#Ellie hates rats I making it canon

[probssomethingorother]

Whumptober No.3

Ellie, FEDRA, The Hole, Hurt No Comfort

This wasn’t a place created with any sort of comfort in mind. It was made to drive people mad, to torment them in solitude. A shiver ran through her body, not entirely from the cold. The eerie quietness of the place pressed against her ears, suffocating in its own right. ----- Ellie's first time in the Hole.

Read it down below or on Ao3! but don't forget to drop a comment wherever you read :)

Once you hit twelve, you were eligible for Hole time.

FEDRA was brutal, but even for them, imprisoning anyone younger in a damp dark concrete box was cruel and unusual punishment.

Ellie was placed into the Hole just three days after her twelfth birthday for insubordination - a blanket offense FEDRA wielded whenever they deemed a child too bothersome.

And “placed” was putting it lightly. 

Physically there wasn’t much of her to control, but still, two hulking FEDRA officers held each one of her arms roughly. Their hands easily wrapped around the entirety of her upper arms, fingers even overlapping and gouging with heavy pressure. Their tight grip was sure to leave ringed bruises in their wake. Dragging her with them, their long and fast stride made her small feet skid across the ground, barely touching. She wasn’t even fighting against them, but their pace was relentless -steadfast to get rid of her. They jerked her small body around ruffly as they turned down the corridors, hallways getting darker and more dingy the closer they got to Solitary. 

The Hole was located in Building D. It was an old factory that housed the laundry center, cleaning expo, and some stray military vehicles. It was a shared space used both by the normal FEDRA units and the training division. The children of the training division spent much more time in there on the whole - manning the stations by washing clothes, cleaning equipment, stripping down cars, and of course, enduring time in the Hole. 

It was located on the second basement level, just above the access tunnels to the factory steam pipes. Relegated to its bowels, its isolation was intentional, ensuring the world above was as far away as possible. 

Ellie gulped down her worries as they led her down the last flight of stairs, onto the final basement level. It was noticeably quieter down here than the floor above, the echo of their rushed footsteps and the consistent rustling of the officer’s keys were the only things piercing the silence. A few fluorescent lights flickered and buzzed, but most were off, creating an eerie dim atmosphere.

It wasn't Ellie's first time in Building D, but it certainly was the first time on this level. The pit in her stomach grew heavier with every step she was dragged forward. It wasn’t anything kept a secret amongst the kids, she knew what to expect, but it was all still quite nerve-racking nonetheless. She always thought that she would be able to handle it, but then she saw some other kids her age spend their first nights there, people she thought would also be able to handle it -  and well, they had come out... different. 

Ellie didn’t want to come back different. 

Whisking her deeper down the hall, they finally arrived at the end, a small desk stationed in the middle of the corridor dimly lit by a fading desktop lamp. Ellie was jolted to a stop as the FEDRA officers halted in front of it. The old officer manning it didn’t even look up from whatever he was reading, just passed one of the officers a clipboard with an attached pen. 

The officer on her right took it, releasing their grip on Ellie’s arm to fill out the needed log. The absence had blood rushing to the spot, and it was only then did Ellie realized how hard she was being secured. Instinctively, her other arm reached out to touch and soothe it but still stuck in the grip of the other officer, her arm was yanked back and away with a glare. 

“Don’t fucking move,” the restraining officer grumbled. 

Ellie rolled her eyes. 

“Williams. E. 53013117. 24 hours,” the other officer plainly voiced, pen audibly scratching across the crusty paper. He returned the clipboard with a clatter, the thick board dropping against the vinyl desk top. Still fixated on something else, the desk attendant didn’t raise to look at them, just monotonely replied, “Six is open. Back right,” while carelessly holding out a set of keys. 

The moment the keys were grabbed, Ellie was being dragged again, shuffled behind the desk by the same two officers, and led back even further down the hall. Soon, ten doors came into view, four on either side, two on the back wall.  Still holding tight, they directed her to the heavy steel door on the right, the number 6 worked into the door with bolt heads. A small window, high up, was the only way to peek inside, but at her height, Ellie could see nothing. 

She gulped down, bracing herself. 

Wasting no time, one of the officers turned the key into the lock with a loud echoing clang and the door creaked open, revealing the small, dark space inside.The grip on her arms was abandoned as they stood in the doorway, and when Ellie made no immediate moves to head further in, one of the officers pushed at her back, causing her to stumble forward. 

“Twenty-four,” he grumbled, “tap is in the corner, toilet too, food once a day, talking or making sounds, you stay longer.” His words were cold and rehearsed, his face stoic.  

“Just sit and don’t be a little shit.” The other officer added, clearly annoyed, like somehow this was an inconvenience. 

Ellie bit her lip to keep from lashing out. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing her react. She wouldn't cry or beg not to go in. Not in front of them. She stepped further in, turning around just in time to see the door slam shut. The small upper slat screeched close not a second later, leaving her completely alone in oppressive inky black darkness. 

Her eyes slowly started to adjust.

The Hole was exactly as she had imagined - small, maybe six by six, and so damp that she could feel the moisture on the walls and floor. It was cold for now, but she had heard that when the steam pipes got used below, sometimes the heat leaked through and made the rooms unbearably hot. There were rumors about an older kid dying once - suffocated under the oppressive moist heat. Currently, the air was thick and stale, but not suffocating like that. 

Sucking in a deep breath, she slid down the left wall to sit on the floor, drawing her knees up to her chest. She squinted as she took in the room, eyes still struggling to get used to seeing without light. 

As her eyes tried to adjust to the abysmal darkness, she realized there was no need. There was really nothing to see. There was no bed or blankets or anywhere to rest other than the floor. The tap wasn’t much more than a rusty spigot coming from the wall, no sink attached, or even a drain on the floor. The toilet was basically an open silver basin, and by the smell of things, it didn’t flush, just emptied straight down through a hole and pipe below. 

This wasn’t a place created with any sort of comfort in mind. It was made to drive people mad, to torment them in solitude. 

A shiver ran through her body, not entirely from the cold. The eerie quietness of the place pressed against her ears, suffocating in its own right. The lack of sounds irritated her so much that it made her physically restless, and after just twenty minutes of sitting, Ellie was up and pacing around - at least then the soft squelch of her shoes on the damp floor provided a noise other than the sound of her own breathing. 

She made the circle over and over and over again, walking around and around until that too became just as irritating.  

With a huff, she stopped and slid down the door this time, head listlessly banging back against it in annoyance. Her ponytail made the position uncomfortable, pushing into her scalp, but she couldn’t find herself to care all that much since the whole place was so uncomfortable anyway.

As she sat against the cool steal, she realized that from here she could now hear someone crying in another cell, voice just barely wafting through the tiny space between the ground and the bottom of the door. 

It sounded like a young boy and the only person she knew her age who had received Hole time recently was “Mikey P.”  But he got in trouble three days ago - watched him get dragged away herself. He had tried to sneak into a better mess group so all the good food wouldn’t be taken but was caught. Ellie didn’t think that was a three-day infraction so FEDRA must have upped his time while down here. She wondered if it was for the crying, or if the crying was because of the increased time. 

She desperately wanted to call out, see if it was him, but she wasn’t about to test how strict the no-sound rule was. Ellie slowly leaned and lowered herself to the floor, laying on her side so her ear was closer to the ground and the door gap. She let Mikey’s crying fill her ears because even his sobs were better than silence. She dug at the ground with her nail as she stayed there, waiting and waiting for the time to pass, listening to him go on and on. 

No FEDRA kids were ever given lullabies as children, but somehow twisted as it was, the cries were one for Ellie. Eventually, she fell asleep. 

What she awoke to was not cries though, it was small squeaking, short and high pitched right in front of her face. Her eyes opened quickly, only to be met with a dark silhouette of a rat just a few inches from her face. It somehow sensed her awakening, and before Ellie even had a chance to react, it was scurrying away, brushing past her hand and onto somewhere else in the room.

Her heart thumped loudly in her chest as her body stayed still for a moment, petrified. Ellie hated rats. One summer there was a small infestation, and everyone in her dorm block was being nibbled on in their sleep. They did an extermination treatment after that, and barely any remained. There was one left that she affectionally called Fat Carl, which despite its name was actually quite small, but was plump, almost like a ball, and never moved beyond the downstairs kitchen - certainly never nibbled on human flesh, just human food. 

This rat was not Carl. 

It was a large dirty gross thing even if she couldn’t see it that well. She knew it, just did.

And the thought of it crawling over her or nibbling on her while she slept made Ellie’s skin crawl. Without a clock or even a glimmer of natural light, she had no way of discerning how long she had been asleep and maybe had let it happen. Her only judge of time was that Mikey's cries had ceased, or maybe he too had fallen asleep. Either way, she concluded that she had drifted off too long because it was certainly long enough for the dreaded rodent to get close to her. 

It wouldn’t be happening again. 

Steadying herself and casting aside the knowledge there was something in here with her, Ellie slowly rose from the ground, cautious. The ache of sleeping on a cold, hard floor permeated her muscles and joints, and her hand instinctively went to her neck to massage out the stiffness. Her mouth was dry and begrudgingly she made her way to the tap to get some water. 

She crossed the small room with tiny steps, apprehensive to where the rat had scurried off to. The non-existent light made it impossible to spot, but she knew it was there, somewhere, prowling in the shadows, waiting to get a taste of her. 

With a dejected sigh, she kneeled down underneath the spigot and opened her mouth. A weak stream of water poured out, almost a trickle despite Ellie twisting the nob all the way to the end. The water tasted quite metallic, and Ellie was sure it was probably the same grimy yellow stuff that poured from the hoses they used to wash down the vehicles on the upper level of the building. 

She was glad she couldn’t see what color it was in the dark and verify her suspicion. 

