#But I got the feeling the lady from the interview was like. Telling herself that. Like. Are you sure? Honey are you sure you're happy? Fr?

[artkaninchenbau]

For the record, I did figure that out a long time ago, it just gets funnier the more time passes

[goldsbitch]

That second flight

part 4 to That one Christmas flight

summary: What happens when people stop lying to themselves? Sometimes, you get a good night out of it.

warnings: cheesy af, swear words and alcohoI guess, cliche probably, typos most definitely

Do not fuck it up, do not fuck it up, do not fuck this up.

Hey you? What kind of a message even is that? Ugh. She ruined it. Now she will have to move away and start her life again.

The weather forecast predicted high levels of overreacting for today.

He must have liked the cool girl vibe she somehow gave of on the plane. Y/N prayed for the gods of cool vibes to bless her again.

Lando was just about to start an interview for Sky Sports when he received her message. He imagined this was how it felt to win a podium. On the top of the world. He gave an absolutely charismatic, energetic and funny interview. One that would surely create lots of gifs on the socials. PR manager even high-fived him when they finished. To be honest, he could not wait for a moment of solitude so that he could reply.

"hey" he started. "so I broke the rule, ups" Her reply came instantly.

"I've noticed. But then again, you radiate speeding tickets vibe from miles away. So no surprise."

He smiled, well aware of how efficient the Italian ticketing was running.

"paid one last week, so you got me there" "so, how's your cool student life going?"

"Trying gain some wisdom, as people just feel free to call me dumb on social media these days."

"compliments come in a variety of forms, don't discriminate"

From now on, there was no way back.

//

The next few days consisted of constant texting. Joking around, sending pictures capturing their daily life - both of them keeping in secret that lots of the information shared was nothing new. They were careful, somewhat distancing themselves from any real deep topics. But, days felt like blur, waiting for the next text to come and somehow managing to live the real life in between that. Y/N stayed in most evenings, almost making her friends concerned.

It did not take long enough for famously patient Lando to getting sick of it. They had a week between the next three week round of races. It was now or never. He missed one chance by being mr. mysterious, so mr. direct it was now.

"so, lady. what are you doing this weekend?" he asked out of the blue.

"I dunno. Probably studying, I guess."

"well, you're smart enough, you can skip that. let's meet up."

Y/N pretended to herself that she was second guessing. She headed out, to the bar where her friends were hanging out before they planned on heading to some faculty party. She felt joining them suddenly. Sat quietly, listening to their usual chit chat. Her charade lasted about seven minutes.

"Yes. Let's." she texted and threw her phone deep down to her bag. She was nervous, heart racing and mind quite not catching up yet.

"I need to tell you guys something," she interrupted them and almost demanded immediate attention. Questioning looks followed. "Uh, so I met this guy on a plane. And I'm gonna see him again this weekend."

Saying it like that, she realized that it was all kind of real and that she probably could not explain it in words how bizzare it all felt.

"Aw, that's cute! Tell us more!" Teresa clapped excitedly, the whole weird vibe surrounding her friend making more sense now.

Y/N expected her friends to be more shocked. "Um, yeah. It's just this guy. I don't really know how it's gonna happen, but yeah."

"Is he coming here? Can we meet him?"

Y/N kept the information that they already did to herself. Just in case she is left stranded alone and disappointed.

"I don't...I don't know actually. Yeah."

"We will do as we always do - sharing location and staying by if needed, honey."

Y/N missed a text notification. "great. i'll fly you out to somewhere where we can be alone, not to sound too creepy."

//

She landed an hour after him. Lando sent a picture of him waiting at the airport cafe.

He booked the best hotel room he could find. Well, technically he booked two rooms. Just in case she wanted to keep her distance or if by any chance he fucked up so royally, that she would refuse to share space with him. At least, he could walk away from this like a gentleman.

Since she last him, she forgot just how hot this guy was in person. Seeing him, sitting casually sipping coffee and glued to him phone, she took a moment to study him. It was as if he was tailored specifically to her taste. His clothes covering his godlike body, not too muscular but enough for the sight of his arms sending her to different dimension. The origin of her audacity she had to be the first one to talk to him on the plane was unknown to her. There was no more panic left in her body, as she had done nothing but panicking the whole flight.

She walked and sat opposite to him.

"Hey," he smiled.

"Hey yourself," she replied. There was a moment of awkward silence. Turns out there was a bit of panic left in Y/N after all. Last week she though she'd never see this guy. And now she was staring in his eyes.

"Do you want some coffee?," he asked innocently. He looked her up and down, excited to see her. All of his worries he refused to acknowledge were gone. After all, she got up and flew here just to hang out with him. The reality of this filled him with confidence.

"Yes. A small tiny espresso with no milk."

"Great. Let's grab that and hit the road."

Lando's car might have as well run on butterflies alone present in his vehicle. There was absolutely no way for him to drive some random rental car, so he called up McLaren people to provide him one for the night. It came up in the same conversation when he requested personal time off. Both things came to a certain level of surprise, as he had never done this before. Y/N knew she had to work on a group project for one of her minor classes. Just like him, she had done something she would not have dared - and completely ghosted her group for this weekend.

"You look nice, btw," he commented casually.

"Well yeah, when you're not on an overnight flight across half of the world wearing airport attire, it makes thing easier."

"Hm, I would say sweatpants have some magic to them."

It was hard for Y/N to get the image of him out of her head.

"So, where is my lovely kidnapper taking me?"

They discussed prior to this that the vibe they would like out of this was a casual dinner and then finding the shittiest club possible and have some fun, trying to remain as private as possible yet within the vicinity of the small Italian city.

"My assistant found this lovely little place in the centre. Don't get mad, but I had him completely book it out. You know, the privacy thing," he said with more insecurity than one would expect.

Y/N picked up on that and tried to lighten up the mood. It seemed a bit excessive to do that, but he probably knew what he was doing.

"Your assistant," she gagged over dramatically. "Jesus, am I not worth enough for you to google on your own? Mr. Busy man. Was he also the one who found me online them?" she joked?

"I'm sure I'd have to hire a special person to that if I planned on outsourcing it."

"Creep."

"You love it."

And she did.

He parked in front of the restaurant, without a care for the world.

"So you're telling me we're making a big deal about keeping a secret that you're here, yet you decide to park like a proper asshole?" she remarked while he opened the door for her. Jokes were making her focus on something else than the fact she was falling for him too hard.

"Oh, you're going absolutely hate my plan," he laughed as they were entering the full on empty restaurant.

"Wow, look at that. I invited all my friends!" he whispered to her ear before addressing the owner.

"Hello, you must be Dario?"

This Dario person smiled brightly at him. "Ah, mister Papaya!" Lando nodded and Y/N rolled her eyes. Dario then started speaking Italian without a care of the world. Language wise deaf Lando did not count for the fact people just did not speak English in this part of Italy. A tiny crack in his plan. What was he suppose to do, call Carlos? But, Y/N having spend a good year or two studying there was there to ease the situation. She whipped out her B1 Italian and greeted the man. Dario's happiness filled up the room.

He seated them and immediately brought local red wine and giving a long talk about where this wine was from and how his grandma used to pick up the grapes herself and how the notes did this and that. Y/N tried to translate at the beginning, but Dario looked like was ready to give a TED talk. She started to loose the grasp of the story, which Lando observed. And like good gentleman he helped her out. No, of course not, when he saw her getting lost, he put on a super interested face and asked about seven follow up questions. Y/N was super annoyed. The kind of annoyed that creates a smile on your face.

When this showdown finally ended, Y/N nearly gulped the wine down. "So rude, Dario just said, you're suppose to sit it and let it roll," said Lando and with too much affect sipped his wine. "Aah," he took a deep breath and the bit his tongue. Y/N stuck her tongue out completely like a five year old child. "Yes, I can see your red tongue, that's also one of the reasons why you sip it."

They sat, talked and laughed. He seemed genuinely interested when she blabbed a little bit too long about her latest projects. And then he asked her for a feedback on his latest merch, which by sheer coincidence included lots of photos of him. It was hard to admit how much he enjoyed the idea of her looking at him.

"So, um. I'm not sure I understood Dario correctly. But it looks like he insists on getting us the local speciality," she said hesistantly.

"Well, only if his grandma would approve. But why is this strange look on your face?"

"I must have gotten it wrong. Because burnt pasta just sounds wrong. If I wanted that, I could have stayed and have my roommate cook for us."

"Hm, that is an interesting idea." Lando pretended he did not know her roommate's name.

Once Dario brought out the burnt pasta, the couple had a hard time not to laugh.

"When in Rome...well not in Rome, but you get the idea."

"Why is this good?" Y/N proclaimed with her mouth full to the limit.

Lando laughed. "Ah, we have a lady at the table, I see. I mean yeah, I am not supposed to be having pasta now, but this is so weirdly good."

They finished their strange pasta and the bottle of wine. Said goodbye to Dario, Y/N tried not to think on how much it cost to close a restaurant down.

"Wait, what are we going to do about the car? We can't drive now."

"Not to sound like a complete asshole, but I'd like we remove the WE from any sentence including driving now at the beginning, if that is ok. And like I said at the beginning, you're gonna hate this."

"Go on, Lando boy. Tell me."

"Yeah, the car was provided by my employer. And they really need me, so I'm just going to leave the car here to get towed and inform them later."

"Jesus, why!"

"Well, I figured we'll get a taxi in the morning. I want to enjoy all the time I have with you. Dealing with the car is not on the menu today."

There was nothing for Y/N to reply. She was having too much fun to be thinking.

They found what seemed to be the shittiest bar playing 80's and 90's songs, weirdly colored lights swinging out of the rhythm and with people there consisting of old papas and few probably underaged kids. They brought their own wine bottle from Dario, Lando paid 100 euros for two glasses and for the bartender leaving them alone. It did not take long for Y/N to break out to the dance floor. Lando watched her clumsy yet somehow elegant moves for a moment, before he joined her. They danced, as if they were the only people there, laughing and completely ignoring the looks they were getting. And to the tones of remix of Brother Louis, they kissed again. And this time, they kept kissing until late hours, hand roaming around each other, as if they were two teenagers making out for the first time.

part 5

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Tagged all those who like to suffer: @prudyhoo @anuksunamon @sagestack @esquerkaren @ushygushybaby @ilove-tswizzle @thehufflepuffavenger1  @superlegend216 @mehrmonga @lovely-blackinnon @mylifeihate1029 @lausdigitaldiary @tswizzleismother

[judgeanon]

So About That BATGIRL #1...

I put this review up in another site, but since folks here on Tumblr seem to be realizing I have a lot of Thoughts about Lady Shiva, I figured I'd transplant it here. So here's how I feel about it. The short of it is that I think it's a strong start with a few small quibbles because I'm not sure how much of Shiva's writing is her being intentionally OOC and how much is Brombal trying to humanize her.

The long is here:

Now, one of Shiva's main issues as a character ever since they finally split her from the League of Assassins (God bless you Bryan Hill) is that, instead, writers have stapled her to Cass. Literally every major Shiva appearance since 2017 has involved Cass in some way. That is a problem not so much for Cass, who gets to have her own stories and series with and without the Batfam (although mostly with), but for Shiva, who doesn't get nearly as much exposure as her daughter. If there's a Shiva comic coming out, odds are it's gonna have something to do with Cass. Well, except for the other Shiva comic coming out this month that's gonna suck shit.

But at the same time, I don't think that means nobody should ever do another Shiva/Cass story, because I still feel like that's rich soil that nobody has had the time, space or desire to really commit to mining. Hill in Outsiders was writing a whole ensemble cast and couldn't linger too long on them. Writers like Grayson and Cloonan/Conrad both teased Shiva trying to reconcile with Cass but never took it anyhwere. A Shiva/Cass story can still be compelling and interesting as long as the writer is willing and able to Actually Write It.

So when literally the first panel of this new issue is Shiva addressing Cass and their relationship directly, I'm already perked up. Right from the get go, you can tell that Tate Brombal is absolutely here to tell a story about these two women and pretty much nothing else, and also that Tak Miyazawa and Mike Spicer are a killer art team. I adore how hard Tak's figures look without (usually) being stiff, thanks to some solid body language and expressions. And Spicer's colors have a cool kind of dark-but-vivid look. The last leg of the issue, with everything illuminated by fire, is especially cool.

Going back to the opening, it's curous how despite this being an issue #1, there's very little in the way of character introductions or set up. There's no slow burn here, no lengthy creeping intro like previous Shiva/Cass stories. And while I can't help but feel that it must be a little awkward for readers unfamiliar with them or their current situation, I think it also accurately reflects one of my favorite parts of the comic, which is Cass' being just absolutely fucking DONE with her mom.

After years of hyper dramatic standoffs and tearful moments of cheap heartbreak, it's fun to see a Cass who has no time for her mother, who's not interested in what she's got going on, and who's confident enough in herself to even be a little shit about it. It's fun and refreshing and fits Cass very nicely.

That not-quite-breakneck but still fast pace keeps up when the Unburied show up after just a few pages of setup and you know, in a couple of interviews, Brombal mentioned being influenced by Daredevil. And this is the page that made me go "Ah, yeah, that tracks." 'cause brother, those are some MILLER-ass ninjas.

Why Shiva fears these guys or thinks Cass can't handle them is not yet explained, but her desperation to keep Cass around does lead to a small but very meaning-heavy moment: the first punch in this series is not thrown into the face of the new enemies, but it's Cass decking her mom in the face and Shiva loving it.

It's an excellent touch and a perfect mission statement about the series. I love it as much as I love the ensuing fight, full of cool moves in big and small panels, but the most fun thing to me is how it's choreographed as Cass fighting her mom almost as much as she's fighting the Unburied. And on top of being a great fight, it ends with a small nod to QUESTION #1 or the 'Tec '88 Annual, in case I was somehow not sold enough already.

And while I still love Cass being so willing to call Shiva out on her lies, it does bring up one of the small gripes I have with this issue: I don't like it when Shiva lies constantly. I think she's best when she's strong and confident enough to not need to lie, when she just lays everything out on the table the way this comic is almost doing. It's good for Cass, as it keeps showing her as someone who has grown to understand her mother, who sees Shiva for who she is and what she does. And it does set up a slightly heartwarming scene at the end.

Of course, that's personal preferrence, and I'm not gonna say this is a bad comic because it doesn't follow my own idea of what works best for Shiva, especially since it's clear that Brombal is writing her with a lot of intention here. But that leads to the other big-ish issue I have with this issue: it's a bit hard to tell, from this story alone, how much of these moments are Brombal building his own personal version of Shiva and how much of it is Shiva, in-universe, acting out of character for the sake of some hidden scheme. After all, Cass points out that twice in the issue Shiva backs down, first from a moral fight and then from an actual fight.

So it's possible that even the constant lying is Shiva playing a role in favor of a grander scheme which will be revealed in later issues. Which, fair enough, I'm willing to see where it goes. But that second moment of yielding does lead to what's maybe my biggest problem with BATGIRL #1, and it's the Unburied themselves.

There's nothing in that initial fight with the Unburied that suggests Shiva and Cass would've had trouble dealing with them. Hell, there's very little to suggest even one of them would've had trouble with them. Now, I'm not suggesting that this issue should've started with the titular character and her mom getting their asses handed to them. But it feels like there's just not enough to these new enemies yet to justify the escape. Ninjas show up, Cass and Shiva beat them without getting hit once, more Ninjas show up and Shiva self-defenestrates herself.

Again, entirely possible that Shiva has something up her sleeve here, and issue #2 did promise to show us the main villain behind them, but as it stands it leaves me with this weird mix of not quite intrigue, not quite disappointment. It's just odd. They could've had, I dunno, a bomb set in the building or some other reason for Shiva to exit the venue like that.

Speaking of odd things, however, I did NOT expect to be reading a comic that brings up Shiva's cult from Puckett/Scott's BATGIRL #25. It's an "Order of Shiva" now though, with chapters and temples and stuff. Which is a bit of a change, since back in #25 they came off more like a gang of fanboys than an order of servants or anything like that. And after being summarily disposed by Shiva in that same issue, they were never really explored again.

So this is Brombal not just bringing back a bit of old lore, but also shifting it slightly, turning it into a more organized group... and then summarily disposing of them one panel later.

Also, I don't know what it is but I *LOVE* this panel. Shiva's face, her "wut" pose, the O.O, it's just... beautiful.

Anyway, once they're in the temple for the last bit of the issue, I start to see a bit more of what Brombal's doing. Like Gail Simone and Bryan Hill, Brombal seems to want to soften Shiva up a little, to make it clear that deep inside, she does have at least a bit of a heart, or enough of it to feel sadness at the wasteful death of people she may feel like she owes something to. Compare it to BIRDS OF PREY #62 for example:

This one is not quite as dramatic or vulnerable, but it's clear that Brombal wants to write Shiva with a slightly more human heart. Which, again, I'm not opposed to but I don't think it's the best thing you can do with her. I prefer Shiva being more detached in regards to death, like the most she'll do is see it as a waste but she's not gonna get emotional about it, she's going to be way more matter-of-fact. Death happens and such. But I think that kind of aloofness often gets interpreted as monstrous disdain for life by writers trying to make Shiva into a villain, and if I had to choose between what Brombal's doing and what, well, what Tom King's probably gonna be doing in a few weeks, I'll take this anytime.

Anyway, I also didn't expect to see the apprentice from BATGIRL #26, having apparently gotten a promotion somewhere in the last 20 years. Good for him! Less good for him is the shitload of arrows he eats two pages later but oh well.

The last couple of pages lead to a nice moment of sheer badassery for both Shiva and Cass and one last showcase of Miyazawa and Spicer's glorious team effort. Those two work really well together and I'm excited to see more of them in future issues. And while we're at it, I gotta give props to Miyazawa for being one of maybe two artists to draw a visibly older Lady Shiva.

His version isn't just aged but hardened by that age, looking stern and determined without having to rely on gritted teeth or angry looks. And on top of all that, he still finds more than enough moments to give her the kind of cocky smiles that bring out the more playful side of Shiva that some stories tend to either gloss over or turn into outright sadism.

Man... I just love to see that momma smile.

Other than that, there's a couple of minor quibbles I have with the issue. There's a funny moment where Cass pulls a Batman on her own mother (who charmingly acknowledges Bruce's influence) but it's undercut by Cass poofing back into existence on the next page. And there's also the weird, almost surreal emptiness of the city around them. Even after a building explodes, there's literally nobody on the streets other than Shiva and Cass.

On one hand, it speaks to the intentions of this run. This is VERY much a two-woman show so far, with no room for much else. But it's still glaring enough to be distracting.

However, it's that intentionality that ultimately wins me over. Even with all my personal little issues with Shiva's characterization, it's obvious from the start that this is a writer who is genuinely trying to write her as a character, who is ready to engage with her and with her relation with Cass on a deeper level than just hero and villain, or good daughter and evil mom.

Brombal, Miyazawa & Spicer have put some meat on the grill, and although I don't think the biggest pieces are there yet... I'm ready to let them cook.

[intoanotherworld23]

Dirty Little Secret

Pairing: Reader x Joel Miller

Warnings: MATURE CONTENT AHEAD NSFW 18+, mention of sex toys, description of sex, female masturbation, consensual sex, unprotected sex, swear words, cheating

Word count: 2386 words

Summary: Joel Miller owns his own company and is your boss and you’re his personal assistant. He’s the most incredibly handsome man you’ve ever met but unfortunately he’s married. Then one night he unexpectedly comes knocking on your door

Check out my other works on my Hall Of Hunks

"He does what for a living?" Your friend exclaimed on the other side of the phone making you cringe at her voice.

"He designs sex toys." Repeating yourself but in a much lower tone as you laid down in bed. "He owns his own company."

"Fuckin a Y/N." She sighed loudly making you laugh at her reaction. "How in the hell did you get this job?"

"I saw an ad somewhere that he was looking for a personal assistant so I applied and got the job." Not really wanting to tell her the full story of what happened during the interview.

"Does he get to ya know.. test the toys on you?" You could hear the teasing tone in her voice making you shake your head.

"Absolutely not." Scoffing loudly although it would be kind of hot if he did. "I keep track of his schedules and just run his errands."

"The man has to be kinky as fuck." Surprisingly she wasn't asking a question it was more of a statement to herself.

"I would have no idea about that." Even though it wouldn't surprise you at all if he was.

The man probably had a whole room filled with all kinds of toys. He just screamed dominance and power. The type of guy to call you a good girl as you he bent you over his lap, and spanked you until your ass was on fire.

"Is he at least hot?" She went from shocked to interested very quickly.

"He is absolutely gorgeous." Humming to yourself picturing him in your head, and how good he looked in his dark gray suit. "I've never seen a man more handsome than him."

"Is he married?" A frown appeared on your face hating the fact he was married.

"Unfortunately yes he is married." Both of you groaning at the fact, and a sense of envy washed over you.

"She probably forced herself on him, and made him marry her." She replied making you burst out laughing. "Or she has huge tits."

"Well let's just say I know her boobs aren't small." Remembering the picture you saw on his desk of the two of them. "Or real."

"Well at least you get to stare at him all day." Her words reassuring but it didn't help your feelings at all.

"I guess yeah." Shrugging your shoulders as you bent your knees moving them side to side.

"Does this man come with a handsome name?" She asked you as you sat up and tried not to moan while saying it.

