is this because she refuses to disassociate with the Heathens?

Theories, theories, everywhere.

Now, if Ava is really WM, why would Jeremy make her cry?

Because Ava made Annika cry, It's that simple.

When I tell you it's only Landon King and Killian Carson who don't care about their siblings, I mean it. Jeremy and Annika are obviously close enough to want to die for one another and if someone comes up to your sibling and calls them a murderer after they shoot someone to protect you, yeah, I'd have a vendetta against that person too, part of my cult or not.

Jeremy obviously hated Cecily at some point for it too. At how easily they all abandoned Annika and while I understand that she was new to their group as compared to Creighton who they've known their whole lives, Ava might have taken it too far by calling Annika a murderer, something Jeremy obviously heard of.

In Ava's defense, they probably felt guilty for ever including Annika in their group and causing the chain reaction of Creighton falling for her because it led to him being in a coma.

Naturally, Jeremy doesn't care about that. Ava name-calling Anni became personal to him because 1, she's his baby sister and 2, Annika was in that predicament cuz she shot Creigh for him.

At the same time, I was really mad at Cecily for not defending her childhood best friend because whatever happened to sisters before misters? Sometimes the girls only seem like friends to me for the sake of the plot considering how little they know of each other.

In God of Malice, when Killian swaps in for Nikolai and is about to go against Creighton, who is giving Glyndon a run-down about the Heathens?

Go ahead and take a guess.

How, and I can't say this enough, does she know so much in excruciating detail about the Heathens when she's never interacted with them, and they are from a completely different university? Everyone always asks her how she knows so much, and she deflects with -You have to be living under a rock to not know- when the actual situation is that no one but Ava knows so much.

You seriously can't believe the Heathens are observant to the point of knowing every little, tiny detail about their girlfriends, quirks only a childhood friend would know?

And no, Eli King, close ally or not, would not divulge all this freely. You know who would? Someone who wants to see their girlfriends get laid and happy.

I think the most fascinating thing about Ava being the WM is that I can't, frankly, think of a single reason why she would be a part of the Heathens except that she thrives on chaos (hello daughter of Cole Nash).

But it is entirely plausible that if the Heathens send initiation invites to the Elites who never attend it, chances of Ava swiping the QR code thru someone's phone is very likely.

What does Ava bring to the Heathens?

Honestly? No idea. If it was in exchange for being close to their respective s/o, it'd make sense, but WM is already part of the initiation way before God of Malice.

Did they have a particular initiation to recruit a fifth member for their close circle? Probably. Were they looking for someone who'd be willing to betray the Elites? Maybe. If Landon and Ava have a completely different type of understanding between them, do we really believe Landon to be above using Ava to spy for the Heathens? If no, why the Heathens would still allow her among them remains a mystery. Did they not know who she was related to? Did she pass the initiation with flying colors and show potential to be a part of the inner circle?

(Eli is family man first, which is why I can't see him being a Heathen)

What I do know is that Ava feels lonely among her own circle. With all her friends now spending more time with their boyfriends, she feels alone (God bless Remi, he's going to be such a good brother-in-law after being an already awesome friend to her).

I also believe that if Ava would tell anyone she was part of the Heathens, it'd be Remi. They are a lot closer than they portray.

You know who else was shit at keeping secrets, was out-going, definitely the social butterfly of the group but had a truckload of demons in their closet? Ronan Astor.

This is why, I refuse to underestimate Ava. "Disappears like a ghost" is a very interesting choice of words.

Besides, if she's really WM, she's so unserious.

Also, possible foreshadowing?

Anyways, considering Ava is also pretty close to Brandon, we'll be seeing a lot of her in God of Fury which will finally reveal who WM is. She has no interactions so far with Nikolai or Gareth for me to deduce anything between them so 6th December, we'll find out!

For now, and perhaps always (I'll reject canon I don't care) my suspect is Ava, who's yours?

[bardfm]

* ˖ ♥︎ emily bader  &  cis woman  &  she/her     |     wilhelmina “mina” roshan, the musician of lyris for the past three years. they're twenty four, and known to be quite clever, charismatic and talented, but on a bad day they can be spoiled, egocentric, vain. within lyris, it’s common knowledge that mina is always strumming her lute in search of inspiration, and they don’t have any interest in being a rider.     |     empty wine glasses, colorful skirts made out of silk, a finely crafted lute, loud laughter, the sweet call of nightingales

* ˖ ♥︎  STATS

BASICS

BIRTH NAME :  wilhelmina roshan. NICKNAME :  mina. AGE :  twenty four. PLACE OF BIRTH :  capital city of andraech-íle. RESIDENCE :  lyris. OCCUPATION :  musician/bard/occasional player. GENDER :   cis woman. PRONOUNS: she/her SEXUALITY :  bisexual.