Again, she went over to the wall, left this time - might as well test them all - and slid down it. Her knees came up to her chest and she rested her forearms on them, letting her hands dangle in the air. She didn’t know what had set her off, but suddenly there was tears prickling at her waterline, nose getting runny. She sniffled it all back. 

She didn’t want to cry. She wasn’t a crybaby, she wasn’t like Mikey. She could handle this. But maybe Mikey was crying because he was being eaten by rats. What if she was going to be eaten by rats? What if they kept her down here longer, like him? 

She brought her nose to her arm, wiping away the snot that was eagerly trying to run out her nose and used one hand to wipe away her tears, blinking the budding ones away. 

She wasn’t going to cry. She wasn’t. 

As Ellie sat, the space slowly started to get colder and colder, and her arms moved from her legs to hug herself, brushing up and down to create some warmth. She was wearing a long sleeve and jeans, but the worn-out clothing was not doing much to stave off the chill, especially now that it was just slightly damp from lying down. 

If it wasn’t so dark, she probably would be able to see her breath. Her jaw began to quiver with shivers. She desperately tried to ignore it, but the coldness started to seep into her bones, the kind of cold that was unforgiving, and cruel. Briefly, she wondered if having the steam pipes on would be better, but dying of heat seemed worse than dying of cold. 

She didn’t actually think she would die, but her mind produced the idea nonetheless, just a brief intrusive thought of her own demise- a FEDRA officer coming back to find her frozen to death in the dark of this concrete box.

It was a fleeting image, her brain quickly jumping to another scene- her body frozen in the darkness of space, floating around lost in the void.

She always liked space and didn’t know why her brain was bringing it forward with this depressing scenario. 

Space. Cold and Dark. Just like the Hole. 

Ellie screwed her eyes shut, trying to get rid of the image in her head, but that only made small speckles appear on her inner eyelids, little dots that easily could be mistaken for stars. When she opened them, the little floaters remained in her vision painting the darkness of the room for a minute until they slowly dissipated away. 

Space. Stars. Cold and Dark. Just like the Hole. 

Just like the Hole. 

Tightly squeezing her eyes shut again and opening them to produce a new set of stars, Ellie took a deep breath in before relaxing against the wall more. 

She softly whispered to herself, "Ground control, this is astronaut Williams. Do you copy?”

She paused, waiting for a response from the non-existent command center. “Ground Control do you copy?” She whispered again. 

She brought her hand up to her mouth as if she were holding a microphone, and dropped her tone as she softly replied, “Copy, loud and clear Williams.”

Moving her hand to her ear, she pretended she had a communicator there, and clicked it on, continuing, “Astronaut Williams is ready to commence mission training.” She quickly flipped back to her lower register, again bringing the imaginary mic up to her mouth. “Copy. Mission training is a go.” 

Ellie took a moment, breathing in and out deeply, imagining herself inside a spacesuit. Every inhale was a gust of oxygen from her tank, every exhale was her body expelling the bad air, adjusting to the vacuum. The cold air stung as she inhaled, but she reminded herself that Astronauts faced conditions far harsher than this in space. 

The cold. The dark. The solitude. If they could do it, so could she. If she wanted to be one of them, then she had to do this. 

"Mission Objective: Survive 24 hours," she whispered into the communicator.

Faintly, she heard a quiet rustle and small squeak, her rat roommate still somewhere close. She took a shaky breathy in and pushed her eyes shut, producing another galaxy of stars in her vision. She opened them slowly and shakily breathed out. 

"Accept," she responded to herself, though her voice wavered slightly as she plopped her head down on her knees. With a sigh, she sent a final message to command, “Heading out of range of coms,” she said even more quietly, words drifting off, losing her vibrato as her mind began filling with imagery of the world beyond this one. 

Drawing her knees closer to her chest, she allowed herself to get lost in it. Mind pretending she was floating in the dark, walking on the moon, landing on a comet, anywhere but the bleak reality of the Hole. 

Her shivering became less frequent as her mind transported her away. Hours seemed to pass, and soon, her vision blurred, sleep threatening to take over again. She tried to fight it, still so fricken scared of that rat, still lurking, but it was little use. Her eyes fluttered closed, but her mind was to kind to her - letting her retreat into space in her sleep too - Astronaut Ellie traveling the universe.

This time, she was pulled from her sleep by the sounds of metal hitting metal on the other side of the door. It was followed by the upper slot opening with a grating screech, dim light powering through. 

Ellie didn’t think it had been twenty-four hours yet, but perhaps she was wrong. She scrambled off the ground quickly, and reaching the door went on her tippy toes, hands resting against the cool metal door in support. She was so small that it did nothing to help her see through the slot. Even raised up, the top of her head barely hit the bottom of the small opening. 

Within a quick second of coming under the slot, food was being pushed through it without any warning. Unable to reach, or even ready to grab it, the small tray tumbled onto Ellie’s head, contents spilling all over her. The tray then hit the floor with a clatter and a plastic cup that accompanied it made hollow sounds as it bounced and then rolled away. 

“Fuckers,” she whispered as she stood in disbelief, milk dripping from her head and some sort of globby mush slowly sliding down and doing the same. 

She could pretend all she wanted, but this certainly wasn’t space. This was FEDRA. This was the Hole.  

[s0rinsleeps]

Twit cap: What if I went full TLOU ellie mode to protect my sister and u knew and didn’t tell the cops bcs u think I’m sooo sexy and sooo mysterious

ALOT OF DETAILS IF U WANT THEM UNDER THE CUT

Very very random spontaneous au moment!!

•Vander let’s vi/pow live in a secluded cabin in the woods to get them away from his shady lifestyle (he wants to quit but silco and Co. want him dead) anyway vi does her best to protect them both but unfortunately Powder gets kidnapped. (They want to use her as leverage against Vander) And well,, vi as said above, does what she has to do to get her sis back. Brutally. In her rage she fucks up and leaves incriminating evidence behind, so, desperate, she goes to the only other person she knows.

•Caitlyn learns abt this and decides to protect Vi and fuck up evidence to help vi hide. Vi feels guilty for letting Caitlyn get caught up in her mess but caitlyn tbh doesn’t gaf (we Stan a morally questionable woman) and she just wants silco and co captured./ they r wanted for. A numerous amount of things, drugs, murder, etc.

•(Also vi befriended Caitlyn a bit before this happened. I was thinking that the two met after Cait caught Powder practicing her marksmanship in the woods. Caitlyn is a detective for the local town and is curious abt the two. Although a bit moreso of the scary woman who looks like she’s never seen a bed in her life lol.)

-Was also thinking of giving Vander and vi a unstable/complicated relationship. ?

•Vi loves Vander like a father (classic he took them in at a very young age blah blah) but still hates the fact that her and powder have been dragged into all this, also he kind is bad dad (sorry) and doesn’t know how to give vi the emotional support she needs/she still becomes basically a mom for powder since he’s usually never home.

-Vander is trying his best, very much reflective of how he is in canon. The whole, ‘I’m trying to keep u alive but it’s not enough to keep ur innocence safe’ thing.

Also Vander is worried about the fact Silco now knows of his kiddos, and seems to have shown an interest in powder (while she was kidnapped she offed some guys which showed off her talent with a gun and silco was like wow cool I could use that)

-also silco was present but pow nor Vi saw him/ he was quickly hidden by sevika after VI started going ham on his goons.

•Powder(nickname jinx, she still has a lot of mental issues but she’s getting treated so she’s not ..that bad) takes a liking to caitlyn when she realizes that she wouldn’t rat them out to the cops and also the classic ‘they both can shoot!’ Thing, I’m sucker for caitlyn and pow bonding

(Also potential for powder trying to get vi and cait together because she wants Vi to have someone to rely on that isn’t Vander and also sees VI’s too nervous/self deprecating to make a move on her obvious crush) :p

Anyway that’s all I thought of rn!! Idek if I’ll draw more of this I just got carried away a little with the writing hahaha

[beanlot]

your writing is incredible, i would like to eat it with a spoon <3<3

if your requests are still open and this would be something you’re comfortable writing, i saw your other fics about how Ellie and Sevika would act in an argument, and i would love to see what Abby might be like in an argument w/ the reader as well.

thank you so much, i can’t wait to see what else you write!

emotionally disciplined enough.

i’m talking just enough, because there’s some moments where abby loses her shit and there’s some where she’s surprisingly unbothered, even to herself. abby doesn’t avoid confrontation - she isn’t one to disregard the erosion in the very sentimental soils of your relationship. she likes to address it immediately for instant relief on both sides; she’ll want to sit down with you, and it’ll be serene communication. she’ll ask you what’s going on lately, someone who takes accountability for everything, that she’s sorry for making you feel that way - and most of the time, it’s just like that.

when it isn’t most of the time, there’s some hostility. not to blame you or anything, but the only way i see abby initiating aggression is when you hit that sensitive nerve, the one that gets her trying to blink away so much hatred and intimidating tilts of the head. there is no way all that hot hunk of muscle won’t be put to use - she likes to remind you through the brawn that she can bolt you down, almost into stone just by intruding your personal space, eyes that mince you to cadavers, it’s almost second nature.

what did you just say?

no, go on, say it again.

abby’s actually the first person i think would get physical with you in arguments - not golf club kinda physical, i’m talking like.. holding your jaw in her fingers and forcing you to look at her when you don’t want to talk about it kinda physcal; skin to skin against the wall and (depending if you’re shorter) pillaring over you kinda physical, not being able to move your wrists under the paralysis of her hands pinching them together - enough that she can keep you still, but not hard enough to feel pain - kinda physical. she knows her biggest element is her physicality, and she’d rather dominate you via her size compared to shredding you apart verbally - on other days, you were equal. but when you get her riled up, you are nothing but inferior, feeble glass on her fingertips waiting to be shattered.

but when abby does get pissy, she opts for venting that irritability on inanimate objects.

hate sex?

abby likes converting all that ire temper and susceptibility into sexual frustration when there’s resentment between you. this would really depend on the severity of the argument and conversations you’d had beforehand or the kinks you’d fantasised about - she’s likely to invite herself to your body, and this wouldn’t only be just another reminder of how much authority she has over you, but this could be one form of your apology to her. she’ll only go as far as to what you’re comfortable with - but that also doesn’t mean she’s gonna go so vanilla.

oh, you like this?

look at where running your mouth gets you.

but as much as i’d like to put all my scrubbed-up faith that she’d stay loyal in these extreme episodes, i could also see her potentially using other women as an outlet for her aggravation - it’s not guaranteed, it would be a complete rarity for abby to go out of her way and rub the salt in the wound to have her head between another woman’s thighs. canonically, abby’s a bit of a stir shitter with the owen situation.

but then again, that’s probably because she couldn’t give a rats ass about mel and was just in the moment. you on the other hand, it’s chess. it’s moving the pawns logically, considering the consequences.

hard to read.

