#I FINALLY GET A CHANCE WITH THEM! UGH! I HATE YOU! and then goes and sleeps in their futon anyway (its scary in her room)

[nervouswhizkid]

i. am so mad. i'm mad at season 4 and at every one of you that interacted with my last post abt vld season 3. i know u were all sitting there giggling at me as i walked into s4 knowing full well it was going to destroy me. no WARNING??? i don't even want to sit down and write about it, i'm gonna start crying all over again

i hate that keith left the team. i have to actually practice breathing techniques right now because it's making me so mad omg. i know i said last time that voltron without lance was unthinkable, but i didn't mean that keith should leave. THAT IS NOT WHAT I WANTED!!!! that also means that there was less keith (and klance) content this season, which i take personally. they did that to hurt me specifically. and on top of that, the team was being so mean about keith's wavering priorities. i feel like when anything goes wrong, with lance and keith specifically, everyone is so mean to them??? god forbid they make a mistake or have personal struggles, DAMN

i feel like this screencap says it all.

guys how about let's talk to each other instead of being passive aggressive and icing people out (i do want to point out though that lance seems more sad/disappointed here than anything. my little klance heart is breaking 😭) AND THIS SCENE??

the moment i realized keith was about to walk in my stomach dropped. they all look so angry and here comes Mister Puppy Eyes McGee. i actually can't take it that's my son everyone leave him alone!!! 🤺🤺🤺🤺 i know they had a big group hug after but that's not good enough for me, they should have tied keith up or handcuffed him to the ship, or something. WHY ARE WE LETTING HIM GO WITH THE BLADE OHMYGODDDD

look at this, like??

the camera setup is what gets me. you have keith smiling with all of his friends in the background and then it swaps to a dark, yawning hallway with the most heartbreaking frown on his face. that doesn't look like someone sure of their decisions to me. this boy is in pain!! i'm also just confused about shiro being able to pilot the black lion. maybe confused isn't the right word, but i'm not sure how to describe it. i'm not convinced?? black already denied him, so why now? i kinda feel like it would've been better had he not tried to reconnect with her at the end of last season, because there was no suspense for me this time. the moment he decided to go try again i was like "oh it's gonna work this time isn't it" i get that it's likely black could sense keith's internal struggles and feel him pulling away and maybe that's why she gave shiro a second chance, but shiro becoming the black paladin again gave keith the excuse to leave, because why do they need him now? they have a black paladin, and it's not him. but to me, it should have been. he went through all of that growth last season, and for what?? just to abandon them when things get rocky?? ugh, i hate this!!

i can't even talk about episode 2 without crying, so just know that i'm sitting here with tears streaming down my face as i write this. i was really excited to finally get some closure on the whole pidge-missing-family mystery, considering that's been a subplot since the beginning of the show. as much as this episode broke my heart, i really did love it. they executed it so well. the scene where pidge lands on that planet with the graves? and they're running and pleading for it to not be true, all the flashbacks of cherished memories and images of matt? dropping to her knees in front of his grave in disbelief??

now that's fucking cinema. you best believe i was bawling my eyes out the whole time. i have a little sister and our relationship is very similar to pidge and matt's, so this was just excruciating. i'm very glad he wasn't actually dead, but part of me almost wishes he was? that sounds SO dark, i hope you guys get what i mean. they just put the audience through the absolute wringer and then they're like "oh, actually he's still alive LOL gotcha!" and that makes me really happy for pidge, but man, what a plot twist that would have been. they've been searching for their brother all this time, so you expect some kind of payoff for dedicating so much time to that storyline, but what if he was just dead?? and there was nothing she could do?? wow this is painful to talk about why did i start watching this show if there's a fic where someone explores that possibility then pls share, for some reason i want to torture myself again, i just love how they did this episode. it's very trope-y, but sometimes you just have to lean into it and enjoy, and this was one of those times

the classic fighting-each-other-unknowingly and middle-of-the-fight-identity-reveal? i'll eat it up every time!!

real talk though why is matt so attractive 😏

soo, zarkon is back. fantastic. do he and haggar just not care about each other?? they haven't mentioned the fact that they're married at all and haggar basically still acts like his loyal follower. i'd entertain the thought that maybe it's been so long that it just doesn't really matter to them anymore, but haggar sounded like she actually cared when she realized they were husband and wife last season. but now it's like nothing happened?? i don't expect them to act all lovey-dovey, but there wasn't even a single line of acknowledgment. and i still cannot understand what lotor's plans are. what is his agenda? he wasn’t bothered at all by zarkon reclaiming the throne, and even went to the trouble to make them think he cared. he got that comet and made a couple of ships, but i still don't know what he plans to do with them. also– i can't believe he killed narti!! i know, i was literally just talking about how she specifically frustrated me, but i was so not expecting their death. i get why he did it, but now the rest of his group doesn't trust him.

i'd say that the one bright spot in this season was episode four. that episode was just so silly and gave me so much secondhand-embarrassment i actually had to look away at times LMAO is this where we got the whole Loverboy Lance and Lone Wolf Keith thing from?? i thought that was purely fandom-made, i was not expecting to hear that in an actual episode. talk about whiplash. and we got this ICONIC scene:

he did that wayyy too naturally. lance, buddy, got anything to share?

i really would have loved to see keith with the team during that episode. i can just imagine how he would've reacted to having to do all of that stuff. god, that would've been hysterical!! the images of the parasite in coran's brain made me gag though, was that really necessary🧍‍♀️

i don't have a ton to say about the final episodes. i mean, it was two episodes of them fighting on naxzela. it was definitely a bit of an avengers endgame feeling with all people they helped in previous seasons showing up to fight, so that was cool! i'm curious as to what purpose naxzela served to the galra empire though. were they always planning to use it as a bomb? and couldn't they still do that technically? they only broke the witches connection with it, so all they'd have to do is get another ship out there and she could do it again. what do you even do with a planet like that?? just destroy it?? i also just want to point out that lance said they should get out of there immediately, and nobody listened!! and then five seconds later they were like "oh no, we need to get out of here!" justice for lance i stg ohmygod and LOTOR is on their side now?!?!?! i actually can't wait to see how this plays out!! total transparency, i love atla and i could absolutely see this being a zuko redemption arc situation. it's clear his parents don't like him at all (are they actually heartless or something??) so why not join the other side!! I'M HERE FOR IT

i have to be honest, this definitely wasn't my favorite season. we're getting into the later seasons and i've heard plenty about how the writing goes a little left-field (though i'm not sure when that happens. most people seem to agree season 8 is shit, but i've heard complaints about s6-7 as well) so we'll just have to see! i'm sticking it out as best i can🚶‍♀️‍➡️ onto season 5!

[totmatsu]

Today's old image hoard is Todomi (AU where the Matsuno Quintuplets have a younger sister)

[bandgie]

On Your Knees

ONE | TWO

incel!Seungmin x fem!reader

warnings! MDNI18+, drinking implications (no one is drunk) dubious??, pussy eating, face fucking (m!), hate sex (but no sex) seungmin is an ass (low key misogynistic), reader is kinda mean note! this is not meant to represent Seungmin or any of the members in any way. I just like the trope :)

2.7k words

The party was getting boring in all honesty. Truth-or-Dare is only fun for the first couple of minutes but gets repetitive. Same old questions on who you're fucking, if you're fucking someone, if you've ever fucked someone. The flat beer sloshes in your red solo cup as you sit on the floor of the living room.

You can tell Han is trying to come up with something interesting to ask Seungmin. Most of the somewhat funny questions were already asked, but Han still purses his lips as he thinks of something clever. 

"Okay, I got it!" He claps his hands. "Best pussy you've ever eaten. Go."

Ah, I guess that's something, you think as you divert your attention to the cross-legged man beside you. 

Seungmin is awfully quiet at house parties and looks as though he would rather be anywhere else. You don't like Seungmin, but you don't not like him. He's just a guy Han likes to bring around on occasion. You observe Seungmin raise an eyebrow, in surprise most likely. But what he says is even more shocking. 

"Never eaten pussy."

"What?!" Everyone collectively shouts at his admission. Now this peaks your interest as you stare wide-eyed at him. "No way," you can't fathom the thought of someone in college never tasting a cunt. "Are you a virgin?"

Your bold question makes Chan choke on his drink, coughing until the bitter liquid finally passes through. "Jeez dude, you just can't ask that."

"It's literally Truth-or-Dare. I literally can," you retort. 

The clamor of everyone settles as they wait for Seungmin to answer. Now that he can feel the pressure of everyone's eyes, he shifts in his seat uncomfortably. "I'm not a virgin," he says. "I just don't eat pussy."

"What the fuck?" You make a confused expression. "You don't eat pussy? Fuck does that mean?" Seungmin finally casts his gaze on you, acknowledging your presence for the first time tonight. "Exactly what I mean. I don't like it."

"You don't like it?" Han sounds exasperated. "You gotta be fucking with me. There's no way you fuck a girl and not want to eat her pussy." Despite Han being an idiot half the time, you agree with him. Every guy you've hooked up with jumps at the chance to eat you out and you know plenty of them would do it for nothing in exchange. 

To meet a guy who's never had the opportunity to only means two things, and you're praying it's not what you're thinking. 

"I just fuck to cum. I don't really care if she finishes or not."

It's worse than you could have imagined. 

The room goes dead quiet and you suddenly figure out why Han doesn't bring Seungmin around too often. His stiff posture, his blank expression, the way he hardly regards you in any manner. It all points to signs of the worst type of man. 

"So like what?" You can't help the clipped tone in your voice. "You some type of incel?"

Chan, who likes to keep the peace, says your name in warning. "Don't start." Though he means well, the fact that you're the one getting in trouble for speaking up only fuels your fire. "Don't start? He's the one who started with his dumb incel shit."

Seungmin scowls, "Ugh. I didn't even say anything bad. You're being so emotional."

The tips of your ears burn red and you feel your entire body heat up. You can hear Chan trying to diffuse the situation, but you hardly care about maintaining 'the peace' any longer. 

