#Face’s actions but if they could and would just! communicate well! they’re both reasonable /enough/ they could heal. it didn’t have to be

[ziracona]

Obsessed with the way Two-Face talks about Harvey in the Arkham games like do I like all the choices? Not at all. Is the “Harvey might feel bad about this Batman, but we'll bring him around,” line alone rotating in my head since I saw it and one of the pillars of how I see and write Two-Face? Ye baby.

[will-and-lester-defense-squad]

Damn I’ve been seeing a good bit of criticism about the pjo show and while everyone can have their opinions on it, so can I. So. (Lemme warn yall this is gonna be a long one)

I’ve seen a lot about how things are being figured out too easily in the show and it’s taking the mystery out of the scenes from the book (i.e. the lotus casino, “aunty em” being Medusa, etc). What this boils down to (to me at least) is that people think the trio is.. too smart??

I get where they’re coming from but if anything? I think that makes everything in the show better compared to the books for a few reasons:

they can focus more on keeping season 1 character-centric and story-driven instead of constantly about action (which sets a lot up for the next 4 seasons when they can dive into all the action because the characters and their motivations/personalities have already been fleshed out and established)

(and much more importantly) the trio is supposed to be smart and somewhat prepared for this quest

Like i get the whole “they’re 12 year old kids” argument but we’re forgetting that they’re not regular kids. Because they do suck at regular people stuff: Percy sucks at driving (ik he’s a kid still), they have a hard time communicating with each other, their relationships are rocky as hell for a while, they don’t do well with listening to or respecting authority figures.

But when it comes to the demigod stuff? There’s a reason they’re all so good at it. For one, it’s explained that the same ADHD and dyslexia that makes their regular lives so difficult, makes it easier to function in the mythic world. And when it comes to each character, lemme go through them one by one.

Annabeth: the literal daughter of the goddess of wisdom and strategy. the girl who learned on her own how to survive using nothing but her quick thinking and wits at 7 years old before being picked up by Luke and Thalia. the girl who spent 5 years training and learning everything she could in hopes of getting a quest to prove herself. and then on top of that, that pride she’s got just pushes her even more to be the smartest and bravest version of herself.

Grover: the satyr whose literal job description is to be a protector of demigods, which means he’s been trained just as much, if not more than annabeth and taught everything he needs to know to shield these demigods while they’re in the real world. He’s smart, adaptable, strong, and has the added advantage of increased senses and a connection to nature and animals that comes in handy.

Percy: whose mother spent his entire life preparing him for this life, knowing one day he was gonna have to do all of this himself. She told him all the stories. She knew as a son of Poseidon, he was gonna have to face all kinds of gods and dangers. And he does constantly use what he’s been taught to get him through whatever he faces. The only reason he seems inexperienced is because he is. He’s only been a demigod for a week at this point. But both Grover and annabeths experience more than make up for this. Because they’re a team and they travel and fight together as one.

They may be 12 year old kids, but they’re not regular people like the rest of us. They’re demigods. And they might still have a lot to learn, but they’re still demigods. They have training! They have amazing instincts! They know the history! The stories!! The Greek tragedies!!! They learned them so that they don’t repeat the same mistakes their ancestors made, and they used that to their advantage at every stage of their quest so far.

So yeah, I’m glad they’re smart enough to know when they’re about to walk into a trap. And I’d hope to god they use these advantages at their disposal, because nothing else they face is gonna be easy regardless. They have no choice but to be ready, it’s literally life or death.

At the end of the day, a complete copy of the book would be so boring as a show. We already read the books. We know what happens. So the changes they’ve made so far have really just been for the better. I love watching smart protagonists that don’t make me yell at the tv when they miss the glaringly obvious!!

[andarthas-web]

Wakanda Forever? More like Wakanda WTF!

I finally managed to watch Wakanda Forever and....WTF WAS THAT???

Who thought it was a good idea to center the movie on two BIPOC communities, both of which are threatened by neo-colonial and capitalist western ambitions, going to war with each other, because one of them can’t come up with a better solution to the dilemma they’re facing than murdering a black woman? I mean....Namor is several hundreds of years old and apparently an experienced and good ruler. It’s pretty clear Riri didn’t even know what was going on and would never have willingly put Wakanda at risk (which makes it likely she wouldn’t have wanted to put Talocan and its’ people at risk either). Also, if Riri could invent something like this, sooner or later some other scientist will pop up who can do the same, because people who are gifted like that are rare...but by no means a one-time-only-in-all-of-human-existence. So no matter HOW she’s taken out of the picture, that’s only delaying the problem, not solving it. And FFS!!! If he wanted to keep her out of reach of western ambitions, keeping her in Talocan (if he didn’t trust Wakanda enough) would have been perfectly sufficient, no murder needed. Then there’s the bit about firing Okoye. WTF??? First of all, Shuri’s an adult and a princess responsible for her people, fully capable of making executive decisions on her own and EVERYBODY was aware that this was a risky mission beforehand. Hell, it wasn’t the first time Shuri did risky stuff in her life either. So yeah, punishing Okoye for not being all-powerful and not being able to pull an unrealistic Deus Ex Machina move to save Shuri, and especially considering that it is up to Shuri to decide for herself which risks and actions to take? Doesn’t make one lick of sense. It makes even LESS sense, considering that from all the people present, Okoye is the most qualified where it comes to getting Shuri back. And EVEN LESS SENSE that Ramonda’s anger comes from “having lost ALL of her family” when at the end of the movie, we learn that she has a grandson AND that she’s met him. Doesn’t he count at all for her? Btw, fridging characters in order to motivate others to grow and take action they wouldn’t have otherwise? A really tired old trope that robbed Ramonda of her dignity and power. Never mind that we already lost T’Challa in this movie and adding Ramonda on top of that was just adding insult to the injury. Then there’s this bit about “oh, I had the Kimoyo beads bugged” from Valentina Allegra de Fontaine? Please. Since when is western tech and knowledge even remotely on par with the tech of Wakanda / with the tech Shuri built? All within the few couple of minutes it took Ross to get to the scene to boot too. Without any kind of explanation on how the fuck they pulled this highly unrealistic feat off, this bit totally undermined the competence Shuri and Wakanda’s tech are supposed to have and it seems like an utterly unnecessary “ha ha, see, ultimately white people are better than you” gotcha moment.

Also, Namor is supposed to put his people first...but in the end, after sending a LOT of his people to die in the fight against Wakanda, he decides to just call everything off, after stressing how absolutely and utterly NON-negotiable murdering Riri was, just because Shuri decided to spare his life. Yeah, that’s hypocrisy of the highest order. Nevermind that somebody who witnessed / is well aware of the violence of white colonizers against BIPOC women and who is obviously still angry and upset about it, should NOT be willing to murder a black woman that easily and without second thought, let alone without a DAMN good reason and only after much, much soul-searching.  Also, what did it get him in the end?

NOTHING HE COULDN’T HAVE EASILY HAD WITHOUT GETTING TONS OF PEOPLE KILLED ON BOTH SIDES. Riri is still alive and free (and not even been kept safe and out of reach in Wakanda, like Shuri suggested at first, but returning to her life in the US, where she will be at a higher risk of being abducted / forcibly conscripted by other powers). (Side-note: is it just me, or did her suit seem very shoddily animated when compared to Tony’s?) And Wakanda is now an ally? HELL, considering how isolated they were becoming on an international stage, they’d have probably been perfectly delighted to consider an alliance well before he started this whole shit-show. Overall, the plot of this movie makes NO sense and violates a lot of the characters’ integrity six ways to sunday, having them act like immature, stupid teenagers instead of the experienced, competent people they’re supposed to be. Somebody (or a lot of somebodies) took lazy shortcuts here in order to drive a plot forward that was all focused on a maximum of flash and bang and Celebrity Big Brother style drama instead of telling a meaningful, consistent story. Among the few bright lights here were Okoye, with Danai Gurira pulling off a small miracle to give the character dignity and depth despite the godawful script, Shuri, whose struggle with the grief over her brother’s death and with trying to find a path forward for herself really hit home hard, as well as Riri, who was fun to watch as she rejoiced in the tech she had created, but who was also willing to take on responsibility and do the right thing. And finally Nakia, whose heartbreak was still palpable and yet it was incredibly admirable and inspiring how she worked through that, nevermind how she was absolutely badass as she came to rescue Shuri and Riri, as well as M’Baku, with Winston Duke adding either a light-hearted or a serious note to the scene as needed.  Sadly, overall, it’s not a movie I’m going to watch again and it was a huge disappointment.

[internalsealpanic]

Enough and Then Some

summary: When your girlfriend is well-known and well-liked around the superhero community, people will have opinions. a/n: This is unconcerned with canon as I usually am. I did my best. warnings: Jimmothy Gordon.

There is generally no reason to regret dating Barbara Gordon. She's Barbara Freaking Gordon for Christ's sake, yanno, perfect rolled up in gorgeous? Babs has been nothing but wonderful since you two started dating. 

 It's the people finding out part that's giving you a rough go at it. 

 You made the mistake of getting caught  kissing your girlfriend by none other than Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson. The next time you see him you are going to shove a dishrag down his throat. 

 People generally have two reactions. One, they give you this concerned once over. The one where their face stretches because their eyebrows go one way and their mouth goes the other way. This look is generally followed by them stopping themselves from saying 'really?' and they think they're slick and you don't catch it but you do and you feel worse because they're patting themselves on the back because they think they're being nice. 

 You're not even that bad, right?

 Sure, Babs is like 10 levels out of your league and ok, maybe they're right. 

 Why is she dating you again?

 The second reaction is what's been keeping you up all week. See, the problem with dating one of the most interconnected personalities in the caped community and having fessed up to another person who is just as interconnected is that said community is known for taking action. And oh boy howdy, did they. 

 You nurse a mug of coffee, staring into the rich pool of brown. It looks soft enough to sink into but you can't because Commissioner Gordon is sitting across the table giving you that look. Not the stretchy one. The one where he is either going to whip out a threat or his pistol or both.

 He's tapping his foot, crowding your little brownstone with a terrible rhythm. You're off the clock so you don't bother minding your expression. Whatever is on your face makes him switch to drumming his fingers on the table. You sigh inwardly. "Are you sure you don't want a cup of coffee?" you ask, keeping your voice light and pleasant; not quite slipping into your hostage negotiation voice, as Steph insists on calling it, or your I'm going lovingly smother you with a pillow the second you look away voice. 

 The Commissioner (because you haven't really been told you could call him Jim yet) scrubs a hand over his face, looking all of 60 and showing. "Yes, please." You nod, thankful to be able to put some distance between you. 

 "Sugar? Creamer?" You ask, letting the bubbling of water drown out the uncomfortable beat of his fingers. 

 "Neither," he says but he seems to debate the point. 

 "I could add honey. It's not too bad for your health," you offer. You know from Babs's loud phone conversations with her dad that he's been bullied into a healthier diet. You certainly have.

 He grunts out a quiet thank you.

 You set the mug down, the clink of porcelain against the wood disconcerting. 

 "So you and Barbara have started dating," he says and finally there it is. Your mouth ticks a little. You look around the apartment you two have been sharing for a month and have a vivid vision of red cloth. Jean-Paul Valley (aka Azrael) had specifically told you that you were not to move in with Babs until he was sure you were ok. You would have lovingly like to point out that both you and Babs are grown adults and it's none of his business but the flaming sword was very convincing. Still, that was an entirely different problem. "I suppose a little birdie told you."

 "You could say that," he says, eyeing you suspiciously. 

 You rub the back of your neck. The words are still strange to say after all these months. "Yes, we've been dating... for a bit."

 "So then," he sets the mug down, "you know this talk has been coming."

  You look at him flatly. "Sir, I have already been warned at flaming sword point but if you must."

He seems a little thrown for a loop and you slightly regret snapping at him. He clears his throat. It just makes the silence more awkward. At first, you two try to scramble for things to say but apparently your previous statement had derailed the whole conversation. You have to wonder if the Commissioner had planned all of his lines. Probably. This idea makes you feel so much worse. 

 There goes any possibility of getting the Commissioner on your side. 

 It's possible that you're gonna be ok and that you'll laugh this off someday.  You very much doubt it but it's the only reason you're able to fix that smile on your face. 

 The cold feeling in your stomach is hard to ignore. 

 "I should get going before Barbara finds out I came here," the Commissioner says hesitantly. "I'm sure you won't mind keeping it between us."

 A genuine smile makes its way to your face. "I promised not to keep secrets from her but for you, I'll see what I can do. No promises," you laugh into your cup. 

 "Good enough," he grunts. 

 He gives you another once over before he shuts the door. 

 It's a look you can't read but that maybe because you're busy trying to find your breath. You close your eyes and think of the work you have to do to calm you down.

 He seems a little thrown for a loop and you slightly regret snapping at him.

"I still don't understand how you can stand watching Dr. Phil when you already have to deal with Dr. Quinzel," you whine, sliding Babs into your lap, placing a kiss on her neck then her jaw before burying a groan as Dr.Phil insists on talking. 

 She shrugs, kissing your nose. "One more doesn't hurt."

 "My insurance begs to differ."

 "You're just awful at picking your insurance," Babs snorts and your feel the coil in your chest unwind. There's little else you can do but place a kiss on her chin and her cheek and her ear and wherever else you can reach before she shoves you away with the heel of her palm pressed against your cheek. You still end up kissing her hand anyway.

 "My Ph.D. does not guarantee a working brain," you mumble into her hand. 

 "Is that not the point of your degree?" 

 You huff, cupping her hand against your cheek. "You really should come to one of the University dinners with me." It's amazing how light your tone manages to be given that you're exhausted from both work and whatever you want to call the last few weeks. You bristle with delight when she brushes her thumb against your cheek. You wrap your arm around her waist and lean into her touch like a plant chasing the sun.

"Something's wrong."

 "The fact that this thing has 20 seasons?"

 Babs pointedly looks down at the pizza that has at most been given a passing glance. "You only ever get this pizza when something’s wrong."

 "Pineapple is not a death knell," you scoff. 

 Babs lifts your chin. "Oh? You’re saying I’m wrong?"

 "There is a first time for everything, my dear," You chuckle, cupping her cheek and kissing the corner of her mouth. 

 It's her turn to scoff. "I don’t believe you, talk to me please, I want to know what’s wrong," she says, looking into your eyes, allowing you to be swallowed up by her sincerity. Her touch so soft buries you deeper in this intensity. 

 The hand on her waist squeezes reassuringly.  "It's stupid, Babs. I promise I'll be fine." You lean into Babs's shoulder and slot your face into her neck. Taking a moment to pause and gather yourself, you muster the words and maybe a little bit of your trademark dramatics. "Babs..." Your hand drops to her knee and squeezes. "The problem is... I am very terribly, stupidly in love with you."

 Her face twitches. It is such a classic invasion that it is, unfortunately, endearing. She threads her hand through your hair. "I love you too," she murmurs in to your cheeks and she feels you melt into that. "But I really need to know what's actually wrong."

 So close.

You breathe her in deep, the scent of dusty old library books filling your lungs. "I'm—" How do I love you without doubting myself? "How do I get people to stop threatening to skewer me?"

 Babs brows pull together.  "That's never bothered you before."

 "You're right," you laugh. It's concerningly limp even to your ears.  "It's... it's  not the death threats. It's—" Your frown, trying to think of the words and deciding to trace the lines on Babs's hand to draw them out. "I don't know how to convince people that I'm not out to break your heart or that I'm not some kid just chasing after your cape or I don't know. I just... I'm sorry. This is my problem."

 Babs takes your hand slowly and places it against her cheek, leaning into it.

"Is that what this is all about?" She asks, kissing the heel of your palm. 

 "I'm not stupid," this made Babs smile and you would be offended but you're dumb and in love. You could hear Babs call you a moron on the same caliber as the current winner of the Darwin award and you would still be smitten. The kicker is she knows it. She won't admit it but she's the same. "You're like the best thing to happen to me. I don't even know why you picked me."

 Babs tips your chin. "Look at me."

 "Hard not to do but sure, yes, I am looking right at you. Specifically your cute nose."

 Babs rolls her eyes.

 Babs looks into your eyes, trying to organize her thoughts. There's a million of them. You can watch them flit through her eyes.  "You are amazing. And you are the best thing to happen to me. You got that?"

 Your stomach flips. You want to shy away but Babs doesn't let you. The intensity is soft like a the glow of a hearth. "I picked you for a million reasons. I can list them all if you’d like. We have the time." She looks out to the storm raging outside of the window, the soft sound of snow hammering against the panes of the window, wind whirling loudly. "I’m with you because you make me coffee when my mug is empty and I’ve lost track of time, forgetting to make myself one."

 "Coffee addict," you scoff. 

 "You're worse," she slightly regrets the words when she feels you deflate a little.

"I love you because when I feel down, you just know, and you always make me feel safe, without fail."

 "And I will never stop trying to do that." If you had tried to fight the gut wrenching sincerity in your voice, Babs can confidently say you failed miserably. You never failed to make her heart hurt. 

 Babs strokes your hair. "I love you because you are the type of person to give me a heart attack by trying to talk to Scare Crow about the corruption of academia during a hostage crisis."

 "I wasn't sure if he was into sports."

 You both laugh and smile.

 "Your sense of humor is awful."

 "Naturally."

 "But I love it."

 "Thanks Babs," is all you can say which you punctuate by kissing her lips.

 "Love you," she says, kissing back. "What's up?"

 You shake your head and bury your face in Bab's shoulder again but your ears are warm. Bab wraps her arms around your and holds you tightly, letting herself feel you. "What’s up?" She repeats. 

 "Two weeks worth of threats from the caped crowds looks at her," you hum because blurting it out would be rude. "Dick is no longer allowed to give me shit about being overprotective cus I have nothing on half the people that broke into our apartment," you huff looking up at her. 

 "Who's been breaking in?"

 "Let’s see there was Huntress, Black Canary, Azrael, rest of the Birds of Prey, people from the justice league I don't even know. Oh and Cass. She is 90 pounds of pure terror."

  She stares at you. You shrug. 

 "What did they do?" She's trying to keep her voice even.

 "Normal shovel talk. breaking my legs, bringing down the wrath of god, all that jazz," you say, waving your hand, "your dad was nice enough to use the front door though. Your dad tried to give me the talk but it kind lost its punch after getting it from Dinah, yanno?"

 Babs frowns frankly annoyed. "I am going to put their faces through a wall."

 You laugh. "I get it though. They love you and I do too."

 Babs plants a kiss on your forehead. "You pretended to be scared by my dad, didn't you?"

 "Not really. I kind of blurted out the Azrael thing. I tried retroactively but it clearly didn’t work." This sheer stupidity earns you a kiss on the cheek.

 "You’re a good person. Always wanting to make everyone happy."

 You scoff but it's not sharp, just amused. "I'm glad you notice my campaign for sainthood."

 "You're not gonna win that," she rolls her eyes.

 You squish your cheek against her shoulder. "If I steal Azrael's sword, would I have a better chance?"

 "Isn't stealing bad?"

 "Borrow," you amend, "besides, it can't be that bad if you keep stealing my heart."

 Babs tries to pinch your grin off. It does not work.

 "You know how much you mean to me, right?" She says, kissing you. You hum against her lips happily. "You just like my lips."

 Babs smiles against your lips. "Hmmm we better make sure they don't find out what you do with—" You smack your lips against hers swallowing up the rest of her sentence, your skin starts to burn thinking of her words. Babs thought you were immune to embarrassment but she was patient enough to find your weaknesses.

"Please shut up," you breathe, pressing your forehead to hers. 

 Babs snorts. 

 "You love my suffering."