[bbrandy2002]

Fearless

Chapter 2: Take My Hand And Drag Me Headfirst

Book: The Royal Romance/The Royal Heir

Pairing: Prince/King Liam x MC (Riley Brooks), Drake Walker x OC (Alyssa Devereaux)

Series Premise: Riley Brooks and Alyssa Devereaux became best friends as freshmen at Syracuse University, a borderline-sisterhood that lasts forever after. When Riley meets a handsome prince and is asked to compete for his hand in a mysterious faraway kingdom, she invites Alyssa along for moral support.

What the girls think will be a crazy temporary adventure becomes two sets of happily ever afters … with twice the shenanigans to show for it.

A/N: This series is written in loving collaboration between @bbrandy2002 and @burnsoslow​.

Series Warnings: Smut 🍋🍋, language, canon violence (gun violence, bombing, terrorism), drug use, probably more stuff as we think of it. By reading this series, you agree that you are at least 18 years old and are prepared to deal with adult themes.

Thank you @burnsoslow​ for the beta and putting some of your magical finishing touches where needed.

Chapter 3 will be written by @burnsoslow​ ,  I’m so excited for that!!

___________________________

Propped against the railing of the rear deck of a small tugboat in the middle of the Hudson River, the warmth of Liam’s arms wrapped around her from behind, Riley thought back to the words Daniel spoke to her earlier about fairytales and happy endings. Maybe it was the hope in his voice she needed to hear during a vulnerable moment to lift her spirits, but she was really starting to believe them herself.

The newly fired, down-on-her-luck Riley Brooks had left the Tapped Out Bar with a mysterious man that she plowed over during an escape from rats while taking out the garbage. A little while later, she accidentally attacked him again in the alleyway of her former employment with her sad little stick. They struck up a conversation, and through some awkward stalling on his part, he finally worked up the nerve to ask her out for a drink. 

Riley wasn’t someone who normally took off with random guys she just met to flit about the city, but there was just something about Liam that was different -- that was special. 

Call it intuition. An inclination. Instinct or inkling. Whatever it was, was a possibility. Of what? That remained to be seen. 

After talking to his friends about his plans, and at her behest, the pair headed west on foot until they reached a busy late-night cafe that overlooked the choppy waters of the New York harbor. Sitting on the open deck, moonlight cascading off the ripples of the sea, a light jazz tune playing through the outdoor speakers, they talked for over an hour about everything and nothing, while sipping coffee and plucking at a large cinnamon roll they shared. It was the most Riley had spoken in a long time. When you live with and are friends with the more outgoing Alyssa, you learn to appreciate the fine art of listening. She spoke about her dads, her friends, places she traveled to and what not. All very light, casual conversation. Liam mentioned he had family, his country of origin, how much he was enjoying New York, but never revealed too much.

Not wanting to sound too whiny and pathetic, she stuck with the positive things in her life; she surprised even herself that there were a lot more than she realized. But he captivated her in a real way that made it so easy. Liam laughed with her and made her feel interesting and personable; maybe even desired.

And as the night carried on and the patrons of the cafe dwindled down, a Miles Davis tune began to play: “Blue and Green.” A bright smile tugged on the corner of Liam’s lips as he pushed his chair back and rose from the table to offer his hand. “My lady.”

Riley looked around the deck to see if anyone else was dancing -- they weren’t -- but how could she say no? 

She didn’t want to say no.

Beside their little round table and under a string of hanging white pearly lights and garland, they slowly swayed together like it was the most natural thing in the world. It was chemistry in motion with every soft blare of the trumpet, rhythmic taps on the snare drum, and light pitter pats on a piano played in G major. The tempo was leisurely and elegant, creating the perfect ambience for the feelings that were stirring within them.

With her head resting snugly against his firm chest, the thrumming of his steadily-beating heart reverberating in her ear, Liam revealed, “I’m the Crown Prince of Cordonia, Riley.”

Never breaking their stride, Liam lifted one of her tiny arms in the air and twirled her around gracefully. Riley smiled up at him as they returned to formation; their hands intertwined between them. “And I’m one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse.”

Liam laughed as they continued their gentle side-to-side movements. “I know it sounds crazy, but I’m not lying to you. Perhaps I should have been a little more upfront with you from the beginning, but I’m normally not allowed to go out without the Royal Guard.” He paused for a moment to lower her into a deep dip, sensually inhaling the perfumed scent around her decolletage, before pulling her back into his arms. “And I was only allowed out on the condition that I kept my identity a secret. But, just for one day … I wanted to be free.”

It was one of the most romantic nights Riley had ever experienced in her life, but as the music continued to play, their steps gliding in sync, she nuzzled her cheek against his firm body and responded, “You’re so full of shit.”

Liam pulled away, amused by her choice of words and disbelief. “After I told you all of that, you still think I’m lying?”

Riley shrugged. “I dunno.” She casually pulled out her chair under his watchful eye and sat down, crossing her legs. Lifting a coffee mug to her lips, she winced at its cold temperature, and the fact that she hated coffee. “So, I’m not really into the whole role-playing thing, but if you’re gonna be this ... Prince of Condomania, how about if I play the sultry villainess spy who comes to steal the treasures from your castle and you catch me in the act?” She batted her eyelashes and splayed her hands across her chest. “I will neva surrenda, Prince Liam. If you wont me, you’ll haf to take me right heya.” Riley animatedly flung her arms out and arched back over her chair.

Liam knit his brow. “What the hell kind of accent is that?”

Riley sat up and smiled proudly. “It’s Cajun. I have this friend and I really like how he talks; it’s so sexy. Do you think it sounded convincing at all? Maybe a little too nasally? You want me to try to do your accent next?”

With a grin, Liam shook his head and took the seat across from her. “You’re something else, you know that?”

She sighed. “That’s what they tell me.”

Reaching into his jacket pocket, Riley watched curiously as Liam pulled out his phone and began typing something on it. He held it out to her. “I want you to look at this, Cajun Villainess Spy. Tell me what you think?”

“Oh God, you’re gonna show me a dick pic, aren’t you?” Riley slammed her eyes shut as she reluctantly reached for his cell, but sort of peeked out one eye.  

“Eh, no. That’s never really been my style.” He gestured insistently for her to look at the screen as he sat back and crossed his arms. “I think you’ll find everything you want to know about me right there.”

It only took her a second to study the images and gloss over the text he pulled up, but a satisfied smirk formed on Liam’s charmed features while watching her eyes grow larger. Riley jumped up from her chair, the momentum causing it to tip over. “Why didn’t you tell me you were a real prince?” 

Liam guffawed, “I did!”

“No, you didn’t! You had I’m joking written all over your face. How was I supposed to know your serious face and your joke face look the same?” She tossed the phone back to him like it was molten iron scorching her palm. “I’d rather have the dick pic.” 

After picking up her tipped-over chair and getting settled again, she took a moment to just process the identity of the man she had spent the last couple of hours talking and dancing with. Her real-life Prince Charming. This incredibly sweet, hot guy sipping coffee in front of her was part of a royal family, and she was an unemployed everything. What on earth possessed him to want to spend time with the likes of her?  

She looked up from her fidgeting fingers that were picking at the green fabric covering her thighs and smiled softly at him. “I’m sorry I overreacted. It’s just …”

“A lot to learn about someone? No, no, I get it. I probably would have had the same reaction if I were you.”

“So ... what happens now?”

What happened next was what led them to the boat they were on for an impromptu midnight ride to see the Statue of Liberty.

Liam laid out the details of his situation: He was a prince visiting New York City with his friends who were throwing him a last-minute bachelor party. Riley listened attentively while he explained his upcoming social season: not knowing yet who he was going to marry, but that duty required him to take a wife by the end of the year. He had hoped while he was in the city to visit its most famous statue; however, his friends hadn’t planned for it. Riley heard the disappointment in his voice and it tugged at her heart.

It was definitely too late to catch one of the many tours that traveled to Ellis Island during the day, but Riley was determined to do what she could to make it happen for him. Part of her was motivated by the fact that she liked him a lot and enjoyed his company; he was charming and refined, different from anyone she’d ever met. The longer she got to spend with Liam and got to know him, the better. But there was also this other part that felt sorry for him. Riley could see the struggle in his eyes and the weight on his shoulders between what he wanted to do, and what his position forced his hand to do. In her mind it was clear that Liam was the kind of guy who got everything -- except what he wanted.

In some ways, she knew the feeling.