"Oh, fuck off," you sneer at Seungmin. "You can't even make a girl finish. Fucking incel virgin."

Now that does it for him. You see Seungmin tighten his hands into fists as his neck grows red. "I'm not a virgin. And I can make a girl cum. I just don't care to." He enunciates his words harshly, some speckles of spit landing on your face. Both of your jaws are tense, teeth clenching as you glare into each other's eyes.

A vein sticks from his neck and his lips are stretched back into somewhat of a snarl. With a flushed expression, you easily see his cheeks heat up in anger. It's here that you realize he looks good when he's mad. You hate it.

"Okaayyy!" Chan claps his hands three times loudly. "I think it's time to call it a night." Everyone tries to stand and talk about anything else, but Seungmin and you are too busy having your own little conversation to notice. 

"Never eaten pussy, can't make a girl come. Why you lying about being a virgin?" You mimic the vicious on Seungmin's face. He keeps his eyes steady on yours, "Whoring yourself out for a fuck. You're everything that's wrong with women today." 

This makes you laugh, "At least they make me cum."

If you thought Seungmin was mad before, he's furious now. You must have struck a nerve because he stands suddenly and spins on his heel to leave. 

But you're not done with the conversation. You raise on your feet and follow him, never ceasing to stop your vicious spewing, "Just be honest with me, Min. It's okay to have never felt a woman's touch. Not that you ever will, being an incel that is."

Seungmin hurries up the stairs of the house with you on his tail. You can't see his face, but you can feel the anger rolling off him. 

He suddenly stops in his tracks, making you effectively bump into his back. "I'm not an incel," he keeps his voice low, but strong. "Eating pussy isn't even all that. You just have an ego bigger than your tits."

You try and play it off with a scoff, but you feel your face heat up. You grope your chest offendedly; you like your boobs. "Not all that? Come here." Pushing on Seungmin's back, you lead him to the nearby bathroom and shove him inside. He stumbles and trips over his feet, shooting a hand out to balance himself on the counter as you close and lock the door behind you.

"Fuck was that for?" He whips his head around to glare at you, but he's surprised to be met with an eerie smile on your face instead. He gulps nervously, "What are you looking at?"

You shrug nonchalantly, "Looking at someone who's going to eat me out." Seungmin looks as though you've slapped him across the face as his eyes widen. "What? Who said I was gonna do that?" 

You're already hiking your skirt up to your torso, biting the cloth between your teeth, and showing the pretty little thong you put on in hopes of a hookup. It barely manages to over your clit and you can see the outline of your pussy underneath the material. With one hand, you use the tip of your finger to draw soft circles on it. Seungmin drops his eyes to your clothed core.

His Adam apple bobs.

"Come on," you wiggle your eyebrows playfully. "Get on your knees for me."

For a second, you think he's gonna walk out. He was so persistent about not wanting to eat pussy and his shitty attitude was...well...shitty. You begin to think that there's no hope for Seungmin, but he proves you wrong by bending one knee and looking up at you.

"I'm just going to look," he says more to himself than to you. "Just so you could stop your whining." 

His hands grip the plushness of your thighs as he stretches the skin. The lips of your pussy peek out at the movement, but Seungmin is far from disgusted. His ears pick up on the sound your cunt makes when he uses his thumb to pull and push the skin together. Slowly, he moves his hand up to pull your thong down, exposing the very thing he claims to revolt against. 

You shiver against his warm breath, his warm touch. You reach your hands down to pull up on the skin of your pelvis to further stretch your pussy. "Getting a good look, Seungmin?" You giggle at the annoyed expression on his face. His lips may be pulled pursed into a frown, but his eyes are wide with lust.

Seungmin is trying his best to hold back, but it's near impossible. Everything about you surrounds him: your smell, your soft skin, the way your voice echoes in the bathroom. He shocks himself with how much he enjoys watching your clit peek from your pussy lips and how the first signs of arousal make your entire cunt shine. 

"Shut up," he mumbles. 

You're thinking of a witty remark to snap at him, but you're instead pleasantly surprised with his lips ghosting over your core. Your body stills, letting Seungmin explore pussy on his tongue for the first time. He runs his lips over your own, feeling how soft and warm it is. Seungmin already knew how hot a cunt is, but tasting it on his lips is a whole other level of heat.

"Mmm," you hum at the sensation. "What happened to just getting a look?" 

Seungmin looks up at you, mouth still attached to your core. His nose bumps on your lower stomach with his hair tousled over his face. Before you can think, you brush the bangs from his face to get a good view of his form. The sight makes you groan, bucking your hips further into his face. Seungmin makes a hmmf! sound as you bury his face deeper into your pussy, but he makes no move to deny you.

It's not until you start rocking your hips that he finally sticks his tongue out. He starts at the peak of your pussy, letting the nub roll over his tongue experimentally. Seungmin notes how your legs shake when he does that. He feels your hips still so he could properly suck on that part of your cunt. 

The taste of you settles on Seungmin's tastebuds and he finds his tongue digging deeper into your lips. They dip down to your labia before going back up. He likes how soaked you make his wet tongue, how your hands twist his floppy hair to drive him deeper. He hates how much he likes it. 

Truthfully, you're in the same boat. His mouth may not be experienced, but you upsettingly like how he lets you ride his face. "See Sungie?" You say his name mockingly. "Not too bad, is it?"

Seungmin doesn't stay put in your cunt. This time, he pulls away from your throbbing core to talk back. "I never said it was goo- mmf!" As lovely as it would have been to hear his voice, you reason that his words may not have been as nice. You had gripped the back of his head and forced him back to your center, uncaring how he gently slapped the back of your thighs in disapproval.

"Just shut up and stick your tongue out." You're impatient needless to say. Seungmin can tell by how you keep one hand steady on his head while the other gives his cheek light taps. "Open up, come on." You probe the man between your legs until he finally relents, widening his jaw so your entire clit fits in his mouth.

You hum at his mouth taking your core in, "Good boy. See? You were made to eat pussy."

Then you hook one of your thighs over his shoulder and wrap that leg around his body until his face is pushed against you. His eyes widen, screaming at you as if saying this wasn't part of the deal! But the panic only makes you laugh. He can pretend all he wants, but you know the bulge in his pants all too well as you look down on him.

Grinding on his face is easy with you in complete control. You sloppily rub your cunt all over his tongue with his head following your movements. Seungmin groans and grunts in your cunt, but it's far from the disdain he was filled with earlier. His hips thrust into the air at the feel of your essence dripping down his chin.

His jolts make you chuckle breathlessly. "Fuck, just look at you. You wanna cum? You wanna cum, don't you?"

Screw his pride, screw any stupid podcast he's watched, he needs to cum. He wants to feel your pussy clench on his cock, not his tongue. Yet, he can't find it in himself to tear himself away from your clit. If you taste this good already, he can't imagine the savor of you creaming on his tongue. 

To not let a second go by without his mouth on you, he nods, looking up at you pleadingly. He's sorry for being a dick, for being an incel. If you let him finish in you, he'll never-

"Sucks to suck," you shatter his dream. "You're gonna make me cum. Don't move."

And he doesn't, but it's not because he means to obey you. You have Seungmin on his knees, mouth enclosing over your pussy while you tug on his hair and hump his face and you're not going to let him finish? At all?

Then there's no point of him being here. Seungmin should tear your grip off him and leave the bathroom, but he can't. Fuck, he can't. It's like you've put a curse on him, glued him to the floor with his jaw unhinged and tongue out as you grind on his face. 

It has to be witchcraft because why else would he still be here? Does he really like the taste of you that much? Maybe it's how you look; flushed, sweaty, close to a high Seungmin's never been able to bring a girl to. Seeing you so close to your orgasm makes him eager to stay, eager to please. And god, he loves how your clit twitches in his mouth.

"Shit," you curse. "Gonna cum. Imma cum all over your face. You want that? Want my cream all over your tongue?"

Seungmin would rather die than tell you the truth, so he responds by sucking harshly on your clit. The suction is enough to tip you over the edge, digging your nails into his scalp as you bend the upper half of your body over him. 

Your cunt pluses around nothing, but that hardly matters when you hear Seungmin gulping down your release. The very same man who claims to not like eating pussy, to not care if his partner finishes. That man eagerly licking you clean with his eyes rolling behind his head. 

You shiver and mewl as you cum, softly grinding your hips to come down from your high. "God- fuck! Put your tongue in my pussy."

He does, finally getting a feel of your walls for the first time. They squeeze and pulse around his tongue and he gives a few testing thrusts that you respond to positively. 

Fuck, you taste even better inside. 

Seungmin can't stop fucking his tongue deep inside you. Not even as you wrap your leg from him and straighten up. A part of you debates on whether or not to let him keep going. At this rate, he might make you finish a second time, but you don't want to give him the satisfaction of that. Plus, you've been gone long enough for the other men to question your whereabouts.

You place the palm of your hand on his forehead and push him away. The shove makes him detach from your cunt with a lewd pop! as he catches himself backward on his hands.

"Geez. You're gonna lick it off," you pick your underwear up and step through the leg holes, ignoring how uncomfortable it feels on your sensitive cunt. Seungmin seems in a daze as you drop your skirt from your lips and adjust the material. Even as you walk closer to the mirror and touch up your make-up, Seungmin stays in place on the ground. 

He liked it. Dear god, he loved it. Even with the tent in his pants, he hardly seems to notice how his cock throbs when he can still taste you on his lips. You only face-fucked him to prove a point, but you changed the trajectory of his life forever.

Yet, you wash your hands and use a hand towel to dry yourself like you didn't just make Seungmin question his entire purpose. You throw the rag to the man on his knees, managing to land it on his lap. "Your face is soaked. Clean it before they see how much of a munch you are, yeah?"

a/n: idk why I was at work was thought "yk what would be hot? making an incel seungmin worship you" and boom, this was birthed. I kinda wanna make a part two I have ideeassss also two fics in one week?? who am I? thank you for reading!