 "I love it like I love the rest of you," she says, smooshing your cheeks together. "You're more than enough for me."

 "Enough," you don't know why your brain zeroes in on that word but it makes its home between your ribs, gluing the rest of you together.

[clanofjones]

Ghosts of Our Days - Chapter Four

Start

<- Chapter Three

Ao3 (full work)

Co-written with @theosb0rnway

If you like, you can enter this fic to the @tmntausummit! It would help us a lot!

Chapter Four: A Lover's Desperation

The walk back to the lair was the quickest one April had taken in years thanks to her run-in with Casey. Not only was he still alive, but Raph also had to be too, and they were somewhere in the city! She skipped into the lair, the Hostess's donut bag shaking in her right hand, a bright smile on her face.

"I brought donuts!" They all turned to stare at her and her very peculiar good mood.

"Is it somebody's birthday or something?" Donnie questioned before letting out a loud gasp. "DID I FORGET YOUR BIRTHDAY, APRIL?!?" She shook her head and sighed.

"No, Donnie, it's nobody's birthday." The boys sank into their shells, going back to their usual moping.

"But I found Casey!" Now that got their attention. All three turtles had different reactions, but they all could be summed up in lots of cheering and shocked facial expressions. Mikey even added a fist pump or two.

"Casey's alive?!?"

"Yeah, and he was acting weird as hell,” April recalled. “As soon as he saw me, he ran out of the store, and stole almost forty bucks of snacks!”

“Well, if he’s stealing food, then Raph is going to be with him,” Leo started. “He must not be at his apartment in that case, I’m not sure if his family knows about us.”

“Even if they did, they’re both on the… Impulsive side,” Donnie remarked, and April nodded. 

It wasn’t as if it were untrue. They were prone to making decisions without thinking about them for more than five seconds, no matter how much they denied it on any given day.

“Think Casey took Raph because he got injured in the… Fight?” Mikey said with a bit of a delay in his tone, a clear attempt to keep it light. Leo nodded.

“Most likely. If Casey’s already left wherever they’ve staked out for themselves, then Raph should be healing fine,” Leo reasoned. “Best course of action, we wait for them to show their faces.”

And so, for days, that was what they did. Eyes and ears open for any sign of communication that Casey or Raph might be trying to orchestrate with them. Neither of them had even been seen in any alleyways on patrol, which was even stranger. This fact had begun to drive the remaining three turtles into a bit of a tizzy, so April decided on a peace offering of their favorite pizzas. She had also gotten Raph and Casey’s, in the blind hope that one or both would catch her drift and reveal themselves for the sake of the food.

But alas, no such thing occurred. So April returned to Donnie, Leo, and Mikey with a stack of boxes almost as tall as her, which Donnie and Mikey immediately relieved her of. 

With a clean view free of cardboard, she could properly take in the numerous conspiracy boards – some looking only half completed, some on bulletin boards on wheels, some tacked to boards on the walls, some were just photos and magazine cuttings taped, tacked, nailed, or stapled to the wall with no respect for the structural integrity of the place, with red string connecting them. She was almost certain they’d been forced there by nails and a mallet once Donnie had run out of tacks, tape, and staples.

“What’s all this for?” she asked, without expecting an answer most people would call sensible.

She wasn’t disappointed when Donnie set the pizza boxes down, cleared his throat, and straightened his mask. “We have our very own Jack the Ripper.”

When she only blinked, Donnie elaborated.

“Somebody has been running around murdering people. Not innocents,” he added when April’s eyebrows surely receded past her hairline, “to be honest, it’s just been the scum of New York, but enough that it has caught the eye of the media.”

He moved to a conspiracy board and wheeled it next to one attached to the wall so they made one, conjoined board. 

“And,” he continued, “Whoever’s behind it has either stolen Casey’s gimmick, Casey’s actual gear, or Casey!” He gestured wildly to several news clippings of a figure that did seem to have lots of Casey’s gear if Casey had been thrown into a horror film. Whoever it was, they acted alone and brutally. As April’s gaze lingered on the description of several of the killer’s victims – some gang members who Donnie had suspected of aligning with Shredder whose faces didn’t look a lot like faces anymore – Donnie spoke up: “No sign of Raph yet, which is a little surprising.”

In April’s mind, Raph and Casey had both been kidnapped, or Raph was still out of commission because there was no way he didn’t know yet.

Leo took over from there. “It could just be someone with a similar build to Casey, shapeshifters, mind control, we’re not too sure, no run-ins yet.”

“Pizza aliens, dude,” Mikey offered, and poked a haphazardly thrown-together piece of paper, to Donnie’s credit, also tacked up with a red string connecting it to other concepts, labeled ‘Pizza Aliens’ with artistic renderings of them.

"Pizza aliens don't exist, Mikey" April sighed. "Plus, Casey doesn't kill, he's a good guy, just like all of us! Maybe he's just in trouble, and that's why he didn't talk to me in the store!" 

"That would make sense, but this is Jones we're talking about!" Donnie replied. 

"So?" April questioned. 

"So, he can be a dangerous guy, April! He has a flamethrower on his bike! A flamethrower!!" The turtle screamed, causing the other three to cringe and cover their ears. 

April was the first to respond, after a few seconds of recovery. "Flamethrowers don't make people evil, Donnie." 

And with that, she kissed him on the lips, cutting off whatever he was going to say. That was fine with Donnie, she could win the argument. 

This time.

Casey’s POV

Crunch. Crunch. Swoosh! Thud. 

Casey let out a cheer as the knife landed right into its target on the wall: A grainy, garbage-looking picture of Shredder from back when he looked like a decently shaped human being. He continued to crunch on his convenience store Doritos, his smile making it a little harder to chew, but he didn’t care, until he heard something that made him stop smiling. 

'You're getting that cheesy shit all over your hands.' His lips dropped into a frown. 

"And why do you give a shit?" 

'Cause it's gross and your aim is shit. You'll never kill THE Super Shredder, that's practically impossible!' 

"Don't fuckin' tell me what's possible or not, fuckface! Now leave me alone!" 

'Alright, douchebag. Have fun sweepin' up crumbs from your careless eating that isn't doing anything to solve your problems.' 

Casey grinned again, wider than before. "Oh, my problems are already solved. I just needed my friends: bombs, knives, a LOT of bullets, and some new shoulder spikes! The old ones kept falling off," He complained, acting as if spikes falling off his battle gear was a normal pain to have. He paused for a second, his eyes widening like he'd forgotten something. "But of course, my best, best, best, best, BEST, best, bestest friend is my Raphie! He'd hate it if I thought my knives were better than him! He wins over them any day, right annoying voice?" 

'The only one who won anything is Shredder, dumbass.' 

Casey growled throwing a knife towards his left ear from where the voice was coming. It hit one of the three remaining walls instead. "SHUT. UP! Raphie's fine, he's totally fine, he's just... resting in that box, cause Shredder hurt him, but I won't let that horny, no good, asshole FREAK do anything to anyone EVER AGAIN!" 

Another knife, this time right into Shredder’s face. "YES!! BULLSEYE!" 

'Nice shot, I guess.' 

"Thanks. Gotta start the day off on a good note, right? Wouldn't want a bunch of Foot cronies escaping 'cause I couldn't hit em'!" 

'I didn't think Casey Jones liked knives or guns.' 

"I like knives, they're fun, but yeah, guns are a 'Hey this is like the only way to get through Super Shredder's armor' kinda resort." 

The voice didn't say anything back, silence filling the room. Casey Jones had grown to hate silence. "Aaannywaaays! Once I take down some of these lowlifes, maybe I can find out where that dickhead is! After all, nobody ever talks until there's blood on the ground!" 

Silence. Sliiiide. And then a thud. 

Casey jumped, turning around with one of Raph's throwing stars in his hand to see that his newly acquired gun, found loaded underneath the threadbare couch, which was placed far away from the edge of the ice box, had fallen on the ground. 

"What the fudgenutters...? If there's anyone here, show yourself! O-or you're gonna fuckin' die!" 

'Hi.' 

"Not you!"

'Yeah, me, dumbass. Who else could move something in an empty apartment?' 

Casey shook his head in disbelief. "You're a VOICE. And unlike me or my Raphie, you can't do jackSHIT. Now let me do my job and I'll stop getting chips on your precious fuckin' floor, alright? Alright." 

Once again, silence. This time, Casey used it wisely, grabbing the rest of his gear and muttering things under his breath. "...Gonna stab that guy like this... shoot this guy in the chest... then maybe I could light this one on fire- ooh YEAH! MY FLAMETHROWER!! Sick! And then this guy..." 

All the voice did was sigh, but Casey couldn't hear him. 

'If you really loved me that much, you'd listen, Case. But whatever. The ice box feels better than your cold ass stares.' 

The vigilante never made any movements that indicated that he'd heard anything, walking towards the door still mumbling, his disgusting corpse paint distorting his smile. 

"Alright, Raphie. Time to make some people wish they stayed home in their cozy little beds and never joined that son of a bitch." 

If Casey hadn't launched into another rant as he walked out the door, he might have heard a 'Go get 'em, babe!' 

But he didn’t. Because the voice was just a voice and Casey Jones had better things to do than talk to himself. Murder was a great stress reliever and also really easy to commit! So he chose that instead. 

Sounded more fun.

.

.

.

.

Chapter Five ->

[justanarcanasideblog]

Bit late, but I wanted to join in and actually (have the possibility to) be a part of The Arcana community. Course, I joined in at an… interesting time, but oh well. Thought I could start with

Late Apprenticember Prompts

1) Introduce your apprentice!

Male apprentice, Sarqen Xiloscient! Unfortunately I couldn’t manage to draw anything specific for the prompts, I may add images if I can draw them. For now, here’s just his reference image.

Within Arcana, he doesn’t have the sword or the as-fancy clothes, though I imagine Asra would’ve gotten him something nice. He’s quite reserved, stoic at times and doesn’t usually look too inviting. However once you talk to him, he’s usually pretty kind, if not a bit awkward at times.

Likes and dislikes, despite him being one of my favorite characters I haven’t thought much about them. He loves bears, just finds them way too fuzzy and round to be intimidating, though he knows they should be kept at a distance. Terrified of heights, which I don’t think there are many around Vesuvia, as well of Spiders, which there may be quite a few, especially within the shop considering how disorganized he and Asra are.

2) Love Interest

Julian! The two are quite the opposites on the outside, with Sarqen being reserved and having a resting bitch face, while Julian is loud and showy. Though they’re both family oriented, self sacrificing fools who may or may not have a thing for pain.

Though, while Julian has most of his heart, Asra is also very close to him, which has led to some awkward interactions. I imagine the three are in a polyamory relationship, where Asra and Julian have made amends. The route would be mostly the same as Julians, with Asra’s mixed in. To be honest, this is most likely just because I also love the two.

3) Other Main Characters

Nadia: Highly respects her, tries to be as formal as possible in her presence or the palace. Bit intimidated by her for… multiple reasons, but they’re still good friends. Though I imagine Nadia wishes he would be a bit more casual with her.

Portia: Great friends! Portia is cheeky, fun to hang out with and relentlessly teases him and Julian.

Muriel: Sarqen respects him, but doesn’t know a lot about him, nor talks with him much. To be honest, I’ve only played Julian and Asra’s route (and have lost the motivation to play the others routes due to Dorian, despite them not affecting the main game) so I don’t know much about the other main characters, and very very little about Muriel.

Lucio: Absolutely despises. The stories about his reign were horrible enough, especially when Sarqen learns what he did to Asra’s parents and how he treated Julian, but when he saw Lucio in-action, having just stolen his body? To Sarqen, he’s a self-absorbed and irritating asshole. Not worth a second chance, no matter what happens.

4) Couriers

Volta: Sarqen actually kind of likes Volta. She’s strange and small, doesn’t know much about her. A bit intimidated by her ability to devour anything and everything.

Vulgora: Honestly, not very intimidated by them. He knows their too hotheaded and eager to fight to have proper tactics, and can (probably) be easily evaded. Just dislikes them in general.

Vlastomil: Doesn’t like him much. Annoying, a gritty voice, constantly going on about worms of all things. Doesn’t help with what happened during Julians trial. Kinda popped off with the giant sand worm at the summer vacation though.

Valerius: Snobby, wine addicted jerk. That’s all. Literally his only interaction with him was when Valerius spilled wine all over him.

Valdemar: Absolutely despises them, almost as much as Lucio. They’re cruel, infatuated with death, and just a generally torturous monster.

(Why did I only just now notice their names all start with V?)

5) Any non-canon friends, minor characters?

As for non-canon friends, of course. Though, they haven’t seen each other in over 10 years, they think he’s dead, and Sarqen doesn’t even remember they exist! As well as the fact he left them in such a way, that they all despise even the memory of him!

Side characters, he admires Nazali a lot. He loves their personality, likes listening to their and Julians tall tales.

Mazelinka, he’s a bit intimidated by, maybe even more so than Nadia. He considers her a good friend, though, and appreciates listening to her banters with the siblings.

6) Rivals

None that haven’t been mentioned, namely the couriers, and Lucio if he’s somehow still running about like he is in the tales.

7) Physical Description

He has a bit more going on than the reference of him I attached shows. More scars over his face, one going across his nose and a chunk out of his ear, along with a straight scar over his throat. He doesn’t know how he got any of them, but tends to unconsciously rub it whilst trying to talk/think about his past, before even meeting Asra.

He also has scars over his body, not many though. He’s pretty self conscious about his ears, and hides them using a headband and stuffs his ears behind them. It isn’t comfortable, and it doesn’t work that well, but it’s enough. When not covered by the headband, they can kind of twitch about, go to his sides, generally pretty flexible though he can’t control them that well.

In The Arcana he doesn’t have the make-up sadly, and usually keeps his hair down rather than in a man-bun. The markings beneath his eyes aren’t actually tattoos but kinds of birthmarks. He doesn’t know why he remembers this and specifically this, but he does! Too bad it couldn’t be anything more useful. Or maybe that’s for the better.

8) Familiar

I’ve had a lot of trouble with his familiar, honestly. Nothing seems to fit him. The main 3 ideas I have are a Panther, Cockatrice and an Owlbear.

The panther would be kind of lazy, lounging around in the sun but a fierce combatant when need be. Often sniffs at Julian, much to his absolute terror.

The other two are quite obviously fantasy animals, one that I’m not sure if they even exist within The Arcana. They wouldn’t be from those lands, anyway.

The cockatrice would honestly be less of a familiar and more of a hassle. Kind of like Malak in a way, but much more irritating. Not even helpful, if anything more of a detriment. Chose a cockatrice to resemble Sarqens self doubt, and it’s personality is supposed to be a detriment.

Owlbear would be like a big, nervous dog. In the middle of the night the bed is absolutely destroyed by a huge, feathered and furred beast which then proceeds to lay on top of you. Hell. Chose an Owlbear because considering his past, I feel like it would make sense to have a magical creature as his familiar, he likes bears and may or may not have a gimmick to do with birds. Otherwise, no real reason.

9) Patron Arcana

Judgement. No one knows anything about his past, not even him. So why does the Judgement card call so earnestly to him? He has no idea, and maybe it’s better that way.

10) Other Arcana

I think the Hanged Man would kind of be a secondary Patron to him, but otherwise I’m not really sure. He likes the few interactions with Death that he had, as well as The Star. The others, he hasn’t really had any interactions with, besides The Magician. He doesn’t really know what to think about them.

11) Gateway

He doesn’t have one, but if he did it would be a small forest, with a pond in the middle of it, set at a silent night full of stars. The pond reflects the sky, but for some reason it looks like there’s only half as many stars as there should be. There’s dried blood mixed into some of the mud.

12) Home

Considering he doesn’t really has anywhere else, he mostly lives at the shop. He’ll occasionally stay at Mazelinka’s or Portias shack with Julian, and always has a room at the palace from Nadia if he and Asra need to do any work there.

13) Can they cook

God no.

He can do some baking, but also isn’t great at it. I’ve never thought about his favorite meals to be honest.

14) Magic

He had some trouble learning it, but eventually got the gist. His magic is strange, to say the least. It manifests usually in black, ink-like liquid usually, but other times it’s a bright light. In times where he blasted Valdemar away from Julian after his revival, it was like a bolt of lightning, still colored black with an explosive charge.

15) What are they proudest of?

Probably just.. Julian and Asra. Julian has come so far from the start of all this, and though there is still a way to go he’s made great progress, especially making amends with Asra after their past.

16) Deepest Insecurity

That he won’t be enough. Despite everything they’ve done, everything he’s managed, what if he fails in yet another time of need? What if he just breaks down at the wrong time? If people die because he couldn’t do something good enough, or fast enough, or at all, if his friends die because of him or his lack of ability to do so, then gods help him.

17) Family

The closest he has to family are the main characters and Mazelinka, really. Especially considering he doesn’t know much about his past before his death, and nothing from before Asra.

18) Childhood

Again, he doesn’t really know anything from when he was a kid. And honestly, I’ve never expanded much upon his childhood either..

Sorry to leave off on such an uninteresting note. I’ll try to draw some things for the prompts, but I haven’t been able to draw anything for a few weeks now, so it’s most likely just going to remain a wall of text. Hope this was interesting enough!

[animeomegas]

Im kinda curious if itachi's alpha had enough of sasukes behavior because he cant spend with his Omega alone, im on angst mode while i read that it popped into my mind that what if Itachi's alpha fall out of love for him because of sasukes behavior.. ... ...

Would itachi's alpha really fall out of love for him and find a new omega that accept him and that their little brother/sister wont act like sasuke???

Srry im just rambling and curious 😅😅

Oof, an interesting question indeed.

I think that Itachi and his alpha's relationship is very healthy and so communication would have happened long before any drastic actions.

If Itachi's alpha started to get some feelings of resentment towards Sasuke or Itachi, they would tell Itachi right away so that they could address it together as a team.

...

"I've missed you," Itachi's alpha murmurs into Itachi's hair as they both lay in bed together, Itachi is resting on his alpha's chest, eyes half closed, enjoying the relaxed atmosphere.

"I haven't been anywhere," Itachi says sleepily, drawing shapes on his alpha's arm.

"I know, but it's still been ages since we got to spend time together like this," they sigh. "It's nice, I missed it."

"Me too," Itachi purrs, voice blissed out.

The glorious peace continues for a few more minutes until something had to ruin it: the sound of small footsteps echoes from around the hall.

Sasuke.

A hot burn of protectiveness and anger rushes through Itachi's alpha's chest.

"Big brother?" Sasuke's voice comes from behind the door. "Are you in here? I want to tell you about my mission-"

He swings open the door and they can see his face twist as his gaze settles on the cuddling.

"Oh. You're here."

Itachi's alpha raises an eyebrow at him and Itachi just sighs.

"Brother, I need to tell you about my mission, we can talk about it in my room-"

Sasuke tries to grab Itachi's arm to pull him out of his mate's embrace, but before they can even realise what they're doing, a ferocious snarl slips from their lips and their arms lock tightly around Itachi to keep him in place.

Sasuke startles backward immediately, his own, softer and more pup-like, growl slipping out in response.

Before either party has time to make another move, Itachi breaks out of your vice grip and puts himself between.

"Enough," he says, voice firm, and both growls immediately drop. "Sasuke, I am always happy to discuss your missions with you, but you must knock before coming into my room."

"But-"

"No buts," Itachi frowns. "Go downstairs and I'll come down in a moment, okay?"

"But I want-"

"Now, Sasuke."

Sasuke huffs but does turn around and leave the room, shutting the door behind him.

"I'm sorry," Itachi's alpha croaks out immediately. "I don't know what came over me, I didn't mean to do that at all."