To Liam’s surprise, Riley assured him she would find a way for him to see that statue. So, while he paid the tab, her mind raced with how the hell she was going to pull this off. And just before the actual possibility of having to hijack a vessel began to fully take shape in her mind, she pulled out her phone in one last-ditch effort to not break the law. Riley knew no one who owned a boat, but there was one person in her life that seemingly had a connection to everyone in the damn city.

Riley bit at her fingernails as the phone rang, glancing over her shoulder once to watch Liam paying the cashier. “Come on, come on. Pick up. Pick up.”

“Heyyyy!”

“Alyssa,” Riley whispered in an urgent tone into the phone, unclear whether her friend would even hear her over the party music and raucous chatter that was blaring in the background. “I need your help with something.”

“Riiiiley!” she slurred. “My bestie. My sister from another parents. I love you soooo much. More than everyone in the whole wide ... something. Hey, guys! Riley’s on the phone; say hi to her!” 

“Wait, Lyss! No.”

A loud chorus of drunken greetings could be heard through the receiver as Alyssa held it up in the air.

“Alyssa!” Riley repeated in frustration while listening to her best friend start another conversation with a partygoer about the perfect symmetrical shape of the cheese cube she just ate. Apparently, it looked like a “tiny little house, for teeny, tiny little cheese people.”

Riley smacked her forehead. “Alyssa!” 

Liam returned from paying the bill, his hands stuffed in his pockets and bouncing on his heels. He raised his eyebrows at Riley as if asking eagerly whether she was ready to head out on this adventure she told him she would make possible. Riley smiled back and raised a finger, indicating she’d be ready in a moment. Panic started to set in as she cursed under her breath and continued to try to get her friend back on the call. “Lyss.”

“Riley,” Alyssa laughed. “You’re still on the phone? No way! Hey, guys! Riley’s still on the phone. Say ‘hey’ to her!”

“NOO! Please, Alyssa, I need your help.”

“Whatcha need, Ri? You know I’ll do aaaanything for you.”

“Ok, do you remember when you caught our dorm room on fire senior year cooking ramen noodles in the microwave, and all my stuff burned up?”

“That checks. Sure.”

“Well, it’s time to pay up on that favor you said you’d owe me.”

Somehow, the planets must have been aligned just right, because a very inebriated Alyssa comprehended Riley’s request enough to talk to Damien about it and have it actually make sense. Luckily, the private detective knew a guy who drove a tugboat for the Port Authority working the night shift and was more than willing to see what he could do for Alyssa’s best friend.

-----------

Riley felt Liam’s arms tighten around her waist as the Statue of Liberty came into view. She had seen the landmark more times than she could remember in her life; perhaps she had become so accustomed to it being there that she took for granted how it would affect someone seeing it for the first time. It wasn’t until she twisted around in his arms to view his reaction, to see this beacon of freedom reflecting in his mesmerized eyes, that it all made sense. Liam was a beautiful man with a beautiful soul; if anyone deserved this moment to reflect on what it truly meant to embrace the freedom he longed for, it was him.

“What are you thinking, Liam?” She broke the silence.

He shook his head in wonderment. “It’s magnificent, Riley. I’ve heard art has meaning because of what it makes the viewer feel. Whether it’s ink splatters on a canvas or on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, it only matters if it moves you.”

“And?” 

Liam let out a sigh of contentment and lowered his gaze to her. “And right now, looking at this view with you … I feel like … anything is possible.”

“I feel that way too.” She slowly nodded, finding herself lost in his eyes, his voice, his embrace. Nothing in this moment mattered to her anymore: the long stream of bad luck, the crappy job she just lost, her epic failures at relationships. They all seemed to just wistfully fly out into the ocean and bury themselves below its sandy bottom. 

Wrapped in each other's arms, surrounded by the salty sea air and a skyline full of hopes and dreams, Liam pulled her as close to himself as she would go, his other hand moving up to caress the side of her face. Both searched longingly into each other's eyes, waiting for the other to make that next big move. 

Feeling an awakening of courage and fire in the depths of her fluttering stomach, she threw all fears and caution to the wind. Riley grasped on to the lapels of Liam’s jacket and gently lowered him to her eagerly awaiting lips.

The kiss was tender and brief, but magical; it left her spellbound. Riley could swear she floated out of her body and traveled into the clouds that blanketed above them and enveloped her wholly.

Liam rested his forehead on Riley’s; his hands reached down to grasp hers and swing freely alongside them. “You’re full of surprises tonight, Riley.”

“Is that before or after I knocked you out earlier?”

He chucked, rubbing the bump on the back of his head. “Both times. I’m certainly not sorry about either, though. I’ll never forget this night … or you.”

If you have a concussion, you might. She smiled up at him, “Me either.”

As their boat rounded the island, Riley took one last glance back at the statue that now represented so much more in her mind. Her gaze traveled across the expanse of the gleaming torch, down the long arm of the statue, over to the dim lights shining through the glass within the crown. Something caught her attention -- an odd movement -- and she couldn’t help but squint real hard to make out the image that was quite small from her vantage point. She tilted her head, trying to figure out what the hell she was seeing before it finally became clearer to her. She let out a loud gasp. “Oh my God!”

From behind, Liam leaned down next to her face. “What’s wrong?” he asked curiously, trying to match his view with her line of sight. “What are you seeing?”

Riley pointed up. “I see ass cheeks!” she replied in disgust. “And not just any ass cheeks … big, gigantic ones smooshed right up against the window. There’s two people up there just going at it and … oh, no wait, she just got turned around. Yep, yep, those look like boobies now. Who does that kind of thing, having sex where anyone could just see? And in the Statue of Liberty, of all places?”

Letting out a forced cough then clearing his throat, Liam squeezed Riley’s shoulders several times and laughed awkwardly. “Yeah, I know. Sick freaks, huh?”

The pair watched the display for a second longer than they should have before turning to look at one another, blushing and smiling sheepishly. Riley only hoped she played off her disgust well enough that he didn’t realize she was a sick freak too.

Liam looked away, hoping the same.

---------

It was well past midnight.The Brooklyn streets were mostly bare, with only the occasional late-night dweller cruising the sidewalks or a yellow cab making its weekend rounds. Just a stone's throw across the bridge, the city that never slept, with its flashing lights and bustling tourist, lay in deep contrast to this quiet residential district that was only lit up at that hour by street lamps and halogen headlights.

Riley considered where she lived to be a fairly safe neighborhood. Crime and lawlessness weren’t unheard of, but it was rare for that area. Like many women of her young age, walking alone in the dark wasn’t something she usually set out to do unless she had no other choice. That’s why when Liam insisted he accompany her the few blocks from where they finished their excursion to see her home safely, she was more than willing to oblige him.

“This is my stop. Home sweet home.” Riley stopped at the bottom of the stairs that led to the entrance of her building and turned to Liam. She looked more gleeful than she actually was.

He glanced up at the plain red brick building. It was nothing special, but he made a mental note of the address numbers over its clear glass entryway. He knew it was unlikely he’d ever see her again, but on the off-chance, maybe someday if he was ever in the neighborhood … no, he thought … there’s no point in going there. “I see that ...it’s nice.”

Riley looked at him with a hopeful expression. “I know you said you had an early flight in the morning, but … if you’d like to come up …”

“I wish I could, Riley. Trust me, I want to more than you know; however, the limo will be here soon with my friends, and ...” he swept a strand of blowing hair from her face, memorizing her every feature. “... I don’t want to make this harder on either one of us.”

Nodding, Riley gave a half-smile. “I understand.”

They stared at one another for a moment, hoping to prolong the inevitable. “Come here, you.” Liam pulled her into him and wrapped his arms around her. ”I can never thank you enough for everything tonight, Riley. I’m so glad I ran into you. Well ... actually you ran into me.” Riley let out a soft laugh that made his heart skip a beat. “You were the best part of my trip, Riley. I mean it.”

Before they knew it, the limo pulled up alongside the sidewalk in front of Riley’s apartment. Both felt a sinking feeling, knowing this was the end, and embraced a little tighter as the squeak of the limo’s brakes dulled and the awaiting engine ran in the silent backdrop.

Riley drew in a breath, the heels of her shoes tapping one another. “I guess this is goodbye?”

Frowning, Liam’s palms moved up to her face and rested along her jawline. “I’m afraid it looks that way.” He leaned down and kissed her gently, her arms winding around the back of his neck to hold him there for as long as she possibly could.

Knowing if he didn’t end it there, it never would, Liam broke their kiss, stroking his hand through her hair and said, “Take care, Riley.”

She smiled back. “You too, Liam.”

Not wanting to leave until he was sure she made it inside safely, Liam watched from the sidewalk while Riley slowly made her way up the concrete steps, scouring through her bag as she did so. When she reached the top, she stepped in front of the locked door, frantically digging and shaking her bag in search of the keys to get in. 

“Everything okay up there?” Liam called up to her as she knelt down and started frantically tossing items from her purse, slamming them down next to her feet: wallet, cell phone, lip gloss, ink pens, breath mints, hand sanitizer, a half-eaten bag of skittles, a box cutter she didn’t know she had, a marshmallow bunny from Easter, Midol, tampons …

“Mother fuck,” she grumbled in frustration to herself before yelling back cheerfully, “Yes, just looking for my keys. They’re always at the bottom,” she laughed, trying to make light of it. 

“They’re in your hand, Riley,” she heard him point out when she finally gazed down into her hand and slowly opened her palm. Liam let out a laugh when he saw her face twist up, realizing she had them the entire time. 

“Get out of here. You said you didn’t want to make this harder.” Riley began stuffing everything back into her bag.

He continued to laugh as he threw his hands up and stepped away. “I’m going.”