[procyonloser]

Pt 2

Lucifer had been thinking about the guy at the aquarium for the last two weeks, on and off. He'd not really been eager to date since the divorce, and Lucifer was not a hook up kind of guy. He truly did want to be an anglerfish, he wanted to latch onto his partner until one or (ideally) both of them died. He was obsessive, but in a fun caring way that definitely didn't drive his ex wife away.

"Ugh..." Lucifer dragged his hand down his face, trying not to look at himself in the mirror, at the risk of seeing the purple under his eyes that seemed just ever present at this point in his exhausted life.

"Papa, look!" Charlie said, standing up from her little table he had in the living room for all her arts and crafts. She ran over, holding a big piece of paper with a bunch of scribbles on it, but in the middle was unmistakenly a jellyfish from the aquarium. Lucifer grabbed it in his hands with a big smile, marveling at it - his daughter was so talented!

"It's beautiful, Charchar!" Lucifer exclaimed, kissing her all over her head, to squeals of giggles. "Wow, look at that, what a perfect jellyfish! You really liked the aquarium, huh?"

Charlie nodded her head, eyes big and bright. "I like the one tank with the pink stuff, and the other one with the one thing, and the floppy little guys on the ground, and the-"

"Do you want to go again?" Lucifer asked her, and Charlie froze up for a second, processing the question, before she bolted for the door, grabbing her little red coat and boots. Lucifer wanted to cry, she was so cute.

Lucifer had packed in the car her stroller wagon, because Charlie had started to get tired last time by the end, and she'd made Lucifer carry her coat and stuffed toys the entire time. They'd been rolling around the aquarium for a bit, looking at the different displays, before Charlie got excited at the penguin exhibit. Not exactly what Lucifer considered aquarium animals, but he supposed it made as much sense as an otter or seal.

He lifted Charlie up so she could see the birds waddle around, and he was so distracted by her reaction, he didn't notice the shadow beside him.

"I hate penguins," the voice said, and Lucifer turned slightly to look at the man, before doing a double take, eyes going wide. Oh, oh it was the hot but not hot guy from before, Lucifer opened his mouth, before closing it, and then opened it again. "You doing your best fish impersonation? You really do want to be a male anglerfish, don't you?" He asked with a cheeky grin, and Lucifer finally got the chance to see his name tag.

Adam. Yeah, he looked like an Adam.

"Well, you know," Lucifer laughed nervously, maybe a little too enthusiastically, but he had a hard time gauging that sort of thing. "Why don't you like penguins?"

"The stink, and they're fucking sociopaths, like they're tiny demons. Everyone goes, oh they're so cute, oh look at the gay penguins, aren't they great? No, they're awful. Worse than dolphins. You know what necrophilia is?" Lucifer regretfully nodded his head, grimace spreading across his face.

"Like I said," Adam said with a huff, looking back over at the birds. "I don't like penguins."

"Reasonable," Lucifer said in a slightly higher tone, growing more aware the man was just... There. Standing next to him. No one else was around. Sure, maybe he was an employee talking to a client, but it didn't seem like that was it. "Do you like any birds, or is your thing just...fish?"

"Swans are cool," Adam said, glancing at him. "They are super loyal, they mate for life, and they're giant vicious shits."

"I like ducks," Lucifer said plainly, immediately regretting it.

"Don't get me started on ducks," Adam rolled his eyes, before pushing away from the banister. "I'm about to go run the touch tank in the kid's activity reef room, if your kiddo wants to come see. You can touch little rays, starfish, shrimp, sea cucumbers."

"...Sea cucumbers?" Lucifer asked, raising an eyebrow. He'd never heard of them, was that like a sea sponge? But Adam sent him a wicked grin in response to the question, like he'd been hoping Lucifer wouldn't know much about them.

"Yeah, they're long tubes basically, and if you rub them too much and they get overwhelmed, they shoot out their intestines in long white stands." Adam said with a wink, before he walked a few feet away, glancing back at Lucifer with a smirk. "You gunna come, or do you need to latch onto me to keep up?"

"Ha...ha," Lucifer wheezed out, eyes falling to Adam's backside, before Charlie tugged on his jacket.

"Can we go? I want to see the shrimps." Charlie asked, giving her best puppy eyes, which worked instantly of course, Lucifer was a bit of a push over when it came to her.

"Absolutely," Lucifer said, already planning on buying a yearly membership to the aquarium.

[etherealily]

guilt // f.odair

[1/3] Long. this was queued, idk if I've already promised another character before this is out.

Part 2 : Art

Finnick Odair + fem!reader. Warnings : Cuss words, SFW but discretion advised, mature themes.

Desc. : But is it in his nature?

You do NOT have permission to repost and/or translate any of my fics.

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'Suck on his sellout cock, go ahead', your mind taunts you as you traipse behind him into the Victor's Village, a place where you simultaneously hoped you'd live and you'd never step into again.

See, Finnick had always dominated your childhood.

You grew up watching him charm the nation, be welcomed back to the District like he was God.

One of your biggest flexes was that you got to see him in person in a parade once, when he'd come back from one of his many Capitol visits.

However. That all changed once you became fifteen. Because you'd finally got some fucking sense and realized that the people at the Capitol, the Hunger Games, none of it was fair, it was all fucking shit.

And you hated Finnick all the more for it.

Prancing around, doing promotions, adverts, sending children to die, being the Capitol's bitch. You'd narrowly escaped your last chance to be reaped, but you still wished he'd choke on his ridiculously expensive Capitol meal.

You couldn't respect him.

But. But, it wasn't like you'd ever tell him that, though. Because when Finnick Odair talks to you, you fucking talk back.

And when he tells you he wants you to come back home with him after seeing you by the ocean one night, you go, no matter how much you'd rather fucking kill yourself.

"This is my house.", he smiles, and waits expectantly, as if you're supposed to applaud.

"It's nice."

He doesn't look disappointed or surprised at that. In fact, he seems mildly entertained. "Get in."

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"And then, maybe, just bring your hand up the side of your leg? Yeah, yeah, just like that. Okay, yeah, sweetheart, that's it."

Click.

"And this is for..."

"Modelling."

"For the Capitol?"

"Who else?"

You raise a brow, your mind immediately picturing some rhinestone encrusted Capitol asshole getting off to a picture of you. You shudder.

"I'm joking. It's for me."

"For you?"

"Feel free to look around.", he says, offhandedly, as he looks through the camera at all the pictures he'd just clicked of you. "Maybe something will catch your fancy."

"You brought me here to... take pictures of me and... let me take whatever I want from your house?"

"I'm a weirdo, sweetheart."

"What will you do with the pictures?"

"I dunno. Can't publish them anywhere. I guess I'll just use them.", he mutters, more to himself than you, but you catch it. He looks up and then clarifies, "To improve my photography skills."

Thank fuck.

"Why me?"

"You're a good subject."

Your fingers move almost fluidly past various things, bottles of expensive liquor, watches, jewellery that he probably stole from his long list of Capitol lovers, and a single, slightly pathetic looking conch.

"I'm a subject? Like... math?"

He snorts. It's condescending, he's aware - there's no way you'd know. You've never been out of the District.

"It's photography lingo. A subject is who you're taking photos of. You have the correct facial structure for my lighting to illuminate you how I want it to. Hence, you're a good subject."

"Oh."

He continues flicking through photos and adjusting the background, taking a few trial shots with the result of his tinkering, until he seems to notice that you haven't spoken in a while. "You like the conch?"

"It's pretty."

"So are you."

You fight the urge to roll your eyes. Ugh. There he goes again, back to Finnick Odair, Capitol man-whore instead of Finnick, photo geek.

You turn to him. "How much did it cost? Twice the wine?"

"I didn't buy it. I found it, back when I was eleven."

"You've had it for almost a decade?"

He licks his lips, his hands pausing their scrolling of the camera's gallery for a moment. "I guess it has been a decade."

"What was it like, though? When you won?"

"Won? Won what?"

"The Games."

"Oh. Uh... bittersweet."

"Bitter? Why would it be bitter?"

"You ask a lot of questions. Sit down."

You know the truth. He just didn't want to admit that there was nothing bitter going on. He won because he was hot, and now, he continued reaping the benefits of his genetic lottery win.

You sit, still looking up at him as he comes to kneel in front of you, turning his camera to you. "What do you think?"

The pictures he's taken of you have an unsettling ethereality to them. In one, you're looking out the window with your back to the camera, your outfit hidden by a rose he'd apparently been holding in front of the camera.

A white rose.

It featured in every fucking picture, so much so that you almost asked him about it. Key word : almost.

In one of the more lighthearted ones, the rose sat in your mouth.

"They're pretty nice."

"Is your vocabulary limited to those two words? Pretty. Nice."

"I don't know what else to say."

He regards your face for a moment - like, really fucking observes you - before fiddling with some knob on the camera. "Take off your clothes."

That shouldn't have surprised you as much as it did.

"What?"

He looks up, confused. "Take off your clothes and I'll take some pictures."

"What? No."

"You don't want to? But you were okay with all the previous pictures."

"Yeah, because I was clothed."

"Being unclothed is a problem for you? Being exposed? Hm? That bothers you?"

What?!

"I- look, man, I'm not trying to offend you."

"But you are. You said you'd let me take photos of you. You are not your clothes, are you? You are your self, your soul, your body."

"Yeah, but I'm just not comfortable."

'Y'know what, sweetheart, people do shit they're not comfortable with all the fucking time. Twenty-five/eight. If you can't deal with it, you're weak. Take. It. Off."

You had a feeling there was another reason he was so angry about your non-compliance, but you didn't push it.

"Please don't make me do this."

"Fine! FUCK! Am I asking you to suck my cock? Huh? I could, y'know that? I could've, but no, I asked you to help me make art, and you chickened out!", he yells, his finger scarily close to poking your eye.

Finnick Odair was no longer pissing you off.

Finnick Odair was genuinely scaring you.

"Just get out.", he mutters, setting his camera down in defeat on his couch. "Get out, seriously."

You don't even have two seconds of backing-away-time before he stops you again. "What if I killed your family?"

That scares you more. "What?"