"His name is Joel Miller." Hearing her groaning on the other line as she mumbled something to herself.

"God I can imagine screaming that name out loud." She was more promiscuous than you ever were, and she had no filter.

"Jesus you haven't even met the guy and your more horny for him than I am." Joking as she laughed and you could picture her flipping you off.

"Holy mother of god I just googled him, and I about creamed my pants." Of course she was instantly looking him up wanting to know exactly what he looked like.

"Hope you have an extra pair of panties to spare." Raising your eyebrows as she laughed loudly.

"Well I know what I would be doing that you wouldn't." You knew exactly where she was going with this.

"And what's that?" Humoring her with a question even though you already knew the answer.

"That you would never grow some lady balls and fuck him." Her vulgar words had you rolling your eyes as you giggled. "I would be all over that in a heartbeat."

"I know you would." Agreeing with her instantly knowing her history. "Then you would get fired."

"At least I would get to fuck someone incredibly handsome."

A part of you became jealous hearing those words come out of her mouth wanting this man all to yourself. Constantly wishing and fantasizing that he wasn't married to his wife, but was married to you instead.

"I bet his cock is incredible and huge." If you had water in your mouth it would be all over you. "His wife probably needs crutches after him."

This time you weren't laughing or shaking your head at her. Your mind went to what he looked like below the belt. Picturing him standing there naked stroking himself to the sight of you.

Imagining what it would feel like if you wrapped your hands around it. Wondering what it would feel like when it would slip inside you, and just how much he could stretch you out. Imagining him taking you in every position, and never once letting up.

Feeling your panties getting a little wet at the thought. Your insides were clenching, and you felt your body become heated with desire. Your eyes glazing over as you squeezed your thighs together trying to relieve the pressure.

"Alright I'm gonna go masturbate." Her voice interrupted your perverted thoughts making you come back to reality. "Talk to you later byeeee."

Hanging up the phone before you could even respond. Tossing your phone to the side as you laid there with a hand on your lower stomach. Your mind on Joel unable to get him out of your head.

A part of you felt bad for not really telling her what was going on, and what really happened. For now it was something you wanted to keep to yourself, and hope and pray nobody else would find out about it.

Spreading your legs as you bit your lower lip your hand started to move down. Under your pants feeling a wet spot on your panties. Your fingers moving the thin material to the side as you rubbed your pussy in slow circles.

Increasing the speed of your fingers as you rubbed yourself in figure eights. Brushing your hips against your now throbbing clit making your tremble. Wanting nothing more than to feel Joel's skin touching yours in such a sensual and passionate way.

Closing your eyes as your juices coated your fingers before you stuck two of them inside of you. Gasping as you thrust them in and out imagining it was Joel who was the one fingering you.

Your other hand reached up to grab your breast massaging the mass in rhythm with your thrusting. Pinching your nipple till it was hard causing you to moan out loud. Your cheeks heating up at the possibility someone heard you.

Moving your hips around as you were grinding against your fingers hitting a deeper angle. Curling them upwards as you lifted your back off the bed, and tossed your head into the pillows.

The sounds of your moans, and the squishing sound from your wet pussy echoing around the room. The room was becoming so thick and heavy with your own lust you were so consumed in it.

Picturing Joel bending you over his desk, and drilling his cock so deep inside of you that you could feel him in your stomach. Kissing your neck and sucking on the flesh to be sure, and leave his mark.

Just as you felt your stomach tightening, and your release just right there a knock came from the door. Grunting as you pulled your fingers out wiping your juices on the cover.

Adjusting yourself before you got out of bed to go see who was interrupting you. Opening the door a huge grin appearing on your face at who was standing on the other side. His eyes looking your body up and down with a dark gleam.

"Was I interrupting something?"

His tone mocking knowing exactly what you were doing noticing your panting, and the sweat along your forehead. Feeling your heartbeat echoing in your ears knowing you got caught, and he wasn't stupid.

"Nope." Answering a little too quickly raising his suspicions.

Joel shut the door behind him his eyes never once leaving you. He was hungry for you and had been thinking about you all day. He recognized your scent and his senses went into overdrive. His inner animal was banging against the caged doors screaming to be released.

"I can smell that sweet cunt from here." Sniffing the air an audible gasp leaving your mouth at his choice of words.

"I couldn't wait any longer."

Whining as he backed you up into a wall growling when he pressed his body into yours. Feeling the warmth of his body heat radiating onto yours making the blood rise to your cheeks. It was like all the air was sucked out from your lungs as your true fantasy was about to come true.

Never did you expect something like this to happen. Thinking that he never took an interest in you, and you'd never get to live out one of your dreams.

"Mmm now I'm gonna have to decide what to do to you." Towering over your figure staring down at you like a predator ready to attack its prey.

——————————————

"Joel." Choking out a moan as your back arched off the bed.

The smirk on his face grew even larger hearing you moaning his name. If anything it encouraged him to keep pounding into you harder.

"Can feel you squeezin my cock sweetheart." He chuckled as he watched your face contort in pleasure. "Such a tight little pussy for me."

Feeling your orgasm building up again as you turned your head to the side, and gripped the sheets beneath you. Biting onto the pillow trying to muffle your screaming.

"Say my name again baby." He whispered into your ear as he sharply thrusted inside of you making you squeal.

"Oh god Joel." Your toes curling against the bed as he tightened his grip on your hips. "Joel."

"Fuck that's it sweetheart let everyone know whose fucking you so good." His thrusting was slowing down, but just as powerful.

"Such a good girl."

Rotating his hips at a certain angle had your legs trembling. Leaning forward so he could attach his lips to yours. His mouth swallowing all your moans his movements never once missing beat.

"Your pussy so sweet it won't let me go." His stated matter of factly as his fingers reached down to rub your clit.

"God the sounds you make for me sweetheart." His eyes trained down to where his cock was disappearing. Your juices coating his cock making him groan at the sight.

Closing your eyes for a brief moment as the pleasure was taking over your body. Feeling a hand grip your chin making you open your eyes to see those chocolatey brown eyes staring you down.

"Look at me when you cum around my cock." He growled as the veins in his neck popped out.

Leaning on his forearms so his hands were on either side of your face. It was such an intimate moment, but you found yourself entranced with his eyes. Like he was holding onto you and didn't want to let you go.

"Oh fuck right there." You screamed as he hit your sweet spot. The pleasure boiling to the top you felt you might explode.

"Harder Joel."

Opening your legs even further so he could thrust deeper. The muscles straining to the point it was painful, but feeling his condition inside you motivated you to keep them open.

"Such a cock hungry slut for me." Groaning against the skin of your neck before his lips moved downward towards your breasts.

Sucking on the nipples turning them raw and hard. One of your hands reaching out to grip his hair as your senses were overwhelmed. Feeling him smile against your flesh as to how he was making you feel.

"Can feel how fucking close you are sweetheart." His words making your legs shake. "Pussy is just begging for me."

The moans were just spilling from your lips you didn't care who heard you. Your body twitching and moving all around unable to control yourself anymore. The warmth was spreading through out your whole body.

"Cum for me baby." His voice straining as he was trying to control himself as well. "Cum around my cock."

"Be a good girl and squeeze that pussy for me."

He encouraged with his filthy words. Feeling that burning in the pit of your stomach as you were on the edge. Joel was loving the reactions you were having towards him, and if he could take a video of everything he would.

His movements stopped as his cock remained still inside of you as your pussy clenched hard around him. Both of your groaning as you looked each other in the eye.

Burying his head in the crook of your neck while he catches his breath. Rolling over so he's on his back as well. The room is silent and neither of you speak for the next few minutes. It was awkward or uncomfortable which you were thankful for.

When neither of you said anything you decided to get up and start getting dressed. Joel continued to lay there with a confused look on his face.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting dressed I figured you'd want to leave as soon as possible." Your tone harsh and cold mentally preparing yourself for rejection.

Plus you figured after this Joel would fire you since he wouldn't want to deal with the drama that would soon take place. A man like him didn't want some woman he slept with once to become obsessed with him and disrupt his life.

"Come here." He patted the bed indicating you to lay back down.

Crawling back into bed he pulled your body close to his, and you snuggled against him relishing in the warmth of his body. He could sense something was wrong, but you just didn't want him to see you get emotional so quickly.

"What's wrong?" He asked you with genuine concern in his voice.

"Am I fired?"

"Why would I fire you?"

"Cause we just had sex, and I thought you weren't allowed to sleep with your assistant?"

"I'm the boss sweetheart I can do whatever I want." Grabbing your face and planting his lips on yours for a sensual kiss.

Maybe you were completely wrong about him, and things you were worried about were just all in your head.

"So don't worry about getting fired." He reassured you. "Also I'm not done with you yet."

[layanomaly]

i know we're all entitled to our opinions about the finale and i do respect that really

but if youre someone who says that it was "lazy writing".....you can respectfully get tf out- literally- THERES THE DOOR BITCH😭👉🏻🚪

jkjk ahaha....

but fr tho i honestly think the finale was less of a "lazy writing" and more of a "OMG THERES SO MUCH TO WRITE AND WE DK WHAT TO INCLUDE" mess up-

i hope you guys get what im trying to sayy???

cuz even in that one wrap interview with jac.....she did say they discussed about the agathario flashbacks- “They met over corpses”??? “Then the room took it in a direction that then they lived in a cottage”???? “We talked at length about it, to the point of, is Rio Nicky’s father?”??? so its not like they didnt......but it was in a way important for the plot (and ill tell you how) for them to give more preference to nicky/agathas story it was to show why agatha did what she did for billy (AND NO SHE DIDNT KISS RIO FOR BILLY SHE KISSED RIO FOR HERSELF BECAUSE THAT HOW SHE WANTED TO LEAVE THIS WORLD.....TO BE IN THE EMBRACE OF SOMEONE SHE LOVES-......SHE DIDNT NEED TO KISS HER TO SIPHON HER POWERS BUT SHE STILL DID SO DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THAT OMG) ......and yes it wasnt a "sacrifice"....more of a "calculated risk" but we all know agatha did care about billy the key factor tho here was to show WHY she cared for him which was cuz of nicky so before any of you say "UGH THE WHOLE POINT OF AAA WAS TO ELEVATE BILLYS CHARACTER" dont- and also did we watch the same show??? i get being upset about being robbed of agathario....believe me i am too but if you try to look at it from a "positive" aspect.......that is in a way how marvel works.......we got introduced to billy the same way agatha and monica were introduced to us in wandavision albeit billy did get more screen time- and if youve read the comics youd know how important his character goes on to become so ig i do feel like the screen time was well deserved???.....although i still do think we needed more context on agathas story but hey like i said there was so much they wanted to include in the story but not enough time..... and im not a huge fan of his character so this isnt even me defending billy....rather its just me trying to be reasonable

plus i do think theyve left a good amount of loose threads to hopefully work with for a season 2 or a lady death spin off????

[slaymitchabernathy]

The Nanny

Having never been to a high society wedding before, Soarynn had made the foolish, naive mistake of thinking that she'd actually get to spend a moment alone with her husband.

How wrong she had been.

From the moment they stepped into the dining room, they were pulled in separate directions.

Soarynn was swarmed by the women complimenting her entire look for the day, her hair, her makeup, and of course, her dress. Every time either of them sat back down at the dinner table, they were getting right back up again.

Coriolanus mostly talked business and politics with the men, and occasionally he'd be congratulated on getting married.

Once they moved to the ballroom it was even busier. Soarynn was expected to greet and thank every guest as the new First Lady and with Eudora by her side, she actually managed quite well. Coriolanus would appear and disappear from her side while she greeted all of their guests, whispering words of encouragement, kissing her temple, and then going back into the crowd.

At least she had the children to keep her company. They showered her with compliments all while basking in all of the attention they were given. Truly children in a candy shop.

"When can we be expecting more little ones?" An older woman had asked Soarynn while smiling down at Caspian. Soarynn had honestly been a bit taken aback by her forwardness, she hadn't even been married for a full day and people already expected her to be pregnant.

Thank goodness she had Eudora to help her navigate her way out of awkward conversations. "Just ignore them dear," Eudora had advised, "enjoy the rest of your night with your husband."

Easier said than done.

Soarynn had last seen Coriolanus in what looked like a serious conversation with Quintus and several other important-looking men. Still, she wandered through the ballroom, flashing smiles at all who looked in her direction. "Such a beautiful ceremony," a woman says to Soarynn, "and such a beautiful bride." Soarynn feels a more genuine smile crawl across her lips, "Thank you for your kind words, and thank you so much for attending."

The woman waves her off, "Oh we wouldn't miss this for anything, it's the wedding of the century!"

Soarynn keeps mingling, answering questions, and posing for photos, she can see her husband's blonde head of hair standing tall above everyone else's, and just as she's about to reach him, she's ambushed by Lucky Flickerman and his camera crew.

"I've got Soarynn Snow with me folks! Soarynn. Snow. Remember that name because you're gonna be hearing a lot of it in the upcoming months with next year's elections coming up! Now Soarynn, what do you have to say to those watching from the Districts?"

He points the microphone at Soarynn and she's nearly blinded by the camera's bright light but she manages a graceful smile, "My husband and I are so grateful for those who took the time out of their days to watch our wedding." Lucky nods along to her words, soaking up every syllable as if she's a general delivering an encouraging speech to her battered troops. "Well said Mrs. Snow! I've been hearing nothing but the highest praises sung about your beauty today, and may I just say, you look stunning in that dress! Who designed such a piece of work?"

Soarynn feels herself relax at a question that she can easily answer without any repercussions, "My dear friend Tigris designed my dress," she tells Lucky, "she's designed most of my gowns the past year, she's bringing a new edge to fashion."

Lucky's eyes grow large, "A new edge you say? Well, folks, it looks like we're on the cusp of a new fashion era! How exciting! Well my dear, congratulations again, I can't wait to see you at the Victory Party!"

Ah yes, another party.

Soarynn thanks Lucky for his time, pressing the complimentary kiss to his cheek before he runs off to interview more unfortunate souls. Soarynn let out a deep breath she didn't even realize that she was holding in. She doesn't even get a moment to relax before she hears a small voice calling for her attention, "Mommy!"

Soarynn looks to her left and finds Celeste walking towards her, hand in hand with an older-looking woman. Soarynn has never met this woman before but that applies to a majority of the people in this room today, "Hello darling, who did you bring along with you?" She asks, brushing back some of Celeste's curls, "I brought Grandmother!"

Soarynn's eyes widen and she looks back up at the older woman who now looks very familiar. Mrs. Cardew, Livia's mother. She didn't even know that the Cardews were invited.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Soarynn says softly, extending her hand to the Grandmother of her children. Mrs. Cardew takes her hand and gives it a firm shake, "The pleasure is all mine. I've heard nothing but wonderful things about you from the children and everyone in this room," Mrs. Cardew says, her gaze impenetrable.

Coriolanus has maybe spoken about the Cardews three times total and he never mentioned inviting them to the wedding. Not that Soarynn minds, but she would've appreciated a heads-up at least.

"Thank you, that's very kind," Soarynn replies, feeling a bit caught even though she's done nothing wrong and this is her wedding, "Coriolanus and I appreciate you coming." Mrs. Cardew's eyes travel down Soarynn's dress as if looking for a flaw but it seems that she's found none, "Yes, we will always do our duty to support our country and our President."

Soarynn swallows because she is not the President or the reason they came tonight.

"I want to have more cookies," Celeste says, tugging on her Grandmother's hand impatiently. Soarynn goes to correct her but Mrs. Cardew holds up a hand, "We can go get more cookies, Celeste."

Celeste grins, giving Soarynn a wave before she begins to drag her Grandmother into the crowd but the cake is being wheeled in and causing quite the traffic jam from the looks of it. Only inches away from one another, Soarynn could cut the tension between her and Mrs. Cardew with a knife.

"Take care of my grandchildren, will you?" Mrs. Cardew whispers, her green eyes reflecting so many emotions at once, grief, sadness, and loss. Soarynn nods, "I'll guard them with my life," she promises and she means it too, she's done it before and she'll gladly do it again.

That seems to make Mrs. Cardew relax and she sighs, "Good, and you'll make him happy won't you?" She nods towards Coriolanus who's standing on the other side of the ballroom, "My daughter was never good at that."

Mrs. Cardew and Celeste disappear into the crowd before Soarynn can even respond, leaving her with a million thoughts racing through her head. But she knows one thing for certain, she'll make Coriolanus happy, it's what a good wife does.

꧁ ꧂

Soarynn would be lying if she said that she wasn't exhausted.

Still, she waves to those who are watching her as she slides into the backseat of the car that will drive them to her childhood home for their much-awaited honeymoon.

Coriolanus slides in after her and lets out a deep sigh once the doors are closed and they're hidden by the tinted windows, "Well that was exhausting," he says, resting his head on her shoulder. Soarynn chuckles, at least he's honest, "It was rather tiring," she agrees, her hand finding his, "but it was so wonderful. Thank you for making today so special."

He gives her hand a gentle squeeze and the car starts moving, "You were what made it so wonderful darling, I simply paid the bill."

They both laugh at his very true statement. Coriolanus barely planned a thing but he did sign every check that Soarynn or Eudora laid across his desk without even batting an eye at the price.

"We're married," she whispers, giddiness taking over her entire body, "I can't believe we're finally married." Coriolanus hums and brings up their intertwined hands to admire her rings, "All everyone could tell me tonight was about how beautiful you are, how kind and sweet, makes me wonder how you ended up with a man like me."

Soarynn scoffs, sitting up straighter, "You say that as if you're evil or something." Coriolanus lifts his head so that he can look directly into her eyes, "I'm the President darling," he tells her gently as if that's enough of an explanation, "every decision I make angers half of the country and the other half still finds something to critique."

Soarynn frowns, he's always been under so much pressure, and with the elections coming up next year, he's bound to be even more stressed. "Maybe...maybe you shouldn't run for reelection then," she whispers, scanning his face for any signs of anger, she doesn't doubt his abilities but she doesn't want him to carry this weight alone.

Coriolanus shakes his head, a determined look in his blue eyes, "It's not even an option at this point Soarynn," he tells her, "my advisors have been pushing for this since I got elected the first time and none of my competitors stand a chance against me. I have everything I need to win again, the name, the money, the family."

Goosebumps cover Soarynn's skin at the last word, "People are already asking when we'll be having more children," she blurts out, unable to contain her thoughts any longer, "and I met Livia's mother tonight."

Coriolanus can't even hide his look of surprise, not that she can blame him. Coriolanus Snow is an expert in masking his emotions but he can't always be prepared for whatever she throws at him. "I didn't expect the Cardews to come," he finally says, almost like admitting to a secret, "and as for future children, I've told you this already darling, we have three perfect children already. If we have more then that'll be wonderful, if we don't, then all will be well."

He's right. They have three beautiful children right now, sound asleep in their beds, healthy as can be and Soarynn is worrying about having more babies. She ought to stop thinking about the future so much, it can't be healthy. Soarynn hums and leans in to peck his lips, "I feel like I barely saw you tonight, and when I did you were talking to another man. Makes me question where your loyalties lie."

Coriolanus smirks, cupping her face with his large hand, "My loyalties hmm?" His deep voice sounds so very attractive right now, "Well my darling, I am confident to say that my loyalties lie directly with you, and that sweet little cunt between your legs that I can't wait to get properly acquainted with tonight."

Soarynn turns the brightest shade of pink and shoves him, "Language!"

Coriolanus laughs at her flustered state, he’s always been one to enjoy using vulgar language in the bedroom and it always manages to rile her up whether she likes it or not. But to be on the giving end of such words makes her nervous.

Soarynn has a very limited set of words and phrases that she uses in the bedroom such as: ‘Please’, ‘Oh, please’, ‘Thank you’, ‘Please let me cum’, ‘Oh, right there’, and ‘Oh, that feels so good Coryo’.

Coriolanus on the other hand has a whole plethora of things to whisper in her ear while they roll around in the sheets. Most of which are so nasty that she can hardly believe that he’s the same man who addresses the entire nation with inspiring speeches and levels of maturity.

Two sides to each coin she supposes.

They spend the rest of the car ride sharing kisses and words of devotion with one another all while Coriolanus remains insistent on trying to sneak his hands under the skirt of her dress but it's a very large skirt and he's underestimated his abilities to get in her pants so to speak.

By the time they arrive at the Nightingale townhouse, Coriolanus is ready to rip the dress off of her entirely. He's so very impatient in everything he does from opening the car door to helping Soarynn out of the car. She herself is in no rush and takes her time walking up the paved pathway leading up to her front door while Coriolanus fumbles to unlock it.

Soarynn and Eudora had come to her childhood home last week to make sure everything was prepared for their short stay including the keys. "Is everything alright darling?" Soarynn asks once she reaches a struggling Coriolanus at the door, resting a hand on his shoulder, "Perfectly fine," he answers through gritted teeth while trying to unlock the door.

Soarynn sighs heavily for added effect, "It's terribly cold out here Coryo, are you set on freezing your wife already?"

The look he gives her goes straight to Soarynn's core but she continues her verbal assault while he continues to fumble with the door, "I thought husbands were supposed to have everything taken care of," she says, scratching at the spot where his golden curls start to grow, his favorite spot for her to touch when they're in bed, "but maybe I'm just too young and naive to understand marriage."