As soon as she unlocked the door and walked inside to the lit-up entryway, she heard the limo pull away. Everything in her wanted to look back in hopes he’d stayed behind by some chance and was walking up those steps, approaching the door, wanting her to let him in. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath; the greatest guy she’d ever met was gone, and the only way to see him again would require a Google search. 

In her mind, though, she had made a prince’s dream come true. Maybe she wasn’t half bad after all.

In a huge way, Liam did the same for her. Too bad he would never know it.

___________

Riley opened the door and stepped inside her dark apartment, closing it behind her. After such a long day, feeling a little disheartened, all she wanted to do was slip into some comfy night clothes, wash her face, brush her teeth and crash until next week. Taking two steps away from the door, her foot caught on something and she went flying forward, landing with a hard thud to the floor. 

It felt like the wind had been knocked right out of her chest when she hit the ground. “Son-of-a--?” She pushed herself up on her knees, shook out her sore hands, then reached over to flip the light switch on.

“Alyssa?” Riley whispered.

Lying on the ground, curled into a peaceful little ball, was her roommate, still in the same clothes she last saw her in, hands pressed together and tucked under her cheek like a sleeping cherub. Riley crawled over to Alyssa, swept her hair out of her face, and checked for breathing. The strong smell of alcohol emanated from her tiny sighs -- Alyssa wasn’t a heavy drinker. 

Concerned, Riley jiggled her arm. “Sweetie, are you okay?”

An angelic murmur was the only answer to her question.

Not wanting to leave her on the floor, Riley stood up and bent down, her hands grasping both of Alyssa’s wrists before she pulled her down their hallway as gently as she could and stepped into her best friend's bedroom. 

Huffing out of breath, she made it next to Alyssa’s bed. Riley crouched down and tried to lift her onto the mattress, but Alyssa was dead weight. Maybe she had no other choice but to leave her there. 

Riley pulled a blanket and pillow from the bed, rolled Alyssa to her side, and got her as comfortable as she could. After placing a wastebasket next to her friend and leaving a bottled water on the night table, she patted her back. “I have so many things to tell you in the morning, Lyss. You’d be so proud of me.” Riley swallowed down the emotions that had threatened to escape since she realized Liam had left for good. Her voice broken and feeble, she continued, “I took that risk. I was fearless, just like you told me to be. It didn’t work out the way I had hoped, but …” she sniffled through a small smile, blinking back tears. “... I have no regrets.”

Riley rose to her feet and headed for the door when she heard a faint voice call out from behind that stopped her in her tracks. “Ri?”

She turned her head. “Hmm?”

“I’m always proud of you.”

Switching the light off, Riley smiled back at her friend, who still appeared to be resting in a calm slumber. “I know. Good night, bestie.”

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

The next morning, just as the sun had peeked from behind the clouds and the air was fresh with newness and warmth, Riley woke. Today would differ from every day before. She didn’t want to lie in bed all day and dwell on what-might-have-beens or how her life was a dead end to nowhere. She was determined she wanted something more out of it -- whatever that may be.

Slipping on a pair of trainers, running tights and a long sleeve shirt, she pulled her hair up in a high ponytail and headed out.

She made it two blocks before collapsing on a bench, gasping for air, and flipping off a kid on a bike who was laughing and taunting her.

After five more blocks of running and taking a break at nearly every bench or stoop along the way -- that same jerky kid still deriding her as he circled around each block -- Riley made her way back to her building, hunched over and sweaty. She didn’t jog as far as she’d liked to, but she made the effort, for which she was pleased with herself. 

It also didn’t hurt that there was a mouthy kid out there somewhere with two flat bicycle tires, crying to his mom, that was giving her a new boost of life. 

Reaching for the door of her building, she chuckled to herself thinking about his pouty little face -- haha, sucks to be you, kid -- when someone yelled out her name.

“Shit,” she panicked, thinking the boy’s parents had found her and had come to beat her ass. Riley fumbled with her keys, trying to make a quick getaway inside.

“Hey, Riley! Stop.” The voice sounded oddly familiar, and curiosity couldn’t stop her from whipping her head around to take a quick peek. She instantly recognized the man who was racing up the stairs towards her, from the bar. He was one of the guys from Liam’s party last night who helped after the collision. 

Pulling the keys from the lock and gripping the pepper spray attached to them, she jumped back when he suddenly hopped up next to her like a fireball of energy.

“Riley. I’m so glad I caught up with you. I’m Maxwell -- we met last night -- and this is Rashad.” He pointed over his shoulder. The man gave a simple nod in return. “He was there, too.”

Her brows knit in confusion. “Oookay. You both aren’t here by chance upset over a couple of slashed bike tires, are you? Because that wasn’t me. I saw who did it, though, if you need a witness statement.” Riley’s eyes shifted around, looking for a person to match her fake would-be description.

Maxwell shook his head with a chuckle and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, her gaze falling to it. “Nah, I came to talk to you about Liam. You’re all he could talk about when he got back to the hotel last night. He went on and on about the cafe, and the trip to the Statue of Liberty, and how beautiful you are ...”

“He -- he did?” She was pleasantly surprised, her heart bursting at his words.

“Yeah. We’re heading back to Cordonia so Liam can find someone to marry and all that jazz. But before I go, I wanted to officially extend to you an invitation to join us for the festivities in Cordonia. Sooo … is there somewhere we can talk?”

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

“You want me to do what?” Riley jumped up from the sofa, her eyes wide and mouth gaping as she gawked back at Maxwell, who was sitting at the far end. Her trembling hand shot to her forehead before she paced back and forth. “Let me get this straight. You want to sponsor me to compete to marry a man I just met last night? And not just any man, a prince. You’re going to fly me halfway across the world -- You could be the Official Royal Serial Killer, for all I know -- then prance me around like some beauty pageant contestant?  And all I have to do is say ‘yes to the dress’ that you can’t afford? Just hop right on a plane with two strange men, huh? How naïve do I look to you?” Riley paused for a second. “Don’t answer that.”

“I’m not doing it for you. I saw how Liam looked at you last night at the bar, and later when he returned from your date. I’ve never seen him that happy before. Honestly, I don’t want him to lose that. We’re kinda crunched for time, though. I’ve got a plane leaving in an hour.”

“An hour?” Riley questioned as she plopped down on the coffee table, her back to Maxwell and the guy in the chair across the room who hadn’t said a word the whole time. It was a once-in-a-lifetime offer to travel somewhere new and exciting and literally rub elbows with royalty. To live out that fairytale that most girls could only dream of. But more importantly, it was a way to see Liam again, and she wanted to so badly … if Maxwell was indeed telling the truth. 

Even if nothing came of it, there was no job tying her down anymore. Her dad had just gotten married to her stepfather and stayed busy as a chef for Beyonce and Jay-Z, so he would be fine, and she had enough money in savings to pay her portion of the rent while she was gone and expenses for her travels. There was just one thing she would insist on.

Riley spun around on the table, her eyes flashing between the two men. “I will do this -- on one condition.”

Maxwell clapped his hands excitedly. “Yes! Just name it and it’s yours.”

“Max.” Rashad leaned forward in his chair, his elbows pressed into his knees. “You don’t even know what she wants yet.”

“I’m getting to that.” Maxwell turned to her with an arched brow. “Okay, Riley. What is your condition?”

She hadn’t even asked Alyssa yet, but Riley steepled her fingers and volunteered her, anyway. “My roommate has to go with me.”

“No problemo.”

“What -- Really?”

“Sure. She can ride the jet back with us and I’ll even help her find a good hotel room nearby so you two can visit … if you’re able to find time in between all the competitions, balls, traveling, lessons, and what not. It’ll be great!”

Riley shook her head adamantly, not willing to budge on the issue. “No! I want Alyssa there for all of those things. If I even have the slightest chance of being a serious contender and a fully functioning human being, I need someone there to make sure I don’t do anything stupid … and I will … a lot.  Plus, she’s my best friend, and I’m not doing this without her.”

Feeling the pressure to relent and the seconds ticking away until takeoff, Maxwell’s shoulders slumped, taking in Riley’s pleading expression. “I -- I don’t know what to do. Your friend would have to be sponsored also in order to stay with you. She would have to be a suitor and compete for Liam’s hand just like you and all the other ladies, and there can only be one sponsee for each noble house. If you’re our pick, then she would need to have someone of nobility who doesn’t have a suitor yet and knows it’s all a ... ruse …” he trailed off, grinning impishly, as an idea suddenly popped into his head. Maxwell’s gaze swept across the room and landed on his friend, Rashad, who had a deer-in-the-headlights look, knowing exactly what he was getting at.

“Oh no. Leave me out of this,” he insisted while waving his hands back and forth. “This is all on you, Maxwell.”

“No, don’t say that yet.” Riley sprang to her feet and grabbed a picture frame from a nearby table, falling to her knees in front of Rashad to beg. “This is Alyssa.” She cheerfully pointed her friend out in the picture, delighted when the Lord of Domvallier’s eyes grew and seemed more than intrigued. “She’s not only beautiful, charming, and supportive, but she’s the smartest person I know. Everyone just loves her. And even though she won’t want to win because of me, she’ll represent your house with the greatest of integrity and propriety. I swear it.” 

“It’s for Liam,” Maxwell interjected, wagging his brows. “Imagine how grateful he’ll be when he finds out your part in making this happen for him.”`

Rashad let out a heavy groan. “Max, you know I would do anything for a friend -- especially Liam -- but it’s not that simple. There’s a reason why Domvallier opted not to have a suitor join this season: I have business dealings in California that coincide with some of the competitions. And with Mother’s and Father’s health in decline, I couldn’t possibly burden them with traveling and overseeing a suitor. It just wouldn’t work.”

Riley turned to Maxwell. “Well … couldn’t she just hang out with us most of the time? It’s not like she’d be in it to win it, anyway.”