Itachi stares for a moment in silence before speaking.

"Then why did you?" he asks simply.

"I don't know... I just felt so possessive and angry all of a sudden, and the thought that someone could drag you from me made me lash out."

Itachi hums in acknowledgement.

"I don't think... I don't think I can do this anymore, Itachi..."

Itachi's eyes immediately shoot up to meet his mate's.

"What?" he questions, voice as tense as the rest of him. "What can't you do anymore?"

It takes a few seconds to realise how that sounded.

"Oh, no, I don't mean you, I could never mean our relationship," Itachi relaxes as the words come out. "I mean living here. With Sasuke."

They can't bring themselves to draw up enough courage to look at their mate right now, so instead they power through with a reasoning.

"I mean, it was so nice of your parents to offer to let me move in after we got engaged, and I know we're moving out after our honeymoon, but... the wedding is still four months away and my instincts can't take never having any alone time with you. Especially since, well, I think my rut is coming up soon, and I could get aggressive if Sasuke gets in the way at the wrong moment-"

Itachi suddenly presses his lips against his alpha's and cuts off their rambling. His alpha is more than surprised at this unusual behaviour, but the contact soothes any lingering aggression and makes their brain fuzzy in the best way, so they simply enjoy the contact.

The two mates kiss for a few minutes, just gently caressing each other's lips with their own, before Itachi breaks away with a small bittersweet smile.

"I didn't realise this was having that much of an effect on you," Itachi says, idly stroking his alpha's face. "I will talk to my parents about us moving out before the wedding. They won't like it, but we are adults, I'm sure we can convince them."

Itachi's alpha brightens, feeling like several stone has just been lifted from their shoulders.

"Thank you," they say sincerely. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

"Hmm, one or twice," Itachi teases, leaning in for another kiss.

"Big brother! You're taking ages! When are you coming down?" shouts a voice from the bottom of the stairs.

Itachi sighs, but this time with a smile.

"I better head downstairs, but we'll talk to my parents this evening, okay?"

"That sounds great."

"Itachi!"

Itachi rolls his eyes but dutifully leaves the room, and with the promise of moving out soon sitting on their mind, Sasuke's antics seem funny for the first time in a long while.

[saabbi]

Regret part 10

Moonlit conversation

Genshin Impact Adeptus! reader

warnings: -

word count:~1.3k

notes: happy mid autumn festival! This chapter is purely about Childe and Tsarista.

[previous] [next]

The Tsarista is hard to understand.

“Your highness?” the gingered male peeked into the dimly lit room carefully, making sure he's not disturbing his archon.

Deep blue eyes searched the room until they landed on a lonely figure by the window sill, silently gazing at the Snezhnaya waters.

The Tsarista looks back a bit, gesturing to him to come closer.

Childe obliges. He came to find her to have a talk, even if he has yet to figure out what to say. The Tsarista has been rather fickle lately, it seemed like she was making rash decisions.

Even though he knows the Tsarista always have everything planned out. The reasons behind her actions were surely ones a mortal like him couldn’t understand.

The Tsarista is hard to understand.

Not even her closest subordinates - harbingers, could see through her. All her thoughts are masked with the iconic smile, one not sinister nor genuine.

It’s just one without any emotions, an eerie and intimidating smile.

To say the least, the Tsarista is someone incredibly… calculating. Each step she takes, each word she utters, are all through careful consideration.

Fickle and unpredictable. No one could guess her next movement. She slips away like ice.

Which is why, small talk coming from her is completely uncalled for.

“The pier was lively today.” Her quiet and breathless voice caught Childe off guard, shoulders flinching at the unexpected voice.

Has the sun risen from the west? Has the snow melted in Snezhnaya?

Childe carefully observed the divine being, perturbed by her unusual behaviour.

Silky hair pale as snow, cold as ice. A sharp and glacy gaze that sends even the most arrogant humans shivering. Contrasting to her bitter cold appearance, a burning desire could be felt within her glacy pupils. A being said to be so ethereal that just one glance would captivate all men and women across Teyvat-

Except something was a bit different from usual. Childe rubbed his eyes to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.

Is she…frowing? Could it even be considered a frown?

Very slightly, almost goes unnoticeable, was her furrowed brows and tired eyes that observed the pier.

Her usual smile remains, but less… stoic?

Not one necessarily of affection nor gentle, but rather… relieved?

The Tsarista mostly appear to be disinterested in a lot of things, usually displaying an indifferent attitude.

Yet somehow she feels expressive today.

As if her cold facade had faded just for a bit, walls thinned down just a little.

He feels it’d be okay to ask her.

“Your highness…” cautiously, while being wary of any change in her expression, “why did you...?”

Why did she do that to you? What was her intention in exiling you after draining every last bit of your power? Remains unsaid.

She glances at her harbinger once, before refocusing on the sea, watching the wobbly reflection of the moon in the gentle tides.

“There was no need to keep up the pointless charade, is there?” the words themselves are cold and harsh, but something lies beyond.

“It’s been far too long. That child has been by my side for so many years. ” Childe patiently waits for the Tsarista to continue. It seems that she is in the mood for talking today, willing to share more.

“My initial plan to utilise adeptus power has been met, there is simply no need to keep that child around any longer.” The soft moonlight basking her figure made her even paler.

The queen of Snezhnaya is hard to understand.

Her words were so subtle and ambiguous, hard to fully uncover the hidden meanings.

Childe may not be the brightest, but for some reason he thought he might just have a faint idea on what she’s conveying.

Archons make the mistakes too. He recalled what Zhongli once told him, when he was still naive enough to not realise his true identity.

Archons, deities with absolute authority. But the geo archon had him realising even divine beings feel remorse for their own actions.

But guilt doesn’t seem to be the right word to describe what the current Tsarista is feeling.

It’s something else, hiding deep behind those walls.

“Did you know? There’s a tradition in Liyue for families to reunite under the full moon, no matter how far they parted.” she gazes at the luminous full moon.

Snezhnaya’s queen does not have any love left for her people - a saying he had heard from somewhere long ago, describing the one and only ruler of his home.

Being an archon does not mean they’re perfect, nor can they protect all their loved ones. In Zhongli’s case, he learnt, would be giving up his beloved adeptus for the sake of his people, and losing close friends in the ancient war.

Then how about the Tsarista? She must have lost something precious too.

But that is not for him to butt into.

“I’m sure the weather would be nicer there, without the neverending snowstorms and hail.”

Does the Tsarista truly have no love left for her people?

“As a previous envoy to Liyue, I guarantee that it’s warm and cosy.” a cheeky grin started to form on his face, getting wider and wider.

But perhaps he already knows the answer.

The Tsarista lets out a soft hum at his response, somewhat sounding relieved.

“Your highness, did you know? Morax frequently forgets to bring mora…”

“And he bought a vase for 1 million mora, and I had to pay!”

“Then La Signora knocked Scaramouche’s hat off! He was so pissed!”

“And that moose-deer being talked! I had no idea it was an adeptus!”

Light chuckles and giggles filled the quiet atmosphere along with Childe’s innocent and non-stop rambling.

Just for today, it’s okay for her to drop her facade.

Maybe, the Tsarista is not as unfathomable.

An archon may not be so different from human mortals, after all.

“I’m sure that Zhongli and them are having a great time.” his grin so wide and bright, “that child, well, a child older than me, is finally back home after all.”

“Happy full moon day, your highness.”

“I believe the correct saying is ‘happy mid-autumn festival’, Tartaglia.”

Childe awkwardly rubbed his head and broke out into a loud laughter.

.

.

.

“Could you help me deliver something when you visit Liyue again?” She reaches into her pocket, pulling out a tarnished necklace.

One that is cracked, but pieces of it has been carefully assembled and glued together.

One that resembles the shape of a flower he hadn’t seen in Snezhnaya.

One that seems to be of very old age, considering the oxidized parts. It couldn’t be worth much. Who is the Tsarista giving this to?

“It’s something that child left behind.” Ah. A sudden realisation hits him. So it was not the Tsarista’s own belongings.

“What was done was inevitable for the final destination, I don’t regret it. Yet… that child has been with me for quite some time.”

“That child had quite a hard time. This… is something they held dearly before.” She points at the necklace, running her fingers over the flower. “I wasn’t sure how to give it back.”

So that was why the Tsarista held onto something that seemed so… worn out.

Even though Childe still disapproves of her actions towards you which caused you to suffer, he feels as if he gained a deeper understanding of his archon.

She is meant to be someone brutal who would commit atrocities just to achieve her goal, even if she believes it will lead to peace.

Perhaps that’s why she always kept a certain distance from you. The Tsarista has done terrible things, so, so many heartless and ruthless deeds.

Or maybe, the archons are just not good at communication. Childe huffs at his own thoughts, recalling both Zhongli’s and Tsarista’s expressions when talking about you.

Archons are just as imperfect as mortals are.

The archons sure are hard to understand.

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for extra info/drabbles on this series: #adeptus reader asks please feel free to send some asks as well :)

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[reachfolk]

Reachfolk Etiquette

When people think of the Reachfolk, the last thing that comes to mind is “politeness.” But regardless of what outsiders think, the Reachfolk have a very well-defined system of etiquette that, when you look deep into it, perfectly conveys their values and social structures. In fact, a good amount of the tension between the Reachfolk and outsiders comes from this inherent misunderstanding of this etiquette. Many of their social conventions are polar opposites to what may be considered polite in other parts of Tamriel, leading to one person’s attempt at kindness to be interpreted as outright hostility. This post talks about some of these social conventions and why they matter so much.

Directness

The Reachfolk are a people of few words, so the clearer you are about your point, the better. This goes regardless of what your point actually is—whether you’re confessing your undying love or expressing your distaste for someone, you have to be upfront about it.

Wandering aimlessly in a field of colorful words about your admiration for someone won’t come across as poetic or romantic or respectful; it’ll sound patronizing at best and manipulative at worst. The Reachfolk show their affections through actions, so any words of kindness not followed or preceded by an action of proportionate kindness are seen as an empty promise.

If you’re asking for a favor, don’t dance around it by sandwiching it between compliments or hesitating. Sandwiching it between compliments sounds manipulative and kinda scummy, and hesitating makes it sound like you don’t have faith in their ability to do it. In fact, there isn’t a real reason to hesitate at all; asking for a favor is seen as really polite in the Reach—assuming you plan on repaying it. It’s seen as a way to build a bond, but more on that later.

The worst offense, really, is sarcasm or passive-aggression. You’re far, far better off just being blatantly aggressive, as that would at the very least be direct. To tell someone to their face that they have dirt for brains or that they’re acting like a sack of dung is preferable to a passive-aggressive agreement or an insult muttered under your breath. The former opens a line of communication—even if that communication involves a fistfight, it still leaves potential to a solution. The latter leaves you both unsatisfied and gives the impression that you don’t care enough about this person to even bother fixing the tension. It comes across as hateful, disrespectful, or both, and it’s a common pet peeve that outsiders tend to do.

Pleasantries

There’s very little that’s pleasant about the Reach, and the same goes for her people. They tend to be straightforward and to the point, rarely dilly dallying in frivelties of pointless conversation. On their own, words carry little weight in the Reach, so wasting your breath when you could be doing something far more useful is a very simple way of making your unfamiliarity with them very clear. Most of them find small talk grating, and some of the more suspicious sort will think you’re intentionally trying to distract them from their post.

The simple rule of thumb is: don’t say anything you don’t mean, and don’t fill an empty silence with empty words.

Forming bonds in the Reach

So, with friendliness and pleasantries off the table, how does one get close to a native of the Reach? They have two major social currencies: favors and stories.

If you’re trying to get to know a person of the Reach, tell them a story about yourself. It can be anything, really, but for the first time, try to keep it short until you build a rapport. You can try to make them laugh, or tell them something deeper if it’s appropriate. It may surprise you, but even some of the more prickly natives will listen. Then, ask them for a story about themselves. Just about all of them will have one locked and loaded at all times. Trading stories back and forth is how most outsiders that are friends of the Reachfolk got to that point. If a story doesn’t work, you can also go for sharing songs. They work just as well.

And as I mentioned before, favors are another big social currency of sorts in the Reach. If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s that a native of the Reach will always pay back their dues. This value is tied to every aspect of their lives, including their religion, which is treated not unlike a barter system with the Daedric Princes.

These favors can be just about anything, big or small. Give the a gift. Make them a warm meal. Lay a blanket over their shoulders. Hunt down a bear for them. Literally, just about any act of kindness works, and even if they don’t outright acknowledge it, it will be seen. Life in the Reach is hard, but it’s community that makes it easier. Show that you’re willing to make it a little easier.

It’s most polite if you start the chain yourself, as it builds a sense of trust, but asking for a favor from a Reach native that you know trusts you enough is also fair game. It essentially conveys, “I trust in your ability to do this. Your presence adds value to mine. I would like to get closer to you, and I’d like to have you in my life more.” So on and so forth. Whatever it is you do, though, don’t break the chain of favors unless you want to be hunted down. Reachfolk do not take kindly to their efforts being wasted.

[enthusiasticharry]

the one where you and harry are keeping a secret from your brother, who happens to hate harry’s guts. 

author’s note : hello everyone! i'm back with another fic, one that i can't believe i wrote so quickly to say the least. this is part of @harrystylescherry​‘s playlist challenge. i chose drive on by miss charlotte clark because it is an amazing song, and i can only hope that i’ve don't it justice.  

word count : 13.9k of a lot of angst, smut and only a tiny bit of fluff. i really don't know what happened to me. 

please talk to me about drive on here. let me know what you think :) 

But if we parted I'd be half-hearted So I'll leave the light on

As you were getting ready that evening, you knew that you were going to have to try your hardest to not show that you were absolutely dreading what was about to happen. The light sounds of Fleetwood Mac filled your room as you finished making sure that you looked okay. It seemed as though the longer that you looked at yourself in the mirror, the more you started to doubt that you actually looked okay. 

You tilted your head to the side as you looked in the mirror, running your eyes up and down your own body as if to check that you’re at least presentable. Your outfit wasn’t too out of the ordinary, just a pair of black, flared trousers and a white knitted jumper because you knew that it is going to be quite chilly and you are going to be outside for a large portion of the evening and you make sure to pair it with some white trainers, ones that match so you start to feel a little more put together. Even though it certainly wasn’t the most out there outfit, it was okay and you had to keep reminding yourself of that. 

Walking down the stairs, you could hear the mumbling of your brother, Isaac, in the kitchen, along with someone else’s voice that you immediately recognise as Daisy, your best friend. You’re not exactly surprised at their discussion, because whenever they’re alone in a room together you know that it doesn’t usually end up with them discussing sunshine and rainbows. The more you think about it, the more you struggle to determine which one out of the two of them is more stubborn, because they both are just as stubborn as each other. 

“Baby sis!” You try not to roll your eyes at your brother’s greeting, “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” 

“We’re coming with you.” You respond, walking forward so that you can greet your friend with a hug. You knew that it was going to be a long shot of him letting you come with him, but if Daisy was too you knew that he wouldn’t be able to say no, and that’s why you go with her every single time. It’s how you’re cheated the system of having an overprotective brother. 

“I thought you were going to Daisy’s for a sleepover?” He questions, and you nod your head. 

“I am.” You smile, “But after.” 

You walk over to grab yourself a bottle of water out of the fridge because you know that if you look at him in the eyes he’ll be staring at you in a way that you could do without. You know that he’s only saying the things that he is because he’s protective of you, but you also have to keep reminding him that it wasn’t the first time that you had gone out and been to a race with him, and it certainly wasn’t going to be the last. 

Chugging down a bit of the water, Daisy extends her arm out to you and you pass the bottle to her, watching as she takes a sip before passing it back to you so that you can put the cap on. Even though you have been to the races before, that certainly didn’t meant that every time you did go you found yourself being more and more nervous for what you’re going to witness. It’s dangerous, and sometimes you feel a though you’re the only one out of all of them to notice that. 

“Every fucking time.” Isaac shakes his head and you smile. 

“Thank you.” You had an obnoxious grin on your face as you say the words, and you know it. 

“Yeah, well. . .” He shakes his head, “Just come on and let’s get in the fucking car.” 

The first time you went to one of the races, you remember not being able to focus on anything other than the fact that anyone could get really injured, or even die, at any second if they’re not careful. Maybe you were just too overly cautious, and you couldn’t ever find yourself focusing on the thrill and excitement of it all because you were too worried that someone was going to get hurt. It was even worse when the person you were worried about was someone you cared about like you did your brother. 

“One of these days you will take me without putting up a fight.” You say, following him towards his car, “I don’t know when it will be but I can feel it.” 

He looks at you as he opens his door, “That’s never going to happen. For one, I hate that you even come to where the races are held, more so that you stand and watch them.” 

You shrug and climb in the car, “Mum and Dad don’t know that you race, and if they’re not able to be there and worry about your safety then I am going to be the one to do so. Can’t have you risking your life and at least not one of us being there.”

He shakes his head and tuts, “I’m not risking my life. It’s just competitive driving.” 

You furrow your eyebrows and you hear Daisy chuckle, “You’re delusional.” 

“Says you.” 

The two of you hear a tut coming from the back seat, “I know the two of you are siblings, and this is just what I have to deal with, but sometimes I really do wonder whether or not you’re children hidden in fully grown bodies.” 

“I’m not the child.” Isaac’s quick to say, “If anything, you’re the child!” 

“Really?” You shake your head, “You must know that you saying that basically proving everything! You’re the child, Isaac.”

“God, I wish I’d never said anything.” Daisy shakes her head and you cross your arms over your chest, pouting slightly but trying not to make it too obvious because you really were trying to be the adult in this situation. 

You and Isaac weren’t the closest of siblings, to say the least. The two of you never did much together and if you did it wasn’t voluntarily, but that didn’t mean that you didn’t care for each other because you certainly did. The two of you would protect each other without any hesitation, in any situation because that was the type of siblings that you were. That didn’t mean that you were friends, though, because you didn’t have to be. You loved each other, and you cared for each other, but you didn’t have to be friends with each other and you were both okay with that. It was was though you both had an unspoken agreement that you’d look out for each other in this way. 

Turning onto the ever so familiar field, you know that it isn’t going to be long before your heart rate is going to feel as though it is beating out of your chest and your palms are going to start to get sweaty. You believed that you brother was good at what he did, he wouldn’t have gotten as far as he had if he didn’t, but even if someone is as good and as talented as he was that didn’t meant that accidents don’t happen. 

There isn’t just that fact that your brother is good at the sport to contend with, but also the fact that some people who do it may not be as good as he is, and they could be reckless, and in drag racing, recklessness gets people in trouble. You knew that, he knew that and everyone who participated and watched knew that. You knew that there were some people there just to watch the race whilst getting drunk with their friends and you didn’t mind that because that was what it was there to do, but you couldn’t stand the people who were there in hopes that something did go wrong, just to see a little bit of action in their boring day to day lives. 

You supposed that a part of your worry for these games were because you weren’t just worried about your brother, you were worried about somebody else also. Isaac stopped the car so that you and Daisy could get out but you hesitated before doing so. You looked at him, and he nodded at you so you nodded your head and again and got out. You stood and watched as he drove away, making his wear to where all of the participants line up their cars before it starts. 

Your eyes follow him, all the way along the man-made little road on the field and to where the other cars were. That’s when you see him, stood in exactly the same place as he was a few weekends before this one and a few weekends before that, leant against his car and his arms crossed as he chewed some gum. 