Coriolanus finally gets the door unlocked and shoves it open with his foot while grabbing Soarynn by the arm and pulls her inside. The moment he shuts the door, he's all over her. His hands around her waist while his lips worship her own in a heated, heavy kiss.

He works his way from her lips to her jawline, sucking on the delicate skin, "Coryo," she gasps, "Coryo no marks." Coriolanus groans against her skin and brings one hand around her neck, gently squeezing it while pressing Soarynn against the front door, "The wedding is over," he says hoarsely, "which means you're all mine now darling and I intended on leaving a mark or two."

Soarynn's eyes flicker with excitement and she nods towards the grand staircase, "What're you waiting for then?"

Coriolanus smirks, pressing one more chaste kiss to her lips before bending down and picking Soarynn up bridal-style. She lets out a shriek and quickly wraps her arms around his neck when he starts towards the stairs, "Coryo! I can walk up the stairs you know."

Coriolanus chuckles and begins climbing the marble staircase, ignoring her looks and words of protest, "I know darling, but it's tradition for a man to carry his bride to their room and we both know that I'm a man who values tradition." He is indeed.

Soarynn can only roll her eyes and rest her head on his shoulder while he continues climbing and she must admit, it's very attractive how easily he can carry her and the dress as if they weigh nothing to him.

When they finally reach the top, Coriolanus gives a triumphant sigh, "I honestly have no idea where to go from here," he admits and they both laugh. Coriolanus might be familiar with the first floor, but the second floor of the Nightingale townhouse is a mystery to him. But not to Soarynn, "Down the hall," she kicks her foot in the general direction, "second door to the left."

Coriolanus strides down the dark hallway, the hallway that Soarynn spent her entire childhood running up and down. The doors at the very end lead to her parent's room, a room that's remained untouched since her father's death.

Coriolanus manages to open her bedroom doors without dropping her, revealing her own bedroom, ready for the newlywed couple. Soarynn had sprinkled some rose petals on the sheets when she and Eudora came to check on everything and she's pleased with the atmosphere it's created.

Coriolanus gently sets her back down but not without peppering her face with kisses first, making Soarynn giggle, "You're such a flirt," she purrs, resting a hand on his smoothly shaven cheek. Coriolanus winks at her, "Only for you."

The two soak it all in for a moment, their wedding, the fact that they're now married, and most importantly, the fact that they're about to have sex for the first time.

"I should take off my shoes," she whispers, unwrapping herself from her husband and walking over to her bed. Soarynn sits on the bench at the foot of her bed, a spot that Petunia loves to lounge on and she watches Coriolanus curiously look around her room. The last time a Snow was in her room was when she was hired again and had to pack up her things with the children.

Coriolanus displays a similar level of curiosity as the children while looking at her room. It's a rather large room with two doors by her bed leading out to the balcony. Coriolanus takes his time looking at every photograph on the walls, reaching up to touch some of them.

Soarynn smiles at the sweet sight, she'd like to think that she brings out a younger side of him, sweeter and gentler.

She slips off her shoes with a relieved sigh, those heels were killing her. Soarynn looks around her room as well, everything the same way as she left it but she's about to leave this room very differently. A woman.

Soarynn takes Coriolanus poking around her things as an opportunity to unzip her dress, feeling even more relieved now that the tight bodice is no longer holding her in. Soarynn ever so carefully steps out of the dress pooled around her legs, making sure not to trip over any of the tulle. Tigris mentioned putting it in a box to preserve it and Eudora said there was a possibility of it being in a museum.

It'll be on the floor until further notice.

Soarynn takes a quick look at herself in her vanity mirror's reflection, admiring the lingerie she chose to wear for her wedding night. With the dress being strapless, that meant her bralette would have to be as well. It's entirely made up of intricate lace patterns, all while pushing up her breasts in a tasteful manner. Her panties are also white lace with little frills on the sides and a rose in the very center of the waistband, almost like a bow on a present.

Soarynn hadn't wanted to go too overboard with the lingerie, not when she knew that Coriolanus would rip it off in a matter of seconds.

"Your room is very charming," he says, turning around to face her, and Soarynn drinks in every second of his slacked jaw once he lays eyes on her. It's not every day that one gets to see a speechless Coriolanus Snow but Soarynn isn't just anyone. No, she's Mrs. Snow, the First Lady of Panem.

"I'm also quite charming," she replies, clasping her hands behind her back, "in case you forgot."

Coriolanus swallows down the lump in his throat and quickly shakes his head, "No, no, not at all darling, I could never forget how beautiful...how charming you are!"

Soarynn smiles at his flustered behavior and holds a hand out to him, "I'm ready," she tells him, her tone soft and gentle. Coriolanus needn't be told twice, he crosses the room in seconds and his hands immediately come to rest on her waist, "You look magnificent," he mumbles while kissing her shoulder, "if I knew this was under that dress then I would've ripped it off of you the second you started walking down the aisle."

Soarynn gives him a playful shove, scoffing when he smirks, "Are you even capable of saying anything without throwing in such vulgar phrases?"

Coriolanus shrugs, not at all ashamed of his behavior, "No, you'll find I'm rather hopeless when it comes to being alone with you in the bedroom."

Soarynn hums and slides her hands up his chest, resting them on his broad shoulders, "Well I'd say that you're terribly overdressed for an event such as this one," she whispers.

Soarynn helps him take off his suit jacket, also discarding it on the floor while he works on kicking off his black leather shoes. It's both of them fumbling in the dark while trying to kiss each other and get Coriolanus undressed but they manage it quite well. Soarynn goes to unbutton his shirt but she must be taking too long for his liking because Coriolanus just rips it clean down the middle, sending buttons flying everywhere.

"Your shirt," she gasps against his lips.

His hands slide down to her ass, squeezing it, "You like me shirtless," he mumbles, going for his belt next.

Coriolanus gives her a gentle shove and Soarynn falls onto the bed, completely breathless and all they've done is kiss so far. She pops up on her elbows and watches Coriolanus slide his belt out of the belt loops, tossing it onto the floor with a clatter. He looks so handsome, so deliciously large and big in every way possible. His eyes never leave hers as he unzips his pants, sliding them down to show her just how much he really wants her.

Soarynn whimpers at the sight of his cock straining in his boxers. She's well acquainted with how big he feels in her mouth and in her hands but losing her virginity is something else entirely.

Coriolanus grabs her ankle and pulls her to the edge of the bed, causing her to fall back onto her back with a sharp gasp. He leans down over her, resting a hand by her head while his lips capture hers in a very excited kiss. His teeth tug at her bottom lip and his other hand slides down her stomach, leaving a trail of goosebumps behind it.

Soarynn whimpers and wiggles in his touch, causing Coriolanus to crawl onto the bed, resting his knees on either side of her body so he can fully be on top of her while kissing her. Soarynn gives into the kiss wholeheartedly, running her fingers through his golden curls.

His fingers run over her covered cunt, ghosting over her clit before sliding back down to do it all over again. Soarynn moans impatiently, bucking into his head for more contact, more direct contact. Coriolanus fucking laughs into the kiss, teasing her for being so impatient as if he wasn't trying to get her naked in the car.

"Coriolanus," she whispers, tightening her grip on his curls.

He groans into the kiss, "Yes?"

"Hurry up and make love to me."

Soarynn's vulgar yet direct words do something to Coriolanus and spur him into action. He sits up on his knees, looming over her while bringing both hands to her lace panties, admiring them and the details, "A rose," he murmurs, slipping his fingers under the waistband so very slowly, "how cute."

He gently goes to pull down her panties and Soarynn is more than happy to lift up her hips to speed up the process. He slips them off of her ankles and tosses them behind him, long forgotten already. Soarynn watches with bated breath as he pries her legs open with his large hands, his bright blue eyes looking down at her most intimate parts with no shame whatsoever.

"So pretty like always," he says, grabbing her right leg and pulling it up into the air, kissing her thigh, "and so flexible for me."

Soarynn whines, already so flustered and ready to go and yet he's insistent on torturing her. "Coryo," she whimpers, "hurry up." He shoots her a stern look, shaking his head and laying her leg back down, "I'd say I deserve to take my time with you tonight," he tells her, slipping a hand between her legs. Soarynn gasps when she feels his long fingers slipping between her wet folds, "Oh, please."

"Tonight, I plan on making love to you," he tells her, "but tomorrow morning," his lips twist up into a cocky grin, "I plan on fucking you so hard that the only thing you'll remember is my name."

If Soarynn wasn't wet before, she's fucking soaked now.

Soarynn bucks into his hand, desperate to feel something inside of her even though she doesn't know what that feels like yet. She's going to find out very soon. Coriolanus pulls his hand away from her cunt, earning him an annoyed whine from Soarynn which he ignores while grabbing her knees with both hands, pushing them up to her chest, exposing all of her to him.

"You really do have a perfect cunt Soarynn."

Soarynn can only watch as he leans down and begins lapping at her cunt as if he's starving. Soarynn moans, stuck with nowhere to go while her husband eats her out like she's his last meal. Her eyes roll back when she feels his tongue on her clit, using the tip of his tongue to truly pinpoint her most sensitive bud.

"Oh fuck," she whimpers, grasping at the sheets.

Soarynn grinds her cunt against his face, moaning loudly when his nose bumps her clit. He's always had such a nice big nose and she has yet to sit on it.

Coriolanus doesn't let up on her cunt, licking it up and down, side to side, biting her clit from time to time while he brings her closer and closer to her peak. Soarynn is almost there, her moans grow higher in pitch, and then...

He pulls away.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" She snaps, glaring up at him and his arrogant smirk, "I would never kid about fucking you," he smoothly answers, letting go of her knees, "in fact, I'd say it's about time that I fucked you, darling."

He finally goes to pull down his boxers and Soarynn watches his cock spring out from its confinement, red at the tip, long in length and girthy. It might hurt the more that she looks at it.

Coriolanus gets out of his boxers and taps her hip, shaking her from her thoughts about the pain, "Up onto the pillows darling," he instructs her. Soarynn looks up at her headboard where all her fluffy pillows are waiting for her to lay her head down on them, "It seems so far," she mumbles, not really wanting to move. Coriolanus rolls his eyes, and grabs her the waist, picking her up and throwing her to the top of the bed in seconds.

Soarynn squeals once she lands, "That was rude."

Coriolanus chuckles, shaking his head, "It's my fault for letting you become such a pillow princess." Soarynn gasps at the statement, the very true statement but that's beside the point. "I am nothing of the sort," she insists, ignoring the look he gives her, "you simply need to be in control all the time."

Coriolanus grunts and crawls on top of her, resting his hands on either side of her head, caging her in, "I think you like it though," he says lowly, causing her to squeeze her thighs together, "I think you like it when I tell you what to do Soarynn."

"Maybe," she answers in a shaky voice. He grins and presses a kiss to her forehead, "I like it too, I like everything about you."

Soarynn's eyes widen when she feels his knee pushing her legs apart, "Well...well that's good since we're married and all that," she mumbles, suddenly feeling very, very nervous and inexperienced.

Coriolanus picks up on it immediately and adopts a kinder, softer tone, "Yes it is. And that means I get the privilege of being trusted by you to take your virginity, which I plan to do with the utmost care."

She lets out a small sigh of relief, she's never doubted Coriolanus and his ability to be gentle, not when she's seen him with the children. but the bedroom is a different thing, a different mindset.

"Okay," she whispers, staring into his blue eyes, "I'm ready."

Coriolanus leans down to kiss her and this time the kiss is sweet and gentle, patient and kind, not pushy or aggressive like other kisses that they've shared in the past.

"I love you," he says against her lips, slipping his fingers into her carefully styled hair that will be a mess by the end of the night, "no matter what I love you Soarynn."

His words mean more to her than he'll ever know.

"I love you too," she says, not at all afraid to say it anymore. There was a time when she'd only say it when the time was right, when neither of them had dealt with a stressful day and they were lying in the warm bathwater, when everything felt right in the world.

But she's since left that mindset behind, saying it whenever she feels like it.

And she's never felt more in love in her entire life than right now, safely under him.

They stay like that for a while, sharing sweet and patient kisses with one another, not at all in a rush to do what they've both been thinking about for so long. Soarynn is so caught up in the moment that she doesn't even register the tip of his cock brushing against her folds until Coriolanus lets out a low, timber groan. "Oh," she gasps, resting her hands on his shoulders, bracing herself for the inevitable pain of losing one's virginity.

"Tell me if it hurts," he sternly instructs her, resting his forehead against her own. Soarynn can only nod, at a loss for words while experiencing this new sensation. Coriolanus is large all over, not one part of him is small and while it's been very attractive so far, it does pose the difficulty of her first time.

But Coriolanus is slow while pushing in and Soarynn gasps when she feels the tip of his cock brushing against her walls, a new sensation that she welcomes wholeheartedly. She's heard many a tale from her friends about how it feels, how addictive it can become. She never believed them until now.

"Fuck Soarynn," he grits out, "so fucking tight."

Soarynn whimpers as more of him pushes in, the feeling is overwhelming and she has nowhere to go. She squirms under him to try and find a more comfortable position and Coriolanus lets out a strained moan, "Don't," he pants, "don't move yet darling." Soarynn looks up at his face and she can see just how hard he's trying to be gentle, how he's having to actively restrain himself from fucking her as hard as he can.

There seems to be a bump to get over figuratively speaking and Coriolanus gets over it with one sharp jab of his hips, sending waves of pain and pleasure throughout Soarynn's body. She gasps, her back arches off the bed as he fully sinks into her.

Soarynn is no longer a virgin.

"You okay?"

Soarynn closes her eyes while getting used to the foreign feeling of having Coriolanus inside of her, "Mhm."

"Because if something hurts you need to tell me."

Soarynn's toes curl when he slightly leans forward, pushing the tip of his cock against her sweet spot, a spot she didn't even know existed until now, "I know," she mumbles, finding the courage to open her eyes again. Coriolanus is already looking down at her with a fond look in his eyes, a look filled with adoration as if she's the single most important thing in his life.

"I'm fine," she whispers, scratching behind his ear, "perfectly so."

He gives her a lazy smile and leans down to kiss her lips, staying perfectly still which must be quite difficult where his own pleasure is concerned but he doesn't push her at all, "Well you feel amazing," he mumbles against her lips, "we might have to do this every night."

Soarynn laughs, they haven't even moved yet and he's already addicted. No matter how mature or important Coriolanus is, he's a man at the end of the day and Soarynn has learned that for the most part, all men want the same thing.

Sex.

"You can move," she tells him, the pain ebbing away slowly. He gives her a questioning look but Soarynn won't have any of it, they've waited this long. She wraps her left leg around his torso, resting her heel on his back to encourage him which leads him to slide even further inside of her, causing them both to moan, "Please," she breathes, "please Coryo, make love to me."

Coriolanus hums, kissing her once more before slowly dragging his cock out, slowly and teasingly before thrusting back into her. He's figuring out the pace and Soarynn is figuring out what this feels like but sex is something she's never felt before. Coriolanus has gone down on her before but nothing compares to them being connected like this.

She wonders if she's doing good, if she should be doing more. Coriolanus has always taken charge but perhaps he'd like her to take the reigns for once. "Is this okay?" She asks, moving her hips in tandem with his. Coriolanus moans and it sounds heavenly, low, and raspy, "Perfect," he groans, "you're perfect."

Coriolanus starts to move a little bit faster, not by much but enough to make a difference and Soarynn can feel the pleasure starting to take over. "Oh, my," she says, digging her nails into his skin, "oh, fuck."

It feels so fucking good. He's everywhere. Inside of her, on top of her, around her. Coriolanus Snow is an all-consuming entity.

He takes his time with her, whispering sweet phrases, kissing her softly while making her feel so good. Soarynn now understands why people are so crazy about sex, why they can't stop thinking about it. It's amazing that he's been able to wait this long to do this with her.

Coriolanus slips a hand between her legs and thumbs her clit, causing Soarynn to let out a high-pitched moan, "Right there," she tells him, "it feels so good Coryo." He keeps his pace steady and all that can be heard in her bedroom is the sound of skin on skin and heavy breathing.

"So beautiful," he murmurs, sitting up on his knees while continuing to make love to her, "so perfect for me." He grabs her hips and it's a whole new angle, a mind-blowing one at that. Soarynn sees stars as he thrusts into her, he feels so good, so big, there's a slight burn every time he pushes into her but she welcomes the stretch.

"Please," Soarynn whimpers, looking up at her husband, "please, please, please."

"Please what?"

Soarynn attempts to give him a nasty look but Coriolanus only laughs in response, "Telling me what you want is the least you can do," he tells her. He has a point. Soarynn hasn't so much as lifted a finger since they got to the bedroom but she's always been more reserved when it comes to pillow talk.

"Please make me cum," she moans, arching her back for added effect and it seems to work on Coriolanus who switches his pace from slow and measured to slow and deep, making her feel every inch of his cock.

"Fuck Soarynn, you feel so good."

Soarynn thinks they might have sex every single day for the rest of their lives. Maybe even twice a day if they wake up early enough. She wouldn't mind. She'd be terribly sore but she wouldn't mind.

She can feel that wire inside of her starting to tighten, threatening to break and send her over the edge. "I'm close," she whines, grabbing the sheets, "Coryo, please."

Even buried deep inside of her, Coriolanus looks so handsome, so strong, and in control of the situation. He brings his hand back to her clit and Soarynn moans, it all feels like too much, she can feel herself going off the edge, so, so close.

Soarynn's orgasm takes over her entire body when she cums. Her eyes roll back and her back bends off the bed as if she's a puppet on his strings. Soarynn can't even say a single word that makes sense while Coriolanus swears under his breath, praising her for taking him so well. She doesn't even realize that he's finishing right behind her until her walls start to flutter around him again and she feels his cum dripping onto the bed and her thighs.

Coriolanus collapses on top of her, carefully so he doesn't crush her but still close enough to lay butterfly kisses against her neck. Soarynn is wide-eyed while she stares at the ceiling, mindlessly running her fingers through his curls. That was amazing, better than she could have ever imagined.

Coriolanus wraps his arms around her waist and slowly maneuvers them so that he's lying on his back and she's the one on top, still inside of her but soft now. Soarynn rests her head on his chest, exhausted from today's events and tonight's grand finale.

Coriolanus drags his fingers up and down her back and she can feel him fumbling with the clasp of her bralette. He manages to unhook it on the third try and he pulls it off of her, throwing it somewhere to the right. Soarynn relishes the feeling of her breasts against his bare chest, skin on skin.

She can feel his breathing slow down, his heart rate returning to normal while he continues rubbing her back while his other hand grabs hers, lacing their fingers together.

"What a day," he mumbles, his voice laced with sleepiness. Soarynn hums, perfectly content to lie here for the rest of their lives, "That was amazing," she mumbles against his skin and she feels his chest rumble as he laughs. "I had a feeling that you'd like it," he replies, resting his hand on her lower back, "just wait until tomorrow morning, then you'll never be able to get enough."

Soarynn sighs, a life filled with laughter and morning sex sounds perfectly wonderful in her mind. She's a married woman now so those things can be expected. His hand slips out of her hand and slides down her arm, stopping when he reaches the small scar on her bicep, still fading from when she got her birth control implant removed two weeks ago.

Soarynn had been terribly nervous about having the procedure done but she didn't want anything to stop her from getting pregnant. "Maybe I'm already pregnant," she throws out, hoping to manifest a healthy baby inside of her as soon as possible. Coriolanus shifts from under her and drapes the blankets over their naked bodies, "I don't want you pressuring yourself," he tells her sternly, kissing the top of her head, "these things take time darling."

Soarynn merely nods in response, too tired to fight him on the possibility of getting pregnant on their wedding night. But it could happen, she hopes it'll happen sooner than later. She can feel her eyes growing heavy while her breathing syncs to his, in and out, slow and steady.

Happy and loved.

꧁ ꧂

When Soarynn wakes, she's in her childhood bedroom.

It takes her a few seconds to remember how she got here, what happened the day before. She carefully lifts her head off of the pillow, looking down at her sleeping husband. Coriolanus is lying on his side, one arm is slung over her waist while the other is under the pillow her head was lying on. Soarynn doesn't remember anything after falling asleep, doesn't remember if he washed them off or took her makeup off.

She gently places a hand on his cheek, rubbing her thumb back and forth over his porcelain skin, admiring how handsome he looks even while in a deep slumber. His curls are tussled from last night and his lips are slightly parted.

It's hard to believe that he's the President of Panem at only twenty-six.

Soarynn shifts on her side and she feels incredibly sore from the waist down, especially between her legs. Soarynn lifts the sheets and stares down at their tangled legs before lowering the sheets again and her eyes focus on the red stain in the middle of the duvet. She lost her virginity last night. Coriolanus hadn't said anything about the blood but she's sure he was pleased at the confirmation that she wasn't lying about being a virgin.

Soarynn had heard stories about men who were required to report back to their families if their wives bled on their wedding night, a horrifying tradition to Soarynn who sleeps well knowing that Coriolanus doesn't speak of their sexual encounters with anyone. What happens in their bedroom, stays in their bedroom.

Soarynn reaches up to feel that her hair is still somewhat in its perfectly styled bun from last night but Coriolanus has a tendency to ruin any makeup or hairdos when they're rolling around in the sheets. Soarynn sits up, careful not to wake up Coriolanus as she swings her legs over the side of the bed and slowly stands up. Her legs slightly shake and she just knows that he'd be teasing her if he was awake.