"What if I killed your family? Or at least, threatened to? Would you do it? Would you?", he asks, and now, he's not angry at you, or frustrated, he's more desperate, frantic, as if your answer would shake his fucking world.

As if your answer would change his self perception.

"Please don't kill my family."

"Would you suck my cock if I threatened to kill your family, Y/N?!"

"YES!", you scream, flinching, almost. "Yes! I would, but please, PLEASE don't!"

Finnick Odair gazes back at you with relief, and you want to strangle him. "You would, wouldn't you? You'd do unspeakable things for your family, yes?"

Well, of course.

"Things that would make your skin crawl. Not just because you love them, but because you're responsible for them. Because you got yourself into this mess."

He's no longer talking to or about you, that much is clear.

"And it's up to you to keep them away from it."

Slowly backing away, you try your hardest not to show up in his peripheral, to make sure he stays in whatever zone he's in.

But he is Finnick Odair. So he doesn't even look up at you as he instructs you. "Don't take the conch." Like stealing from him was the first thing on your mind.

"Wasn't planning to."

"Don't tell anyone about today."

"Wasn't planning to."

"Stay."

Wasn't planning to.

"I'm sorry, Y/N. Please. Stay."

The apology only solidifies your urge to stab him in the gut. "I have to get home."

"I didn't mean stay the night. I don't want you staying the night."

Finnick Odair, as you had begun to gather, was debilitatingly honest.

"I just mean stay for a while. Have dinner and then go."

"Dinner?"

"Yes, dinner. I have turkey from the Capitol."

"What's that?"

"It's a kind of bird. It's just like chicken but better."

"What's chicken?"

"Another kind of bird."

"Oh."

He frowns at you for a moment. "You're not okay with eating birds, are you?"

"They're just... very rare, so I don't see why you have to kill them."

He sighs, looking around the room in deep thought. "I could make fish. You know fish. You like fish."

You do know fish. You do like fish. You nod.

~~~~

Finnick's fish is unlike any you've ever fucking eaten.

Living in District 4, you'd figured you'd had fish every way it could be cooked. But no.

You can't help but take more. And more. And more. You weren't hungry, and momentarily felt guilt, thinking about kids in the other districts who were, but it was divine and you couldn't bring yourself to care much.

"You like that?", he asks, from opposite you, raising a brow in amusement.

"It's really fucking good."

He whistles lowly. "Ooh, nice, vocabulary expansion. So you do cuss. I was afraid I'd corrupted you with my rough Capitol language.", he muses, looking at your plate. "You have room for dessert?"

"Doesn't everyone, always?"

He nods. "That's fair. Cake?"

CAKE? This Capitol whore managed to bring cake back to District 4?

"Sure."

That was divine, too.

"You like that, too?"

"Yeah. It's really good. The Capitol has it really good."

"The Capitol is filled with cunts who throw up food because they want to taste more."

Was that... disdain? Interesting.

"Well, seeing as you spend most of the year there, I just thought..."

He stands, clearing the plates. "What? That I was one of them?"

You watch him go into the kitchen, taking a sip of water as you do. "No, just that... no, yeah, I did."

"It's okay, I get that a lot. I just... I gotta go, do these promotions, adverts. I have to. I made a deal."

You sigh, standing and pushing the dining table chair back to its original position. "Contract?"

He clenches his jaw momentarily, before nodding, his shoulders tense. "Yeah. Sm'n like that.", he grins, his dimples emerging once more. Thirteen year old you would have swooned and fainted and died.

Eighteen year old you just lets him lead you to the door.

"I'm leaving for the Capitol tomorrow. Along with the tributes from this year."

Why he's telling you this, you have no clue.

"You should come and wave me off."

"Do we know each other well enough for that?"

"No, but I know you know the tributes well. One of them goes to school with you, doesn't she?"

Yes. Little Faye.

"Yes, she's in the eighth grade. I used to tutor her."

The reality hits. She will probably never be able to high-five you when she gets a question right again.

"You should give her courage.", he suggests. "Going in thinking you're going to die will get you killed. Let her know she can make it."

"Can she?", you ask, quietly. The answer will ruin you, you can tell.

"She's a Career."

"Yes, but can she?"

"Chances are slim." Finnick fucking Odair. Finnick "debilitatingly honest" fucking Odair. "I won't tell her that, though."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Finnick."

═════════════════════ ⋆🔱⋆ ══════════════════

His hands grip your chin and you swear you're about to kill him. You look up at him, hanging out the open door of the train carriage and holding onto you, and you're half tempted to pull him down with you because what the fuck was he doing?

You can feel it coming, the urge to slap him away, but then again, it's still Finnick FUCKING Odair, and you're not sure if there's a law against rejecting his advances.

So you just kind of let him kiss you. It's not bad, no, far from it, it's just... unexpected.

Considering it's in front of every camera in the district.

Considering you'd only known each other one night.

Considering his last words were 'you're the only thing I care about.'

Considering he said your full name an unsettling amount of times.

Considering little Faye was watching and wondering why you were calm enough to be making out with some hot guy instead of sending her off.

Considering now the entirety of Panem was either going gush at you or rush at you.

~~~~

You can't bring yourself to watch the news.

Everyone assumes it's because of Finnick.

But, ironically, Finnick's the only one who knows it's not.

It's because of Faye.

"Finnick's on TV.", you're informed at least twice an hour.

"'Kay.", is your usual response. "Faye?"

"I'm sure Finnick trained her well. And besides, the 11th is this weekend! You'll find out."

Right. You'd been invited by Snow him-fucking-self to the Capitol. Apparently, the cameras outside your house weren't enough. He needed you there, with Finnick, for promos. While children were dying.

You receive gifts from your family, your neighbours, your teachers - basically anyone you'd breathed around - for your journey to the Capitol, as if you're going to some dreamland.

As you ride the train, your head against the seat, you try to imagine this is the train that leads you out of District 4. Your family will be waiting at the destination - in your head, an actual dreamland - and you'll be fine and dandy.

As you're escorted out, you imagine you're hanging from the ceiling in full display on the TV instead of Faye having to go through the Games.

And as you're directed to Finnick's room, you imagine slitting his throat. It's funny. You almost laugh. Then, the door opens.

Dimples.

═════════════════════ ⋆🔱⋆ ══════════════════

"How is it you've never worn lip tint before?", he mutters, tutting as if you'd just misspelled a basic word. "C'mon, pucker up.", he instructs, his thumb smearing red on your lips.

You have no idea what you look like and you're not sure if you want to find out. "I thought you were a merchant."

You shake your head. "No, I said I live by the merchant sector of 4."

"Not in it?"

"Of course not. Why would I have been picking seashells to make necklaces out of if I were a merchant? I just sell shit in the marketplace. Doesn't make me a merchant."

"I mean, technically... yeah, it does.", he says, his thumb accidentally slipping and smudging your makeup over the left of your cheek.

"Right, well, I'm not merchant class.', you shrug, trying to wipe the results of idiocy that was Finnick Odair off the side of your cheek.

Finnick... seems to get it. He nods along as he continues trying to de-plague your face with makeup.

Guilt is etched on his face. Regret, a tiny bit. Sadness, festering throughout.

"What's that look?"

He doesn't seem like he's out of whatever thought he was in moments ago when he hums in response, before quickly leaping towards his bedside and taking his camera, holding his thumb next to your bottom lip, with your still messy lip tint just about seen. Click.

"What's that look?", you repeat.

"What look?"

"That one.", you say, pointing to his face as if he can see it.

"That's my sorry look. I shouldn't have sprung the kiss on you. It was a dick move.", he says, gently moving behind you and guiding your shoulders to manoeuver you to face the mirror.

He says it as if he already knows you'll forgive him.

Yes, you do. But it irks you that he seems to assume that.

"Yes, it was."

"I'm sorry. What do you think?"

"I look like the 12 escort."

"Trinket? No, no way. You look great.", he assures, and you try to believe him, but you haven't seen yourself in makeup before and it doesn't look as though it's you standing there.

"Beautiful.", he says, as an afterthought, almost, as if he were trying out the word to see if it sounded right or not. He seems to decide on the former. "Beautiful.", he repeats, nodding.

That gets your attention and you take a second glance, and suddenly, you see what he sees. The makeup isn't subtle and hidden, but it isn't what the Capitol wears. It's... pleasant.

He brushes some hair in front of your shoulders. "See? Beautiful.", he reiterates, like he can't get enough of that word now.

"You sure I'll fit in here like this? Like... dressed up?"

"Yeah.", he says, vehemently nodding before doing that thing when he looked in your eyes again. "Well, mostly. I mean, I'd prefer it if you had the easiest time possible, 'cause I kinda got you into this mess."

You nod. That checks out. "Thanks."

═════════════════════ ⋆🔱⋆ ══════════════════

The night sees you staring at the ceiling while Finnick breathes softly in sleep beside you. It's pleasant. Domestic, almost. Like what Finnick wants, you think. Like the Capitol believes, you know.

He shifts and your eyes snap shut. Why you're so afraid of him finding out that you are awake, you don't know, but you are. He reaches out, his knuckles grazing your cheek with enough purpose that you realize he wasn't asleep in the first place, either.

And then he does it.

His hand reaches out, gently feeling around for your hand, before he grips the middle three fingers on your left.

He squeezes them softly, then brings them to his chest, where his own hand lays. That's it.

You watch him actually sleep until he mumbles, shifting again. 'Y/N?"

"Yeah?", you respond immediately, kicking yourself internally. Cover blown.

"Can't sleep?"

"No."

"Scared?"

"Mhm."

"Of the photos we took today? I promise, the makeup isn't bad, and you won't have to take any more - they'll publish them and pass them off as taken over a few months, so it's not-"

"No, for Faye."

Silence. "Oh."

"I feel like I didn't get to even tell her how well she's going to do."

"You can see her."

You can what?

"When?"

"Well, not in person, but we can watch the live feed of the Gam-"

"Yes. Yes, please, thank you.'

He sits up, rubbing his eyes. "Really?"

"Yes. Yes, absolutely. When can we?"