The insides of your stomach flutter, and not in nervousness but instead in the complete opposite way. He catches your eyes straight away, raising his eyebrows at you as you smile at him. You nod your head, trying hard not to let too big of a blush cover your cheeks and he nods back. That’s as far as your interaction with Harry can go at the moment, because if anyone saw the two of you communicating you knew that all hell would break loose and you certainly didn’t want to be around to see that. 

The race was going to start any second, and you made your way over to where Daisy was stood, knowing that she would have saved you a spot next to her so that you didn’t have to try and manoeuvre your way through the crowd to get a good spot to watch. You were relieved that you had arrived here not early enough to have to wait hours like you had before, because it was in the time like that where the overpowering feeling of worry was able to slip into you like nothing else and you would try really hard to overpower it but the majority of the time you never felt as though you could. 

What YN worried about the most though, was the fact that whoever could be injured in the race, or something worse, were both people that YN loved. The two of them for different reasons, of course, but it was still love and all of the love you felt for them was important. You watched as they both sat in their cars, driving towards the starting line with such an ease that you wondered whether or not they’d be able to do it in their sleep. You wouldn’t be surprised if they could. You know that Harry has raced in hundreds of races, and you also know that your brother is quickly catching up to that, but that doesn’t make it any easier, for them or for you. 

“Ready racers?” A woman walked in between the cars and held up a flag. Both her brother and Harry respond by a roar of their engine, “3! 2! 1! Go!” 

You look down slightly once you hear their cars start, going along the man-made path and over all of the hills and round all of the bends. You only look down for a second before looking up and watching as they drive away from you. The people around you cheer, and Daisy even cheers from the side of you but all you can make up the courage to do is clap your hands slightly. Every time you stand and watch a race, you always say to yourself that you’ll never do it again because you don’t think that you’re heart will survive it, but then you always come back to watch the next race because you physically can’t keep away. Not when two people you love are doing something that you know could end badly. 

They drive around, the two of them doing anything they can to try and throw the other off track but you know that it probably won’t work, because it works with everyone else but hardly ever with each other. You know that whoever wins will do so because of their speed, because that’s how it always happens when the two are up against each other. You stand there watching them drive for what feels like hours, the cheers only getting louder as the two of them fight for the first place prize. 

As the finishing line draws to a close, they’re playing cat and mouse with each other, and you know whoever is next to cross in front will win. 

It’s Isaac. Isaac won. You’re happy for him, but at the same time you know that Harry isn’t going to be the happiest but you’ll just have to remind him that he won last time and that he has to let other people win at some point. Your brother was cheering when he got out of his car, and you could see his friends bouncing over to him with smiles on their faces and drinks in their hands. You and Daisy make your way over, but you aren’t as excited they seem to see him. 

“Are you two leaving now?” He asks and you and Daisy look at each other before nodding, “Satisfied?” 

“Very.” You nod, “Well done.” 

“Thanks.” He raises his hand up and points at you, “Am I picking you up tomorrow?” 

You shake your head, managing to keep your cool as you did, “Daisy said she’ll drive me back. I don’t know whether you’ll be at work by the time we’re ready.” 

“Sounds good. See you tomorrow.” 

You physically let out a sigh of relief when you walk away and he believed you. You hate lying to him, you really do, but you just don’t see any other option to do what you’re doing without lying, which is horrible buy you really don’t know another wine. 

Daisy slips her arm into yours as you walk away, “Where’s he meeting you?” 

“In the usual place.” You nod, “I couldn’t see him when we were over there so I think he’s already gone.” 

“Okay.” She nods, “I’m catching a ride with Dennis, will you be okay?” 

“I’ll be fine.” You smile. 

“Call me if you need anything?” 

“You know I will.” 

“Good.” She wraps her arms around you before pulling away, “See you soon?” 

“See you soon.” 

The walk to the edge of the field, just behind a row of trees that hide Harry’s car from the watchful eye of others isn’t a long one, and you can feel the butterflies bubbling in the pit of your stomach the closer you walked to it. Just as every time you did this, your stomach was in twists and turns tightly in your stomach until you have to place your hand upon it as though it would calm it but it doesn’t. It doesn’t calm down until you see the back of the man you loves head, a slight cloud of smoke around his head and his leather jacket on his body. A smile immediately broke out over your lips. 

You bound over to him, immediately wrapping your arms around his waist and placing your cheek against the leather of his jacket. You can feel him tense underneath your touch slightly but once you hear and feel him chuckle, his whole body relaxes.

He hums, “Who might that be?” 

He grabs your hands and lightly pulls them away from his body so that he can turn around and place his hands around her back. You grin and place your chin on his chest, laughing softly as he leans down and places multiple kisses around your face, “Harry!” 

“What?” He grinned pulling away from you, shrugging his shoulders, “Do you not like my kisses or something?” 

You chuckle, “I love your kisses, but don’t you think they can wait until we’ll out of public. Away from my brother.” 

He pouts, dropping his head to your shoulder, “I suppose.” 

Harry walks over to the passenger side of the car and opened the door for you. As you walked towards him, you placed a kiss to his cheek and slipped into the car. The nerves were back in your stomach as you watched Harry walk around the car and slip into the driver’s seat. The two of you don’t get to see each other as much as you’d possibly like to, so nights like these were special to you, and you hoped that he was just as excited and nervous as you were. 

The second Harry was sat in his seat, and had started the car, his hand was on your thigh, squeezing the flesh through your trousers at you sat there. You really had missed feeling having him touching you, even though it hadn’t been that long. If it was up to you, Harry would be with you everyday and you would be able to kiss and touch him everyday without any issues, but you knew that just wasn’t the case. 

You and Harry had been together for a little shy of three years now, hiding your relationship from literally everyone apart from a few trusted people on each side of you. It wasn’t that you wanted to hide, but you both knew that you just had to if you were going to be able to have the relationship that you had. When you were younger, Harry and Isaac were best friends. You could always remember sitting in the back of the car after behind picked up from school and being squashed into the door because the middle seat was always taken by Harry. You can’t quite remember why the two of them fell out, but you did remember that it happened when the three of you were around fifteen or sixteen. 

It was a shock to everyone, because the two of them had been friends for the longest of times and Isaac did seem to be in a rut once it had happened. You had tried to talk to him about it a few times but he never said anything, so you turned to the one other person in the situation who might have to been able to help you. Harry. At first, he seemed to be completely shocked when you walked over to him one day after school and jumped into his car. He actually looked quite taken aback, but when you started asking questions about the falling out he just went quiet.

To this day you still don’t know what had happened between the two of them, but you do know that was the day that you relationship with Harry turned from being the generally acquaintances because you’re friends with my brother to something more. Harry was somebody who you had grown up with, and yes you could admit that he was handsome, but you’d never thought of him in a romantic way up until that point. A part of you wished that you had picked up on it early because you may have been able to kiss him sooner than you had but you were happy, and the two of you were now three years going strong. 

The fact that your brother and Harry had fallen out, and when the two of you got together it was really rocky between them, you both decided that the best thing to do was just not to tell him, which led to not telling anyone. You had said that when things improved between the two of them you would tell him, but once the Drag Racing started, there was no way that it would ever improve between the two of them, and you just had to accept that. 

Arriving at Harry’s apartment, it was almost as though your body was working on auto-pilot when Harry opened the door and you walked through. You kicked your shoes off by the door, walked into the kitchen to pour yourself a glass of water and made your way into his bedroom. Harry was already stood in the small room, placing his jacket in his wardrobe. You quickly started to undress, swapping your clothes for one of Harry’s shirts and a pair of your pyjama shorts. You walk into the bathroom to take your makeup off and brush your teeth. 

“Have you had any more thought into our anniversary trip?” Harry called from the bedroom. 

“I’ve thought about it.” You say, running your make up wipe over your eyes, “That’s about it.” 

You can hear his sigh even from the other room, and your inside’s twists in not the good way. The anniversary trip had been something that the two of you had spoken about for a long time, and it would be coming in a few months and Harry had been on your back for a long time so that they could get it booked, but you were thinking about a lot of other things rather than booking a holiday. You did hate that you didn’t have anything more to say to him, because you knew that he was disappointed, but there was only so much that you could say. 

“I’ll need to book time off of work soon, YN.” He appears only in his boxers in the doorway, leant against it with his arms crossed, “I need to know the dates.” 

“I know.” You sigh, turning so that your hip was leant against the counter, “I still just need to figure out what I’m going to tell Isaac.” 

Harry sighs and runs his hand over his face, “I know. We can think of what to say to him later, but as soon as possible can you tell me the dates.” 

He walks over and places his hands on your waist and you nod, “I will. I’ll check when I get home.” 

“Good.” He presses a kiss to your cheek. 

You hated hiding things from Harry, you really did, because that man really was your soulmate and the person in this world that you told everything to, so it felt horrible to be hiding something from him. Hiding things from Harry felt like ripping your heart from your chest — you just couldn’t do it— but here you were, doing it without anything happening. 

It had been a long night for the two of them, and you knew that even though Harry had a brave face on, you knew that inside he probably wasn’t too happy that he’d lost. The thing about Harry, and your brother for that matter, was that they are so competitive, especially with each other, that when either one of them loses they try to seem like they don’t care but they do. When you walked back into the room, Harry was already in bed with his arms crossed and his face in a sulk. 

You sighed and walked over to your side of the bed, pulling the duvet back and slipping under. Harry didn’t even turn to look at you, so you wrapped your arm around his waist and placed your head upon his chest so that he couldn’t help but look at her. You knew that the main thing that you needed to do right now was try and get him out of the rut. It could spring on him at any point but it was never anything that was easy to get him out of. You sighed and pressed a kiss to his bare chest. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” You mumbled against his chest. 

“There’s nothing to talk about.” He mumbled and you shook your head, lifting your hand up to push some of his hair out of his face. 

“There obviously is.” You sighed, “You’re in your rut. Talking about it takes you out of it. I know that, you know that, but you’re just too stubborn to realise this.” 

“I’m not too stubborn.” He pouts and you shake your head with a roll of your eyes, raising one of your eyebrows at him, “I just. . . fucking hate loosing to him. Talking about the anniversary, and I know why you haven’t said anything about it yet, baby, just reminded me. I’m sorry.” 

You hesitate for a second before smiling at him, “I know you are, H, don’t worry. It’s my fault. I should’ve told you.” 

“Don’t.” He shakes his head and leans forward, placing his hand upon your cheek, “Don’t apologise. I get that it’s hard for you, I know. I just. . . wish that I could take it all away from you. It’s my fault that you’re having to keep secrets from your brother.” 

You shake your head, “It’s not your fault. I promise that it isn’t your fault. There’s been hundreds of times in the past three years when I could have told him.” 

“It’s not just you. We need to tell him.” 

If you needed anything else to love Harry for (which you really don’t because you love him with you’re entire being) you feel as though this would be one of those things. You couldn’t believe how understanding he was, and even though the two of you did have times where you butted heads on things, it was never over anything big like this. The two of you made sure that if you ever did have a problem that you needed to sort, there would be some arguing and shouting but there is in any couple, but the two of you always made up before it ended up turning ridiculous. 

You turned your head to Harry and placed you lips on his, pushing his shoulders down with your hand so that he’s on your back. You move slightly underneath the duvet that you were both under, manoeuvring yourself so that you were hovering over his body, the two of your lips never separating. You were straddling him, your hands resting on the pillow by Harry’s head. Your hips ground against his boxers involuntarily, and you can feel him smiling against him. Harry moaned into your mouth, and you could feel his bulge growing harder and bigger beneath you. 

Pulling away slightly you lean forward and place your forehead upon his, smiling as you place a small kiss to his nose. The hard and stern face of your boyfriend that you had seen earlier when he was racing had completely disappeared, and it was now replaced by his soft and flush features that he only ever saved for when he was with you, and you loved it. You could still feel his hard-on rubbing against your thigh, and you leant forward and placed your lips back on his. His arms wrapped around your waist and back, slipping them down until he could squeeze and knead the flesh over your pyjama short. 

“You know I fucking love you, right?” He mumbles against your lips and you nod. 

His hips continue to buck up to yours, whilst you grind yours back down to him. You pulled away and leant your head upon his forehead again, “I know you love me. You know I love you?” 

He responded you flipping you over, his body now hovering over you. He gave you a boyish smile and nodded his head, leaning his head back down to place his lips on your neck, pressing small little kisses to the skin. 

“I know you love me.” He mumbles against her lips, “Do you wanna feel me, baby? Have you missed me?” 

You responded with a moan, the sound of his raspy voice goes all the way from your ear, all the way down your spine to the heat between your legs. You wouldn’t be surprised if your panties were completely ruined by now. 

“Of course I’ve missed you.” You mumble against his lips, your cheeks flushing as you admit it to him. For years you two have been this close, but it didn’t stop you from being nervous every single time that you are near each other. It’s always how it had been, and probably how it will always be but you wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“Tell me how much you’ve missed me.” He kissed down your neck, and you couldn’t help the smile that crossed you face as he did so, “Don’t hold back, baby.” 

You threw your head back as he moved downwards, threading your fingers through his hair as you did so. You just hoped that it made him feel better than it was. 

Walking home the next morning, your entire body was relaxed and happy in a way that it only ever is after you’d spent time with Harry. If you passed anyone in the street, you smiled at them and there was a slight bounce in your step. There was an excitement that there hadn’t been in you for a long time because you were going to look over your schedule and finally get yourself sorted for your anniversary trip with Harry. Walking through the door that goes into kitchen, you immediately walk over to the fridge to take the orange juice out. 

“Morning little sis.” You jump out of your skin and turn around, leaning your back against the counter and lifting your hand up to your chest as it beats in your chest. Looking at your brother, it seemed as though he had just got back from a run, since he was all sweaty, he had his running shoes on and his headphones around his neck. Immediately your heart started to beat in your chest quicker, and the relaxation that you had felt before had immediately left your body and you feel back on edge as you do a lot of the time recently. 

“Morning.” You grin, turning back around to open a cupboard to grab a glass that you could fill with the orange juice carton that you were still holding, “Been for a run?” 

He nods his head, walking over to the fridge and taking out a bottle of water. When he wasn’t looking directly at you, a sigh escaped your lips. It was quickly over and he was looking at you again, leant against the counter across from you with his arms crossed. 

“Woke up with the want to go for a run.” He explained and you furrowed your eyebrows, looking at him and he chuckles, “I know, totally unlike me but I really did just feel like it.” 

You nod, your fingers tapping on the counter slightly, “Did you. . . did you go on your normal route?” 

Isaac shakes his head, “I met up with D’Angelo. We went to the lake.” 

Just like that, the worry that was in your body had left. The lake was on the other side of the town to where Harry lived, and where Isaac normally ran meaning that he couldn’t have seen you leaving Harry’s house which was good. You were starting to realise that the more you had to make sure that your brother hadn’t seen or didn’t know anything about you and Harry, the harder it was becoming for you to keep track of everything. The lie of staying over at Daisy’s had worked for years now, but the older that you got and the more that situations were changing for the two of you, it was harder to keep it as a lie. 

“Was it busy?” You ask, trying to make conversation that made it seem as though everything was normal and nothing had happened. 

He shakes his head, “Not really.” He hesitates for a second before looking up at you and tilting his head to the side, “I did see Daisy and Dennis though.” 

And just like that, your whole body was back to being on edge and nervous. The only way that you could describe how you felt was a mixture of both shock and immediate nervousness. Isaac continued to drink from the bottle in his hand, with no malice or shock on his features at all. If he did know something, he would’ve had said something by now and you knew that because of how well you knew him and that’s in one of the ways how you were both similar — when you knew something, you couldn’t keep it a secret. 

It was something that you had grown up with, your inability to keep secrets and you were honestly and truthfully so surprised that you and Harry had managed to keep your relationship a secret for so long. This wasn’t the first time that you had thought that Isaac had found out about your relationship, and it wasn’t the first time that you hadn’t been able to figure out how to get out of it but you knew that you would be able to get yourself out of it. You hoped that you would be able to get yourself out it. 

You were started to get quite nervous though, with sweaty palms and a heart beating directly up against your chest. Your mind spiralled and you hoped that you were going to hear something that would stop your chest in the next few minutes. 

“Did you?” You cleared your throat to make it seem as though you were more put together than you were. 

He hums, “Yeah. They explained that you were walking home and that Dennis’ arrival was out of the blue.”

You nod and smile, your heart stopping to beat so quickly the second those words escaped her lips, “Yeah. He appeared and asked her to go on a walk before work later. I said that I’d just walk home so that Daisy could go. I think he’s going to ask her out soon.” 

Isaac scoffs and crossing his arms over his chest, “I hope so. They’ve only been dancing around it for the last few years.”

You nod, “We’ve all said it. I don’t know how many times we’ve told her but anyway, I’m going to get in the shower before getting ready for work.” 

You’re quick to walk out of the kitchen and up the stairs with your head spinning. The entire time that you’re getting ready, showering and doing your hair, standing in front of your mirror and looking at the marks that Harry had left over the entirety of your skin before putting your work uniform on, you’re thinking about what you’re going to do. Today you were going to book some time off work from the café during the week of your anniversary, and even though that Daisy would know why you were doing that, you didn’t have to tell anyone else there. When it came to being at home, and telling your brother why you were going to be leaving for a month whilst Daisy stayed at home was going to be hard to explain to say the least. You were going to have to think very carefully about what you were going to say. 

Walking into the small café you worked at not that long later, you were happy to finally be in the place where anything else that happened in your life went to the back of your mind and you could focus on making drinks and serving customers. You had worked at the café since the day you turned eighteen, and you had worked there ever since. It wasn’t what you wanted to do forever, working in the little café with your best friend and your boss that is just an absolute asshole, but you just haven’t got the funds or was it the right time for you to try and get your dream going. 

Your dream, albeit a big one, was to one day own your own café that sold your own treats that you made and looked the exact way that you wanted it to. You had been planning your own café and telling everyone you knew about it since sitting in your maths classes in middle school when you realised that school really wasn’t for you. You were okay in school, and you got good enough grades, but none to get you to what you wanted to do in life. Over the last three years, many of your conversations with Harry had been about your café and how you would work there whilst he would take over his father’s mechanical shop. 

That was the plan for the future, but first — you had a shift to do and you had a lie to think of. 

“Afternoon.” You mumbled as you walked into the small café, Daisy’s eyes immediately widening as she takes a look at you stood there, “How are you?” 

“I’m sorry.” Daisy blurts out, not being able to stop herself from doing so, “I really didn’t know that he was going to be there, if I did I would have never gone there, you know that.” 

“I know.” You walk over and wrap your arms around her shoulders briefly, “He doesn’t know, it’s fine. I shouldn’t be relying on you so much, Daisy, I know that. I’m trying to figure out what to do.” 

“It’s okay, YN.” She mumbles, placing her hand upon your shoulder with a smile, “I know why you’ve done it, but I’m glad you’re finally coming to your senses. It’s three years too late, but at least you’re here.” 

“At least it’s happening now.” You sigh, widening your eyes as you look at her. 

“You’ll be fine. Everything will be fine.” 

You sigh and nod your head, hoping that she was right. 

You heard Harry’s car before you could see it, pulling up outside of your house in a quick stop so that you could quickly duck out and get it. Isaac was out for the night, doing another race in another town that Harry couldn’t do because he had work, so they had decided to spend the night together. Due to Isaac being out of town, they decided that they might even be able to go for a meal, to a restaurant, like a normal couple would. 

You gave him a small smile and a peck on the lips as you sat in the car. There hadn’t been much discussion between you and Harry that week, not since you had left his that morning. It was odd, because the two of you spoke everyday, even if it was just to check that the other was okay, but the conversation this week had been limited to you asking him to come for a meal and him replying saying that he would. You always knew that this day would come, where the unspoken issue between the two of you had become too much for you to handle. 