Soarynn limps over to her vanity, grabbing his white button-up shirt on the way so that she's not entirely naked. Soarynn takes in her appearance once she's sat in front of the mirror and gasps, her makeup is smudged from sleeping in it and her hair is a rat's nest. She opens the vanity drawer and fishes around for a makeup wipe and a hair brush.

She takes her makeup off first, sighing at the fresh feeling of a bare face. Then she goes to tackle her hair which takes a lot more effort and skill than removing her makeup. There are so many pins in her bun and every time she thinks she's found the last one, she finds another one. Soarynn finally yanks her hair out of the thick hairbands holding it up and a wave of relief washes over her now that she's free from the tight updo.

Soarynn runs the brush through her hair, smoothing out any frizzy pieces while humming to herself. She feels so fucking sore right now and if Coriolanus is a man of his word, then she's going to be even more sore before breakfast. She looks back over at her sleeping husband, tuckered out from sex and getting married.

Then she looks down at her bare thighs and swallows at the sight of dried blood and...something else on her inner thigh. She shakes her head at the sight of it, looks like Coriolanus was too tired to wash either of them off last night. That's alright though, it means that they get to shower together once he wakes up.

She tucks some of her hair behind her ears and stands back up, padding over to his side of the bed where his back is bared to her. Maybe she'll cover it with scratches before the morning is over. He's mentioned in the past how much he loves her long nails on his skin.

Soarynn prides herself in having nice long nails, always painted in a light pearly pink shade, the same shade as her toenails. She's proud of her soft hair and perfectly groomed body. Coriolanus has never mentioned a distaste for body hair but Soarynn prefers to keep her body as hairless as possible, even if that means sharing and waxing regularly.

Soarynn climbs onto the bed after taking off the shirt and slings one leg over his side, somewhat straddling him, "Coryo," she says softly, poking his bicep, "wake up."

No response.

Soarynn huffs, he's usually up by now, already at work but today is a special day and Soarynn doesn't want it to go to waste. So she resorts to a more aggressive method of waking up her husband.

Tickling.

She slips her hand under his armpit and begins her assault, getting her immediate results when his eyes fly open from the sensation he despises. "Hey!" He shouts, still half-asleep while trying to push her off, "Wake up," she giggles, trying to slip her other hand under his arm as well but he catches onto her plan and uses his strength to grab her by the waist and tickle her instead.

Soarynn shrieks with laughter, falling back over to her side while he continues tickling her stomach with no signs of stopping, "Not so fun when the roles are reversed hmm?" He says into her ear, his voice is so low and scratchy in the morning and Soarynn already feels something stirring in her gut.

Soarynn attempts to throw her weight back into him to shove him off but her attempts are futile and Coriolanus easily pins her down to her stomach, using a hand on the small of her back to keep her down while he moves around behind her.

Soarynn struggles in his grip, trying to push herself up but it's no use, Coriolanus will always be stronger than her, a usually terrifying thought where women are concerned but Soarynn has always felt safe with him.

She manages to push her chest off of the bed and looks over her shoulder at her husband who's on his knees, wearing that cocky smirk and her eyes widen at the sight of his cock, hard and ready to be inside of her again, "I believe I promised to fuck you didn't I?" He croons, his tone domineering and sultry.

Soarynn can only nod in response and let him move her body however he wants it. He grabs her hips and hikes them into the air, leaving Soarynn with her ass up in the air and her back arched while her face is pressed into her pillow. Soarynn wiggles her hips in anticipation, if last night was him holding back, she can't wait to feel Coriolanus when he lets loose.

"I wish I could tell you how many times I've imagined you in this position darling," he says, rubbing the tip of his cock up and down her folds. Soarynn whines when the tip rubs against her clit and she can already feel the precum leaking from his cock, "Coryo," she moans, trying to move her hips but he stops her with a slap on the ass. "Be my good girl Soarynn and take it like you should," he tells her, lining up his cock with her entrance before pushing into her cunt.

They both moan at the sensation and her walls wrap around him instantly, "So tight," he says, rubbing her folds as they wrap around his length, "taking me so well, just like you should angel. And you were so good for me last night, bled on my cock just like I knew you would."

His vulgar words make Soarynn's eyes roll back and she moans into the pillow, her walls tremble around him. It feels so different, so much deeper while taking him from behind and she can already tell that he favors this position over any others.

Soarynn's toes curl when she feels him slide all the way in, pressing against her sweet spot in the most possessive way possible, "You look so perfect like this," he tells her, landing another slap to her ass, "giving yourself to me, face down and ass up. I pity the other men in the world who won't get to see this every day like I will."

Soarynn never knew Coriolanus could be so possessive over her but having sex has unlocked a new side of him that she's never experienced before.

"Please," she begs, pushing her hips back against his. They both moan when her ass presses against his hips, making her take every inch of his cock. Coriolanus tightens his grip on her hips and pulls his hips back before snapping them forward in one sharp jab and Soarynn gasps at the new feeling of being fucked from behind.

Coriolanus immediately picks up the pace, fucking her hard and fast while Soarynn moans into the pillows. She's screaming at this point from how good it feels, he's relentless, hitting the same spot every time with accuracy.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," she moans, grabbing at anything she can find. Coriolanus seems to notice that and he leans over her and grabs her hands, pulling them behind her and holding them against her back, truly leaving her to his mercy.

"I knew you'd like it," he says, "like being my little slut. Does it feel good Soarynn? Does it feel good to know that you're mine now? That every night you'll be stuck on the President's cock like the good little First Lady that you are for me?"

Soarynn has tears in her eyes from the pleasure, she can't even come up with a string of coherent words right now, let alone answer his taunting question. He starts going even faster if that's possible and Soarynn is so past the point of pleasure right now, she's somewhere in the middle of life and death from how hard he's fucking her.

"Taking me so well," he praises with a raspy voice, "you look so pretty like this, can't even use that pretty little head of yours to think can you angel?" Soarynn whimpers and tries to lift up her head to answer him but she fails miserably and falls back into the pillow, her moans muffled. He's right about one thing, she doesn't have a single thought in her pretty little head. He's consumed her every breath, all she can think about is Coriolanus Snow.

But then she feels it, that wonderful sensation that means she's about to reach her peak. She got here much quicker than she did last night but he's also moving much quicker than last night too.

Soarynn can't even speak, only moans leave her mouth as she cums, her walls flutter around his cock while he thrusts into her at a punishing pace. It's fucking mind-numbing and he's not even done yet.

"Good girl," he says, slipping a hand down to her clit, rubbing it in tight circles despite how sensitive she is from her orgasm, "now give me one more."

Soarynn sobs into the pillow, she can't even think let alone give him another orgasm.

"I...I can't," she cries, struggling in his hold.

Coriolanus fucks her even harder and faster, "You can and you will," he tells her, "my good girl always does what she'd told, doesn't she Soarynn?"

He's using her weaknesses against her, her need to be perfect, to always be good for him and it's about to make her cum again so maybe he's onto something here.

Her walls start to flutter again, that wire inside of her is insanely tight while he rubs her clit and fucks her, all she can hear are her muffled whimpers and his groans of pleasure before she tumbles over the edge again, this time with a silent scream while her body goes limp in his hold. Soarynn can't speak, can't breathe as her orgasm hits her like a truck, she feels something trickle down her leg, did she squirt?

She can't even find it in herself to care right now.

Coriolanus continues to fuck her and she can feel his thrusts stuttering a telltale sign that he's close as well. Soarynn can only lie there and take it when he finishes deep inside of her, coating her walls with his cum. Coriolanus lets out a deep, throaty moan and pushes her back further into the mattress, "Just like that," he pants, "take me just like that Soarynn."

Soarynn is in a state of bliss while Coriolanus continues to talk to her, not hearing a single thing he says while she drifts off into a headspace she's never been in before. She can feel him lifting up her hips as he pulls out of her, she feels strangely empty without him inside of her. Soarynn can feel his fingers pulling apart her folds and she hears him swear under his breath at the sight of her cunt filled with his cum, a sight he probably would love to see every day if he could.

Soarynn sighs and her entire body slumps forward, the sleep taking over her body as her eyes drift shut. The last thing she hears is Coriolanus murmuring a few words of praise while rubbing her back, "...such a good girl for me..."

Everything goes black.

꧁ ꧂

Soarynn must be dreaming. She feels like she's floating on air or drifting through water.

Then she feels something, a hand, someone's hand sliding down her stomach towards her thighs. She feels the hand touch her most intimate parts and she wakes with a start, gasping while the bathwater splashes around her.

Coriolanus sits in front of her, an amused look in his bright eyes, "I promise I'm only cleaning you off," he assures her, his lips twitch into a lazy grin and Soarynn immediately relaxes. She looks around her bathroom, noting how brightly the sun shines through the windows.

Did she fall asleep after they had sex in the morning?

"I...how long was I asleep?" She asks, rubbing her eyes in hopes of waking up faster. Coriolanus slides his hand down her leg, stopping once he reaches her ankle, "A couple hours," he says with a shrug, "I guess I fucked you a little too hard." Soarynn scoffs, splashing some water in his face which earns her a teasing laugh, "Hardly," she retorts even though they both know she's lying.

His grin turns into the smirk that she's associated with vulgar comments and touchiness and he pulls her towards him by her ankle until they're face to face, inches apart, "Guess what I learned about you today."

Soarynn doesn't know if she's going to like hearing his answer.

"What?" She asks, begrudgingly taking his bait. Coriolanus shows all his pearly white teeth when he smiles, "I learned that my darling little wife can squirt when I fuck her really well."

Soarynn groans and covers her face with her hands, mortified by his recent discovery. Coriolanus finds nothing wrong with this apparently and grabs her wrists tugging her hands away from her face, "Don't hide from me darling, I've only just begun discovering the wonders of your body."

Soarynn wants to drown. She might as well try. She sinks below the water and stays submerged for about five seconds before two strong hands pull her above the surface, "Face your fears," he says with a laugh, squeezing her waist so gently compared to how rough he was hours ago.

Soarynn squints at him through her water-covered lashes, "But I'm not afraid of you." His face softens and she swears she can see relief hidden in his eyes, "Well that's good, I don't ever want you to be afraid of me, or of being intimate with me." Soarynn bites her lip, she saw a whole new side of her husband today, rougher, louder, stronger. Not at all the Coriolanus she's come to know over the past year.

"I'm not," she tells him softly, truly meaning her words, "and it was good, the sex was good," she elaborates, her cheeks turning pink, "it felt good, all of it."

Coriolanus chuckles, brushing some of her wet hair out from her face before leaning in to press a soft gentle kiss to her lips, "I'm glad you enjoyed it. You did very well, you trusted me and trust is everything to me." Soarynn nods along to his words, trust is everything to her as well, without it, they wouldn't be here right now.

"Promise me one thing Soarynn," he starts, pulling her into his chest so she can rest her head against him. "Anything," she murmurs, sinking further into his strong grip, "anything at all."

He deeply sighs, dragging his fingers up and down her side, "Never lie to me. I can forgive a lot of things but I despise lying, the children can testify to that as well. Never ever lie to me and I promise to give you everything your precious heart desires."

His words sink deep within her soul. Soarynn doesn't really lie, she doesn't enjoy it and she's not very good at it but she can sense the urgency behind his voice. Perhaps Livia lied to him and it ended badly for them. Well, not that anything can be worse than death but still, it must mean a lot to him. Or maybe it was Lucy Gray who created his hatred for lying.

Either way, Soarynn doesn't plan on being dishonest with her husband.

"You have my word," she tells him, lifting her hand and holding out her pinky, "I'll only tell you the truth and nothing but the truth."

Coriolanus hums, resting his chin on top of her head as he wraps his pinky around hers, sealing the promise.

After that, they talk about small, insignificant things while Coriolanus washes them off, a perfectly domestic feeling.

Soarynn feels herself falling asleep again but she's not worried, for she has a husband who will take care of her and protect her. Mind, body, and soul.

| Part 13. |

| tumblr oneshot/drabble |

{ Part 14. }

| taglist: @strawberriicakes @wonderlandbound111 @villiansarehottest @thevoicesinmyprettylittlehead @kickmybark @melodyoflovee |

[jq37]

Seeing you describe your opinion on Wish (the movie itself) as "def do have oh boy" just has me curious now. What is it?

OK, so I let this sit in my inbox for a while because I planned to see Wish and I figured that it would be more fair to wait until I had a full picture of what the movie was before I started talking about it and...yeahhhhhhh having seen it my opinion has not changed. It's just intensified. 

MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW (lol, this got past 7k words)

And, fair warning, it's pretty critical so if you don't want to read something critical about this movie then this is your exit.

tl;dr: I think the movie Wish fails at basically everything it sets out to do and it's an absolutely awful 100th Anniversary movie for Disney. 

When I say it fails at everything, I mean EVERYTHING*. I'm going to break this into sections for organizational purposes. 

*The one thing I'll give it a slight pass on is the art style which I don't love but also wasn't like make or break for me. I would have preferred true 2D or a better implementation of the blended 2D/3D style, but if the movie was otherwise of the quality of something like Spiderverse or Puss in Boots, the animation wouldn't have bothered me. Like, I watched S1 of The Dragon Prince with no problem. I can forgive janky animation--and it wasn't even super janky. Just odd. What I can't forgive is literally everything else about the movie. 

Characters

How is this movie so full of characters and yet devoid of characters that matter? There are a million characters in this movie and basically only two of them matter: The King and Asha. But neither of them are compelling in any meaningful way.

There's a lot of to do about the last batch of Disney protags being very same-y in a quirky, all fluff and no substance way and I don't really buy into that. I don't think that Raps, Anna, Moana, and Mirabel are palate swapped carbon copies of each other. They have unique backgrounds and struggles and motivations. I feel like they're all quirky, sure. But they all also have an identity BEYOND being quirky. 

I do NOT get that with Asha. I don't feel like I have a good idea of what makes her tick at all. Like, she's kind. She wants her grandpa to get his wish. She wants to be the King's apprentice so she can help people. The queen (we'll get to her) exposits to us that she cares about people. But being kind isn't in itself an entire personality. The way Mulan is kind (defying the law to spare her father the ravages of war in his old age) isn't the same way as the way Cinderella is kind (making clothes for her mouse friends and protecting them from the cat). Asha just has a generalized want to help people, which is an admirable trait, but doesn't give us much to latch onto. It's so telling to me that in a movie called "Wish" our main character's wish is just, "To have more than just this" And yes, Disney princesses wanting "more" is literally their whole thing, but it's always more specific than that. Mirabel wants to prove herself to her family. Rapunzel wants to experience life beyond her tower. Even Snow White--the Disney princess with the flimsiest story--wants to find her true love. That's a concrete motivation! Asha doesn't feel real to me as a character. It feels like the thing that drives her is that the plot needs to happen and that's it. 

The other important character in the movie is King Magnifico who was supposed to be a return to form for Disney in introducing another classic villain but he just fails at that so hard. The idea that he could stand toe to toe with any of the OGs like Lady Tremaine or Scar or even the latest villains like Dr. Facillier or Mother Gothel is laughable. He just doesn't have any gravitas. And his characterization is so odd. You can tell that they were trying to give him a "reasonable man doing unreasonable things for a good reason” backstory (both because of some images in the film and some stuff in interviews I read) but then they just...don't actually give the backstory? Like, they imply that the backstory exists but I don't remember them going into it at all. Which like, he doesn't NEED a tragic backstory. He can just be doing what he's doing because he's evil. Ursula didn't need a reason to want to rule the seas. She's just a boss bitch and she wants power. I don't need to dissect that any further. BUT if you tell me there’s a reason your villain is doing something, I need to see that reason. I don't understand why they would include that in the movie, just to do nothing with it. 

Beyond that, he's written in such a weird way. Like, despite the "maybe he has a point" angle they seem to want to go with, he's very obviously a self-absorbed ruler--like he'll say things like, "Yeah, I am super handsome" to his wife--which immediately dumps him into the camp villain category. But he's doing the controlling things he does in the movie of his own accord to get people to stick to the status quo he set up. Fine. That's a fine thing for a camp villain to be doing. But then, at a certain point in the movie, he just uses a forbidden magic evil book (which he has for some reason) that just fills him with evil, green magic and makes him 100% unhinged all of a sudden. And that's just...boring? Like, anything interesting you might have been able to do before that point about power and control and how sometimes you make a wrong choice with good intentions is just gone at that point. It sucks because there were a lot of right answers here. You could just make him evil because he's evil. That works. You could have him be seriously convinced that what he's doing is right and be willing to do whatever he needs to do to keep things that way. That works. You could say that he started out trying to be morally upright and then slid into enjoying the praise and control just a bit too much--and I think maybe that's what they were going for. But it does not come across that way. He just seems like a dick to the point where you're kinda questioning how he's pulling any of this off. Asha asks him one question and he flies off the handle. How does everyone not know he's an asshole if it takes so little to fluster him?

So I don't like our main hero or villain. But there are still SO MANY CHARACTERS in this movie. 

You've got Asha's SEVEN FRIENDS. Yes, SEVEN. they're based off of the seven dwarves, which is cute enough but do you know what happens when you give the hero seven sidekick characters? None of them get developed at all and you have to treat them like a unit. Only two of them matter at all--Dahlia (her best friend and the one who actually does more than just make dumb jokes or, worse, nothing at all) and Simon (the one who betrays them--more on that later). There is no story reason for them to have shoved in this many sidekicks. Especially since she also has…

Her animal sidekick, Valentino. Who is a very cute goat until he gets sprinkled with stardust and boom. He can talk. Which immediately made me like him less. Flounder he aint. The whole joke with him is that he's a baby goat with a rich, deep, baritone voice. That's it. Almost every joke he makes is either about that or his butt. Boo. 

Then, there's the Queen--Queen Amaya--who is such a NOTHING character. There's no effort made to build up her relationship with the king so that her flipping on him later has an emotional impact. I have no idea what she cares about or desires. When she shows up, she's basically acting like the king's secretary, which is weird. I don't think that's what a queen does. There's a moment during a later song when she joins the "revolution" and it just has zero impact because again, it's like, I don't know who you are in any significant way! She seems nice, and I would love to live somewhere ruled by someone boring and benign, but that makes for an awful movie character. 

I almost wrote "lastly, there's the star" because I totally forgot about Asha's mom and grandpa. They're in this movie too but even though Asha's whole motivation at the start of the movie is getting her grandpa's wish granted, we never get a good idea of what their relationship is. They have like, one quick scene at the top which tells us nothing, then they're in a crowd scene later, then Asha has dinner with them later the same day and that's it. And, again, we get nothing significant. Compared to something like Mulan where you have a good idea of what Mulan's relationship is with every member of her family by the time the military order comes in or Encanto where between the musical number at the top and the first group scene, you get an entire picture, this is really weak. Again, so weak that I completely forgot that they were even in this movie. 

And NOW lastly, there's the star. Who is like, cute enough but he really makes me annoyed because I've seen the original concepts and they would have been so much more interesting! That's the case for the queen too, so I'll talk about both of them together here. 

I am sorry to inform you if you didn't already know but the queen was originally supposed to be evil too.

She was supposed to be a part of an evil power couple with Magnifico and how dope would that have been? We've never gotten that from Disney before. Imagine! Disney Villain Song Duet! A Hot couples costume for next Halloween! An actual relationship that's developed in this movie! But nope. They unflavor-blasted her into the paper thin, placeholder of a character we have in the movie. 

And the Star went through a couple of concepts. One, was the spirit of her dead grandpa, taking a younger form, which isn't my fave one but it at least would give her a relationship with this person who is supposedly an important person in her life, something we don't have in the movie right now. My favorite alternate concept is that originally, the Star was supposed to be her celestial love interest. And listen, anyone who's followed me for long enough knows that I am a big advocate for platonic relationships and FRONTING platonic relationships. I don't think that a story needs a romantic relationship to be compelling and I think forcing one in almost always makes it worse. But there is NO central relationship in this movie to carry it. Asha has too many friends for any one of them to make a serious impact so it's not a friendship story. Her mom and grandpa are nothing characters, so it's not a family story. She interacts with the star a lot, but that's basically just her talking to herself because the start doesn’t talk. So nothing is really there to latch onto. If they'd decided to go with the romance angle, it would have forced them to focus on at least ONE relationship and it would have been a nice way to throwback to classic Disney movies from the past. Much better than just sticking her with SEVEN WHOLE USELESS FRIENDS. Literally, all they provide is backup vocals in the fight song. Special Dishonorable Mention to Gabo. Man I hate that dude. 

So, to recap this section, Asha's personality is only sketched out in the loosest possible way, King Magnifico is entirely half-baked, and there are so many side characters that no one can form meaningful relationships with each other. And it's really a shame because (1) they very easily could have pared down the cast and (2) very recently Disney put out Encanto which handles a large cast beautifully. There are a ton of Madrigals but I can tell you what the deal of each and every one is. This could have been done well and they fumbled so hard. 

Concept

OK, so next up is the general plot and concept. This story takes place in the city of Rosas which is ruled by King Magnifco. It is supposedly a paradise, but much like a YA dystopian novel, it has a twist: When you turn 18, Magnifico takes your wish away from you and puts in in his wish room with the promise that it might be granted at one of the monthly wish granting ceremonies. Once your wish is taken from you, you are "unburdened" and you're "free" from having to pursue it. You don't even remember what it was. 