"Well, technically, it's always streaming, so I, I guess we can go now."

You nod.

He raises a brow as if he never expected you to agree. "Okay, uh, just, uh... gimme a second to wake up, okay?"

He comes out of the bathroom after washing his face to find you pacing, biting the inside of your cheek. "C'mon."

~~~~

The Viewing Room is desolate except for a few Gamemakers' Assistants (GAs), that have to watch footage 24/7.

"We have to record these things all the time, just in case something happens during the cover of nightfall", he explains, as he walks in front of you and gestures to the large screen in the opposite side of the room. "Usually, the stronger Careers, from 1 or 2-", he cuts himself off. That was not what you needed to be hearing right now.

He watches as you slowly walk up to the screen, as though the soft glow from it could lead you to Faye. Your eyes dart around the entirety of the enormous screen, looking for something - anything - to announce you of Faye's survival.

"She is still alive. You'd have heard a cannon and seen a picture of her if not."

It's not the most comforting thing he can say. He's usually better at this. God, if he didn't miss his old self, but the guilt of essentially using you to keep Snow's interest off his family and on you, the - to the extent of Snow's knowledge, anyway - love of his life, isn't exactly letting him be warm and inviting to you.

But he wants to. Let it be known, he wants nothing more than to do what he usually does. Brighten people up.

"Where is she?"

"WE'VE GOT A RUNNER!", calls one of the GAs and your head snaps to a blue triangle tracking one of the tributes on the screen, and you run over to that side of the massive screen.

The lights come on in the room, and people flood in. Sponsors, gamblers, Gamemakers. Because this is prime TV. He imagines every screen in the country lighting up, because you have to watch. Every child has just been woken up because the feed's back on.

"Who's the runner?", someone asks, and Finnick turns to you, diligently tracking the blue triangle with your eyes. Blue. Ocean. District 4. It's Faye.

"Girl from Four. The boy's already dead."

"How much did I have on her?"

"Oh, c'mon, you didn't have shit on her! No one thought she'd make it this far."

"Fine, fine, but now how much?"

The sounds of cruelty almost have him zoning out, going back into Capitol-Party-Finnick-Mode. That is, until, you call him.

"Finnick?"

He rushes to your side, a guilt induced speed to his gait. "Yeah, y'okay?" No the fuck she isn't. What the fuck is wrong with him?

"Who's the gold triangle chasing her?" Gold. Luxury. District 1. CAREER.

"Uh..." Deliver it softly. Sweetly.

"Unless she's a shapeshifter, the girl's DEAD!", laughs one of the sponsors. "It's my tribute, the Career boy from 1 chasin' her, with... wait, zoom in? Oh, yeah, a dagger!"

Your eyes widen and Finnick wants to kill himself. "She'll be fine. She can swim, he..."

Can also swim. Fuck.

"... he won't be able to keep up with her." , he says, finally.

Partially true. District 1 Careers didn't have access to the ocean, not like those from 4, so it was very much possible that he wasn't trained to know about tides and currents and shit.

There's a moment where no one in the room says anything. Because they both just jumped into the water, and Faye went under.

Finnick holds your head to his chest as you cling onto him in fear. It's not even remotely close to making up for what he's planning to put you through - well, already putting you through - but he at least feels a bit like the old him. The one who could actually comfort.

The tribute from 1 splashes around a bit, looking for Faye. You've turned a bit now, your head's still in his chest, but half your face is facing the screen. You're watching, anxious as ever.

"She's not drowned.", he mutters, stupidly. Duh.

"What if something pulled her under?"

Oh fuck. Yeah. Valid point.

"I'm sure it's just a strategy."

One that he remembers teaching her.

Maybe if she uses this and beats this District 1 Career, he could be one more step closer to gaining your forgiveness, and his redemption.

For a crime that the victim wasn't even aware was being committed.

The Career flounders around a bit more, screaming, clearly, but the audio is muted here. He looks around, not willing to look under, in case that might trigger the release of any muttations the Capitol cooked up for them.

And then, he's tugged a bit, his leg down, and he springs away from the motion. Please be Faye. Please be Faye.

He's jerked fully under, and a splash of Faye's hair can be seen before both disappear underneath the midlly murky waters, a struggle very evident in the way the water's splattering about.

Suddenly, it stops.

Faye leaps exhaustedly onto the bank, gasping for breath.

A cannon goes off. Florian Jentry. District 1 , Luxury. Score : 10.

Finnick holds onto you tighter as you sigh in relief. He softly kisses your hair because he doesn't know what else to do.

Relief is the only possible emotion to feel.

No one's happy. No one's sad. You're only either relieved that your loved one isn't gone, or relieved that they're not gone in a torturous way.

Wait, scratch that. The patron who just bet on Faye is happy.

[tokoyamisstuff]

f! Reader | no warnings

They're all 100% meant to be girl dads. I can't explain why, it'd just be so cute. Literally the safest baby on earth.

Alucard

"I'd trade anything I have just for a child with your eyes."

Sis, that man is dead. 😭 I doubt even with his powers that's in his range of possibility.

No seriously, you'll probably voice your wish metaphorically, meaning it as a compliment, but it will throw him into a full blown existential crisis. He hates not being able to provide you with whatever you want, after all.

The suggestion alone wakes a desire in him that he never even thought about before. He'll secretly dwell in self-pity, fantasizing about what it'd be like.

At some point, he cannot bear that it'd stay a mere dream and suggest adoption.

Anderson

"Huh? *points to some orphans playing in the background* Don't we have enough already?"

Takes him a moment to understand the gravity of your words. Error. Brain stopped working.

Even if you're already long in a relationship/have been intimate with each other, he'll get adorably bashful at the thought. Is shocked how excited the thought of your belly growing round with his child makes him.

I don't think he's entirely opposed to the idea, but he honestly sees all of the orphans as his kids. There's already so many children without a family that need love and care out there, right?

Well, in the end the circumstances would easily allow it, and he's got enough experience. One more certainly won't hurt.

The Captain

...alright? Doesn't need to be told twice. He is the kind of guy that just goes along with everything his spouse says.

Not to sound indecent but he's a man on a mission, so prepare to be dragged into the next best place to fuck at any given time. Welp, that's how he found out he's got a breeding kink.

Gets even more clingy and openly affectionate than usual. Seriously, he can't wait until it finally happens, he might even be more thrilled than you are.

Walter

"My dear, you have no clue how much your words mean to me."

Delighted and overjoyed. It's been a great wish his entire life, but due to the course of his life he gave up on this naive hope years ago. To ever think he'd be given this chance, and with you of all people...he's truly blessed.

Would be prepared for every eventuality and literally carry you on his hands. You're used to being coddled by him, but this is some queen treatment right here.

His gratitude knows no limits. You'll forever be reminded of how much your family and your willingness to carry this child means to him.

Maxwell

"Wha- why? Am I not enough for you?"

Ugh. Children? He can barely tolerate dealing with people in general. Seriously, you should know him better than that.

Still, he's surprisingly cooperative. If you insist, guess it can't hurt as long as they turn out like you...

The closer the due-date however, the greater his panic and regret. Doesn't think he's cut out to be a father.

Definetly cries like a dog when holding his child for the first time. It's the most precious thing he's ever seen and he ends up being the most loving parent, thriving to give them everything he had lacked as a child himself.

Endlessly showers you in praise for gifting him this miracle, and having convinced him to the best decision of his life. This probably won't be the only child you'll have.

[m1ssunderstanding]

Notes on Nowhere Boy

Finally posting the long version of the close-watch I did for @sleeper9's Fete zine. The bad thing about me is I hate spending money and love pirating shitty quality versions of movies. The good thing about the Beatles fandom is we're used to dealing with grainy pics. Anyways, here goes!

The opening ten seconds really do set the tone for the film, and here's why. It's the opening of A Hard Day’s Night where the boys are running from a hoard of screaming fans and George biffs it. John sees him go down, laughs, and keeps running. Only here, it's just John. George’s fall has been erased, making John into a cocky, if slightly insane, little lone hero. 

Mimi: do I ignore you? No. So please don't ignore me. Me: ummm, yeah you do ignore him, Mimi. Enough to leave deep psychological scars. But it's fine. Moving on.

Ugh, Uncle George is so sweet! I wonder how much of John's sweetness he learned from him. I wish we knew more about him.

Actually that was Jim that set up a cord running into Paul's room from the radio downstairs. But it fits Uncle George's character, so it works. 

Why did they make Mendips look a lot more working class than it actually was? No fancy iron fence, no pretty hexagonal outcropping, no stained glass veranda? 

Aaron Taylor Johnson is nailing it though. The laugh sounds very John, and this posture? Perfect. 

Okay but if that doesn't heartbreakingly encapsulate John and Mimi I don't know what does. Uncle George has just died. John goes to Mimi, wraps her from behind in a tight embrace and lets out a sob. Her response is to push him away. “Please, let's not be silly. If you want to do that, go to your room.” Alright, it's making me feel things, it's winning me over. 

John making his cousin Stan go and ask Mimi where Julia is is also extremely accurate. Always had someone to do the dirty work for them, all of them. 

Mimi's concern as John's going to visit his mother in the “bad” part of town is very good to have in too. “And you will be careful, hmm? Careful who you talk to.” And John's response, “it's only Blackpool, Mimi.” It's true. It could've been Speke, or the Dingle. Which Quarryman did I read saying Mimi didn't like John even leaving Woolton?

John's hurt little face when he finds out his mum, all this time, has been less than a bus ride away is a very clever way to show us his painful confusion about the whole situation. 

Trying to remind myself that this is a very anti-Julia pro-Mimi movie that will try to make me think she's crazy. But it sure is doing a hell of a good job. She hasn't seen him in years and suddenly she's hand feeding him desserts, kissing him every chance she's got, flirting all over the place. “Do you know what it means? Rock and Roll? Sex.” “Don't tell Mimi, alright? This is our little secret. Promise me.” And to a poor affection-starved boy, that's going to feel good. That's going to put thoughts in his head like “this is how it should be”. I mean I know she was wild and fun and sexy and irresponsible. And I know John did have weird thoughts about her. But I hope she wasn't actually this crazy. 

But the weird Freudian thing aside, he's got to be so terribly confused hearing the woman who effectively abandoned him declaring her love for him. Between Mimi and Julia, John would've had such a messed up idea of what that word meant. 