You had tried five times over the last week to say something to Isaac, trying to drop it in to normal conversation but you always dived away from it, as though you couldn’t allow yourself to say what you wanted to say to him. You had never been as nervous before in your life, and all you had to do was tell him about a secret that involved the one person that Isaac hated most in life and his twin sister. You just had to try your hardest to remind yourself over and over again that it was the best thing to do, and that you’d be happy if you were able to get the words out, but you just couldn’t. 

The two of you arrived at a restaurant on the outskirts of the town you lived in, one that meant you would be safe if Isaac did return home and one that the two of you also knew would serve good food. The car ride continued without any words spoken between the two of them, and you tried your hardest to not feel the nerves bubbling inside of you, but you also knew that there was a reason why you were going to have this conversation with him, and there was a reason why you needed to feel nervous for it. 

Sitting across from Harry in a booth that sat at the front of the restaurant, you couldn’t even bring yourself to take your eyes off of his face. There hadn’t been a lot of times during your relationship with Harry where you had felt like this, and it was usually always when the two of you were discussing the exact topic that you knew that you were going to be now. Whilst you couldn’t take your eyes off of Harry, it seemed as though he wanted nothing more than to not look at you. 

“Hey.” He didn’t look up from the menu that he had in his hand, “Are you going to even look at me?” 

You watch as he doesn’t even move a muscle, never mind do the thing that you wanted him to do which was look at you, “I’ve looked at you.” 

“Not since we’ve sat down you haven’t.” 

You watch as he sighs and drops the menu down so that it was rested upon the table between you and lifts his eyes up to look at you, “Happy now?” 

A small smile breaks out your face, a sarcastic one at that, but a smile nonetheless, “Very.” 

Harry rolls his eyes and leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. You look at him with your eyes widened. Why this was happening all of a sudden, you didn’t know, but you had a slight suspicion that you weren’t going to be able to argue your way out of this one with him like you had done in the past. The first thing that led you to believe that was the fact that you were in a public place, where you had to do your best to make sure that you were going to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. 

As a whole, you were ashamed of your actions over the years, and you knew that you wouldn’t be able to apologise for everything that you had done in the past but you could at least try. Everything had changed now that you had your three year anniversary coming up, and you realised that there was so much more to life than trying to hide a stupid secret from your brother. 

“Harry.” You start, a sigh immediately leaving your lips after, “I’m sorry. I really am.” He nods his head, “I don’t expect you to accept my apology, and I certainly don’t expect you to forgive me for the shit that I’ve put you through these last couple of years, but, I want to let you know that I am trying to fix things. I promise you.” 

He sighs, “I don’t know how you can, YN. I’ve thought about it a lot recently, in the past week, since our conversation last week.” 

“I have too.” You nod, your fingers messing with the hem of your jacket, “I have too. I’ve tried so many times, to tell him, but I just can’t and I don’t know why. He can’t do anything, I’m a grown ass woman and he’s just my brother. He can’t tell me who I can and can’t love, and I do love you Harry more than anything, but there’s a part of me that just can’t tell him.” 

Harry cleared his throat and sighed, “I never told you the reason we argued.” 

You shake your head, “Neither of you did.” 

“Do you want to know?” He asked. 

You shrugged, “I don’t know. . . if it will help, than yes.”

Harry sighed and nodded his head, running his finger over his bottom lip the way that you knew that he did when he was nervous, “We were in Eugene’s basement, having just watched one of his races and he had some shit, and we decided to take it. It was just us, everyone else had gone to do something else or get high somewhere else, and we were just sat.” You were hanging off of every word that he said, “We were taking about, I don’t know, life and all the shit that we usually do when we’re high and we got onto the topic of you.”

Your eyes widen, “Me? Why were you talking about me?” 

“He mentioned you and how you wanted to do things with your life and how he was fed up that all he had to do with his life was race.” Harry chuckled and shook his head, “I couldn’t even help it, I just blurted out that I liked you and that I was going to ask you on a date, thinking that he would be happy for us, but instead, he punched me in the face.” 

Your lips part, “He what?” 

“He punched me.” Harry runs a hand through his hair, “And then he just started screaming at me, saying that scum like me wasn’t good enough for someone like you. The more he said it, the more I believed it and I believed it all the way until you got in my car and asked me to tell you what had happened. I didn’t, and I didn’t for a reason, because if I had told you maybe you would’ve thought the same as him, that I wasn’t good enough for you, so instead I asked you on the date, just like I had planned to.” 

You let his words sink in for a while, the sound of them bouncing around in your head for a while as you look down at the table in front of you. You couldn’t lie and say that you hadn’t thought about what had gone down between them, and what had been said to make them despise each other as much as they did, but you certainly hadn’t expected it to be about you of all things. It started to all make sense now, how when you had asked him, after your first night together at his house, if he was okay that you didn’t tell your brother about the two of you being together, and he agreed. At first you had thought that it was odd, seeing as though this man didn’t know your motive behind why you were saying that, but at the same time, you didn’t know his motive behind why he said yes. 

It all made sense. 

You sigh and nod your head, “Why didn’t you just tell me? I would’ve understood. You know that I would’ve.” 

He shrugs his shoulders, “Why didn’t you tell me about what you had been thinking? And what you had been trying to do?” 

You shrug your shoulders, “I don’t know.” 

“It works both ways, YN.” He shrugs, “And I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you but a part of you has to realise that there was a reason you didn’t tell me and you didn’t tell him. I understand a part of you was trying to keep it calm between us, but there had to be more than that.”

You can feel the tears starting to brim within your eyes, and the more that you thought about it, the more that you knew you were going to struggle to hold them back. You start to blink quickly, lifting your eyes up to look at the ceiling. It worked, and you managed to make sure that no tears slid down your cheeks. 

“A part of me did do it because I knew that it would be easier for you, that you didn’t have to tell him that you were my boyfriend. I knew how hard that would’ve been for you.” You explain, lifting your hand up to scratch your forehead, “So I decided that for a little while, I just wouldn’t tell him. At least not until things had calmed down between the two of you. After a few months of waiting was going to say something to him, just drop it into conversation and then walk out of it with my hands up but then I realised that it wasn’t going to be that easy. The day that I was going to do it, he walked into my bedroom with this big news that he was so excited to tell me.” You take in a breath and sigh, “It was the news that you were starting to drive, and that he was going to beat you that night and I knew that if I had told him, he wouldn’t have just beat you in the race.” 

“I can stand up for myself, YN.” 

“I never said that you couldn’t.” She shook her head, “I just didn’t want you getting hurt because of me.” 

“I wouldn’t be getting hurt because of you. I’d be getting hurt because of something we did.” He explains, “Just like you can’t blame this all on me, and me on you, I’m not going to let you blame this all on yourself either.” 

“Harry.” You sigh and lean back in the chair that you sat in, “We’re going to have to tell him.” 

He shakes his head, “He’s not going to like it.” 

“I know.” You agree with him and hold your hand out, “But we’ve got to tell him.” 

“I know we have.” He grasps your hand in his.

It turned out that you and Harry didn’t have to wait for too long to tell your brother, because when Harry pulled up outside of your house, your brother was already sat there on the steps of the house, waiting for you to arrive home. You couldn’t believe what you were seeing if you were completely honest, and a part of you realised that this was it. You turned to look at Harry slightly, a sigh leaving your lips as you did so. 

“You still want to do this?” He asked, pulling his keys out of the ignition as the car came to a complete stop. 

You sigh and lean over to place your hand upon his, “I don’t think we have a choice, now.” 

“We do.” He turned his head to look at you, squeezing your fingers as he did so, “I could just drive away. Ignore him.” 

You chuckle and shake your head, lifting your connected hands up to place a kiss to the back of his hand, “Come on. He might explode if we keep him waiting any longer.” 

You certainly couldn’t lie and say that your brother looked like he was handling everything well, because he certainly wasn’t. His jaw seemed to be constantly clenched the entire time that you walked towards him, and you definitely saw his hands that were clenched by his sides in fists. You knew that he was going to be annoyed, and you expected that there would certainly be some shouting involved with this, but, she certainly didn’t want this to become physical at any point. In your opinion, it certainly wasn’t worth it. 

“YN.” You stop in front of him once he’s spoken your name, and Harry is just a few steps behind you. Having him there really brings a comfort that you don’t really feel unless you’re with him, so if anything, you were happy that he was there, “What are you doing with him?” 

“I’m—” You start, looking at him for a second before letting out a sigh, “He’s—”

You can’t find the right words to say what you want to say. You knew that it wasn’t going to be easy to explain to your brother, but you at least thought that you’d be able to get past the first words without choking up, but it seemed as though that wasn’t the case. 

“Isaac—” Harry takes a step forward, so that he was directly next to you but before he could say anything else, Isaac holds his hand out to stop him. 

“I wasn’t talking to you.” Harry clamps his lips shut, and you can tell that he’s trying to hold back so many things but at least he isn’t making the situation worse which you knew that he possibly could. Isaac then turns to you, “I was asking you the question. What are you doing with him?” 

Letting out a sigh, you shut your eyes for a second to calm yourself down, “I’m. . . we’re together, Isaac.” 

He lets out a sigh and shakes his head, tutting slightly as he did so, “When Eugene told me, I didn’t believe him. I said that you’d never do that to me because you know that I hate him more than I’ve hated anyone in my life before.” 

At first you listen to the words that he was saying and you nod along, as if you’re understanding what they’re saying, but you quickly shake your head and cross your arms over your chest. 

“I’d never do what to you, Isaac?” You ask, your eyebrows furrowing as you say the words you were speaking, “I’ve fallen in love with someone, Isaac, I don’t think that involves you at all.”

“But you know I can’t stand him!” 

“Still here, you know.” Harry mutters, lifting his hands up and walking away from them slightly. 

You turn over to look at Harry and glare at him slightly before you turn your attention back to Isaac, “Why do you think I didn’t tell you? I knew that you’d react like this.” 

“What? I’d react completely sane, YN?” Isaac scoffs and shakes his head. 

“Sane?” You physically can’t believe what you’re hearing, “Isaac, you don’t have the right to act like this over who is my boyfriend. Yeah, I understand that you don’t like Harry and he isn’t particularly fond of you either, but you don’t have a say in that.” You stop slightly and let out a sigh of relief when you realise that you’ve got him listening, “I would completely understand if you were upset about me not telling you and lying to you, but that is what you can be mad at.” 

He looks at you but then he shakes his head, and you know that everything that you’ve just said has gone and he couldn’t care less about it now. 

“YN.” You know that tone of voice anywhere, and you couldn’t believe that he was still acting like this, “It’s Harry. You don’t know the shit that he said, and you don’t know what it was like to sit and listen to him saying everything he said about you.” 

This time, it’s you who lets the words that he’s just spoken sink in for a while. If what Harry had said to you earlier was true, that all your brother had to be upset about was him saying that he liked you and wanted to ask you out. Now, you’re not exactly sure how the male mind works, but you’re pretty sure that Isaac can distinguish between someone saying that they like someone and something else. You turn to look at Harry and he looks down at the floor, and that’s when you realise very quickly that there was something else to the story that you didn’t know. The mere thought of it made you feel sick. What had actually been said that night?

“Isaac.” You turn back to look at him, “What was said?” 

“YN.” He shakes his head, scratching his forehead slightly, “I don’t want to tell you.” 

“Tell me.” Your words are harsh and you can tell by the way that Harry backs away from you that you’re about to be in for a real treat, “Tell me!” 

“When we were in high school, we had this list.” Isaac starts, and you know that what he is saying is probably really important context but you just want him to get to the point, “And on this list, we’d rank who we thought were the most fuck-able girls in the school.” 

Your entire heart plummets to the pit of your stomach, “That’s disgusting. You should be ashamed of yourselves.” 

“I am, don’t worry.” Isaac nods, “Harry never got involved with it, and we all knew why, because he was the good one who never cared about those things and everyone just accepted that. I certainly did.” 

“Just get on with it, Isaac.” 

“Well, we were in Eugene’s basement and we were high and drunk and everything was just a little blurred if I’m honest, but I asked Harry a question. I said, best friend to best friend, if you were to pick one person to go on the top of the list, and just be his one person and nobody apart from us would ever find out, he turned to me and said: you.” 

You can’t figure out what your angrier at. You can’t decide whether it’s because Harry had actually said those words to your brother, degrading you in such a way that you had never ever expected him to or the fact that he had lied to you about what had actually happened. In honesty, you do think that thing that has upset you the most was that he didn’t tell you the truth. He could have told you what had actually happened earlier on in the day on you wouldn’t have cared, because you knew that he was high and drunk and he probably wouldn’t have meant it but the fact that he lied, made you feel sick to your stomach. It made you question whether or not he had lied to you at other points and you just hadn’t known because you were too naïve to see it. 

You turn to look at Harry and he’s looking directly back at you, not at the ground and not anywhere else but directly at you. 

“Harry.” You can already feel the tears start to form within your eyes, “Tell me it’s not true.” 

Harry shakes his head and looks down at the ground, and you shake your head to try and back the tears. You know that if you open your mouth words will tumble out that you really don’t mean, and you know that you can’t let that happen but you’re in such a state that you know that you’re mind would be clouded with how upset you are. 

“He knows it’s fucking, true, YN.” Isaac says from behind you, “That’s why we fucking fought and punched the living daylights out of each other.” 

You shake your head again, the tears involuntarily spilling down your cheek, “Harry. Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“I thought—” He starts but then he shakes his head, “I didn’t—”

Just like you couldn’t find the words to say, it seemed as though Harry couldn’t either. You really didn’t care about what he said, and you wouldn’t care about what he said. There were things that you’d said when you were younger and in high school that you certainly regretted and you would hate if anyone was to bring them up but you wouldn’t lie about it. You had lied in the past and done things in the past that you didn’t agree with, but it wasn’t as though you were doing it for any other reason but to protect the relationships that you had made with people. 

“Harry.” He lifts his head to look at you, “I think you should go.” 

“YN. . .” He takes a step forward towards you but you hold your hand up. 

“Just for tonight.” You nod your head, “We’ll speak tomorrow. We all just need to. . . calm down.” 

“But YN. . .” He takes another step forward but you shake your head. 

“Please, Harry.” You close your eyes, “Just for tonight.” 

He doesn’t seem very happy with what you had said but he nods at you once before walking over to his car and getting in. He slams the door closed behind him, and you flinch when he does so. You watch through the window as he looks at you one last time before starting the engine and driving. 

He drives on, and he doesn’t look back, not even one last time and you watch as his car disappears off the street. Once you know that he’s gone, you start walking towards the end of the drive and down to the pavement. 

“YN—” Isaac starts but you turn to look at him and shake your head. 

“Not now.” You run a hand through your hair, “I’m going to Daisy’s. I’ll be fine.” 

With that, you walk down the street and towards Daisy’s house, the thoughts of what had just happened dancing around in your head. You knew that this was going to happen at some point, and it would all blow up in your face, you just hadn’t know that it would be like this.

The next day you return home with bags underneath your eyes and yawns escaping your lips. You would say that you’re nervous, but after being up all night with worry in your stomach, you’re pretty certain that you’re just a little anxious but the thing that overwhelms your brain more than anything is the want for all of this to be over. You needed to sort things out with your brother, so you could go back to being siblings that annoy each other more than anything, and then you need to sort everything out with Harry. You knew that it was going to be hard, and you knew that your emotions were going to be high but you needed to get it over and done with. You weren’t going to allow your life to be like this for longer than it needed to be, and it didn’t need to be at all. 

When you walked through the front door of your house, you didn’t know what you were expecting to see, but you really didn’t expect what you saw. Isaac was laid across the couch, with empty beer bottles on the table in front of him. You knew why he had done it, and you hated that it was your fault that he had done it but at the same time he was a grown man, just like you were a grown woman, and he knew that this wasn’t the right way to go about things. 

With a sigh, you walked over to the sofa and picked up one of the cushions by Isaac’s feet and threw it air his head. He groaned and moved around and that was when you nudged his legs so that you could sit down. He groaned again but moved them away, and you heard him yawn and felt his body lift up from beside you so that he was upright. 

“How’s the head?” You mumble, crossing your arms over your chest and leaning back in the seat. 

He groans and does the same, “It’s been better.” 

You chuckle and close your eyes, allowing a slight calmness to wash over your body. If there was one thing that you missed about getting older, was not being able to have the stupid conversations with him that made absolutely no sense to anybody but the two of them. But, something that you did know was that even when this was all sorted and everything went back to normal, you wouldn’t be surprised if not everything went back to normal between the two of you. It was something hard to understand, but you just had to accept it because you wouldn’t be surprised if it took years to fix. 

There’s a silence between the two of you for a while, but you quickly realise that isn’t going to help you in your situation so without really thinking you collect yourself and let out a small breath that you didn’t know you had been hiding for a while. 

“I’m sorry.” You say, the words coming out of your mouth stronger than you had expected them to. You thought that they would at least be broken, but they weren’t, “I’m sorry for everything, but most importantly, I’m sorry for lying and keeping it from you.” 

You don’t know what Isaac is going to say, and the fact that you don’t does make you worry slightly but you know that you’d be able to handle whatever he was going to say. You would be able to handle it because you were strong, at this point you needed to be. 

“I accept your apology.” He says, and you turn to look at him with tears in your eyes. He nods at you and smiles, “The more I thought about it, the more I understood why you did it. If the shoe was on the other foot I would’ve done the exact same thing. I wouldn’t have even hesitated to.” 

You nod your head and close your eyes, a few tears falling from them but you’re quick to lift your hand and wipe them away. He reaches over and grabs your hand, and you squeeze his as you do so. 

“I shouldn’t have lied to you though.” You shake your head, “We don’t lie to each other.” 

“Oh.” Isaac shakes his head and you furrow your eyebrows at him, “We don’t lie to each other but we certainly keep secrets. The amount I’ve kept from you. . . you’d probably kill me.” 

Your lips part in shock, “Are you going to tell me them?” 

“No.” He shakes his head, a chuckle leaving his lips, “I maybe will later, but right now, you’ve got somewhere to be.” 

“Have I?” He taps his hand on your leg and stands up, and all you can do is furrow your eyebrows in response. 

“You have.” You watch as he grabs his jacket and places it on his body, “And I’m going to take you there.” 

You know straight away that Isaac is talking about going to see Harry, and just the fact that he was going to take you made you want to burst out into even more tears that you had been before. You didn’t though, because you were able to keep your calm and just smile and nod along with him, but it was certainly hard for you to do. It felt as though you were getting acceptance from Isaac and although you knew that you didn’t really need it, it sure felt good to have. You offered him a quick smile and got into his car, driving you to Harry’s and leaving you there with a squeeze of his hand. 

Even though you weren’t that nervous when it came to talking to Isaac, speaking to Harry was a completely different thing. Whereas you and Isaac had a sibling bond that could never be broken, you and Harry had a bond, one that was love to the highest degree, but it was still a love that could be broken. You just hoped that this wasn’t it and you hadn’t met the point of no return just yet. 

You palms were sweaty as you knocked on his door, and your heart felt as though it was going to beat out of your chest but you knew that this was the right thing to do. You could hear shuffling behind the door, and then it swung open, and you wanted to sigh in relief just at the sight of him stood there. He looked like he hadn’t slept, but you hadn’t either so it was something that you both had in common, and he had his joggers hung low on his hips in a way that you always found so endearing whenever he did it. 

“Hi.” You say, the corners of your lips tilting upwards slightly, “Can I come in?” 