There's a kernel of something interesting there. A ruler making his subjects docile, placid zombies that won't challenge him by taking away their ambition? That's interesting. People willingly giving away a part of their heart to dull the pain of trying and failing? Interesting. Someone doing this with no ill intent, but rather genuinely thinking that this half-existence is better than the heartbreak of the alternative? Interesting!

But the actual implementation of this idea? Ughhhhhh. 

So first off, just logistically, Magnifico grants one wish a month more or less (Asha says once a month and in his villain song, he said he granted 14 wishes "last year"). So like, realistically, most of these people have to know their wishes will never be granted, right? Because of like...how math works? Asha acts like it's a big shock when she learns that most wishes won't be granted but like girl...math. 

Secondly, there are two moments that are meant to imply that having your wish taken away turns you into a shell of yourself. Asha's friend (who betrays her) Simon is said to be all sleepy and more boring since he turned 18 and had his wish taken. And then, later in the movie, we see two new residents have their wishes taken, and they look a little disturbed after it happens. But, here's the thing. NO ONE ELSE IN THE MOVIE ACTS LIKE THAT. Asha's mom and grandpa act like normal people. So do all the other characters. It’s not consistent enough to establish that this is what’s on the line. Does taking your wish away make you a robot or not?

And does everyone just have one wish? I know I could fill a full sheet of paper, front and back, with things that matter very dearly to me. If you took away my wish to write for TV someday, that would still leave my wishes to travel the world and get a comic book adaptation of one of my novels and a whole lot of other things! Does taking your main wish away make you lose your ability to form new wishes? Logistically, how does any of this work? And you can't just say, "It's a metaphor. Don't think too hard about it," because there's a scene where the citizens start asking these questions. Like, "What happens if we have a new wish than from when we initially made it?" As if having unnamed side characters ask the questions first will alleviate the need to answer them. It's not lamp shading at that point. You're just being lazy. 

Also, this is more a me thinking about the implications too hard than an actual plot problem but if he's taking the wishes at 18 I feel like a lot of peoples' greatest desire at that stage in their life is, "I want a romantic partner." And if the central conceit of this premise is that once your wish is taken, you stop wanting to pursue it then the city of Rosas is gonna have a population Collapse problem very soon. 

The characters--especially Asha--get so emotional about wishes. It's like they're giving a My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic speech every time they talk about it (except MLP has MUCH better writing). It's bizarre to see Asha's mom get her wish back and be like, "Oh my wish. My precious wish!" when she doesn't act any differently than a normal person before or after she has it back (Sidenote: She says this and she's holding the wish ball but we never see what that wish is and that's maddening. Why do I know what the dream of every patron in the Snuggly Duckling is, but they didn't show that? Ridic.) It almost is like, being in contact with a wish ball is a quasi-religious experience that drives the characters’ actions (Asha and the King are both totally enraptured while singing together in the Wish Room), but because we, the audience, are very much not in contact with the wish balls, we're not getting ANY of that. 

Anyway, to recap this section: the central premise of how wishes work and how taking them affects people is not treated consistently or explained well, which makes the stakes feel very undefined and sloppy. 

Pacing

This has to be its own section, because it's the thing that baffled me most when I watched this movie. So, here's the setup. Asha is going to interview for the internship with the king. She wants to help people and she has the secondary motive of wanting to try and get her 100-year-old grandpa's wish granted because he's not getting any younger. 

Here is the entire sequence: Asha is led into the interview by Queen Amaya. Asha is awkward but makes a good enough first impression that Magnifico is moved to show her the wish room (for some reason). They sing a duet about the wishes where they’re both dazzled by the Wish balls. During the song, Asha finds her Grandpa's wish and after the song, she asks him to grant it. He looks at the wish and says while she has good intentions, it's too dangerous to grant--as are most wishes. She asks why not give them back then and he immediately flies off the handle and starts ranting about how HE decides which wishes get granted and what everyone deserves! 

Their first meeting and him showing his true colors happens in the SAME SCENE. It's like 7-10 minutes and they just RUSH through all of that. And it's like, why? Did they really need to get to that dumbass star song (we'll get to that) faster? 

I know that he isn't a twist villain so we don't need to keep the fact that he’s the bad guy under wraps. And, the way the story is structured, she needs to learn what he's doing before she can rebel against him. But it's not gonna be a big, impactful moment if you're rushing from beat to beat like this is an essay that's due in twenty minutes and you started five minutes ago. 

And it really makes you wonder, if Asha can blow the whole lid off this conspiracy within ten minutes of meeting this guy, why is this not happening more often? Between how obviously smarmy the King is, how paltry the wish granting system is, and how easily Asha was able to start asking questions and get him to blow his top (something that happens again later when the citizens start asking question–it literally drives him into his villain song) I don't believe that this wouldn't have happened earlier (Sidenote: Finding out that it HAD happened earlier and that Asha is the latest in a line of failed apprentices who questioned him? More interesting premise). 

So to recap: I have no idea why this movie is paced like this but it's not doing it any favors. 

Humor

Humor is very subjective so you can take this with a huge grain of salt but I think this is a deeply unfunny movie. 

The jokes fall into about three main categories:

(1) Quirky Humor: This is like Asha babbling and tripping over her words. The scene in the trailer where she's like, "Is my face drooping?" is a good example. It's not really a joke but it's clearly an attempt at humor that I don't think meets the mark. It's also in the songs with, for instance, the animals or the King saying slang that doesn't match how they talk or you'd expect them to talk at all and it just feels deeply incongruent, not funny. 

(2) Referential Humor: This is probably what bothered me the most because it was just so so very eye-roll inducing. And listen, I love a good reference. Enchanted is my favorite movie of all time. I don’t begrudge them for putting a few references in their 100th Anniversary movie. But ugh. There is a scene after the king's gone crazy where he's destroying wish bubbles for power and he's like, looking at the wishes and making a quip before he crushes them. And for the second one he goes, "Oh you want a nanny for your kids? Definitely  POPPING this one!" And he might as well have looked at the camera and said, "Get it? Get it?" and it took 6 months off my lifespan. (Sidenote: He he does a direct ref with the first two wish bubbles--Peter Pan and Mary Poppins–and then he just makes a general ref to the concept of true love with the last one and it's like, come on at least rule of threes this if you're gonna do it. Commit to your awful bit!)

(3) Kiddie Humor: This is where things get especially subjective because maybe a little kid would find this stuff really funny and they are a part of the target audience so that's valid. But it doesn't add much substance to the movie. This is like the goat being like, "I found a secret passage with my butt" or leading a chicken choir or singing the line, "So that's where all the balls of gas come from" while sticking his butt in the air--a lot of these have to do with the goat and his butt now that I think about it. 

I think I only laughed at one thing in the movie that was meant to be at least partially funny--when the Queen interrupts the fight song and everyone is like "Oh shit, we're busted!" before she starts singing along. 

So to recap: Sometimes a movie has a weak story but it's super funny and that makes up for it. This is not one of those movies.

Music

This is the one thing I already knew before I watched this movie: The music in this movie is bad. 

Like, fullstop, no qualifications bad. Not bad for a Disney movie. Not bad for this story. Just bad.

I was a little confused by the choice to pick a pop artist instead of someone who specializes in musical theater style music for this project, but a more pop-y musical doesn't automatically mean a worse musical. Sure, maybe it's a weird choice to pay homage to the past 100 years of Disney movies, but it could be good. I love Six the Musical.

But that's the problem. The songs aren't just unfitting. They're not just un-Disney. They're fully BAD. They feel so half-baked and God, I've never been so assaulted by slant rhymes in my life. Like, this bothers me to the point where I have to go through the entire tracklist. I can't just make a blanket statement, I have to show you what I mean:

1) Welcome to Rosas: This whole song sounds like someone listened to “Where you Are” from Moana (the "consider the coconut" song), “Belle” from Beauty and the Beast, and “The Family Madrigal” from Encanto and was like, "I could do that". And then they couldn't. It's not really catchy and it's pretty repetitive. Super forgettable. 

Worst Line: Honestly, this song is too boring to have a worst line. 

2) At All Costs: This is the duet that Asha and Magnifico sing. Before I saw the movie, I thought it was going to be Asha singing about a wish and Magnifico singing to his wife to set up the eventual rift between them but that was before I realized that this movie doesn't believe in relationship building. Some of the movie's worst musical sins are on display here. Turns of phrases that seem like they were written by AI and bizarre syntax. 

Like what does, "You pull me in, like some kind of wind" mean? That's not what wind does. Why would anyone ever say, "Felt this? No, I haven't" instead of "I haven't felt this?" That's so awkward. 

Worst Line: "Leave you here, I don't wanna. I wanna [promise as one does]." My feelings about this line could be a whole other essay, but I've been writing this for 2 hours already so I have to move on. 

3) This Wish: This is the big "I Want" song and it fails on several levels. It fails in comparison to all the songs it’s standing in the shadow of--like the last “I Want” song we got is, I believe, “Waiting on a Miracle” and man! How can you not feel for Mirabel after watching her go through everything she goes through at the start of the movie and it getting topped with her being excluded from the family portrait? You see all the build up (including the implied build up from before the movie started) and you see why it's all bubbled up to the point where she has no choice but to sing about it! With Asha, there isn't a whole lifetime of angst that's bubbling up to make her sing this song. Everything that's happened to her has happened over the hour of like eight hours tops. She meets the king, finds out about the king, realizes the whole system is bad, and then gets into an argument with her family who's drunk the Kool-Aid and doesn't wanna hear what she has to say (which makes no impact on us because we have no idea what their relationship is). That's it. It doesn't feel like the movie has earned the song.

And then with “Waiting for a Miracle” the music itself is plaintive and soaring. Like, I just paused writing to listen to it and I couldn't help but sing along and pour a little of my actual IRL "I Want" energy into it. It's a song that feels very real. “This Wish” isn't any of that. And it's not the actresses' fault! She's pouring her whole heart into it and she consistently does all movie. But the song is just, bland. Like I said, "I want to have more than this" is too weak a hook to hang your whole song on–especially when it’s the song that’s supposed to be the thesis of your whole movie.  

Worst Line: "So I look up at the stars to guide me/And throw caution to every warning sign." That's not a thing people say and also it doesn't mean anything. If anything, it sounds like she's saying that she's being extra cautious at the warning signs! You can't just throw words together haphazardly and expect them to retain their meaning!

4) I'm a Star: This is, imo, the worst song on the whole track. A friend of mine described it as sounding like a song from a preschool science show and that's exactly it, but there's more to it than that. 

First of all, a big part of the reason this song exists is to set up the fact that humans are made of stardust because that's a plot point in the climax. But there didn't need to be a song about that. That would be like if Frozen 2 had a song about how water has memory. But like, OK. If the song was a bop, it wouldn't matter that it was superfluous. Haus of Holbein in Six does NOT need to be there, but I enjoy it! I do NOT enjoy this song however. 

This is something I alluded to earlier, but this soundtrack in general and this song specifically sounds like it's trying to do LMM's schtick but poorly. And I know some people don't like his whole style of music (I personally like it) but love him or hate him, his style without his skill? Awful. The presentation of fun facts in the middle of a fun song makes me think of his "Look it Up" in “Shiny” or "That's true" in “A Winter's Ball”. And there's a part where a turtle (we'll get to the talking animals) sings "See we're all just little nebulae in a nursery/From supernovas now we've grown into our history/We're taking whys right out of mystery, closure/Now we're taking in all the star exposure" And it really sounds like someone doing their best to emulate Lin's flow in things like Mirabel's aside to Mariano in “The Family Madrigal” or any number of songs I could name from Hamilton. But it just falls so flat here. It sounds so preschool and cheesy. And not preschool in a fun way. Backyardigans would never. 

Also, this song is sung by a bunch of talking animals (the Star gives them the ability to talk) and I find them so obnoxious. They say stuff like, "Did we just blow your mind?" with the "boom" sound effect and I hate it. Maybe kids will like them, I dunno. I refuse to get into it further. 

Worst Line: This song completely misuses the word allegory, which I hate, and it rhymes it with "excitatory" which I hate more (and I am saying this as someone who has made peace with the fact that Schwartz rhymes "nasty" with "flabbergasty" in Disenchanted) but there is only one line in this song that can be considered the true worst line because it's my least favorite line in the whole movie. A dumbass, stoner-sounding deer named Bambi (boo) sings, "Ooh, I'm a star! Watch out world, here I are"

They rhyme the word star--not a hard word to rhyme at all--with HERE I ARE. 

I firmly believe someone should go to jail for that. 

5) This is The Thanks I Get?!: This is the much anticipated and extremely disappointing villain song. There's just no gravitas and it's not clever enough to be very fun. It's just kinda bopping along which is eh, kind of fun at best, but like everything else in this movie, doesn't leave an impact. A musical number doesn't have to be obviously sinister like “Be Prepared” or, the holy (unholy?) grail, “Hellfire”, to be impactful. “Mother Knows Best” is bright and filled with false cheer but it still works because we can see the manipulation that Gothel is doing and she spins Raps around in mental circles to keep her docile. This is just an egotistical rant--and not even in a fun, Gaston kind of way! (Sidenote: Gaston is a good example of a villain who is preening and pompous and kind fo campy, but who you see why he’s beloved AND he can be menacing when the scene calls for it). 

Also, it's so full of weird slang that Magnifico doesn't use at any other point in the movie. "Peep the name", "Ungrateful much", "Mmm, are you sure you're not the prob?" It's like he suddenly got possessed by Urban Dictionary. It's bizarre. 

It also comes weirdly late in the movie, which isn't a complaint, just an observation. 

Worst Line: I think "peep the name" is my least fave but, because I already said that, the opening lines of this song are, "I can't help it if mirrors love my face. It's genetics! Yeah, I got these genes from outer space" and that's such a weird thing to say. I got these genes from outer space? He wasn't even there for the star song so what the hell does he mean by that?

6) Knowing What I Know Now: I feel like this is the song that had the most potential. But for all its build, it never builds to anything. It starts and ends so abruptly (which is the case for multiple songs on this list). We don't really get to know any of the characters well except for Asha so them joining the revolution has no impact. The Queen turning on Magnifico really doesn't have much impact. 

(There's a line in this song where a character sings, "I was sweet but now I'm something else" which is so funny because we literally know nothing about her except that she surprises people when she's in a room which, lmao, me too. Fully forgot you were in this movie, girl). 

Worst Line: "The good in him, I've watched it melt". There's technically nothing wrong with this line but I hate it because melting with regard to emotion is never, "Oh, his goodness is melting". It just hits the ear so wrong. You can watch the good in him disappear or fade or vanish. Not melt. Hearts melt. 

There's also a reprise and a credits song but I have talked about the music for too long as is so to sum up, there is not a single song on this list that I will ever purposefully listen to for enjoyment ever again and there are a few lines that I feel calls for someone being forced to go to whatever the musical version of the Hague is to explain themselves. 

MISC

This is just a section for things that annoyed me that didn't fit anywhere else. 

There's a moment where Asha sees Star which is a star that has fallen to earth and is shaped like a star and she's not able to put together than he's a star until she looks up at a ball of yarn that's tangled in the trees and sees that the yarn is shaped like a star...which again, Star is ALSO shaped like a star! Baffling. 

Gabo at one point makes a comment to the effect of, "Wishing on a Star? Grow up Asha, this isn't a fairy tale." And it's like, dude shut up. Your king is a sorcerer. This movie isn't funny enough to pull off that kind of wink to the audience. 

The actual funniest part of the movie is when a talking mouse (not a thing that usually exists in this world) runs onto the Queen's shoulder during a big speech in front of a crowd and not only does no one notice, but she has no stronger reaction than if a messenger was telling her that her dinner was ready. And not in an underreaction for the purposes of a joke way. Like, in a they forgot to write in a reaction for her way. It's so unintentionally hilarious. 

They specifically set this in the real world–off the coast of the Iberan Peninsula–but I didn’t get any of that influence in any significant way here. It could have been any generic island town. Rosas sounds like a Spanish name and “Welcome to Rosas” there is some dancing that looks like traditional Spanish dancing. But on a whole, it feels pretty bland. When I think about studying abroad in Spain, one of the big things I think about are all the moments with food–patatas con bravas, pan con tomatae, paella, and so so much coffee. The only food I remember from this movie are the novelty cookies Dahlia is always baking. Which is wild to me because their last big musical was Encanto and you could feel the cultural influences in every scene and it was seamless. This wouldn’t even bother me if that hadn’t made a point to set it in a specific part of the real world and call it out. 

A lot of the dialogue is super expository in a way that both makes me think the writers think we’re stupid and that they realized at certain points that they forgot to establish things but instead of fixing the script they just shoved in a line. Like, to the first point, there’s a part where Magnifico crushes a wish and it’s very clear that he’s getting a high from it. But instead of letting the moment stand he’s like, “Oh yes. Who knew crushing wishes would feel so good? I must continue to crush wishes so I keep feeling this good feeling,” and it’s like…why did you need to say all of that? Old Power Rangers episodes have their villains monologue less than that!

This movie opens on a storybook–just like Snow White–and it has a voice over of Asha narrating the history of Rosas as the pages flip. Not a bad idea–until you push into the scene and realize she’s telling all of this to…her grandpa? Who is 100 years old and lived through all of this? What? Why not have that scene be a kid flashback and the story is being told to her? Or have her be doing the little kid thing of telling a story to an adult? Either way, that would help establish their relationship which is ostensibly very important to this movie. Or, wild thought, just have her be telling this story to kids! Like Mirabel explaining all the Madrigal gifts in Encanto! Like, if you’re gonna take cues from that movie, at least go all the way so your movie makes sense. 

It’s very unclear how Star’s magic works. It seems like he mostly just gives wildlife the ability to talk. I thought he was just granting wishes but he never does that to any of the humans. And I find it hard to believe that the wish of every animal (and mushroom)  in this movie is just to be able to talk.

Easy Fixes

And all of this is compounded by the fact that this isn’t just any random movie or even any random Disney movie. It’s the *100th ANNIVERSARY*. You only get one of those and this is what they wasted it on. My hopes were really high here! I was expecting a lot of love and care to be put into this one, but it just fell absolutely flat. It feels so rote, so by the numbers, so lacking in care. It feels like the shell of an outline of a movie that relies on the fact that we know what a movie of this sort should be and can fill in the blanks. 

And the worst part? The absolute worst part?

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A REALLY EASY MOVIE TO FIX. 

Like, I’m serious. If you watch this movie, you will be able to, off the cuff, name tons of things that would have solved problems without breaking a sweat. 

For instance, just cutting her friend group down from seven to two would have helped immensely. If she, Dahlia, and Simon have a Three Musketeers relationship, then when he betrays her to the king, it actually means something now! 

For a bigger but still obvious change, why not have Asha have an existing relationship with Magnifico? So then this story can be about her losing faith in this relationship she’s had for a long time after she’s seen behind the curtain and become jaded over time and not a 7 minute “Don’t Meet Your Heroes” speedrun.

And making it clear what taking a Wish from a person means–and following through with that portrayal all movie–would all be a game changer. Show that Magnifico’s magical wish granting still leaves the people hollow. Show that Asha is a vibrant, bright person amongst a sea of robotic adults. Show me some worldbuilding! 

Also, just hire a musical theater person to do the music. Seriously I can’t believe I have to say this? How is there not a single good song in this movie? There are DCOMs with more bangers than this. Almost every song in High School Musical is a bop. How are you getting outshone by High School Musical?

And these are just changes that preserve the bulk of the story as is. This movie could have been even better if they’d change the direction to go with some of their scrapped ideas!

This is just a movie that absolutely baffles me. I wouldn’t think it would be possible for a movie with this high of a profile to be this bad. You would think that even accidentally they’d have to get SOMETHING right. But they really don’t. I can’t recommend this movie, even for a fun-bad watch. It’s like eating unsalted saltines while you have dry mouth. Just watch a better movie. And here are three movies I think are more in the spirit of Disney’s 100th anniversary than Wish:

(1) The Princess and the Frog does literally everything that this movie is trying to do but better. You’ve got a movie that used a 2D style in the 3D era. You have integration of cultural elements–in this case New Orleans in the 20s. You have a classic princess story with the classic trappings: romance, villain, fairy godmother. You have a rocking villain song. Hell, you even have a wishing star motif! 

(2) Encanto is the latest Disney movie of the modern era to have that classic Disney magic, imo. It sidesteps a lot of the classic Disney tropes–no princess, no serious romance (Delores and Mariano end up together but it’s very much a side thing), no villain beyond generational trauma–but it still feels musical and magical and full of character and life. It shows that you can keep the big emotions that we expect from Disney even with more modern sensibilities. 

(3) Enchanted is my favorite movie of all time so I’m biased, but I still firmly believe that it stands as a better movie in general and tribute to Disney specifically than Wish. THIS is how you do an homage. The whole plot is a loving roast of all the quirks of classic Disney movies, but it’s also a sincere story that stands on its own. It has references to old movies, but they’re integrated very naturally. And it’s funny enough to get away with things like a character mid-musical number being like, “What the hell is happening? Why is everybody singing?” without it feeling like lazy, “Well that just happened” humor. And the music is so good! 