The Daily Howl, my absolute beloved!!

Nowhere Boy John watching Elvis: damn I've gotta get the girls screaming for me like that! Actual John watching Elvis: he's so beautiful! He's perfect! I'm in love!

Also I do not think sixteen year old John was that good at fingering. Just saying. 

This part always drops my heart cold into my stomach. Poor John. Poor poor baby. You can hear his little boy voice calling, “mum? It's me.” And she mutters, very annoyed, “go away.” Again. I have to remind myself that this is a purposely negative portrait of Julia. But then. It is true that she was a mostly absent and wholly undependable figure in John's life. 

Sometimes dialogue is absolutely perfect. Like this – “Aw, why couldn't God make me Elvis Presley?” “Cause he was saving you for John Lennon.” “Aw I'll get you back for that, God!” And this – “you haven't told Mimi, have you?” “No point going through her bullocks if I don't have to.” “Why? She has to go through yours.” “Yeah well I never asked her to, did I?”

Ugh this whole movie just hurts so bad! How he looks to Julia as Mimi is ordering him out of her house, just begging her to claim him this time. And she doesn't until he makes a stand for himself. And then, later. “How long can I stay?” Is met with nothing. Not even a fake “long as you want, love.” It really plays into the title of the film. This boy's got nowhere to call home. And then, the final straw. Look at his face as he hears Julia agree that he does in fact need to go back to Mimi's. If I did that kind of thing, I'd actually be crying right now. Fuck, why was I knit-picking, this movie is working so well. 

 As he's announcing he's leaving Julia's, John wants her to tell him to stay. To at least pretend it's not what she wants. And she doesn't even look at him. Imagine if they did something like this in the John biopic mirrored with a scene with Paul in the breakup?

He's just so adorable looking at that guitar like he can't believe it's real.

John's gathered the og Quarrymen in the bathroom and Pete goes “I take it we're not here for a communal crap.” Idk Pete, wouldn't put it past him. It's not far off what you all do already.

It's making the Quarrymen look kinda cool here, and I really want them all to be shit except John, just because that's what I get from Paul's description. Not that he's biased or anything. He could've been watching John play with Elton John and David Bowie and he'd still say everyone faded into the background. 

Also Mimi would Not have been there. Not on her life. 

Okay now we're sort of seeing them from Paul's perspective. Bunch of losers surrounding this inimitable shining star. 

Accurate that the first thing John says to Paul is about jerking off. 

The dynamic in general is just so well-done in this first scene. John instantly testing Paul. How much shit will he put up with? And Paul instantly having none of it, showing off, and winning John over. 

All the other Quarrymen just know it's time to dust off the ole resume. 

But! Paul's fete “audition” is so toned down for this film. Although of course, accounts vary. He did 20 flight rock, yeah. But he also did it on someone's borrowed right hand guitar turned upside down. And he did little Richard and played the piano, and tuned John's guitar for him. In one telling of it, John says he asked him to be in the group right there on the spot. So. Yeah. 

But either way, watching John watch Paul is just gorgeously gay. It's giving extreme “Oooooh, he likes hiiiiiim!” It's actually illegal not to queerbate using Lennon/McCartney and I'm glad all moviemakers seem to understand the law.

Cut to “John, your little friend's here!” Can you imagine if they'd showed the “chalk and cheese” whirling dervish moment? Or Mimi making Paul use the back door? Those might change some thoughts and feelings in this movie. 

And then we get the reciprocated “Oooooh, he likes hiiiiiim!” Moment as Paul's too busy checking out John’s buddy Holly Look to remember where he is, let alone what cord they're on. And it's so sweet because Paul's the first person who gives John the idea that his real self is actually cooler than his tough-guy act. 

The little matching feet tapping?? Eee it's so cute! 

But why miss the opportunity for them to sing in harmony here?

Sometimes the dialogue is extremely inaccurate. “So mummy’s cool about baby Paul wanting to be Elvis?” “Oh she would've loved it.” Like hell she would've. She would've been as disapproving as Mimi. Then again, maybe it is accurate for Paul to be lying about that.

“Well she – she sort of – died. You know, em. If we're gonna do this we should write our own stuff.” Okay yep there he is. That's Paul. 

Also love how John gets his first calluses after Paul the bossy taskmaster comes into his life. (You know. And the reason to push himself and a person who cares enough to take the time to show him things and it makes John all dreamy staring at the stars that night etc) Anyway. It's perfect. 

And the first gig we see after Paul joins is in a venue on a real stage with a much bigger audience, and the matching suits of course. 

Mimi selling John's guitar because of a bad report card is like the lighter, kinder translation of what happened in reality when she had his dog put down while he was staying at Julia's. 

So they kinda make up for not letting Paul sing etc by having him nail the guitar instead of screw up at this gig like he did irl. 

And he's stealing Julia's attention, which is clearly Not okay with John. Reminds me of that quote of Paul's about how they were both in love with John's mum. 

George is appropriately infantile. Good. Cutie. 

The Quarrymen playing “That's Alright, Mama” as John's making up with Julia since she bought his guitar back for him. Okay. Very clever. 

Paul does Not like John disrespecting his mother after the show for obvious reasons. (“I said something wrong now I long for yesterday.”) But clearly he doesn't have the full picture here. I wonder at what point irl Paul got a full run-down from John on his messed-up family life. Or did he just have to pull it together piece by piece over the years?

And of course he jumps to light Julia's cigarette. Boy was patting his pocket for a lighter like it was the race of his life. Mister steal your mum.

Here we are, ladies and gentlemen, Paul McCartney’s number two complaint about this movie: John was Not taller than him. How dare they? Slander.  

That's one hell of a jacket.

At the party, John's of course pissed to find Paul serenading Julia in the kitchen. But Paul just wants a mommy so bad, John. Why can't you just let him have yours since you clearly don't want her? Right, because you really, really do. More than anyone can understand. But when you showed her that – how bad you wanted her to be your mum, not just a friend – she hurt you. Forced you to go through your abandonment all over again. So now you can't show that anymore. 

The washboard over Pete's head is almost exactly accurate, isn't it? John does not handle people leaving him well. 

Ugh his little voice cracking on the word “mum.” John Lennon is a poor poor baby and I will die on that hill.

I wonder how John did find out about Victoria and the real story of why he was with Mimi. No matter how, though, that's certainly a lot of mess for a young man to be carrying around with him all the time in his head. 

“When your father came back from the merchant Navy, he wanted to try and save the marriage, but your mother would have none of it.” I do feel like we're going with Alf’s version of events here, the one he sold John in order to get into his good graces after he was famous. Which is, again, not fair to Julia. I wonder how little Julia feels about this movie. 

In fact, I think this part –  “who do you wanna be with, John? Do you wanna be with me or do you wanna be with your mum?” – has been categorically disproven. But it certainly does make for some high drama. And John himself did believe his father's story, so there has to be at least some emotional truth there. 

Nowhere Boy John: There's no point in hating someone you love. I mean really love. IRL John: How do you sleep, you cunt?!

There he is. Art School John. Though he fell in love with every iteration of John, I think this one never left his head because he was one of the earliest Johns, and he was a John Paul had to fight for, you know, with all the Stu business and dead mother anger.

He really does an excellent job of playing John, though, when he's written right. “Woman took her kit off and we painted her breasts. Not actually physically. I got my eye on you two.” Ridiculous. Charming. Off- putting. Adorable. 

Ignoring the fact that I prefer to think of “Hello, Little Girl” as being about Paul (“you never seem to see me standing there”) and they're making it about Julia, this is a lovely scene. With John somewhat unsure still of his songwriting abilities and Paul looking up at him from the floor full of admiration. 

Oh he's gonna murder someone. To be fair, I think playing Julia's banjo at her funeral is exactly the type of insensitive thing Paul would do, because he just thinks and feels in music and it makes Sense to him even though of course it's going to piss John off. 

Hilarious, and probably accurate tbh, that Paul's pissed John off so he gives Pete a bloody nose.

But here we go, the number one complaint about this movie from Paul, which I think is actually valid. John never hit him and that was important to both of them and it's disrespectful to portray it and play into the myth of their rocky, angry relationship. 

But maybe in 2009 that's what it took for them to be able to show John Lennon and Paul McCartney in a genuine, loving embrace, crying into each other's necks about mothers. It has to be preceded by John punching Paul in the mouth. 

If I was John's writing partner, my biggest beef with this movie would actually be the scene where they're recording ISOATD and making it look like John wrote it and played the guitar solo. But Paul's never even mentioned it. Which I guess really shows he cares far more about the legacy of his relationship with John than his career legacy. Which. If you mean more to Paul McCartney than his fucking music? Well then you must be just about important enough to have your own movie. 

This is really the Vote for Mimi Smith campaign, isn't it? Putting across the screen the fact that John called Mimi every week until he died as “Mother” plays in the background is brutal. Ouch. But it's true. “It's Mimi time.”

[fantasyandshit]

I hate you

Type: One shot

Pairing:Eris x Night court reader

Based off of this request

Smut- MDNI

I can feel the heir of Autumns breath mixing with mine as we stand panting, his body leaning over mine as he has me shoved against a tree, his hands locking mine above my head.

———

*earlier*

“Yn!”

“Oh- yes Rhys?”

“I’m so sorry to spring this on you so last minute but is there any chance you could go around the autumn borders? We’ve been getting reports of possible disruption. Eris should already know that someone would be coming.” His face is pulled into a half frown of sorts, his eyebrows pinched and eyes filled with apology. He knew just how much I hated Eris.

“Sure. I can do that for you.” I knew things were stressful for everyone after the war and Rhysand was no exception, I could put up with the prince for a little bit if it meant making his load even a little bit lighter. The high lord visibly relaxes, his shoulders slumping and his face showing nothing but appreciation.

“Great, thank you so much, I will tell him you will be there tomorrow morning?”

“Yes, yes. Let me go get my things packed.” With a nod of my head, I turn to leave making my way up the stairs and to my room. I quickly slip from my leathers, pulling my hair down from its up-do and walk towards the bathroom. The bathtub is already nearly full as I wash my face and brush my hair. I sink into the warm water, letting it sooth my muscles as I relax, a long breathe leaving my lips.