“I don’t see why not.” Maxwell shrugged. “We all travel and stay together for the most part anyway.” He glanced over at Rashad, who could do nothing but stare at the two of them bouncing like eager children with big cheshire grins, while he literally decided the fate of a woman who had no idea she had just been volunteered to “pretend” compete for the hand of a prince the entire summer, in another country, and had to board a plane in just under an hour.

Rashad sighed and took the photo from Riley’s hand, giving it a quick glance. He was definitely smitten by the bright, blue-eyed woman with the big dimpled smile and wouldn’t mind getting to know her better, particularly if she was everything described to him. “I should have gone with Drake back to the plane.” He shook his head and handed the photo back to Riley. “Can’t believe I’m doing this, but --” 

Before he even finished his thought, Maxwell and Riley leaped to their feet to celebrate, whooping and howling around him, ruffling his jet black hair, hugging, and clapping him several times on the chest.

“What’s going on?”

The three of them whipped their heads around at the raspy-sounding voice that caught their attentions.

“Lyss!” Riley’s eyes lit up at the sight of her best friend standing there; she couldn’t wait to share all the good news with her. Maxwell, and particularly Rashad’s, jaws dropped at the sight before them. They both did a double take of the picture in the frame and then back to the petite brunette who wore a rumpled party dress, was missing one flat shoe, and sported smudged mascara under her sunken eyes and hair flying in every direction.

Riley moved over to Alyssa, placing a gentle hand on her arm with a smile. “Alyssa. These gentlemen are from Cordonia -- It’s somewhere you need a plane ride for. This is Lord Maxwell Beaumont.” She gestured and received a wave back. “And this is Lord Rashad of Doberman Pinscher,” she stated in a posh accent.

“Domvallier,” he corrected, stunned and still unable to take his eyes off his new suitor.

“Lords?” she questioned in a feeble tone; Riley nodded back at her.

Alyssa smiled at the two strangers, then lowered her head and curtsied like she was wearing a ball gown before them. “How do you do? Welcome to House Devereaux-Brooks. It’s so kind of you to stop by and make our acquaintances. Please do make yourselves at home.” She straightened back up and immediately turned to Riley. “I’m dying. Where’s the Advil?”

Riley insisted Alyssa have a seat while she retrieved the Advil and a glass of water for her. Feeling that was a fair deal, Alyssa stumbled over to the couch, accidentally stepping on Maxwell, who held onto her arms and helped her the rest of the way. When she was seated, she leaned forward, rubbing soothing circles around her temples, willing the room to stop spinning. Riley shuffled back with two pills and a cool bottle of water, and handed them to Alyssa, who hastily threw back and chugged nearly the entire thing. She couldn’t remember a time when she felt so thirsty.

No one knew really how to respond just yet. Rashad conferred in hushed tones with Maxwell, as Alyssa kept her eyes closed for a moment, taking in slow, deep breaths. Everything from head to toe ached and throbbed. 

Finally, she smacked her still-dry mouth and announced, “Okay, I’m going back to bed. Goodnight, everyone. It was so nice to meet you all.” She moved to the edge of the sofa when Riley pressed lightly on her shoulders, holding her back.

“Wait a minute, Lyss. I have something I want to talk to you about.”

Lowering the shades in the living room to block the sun from Alyssa’s sensitive eyes, Riley began to explain how she met Liam at the bar last night and was asked to go out for a drink with him. Alyssa nodded her head slowly as she followed along, somewhat remembering their phone conversation about the date, how he was a prince, and the Statue of Liberty -- Lyss was proud of herself for being a part of making that happen. The next of their conversation continued on to Liam returning to his country for the social season in which he was expected to find someone to marry by the end of the summer. “I’m so sorry he had to leave, but what does any of this have to do with you, Ri?” 

Riley glanced over her shoulder. “That’s where these two guys come in.”

Alyssa followed her friend’s gaze then shook her head. “I’m not following.”

“Maxwell wants to sponsor me to travel to Cordonia to compete for Liam. And we leave in an hour. Yay!” She raised her arms in a V, trying to garner excitement from her roommate, knowing she’d probably freak out.

And she did. “YOU CAN’T GO TO A FOREIGN COUNTRY! FOR ALL YOU KNOW THESE GUYS ARE SERIAL KILLERS OR SEX TRAFFICKERS!” Alyssa looked at Rashad and smiled shyly. “Not you, of course.” She then eyed Maxwell. “Probably him.”

“I know, I know. But that’s kinda, sorta where you come in.” Riley’s eyes danced around the room while tugging on the hem of her shirt.

“What do you mean?”

Maxwell checked the time on his phone as Riley laid out the details, point by point, to her friend, who guzzled the last bit of her water as she found out she had basically been enlisted into becoming a suitor as well. Alyssa spit out her water. “WHAT?”

Rashad sighed and looked for paper towels to dry off his lap.

Taking in Alyssa’s bug-eyed stare, Riley scrambled to make the whole situation sound more appealing to her.

“There’s skiing --”

“You know I can’t ski.”

“There’s ice skating --”

“Are you trying to break both of my ankles at the same time?”

“There’s horseback riding --”

“Oh, God, horses?”

“And beaches.”

Alyssa started to complain before stopping herself. “Okay, that doesn’t sound so bad. But still, Ri --”

“Please, Alyssa,” Riley pleaded, her still-small voice just above a whisper. She sat down on the coffee table again, across from her friend, eyes glassy. “I would never ask you to do something so big for me. But, I want you there … I need you there. This … this is the guy, Lyss. He’s the one.”

Seeing the hopeful expression staring back at her, Alyssa’s heart sank. She set aside the empty bottle and leaned forward, placing a compassionate hand on Riley’s. “First of all, you don’t need me. You’re more than capable of doing this on your own. I mean, give yourself a little credit … you landed a prince.” They both let out soft laughs before she continued. “But, secondly, you know I’m a hopeless romantic. So if this is the only way you’ll go … count me in.”

As the two of them hugged and Riley expressed her fervent thanks, Maxwell cleared his throat and interrupted their happy moment. The girls turned to him as he stated, “I hate to break all of this up -- I really do. This is like the totally awesome stuff I live for -- but we’re pressed for time now. Our friend Drake is already on the plane waiting and isn’t above leaving without us.”

“Oh good. Doesn’t he sound like a little ray of sunshine?” Alyssa scoffed, causing Riley to snicker and drawing half a smirk from Rashad.

The guys headed down to the limo while the girls rummaged through their rooms, stuffing as many of their things as they could possibly fit into suitcases and bags. After taking turns getting quick showers, being vigilant of the time, they double checked to make sure they had what they needed for an extended trip, planning to  call friends and family on the drive to the airport to let them know where they would be.

Alyssa slipped on a pair of sunglasses as she stepped into the hallway, while Riley locked the door to their apartment behind them. “And you’re sure this Liam is worth all this?”

Riley regarded her thoughtfully before letting out a contented sigh, “Yeah. He’s worth it.”

Alyssa shrugged and pushed the sunglasses higher on her nose. “Well, if we don’t die, we’ll have a hell of a story to tell.”

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[purplesunrisefanfic]

A long-ass defence of the unsexy sex scene between Abby and Owen.

(No pictures of it are included here because gross)

So, at the risk of alienating pretty much everyone who follows me, I actually think **that** scene with Abby and O🤢🤢n is a worthwhile storytelling element, and I see why that scene was included but not a Dina/Ellie one. (Even though “I wish things were different.”)

With Dina/Ellie, they love each other, they have a fairly healthy relationship, they have chemistry. Everything that, story-wise, needs to be shown can be (and was) shown without needing a full sex scene. Yeah, I would really like to see a sex scene between them, for sure, but I can’t pretend that because I think there’s vital story elements hidden in there. Not at all because, let’s be honest, we KNOW they had great sex. No one who wants that scene wants it because they’re wondering if they had good sex or not, we want it because we wanna see some great sex.

You‘re not seriously doubting that I’m good in bed, are you?

I’m not dissing us for that, representation matters, and I think Neil made a HUGE error of judgement when he spoke about a sex scene in a context where we’d all assume it was Dina/Ellie. (And that was a moment of terrible judgment that I would be classing as queerbaiting has it not been for the SO FUCKING MUCH groundbreakingly excellent representation in Part 2. In this case, I think it was an example of how even when you work really hard at things you can still make mistakes, still be thoughtless to how much impact you can accidents have on a representation-starved group. And yeah, it’s not easy to let him off the hook for something that important to me, but I do think he’s done enough overall to earn an assumption of good faith here. Not least because I don’t really don’t think anyone’s purchase actually hinged on whether we saw a Dina/Ellie sex scene vs a make out scene and a well-developed queer relationship, and the whole point of queerbaiting is to manipulate us into buying or consuming things we otherwise wouldn’t.)

But to get back to the main point, I think it’s important to recognise that we don’t wish we’d had that scene because we feel like there’s something vital to the story that we don’t know for not seeing it. We have good reasons for wanting that scene, but thinking that we missed out on some vital characterisation, relationship or story elements isn’t one of them.

Now, the sex scene that we do see is very different. First thing I wanna say is that this isn’t a sex scene that only lesbians or people who dislike Owen find to be uncomfortable. I’ve seen some critiques where I feel like a gulf might have opened up with that. Where it’s maybe kinda of assumed that if you are into that type of sex and don’t hate Owen, then that’s an equivalent to the Dina/Ellie scene that we didn’t get, and it’s NOT. Dina and Ellie having sex for the first time is a situation that opens a door (a door which then walk through with them in other ways, such as the small moments of love and bonding that we see portrayed so beautifully) while Abby/Owen having sex for the last time is a scene about reaching a dead end. It’s about realising that the past is a dead end. It’s a scene that I’ve not seen anyone, even people who didn’t find it uncomfortable, describe as sexy.