(A quick note on the music btw: Most of the songs in Enchanted are musical theater style songs but there’s one song near the end called “So Close” which is like a pop ballad. And it totally makes sense why they’d depart from the musical theater style in that moment in context but, even if it was jarring and totally unfitting for the movie, it’s still objectively a strong song. Out of context, it would be a great, sad, romantic song. And if the music in Wish was all like that–good but unfitting–this would confuse me less than it does.)

Anyway, I would shell out a LOT of money for a making of documentary for this movie in the style of the Frozen 2 one because as writer and a fan of a lot of Disney’s past stuff, it is completely beyond my comprehension who a team of accomplished people get together to create the 100th Anniversary project with their vast resources and produce this. It just doesn't feel like a movie with any serious care put into it. Which is separate from quality, btw. I don’t like the movie Raya very much but I think it’s obvious a lot of care went into it and I respect this. Wish feels like a movie that was made to fill some kind of contractual obligation and it makes me sad because I really wanted to like it. 

[abandonedpost]

My Highest Worldly Bliss: Chapter Two

Pining, a lil’ bit of backstory, and some mandatory filler for pacing purposes later on 🫶🏼

Tw: Minor cursing

——

002 was heaving as she raced back to her holding cell. What on Copper-9 was she thinking?! Talking… to a worker drone?! If the Doctors ever found out about this, she’d never live to see another day.

But, the strange man with the white eyes confused her in a wonderful way. His concern seemed… genuine. Almost as if he wasn’t afraid of her. The thought engulfed her in the same fuzzy feeling that seeing his face for the first time did. She felt her core skip a cycle and the blush momentarily return.

“Snap out of it, Nori!” She whisper-yelled, using her real name now, not the number the humans had mandated for her. As she approached the holding cell she shared with 048, she breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door.

“[And where might you have been?]” The Russian drone was right in front of Nori’s face as she opened the door, looking unamused.

Nori jumped, “Oh my frickin’ god, Yeva! Warn a bitch before you jump-scare her! Nearly gave me a core attack!”

“[You’ve dealt with worse. Now tell me, where were you? You were supposed to be back 30 minutes ago.]”

“I got… held up in the chamber. Passed out after treatment.” She tried to make it sound as convincing as possible, but if anyone could see through her, it was her best friend.

“[You are a terrible liar,]” the taller woman scoffed, “[fine, don’t tell me.]” Yeva turned back around and walked toward her bed, brow raised in anticipation.

“Ugh, it was noth- it’s stupid, okay! Just some… dumb architect guy from the surface.”

“[Uh-huh,]” 048 said with a grin.

——

“You there, boy! What are you doing?” A low-pitched voice rang through the hallway, momentarily distracting Khan from the empty feeling in his core. The pretty lady was gone…

He turned around to tell the human what had happened, “Uh, I finished surveying the damage. As you can see it’s very minor,” he pointed up at the, now fixed, ceiling, “but there’s damaged wiring behind that wall. So I’ll need to come back soon.”

The drone nervously watched the human’s expression, waiting for them to notice his lie and send him to the dump for it.

“Ugh, fine, fine.” The person scoffed, “Just go back up to the lobby. They’ll have to send the mines another request to loan you for the day. Otherwise you won’t get clearance to come in.”

“That’s fine! I best be on my way, good day to you!” Khan quickly disappeared down the hall, a hopeful feeling in his chest. Maybe he’d see her again after all.

——

For the next, god knows how many, days, Nori’s processor actually… calmed down. She couldn’t pinpoint why, but she wasn’t complaining. It was rare for her mind not to show her visions of inescapable doom.

“002, report to the interview room. I repeat: 002, report to the interview room,” came a Doctor over the lab audio speaker

“Ughhhh,” Nori groaned as she pushed herself up on her bed, “screw you!”

Yeva turned and laughed, “[Seems like someone’s in trouble.]” she teased, “[Don’t suppose it had to do with some ‘dumb architect guy from the surface’?]”

“Y’know what? Screw you too, 048,” The violet-haired spitfire replied curtly, “It’s probably because of the scene I caused, storming out and all. That guy has nothing to do with it.”

“[Whatever you say, best friend.]”

Nori mentally cursed Yeva. She’d gone through all the trouble to convince the Doctors not to change her room number, and this is what she got in return.

It was embarrassing, but she couldn’t help but smile at her friend’s incessant teasing.

“Out I go. See ya soon, jerk.”

——

A week had passed, and Khan had yet to be contracted to go back to the Cabin Fever Labs. He grabbed his clipboard every day, flipping through the pages in hopes of finding it as his assignment. And every day, he was disappointed.

The man was miserable. But he didn’t feel it was justified.

“C’mon you big idiot,” he muttered to himself one morning when he woke up, “it was just some random girl. You barely even spoke.”

Khan swung his legs out of bed, and found his task for the day. He silently hoped it was good news, and then scolded himself for being so stupid.

“Great, office work, again.”

——

Nori sat before an array of pictures. One of two Doctors in the room came and cuffed her hands behind her. She resisted, trying to use the symbol to get him away from her, until the other stuck a magnet on her head to sedate her.

“No more… incidents.”

“Bite me! What do you asses want anyway?!”

“No need to get so feisty. It’s only inkblot testing today.”

That surprised her. Just inkblot testing? After all that? She calmed down momentarily, before her tranquility was replaced by an awful, gnawing gut feeling.

“O-okay,” she said with uncertainty, “let’s get this over with then, I guess.”

The first image was laid in front of her, “We want you to tell us the first word that comes to mind when you see each photo in the lineup.”


It looked like the symbol that her processor always showed her; the same one that appeared in her hand at will.

“Control.” She replied so quickly it scared her.

“Next.” One of the voices said. This time, it reminded her of one of the demons from her visions. A tall frame, pinched at the waist, wings that broke out of its back and stretched far into the sky, and a tail filled with some kind of fluid that seemed to glisten, even though the picture was in black-and-white.

“Doom.” Another immediate reaction.

The third one stumped her. For a moment, it looked like… her? No, not her. To the untrained eye, it may have seemed as such, but it wasn’t. Not quite.

“Shorter. No dress? Boots and leg warmers.” She mentally recited as she observed.

They looked like they had on a beanie… and were holding a gun?

And then Nori became 002 again as the visions flooded her processor.

——

“God forbid.” Khan muttered to himself as he perused the day’s paperwork. His office was a cluttered mess. He was a cluttered mess. Papers with scribbles and illegible writing were strewn on shelves, the floor, and connected to each other on the walls with red tweed.

All he wanted was to do something extraordinary. Something meaningful. He’d spent months trying to narrow his ideas down to a single project, but nothing spoke to him. And it wasn’t like the humans ever gave him a day off so he could actually think.

Plus, a certain someone had been occupying his mind lately.

She was all he could think about and he didn’t understand why. It wasn’t as if he was a monk, having never seen a woman before. He’d worked with much of the fairer sex in a professional capacity, so why was she any different?

His thoughts were interrupted by one of his superiors barging in.

“Khan,” they said, panting, “they need you back at Cabin Fever. Now.”

[merrysithmas]

i really like reading your thoughts on "girl"! i was just wondering what you think might happen after paul passes? do you think people will start to examine the relationship between them as something more than just songwriting partners? i mean nothing really changed when yoko said john was bisexual (and some fans still don't believe it!). in my wildest dreams, paul's estate will drop a posthumous tell all book and we'll be left with so many questions lol.    

John himself said he was queer several times - I remember watching an interview with him when he was saying being an artist in a capitalist world requires money and that if he wasn't famous he'd need to have married "a rich old lady or man" to be a songwriter.

He also said he hooked up with Brian in Spain (Yoko confirmed he told the press they did "do it" and she was seemingly applauding his bravery in saying so).

Lennon remarked that he was "afraid of the fag in him" which made him act on his anger and set off his worst most fearsome temper explosions.

Also I think there was a few "tell alls" where past friends reported that he was open about his queerness & confirmed hooking up with Brian in frustration.

May Pang wrote that he told her he considered (lol) an affair with Paul. He spent two years in gay clubs in LA.

Yoko also confirmed he was bi (as far she she knew, maybe later on had he not been murdered he'd have identified as gay or pan).

Elton John said he and Lennon did "naughty" things together and laughed about said things with Sean, his godson. Julian Lennon did an interview where he said he "agreed" that John and Paul were in love during the Get Back film period.

Lennon also contributed a first-person poem the First Gay Liberation book.

Those are just the examples I can think of off the top of my head. He also seems to have had a relationship of some kind with Stu (conjecture) and an obvious-departed-from-platonic dynamic with Paul which is easily, easily an emotionally romantic affair at least (which isn't the half of it).

Anyone who denies his queerness does a great disservice to his memory & the incredible poignancy of his songs in this context during his time period. Artists have been reworking the lyrics and wording of their queer songs to appeal to an unaccepting general audience for commerciality FOREVER and to assume this was not done by Lennon, who is "confirmed" queer (if you needed to hear it from Yoko for it to be true to you) is truly delusion.

I think after Paul has left us people will feel more comfortable analyzing their relationship in a queer sense and I do think at some point it has likely been engineered that something to that effect will be officially announced or endorsed in some regard by their Estates (to generate continued moneymaking lol and interest and enigma). I feel like that's something that could happen, reasonably, after Yoko is gone and her hold on the Lennon narrative is diluted into Sean's POV & the McCartney family has the freedom to speculate or give their personal feelings on the life of their beloved father in retrospect. There's also the chance Paul could say something or leave something to that effect before he leaves us.

I feel like Paul would never say anything otherwise because John never got to endorse any release of their personal history before his tragic and senseless murder in a time period where being gay was still treated with such bigotry and cruelty (the 80s). I feel like Paul's great respect for Jane Asher and their relationship is a testament to this because he has never spoken about their relationship out of respect for her - for the exact reason that she has never spoke publically about it herself.

Paul is a pragmatic and private person and I feel like he knows the majority of the ignorant world isn't ready to hear the biggest band in human history was founded on teenaged homoromantic affection/gay love. But maybe one day, it will be.

This is speculation on my part but Paul also probably doesn't want Yoko to know anything because either she is willfully ignorant or John truly wasn't honest with her and Paul feels it's something she doesn't deserve to know - especially if it's something John kept private & only between he and Paul. It's something he always has that's over and beyond what Yoko and John had & he seems to treasure those specific things no matter what they are. Obviously... Paul still doesn't care for Yoko and he is probably extremely fatigued of the fact that she has been the managing agent & author of John's estate for 40 years (when in the late 70s she and John seemed on unsteady terms as per other parties) and then treated Julian with such disregard. Sean on the other hand seems to have grown to love Paul, but we'll see lol.

I also feel like Paul probably has a few "surprises" for Beatles fans lined up for after he and Ringo are gone - he just seems like that kind of person and wants the Beatles to continue on in great esteem for many many years to come.

thank you for your ask!!

[newtonsheffield]

Spicy Sunday for the awards au based on the new pics of Jonny at the GQ Men of the Year red carpet?

Alright, let’s round out Sunday right

Kate had felt his presence the second he’d stepped out of his car. From the other end of the red carpet she’d felt it. Her spine had prickled even as she’d put her earpiece in and done her soundcheck the producer in her ear.

“Any highlights I should try and hit?”

“Well, all the Brits are obviously being nudged towards you and given your… banter with him, we’ve been promised Anthony Bridgerton for 5 minutes.”

Kate’s stomach had churned at his name and she’d forced herself to roll her eyes, “He’s an Oscar winner now, surely he’s had better things to do, better people to talk to in the last six months than me.”

“Even so,” The producer tutted, “He’s locked in.”

She heard the whispers go up the second he arrived, the screams from people lining the carpet and she faltered in her interview with Lewis Hamilton, cutting off mid sentence.

“So we’re coming towards the end of your… Oh.”

She caught sight of Anthony, the flashes of the camera mirrored in his sunglasses and his jacket fell when he reached up to run his fingers through his effortlessly styled hair. Her spine shiver as his lips curved in a charming smile as he waved at the people screaming his name and he jogged over to sign whatever they thrust at him.

“Kate, stop eye fucking Bridgerton.” Her producer hissed in her ear, “You’ll get your chance later.”

“Oh god,” Kate cleared her throat, “Lewis I’m so sorry, I got… the Formula one season is about to wrap up, you’re in a fight with Ferrari for second in the constructor’s tell us a little about that.”

Lewis clicked his tongue, “That’s alright, I can see I’m not the most important person here.”

“Kate Sharma, stop trying to make me fall in love with you.”

Kate’s spine shivered at the sound of his voice and her eyes fluttered closed for the briefest second as Anthony leaned into the microphone.

“Lewis you don’t mind if I interrupt do you?”

Kate rolled her eyes, “He does actually; Wait your turn Anthony.”

Anthony put on a great show of pouting, playing it up as people noticed what was happening. “She says I don’t look handsome!”

Kate bit back a curse and said with a little more force than she meant to put behind it, “Good luck, Lewis! Right, Anthony, step on up! Abandoned your other interviews.”

Anthony grinned as he stepped forward, leaning so close, his lips brushed the microphone and his voice came out a throaty little thing, “I’ve not abandoned them, I have every intention of going back, I just wanted you to see me when I was at my best. Thoughts? Feelings? Overwhelmed by my willingness to ah… Peacock for you?”

“I like the suit but the sunglasses are a bit much.”

“I stand by them. And might I say: You are absolutely beautiful tonight as always. Want to see how my heart’s pounding for you?”

“Obviously I’d love to be able to confirm for everyone that you have a heart. Who it belongs to is a little up for debate though.”

Anthony winked at her as he took her hand and tucked it under his jacket, and his heart thrummed under her hand, quick, staccato beats. “What do you think?”

Kate sighed, “Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s there. Right under a very firm pec.”

“Do you want to feel my abs as well?”

“I’d love to hear about your new charity instead, can we have a little plug for that?”

She was glad when it was finally done, waving to the camera crew as she went back to the hotel, desperate to get her shoes off. She toed them off the second she got through the front door, letting it close behind her with a resounding thud.

“At least let me take your dress off.”

Kate jumped about a foot in the air when she caught sight of Anthony, lounging dramatically on the sofa, his sunglasses halfway down his nose as he grinned at her. “Anthony! Jesus fucking Christ I thought you were some sort of random pervert!”

“Well, half true.” Anthony got to his feet, tossing his sunglasses down on the sofa. “You never did tell me if you liked my outfit.”

Kate swallowed as she stared at her boyfriend, her arms crossed over her chest, “You told me that you were wearing something boring. That I wouldn’t be distracted by.”

He looked so confident, stood there in his bow tie, one thumb in the pockets of his waistcoat while his other hand ruffled his hair. “Oh, so you like it.”

Kate stepped slowly towards him, something smug flickering in the pit of her stomach that he was hers, even if no one knew about it. She slid her hands up his chest under his jacket, walking her fingers up his chest until they reached his bow tie. She tugged on the ends until it came loose in her hands and she tugged his top button free, exposing his throat. “I know you wore this for me.”

Anthony swallowed and his throat bobbed under her fingers, “That isn’t a secret.”

She let her hands slide down to his shoulders and pushed until he flopped onto the sofa. She tugged up her dress and felt his moan vibrate through her chest as well as she straddled him. Anthony’s hands slid to her thighs, comfortably, the way they always did and she pressed her words into the skin of his neck, her teeth nipping between every one of them. “I liked it very much. I ruined my interview for you.”

“I look forward to seeing that in this week’s package.” He tilted her chin upwards until their eyes met and tension flickered between them, building, even in these scant few moments.

“Shut up and kiss me.”

His hand was still on her throat as his lips claimed hers roughly, and she could taste his moan against her tongue as it tangled with hers. Her hands tugged roughly at the buttons on his waistcoat and then his shirt, desperate to feel his skin pressed against her just like it had been this morning when she’d woken up in bed beside him. His hands smoothed over her thighs, soft fingertips dancing over her skin, setting it on fire as they made their way under the hem of her dress.

Kate’s fingers tugged roughly at his belt and she moaned as she rocked her hips against his, feeling him through the fabric of his trousers over and over again.

“Oh fuck, Kate.” His eyes slipped closed as his fingers curled in the waistband of her underwear and slipped inside, a warm smile spreading over his lips, “I nearly died when I saw you tonight. So fucking beautiful.”

Kate caught his lips again and moaned, tugging his trousers down sharply. “God I wanted to do this so badly.”

Anthony moaned again as her hand slipped over him and whatever clever retort his smug smile was a precursor to died when her hips slotted firmly against his. He tugged her forward again until their lips crushed against each other and his tongue swept over hers as his arm slid around her waist, anchoring her firmly against him, guiding her as she rocked their bodies together.

Anthony’s hair fell in his eyes a little and he leaned back against the sofa, his free hand tugging at the neckline of her dress until her chest was exposed and his eyes watched her hungrily as she moved over him. She felt something smug settle in her own chest then as he watched her, a muscle in the corner of his jaw clenching as his eyes darkened.

Every movement of their bodies made her feel more empowered even as her thighs started to burn and every breath felt like a gasp for air as heat coiled in the pit of her stomach. Her entire body felt as though it was on fire as Anthony’s hand pressed itself against her chest and she could feel herself losing control as he buried his face against her neck, his abs rolling under her hands. His teeth bit into her skin and it sent her hurtling towards the edge, dangling on the precipice. Anthony’s chest heaved underneath her and she could smell sweat mixing with his cologne and her chest felt as though it were going to explode.

“Come.”

Kate shuddered as she shattered in his arms and Anthony followed her over the edge his body shivering under her as his hips bucked and his arm tightened, holding her in place as though she could have moved even if she wanted to.

Slowly, their breath returned and Kate suddenly blinked at him, “What are you doing here?”

Anthony raised an eyebrow, his cheeks still pink, “I’m… your boyfriend? You gave me a key to this room yesterday when we arrived?”

Kate rolled her eyes, still not bothering to extricate herself, “i mean: You’re supposed to be at a party right now.”

Anthony scoffed, “As if I wasn’t going to duck out three pictures in and come back here for wild hotel sex and room service.”

“You’ll have to hide in the bathroom again.”

“A burden I am willing to bear for you.” Anthony hummed, “The mirror in there looks excellent for me to take some sexy little photos for you while I’m on my next shoot anyway.”

[missingpolinseason]

As a huge Penelope fan who's also an absolutely fangirl of Julia Quinn's work and most of all Romancing Mister Bridgerton, watch Pen compete with Cressida for a suitor AND be completely alone while her best friend/sister/soulmate befriends a version of Cressida the show tryed to redime broke my heart.

It seemed unfair to Penelope as a character and a terrible decision. Almost as if the writers didn't respect Pen nor couldn't at lest try to understand how she'd feel, how society and her family treated her. And it made it even worst when I realised how much the actor who plays - very well, this is not a critic to her tallent nor her as a person -, Jessics Madisen, looks so much with new showrunner Jess Brownell.

So, for 2 seasons we had the mean girl Cressida from Julia's books. The one who gossip's about other debutantes, throw her drink at Pen's (sort of) favorite dress, would have told society about Daphmon's garden enconter. But sudenly, in Polin's season, she is misunderstood and only acts the way she does because of her home/family situation, as if the script is justifing and making escuses from her behavior.

There's even a new mean girl character named Lady Clara Livingston, who is the one who tells society about Colin helping Pen to find a husband so Cressida doesn't have to do it. (When it would've been so logical for Cressida's character to do it, but they wanted to develope her friendship with El).

There's also the case of Polin's engagement party. While in the book Colin invites her so "she can watch Pen's sucess", in the show she invites herself AND claims to be Lady Whistledown - wich in the book she does in a random ball - while no one questions it. Cressida even gets her own cover song moment when she enters the Mondrich's ball. Yess, 'Confident' was there for Cressida.

I can tell you who picks the songs and when they're gonna play - I believe some times they may be picked by the director - but Brownell told in an interview she was the one to choose "Give Me Everything (Tonight)" and that it Pittbull made the carriage scene so there's that.

In the end, not only Cressida got her sort of rediming arc but also her mother got to be the "fake Whistledown" - a total show plot since in the books no one ever attempts to write it. And they give her yet another change by making Colin try to dissuade her of her blackmail instead of embarass in front of the whole ton by revealing his wife is the real and only Whistledown. Yeah, the writing made Colin, the lead man, fail in help his wife to favor Cressida. It was so bad some fans actually believe she's be Sophie, wich we'll never known since season 4 scripits were most likely revisited in between filming but her mother (the fake Whistledown) was named Araminta.

We also know that scene in wich Colin talks to Cressida was reshot because of the wig.

[amberjazmyn]

how did you not notice?🫶

pairing : daniel ricciardo x fem!reader, platonic f1 grid x fem!reader

summary : based on my two prompts: "oh my gosh, eww, you peed on that... wait, are you serious?" and "you fucking peed on that and you made me touch it!", the f1 grid, girlfriends and wives find out that gianna and daniel, are pregnant with their first child.

warnings : fluff, pregnancy announcement, swear words

a/n : decided to write a happy pregnancy one for danny ric after the depressing pregnancy/miscarriage fic that i wrote! i promise this time this one is pure fluff! and reader's name is like mentioned in the summary, gianna <3

gianna couldn't believe her eyes. for maybe, almost close to a month into the f1 season, she hadn't been feeling too well, causing her to have to take certain races during the season off and other times have to watch it from hospitality so she wouldn't feel sick in the paddock. it scared gianna some that she couldn't figure out why she was so dizzy, lethargic, tired and nauseous but it wasn't until she caught up with kelly, max's girlfriend, her husband's former teammate and her best friend during a break in the race season that everything seemed to make sense to the younger girl. 