He opens his mouth as if to say something but then he just ends up nodding his head and opening the door wider so your body can slip through. It looks exactly the same as the last time you had been there, and it felt comfortable and like your home. It certainly was your home away from home, and living with Harry would be something that you wouldn’t mind doing in the future if time permitted you too. You had to remind yourself to take a few steps back and look at the situation ahead of you, and how you had a lot of things that you needed to talk about before anything else in the future could happen. 

Walking into the apartment, you hear Harry shut the door behind you. You knew that he wasn’t too far behind you, so you turned around.

“I didn’t think you’d be here so soon.” He muttered, shrugging his shoulders, “I thought you’d need a few days.” 

“I said I would talk to you tomorrow.” You smile and nod your head, “I’m wasn’t about to go back on that.” 

You swear you can see the slight lift of the corner of his lips, and it’s the first sign to you that everything might actually end up being okay. 

“I know you think we have things to talk about but I actually just have one thing to say.” He says, taking a step forward towards you. You watch as he hesitantly reaches out and grabs your hand, and you smile at just the feeling of his skin on yours again, “I’m sorry, That’s all I can say. I’m sorry that I said those things all those years ago, and I’m more sorry that I didn’t tell you about it when I had the chance. It was stupid of me, and I can understand if you want to. . . if you want to.” He physically stops and you can tell that he’s struggling with something, “If you want to break up with me.” 

You gasp at his words, taking a step forward and placing your hands on his cheeks, “Harry. . . no. Don’t think that. I’m not going to break up with you over that.” 

You can hear him physically sigh and you couldn’t even understand why he dared to think the way that he was, “I didn’t know. I didn’t know how you’d think.” 

“Harry.” You lean forward so that your forehead is on his, “I’m upset that you lied, but I did too. If anything, we’re just as bad as each other. That’s probably why we’re so perfect for each other, right?” 

“Right.” He chuckled, nodding his head, “We’re perfect for each other. I love you so much, I’m so sorry.” 

“I’m sorry too.” You close your eyes as you let the words sink in, “If there’s one way I know how we’re never going to go through anything like this again, is if we promise to never keep anything from each other again.” 

“We won’t.” He mumbles, “I won’t.” 

“Good. I won’t either.” Your hands grip onto his arms as they wrap around your neck, “I need you, Harry Styles. I do.” 

“I need you too.” 

With that you open your eyes so that you can look directly in his, a small smile breaking over your lips at the fact the two of you knew that he needed you just as much as you needed him. It certainly made this entire situation feel as though it happened for a reason, that it happened so that you could be stronger than you already were. You never doubted that he loved you, and that you loved him, but there was the doubt that everything would have caught up with you, and that was something that you knew would be your fault. All of this was your fault, for not being honest in the first place, but that didn’t mean that you couldn’t find it in yourself to be honest now and get you and Harry through this. 

Without even the slightest hint of hesitation you lean forward and place your lips on his, and he didn’t wait to kiss back, his tongue moving against his bottom lip before pushing it through your parted lips. Your tongue met his in your mouth, and you pulled each other closer, grasping at each other with the want and need that never stopped when you were around him. The spark that you always felt when you were with him ran all the way down from the skin of your lips to the tip of your toes, fluttering all over your body. You had told him that you needed him, which was the truth, but you were soon starting to realise that there was more to the need you had for Harry than what met the eye. It was something that went past all of the words in the dictionary to actions that you needed to name, and that’s why you pulled away and rested your head on his forehead. 

“Harry.” You mumble, “Take me to the bedroom.” 

He pulls away and furrows his eyebrows, not expecting those words to slip from your mouth, “Are you sure? We don’t have to.” 

“I’m sure.” You mumble against his lips, “Never been more certain of anything in my entire life.” 

He presses kisses against your neck and shoulders as he places you down on the bed, his body hovering over yours. When he starts to put a little more pressure on your skin with his teeth, you can’t help the light moans that start to escape your lips. He starts to toy with the hem of your shirt, and you respond to him by lifting your legs and wrapping them around his waist. Your hips move in circular motions to his, and it’s his turn to moan into you. 

You pull away and sit up, pulling your shirt over your head and revealing your bra to him. It wasn’t the nicest bra you owned, but it got to the point in your relationship when you didn’t need to wear fancy lingerie all of the time to feel good enough for him, but that didn’t mean that you didn’t every now and then to feel sexy. Every now and then, though, just like you felt now, you realise that you don’t need to wear anything to feel sexy because just the way that Harry looked at you made you feel like that. The was his eyes raked up and down your body, across every inch of skin that he could see. That made you feel sexy. The way he looked at you made you feel sexy. 

“Missed this.” He leans over and places a kiss to the skin of your shoulder, “Missed you. You’re so fucking beautiful, YN, you have no idea.” 

You lean forward and capture your lips again on his, slipping your arm around his shoulder so that you could run your nails down his back, scratching lightly as you did so. He took it upon himself to slip his hands between the two of you and unbutton your trousers, pulling them as well as your panties down your legs. You remove your arms from around his neck so that you can unclip your bra and pull it down from your torso and throw it down on the floor with the rest of your clothes. This was how you loved it to be with Harry. You just loved it when the two of you were together, alone. You guessed a part of it was because that was all you ever knew of it. 

Harry was the most loving and beautiful person you’d met in your life, and you would have loved to be able to show him off to the world as the one you loved but it just wasn’t that easy, but now you had the slight suspicion that you might be able to, and a part of you was excited about that. 

Your hands extend back out to him, pulling his body back down so that he was hovering above you again. He places a single kiss to your lips before moving his way down your body, placing kisses to your chest before moving down to the top of your breast and then down towards your nipples. He moves from each of them, one to the other, giving each of them the attention that he always does. You smile and thread your fingers through his hair, running through the curls that sat on top of his head. You used it to pull his head back up and place his lips on yours again. He responds by immediately kissing you back, and he wraps his arms around you so that he could flip you over, so that you’re resting above him now. 

You pulled back and rested your forehead against his, “You want me on top?” He nodded and you smiled, watching as he slipped his hands into each side of his joggers before pulling them down his legs, as well as his boxers, revealing his cock. You manoeuvre your body so that you’re further down the bed and so that your head is at the same level as him, and you lean forward, pressing a singular kiss to the tip. The sound that emits from his throat causes you to not hesitate in leaning forward and wrapping your lips around the top of him, starting to bob your head at a slow pace that you know is seemingly working because you can see his stomach moving up and down at a quick pace. Groans tumble from his lips, and you know that he’ll be getting close but before he can do anything else his hands press against your cheeks and lift you back up so that he can kiss you again. 

“Don’t you wanna. . . ?” You ask, your eyebrows furrowing as you look at him. 

“No.” He shakes his head, placing his lips on yours, “I don’t want anything but to be inside of you right now.” 

You watched as he moved backwards slightly, so that you were close enough to the wall that you could rest of your hand against the wall as you manoeuvre yourself over him. His cock slips between your folds, and words can’t describe how wet you are for him, dripping all over him. You place your lips on his again and start to move yourself up and down his cock. The groan that escapes his lips is unlike any you’ve heard before, and you can’t help the smile that dances across your lips. 

“You’re drenched for me.” He groans against your lips, “Fuck, I wanna be inside of you.” 

“Be my guest.” You grin, and you watch as he leans down to grab his cock in his fist and you lift up so that you can line yourself up with him. You grasp his shoulder as you slowly sink down on him, the familiar feeling of having him fill you up overwhelming you. You had been together for three years and no matter how many times you had sex, it still manages to overwhelm you more than words can explain. You whimper when he’s fully inside of you, hesitating for a few minutes before you press your lips to his in another short kiss. 

“So fucking tight.” He mumbles, “Best fucking feeling in the world.” 

You tilt your head back slightly with a smile crossing your lips, “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.” 

He chuckles but that’s quickly shut off when you start to move, bouncing up and down on his cock. Your nails scrape down his back as you move, and you can’t help the moans of profanities that leave your lips as you move. You knew you were squeezing yourself around him, it was always something that you did that caused him to clench his jaw, just has he was doing now. You quickly found a rhythm, swirling your hips and grinding them in a way that had both of you moaning out each others names. 

You tilted your head back when he hit a spot deep inside of you that sent a wave of pleasure rushing over your body. He didn’t even hesitate to lean forward and capture your nipple in his mouth, flicking his tongue over the bud slightly before moving to the other. He wrapped his arms around your body and slipped them down your back, all the way until he grabbed the flesh of your ass and squeezed. His movements were harsh, but they sent a wave of pleasure through your entire body. 

“YN.” You hum, leaning forward and resting your head on his shoulder, not stopping the movements on his hips, “You’re never going to leave me, are you?” 

You move so that you’re sat up straight and look at him, “Why would you think that? I’m not going to leave you, Harry, never.” 

“Good.” He leans forward and placing his lips back on yours. Your movements don’t slow down, if anything, they speed up and a string of moans escape your lips. His hands are all over your body, and his lips are too, and the the feeling starts to rush over you. You manage to keep your hips moving at the pace for a while before you slow down, and Harry notices this and quickly flips you both over. You lay on your back with your head on the pillow, and Harry doesn’t even hesitate when he slips back into you. His movements aren’t fast, but they’re certainly deep. 

“So fucking deep, Harry. Feels so fucking good.” Your words only seem to egg Harry on, especially the way your nails scratch down his back, “I’m so close.”

Harry was hitting just as deeply inside of you as he had been when you were riding him, and the feeling tips you closer and closer to the edge. Your hands drop down to your sides to grasp the duvet cover, and you turn your head so that you can muffle the obnoxiously loud moans that you couldn’t help leaving your lips. 

“I know you are baby.” One of his hands slips through yours, “Don’t hide them moans though, let me hear them, baby, you know what it does to me.” 

You move your head back so that he can hear your moans, and he smiles as he continues to fuck you. It doesn’t take long before he’s tipping you over the edge and your orgasm hits you. It’s one of the most powerful you’ve ever had, and you have every reason to believe that it’s because of how high emotions are between the two of you at the moment. It’s intense and you can feel it everywhere, all over your entire body and more so in the pit of your stomach. Harry didn’t stop his movements, not until he hit his high as well and spilled into you. You didn’t care about anything else in that moment though, because you felt closer to Harry now than you even had been, and you never wanted it to change again. 

Once he pulls out of you, a whimper immediately leaving your lips due to the emptiness you now feel. He quickly cleans you up, and then drops into the bed beside you, and you don’t even hesitate when you wrap your arm around his waist and rest your head upon his chest. When your eyes close, you let out a sigh of relief. 

“Harry.” He hums, and you can feel the vibration of his chest beneath your ear, “I’m sorry I told you to drive away.” 

“Don’t be.” He mumbles, his fingertips dancing along the skin of your arm, “We’ve all done thing that we aren’t proud of, but we have a new start. One where we don’t have to keep this a secret.” 

You nod and smile, still not opening your eyes, “I love you.” 

“Love you too, baby.” 

[beau-tee]

── Adam. Fluff! HCs

Warning. None, just me writing I guess.

Author’s note. It’s almost 5 am for me, I’m too excited to sleep. I need to practice my english probably incorrect grammar here and there,, so this too long. Just I love too much this beautiful man

愛. Adam despite his laid-back personality is an absolute gentleman, sweet and very protective when it comes to you, like a charming prince. He’s not a very touchy person at first but he becomes affectionate with you. He genuinely enjoys spending time with you though he isn’t clingy he is protective over you and will worry about your safety and well-being. Especially if you are careless, clumsy, or weak in which case, he can be a little bit fatherly towards you, feeling the need to take care of you. Of course, he’ll always make sure you’re taking care of yourself; that you’re eating enough and eating healthily, that you’re getting sufficient amounts of sleep and exercise.

愛. His kisses are deliberate. They’re gentle and sweet, it always feels right. Adam’s kisses last longer but are still gentle and in bed they can get a little more feverish and aren’t limited to just your lips. Eskimo kisses. The Father of Humanity invented them and you cannot tell me otherwise, probably because it requires less effort. He’s more a man of action than words and he’ll try his best to encourage you and support you when he can tell you need it. He’s also the best for raising your self-esteem. He’s always there to help boost your confidence if you need it. Adam seems to find happiness in simple things. He tends to approach things lightheartedly and this helps you if you are pessimistic or who sometimes can be a bit down.

愛. Adam loves to sit with you in peace and be completely comfortable together sitting in complete silence with stolen kisses and touch. Adam gives off an aura of serenity and it’s really comforting without him even trying to be. There wouldn’t be talking, just sitting side by side, enjoying the quiet and warmth your body radiate. And let him play with your hair. He can feel the stress melt away from you as you melt in his arms as his fingers twirl your locks. When he does it is always so gentle, his gestures are so delicate, you can relax every time he brushes you, you can fall asleep sometimes. Cain and Abel enjoy it too! Adam felt his somnolent little one start to nod off against him. He wrapped his arms around him and cradled him softly against him, stroking his head. And your hand stroking the blond hair of your cute Abel who lay on your soft lap, sighing blissfully, causing you to laugh.

愛. He is very considerate and observant and remembers a lot about you and is nearly perfect at coming up with presents for you which he will surprise you with gifts at random times, but especially any time he thinks you need cheering up. Mostly are simple gifts whether it’s flowers, your favourite food, or that pretty dress he saw you eyeing the other day at the store. Loves when you bring him lunch. Adam thinks your food is the most delicious thing ever. Especially when you can sweeten those sour apples of Eden. When you are baking he does enjoy helping you decorate your cakes and cookies though. Also with Cain and Abel stealing some a bit when you’re two not looking.

愛. He doesn’t mind PDA and enjoys holding hand, hugs and kisses kind of enjoys it if you are a bit clingy or touchy. Adam is quite direct. He may not seem like the type to say ‘I love you,’ but in fact, he can say it often and very matter-of-factly, no matter who’s around to hear it. Adam has no shame. He just doesn’t care what others think, he likes to hesitate to rest his head on your shoulder or he’ll come and he’ll lay his head in your lap without a word even as you are busy. Adam doesn’t get jealous very easily at all. He’s chill with everybody, he knows you love him and he has no reason to be really jealous, so he’d it’s not necessarily jealousy if someone was genuinely trying to piss him off. Adam will outright call the other person out, reminding them how disrespectful it is to mess with someone else’s partner. He thinks communication is key in a relationship. He’ll always talk to you if something is bothering him and he’ll expect you to do the same. And if you’re ever uncomfortable, no matter the situation, he’ll be there to help you.

愛. Adam like spending time with his children playing or teaching them things especially anything dealing with animals but even just different things in general like helping them learn to walk or talk or explaining how things work. Just imagine the small proud smile on his face at his son first steps. Adam and his sons rarely argue he is the type of dad that his children could talk to about anything, knowing that he won’t judge them and that he’ll always love them. If one of them would misbehave from time to time, but it might be a rare occurrence since Adam would be the type to talk and always explain why he is saying “No” rather than just say it and expect to be obeyed. M!AU；Adam is the most ‘cool’ dad. Like all of the kids at the school admiring him when he comes to pick his children up. They all just think he looks so cool and strong. But very gentle with the kids.

愛. Adam is not a morning person. He prefers to sleep in, especially if is with you. But always the only exception is when his family needs him or goes to job. Especially if you wake up earlier than either on needs you need just let him hugging and holding you from behind while placing his chin over your shoulder while wrapping his arms under your waist. Mostly Adam stays up just to make sure you fall asleep soundly and he’ll tend to watch you but not in a creepy way. He just likes to take in your beautiful sleeping face and bask in the fact that you’re actually sleeping with him. This makes him realize that you both trust each other fully and that’s when he’s the most comfortable falling asleep when you’re safe and with him. It’d be wonderful and I bet he’d be adorable to wake up next to him. That’s my fantasy.

愛. Adam loves animals. He talks to them all the time. Probably more than he talks to everyone else combined, except for you, of course. He’d love to have a pet with you. Very possibly a bunny. But anyway there is always a bird accompanying him or a small field mouse determined to following him. Adam would much rather read a book with you or go for a peaceful evening stroll. One of his favorite things to do is walk around nature with his family. Would enjoy taking his sons on long walks, carrying one of them on his shoulders, and talking about life. You two are holding his hand all the time, and the short man was rubbing his thumb over your soft hand. You only let go of Adam’s fingers when you wanted to see something up much closer, like the little birds perching on the branches to get closer to Adam and lean towards you or pretty butterflies. You slightly laugh blissfully with your cheerful voice expanding on the environment, which made the scenery most charming.

愛. His voice is absolutely beautiful. He’s amazing at telling stories to keep you entertained. Whether they really happened or not, Adam has plenty of stories to share. He’s spent plenty of time on his own and he’s needed ways to occupy himself. He also likes when you make flower crowns for him and watching you gently weave them into his hair before running your nails down his neck and shoulders. Abel loves to make you flower crowns. He will find your favorite flower and he will sit there for hours trying to make you the best possible flower crown he can come up with. Cain will act like he doesn’t care at first, but quickly practically demands that his brother teach him so he can do it for you too. This two are adorables! One downside though is that they will want to bring home the bugs and little animals they find. But once a time they brought home a skunk.

愛. Adam really enjoys it when you lays on top of him or lays with their head resting on his chest. Your head laying on his chest, and with his arms around your waist, head snuggled up against his chest his hands intertwined with yours. When he’s on your breasts it’s always super comfy for him and being able to hear your heartbeats. He also likes getting to hear it speed up every time his fingers brush against your sides and the small of your back. Adam loves hugging you from behind no matter the height difference, he just enjoys holding you close to you. Adam is a perfect cuddler. He’s strong, warm, and all-encompassing. Adam can kill for you. He doesn't need a reason to protect you and he will always love you. You definitely don’t have to worry about someone getting hurt because he’ll always protect you and your beautiful smile.

[atomicfilm]

INTJ pairings

I'll make this into a fun short "put you in my pocket and take you `to my mom's Thanksgiving party" version too.

I'm not an INTJ, but I do converse with them (and by them, I mean maybe 3 total and 1 regularly) and I've been asked to talk about my thoughts on this, so for tonight only, I'm giving myself a really cool sash that says I'm an authority on the subject. I also think as an INTP I run into somewhat similar issues with certain types.

* means I like this pairing.

Typically, the INTJ's golden pair is the ENFP. I think that works for some people, but is probably a kind of short-lasting passionate fling rather than the ideal pairing. ENFPs are great people, they're lots of fun to be around, they care a great deal. They bring out the INTJ's soft side, which they may hate but they secretly quite admire. But ultimately, ENFPs can be flaky. They see something new and exciting and they move on. Novelty is the greatest motivator in a lot of ENFPs. New friends, new places, new things to do. And while the INTJ may deeply admire that and may find it quite exciting, it's not going to last forever. Eventually, the INTJ will become tired of playing games and want to settle into their ideal lifestyle pursuing their carefully strategized goals and the ENFP will become bored. The INTJ I speak to and I have the same issue, which is that ENFPs by nature are manipulative. It can be used for the good of inspiring people and bringing them together, but it can also become quite selfish and unstable. This leads to the ENFP saying things like "You try to apply logic to everything" or "you don't really respect me" or something like that when in reality, if someone loves an INTJ they'll love that they apply logic to everything and they'll love their snarky edges.

INFPs. I have not heard a lot of feedback about them as I think INTJs tend to be drawn more to extraverts. But as someone who spends quite a lot of time with INFPs, I would imagine that a lot of INTJs who can't make it work with ENFPs can also not make it work with INFPs. Once again, INFPs are great at engaging our minds but they are terrible at accepting that we live by rationality. INTJs use Fi a little bit, so to some extent they'll have similar engagements with their emotional side, but INFPs live by thinking "what can I do to nurture myself" and INTJs live more by "how can I best mold the world to fit my vision of efficiency". You'll see the commonality of Fi at the worst point possible when the INTJ is breaking down. INFPs kind of never stop using Fi and as someone who is thinking-dominant, that is almost impossible for communication. Ultimately, they'll eventually hit a point where their love languages and ways of interactions may be so disparate that they feel neglected.