After finishing in the bath, and changing, I start to pack, taking the time to mentally prepare my self for my visit to Autumn.

‘It will be ok Yn. It’s only for a day, then you can come back and relax and spend some time with your family.

———

As I move across the borders, I spot the fiery hair of the heir. “Eris.” His name comes out a near hiss, the word leaving a bad taste in my tongue.

His signature smirk spreads across his face. “Yn.” And how are you in this fine day.

“Worse now that I’ve had to see your face.”

“Oh you love my face.”

A scoff passes my lips, “Yeah, and humans can fly.”

“What was that darling?”

“One- don’t call me that. Two- I thought we were telling lies?”

“Nope, no lies here princess.”

“Ugh.” An exasperated sigh leaves me as I begin walking through the woods of Autumn, looking at all the colors in the trees.

“Hey! I wasn’t done with you princess.” Eris winnows in front of me, blocking my path.

“Move out of my way Eris.”

“Make me.” The smirk is back, his eyes darkening as he moves forward causing me to take a step back.

“I-I’m serious Eris. Leave me alone.” I back up again, and again, and again. The cat and mouse game goes in for a moment before my back inevitably hits a tree. I look around the empty forest, my breath picking up.

“Oh, I don’t think I want to do that Princess.” His voice is a whisper in my ear as his hands roam down my sides, heat pooling in my panties. “And,” a nip to my ear lobe, “I don’t think you want that either.”

“G-get a-away from me.” But the truth is, I don’t want that, I don’t want him to leave. I can feel his natural heat radiating from his body as his lips slowly come to my neck. Kissing slowly up the side, to my jaw, the corner of my lips. He pauses.

“Tell me you want this princess.”

“I-I want this Eris. I want you.” Fuck, what did I just say! What demon has crawled in me and made me say these things, my mind is in a frenzy as his lips finally meet mine but I can’t help but kiss back. Our mouths molding together. A small moan leaves me as his fingers dance at the hem of my pants.

‘Stop it! Stop this right now! You hate him! I hate him!’ A voice screams at the back of my mind but I can’t find the ability to voice it, to actually make him stop. I know he would, I knew the truth. Eris was respectful, if I told him to stop, he would. I know he would. But I just can’t tell him too.

Eris’ hands find my own, sliding up my arms, pulling them above my head and locking them there.

‘Come on! Tell him to stop!’

‘I can’t. I can’t, feels to good. I like this.’

An inner war rages in my head as he sucks a mark just above the collar of my shirt, one hand leaving there place holding mine to find the hem of my pants, ripping them and my panties with a growl. I gasp as he does this, earning a chuckle from the fox.

“Stop.” I finally find my voice, it’s shaky but there.

“Oh? You want me to stop princess, his hand continues to trail to my dripping core.

“Stop. I hate this. I hate you!”

Another chuckle passed his lips as his fingers finally meet my clit. “Oh? It doesn’t seem like it?” Before I have time to even think of a response, his fingers are delving into my heat. I’m embarrassed of the moan that leaves me, nearly a scream. “All this for me princess?” His fingers leave me, my whole clenching around nothing. I pant as he brings them in between our faces. Marveling at the sight of my juices coating his fingers. “Open.”

And for some fucked up reason.

I listen.

My mouth drops open, tongue sticking out as he places his fingers in, I suck them in, my tongue swirling across them, greedily taking everything I can.

“Now that’s enough. Don’t be greedy now princess.” It’s like he reads my fucking mind. I hate it. But at the same time. I love it. Love this. He takes a moment to quickly shed off his layers, I do the same, taking off my shirt and bra, seeing as my pants had already been stripped from me.

My mouth waters at the sight of his pulsing cock, a drop of precum falling from its tip. I’m flipped around, my bare breasts scraping across the bark of the tree as I feel him like up with my entrance, teasingly sliding through my folds as a whine of protest leaves me. He chuckles as he shoves in to the hilt with one strong thrust.

“Fuck!” He sets a strong pace, pulling out to the tip and pushing in till his pelvis meets mine. “Eris, eris. Ah fuck Eris.” His name leaves me like a chant as he continues his brutal pace, grunts and groans from him mixing with my moans and whimpers.

“You feel so good around my cock princess, so tight, sucking me in so good. Ugh you sound so beautiful to, chanting my name.” His pace gets more rapid as he pulls my hair, forcing my head up, eyes meeting mine.

“I’m close.” I can barely hear it myself, surprised when he responds.

“Me too princess, me too.” His thrusts get sloppy as I feel the spring tighten before snapping, white blurring my vision as hot waves of pleasure roll over me. “Good girl.” And with one final thrust, he cums, filling my dummy walls with his seed, a growl leaving him.

A whine leaves me as he pulls out, “Rhys is gonna kill me.” He chuckles at my words before pulling his clothes on, magicing my clothes back together and on my body. “Can we just like, say we looked around.”

“Oh princess, I made those fake reports. I just wanted to see you.”

“Oh? And what if Az or Cass had come. Would they be up against a tree, getting fucked by the price of Autumn?” I turn around, shirt falling over my head, “it’s ok, I support.” I smirk as he shakes his head.

“I knew he’d send you. Now you’d better get home before we get in trouble.” I nod, turning to leave before he stops me, his hand coming to my chin, pulling my face to look into his eyes. He leans forward, his lips meeting mine for another kiss, this one slow and tender, loving and soft.

———

As I finally arrive home, I walk to the dining room to find my family. All trying to hide laughs, Cassian failing miserably. “What? What is it?”

“You reek of Eris. Not to mention the uh.. marks of claim.” He snickers as Nesta slaps him, smiling as well.

“Well I think he smells lovely.” I can’t think of any other retort as I sit down, piling food onto my plate.

—————

Thank you anon for the request! This was very fun to write and I hope it meets your standards and hopes! Love y’all and thank you for alllll the requests I’m getting, I haven’t done it before so I didn’t realize it posted all the responses and now I can only link them. That will be different in the future I promise!

[karizard-ao3]

Sex and sexuality is a prevalent theme in NGE, and especially in EoE. What are your thoughts about this?

I've been sitting on this one (and therefore the other asks in my inbox because I like to do them in order) for a few days to see if I could come up with a nice, coherent answer, but, as always, I can't so I must ramble instead.

One of the things I appreciate about the way sex/ sexuality is addressed in NGE/EoE is how messily and amorally it is portrayed, because I feel like that's very realistic. Clearly, it is important to apply morality to sex in practice (like, getting consent, respecting the sexual boundaries of your relationship(s), etc), but internally it's all a sloppy grey area, and sometimes people are going to do questionable things in moments of weakness (ex. try to hook up with an ex's bff who you don't even get along with because you're drunk and still upset about the breakup). And we see that a lot in Evangelion, as well as the characters' conflicting feelings about it.

For instance, Misato. Do I actually think she was attracted to Shinji? No. I think she cared about him very much as a guardian, but when she didn't know how to comfort him/ encourage him, she turned to offering sex. I read someone saying that she sees sex as a source of comfort due to sleeping with Kaji as a way to get over her father's death, which could be true, but I'm not sure that seems quite right to me. I believe she uses it as a tool in some ways. As an escape in others. And as a way to manufacture emotional connectedness in other instances. Sometimes all at once. And we see that she feels conflicted about it as well, because she's not sure if she loves Kaji or is using him. Then, Queen Daddy issues saw her ward in a bad spot and, with everything going to shit around them, she tries to use sex as a tool to motivate Shinji and also show him that she cares about him (even though it was so incredibly inappropriate 😭). Anyway, for Misato, sex is the cure to the hedgehog's dilemma, I suppose!

And then there's Shinji. The only time he seems able to make any kind of advance towards Asuka is when she is asleep, which I do not think is a sign that he is a predator but more an indicator of how deeply pervasive his inability to open himself up to other people is. It is *symbolic*. It's not okay what he did, but I think we are supposed to see it as a symptom of his own self loathing, and that he wants to reach out and touch people but is too afraid to make the move when they are able to perceive him doing it. Shinji masturbating to Asuka's exposed body at the hospital was obviously wrong, but it also seems like the summary of his relationship with her and the version of himself that exists through her. I'm trying to think how to describe it. i've written and deleted so many things. I don't know. Ugh. When she cannot see him, he can finally reveal how desperate he is for her to be with him. She is the one he seeks out when everything goes to shit, although if she were awake, I don't think he could have been so honest about how much he needed her. But she's in a coma so he is free to beg her to wake up, then, when her robe falls open... you know. It's like he's carrying out his half of a relationship in a bubble, without every offering her the chance to join him. And he hates himself for it, just like he hates himself for what he did in her hospital room. He knows masturbating to her unconscious body was wrong. He knows she is more than just jackoff fuel. He know she deserves to actually be held and loved. But he is immobilized by his fear of rejection and how others see him (and also so unbelievably horny because he's a teenage boy). The kiss between him and Asuka is really unfortunate because if either of them had just given the other any kind of indication that it was special to them in any way, I think things would have gone a lot differently. Shinji believes Asuka was just doing it because she was bored and mad about Kaji being out with Misato (right? Am I remembering the circumstances right?), and then, because Shinji just stood there, Asuka believes that Shinji only let her kiss him because she grabbed his nose and forced him, and not because of any affection for her. They were both too afraid to be honest. Maybe if Asuka had been more patient, Shinji would have closed the space and kissed her. Maybe if Shinji had held her, she wouldn't have run away after, screaming about it being a mistake. Maybe it wouldn't have gotten to the point where the hospital scene played out the way it did.