"...gianna, you okay?" kelly's voice had suddenly come through gianna's ears again and she maintained eye contact with the older brunette

"hmm? yeah, i...i'm fine kelly, just....i...i am so sorry, i'd truly love to stay longer but, i just forgot about some errands i got to run for daniel! can we raincheck lunch for a later date?" gianna seemed in a hurry, rummaging through her purse for a twenty pound note for the coffee and kelly didn't want to prolong her lateness, nodding her head enthusiastically 

"oh, of...of course, babe, don't even apologise! we can totally take that raincheck for a later date! stay safe and, i hope you get better soon!" kelly smiled sympathetically after the girls talked about gianna's symptoms and that was how kelly found out she was pregnant with her little girl penelope, which ultimately got gianna in a sprial without the woman fully realising it or intending it 

"thanks so much, kelly and, i'm always safe, you know that. especially considering who my husband is!" gianna chuckled, her angelic laugh making kelly giggle too as they joked about daniel, gianna's husband, fellow driver and former teammate of max 

"of course, i was just making sure!" kelly called out as the two ladies walked their separate ways to their cars, gianna shook her head as her smile never once faltered 

later on, that day after kelly and gianna had parted ways, the younger blonde walked herself into a pharmacy and bought herself a handful of clearblue pregnancy tests. after her conversation with kelly about how sick she had been feeling and how worried she was, it truthfully now made so much sense that she would be pregnant when she also suddenly realised that during this entire time she had been unwell, she hadn't gotten her period like she was supposed to during the second week of this month of the f1 season. she just hoped to some degree that she was pregnant and that daniel would be just as excited. even though this was a topic that daniel and gianna would have almost daily due to constant questions about it in interviews and things, it still somewhere in the blacklights of her head worried her that maybe, right now, they shouldn't be trying to settle down so soon. 

however, the moment that all ten of the pregnancy tests, yes ten, showed their results, gianna was so relieved and almost fell to her knees. all ten pregnancy tests had come back positive so, there wasn't a single doubt that daniel and gianna hadn't conjured up a junior ricciardo. because they did and the ten pregnancy tests proved all the evidence needed to support that claim. now, all that gianna needed to do was to tell her husband and then later on down the line, tell the rest of the grid and their significant others. with a small pep in her step, gianna decided to buy some infant unisex converse and decided that she'd announce her pregnancy to daniel with a youtube video challenge idea that she had seen her influencer sister do years ago. reminding the girl of how her elder sister georgia announced her pregnancy to her and her family, which was done in the same way.

daniel had very clearly noticed the new pep in his wife's step as he arrived back at the hotel after his day off with the lads. smiling with confusion at the set-up of a film camera, the couch and a box with a piece of fabric that covered a small side opening and then an open opening on the other side, he didn't question it and just followed his wife to the couch. 

"can we film a quick youtube video, babe?" gianna asks her husband as they pull out of a hug and peck each other's lips as he nods his head grateful he hadn't drunk his entire body weight as some of his bandmates had regrettably (but hilariously) had done

"course we can, no wonder why i was smart and didn't get drunk! should i be worried though?" daniel sarcastically said with a wink as gianna giggled after the memory of the last youtube challenge the husband and wife filmed went through her head (yes, daniel was drunk in that last video, hence his comment about him being glad he wasn't drunk this time)

 "not at all, i don't think..." gianna trailed off as daniel smirked before taking the seat next to his wife, a small four-legged chair sat in front of them, the box laid on top 

"...okay, babe, the first item is in the box, are you eyes closed?" gianna smiled as daniel giggled softly as he nodded his head 

"mhm," he vocalised, letting his wife know that his eyes were closed as she continued 

"ok, the fans who are watching the video can see what's in the box except you. so, just, stick your hand in and, feel around, pick it up, and see if you can figure out what it is, okay?" gianna explains as daniel laughs at the slight innuendo before nodding his head 

"o...kay...." daniel trailed off, his australian accent peeking through as he placed his hand into the opened side of the box as he slightly hesitated, flinching his hand before placing it back in 

gianna had placed in the infant unisex converse first because the pregnancy test would have been too obvious and easy she felt and then it wouldn't be so much of an amazing surprise, in gianna's opinion. so, starting off with the converse would act as a good clue to the fact that the shoes are for a baby - meaning that gianna is pregnant without telling him straight away with the pregnancy test. 

daniel chuckled, his head falling back as he felt the pair of converse, "are these like, converse for infants?" gianna sucked a breath in before a small chuckle left her mouth 

"can i pull it out to check?" daniel then queried as gianna vocalised a small "yeah", daniel then grabbed the infant converse and opened his eyes 

laughing at the infant converse, it seemed to gianna that it hadn't registered in his head that it was to announce the news of her being pregnant and the couple being parents. so, due to daniel's confusion she just set aside the infant converse, told daniel to close his eyes again and that she'd put the next clue to her surprise announcement into the box. 

biting her lip and willing away her joyful tears, she announced to daniel that he could place his hand in the box again and guess the next clue. it obviously stumped daniel as, unlike the first time with the infant converse, it seemed as if daniel hesitated in guessing what the item in his hand was. i mean, surely, it wasn't the first time the man had felt or even seen a pregnancy test but, it flew right past his mind because he didn't think he wouldn't notice if his wife was showing the symptoms of pregnancy or recognise that for the past month, they were the same ones that their best friend kelly and the other f1 mum's had when they were pregnant. however, it seemed as if five minutes later, he kind of figured it out since it was obvious that he hadn't noticed his wife's symptoms like he thought he wouldn't have missed.  

"is...is this a pregnancy test?" daniel finally calls out, his eyes adorably crinkled shut as gianna giggles softly as she watches her husband open his eyes and turn to his wife, his hand still holding the test 

"wait, it's been used?! ew, you fucking peed on it and you made me touch it!" daniel freaked out as he then brought the pregnancy test out of the box properly before he decided to take a better look at it after just touching it 

thinking it didn't have an answer on the panel thingy, he looked at it before it registered in his mind what it said. "gianna, are...are you serious?" daniel's voice trembled as tears shed his eyes as gianna smiled, nodding her head with a tender look at her husband 

"are you actually serious?" daniel's chin wobbled as he tried not to cry, gianna smiled brighter and nodded her head 

"dead serious," gianna smiled as daniel chucked the box, chair and the pregnancy test all to the floor as he pulled his wife in for a hug, letting his tears stream down his cheeks onto gianna's shoulder, hoping they wouldn't get a noise complaint from the hotel manager 

"we're having a baby!" daniel quietly sobbed out as gianna giggled and nodded her head, pulling out of the hug as she ruffled her husband's hair before stroking his cheek 

"mhm, we're having a baby, daniel!" gianna confirmed again, knowing that it was going to take a lot of confirmation for daniel to really believe his dream of becoming a father was going to come true 

after another two confirmations of the pregnancy, it seems as if daniel still hadn't cried all of his tears out as he continued to cry in his wife's embrace. daniel couldn't help the smile that was tucked away, hidden by gianna's sweater as she made small, rubbing motions of comfort on daniel's back to comfort him. finally though, thirty minutes later, it seemed as if every single tear that he could have shed, had been cried and the couple were now just coming up with ways to surprise their families and then the rest of the f1 grid family after getting the go-ahead by their ob-gyn. 

💌

a week or two had passed since daniel and gianna had found out about the pregnancy when it had been decided that they could tell their families and everyone else since gianna was now in her second trimester. telling both families, the ricciardos and the saints at the same time was so casual that it actually had such a delayed reaction that daniel and gianna thought they didn't hear them the first time. 

the way they told them was that, because georgia, gianna's sister is a nurse, gianna decided that after being offered wine, because she always does, she'd make a joke about the fact that her sister should know that drinking alcohol when pregnant is a big no-no. hoping that it would give the normal sometimes clueless families that gianna was pregnant. 

"wine, gianna?" georgia offers as gianna smiles, shaking her head no, confusing georgia as it was very well known how in love gianna was with alcohol

"ah, no thanks georgia," the pregnant girl responds which confuses everyone as daniel tries his hardest to not outwardly react or pull any attention onto himself in a way that could further clue everyone into the surprise 

"why? gia, you never turn down a glass..." georgia trails off as gianna decides to just tell her since no one had thought to look down at her slightly protruding stomach 

"...you're a nurse georgia, i thought...well, i'd hope you would know that pregnant women are highly advised to not drink..." gianna trailed off, hoping that both families would react but, it seems as if they weren't at all 

that was until georgia finally realised what her younger sister had just revealed. 

"...wuh...wuh...wait, gianna! no fucking way!" she squealed, almost dropping the wine bottle and rushing over to the other end of the table, pulling her younger sister in for a hug and almost out of her seat as the older sister held back her joyful tears as the sisters giggled, swaying side to side 

despite georgia's dramatic and loud realisation, it seemed as if everyone else was still so clueless that daniel and gianna were pregnant. so clueless in fact that it wasn't until gianna and georgia's mum finally looked down towards her youngest daughter's tummy, noticing the slightly curved baby bump that had been forming but wasn't totally hidden when she then announced out loud in a question that gianna was pregnant. 

"gia, you're pregnant?" mrs saint squeaked out as tears welled up in the mother's eyes, gianna nodding her head as daniel placed his hand on the small of her back 

"yeah, i'm pregnant," gianna confirmed as finally, the rest of the ricciardos and saints reacted in due course making gianna and daniel chuckle at the very delayed reactions of their families 

💌

she couldn't hide the nervousness that was welling up inside her as gianna waited for the moment the wags (kelly, carola, lily z, lily m, luisa, rebecca and alex) realised what it was that kelly was fiddling with. exactly in the way that gianna surprised daniel, the couple were surprising the partners and fellow f1 grid about her pregnancy with the "what's in the box challenge" with the other spouses being told first. 

kelly was extremely hesitant to place her hands inside the box with her eyes closed. due to her being a mother herself with one girl, she was extremely nervous to see what her best friends could be making her touch right now. and having the rest of the f1 girlfriends watching on in anticipation was making her feel more anxious about the item that she was trying to guess. however, it shocked gianna that kelly was so oblivious to the fact that she was literally fondling a positive pregnancy test that would announce gianna and daniel's first pregnancy and not be responding immediately with the answer of it being a pregnancy test. 

"--what is this?" kelly chuckles after nearly fifteen minutes of fondling the pregnancy test and not guessing it, the rest of the spouses chuckling at kelly forfeit

"are you seriously giving up, kelly?" gianna giggled, daniel biting his lip so he wouldn't laugh or again potentially give it away as he stood behind the camera that was filming the video

kelly giggled in defeat as she nodded her head, "yes, i give up, gianna! what is it?" kelly squeals out as she then furrows her eyebrows, her eyes showing a flash of recollection 

"wait, wait, i...i think i know what it is!" kelly called out in excitement as her eyes widened with joy, looking at gianna if she could take the item out, gianna nodding her head 

immediately, kelly yelped out, similar to daniel's initial reaction, the pregnancy test landing on the raised table in front of the group, gianna trying to keep kelly quiet so it wouldn't clue the f1 boys, "oh my gosh, eww you peed on that...wait, are you serious?"

the wags laughed at kelly getting grossed out by a used pregnancy test before it all clicked in their heads that it clicked in kelly's head that it was gianna's used pregnancy test. kelly had since let out a semi-muffled squealed sob, attacking gianna into a hug, the two girls falling onto the couch with the table that had the positive pregnancy test fall to the floor. the other girls' brains were slowly clicking in realisation when they noticed the way daniel was watching his wife and friend celebrate together, the other girls jumped up to pull daniel in for a hug. 

"you're pregnant, gia?" kelly whimpered out as she and gianna stood up off the couch, kelly wiping away her tears as the two girls saw the other girls hug daniel as they celebrated 

hearing kelly say if gianna was pregnant and seeing daniel's joy that they could finally tell everyone made the entire group happy. it was tears and joyus laughter all around for a while.

after calming down and the tears stopped, that was when gianna and daniel had to tell max, checo, oscar, alex, charles, carlos and lando.

similar to how they told kelly, gianna had max guess what was in the box. like his girlfriend, max fondled the pregnancy test for a few moments with no clue about what it was when a couple of minutes quicker than kelly did, he had the same exact freak out as his girlfriend had before him. 

"hold up, is this...is this a pregnancy test?" max chuckled, hanging his head low as he chuckled as neither gianna nor daniel responded at first which seemed to make max freak out even more

"gianna, are...are you pregnant?" max all of a sudden got emotional and teary-eyed, the other drivers still unsure about what was going on that was until they heard the part where max questioned if gianna was pregnant

perking up, lando then asked, "gianna, are you pregnant with you and daniel's first baby?!" lando smiled with the possible exciting thought of a new f1 grid baby being introduced into the world 

shrugging her shoulders, she nudged at max to reveal what it was that he was holding in the cardboard box, "i dunno lando...max, am i pregnant with me and daniel's first baby?" gianna teased with a shoulder shrug as an emotional max reveals the pregnancy test that did indeed reveal that gianna was pregnant with her and daniel's first baby 

immediately, carlos, lando, checo, alex, charles, oscar and then max, after throwing down the pregnancy test, wrapped their arms around their best friend and congratulated her on her pregnancy. daniel then joined them after it was then revealed that girls had already been told too. 

it made butterflies flutter throughout both daniel and gianna's tummies that they were finally getting the blessing of being parents for the first time after it being a point of talking after their marriage. after all the happy tears and squeals and jubilation over gianna and daniel's announcement, gianna couldn't help the jokingly snide comment that fell out of her mouth as she drank a mocktail. 

"how did you guys not notice? i thought danny and i had made it way too obvious for you!" 

fin

when i wrote this for the first time, i didn't like it as much as i thought i would. then i wrote a kian egan version and i liked it a lot better. now that i've done a danny ric version, i think i know which one i like better! and now like i've done the last two times since writing this one-shot, here is some context for the title that's so vague. because gianna is married to daniel and daniel is an f1 driver who travels constantly during the f1 season in the beginning of the one-shot, i mentioned that for some of the season that gianna had been sick. mr and mrs ricciardo then thought that after finding out about their pregnancy and not trying to keep it a secret but not telling everyone, people would realise a lot quicker that potentially, gianna could be pregnant. however it wasn't until they literally had to spell it out for them that they realised she was pregnant. hence the 'how did you guys not notice?' title and comment. because they hadn't really tried to keep it a secret like supposed to so it was just a funny little jab at their friends lol.

©⠀amberjazmyn's original work. do not translate or steal any of my fics. 2024

[specialinterestshows]

Had a lot of fun writing this section of my Rhea Ripley x lady!reader fic!

Warnings for this section: Social anxiety, blood, cannabis (weed)

-

Absolute Smokeshow (Part 17 of ?): The Rhea Ripley Effect

Voices murmured to each other in the dark. You could hardly see three feet in front of you. Faintly, talk-show music started up, as if far away. As it got louder, the lights above you started to turn on slowly, growing brighter with the crescendo. Soon, a cacophony of music and chatter pelted your ears as the harsh lights flooded your eyes.

“Welcome to… The Grayson Waller Effect!” A voice booms, “With your host… Grayson Waller!” Letting your eyes adjust to the light, you look around to find yourself leaning on the ropes at the edge of a ring, a table and two chairs in the middle and what seemed like an unnecessary number of plants surrounding the furniture. The titular host came down toward the ring from somewhere in the audience, microphone in hand. He ducked and squeezed between the ropes, hitting the mic a few times on the way in. You clapped your hands over your ears, wincing at the sound of the feedback.

Grayson Waller waves you over to the seats, sitting down. A groan escapes you, but you find yourself walking through the small forest of plants to sit at the table.

“Hello, everyone! I know it’s going to be difficult, but I need you to take your attention off me for just a brief moment! Instead, I want you to focus on this voracious woman to my right” - he gestures in your direction - “I’m sure you all remember her?”

The audience booed and your anxiety rose.

“Oh come now, you really are too mean!” Grayson addressed the audience, “We’re here to get the inside scoop on Rhea Ripley‘s brutality in the bedroom from her former- sorry, what’s the proper term? Girlfriend? Lover?”

It was suddenly too warm. You lean forward once you notice a microphone at your seat, “Hold on, I’m not going to kiss and tell-“

“Confirmation: there was kissing!” Grayson announced loudly to the audience, to mixed responses, “Tell me, how far did you go? And, uh” - he leans closer to you - “Are Aussies your type?” - a wink thrown in your direction - “Don’t worry, you can tell me.”

The crowd hooted, hollered, and whistled as your face grew ever warmer. How were you going to get out of this situation? Who booked you for this interview?

“I tried to get the Eradicator herself here for the interview,” he continued, not waiting for a verbal response, “but she said the break-up was - and I quote - “too messy” for her to want to discuss it” - the crowd booed and Grayson held up one hand - “I know, I know” - he turned to you again - “Tell me, did you suspect Rhea was just stringing you along before going back to Dominik Mysterio?”

Did you suspect what?

“I mean she said she isn’t even attracted to women, didn’t she?” he kept going, “Were there signs? Should we be expecting a challenge against Dominik Mysterio? When will-“

Your knuckles hit the wall next to your bed, waking you up as you let out a pained whine. Rhea shifts next to you, mumbling something unintelligible. Seeing her asleep in bed made it easier for you to disconnect yourself from the stress dream and come back into reality. You touch the place where your hand hit the wall and feel a cold sensation, like water, on your knuckles. Doing your best not to wake Rhea, you carefully crawl out of bed and into the bathroom. It’s only after you close the door that you flip the switch, wincing at the light that flooded your eyes.

Upon looking down, you see your knuckles are a bit bloody, but nothing profuse. After gently washing your hands, you rinse and try to remember where you kept the first-aid kit. Drying your uninjured hand completely, you open and close a few drawers and look behind several toiletries before finding the kit. The gauze, wrapping, and antibiotic ointment danced in one hand and onto the other as you contemplate your dream. Your subconscious wasn’t even trying to be subtle, was it?

Wound wrapped, you put away the first-aid kit and turn off the light, waiting for your eyes to readjust to the darkness before opening the door. Your heart was still racing a bit from residual anxiety and the alertness that comes from unexpectedly seeing your own blood. Walking quietly to the couch, you pull out your bong and take a seat. The bowl is still half-packed. You light it, watching the embers burn steadily. Clearing the piece, you set it aside, along with your lighter, holding the hit in as long as you could. Once you exhaled fully, you sat up again, wanting to make sure you were in bed and next to Rhea when you fell back asleep. As you crawl back over the sheets, the powerful yet elegant form next to you startles, letting out a sleepy “hmm? Babe?” and moving to sit up slowly.

“Hey, gorgeous,” you whisper, getting under the covers. You plant a kiss on her shoulder.

“You okay?” she mumbles, gently rubbing your arm with one hand.

“I’m fine,” you assure her, “Just a bad dream. Cuddle me?”

“Yesssss,” Rhea responds, pulling the blanket up a bit further before lying down again, arms snaking around you. She pulled you close and kissed the top of your head, knees curling up to meet the back of your legs. The warm breaths that fell on your neck slowed steadily as Rhea’s muscles relaxed, letting her full weight lean on and against you. The pressure was calming and soon you were also drifting off again. The last thing you remember is hoping that if you dreamed again, you would dream of being in her arms, just like this.

[end part seventeen of ?]

Part 18: https://www.tumblr.com/specialinterestshows/724944642506899456/absolute-smokeshow-part-18-of-smoke-you

-

Tag List (thank you!)

@cherryberryshine , @littlemiss-fanficlover , @elisewithak

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

do you have any thoughts you'd like to share about Jake and Bonnie's relationship in the Eleutherophobiaverse? i feel like we don't see those two interact very often, but i'm curious to know what they think of each other. does she just see him as her boyfriend's morose little brother? what is her perspective on his role in the war or his relationship with Tom?

Bonnie's stepping out of work, squinting at the sunlight, thinking of getting a taco or 10 before she heads home, when the phone in her purse goes off.

"Crap," she says tiredly, since it's probably her boss with some kind of breaking news. But she flips it open, and holds it her usual 6 inches from her ear. "Good afternoon," she says, speaking loud. "This is —"

"Bonnie Park, right?"

It takes her a second to place why the voice sounds familiar. When she does, she almost drops the phone.

She's waved to him twice, coming or going from Tom's place. She's heard complaints about his double-dipping a spoon in the peanut butter jar. She recognized him on sight even before the war, the freshman with a locker three rows down from hers who always seemed too distracted to remember his own combination. She watched him bleed, and kill, and nearly die, in hundreds of hours of the footage she edits and sends to her manager.

But this is the first time she has spoken with Jake Berenson. And a part of her can't help the silent scream of excitement and nerves and, yes, a little bit of the fangirling that every zombie tends to do with regard to the Animorphs.

"Yeah, this is Bonnie." Thankfully, her voice comes out normal. Not quite inflected, but normal. "Jake, right?"

"Yes." He takes a breath. "Are you free right now?"

Bonnie looks at the phone, even though there's nothing to see but rows of buttons. "Yeah, I'm just getting off work. What is it?"