APPEARANCE

FACECLAIM :  emily bader. HAIR COLOR :  warm brown, falling in well kept waves down her shoulders. EYE  COLOR :  hazel, big and clever. HEIGHT :  5′ 4 ft / 163 cm. BUILD :  slender and graceful, with the poise of someone who had etiquette lessons from a young age.

PERSONALITY

TRAITS :  clever, charismatic, talented, spoiled, egocentric, vain, ambitious, playful, impulsive, passionate, manipulative. TROPES :  the bard, genius ditz, the heart, the serial romeo, innocently insesitive.

FLAWS :  mina has difficulty seeing past the tip of her own nose (which, in fairness, is quite a lovely nose). she doesn’t intend to be so egocentric, and her heart is almost always in the right place, but humility and kindness are virtues that she hasn’t quite mastered. it’s not that she’s mean, exactly, she’s just... exceptionally good at being herself. STRENGTHS :  far sharper than her popular drinking songs would suggests, mina is a master at reading people and navigating even the trickiest situations. with a wink and a well-placed word, she can charm the boots (and quite possibly the pants) off of just about anyone. Don’t be fooled by the flash and glamour, there’s a quick mind behind those sparkling eyes.

PRIMARY  VICE :  pride. PRIMARY  VIRTUE :  fortitude.

HOBBIES :  learning to play new instruments, reading, attending social events that include free alchool and powerful people. SKILLS :  besides her musical talent, mina is surpringly quick with a shortsword, something she learned while living in caerleon with a former lover. QUIRKS :  always humming something underneath her breath, has a huge sweet tooth, is incredibly allergic to mulberries.

LIKES :  recieving love letters (though she hardly reads them), collecting trinkets and jewlery, embroidered clothes, mulled wine, lemon cakes. DISLIKES :  humourless people, having a routine, being ignored, unflattering lighting, bad music. FEARS :  losing her voice, being forgotten, being tied down.

CHARACTER INSPO:  jaskier (the witcher), a terrifying cross between scanlan shorthalt and jester lavorre (critical role), lestat de lioncourt (vampire chronicles) medieval-fantasy chappell roan tbh EXTRAS:  pinterest / playlist

FAMILY

FATHER :  oskar roshan. MOTHER :  ilse roshan. SIBLINGS :  mina is the youngest of four children, gretel, annika and hayden.

  * ˖ ♥︎  BIOGRAPHY

wilhelmina roshan is a bard of her own making — just ask her. the fact that she's the youngest daughter of the obscenely wealthy roshan family? a mere coincidence, she insists with a dazzling smile. her childhood was an idyllic vision of music lessons, opulent toys, and sun-soaked vacations, but mina always had her eyes on something grander. being from the bustling capital of andraech-íle, she grew up listening to fantastical stories from far-flung lands, and by age eleven, she knew deep down that the life of a pampered noble just wasn’t for her. she longed to be a different kind of pampered — an adored, continent-wide famous bard, whose songs would send hearts soaring and crowds roaring.

at seventeen, mina packed her bags, bid her family a fond farewell, and set off to conquer the world with only the clothes on her back (and a small fortune in her pockets). self-assured and as radiant as a sunrise, she soon found herself playing to packed taverns, where patrons sang her lyrics as loudly as they cheered her name. adorers sent her gifts, and admirers — well, they lined up for a chance to catch her eye. 

but even mina’s star-studded life wasn’t without its lulls. tales of a mysterious, dragon-filled city began to stir her restless heart, and soon enough, the rumors were too tantalizing to resist. so, with absolutely no connection to the creative block that had plagued her recently (all artists go through that, don’t they?), she packed up and headed to lyris. dragons would surely inspire her next great ballad! upon arrival, she was swept into the city’s theatrical troupe, where she naturally assumed the role of the main star.

alas, even stars can fall. mina’s stint with the troupe lasted a mere two years, ended by what she would call "creative differences," and what the troupe would call "a raging ego and too many spats with the director." no matter. the stage was far too small for her ambition anyway. now she’s set her sights on a solo career, ready to charm her beloved fans with music so grand, even dragons might sing along.