Abby has dwelled on the past for four years. She trained herself up to kill Joel. She took no notice of what she was doing and who she was becoming in the present because all she thought about was the past. She ended up “top Scar killer” without really noticing (though that point is more my subjective opinion than the other points here, but I see no evidence she was proud or that or even really trying to achieve that). She killed kids and parents ruthlessly without paying any mind to her own morals or whether she even wanted to be a Wolf at all, because she was living in the past, getting whatever the job in the present was done without asking any questions because her head was never there. Everything she did as a Wolf was just a means to survive long to find Joel and be in a position to kill him when she did.

Eventually, as we know, she does find and kill Joel, and the experience doesn’t give her any of the closure she imagined. Her friendship groups fracture, her self-image is damaged, and she’s now both without closure and without purpose. But she still hasn’t quite figured out why. She hasn’t yet realised that dwelling on the past is the problem. Her ex is still in the picture, an ex that she lost “because of Joel” (in the sense that the main tensions we see in their relationship are linked to Abby’s dedication to revenge).

So caught up in revenge through 4 formative years of life, she’s not had the space to develop in ways she likely would have otherwise. She hasn’t moved past the idyllic childhood sweethearts idea, she’s not moved on to thinking about what she actually wants and needs in a partner. She’s not even noticed that her friends have moved on to more adult relationships, relationships where you might settle down with children, until she’s shocked into that realisation by the news that Mel is pregnant. (This is similar to a point Druckmann has made in an interview.)

Even then, the way she talks about suggests she’s still struggling with seeing the present clearly. She talks about it (especially to herself in Jackson) as if they are still teens, as they are 16ish and should have been more careful. There’s ample evidence, in my interpretation, that Abby’s ability to notice the present, to notice change, and to grow up herself has been near-stunted for the 4 years between Jerry’s death and Joel’s death.

So when she has sex with Owen, it’s another way of looking back. It’s another attempt to look for a future in her past, and I think that to really see and understand just how much she has tried to find a future in the past, and how much that has led her to betray her own values, betray her friends, and to be blinkered to the consequences of her own actions and how she finally realises all of this herself, we need to see the sex.

Because the sex is like the receipts. Like the death certificate for the long-overdue passing of her idea that her future can be made good by a fixation on the past.

Say they had had a shitty kiss instead. Well, that could be Owen holding back because he’s torn about Mel. They could be Abby holding back because she’s torn about Mel. If they do anything less than completely betray Mel, then there’s still room for Abby to believe that, if Mel were to suddenly never had existed or whatever, that her and Owen would be 16yo idyllic sweethearts forever.

So they have to totally betray Mel, they have to have clearly and totally disregarded her, for us (and for Abby) to see their relationship clearly. So it has to be sex. And for us to share in that process in Abby’s mind, the realisation that life has moved on, the realisation that her love for him is based on assuming nothing much has changed in 4 years when it has, the realisation that the past is dead end, we have to be with her for that.

Then we can see how she’s gotten to where she is and how she finally realises that there’s nothing that the past can give her. And then, she’s finally ready to see the present for what it is. She’s finally ready to see that what she does in the present matters, that she can chose whether or not two children live or die, and that she should focus on that. She’s ready to see that Owen was a guy she loved 4 years ago, not a guy she loves today. She’s ready to “Let It Go!(sorry, couldn’t resist!). She’s ready to question whether she’s actually this person who wants to be “top Scar killer.” We’re able to see just how much of herself has been lost on her revenge journey, how she can get on a better path, and why we think she’s worth having that chance. I don’t think that story could come together so richly without the visceral discomfort and the layered realisations that seeing her having (imo terrible, some folks have gone as far as “mediocre” and I’ve genuinely seen no-one rate it any higher) sex with Owen.

Abby: I’d rather watch 10 live amputations and have my own arm amputated than ever have sex with Owen again. In fact, I’d struggle to choose between sex with him and sex with the Rat King at this point.

Yara: I think you should try your luck with fucking the Rat King, can’t be any worse, can it?

Side point: This argument also touches on why I don’t believe that Abby is categorically canonically straight, because her whole arc relies on her being too stuck in the past to consider who she’s actually attracted to in the present. Normally, it’s kinda on the people making the media to show us queerness and not expect us to be satisfied that “well, they could be bisexual because we’ve never said they aren’t,” but I think TLOU does enough in terms of active representation to merit an exception, especially when there’s a strong storytelling reason why we never see anything of what she’s into beyond her childhood sweetheart. (I’m not saying she’s def bi, just that I think saying she’s canonically straight is dicey and that, unlike with almost any other form of media where I’m with y’all in the “straight until otherwise proven” approach, with Abby specifically I find it does give me some of the bi erasure feels that I get all the time irl when people describe her as canonically straight.)

I’m gonna pick Lev up from Scar Island, then find myself a hot woman who likes big arms, boats, and my precious adopted children.

[vtmb2s]

@jennystahl​​ i had this filled out in my drafts for like 2 months now, sorry 😔 but here it is

4. What was the most common argument between them and whoever raised them?

There weren't really a lot of arguments until she got older. Despite her and her parents difficult relationship she usually obeyed and wasn't really allowed to say anything back, respect your elders and all that. Not that she ever really saw anything wrong with what her parents did, she never really questioned it and lamented the lack of freedom she had, but them forcing her to grow up too soon and get into the family business at an early age was perfectly normal for her -_-

8. What was their childhood/teenage bedroom like?

Her room in her old house in Frisco Fields was very, very pink surprisingly. She’s not very girly as an adult but she grew up in the fifties, thus her room had a pink wallpaper & bedsheets and all sorts of dolls her mom got her. I imagine it somewhat like this, as she got older she got rid of the childrens toys and replaced the stuff on the wall with posters of musicians. The beatles and beach boys as a teen :)

PRESENT

6. What is their current relationship with their family?

(this and number 7 were answered so im just copypasting it)

Complicated... the love is there and all that, it's more of a business relationship though rather than a parent-child thing, especially with her dad. It's nothing that she ever questions (until aforementioned therapy sessions with her friends), she grew up in an environment where affection isn't really something she sees often and almost all her friends have messed up relationships with their parents too so while there is some resentment she never really questions that the way they raised her might not be ideal :c

The relationship with her siblings is complicated as well, especially because they're both a LOT younger than her. She was an only-child until the age of 13 and moved out of her childhood home when they were eight and six years old so there's this weird disconnect but there's a relationship nonetheless, which is weird. Eldest daughter AND only child disease 😓Not to mention that her parents are looking to make her little brother head of the family because he's a boy or whatever.. drama!

7. Do they have a partner? How did they meet, and what’s their relationship like now?

Yes.. she and Ellis met on some random job in the Hollow in 1963 that her dad was taking her along with (he and Sammy did random deals together and were also good friends 😌) and Jenny was like wow how boring. What if I just talk to this this guy's sons instead.... she thought he was some annoying teenage guy and only really talked to him whenever necessary (when her dad's business trips to Sammy's got REALLY boring). She forced herself to hang out with him more after Lincoln went to Vietnam and realized he's not so bad so they became friends :)

In actual game canon nothing really happens because he dies, Jenny just becomes sad that her friends were killed (him, Danny, Sammy and maybe Michael too because of Juliet connection.. she doesn't give a fuck abt Giorgi anymore that little rat can die) and wonders if she liked that goofy little guy with the ugly shirts, but in any case it's too late now.

We're doing au's here though (also this is as of '68) so in the good timeline they get together in 1968.. sort of. It's not a friends with benefits thing, more that sort of relationship that you know will end sooner or later for various reasons, so you're kind of living in the moment and have fun while it lasts. It IS genuine and not just about hooking up from time to time of course, it's just not the kind of thing that was built to last because it's based off of a dumb 20 year olds friendship and one of them (Jenny) doesn't really plan on sticking around in New Bordeaux. But well, who knows what will happen 😏

FUTURE

5. Did they get married or have a family? Why? If otherwise, why not?

YES! Jenny + Ellis cringe wedding in the good timeline, when she returns from LA after her failed music career (it wasn't a complete failure, she just gives it up after landing one hit that plays on the radio over and over again). She has a daughter in 1972, miss Tracy :)

6. How do they react to the changing times? Are they adaptable or do they reject modernity?

She adapts somewhat to the changing times, starts wearing a 70s hairdo with feathered bangs and all that but she's still a 60's girl through and through 😌 the seventies are cool because a lot of things from the late sixties carry over (even if she misses the carefree vibe that decade had compared to the more depressing 70s), the eighties she kind of hates aesthetically. Not that she should complain, she's a milf around that time 🙄 Overall she’s adaptable but she keeps complainign about the 80s and later decades and talks about how much better the sixties were.

7. Are their friends still a part of their life? Are there people they are no longer in touch with, or newly important people?

YES... YES! 😤 she definitely still regularly meets with her old friend group, particularly juliet and gavin.. what we said about him and danny babysitting vinnie and tracy :-) Her family she would stay in touch with too but less so than her friends - she certainly keeps an eye on her younger siblings and tries to keep them out of the “family business”, probably unsuccessfully so 🙄 but she would try to be present for them, even if the large age gap kind of resulted in them becoming closer with each other rather than with Jenny :/

[frederator-studios]

Adetokumboh M’Cormack: The Frederator Interview

Adetokumboh M’Cormack is an actor and producer who also (coolly neglected to mention to me that he) directs and writes. He just directed a live action, period-set short, The German King. You might recognize Ade from Lost, Heroes, 24, Captain America: The Winter Soldier or your pick of syndicated crime dramas - pick one, he’s probably appeared in it. We are very lucky to work with Ade on Castlevania, in which he plays Isaac, an ally of Dracula’s, Devil Forgemaster and new character in season 2. Read on for Ade’s perspective on acting, favorite vampire film (a surprisingly gooby pick for this serious Actor), and discussion of Isaac - including a clip of him in character!