"It's Tom."

She closes her eyes for a second. A part of her knew that was coming.

"Would you be able to come by the house?" Jake asks. "It's half a mile north of the mall, first development after the giant Sears parking lot, with the dark red roof that has a board over the rear dormer window."

Bonnie does not point out that she'd be coming in a car, or that she already knows where it is. "What happened?" she says instead.

"Long story. But I think Tom could use you right now."

****************

She doesn't ask any more questions, just drives there. At the entrance to the suburb, she passes a cluster of news vans parked at a stop sign. One lady is out and being interviewed on someone's lawn, and two other people are sitting in not-so-incognito sedans a further block in.

Thankfully, the rest of the street is deserted, and when she pulls into the driveway hers is the only car there.

Jake steps out the front door as soon as she shuts the rust-squeaky door of her sedan. He's dressed for morphing in black spandex shorts and a stretched X-Files t-shirt, but Bonnie can't tell if that's a bad thing or not.

"Thanks for coming," he says, like this is a dinner party.

Bonnie considers offering a handshake, decides that would be stupid. Instead she falls into step next to Jake as he turns back to the house. "Something happened with Tom?"

"They moved him."

Bonnie stops walking for half a step at the cold anger in his voice. Then she gets a hold of herself and moves again. "What? Who?"

"Sorry." Jake runs a hand over his face. "I'm not explaining this right. Margaret White's in jail."

"Oh. Oh." That explains the cluster of reporters, at the very edge of the blackout zone.

"Tom was involved somehow." Jake holds open the front door of the house for her; she steps inside. "When the cops got there, Margaret had been knocked out with a dracon beam, the guy she was trying to kill had gone back inside to call, and Tom was... non-responsive."

Non-responsive could mean all kinds of things, for a zombie. But Jake already knows that.

Jake's already barefoot, walking into the kitchen. After a second's hesitation, Bonnie slips off her shoes and leaves them next to the welcome mat.

"And you're not sure what happened, with Margaret," Bonnie says. "Because he's still unresponsive now."

Jake turns back, at the door to the living room, to look at her. "The cops," he says. "They moved him. When I got there he was inside the house, and the scene lead said they'd practically had to drag him away from the crime scene. Her word. Drag."

They step into the living room. Tom is sitting on the couch. He's dressed for morphing too, that horrible skintight uniform in dark red and gunmetal grey. Normally Bonnie thinks he looks like sex on two legs when dressed that way, but right now all she can think is that it was custom-tailored for Visser Seventeen.

"Hi," Bonnie says to him, even though he's sitting limp and staring at the far war. He can still hear them, can still see her if she walks into his field of view. "Jake called me. I'm pretty sure he's thinking of a cop-killing spree, but if anyone asked I don't know anything about it."

"I'm not going to kill anyone," Jake says, so quickly that Bonnie regrets joking about it. This is a kid who really has killed plenty of people, after all, including a fair number of innocent zombies. "They should be demoted, not executed."

"Oh, they absolutely should have known better." Bonnie sits on the armchair across from Tom, looking at him even as she continues talking to Jake. "This is freakin' A-Town, USA. Don't act like you've never seen a zombie before."

"They thought it was schizophrenia." Jake crosses his arms, leaning against the wall. Also keeping himself in Tom's line of sight. "At first they told me they had the whole thing handled, and I didn't need to get involved, and then they asked if 'the witness' had a 'minder' he should be with."

"So they thought you were, what?" Bonnie glances his way. "Just stopping by to... fight crime?"

Jake shrugs.

"And anyway," she says. "Even if it was schizophrenia, I don't think you're supposed to drag someone with that either. And it's still dickish to assume he needs constant supervision. Schizophrenia, PIABS, potayto, potahto."

"Pee-aabs?" Jake asks.

"Zombieism." Bonnie wonders if she should regret saying dickish in front of the kid. In front of the celebrity. But then, he lives with Tom. He's probably heard worse. "We have an official dictionary entry now. Post-Infestation Affective Blunting, and anyway fuck those guys."

"Fuck those guys," Jake agrees. He straightens up, stretching. Leans in a different position. Switches back to the first lean.

Bonnie can empathize with that restless energy, even if she's not a fidgeter anymore. They both know they're doing what they should be — talking calm and level, not putting any demands on Tom but letting him know they're here — but it doesn't feel like enough.

"Margaret White, huh?" Bonnie asks.

"You met her?" Jake walks toward Tom, stops short of touching him, turns to walk back across the room.

"Sure. Seemed fine. Kinda dour, but that's pretty standard for Matter Over Mind."

"You can't know what someone's capable of just by talking to them," Jake says.

Bonnie... does not know what to do with that one. And by the time she comes up with something polite, the interval for a normal response has long since come and gone.

"You want some water?" Jake asks. "Soda? Coffee?"

They're in for a long night, since among other things Bonnie's pretty sure that Tom owes the police a statement. "Coffee. Thanks."

"Great." Jake steps out of the room. He makes a lot of clattering noises from the kitchen.

Tom sits in silence, staring at the far wall. Bonnie sits with him, and moves about as much as he does.

"Coffee!" Jake comes back, two mugs clutched in one hand by their handles. "Here's..." He slips one mug onto the side table, drops a carton of creamer and an entire half-pound bag of sugar from the other hand next to it, and retreats back several steps with his own mug.

"Thanks." Bonnie picks up the carton, takes a cautious sniff. It's french vanilla, which is a crapshoot flavor if ever there was one.

"Don't tell my parents?" Jake says, holding up his own mug in indication.

The former Commander in Chief of the Earth Resistance doesn't want Bonnie telling his parents he had coffee at night. Huh.

And yes, in case anyone was keeping track: she's dying to ask for an interview. She's talking with the most sought-after source on the entire planet, possibly in the galaxy. Talking about coffee.

But contrary to what her mother would say, Bonnie does have some sense of boundaries. And she does occasionally know the meaning of the words not the time.

"Mum's the word," she says, and takes a sip.

[late-to-the-magnus-archives]

Vast!Jon AU Snippet: Getting Heated

Sasha is experimenting.

The Eye is rewarding her.

Why not? She's not hurting anyone.

Right?

-------------------------------------

Sasha is…

Sasha sees the world differently now.

Now that she knows, now that she has a framework that (Explains? Confuses? Ramps up? Simplifies?) codifies everything in life, nothing is the same.

She has forgiven Jon; Elias explained - brand-new baby avatar, an absolutely accidental scare, but nothing she can’t shrug off.

After all, she is the Archivist, and that, apparently, means things.

You will have such powers as I can never dream in time, Elias told her.

And maybe because she just wants to believe him, or maybe because he said this in awe, she takes those words to heart.

What powers, mind? Well. He says she has to find those out for herself. That in the learning, she will grow.

She can do that.

She’s working on it.

Everyone she meets now, she tries to see.

I can’t hurt people like Jon hurt me, right? 

No, Sasha, Elias explained. You serve different patrons, and have very different abilities. Now, those you see clearly will… experience those things they tell you anew - but they do that anyway when remembering to themselves. You aren’t creating new experiences, such as, say, falling while standing still.

She wants to believe him.

She wants to know.

The same thing that drives her to hack her colleagues’ computers - the same thing that has her nosing in drawers or file folders or closets - that thing is blooming wildly inside her like her own perfect garden.

So it was natural to be so curious all these years. So there's nothing wrong with her, after all. Not really.

So. She tries to see. And it is so damn strange.

“He’s already quit, just so you know,” says Tim, pulling her back to the present.

“Hm?” says Sasha, looking away from the neat little old lady two tables down, who has some kind of story that Sasha can sense like smelling fresh-baked bread.

“Danny. He quit at the sports store. Can you believe it?”

“Already?” Sasha baffles. “But he hasn’t even had an interview with us yet!”

Tim sighs with what Sasha thinks of as his Danny Look: it is fond, put-upon, and just a pinch frustrated. 

Sasha shakes her head. “He really does do this all the time. I mean, you said he did, but…”

“The modeling gigs keep him afloat when he’s got no other income. I mean, they could have this instead,” says Tim, gesturing dramatically at himself, “but whatever.”

Sasha giggles. “I think we know look which I prefer.”

Tim grins. It’s a full-toothed grin, eager and playful, and she already looks forward to where it will lead. 

Except that old lady over there, she…

It’s going to distract, and Sasha has had enough. “You sure you’ve got this one?”

“You got the last two. Gotta let me get this check or I’ll cease to be a man.” And only Tim could say shit like that without any real meaning behind it, making it funny, not sexist.

Though she wishes he wouldn't say shit like that, even if it is funny.

She does like Tim. A lot. If only he were a pinch more serious -

That woman is calling her.

“I’ll meet you out front. Girl stuff,” says Sasha.

Tim salutes her and heads off to pay the bill and wait outside, hands in his pockets, positively sauntering.

Sasha goes to the old woman.

The woman is finely dressed; her short, silver hair is neat. Her jewelry is expensive. Her makeup is on point.

She is hiding something terrible, and this close, Sasha feels… strange.

Like she’s losing control of exactly what she’s going to say. “Hi.” She sits. 

The old woman opens her mouth, maybe to protest - then meets Sasha’s eyes and goes completely still.

There is energy between them, flowing, and neither can close their eyes. “Tell me your story, Elizabeth,” she says, thrilling over the fact that she just knows this person's name.

Elizabeth does.

#

Tim waits outside. 

He waits.

He checks his watch.

The absolute last thing he wants to do is rush a lady in the bathroom, so he waits some more.

At the ten-minute point, however, he thinks something might have gone wrong, but just as he turns to re-enter the restaurant, Sasha comes bursting out of it.

She’s flushed. Her eyes are sparkling. She looks…

The look she gives him is, in a word, ravenous.

Tim’s struck dumb. That doesn’t happen often.

Before he can recover, she flings her arms around his neck and kisses him deeply in front of the whole world.

She’s groping him, too.

And he -

Her eyes are open the whole time, and he can’t look away from them, can’t blink, can’t think.

She breaks the kiss. “Home. Now.”

“Yeah,” he breathes, and keeps staring at her, unblinking, as she pulls him toward a passing cab.

[twignotstick]

TMNT: SECOND SHOT - Arc 1, Chapter 5: Old Wounds🩸

<- Chapter 4: Tiny's First Checkup 🩺

Sorry this chapter is so short -u-" it's importante

Warnings (if there's anything I should add here, tell me please!): Flashbacks, small injury, mention of death, ominous speech i guess

Words: 2,291

Summary: Nothing ever stays dead.

----------------------

“Dr. Stockman!”

Baxter was so excited to just get off campus. He had done one too many lectures that day, and dealt with the humbling reality that so many of his students don't take him seriously. He used to really be somebody. Now he was teaching watered down versions of his life's work to kids who didn't have brains developed enough to appreciate it.

He almost got to get off campus, too, but the shout of a redheaded girl stopped him from opening his car door.

With a heavy sigh, Baxter turned around to face the student. She wasn't any of his, clearly. Her ginger braids and bright red cat-eye glasses were too iconic. She was rushing up to him with a chunky, oversized letterman jacket for some fictional school that swallowed the thin girl on and a green backpack thrown over one shoulder.

“Hello, young lady,” Baxter grumbled.

“Hi!” The girl finally got up to him and caught herself before she fell on her face. “You have no idea how glad I am that I caught you,” she said, winded.

“Sadly, I cannot say the same,’ Baxter sighed, straightening his bag on his shoulder.

“Oh,” the girl said, picking herself up. “Oh, I'm sorry, I promise this will be quick.”

Better be, Baxter thought.

“I'm April O'Neil, I work with the school news,” the girl said, taking her phone out. “I was wanting to interview you?”

Baxter was taken aback. “Interview me? For what?”

“I've heard a lot about you from a friend of mine!” April said, opening something on her phone. “I was wanting to write an article about the genetics field, and she recommended that I talk to you!”

Baxter blinked, but finally relaxed and fully started to listen to April. A student, actually commending his intellect? Unheard of.

“Well,” Baxter said, suddenly feeling an air of confidence. “Ask away, Ms. O'Neil. I will do my best to suffice.”

April swiped for a moment on her phone, then started bombarding Baxter with various questions. Some details about himself, his personal life, how he became who he is today. With every answer he gave, April would take notes. Baxter answered her with a smile, but he kept up walls. Any figure of authority surely needs to keep up some level of secrecy, right? April would understand.

Baxter needed desperately to keep up walls.

She asked him about his career, as well as his various accomplishments. She had obviously done some research. The amount she knew about his previous projects was flattering and admirable. The pair settled onto a bench once they realized the conversation was going to last a while. It lasted for over thirty minutes. Part of Baxter wanted to just get up and go home, but being admired overshadowed that feeling.

“Okay, okay, okay,” April said, grinning, “one more question.”

“Shoot away, O'Neil.”

“Have you done any projects relating to making animals more human? Or maybe, making humans more animalistic? And, if you haven't, how do you feel about the concept?”

He felt like he had been shot. It took all of his willpower not to gasp in a breath and keel over then and there. All of his energy was focused into keeping his composure, and it left himself with cotton in his ears and a fuzz at the corners of his vision.

If she only knew.

Maybe she does.

Baxter took a heavy breath, almost as heavy as the memories in his mind. “I have some… strong opinions on that topic.”

April's excited face fell. “Such as?”

The man stared at the sidewalk in front of him, trying to put the right words in his mouth. There were too many words.

Words he wouldn't dare say.

“The world allows many things to exist. Many things that some may see as strange, or dangerous, but have been allowed to exist by whatever cruel force rules this world.”

April had completely stopped taking notes.

“To force something into existence, something that this world did not create naturally, that it does not allow…”

Baxter swallowed, remembering the feeling of glass against his fingers.

The sting of chemicals in his nose.

That stupid syringe.

“It is an unforgivable sin.”

----------------------

‘I wanna go outsiiiiiide,’ the scout whined.

‘No, my son,’ their father squeaked, ‘the human said you should rest, remember? I thought you trusted them.’

‘I did! Then the scary lady came in and yanked my leg open! I don't even know if I can trust the other ones anymore…’ he chirped tearfully, falling over in dramatics.

‘Just eat your pill and get over it, Scout,’ the hunter groaned. ‘Maybe you'll get some bugs outta this.’ He practically shoved the pill down the scout's throat, who swallowed it reluctantly.

‘Be gentle, my son,’ the rat hissed. He looked over to his oldest son, who was keeping a vigil watch over the entryways to their home. They had stayed here for too long, and the protector didn't feel safe.

They didn't have a scout to find a new, safer place. The hunter had tried his best. Scavenger, too.

The protector had begged to help.

He knew that his job was only put in place to appease him. Otherwise, he'd just be a big weight that could get ripped open in an instant. The expendable one. So, he built himself as a glass cannon with pride. It was the least he could do for his little brothers.

When he was given his job, he was young. As soon as he was old enough to understand how much his father was sacrificing for them, he wanted to do the same.

The other boys got jobs when they actually proved they could perform them. The second oldest always had such a knack for hunting, catching food so easily both above and below the water. He was bulky, but knew how to use that bulk to his advantage in a fight.

The second youngest always had an eye for good materials. Even as a tot, he would dig around trash piles that ended up in the tunnels and scavenge out survival gold. This was important, seeing as he could hardly stomach meat and always liked having something to do.

The youngest had proven himself so much. When he was young, the rat was worried that he may always need to be cared for. He was so fragile. Always in so much unforgiving pain. But, his small size and dexterous form allowed him to become the perfect scout. He would scope out every spot before the scavenger ever went. He found them places to stay. He helped the hunter too.

‘Father?’

His second oldest's voice made the rat shake his head. The turtle was rubbing the youngest's head, making the smaller turtle squirm.

‘What is it, my son?’

The larger turtle pinned his younger brother to the ground effortlessly, laying his plastron across the smaller turtle's carapace. The scout squeaked and wiggled in protest. ‘I thought you hated humans. Why are you letting us interact with them so… normally?’

The rat sighed. ‘I am not letting you interact with them. I have watched over them.’ He scurried over slowly to pat the head of the youngest, who had given up his squirming. ‘I want you all to understand that humans can provide some great assistance, but should always be monitored. A human could turn on you at any moment.’

‘How do you know that?’ The scout strained, trying to sit himself up on his elbows and failing.

The protector turned to face the conversation with shadowed eyes. ‘You know the answer to that, Scout,” he growled. ‘We shouldn't push Father.’

‘It is fine, my son,’ the rat chirped. ‘He should seek to understand. That behavior will keep him safer than accepting ignorance.’ He looked to the second oldest. ‘Let him up, I want him to truly hear this.’

The turtle did as he was told, and the scout settled into a seated position in front of his father.

‘Many years ago, I trusted a human too. I knew many humans then, but I only trusted one.’

The small turtle was wide eyed, listening entirely. 

‘Until that human, the human I trusted, promised to kill me. And threatened to kill you all as well.’

The rat paused.

‘But you trusted them? Before?’ the turtle churred.

‘...I did. And I regret that to this day.’

‘But were they a good friend?’

Splinter had to pause and reflect on that question. Was he a good friend? Was that friendship one that mattered? Did he want it back? ‘I suppose I could thank him for one thing,’ he chirped after a moment.

‘What's that?‘

The rat smiled and cupped the turtle's face. ‘Without him, I never would have been blessed with you four. My beautiful sons.’

The turtle trilled happily and enveloped his father in a tight hug. The second oldest moved to his big brother to share the love, nuzzling his face from the side and watching their youngest brother and father embrace. The protector relaxed into the contact. 

The happy scene was drawing the protector's attention.

The red light at the end of the tunnel went unnoticed. 

----------------------

Dr. Baxter Stockman didn't consider himself superstitious. He was a man of science, of facts and principle. He would never jump to pointless conclusions without tangible evidence.

He did, however, trust his gut. And his gut was telling him that student's interview had underlying motivations. The thought couldn't leave his brain, like some creature bound in a maze, searching aimlessly for the food its cruel owner may taunt it with.

Like a… rodent.

He knew.

That is why, when Baxter finally arrived in his home, he felt like he couldn't breathe. The air was too sterile. Too clean. The plain walls that once brought him comfort were only twisted reminders. 

The feeling of glass against his fingers.

Chemicals stinging his nasal cavities.

The buzz of fluorescent lighting.

Squeaking. Growling. Scratching.

“Take the stupid syringe.”

He stumbled to his kitchen sink and forced his head under the running faucet. It was turned to hot, but the water heater wasn't fast enough to burn his face off. Instead, he allowed the cold to rush in his skull through every possible entry. Through his ears, his nose, his mouth, his eyes. He pulled his head up for a moment, processing his delirium, before slumping back down and letting the stream run down the back of his head.

This is ridiculous behavior. She's just a journalist, one who was genuinely interested in your craft!

“This is ridiculous behavior. We don't need it anymore. We never needed it in the first place.”

The fire burns. 

Baxter whipped his head out of the sink violently, hitting his head on the faucet on the way up.

Right. Hot water.

He yanked his steam covered glasses off his face and tossed them onto the kitchen island carelessly. He rubbed his eyes and touched the back of his head, immediately regretting that decision when his fingertips came back red and his skull buzzed.

“If you won't, I've been itching to stomp its tail off.”

He didn't feel anything as he cleaned the wound, slapping a haphazard bandage on it and leaving it at that. The ache can wait until a later time. Something more pressing must be addressed.

“It'll just be one less thing to worry about.”

Stockman moved into his office, caring not about the water dripping from his head. It'll dry. It'll go away.

The rodent skittering in his brain will not. It knows how to hide.

He opened his computer, as the light affronted his buzzing mind. Opening a program he made, a format of his own design, he booted it up.

He didn't consider himself an engineer, either. Software or hardware. But these creatures were his magnum opus.

As the program booted up, a red light appeared on a shelf in the office. Then another. And another. Soon, the room was lit by nothing but the offensive computer screen and dozens of red lights.

The small, bipedal robots began moving. They hopped from shelves, nearly falling over due to the size of their large, toothy heads. They bumped into each other. The room was filled with the sounds of metal clinking and robotic joints.

All of their red eyes looked at Baxter's desk.

Baxter's screen displayed the image they saw.

“Find April O'Neil.”

The drones all beeped at the command. They scurried (much like rodents) and crawled over each other as they escaped Baxter's home to begin their quest. Their red lights covered the city, scanning every alley. Every building. Every corner. Every rooftop. They searched for their bounty.

One such drone happened upon an apartment building. It never went inside, but it caught sight of its bounty moving in and out. It watched her, following her as she went around her day. Sitting outside her classes, outside whatever restaurant she would visit, outside the apartment of whatever friend she was spending time with. It saw the people she spent time around.

It followed her as she sulked into an alleyway. As she hefted up a heavy manhole cover and lowered herself slowly into the tunnel below.

It followed as she turned a corner, coming upon a group of mutants. Three turtles and a rat sat huddled together, the second largest squeezing lightly around the shoulders of the smallest. Another turtle came in from another tunnel, while the drone's bounty entered. The rat glanced at both of the new arrivals. The girl lowered herself and handed a lunchbox over to it.

They're dead. It's over. 

Baxter watched the living corpses breathlessly.

A man sat at his computer, smiling. It was time to finish what he started.

○●○●○●○

Things are happeningggg 😈

Chapter 6: Pursuit of Progress 🌇 ->