ENTPs **. This is a golden pair that I can kind of get behind. The INxJs I know are obsessed with ENTPs and tend to think they're quite attractive. They're not only gregarious (when they're not arguing) but they're also quite intellectually stimulating and since they have opposite functions from the INTJ, there is still quite a bit of difference to make it fun. There shouldn't be too many emotional issues, aside from the fact that both these types tend to bottle up their emotions and resent vulnerabilities. The ENTP will probably be the more caring of the two in a conventional sense, but I would think both would have similar love languages of caring both through action and thought. ENTPs also tend to not be quite as flaky as a lot of xNxPs are, but, I would rate both of these types as highly likely to ghost. My best advice is that if you want to be around ENTPs, pick one who can be honest about their real values and whose values align with yours. If they make a lot of bigoted jokes, take that at face value, no matter how "ironic" it is. ENTPs can be a little fake in the sense that they will blend in just enough and hide behind so-called irony to be friends with a lot of different people.

INTPs. I don't really see it. I think INTPs are lovely as an INTP who likes other INTPs. Likewise, I enjoy a good conversation and friendship with an INTJ. But I find it not only difficult to tolerate relationships but also being told what to do. I make every decision in a relationship as a compromise and I think that would eventually quite interfere with the INTJ's ambitions because I wouldn't back down on mine...at least, not without resentment. So perhaps an INTJ and INTP with similar life goals could work out romantically, but personally, I view them as platonic and the one time I liked an INTJ it ended beyond poorly. I don't bring out their softness and they don't bring out mine. We're more like buddies who complain about other people when we do the entire group project by ourselves. Of course, romantic preference is a preference.

ENTJs. When has it ever worked out for someone to date their sister-type? Name one time! If someone names one time I'll update this. I think an ENTJ and an INTJ would be quite an argumentative couple even if they were on the same side about everything. Then again, INTJs do admire extraversion and it is always nice to be around people you don't have to explain yourself to every sentence.

INFJs ****. Oh, I like this pairing. I have not heard much about it, but I think it would be really cute. INTJs are complete badasses. They're very "I'm going to take over the world and you're just going to have to deal with it. And if you say no I will secretly cry". INFJs are very "I'm going to do everything in my power to heal everyone and the world and I am probably crying because I saw a baby bunny". INFJs are The Best! They have the softness of ENFPs but they're logical and they use Ni like INTJs but have Fe, which means they are thinking about harmony 24/7 and not that Fi-version of harmony. That genuine "I will make sure everyone is cared for at no social benefit to me" kind of harmony. They do socialize with a lot of people, but INTJs sometimes like to be social and party, they just aren't typically regarded that way. Do Fe and Fi mix that well? Maybe not. But as an Fe user who is quite fond of INFJs, I think they could potentially be a very cute power couple with the INTJ and there would be fewer issues with communication than other types as Ni-doms (but this also might be boring at the same time).

ENFJs. Similar to INFJs. They might work together a little less simply because of the change in function positions.

ESFPs *. Do I know for sure that this is a good pairing? No! But gosh, do I like it. INTJs become ESFP-like when they're sad. So, you know, maybe the ESFP will draw out the worst version of the INTJ and that could really suck. But this is the perfect little theatre kid dates total nerd trope and I like that. ESFPs have the social circle that the INTJ desires and the INTJ has the "got their shit together" vibes that ESFPs, despite being quite talented and successful, may lack. They both have skills one another can benefit strongly from, but it may come at the cost of a lot of arguments. Not sure. But I think this is actually my personal favorite since they have near-opposite strengths but a common reason to respect one another.

ISFPs: Pft. Idk. This is not the same as ESFPs. ISFPs are lovely but they sort of fill the same niche that INFPs do. Perfect for an INTP like me, but I don't think INTJs are looking for the quiet, artsy, weirdo so much because they already often fill that niche to some extent, even if it's more technical. I've noticed that INxJs really want to be around people who are the life of the party and very socially dominant (and ISFPs can fulfill that role, but there are other types who win via extraversion). The ISFP will likewise appreciate a little practicality, but I've noticed they're more likely to gravitate towards other xxFPs. Probably a better friendship and as a relationship would take more effort.

ESTPs: I think this one comes with its own difficulties and will work less than ENTP/ESFP pairings. This is because while they can have the same charisma that ENTP and ESFPs have, they can also have that same fakeness as a defense mechanism. Both will value action but the ESTP will probably drain out the INTJ more than ENTPs will (who are more ambiverts) and more than ESFPs too. With ESFPs, there's a good amount of the right kind of opposites. INTJs are action-driven, but they're strategic and take a while. ESFPs are action-driven, but they're more spontaneous. And ultimately, that leads to a lot of arguments about how to get things done. Whereas, the ESFP and ENTP might give the INTJ complete room to "manage", the ESTP seems less likely to do so.

ISTPs: This would be so stale. INTJs tend to show big emotions (to their own despise) when they're upset and ISTPs love to ghost at any sign of emotion. They would dip so fast. Top-tier friendship on an intellectual level but never particularly deep and unlikely, albeit not impossible to evolve into a relationship. Same issues as with INTPs, there's going to be a lot of admiration and probably not a lot of emotional attachment. I have witnessed an INTJ have a crush on an ISTP but that ISTP had a crush on me so that tells you how that went. Messy business. 

ESTJ: Yeah, I guess. I don't like ESTJs as a general concept but I suppose INTJs aren't necessarily as opposed to capitalism and tradition. Sounds dry. Next.

ISTJ *: This is probably a really solid pairing for the INTJ. Very marriage material, have the same job, raise cool kids. But I think that sounds boring. So if you want the "perfect life", this is probably a good type for you but I couldn't do that. You would probably only have minor arguments and the INTJ would have to learn to trust that ISTJs are incredibly good at reading situations while the ISTJ would have to learn to love that the INTJ is more fantasy-oriented than they are. Odd, right? Ultimately, you have two people who can be very commitment-oriented, who care for people the same way, who want to fix society, who analyze everything. You just have two generally different ways of doing that, where the ISTJ is probably actually better at being in society and the INTJ wants to change it in more drastic ways (although, for moral reasons they both want to change it).

ISFJ: I don't imagine it working particularly well. I honestly can barely imagine it at all. An ISFJ is my best friend and he is THE MOST gentle buddy. You cannot make fun of him even playfully and keep the friendship. Probably a deal-breaker for a lot of INTJs as they tend to love a good tease. My ISFJ has dated an INTJ before and while they’re still friends, it was a bad experience to witness all around. INTJs are very competitive and ISFJs are very open with their affection so that ran into issues but also, the ISFJ is not as likely to stand up for itself in a way that INTJs easily respect, which is to say, when they do it it will be something like “hey, you hurt my feelings” and if you’re the kind of person to  respond “then you’re too sensitive” you’ve got a whole ass toxic relationship on your hands. 

ESFJ: I think this could work a little better than the ISFJ pairing and a little worse than with the ESFP. Of course, there are general grounds for arguing over emotion vs. logic, but both types can have quite a good bit of talent and practicality coexisting. ESFJs tend to be a little better with criticisms (although they are still sensitive and should be treated very gently too) and they're more likely to want to accomplish goals that the INTJ finds easier to respect. For a lot of ISFJs, their goals are sweet and simple like raising a family, working as a computer scientist. The ESFJ might be a little more oriented towards large goals similar to that of the ESFP, which is more of the category that INTJs tend to fall into. However, the INTJ is going to have to accept that ESFJs love a LOT which means throwing a LOT of parties, probably the most out of any type and its probably going to lead to some burnouts. 

Overall, INTJs are great but need to learn to practice kindness and put their natural tendency for intellectual superiority aside. They shouldn't be with anyone that doesn't want to accomplish things they can respect. They shouldn't be with people who want them to compromise too much (they probably won't). They should be with people who bring out their nurturing capabilities and who they want to do things for, but not people that they see as incapable of taking care of themselves. They may prefer more social people and admire people who can network while being direct and genuine. Based on these criteria, INFJs and ENTPs are my highest recommendations while ESFPs (my favorite) and ISTJs also make the list for various reasons.

BUT, that being said, RELATIONSHIPS (including friendships) ARE A SKILL. They are most successful when someone becomes good at learning respect and compromise that doesn't cause resentment, regardless of type. All individuals will have different specific interests as well as red flags. And if you need me to tell you if your relationship works, it probably doesn't and you can DM me.

[mystery-star]

Waiting for you - Spock

Pairing: Spock x reader (gender neutral)

Warnings: mentions of injury and death

Words: 1838

Star Trek universe: AOS

A/N: Just a lil thing I wrote because I haven’t written (at least for Spocko) in ages. And didn’t feel like writing on a series.

-

“She’s here. She’s here” you heard someone shouting beside you and looked around and finally you could see the Enterprise approaching in one of many tunnels above you. You smiled and stepped forward a little and waited for the crew to dismount. When you saw the first of them, your smile got broader and you got onto your tiptoes to look out for your husband. Not many people of the Enterprise had someone waiting for them and those who did seemed overjoyed. It made you look down for moment because you had a feeling that Spock wouldn’t greet you like others greeted their loved ones. Finally, you could see him and slightly raised your hand, hoping he’d see you. When he did, he came straight towards you, stopping half a meter in front of you

“(Y/N)” he said “What brings you to Yorktown?”

“I’ll give you three guesses” you replied and just threw yourself around his neck “I’ve missed you, Spock” you breathed against his skin and he hugged you back slightly.

“Am I therefore right to conclude that you came here in order to see me during my shore leave?”

“Right” you let go of him but only that you could kiss him. He cupped your face and kissed you back. At some point his hand found yours, slowly stroking his first two fingers against yours. But then he pulled away from you all of a sudden, just holding your hand. You turned around and saw two older Vulcans behind you.

“Commander, might we have a word? Alone?” you wanted to ask why you couldn’t come when Spock threw a glance at you and squeezed your hand

“Do you mind?”

“Just be quick” you pecked his cheek “I’ll be waiting for you, okay?” you handed him a keycard of the hotel where you had booked a room for you both. He gave a nod, then let go of your hand and followed the two men. With a sigh you looked after him and returned to the hotel, knowing he would be clever enough to find it when he was done.

But he only came when it was dark and you were already in bed, reading a magazine on your PADD.

“Have you been waiting with sleeping until I return?”

“Well, you got some days of shore leave, then I won’t see you for another two years. I want to use every minute with you that I can” he gave a nod and sat down on the bed, placing a device on the nightstand. “What did they want?”

“I will tell you in the morning”

“Alright” you put the PADD aside and stretched yourself a little before sitting up, crawling closer to him and wrapping your arms around him again, kissing him. “We now have better things to do, don’t you think?” he kissed you back and placed one of his hands in the small of your back, pulling you closer while he ran his other hand over the side of your face. After the kiss he leaned his forehead to yours and you bumped his nose with yours. “Did you have fun out there on the mission?”

“I have written and called you three times per week, as we have agreed on, and informed you about what you call ‘adventures’ and have also answered each question concerning them I was allowed to answer”

“Well yes but your last message was two days ago. I need a recap of the past two days. Or retell me your favorite mission. Doing it face-to-face is much better” you pecked his lips. He gave a nod, pulled you into his lap and started telling you how the Captain had attempted to make peace between two species that didn’t work out as planned. Then he went on to their arrival to Yorktown and suddenly his communicator beeped “Tell me that’s your private comm”

“It is not” he leaned forward to get it and you just wanted to stop him but let it happen with a sigh. Placing you back on the bed, he gave your hand a squeeze, took the comm, opened it and left the room. With a sigh you fell back on the bed, glancing to the PADD and considering if you should continue reading but then looked at the ceiling, repeating everything you had planned to do with Spock in the following days in your mind. Soon Spock returned and you sat up with a smile but his words ruined it “I must go”

“Go? Go where? Aren’t you on shore leave?”

“I am. However, there is a matter that requires my assistance”

“What is it?”

“I cannot tell you much but I must leave Yorktown”

“You’re shitting me”

“I do not joke”

“But… but… will you at least get that time off later on? How long will you be gone?”

“I suppose it should not take longer than 36 hours”

“Oh well…. Then you owe me yet another debriefing upon your return” he gave a nod, came closer to put his comm on his nightstand and pecking your forehead.

“Please make yourself a pleasant day tomorrow”

“Okay. And then I’ll be waiting here for you… again”

-

But Spock didn’t come home the evening or morning after he had left, so you decided to make yourself another nice day exploring another area of Yorktown. In the late afternoon, you suddenly heard how the station went on alert and after looking around you saw that a swarm of tiny ships tried attacking Yorktown. Around you everyone was in panic, screaming, rallying kids and running away while you stood there frozen, staring at the many little ships on the other side of Yorktown.

“We have to leave. Come. Now” someone next to you shouted, pulling on your arm

“Can we go somewhere safe? Like a… bunker?”

“A bunker on a Starbase?” the man started laughing slightly and shook his head.

“Or can we do something? Something to help? Is there a defense station or militia? Or help evacuate people?”

“That’s Starfleet’s business” as if on cue, there was an announcement, informing the public that there was an attack and that you should not panic. You let out a snort and watched how the people around you seemed to panic even more. You looked around and finally saw a security, officer, going over to him.

“Excuse me, Sir?”

“Don’t worry, we’ll all be safe, just stay calm and…”

“No, I wanted to ask if I can help something.”

“Help?”

“Yeah. Weapons, evacuate people or something” he looked at you, considered it a while then said he’d have to check it out. But before he could return, they managed to somehow blow up all the small ships. Somehow you couldn’t believe that this was everything and sure enough, there was another announcement informing the public that a great part of the ship had been destroyed but that three of them had gotten into Yorktown but that they still had the situation under control and would do everything to stop them. For some reason, you found that three ships hand entered Yorktown almost worse than the initial attack. Because you knew there probably wasn’t much you could do unless the ships came to that part of Yorktown, you sat down in a café, ordered a drink and watched the news on the big screen that gave a permanent update on the situation at the other end of Yorktown. Not even 15 minutes later, you heard that everyone was out of danger and the intruders had been rendered harmless. After a sigh, you finished your drink and then returned to the scene of the action, maybe there now was something you could help, like tidying up damage or helping the wounded. You stayed there and helped until it was dark and the volunteers were sent home, so you returned to the hotel. But you didn’t get far and the receptionist called you over.

“You are (Y/N) (Y/L/N), right?”

“That’s me, yeah”

“I have message for you, from a doctor Leonard McCoy”

“I know him. He’s the doctor on the Enterprise. What is this message about?”

“He lets you know, that your husband… Commander Spock will spend the night in Yorktown hospital”

“Ho-hospital? They’re back? What does he have? Is it bad? Can I visit him? When did they get back?”

“He only told me that so you know where your husband is and in case you wish to see him. I don’t know anything else” you nodded and with a thank-you you ran out of the hotel, to the hospital, where you had brought a few people earlier today. You went to a visitor station to register your visit and once you knew where your husband was and that he currently could be visited, you rushed to the elevator and then to his room. When you saw Spock lying in bed awake, you let out a deep breath and moved closer.

“Spock” you breathed, not sure what to say and having a hundred questions at the tip of your tongue. "How are you?” was the first you asked

“I am well, (Y/N). The doctors insisted I stayed the night to ensure that my condition does not become worse” you nodded and came closer, taking his hand, pressing a kiss to it as you sat down on the edge of the bed. To your delight, he squeezed your hand.

“What happened? To you, I mean?” he explained how on the mission his side was impaled by a piece of metal and that McCoy didn’t have the correct equipment to properly treat him. “At least you’re safe” you ran your free hand through his hair. “When did you even get back?”

“4.2 hours ago”

“That was… that was when the attack happened” he agreed and said it was them who played a great role in stopping them. “Oh so that big ship that destroyed the central plaza was you, the Franklin?”

“Indeed”

“And what about the Enterprise?”

“She has been destroyed”

“Oh no. What about the crew? Are they safe?”

“We have not yet been able to ascertain who has survived the attack on the Enterprise and who lost their life, however, I am certain that at least 350 people have survived”

“Out of 428 that’s still a lot that could have died”

“Besides, I also know of at least 16 casualties from the crew” you gave a nod

“And what now? I mean is your mission over? The Enterprise is gone”

“We do not know yet but it is certain that we will remain her for longer than the originally scheduled 12 days of shore leave”

“Well, then we got more time to do something as long as we’re here. And I get to see you longer. Ha that visit was worth it” you leant down to kiss his forehead. “Now we just gotta make sure you’ll be on your feet as soon as possible because I have lot planned for the next days”

-

Taglist: @softsapphicideals

[cinnamonest]

please spare more crumbs for the sex slave au with diluc and kaeya's meimei,,

Thank you for giving me permission to be more depraved this is from forever ago but I'm slowly getting the "forever ago" stuff done lol

I love the concept tho, especially Crepus buying a lil qt and having to teach them how to be good masters bc they’re both dumb clueless boys, bless.

TWs: slavery, implied incest or pseudo-incest, could give vibes as under//age (nothing is specified but I guess it could strike some people that way so I wanna be cautious), noncon/dubcon, mentions of anal, misogynistic, awful depraved and nasty -------------------------------------

God. The arguing. The rivalry. The chaos. Like, with some poly yanderes/owner/master relationships, the two work *together* and focus attention on controlling *you,* but these two are... not like that. They have a lot of rivalry going on half the time.

Now, this could be Crepus buying a slave and basically indoctrinating her as a meimei, but of course, if you actually are one of the boys' bio sis, the one is gonna claim some authenticity - you know, the whole "well she's my real sister, not yours, so I get to fuck her more" kind of thing. The other appeals to "well she's your real sister which makes you worse," and it devolves into arguing back and forth about whether or not the blood relation makes them more or less justified in sticking their dick in you and claiming more rights to meimei's time and attention. Not just to each other either, it's also directed at you -- the whole "hey, I'm your real big brother, so you should spend more time with me than him" kind of thing. It actually can get pretty annoying over time, you have to constantly be soothing not one but TWO egos in desperate need of affirmation. But here I’m going more with the idea of Crepus just buying them a sweet meimei. Diluc's more... patient. He teaches you "touch commands" -- little learned gestures, like a dog. Just the lightest touch on your spine and you know it's a clear message to arch your back, a hand under your chin and thumb pressed against it has you instinctively opening your mouth, a tap to the back of your neck and you kneel. Little gestures that can bend your body and mind with minimal effort. Despite that though, Kaeya is actually the master of The Look™ - the kind that can make you go quiet and apologize in a mere instant when given. But because you know it, expect him to be even harsher if you defy it. Sometimes in your little tantrums you get so mad that you'll have the audacity to ignore that look and keep whining or being a brat which does not end well.

Meimei is what you call free use - any time, anywhere. One of the most important lessons Crepus told you when he first got you/when you were old enough is that you are never to deny the boys any of your holes if they want it. This is just as important for the boys to learn as it is you, he's a big believer in the whole, "if you act like a good proper master, the slave will naturally fall into their role too" sort of thing, so he teaches them to be forceful and dominating, not hesitant to do what they want -- if they're clear on what they want and make known their expectation of your obedience (and the subtle implication of threat of punishments if not complied with), you'll fall into the submissive role you're meant for and naturally want to submit to them like a good little wife-sister-slave.