Why did you choose to be an actor?

Gosh, I don’t think I really had much of choice to be honest (laughs). It’s always been something that I just knew I had to do. I grew up in Kenya and went to this school in Nairobi called Braeburn. It had a state of the art theatre where we performed all these plays. I made sure I was in every one - I just loved performing. My dad's story is that when I was around ten, I got cast in a musical called Rats - based on The Pied Piper of Hamelin. I played this awesome lead role as the Rat Leader! (laughs). But my dad took me out of the play because he wanted me to focus more on my studies. I just remember being super bummed about the whole thing. After a few days, the school’s Headmaster called my dad in for a meeting and said “Your son is sad. For goodness sake, you have to put him back in the play!” He did, and I immediately cheered up. My dad later told me that it was at this point that he knew this wasn’t just a hobby to me. I was actually serious about Acting. My parents were super supportive ever since.

What do you love about Acting? So many things! I love studying people. Humans are such wonderfully complex, nuanced creatures. So to get to walk in someone else’s shoes and become a different person, and discover who they are and what makes them tick and convey how they feel - it’s just fascinating. As people, we have so many layers. And I love putting those layers onto my characters. Why do they make certain choices? What secrets are they hiding? I have a lot of fun creating characters. Do you enjoy any aspect of voice acting in particular? I really enjoy doing different things with my voice and vocal register to create different characters, and I enjoy putting on different accents. But I really just love words. And languages. And how things like alliteration can convey a certain feeling. Take Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven, or Shakespeare for example. When Macbeth says to Banquo, “To-night we hold a solemn supper sir,” there’s something very serpent-like and ominous because of the “s” sounds. So when the actor says it, the audience feels that. When I read a script, I look for how I can employ the rhythm of the words, the vowels, the use of consonance, to effectively set the picture for the scene. And Warren Ellis is such a talented writer, he uses a lot of these devices. Voice Acting in some ways is harder, because you cannot rely on anything else. People aren’t seeing your facial expressions or gestures. All you have is your voice and that microphone that picks up EVERYTHING. You cannot have one false moment because it’s amplified. So everything boils down to being truthful under imaginary circumstances. You put every ounce of your being into being truthful, and making it come through in your voice. Whenever I’m in the studio, I’m super animated. I fully act out the scene and try to make the situation as real for myself as possible. Only then can it be real for your audience/listener. I’m usually a sweaty mess by the end of it. But when you see it all put together with the animation, it’s awesome!

How were you introduced to Castlevania as a potential project? 

I really enjoy period pieces, and who doesn’t love a good Dracula story? So when my agent first told me about the project I was intrigued. And then when I started reading the script, I was blown away. I really liked the story and characters. And of course with Adi Shankar at the helm, you know you’re going to have something awesome. I remember after I watched his Power Rangers short a couple of years back I was like “whatever this guy does next, sign me up!” (laughs). Needless to say, I was really impressed by the finished product. What do you look for in a project? Do you gravitate toward certain genres? I definitely gravitate toward drama. And I’m a big fan of historical pieces. I’m getting ready to shoot a film called The German King about an African leader who rises up against German colonial rule in World War I. But the most important thing that draws me to a script is the writing. I love a well written piece with interesting, fleshed out characters. What about Isaac’s character compelled you to take the role? When you first meet Isaac in season 2, he’s having this intense, philosophical conversation with a dead creature. You start getting an insight into his intellect. Isaac is super smart. And you start understanding more about who he is, and what drives him. Villains are so often portrayed without much depth - everything’s black or white. But over the course of the season, you gain insight into Isaac’s complex mind, and you find that his motivation is seeded very, very deep. And the fact that it is written into the script that he is an African man. That made me jump at the chance to play this role. You don’t often get to see black people, or people of color portrayed in this way in period pieces, nor with the opportunity to have such rich dialogue. What more can you tell us about Isaac?

Isaac is a really interesting fellow. He has the outward appearance and quiet, peaceful demeanor of a Sufi ascetic. But there’s a lot going on within him. He had a very difficult childhood. He was severely abused. He traveled across much of Africa and the Middle East as a kid. He learned magic from a renegade occultist’s books. And when we meet him in season 2, he’s a Devil Forgemaster, and fiercely loyal to Dracula.

Did his traumatic past present a challenge as you got in touch with his character? Isaac has lived a horrific life. I did a lot of research and read literally everything I could about him. Then I created his backstory, chronicling a timeline of when and where certain things happened to him. I made the people who hurt and abused him very specific. How old was he when this happened? How did that make him feel? When did he commit his first murder? What were the major turning points in his life that contributed to him becoming the man we meet in Castlevania season 2? I needed to make him as specific as possible, in order to make him real. As an actor, you have to go there, even if it’s very uncomfortable. What is your favorite media representation of Dracula / Vampires-at-large? I watched this film called What We Do In the Shadows recently. That has to be one of the funniest films I’ve ever seen about vampires. You’ve got these male vampires knitting and being very uncool and unsexy and it’s just hysterical. It definitely puts a different spin on the whole vampire genre. What do you think Castlevania brings to the canon that is unique or new? Well, Dracula and co. are certainly not the funny, awkward vampires we see in WWDITS, that’s for sure (laughs). Dracula is powerful. I mean, super powerful. And terrifying. The vampires in Castlevania can take on these massive beast like forms. They are next level. But at the same time, there is a very human side to this Dracula as well. You’re seeing someone who fell in love, and suffered loss. And over the course of seasons one and two, you get a better understanding of who he is and why he’s filled with so much hate for humanity.

What TV shows are you a fan of? Do you regularly watch animation? Right now Ozark and Wentworth are my favorite shows. Pamela Rabe is probably my new favorite villain. I'm still catching up so don’t tell me what happens! (laughs) I don’t normally watch animation, but I started to see what else was out there, especially in anime, after working on Castlevania. Right now I’m watching Last Hope which is really cool.

How has the experience of working on Castlevania been overall?

It’s been amazing. The team is really great. Our Director Sam Deats and Voice Director Meredith Layne, and Warren, Adi, and Kevin -  they have all been so incredible to work with. And I’ve had the chance to work with some brilliant actors whose work I’ve come to respect over the years. I’m a huge fan of Graham McTavish so getting to play off of him in the studio has been a really awesome experience. What do you like best about playing Isaac?  

The fact that he’s a badass with supernatural powers (laughs). He’s got these superhuman fighting skills and uses all these cool weapons in combat. He’s like a superhero. And he’s got all this dialogue that’s just fantastic. It’s fun to play this compelling, layered character who has an awesome character arc over the course of season 2. And I love the fact that he’s a black man. We never really see black characters portrayed like this in the media, especially during that time period: the 1400’s. I hope this opens doors to casting more people of color in interesting, robust roles that play against stereotypes.

Do you relate to any aspects of Isaac’s character?

Definitely his loyalty. I’m a loyal friend. And I like to think that I’m the type of person who would sacrifice a lot for someone I love. And also if there’s a cause that I believe in, then I throw myself into it 110 percent (laughs). I like to see things through.

Have anything to say to fans of the series, in advance of season 2?

Season 1 was amazing. But season 2 takes it to a whole new level. Get ready.

Follow Ade on Twitter and Instagram.

Thank you for the interview Ade, and your incredible work as Isaac this season! Can’t wait to see what you do next - in Wallachia and otherwise. 

- Cooper ❀

(ANOTHER!? Before you smash a mug on the floor, hit these links to Graham McTavish’s and Richard Armitage’s interviews)

[the-one-blog-to-rule-them-all]

aaaaaand i’m finally caught up on all the Jurassic movies!! Here are my short reviews and listing from fave to least fave

1.) Jurassic Park - duh This movie is a goddamn masterpiece. Realistic dialogue and i feel like everyone acted pretty realistically for the most part of like what they would do in case of a dino attack fr. The characters are literally ALL likeable, even the kids who i thought i was going to fcking hate. Ellie and Alan should be together till the day my soul leaves this fucking earth bc they’re so perfect for each other. Ian was a fuckin treasure in all definitions of the word. Just such a well executed movie and legit not what i was expecting when i watched it. 10/10. maybe 11/10

2.) Jurassic World I dig the reboot. I think Crisp Rat is a really good actor and I love him and I literally adore Bryce Dallas Howard she is so fucking cute. At first I was annoyed bc product placement but then i realized it’s a theme park and that’s totally accurate. I laughed out loud a couple of times which is always a plus. Not a spectacular movie by any means, but I would absolutely watch it again. 7/10

3.) Jurassic Park 3 This shit ass movie isn’t the worst thing i’ve ever seen but I didn’t like it. First of all how are you going to really fuggin start this movie showing that Alan and Ellie aren’t togehter??? that doesn’t even make sense and I literally refuse to accept it as canon. My suspension of disbelief is fucking GONE. I could think of nothing else for the entire movie except that those two dreamboats aren’t rawwing it in their happy marital life because this mfing director or writer or wtfever decided to be the worst person in the world. 0/10

4.) The Lost World Fuck this movie and fuck what they did to Ian Malcolm’s cool guy character. Like at least in JP3 they have alan grant be in character, but Ian is like a totally different guy. I could give a fuck and a half less about his girlfriend and his daughter. who is this character I don’t even know him please give me my chaos theory rockstar back thanks. -2/10

All in all I’ve had an enjoyable experience thru this. I rly wanna draw some cute JP fan art with some dinos but i can’t draw dino’s and also i’m a trash human who can’t think of anything to draw soooo here we are. too hype for the next movie tho