So, whenever one of them beckons you over, you smile and ask them how you can help. Your brothers work so hard, and it's the least you can do to take care of their needs. Sometimes they just want you to sit on their lap, wrap your arms around them, sit there a while in silence when they're sad, sometimes they want to vent to you about things when they're frustrated, sometimes they want to use you. Of course, the former two usually leads to the last anyway. You're... emotional support pussy. There's important rules and practices to be followed, it's actually rules for all three of you, several apply to them, actually, as Crepus taught you before he died, and it's become second nature for the boys (it works in their benefit, after all). #1. You can never be left alone. There's a lot of reasons for this, but primarily it's in your instinct to get fucked, all you know how to do is take cock, so if you were left alone you may very well go running off and jump onto the first thing with a dick, and they can't have that. So basically you either have to be with one of them, within their sight, or accounted for in some way - there's a couple of installed tethering hooks and the like on the walls  in several areas of the house you can be attached to. But, really, they're not usually necessary, with two very horny males running around you're busy most of the time, even if it's a more passive task. You spend a lot of time sitting on someone's lap, sometimes taking naps throughout the day with whoever decides they're tired at the moment. So, you spend more or less every waking moment with one or both -- well, every sleeping moment too, of course you don't have you own room. You alternate nights between the two just like you were told to. There's not really any task you do alone. Bathing? It's always gotta be with one or the other. Sleeping? Always with one or the other. Even when you're cooking -- because obviously you do that, they wouldn't even know how to, since you've always done it -- one is always standing beside you, talking to you, or sitting a ways over in a chair as they vent about their day. Oh, speaking of that, as aforementioned, you're there for emotional burdens too. When one has had a long day, what would they do if meimei wasn't there for them to vent and whine and complain to? You've always been taught to be a good listener. Don't interrupt. Listen to everything and don't zone out. Don't oppose their actions when they're telling you about their problems, always tell them they were in the right and comfort them. Smile while you listen. That's how you were trained to respond when one of them has some burden to unload on you. Always offer your body to make them happy. That's the last part, and they've never not taken you up on the offer. That being said, sometimes you have to... motivate them. Push a little bit. You see, you're just so sweet that sometimes your brothers might want to just spend the entire day in bed with you. So you have to motivate them to do their actual work. Tell them that if they don't go to work, if they stay in bed all day inside you, how are you supposed to clean the house and make dinner for them? So they sigh and accept you're right and go off to work after all. And, again, the rule is important for them too. You can never run off on your own, but they're also vigilant not to ever leave you alone. When you're first bought, Crepus had to constantly pull them back inside the house when they'd go to another room for something because see, you're leaving her all alone and she's going to go running off and it'll be your fault. So they had to be conditioned to communicate and make sure you were always accounted for, taught how to restrain you properly. If you were left in a room, Crepus would come by to make sure they remembered to lock you inside, would test the tightness of your leash if you were tethered to something, and sigh and chastise if one of them neglected to do it right. #2. No getting off on your own, this is a rule they have to help enforce. It's a waste - you have TWO big brothers, surely one of them is always going to be available and eager, so really, getting yours without either of them involved is pretty selfish, and worthy of punishment if found doing so. If for whatever reason they're all too busy, you have the option of asking permission to ride and grind on their thigh, but no cumming until they're done with their task and are available to properly handle it. Crepus is particularly adamant about this rule, as well as enforcing the same mentality in them, doesn't think it's appropriate for a girl to be so selfishly absorbed with pleasure when she should  be giving it to the men that own her. For one, a girl should be spending all of her time dedicated to serving her masters in some way, and two, they're both needy boys that would be eager to fuck you at any time. So really, masturbating is an act of defiance and will be dealt with as such. #3. No favoritism! There will be times where you may feel mad at one or the other, and sure you have different levels of how much you can tolerate certain behaviors... But, you have to train yourself against that. Meimei should have no limits of what she can tolerate - that's part of your whole purpose. So even when you're mad at one, you can't try to avoid that one and go to the other, you still need to divide your time, energy, and body equally. Don't talk bad about one to the other, don't try to spend more time with one or the other at any time. This also includes pitting them against each other through jealousy, it's a huge no-no. Don't try to make one jealous of the other. If they catch you doing that, sooner or later they'll realize what you're doing, and deal with it, usually harshly, since it's seen as a high-ranking offense. In fact, you really shouldn't be mad, ever. Your big brothers know what's best for you, so if you're mad over a disagreement, you just need to accept that they're right and you're wrong and that you need to submit to their will. Outwardly showing you're upset is bratty behavior, things like pouting or giving them the cold shoulder are punishable offenses. #4. You're also a peacekeeper. Diffuse fights. Both of your big brothers can be... stubborn, prideful individuals. This leads to pretty regular conflict over this and that. It's meimei's job to help with that, calm them down with a smile on your face. Or, if it works better, with some tears and a quivering lip. Please don't fight, you say with watery eyes, sniffling, and well, they can't help but feel bad, they both turn their attention to you rather than to each other and apologize for making you upset.  And if they're having one if their regular it's my turn kind of arguments, your job is to propose the easy solution of sharing. You have more than one hole to fuck, and can easily cuddle one on each side. It should be an obvious solution. Oh, and they fight sometimes over who gets to do what, who spends time with you, but doing different things rather than both wanting to do the same thing. One is sitting at his desk to work and he can't be expected to focus on work without meimei sitting on his lap and cockwarming him of course, but the other says he wants to take a nap and how is he supposed to sleep if he can't rest his head on meimei's tits? There is only so much of her to go around! But they will legit adjust their schedules to make sure they get alone time. And are very nitpicky about it -- wait why do *you* get an extra hour on Tuesday?? If you get that I deserve an extra hour on Thursday -- that sort of thing. You're supposed to be able to propose such ideas. It's your job to come up with solutions that make everyone happy. You can cockwarm one brother while he works and tell the other that hey, if he postpones the nap, you can just ride him until he cums and can sleep right? Things like that. #5 Actually isn't for you, it's for them, regarding punishment. When Crepus got you, the poor boys didn't really know how to go about doing it, so they had to be taught. It's important to be a good master and know how to do so adequately, you know? To not let anger get the better of them and go too far, since sometimes they might get too mad about something. In fact, a good trick, he teaches them, is to just tie you up, and go blow off some steam before coming back to punish you. That way they won't go too far, and you'll have to wait around in fear for a while, which just helps the punishment sink in better. But at the same time, don't go too light. No matter how much you whimper, he says, don't feel pity for her and go lax. It's intentional, it's just your nature to try and fake-cry to try and get out of it. You did something bad, so they shouldn't feel bad about it, even if you cry and squeal. It's the right thing to do. You're supposed to cry, you're supposed to say it hurts and whimper, that just means they're doing it right. But of course, there's some sensitivities to be taught. If they have you bent over a knee, they have to make sure to only hit your ass and the back of your thighs, make sure not to go up too high and hit your back, since that could cause injury. If they're gonna fuck your ass as punishment, make sure to use a certain amount of lube. Things like that, it's important to be good masters, just as much as it is your job to be a good little slave.

And to remember, of course, that meimei is... an inferior little creature. Don't get mad at her just because she's stupid and doesn't understand this or that, that's not her fault. She can't be expected to be smart or responsible, that's their job. But also, don't feel pressured to give her what she wants just because she wants it or anything. And, most importantly, don't start having self-doubt and ever think she might be right about something while they're wrong, because obviously that can't be the case. You might get defiant and try to insist you know better than them, act like you're just as capable of something as they are, or think your opinions matter or something, but in that case, they have a responsibility to remind you of your place.

[jinx-jade]

Secret Dreams chapter 1: Let the chaos begin.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng, currently eighteen years old and completely exhausted with jet lag. She flopped onto her hotel bed and stared at the ceiling, unsure how to feel at this moment in time. Was she supposed to be happy and excited, or anxious and terrified? In all honesty, she was most likely a combination of all the above. The reason for Marinette’s distress?  Jagged and Penny had decided to bring Marinette with them for a charity gala in a different country.

The overexcited rockstar and his lovely assistant/wife had dragged Marinette to many different galas and events in many different places around the world. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue and there would be no need for Marinette’s freaking out and spiraling. The cause of the young designer’s stress was where Jagged, Penny, and Marinette were visiting.

Gotham, New Jersey, in The United States of America.

Also known to Marinette as the same country, state, and city her soulmate lives in. That’s not even mentioning the fact that the charity gala they will be attending is being hosted by her soulmate’s family. While Marinette would like nothing more than to meet her soulmate in person and not just when they’re both unconscious, she was rather worried about meeting his family.

Marinette and her soulmate Damian have a rare type of soul bond, but according to studies their bond was more commonly known as the dream zone. The dream zone is a space that their bond created for them to be together while being apart. The bonded souls are brought to the dream zone whenever they are unconscious and stay there until they become conscious again. 

The definition of being unconscious in the dream zone could mean anything from asleep, to being knocked out, in a coma, or even dead. This means that if you have a dream zone bond and your soulmate died, they would simply stay in the dream zone. While the dead soulmate is stuck in the dream zone, the living soulmate can visit them whenever they are unconscious. Making it so the bonded pair was never alone and never truly leave each other

 While some bonds only appear when you meet your bonded, the dream zone bond activates as soon as the younger of the bonded pair is born. This makes it so the bonded pair are together most if not all of their lives. As a result, Marinette and Damian know everything about the soul bonded to them.

They had decided relatively quickly that they would not keep any secrets from each other. Keeping secrets from their mate could cause strain on their bond. They enjoyed talking to each other about anything and everything. Keeping secrets from their mate was pretty much an impossible task anyway. Secretes from other people was a completely different story. Keeping secrets from others was how they stayed alive as long as they have.

 The League of Assassins viewed soulmates as a weakness that needed to be disposed of as soon as possible, so Damian never said a word about his mate. Ra’s and Talia had both made sure to check Damian for any signs of a bond. When they saw that Damian didn’t have any physical bonds they just assumed that his bond would appear when he met his soulmate, or he simply didn’t have one. Not having a soulmate wasn’t uncommon. Only two out of every three people had a mate.

This assumption from Ra’s and Talia sparked an idea for the young bonded pair. Marinette and Damian decided to pretend they didn’t have a soulmate. This decision made both of their lives a lot easier. Damian never had to hunt down and kill his mate, and Marinette didn’t have to share personal information about her bond with nosey kids her age. 

They had made this decision when they were five years old and stuck with it. According to everyone and anyone they knew, Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Damian Al Ghul-Wayne don’t have soulmates. This created the current problem, Marinette was going to meet Damian in person, at a gala his family is hosting. A family that believes that Damian doesn’t have a soulmate. 

She could sense the chaos brewing.

Chaos?

Marinette let a grin appear on her face, replacing the worried look she had previously been wearing. Sitting up just enough to look at the alarm clock, she saw that it was already two in the morning

‘Damian should be done with patrol by now’ Marinette thought to herself as she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.

Marinette opened her eyes as she appeared in the dream zone. Looking around to see if Damian was there yet.

“You should have been here before me Habibti” Damian chastised her, seeming to appear out of thin air behind her as he wrapped his arms around Marinette’s waist. Marinette let a small smile play on her lips as Damian’s hold on her tightened the slightest bit before loosening again. Letting her know that he had been worried about her.

Marinette knows full well that Damian was never really allowed to communicate his feelings through words. He was trained to not show any feelings at all. Even now, when Damian has been living with his father’s family for the past eight-year, he still has trouble putting emotions into words. As a result, Damian communicated through his actions more than he did his words. While his words might say one thing, his actions and body language usually say something else. Very rarely do Damain’s words and actions line up.

Turning around slowly, Marinette linked her arms behind his neck, Damian’s hands still resting on her waist, “ Sorry about that mon amour,” Marinette purred back in response, tilting her head to the right while slowly batting her eyelashes at him. Somehow looking every bit the picture of perfect innocence and mischief. 

Damian looked over her facial features, inspecting her from any hint of something being amiss. He nodded to himself, seeing that whatever was bothering Marinette had already been taken care of. At the very least, Marinette had already come up with a way to handle the issue.

Damian leaned forward luring her into a soft, lazy, kiss. He brought her closer to himself, which Marinette easily copied, wrapping her arms a bit tighter around his neck. Once their need to breathe outweighed his desire to be this intimately close to his bonded, Damian broke away from the kiss, inching away slightly to rest his forehead against hers.

Marinette let out a content sigh before speaking in a soft tone, “Sorry for worrying you, Dove.”

Damian let out a hum in response, letting her know that he accepted the apology. Pulling away completely, Damian quickly caught Marinette’s hand, guiding her to the living room looking part of the dream zone. Damian sat in the corner of the couch, settling his bonded into his lap, Marinette easily complied. 

Something Marinette had learned years ago was that Damian preferred being in control of situations. When something fell outside of his control, he would get anxious, causing him to do small repeated movements such as tapping his finger quietly against his thigh, arm, or table. If Damian feels that the situation is too far out of his control he'll lash out, be it physically or verbally.

“What are you thinking?” Damian questioned looking at her curiously.

“How much chaos would be caused if Gotham’s ice prince showed this much affection at the upcoming charity gala,” Marinette informed him with a smirk

Damian scoffed at his girlfriend, rolling his eyes, “You and your chaos”

Marinette lightly smacked Damian’s arm as she gasped as if she were offended, “I’ll have you know that I made Jagged’s, Penny’s, and my outfits for the gala! That’s not even mentioning the fact that I was also commissioned by your father to make your family’s outfits as well!”

Marinette huffed before her smirk returned, “I did a lot of creating, so of course I have to balance it out with some chaos.”

Damian let out a chuckle, “Then let the chaos begin.”

[elise-jupiterstyle]

this is a very cynical bomb that i’m about to drop with absolutely no context but they really did just fetishize rio to gain viewership without actually ever giving a shit about his value as a character, and i’ve gotten myself into a bit of a spiral stewing about it.

tw: my opinions again

like i didn’t want to think about my favorite show so negatively before it ended so i tried to steer clear of any posts that discussed it for the sake of my own enjoyment but after how short the finale season fell from my expectations, it’s hard not to be pissed off. because ever since they had beth shoot rio in season two i’ve been waiting for them to reconcile such a gruesome choice by developing the characters further, their relationships, their knowledge of themselves, but it just didn’t happen. beth never took accountability for the shooting, rio never took accountability for kidnapping and pressuring her, and dean never took accountability for his infidelity or faking cancer, which were the three main points of conflict that the writers should’ve focused on resolving before ever even thinking of introducing new conflicts.

i’m not saying i wanted rio to forgive beth, or that i wanted beth to forgive dean, or that i wanted any of these resolutions to happen immediately after their conflicts took place. and sure, you could say that beth’s character compartmentalizes and that beth and rio aren’t good communicators and didn’t have a strong bond of trust to begin with so it wouldn’t be in character for them to discuss what happened, but that’s where character growth is supposed to come in! you’re supposed to write characters with these flaws so that they have a better version of themselves to work towards that is slowly developed as they encounter each conflict. they’re not meant to make them into worse people until the show is entirely unbearable to watch because all of that old resentment and tension is just rotting away beneath the rug it’s been swept under.

it’s not a creative choice to have characters directly create conflict and then never address it again while they move onto the next big thing -- it’s lazy writing, and it makes it crystal clear that they were written in solely to shock the viewers and create tension between the characters, not to cultivate growth, and that is very frustrating when you have a group of characters whose inherent morality is constantly insisted upon.

what’s especially frustrating about this is that it not only means there is a lack of depth to all the characters, but there’s a lack of value to the ones that the writers did not favor. based on the season one storyline that culminated in rio shooting dean and letting beth live -- essentially getting even with her in a way that didn’t involve killing off the protagonist, even though that would’ve been the most likely course of action based on the consequences that other disposable characters suffered (i.e. eddie) -- it’s my belief that the writers didn’t expect to keep rio on the show past season one (honestly, it kind of feels like they didn’t even expect to get another season, based on how messy the storyline felt as the seasons progressed), and therefore didn’t value rio’s character the way the audience came to by season two. 

when i say the writers didn’t (and honestly, i still think they don’t -- not in the same way they value the girls, dean, stan, or even fucking boomer) value him, i mean they didn’t see him as being worth the effort of giving a character arc, a background story, personal relationships, etc. they threw in marcus at the start of season two to be like “he’s a dad! that means he has depth!” and then never really touched on it again. there was like, one other scene with marcus that i can remember, and then he, too, was sidelined until they needed to humanize rio again after he got shot. all of the other kids -- the bolands, sarah, harry, and ben -- are regularly featured because they are a driving component of the women’s motivation to survive and succeed. with rio, his kid is only used to relate him back to the women, to make him seem human for a moment, but marcus’s real value as a character lies in how he makes beth feel as she grieves rio, not how he contributes to rio’s behavior, motivation, and overall character.

and yes, i know that rio is technically a side character, that the children of the protagonists are going to have more development, but if they actually wanted to add depth to rio’s character through the facet of parenthood, they would’ve shown more than one interaction with him after he spent supposed months away from him without a word. that kid would’ve been traumatized by that, and seeing rio’s reaction to his kid mourning his disappearance would’ve provided a much more real and interesting angle than them all smiling and happy, like we’ve seen in every other scene with him and marcus. it would’ve showed that the writers care about rio’s pain, about how his absence affected those he loves, but to be blunt, they don’t. they showed beth grieving him when she shot him, but we didn’t see him recovering from that traumatic event. they didn’t even care enough about him to give him fake scars, for christ’s sake. 

everything that happened to rio throughout the show was either done to further the other women’s development or appease the viewers, and they made zero effort to hide that. they walked his characterization backwards so many times (him threatening beth’s family when it had been insinuated thus far that that was the only line he wouldn’t cross; him touching her and making suggestive advances on her in exchange for bail money when she was clearly uncomfortable; him returning all of her stuff and happily accepting her as his superior when there was no development in their relationship to suggest he’d forgiven her or would be receptive to her having power over him) and almost every single instance of them using him to promote the show exploited his outward appearance and the fact that so many viewers have fetishized him as this “exotic” bad boy without any regard for how minimizing and insulting that marketing tactic is. 

looking through their instagram, i saw no other instance of an actor’s picture being posted next to a bunch of thirsty tweets or captioned as being “another reason to watch good girls.” it’s fetishization disguised as playful, well-intentioned endorsement, but if they were really referring to rio’s character rather than his appearance as a reason to watch the show, we wouldn’t be seeing his face on nearly every episode promo and highlight with him only occupying about five minutes of screen time every 50-minute episode.

there’s not really a neat bow-tie conclusion to this, but what i’m getting at is that the writers wanted it both ways. they wanted the viewership and fan engagement that manny’s character garnered, but they didn’t value him enough to give him the screen time and characterization that he deserved. this resulted in all of the revelations that were made about his character -- his son, rhea, his dynamic with turner, his backstory, his hobby, his grandma, nick -- feeling pretty underwhelming because they were never touched on again. they were there because they had to give us something, but they weren’t important enough to the writers to be expanded upon, to be used for personal growth or connecting with the other characters. i think that’s why it felt like such a hollow victory -- we got exactly what we wanted in theory, but there the foundation of it all was too weak for it to feel truly meaningful. 

we wanted rio to be acknowledged and written as a permanent fixture on the show, but instead the rest of the characters were hell-bent on getting rid of him and his primary aspect of redemption was what he meant to beth, not what he meant to the show. even in the finale when she finally came to the realization that she won’t ever be able to give up crime, rio’s role in contributing to her self-actualization was passed over by a character who has been in seven episodes, and i think that really spoke for itself the loudest in terms of how much the writers truly valued him.