Which brings me to Asuka, who is the last one I will talk about because I think these three are the ones with the more convoluted attitudes towards sex and also this is already getting long. I think Asuka was really profoundly affected by her father finding and hooking up with another woman while her mother was ill (her mother's doctor, no less). I think it gave her the belief that a woman who is able to provide sex is a woman who will receive loyalty and love. She throws herself at Kaji, an adult who she feels safe with and wants the approval of, because, to her, that is the way to secure his affection. When we first meet her, she shows off how big her boobs got. Could that not be her way of announcing that she is lovable? But Kar, you might say, she freaks out about boys looking at her panties and things. To which I say: Yeah. She's 14. She's putting on a show, just like in everything else she does, trying to prove to everyone that she is worthwhile. Look how artlessly she comes on to both Shinji and Kaji. She wants to be seen as sexy and desirable because to her that's a means to an end, which is making sure people have a reason to want her around and notice her. What she really wants to be cherished. If Shinji had been able to show her that he reciprocated her interest/attraction, then I think there would have been a natural progression in their physical relationship. In closing, Asuka exists in a perpetual state of conflict because she demands love in whatever way she thinks the can obtain it, but she does not actually know what the love she needs looks like. I think if someone simply hugged her and stroked her hair and told her how brave she's been, she would sob for a day and a night.

Whew. And, of course, my thoughts might change after I finish my rewatch and eventually get my hands on the rebuild movies and rewatch in the future, but that's where I am on the subject right now. And I didn't even address Shinji and Kaworu. But, I think that whole thing is pretty straightforward. Kaworu pretty much ignores all of Shinji's reservations and showers him in praise and affection and Shinji goes all heart eyes because it's the first time he's felt wanted and he's bi.

[toxic3mmy]

prompt: alex is your new and annoying step brother

guys i redid itttt

ps it’s a little sad cozzzz im a little sad

(vvvvvvv sad actually)

anyway ENJOY MEOWWW

Part Three

it was a few hours later when the two of you were in your rooms. both of you thinking about confronting the other.

the house was eerily quiet. you could hear your own soft breathing

as you laid restlessly in the dark, you could hear a buzz from so much silence and it was freaking you out

you decided to get up and see if by any chance that alex was awake. you walked slowly to the door of his bedroom trying to collect your thoughts. you held up your hand to begin to knock when the door opened in front of you.

“um… hey, i was just wondering if you were still awake”

he said nothing and yet in the pitch black of the house, you still saw his almost angry face. he then grabbed your arm and pulled you into his room, closing the door behind the two of you.

as he practically slammed you against his closed door, you took a second to look around his room. he had a dim lamp lighting up the room slightly from his bedside table. he had dark furniture. the whole room was quite tidy and organized to your surprise. he had a few band posters up along with a collection of nerdy trinkets.

“y/n.. you… you shouldn’t have been doing that earlier! you-you should have locked the god damn door and-and.. fuck”

you jumped at his sudden raise of voice and he pinned your arms above your head against his door roughly

“listen to me very clearly when i tell you this because i’m only going to say it once and that’s it, you got it?” he growled in your face

you nodded and winced as alex’s grip on your arms tightened purposely

“good. first, this is my house so what i say goes. secondly, you don’t ask your mom for permission or even my dad. you ask me because until i can figure out how to get rid of you, you’re my responsibility. never snoop. not in my room or anywhere else in the house. and lastly, you lock every door you’re behind because you can’t—you’re just—ugh! you know what i’m saying.. if you decide not to abide by my rules, you’re gonna wish you never met me. do you understand me, little girl?”

again, you nodded silently as he finally calmed down a bit but still stayed close to your face

“nothing smart to say, huh?” he continued,

“you know, you’re kinda pretty when your big mouth doesn’t get in the way…” he smirked, leaning so close that your lips almost touched

your held your breath in anticipation before whispering,

“and you’re kinda sweet when your personality isn’t showing”

you closed your eyes and were almost pursing your lips for him

your eyes immediately opened in shock as you heard alex chuckling softly. he let go of you and stood back from you

“you didn’t think i’d really kiss you, did you? you’re such an idiot, sweetheart”

you didn’t waste any time at all as you left his bedroom with tears silently streaming down your face.

—

the two of you had been avoiding each other like the god damn plague. it’s been an entire week since the um… incident.

you were frustrated with the way alex could completely ignore you. you hated the way you would constantly catch him looking at you and pretend like he wasn’t.

you were completely embarrassed from the rejection and it was killing you that alex was acting all pissy towards you.

at least now you had something to distract you from him.

apparently, a close friend of your soon to be stepdad had gifted them a honeymoon trip but the catch was that it had to be at the end of the month. why was this even a thing? who knows. still, your parents decided to marry by the end of the week and leave for their honeymoon to paris right afterwards. it was the middle of the month, after all.

and so, the whole time you were trying to get alex alone so that you could confront him about that night, your mom was making you try on dresses and help her find the perfect dress and the perfect flowers, etc etc.

it was a real handful but you wanted your mom to be happy. the good thing was that the wedding reception would take place at your new house. so that meant that you didn’t need to worry about running around and picking things up, everything would be sent to your house.

throughout the whole week you’re probably wondering where alex was. well, he was keeping himself busy, too. he was doing some planning but mostly, he just kinda stayed away from the house.

or maybe he was staying away from you.

you were starting to think you did something wrong.

did he find you disgusting for doing what you were doing in the bath?

was the image of you naked so mortifying to him that he couldn’t even look you in the eye anymore?

was he planning on telling everyone about this at the wedding?

no, he wouldn’t dare ruin something this important… or would he? he was quite the asshole so it could be a possibility.

“y/n! did you even hear a word i said?”

“oh.. um, sorry. i kinda zoned out. what did you say?”

“i said, help me zip this dress dammit! if i had more arms i would” your mom sighed and pinched her nose in frustration

“hey, mom? is everything okay?” you grabbed her hand in yours to help ground her

“im sorry mija, im just stressed but this dress is the one. it took us long enough, huh?” she smiled softly

“yeah, but you look amazing mom”

“thank you y/n, for everything. now let’s get back home. your father and i need to host our practice dinner and i need you and alexis to pick up a few things for me while we’re out”

you groaned exaggeratedly “please don’t make me”

“y/n, you and your brother need to get along. come on, i’ll drop you off at home”

“he’s not my brother” you mumbled as the two of you left the dress boutique and headed home

~

your parents had already left for their dinner rehearsal

you hesitantly decided to look for alexis to mention the last minute errands you needed to get done. you took the time to actually get a good look at the house.

it really was huge and beautiful. it had way too many rooms and yet all you wanted to do was be in his room…

stop that. stop pacing around his bedroom door. stop wanting his attention.

you decided that you wanted to just avoid him and so you went downstairs to call a cab and get the errands done on your own but you paused as you walked into the dining room. all the last minute things were already there. he probably beat you to it.

so you shrugged and made your way to your room. you wanted to just clear your head so you got the idea of going swimming. you hadn’t even gotten the chance to use the really nice pool yet and so now was a good time.

you changed into a simple bikini and some flip flops. you went outside and closed the door behind you. you put down your towel and slid off your sandals.

you first just sat at the edge of the pool with your feet in the water and you thought about everything.

you were trying so hard to be happy or at least pretend for your mom but it was hard. alex made it hard.

you were so alone and it wasn’t easy at all. you couldn’t really remember a time in your life when you didn’t feel like this. but you had food in your belly and clothes on your back so you never complained. nobody knew how you felt.

you wanted a friend. that was all. but you were too shy, too quiet, and too scared.

so you were alone. sitting by the pool alone and you looked up at the sky after feeling droplets on your face. the sky was clear.

you touched your face and didn’t even realize that you were crying. tears were streaming down your face and yet, you were still alone.

you wiped your face and submerged yourself fully into the pool. you laid face up and floating peacefully in the water.

your mind couldn’t help but wander to the same dark thoughts you had been fighting for years.

what would it feel like to disappear?

“y/n… mind if i join you?”

you stood up in the water and quickly wiped away your running mascara from the crying. you looked over to see alex standing nearby with a soft smile on his face and you didn’t know if you could say no to him.

so you nodded and he joined you.

the two of you stood there in silence until alex spoke softly

“im sorry y/n. i didn’t mean to hurt you—“

before he could even finish apologizing, you were already sobbing in his chest and holding him tightly to you. you had held too much in and you were just drowning in your own feelings at this point.

“would you care if i disappeared? i mean… would anyone?” you said in a small voice

“don’t say that y/n. don’t ever say that”

and he held you until you had no more tears left to shed

[messedupfan]

Chapter 7

Summary: Wanda receives a notice from the Homeowners Association. Y/n goes on a first date with Daisy. And Rachel has her first secret from her parents.

A/N: Yay! Another chapter!! So happy to be writing for this series again. Ugh it was a rough few months but I'm finally getting back on track! Hope y'all enjoy this chapter! Please lemme know in the comments! Enjoy!

Masterlist | All Stories Taglist | All Chapters ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are you fucking kidding me,” Wanda mutters to herself as she reads the letter that was taped to her front door. With everything going on, this has to be the cherry on top. She hates living under a homeowners association. She submitted a thorough request for the expansion that she thought was going to get the approval from them. But instead, she was given a rejection with a notice that someone from the association was going to drop by to review the damage and give her a deadline to have it fixed with the original blueprints. She can't even add windows. 

She calls Pietro as she angrily gets into her car to update him in the bad news. “I fucking hate that place,” Pietro says. “Alright well, you tried. I will let Y/n know and cancel a few orders for materials. I'm sorry they rejected you,” Pietro sighs on his end. 

“Thank you for all of your help,” she ends the call and continues driving to pick up her boys from their sleepover.

Pietro calls you through the radio to meet him at his office whenever you have a chance. You let him know that you will and when your lunch break comes around, you head to his trailer. You're curious as to why he would need to talk to you. The construction team is ahead of schedule and as far as you know, way under budget. Then you think that maybe Wanda told him about your sleepover and worry that he might've misunderstood his sister. 

You knock on the door to his onsite office and he shouts that the door is unlocked. You open the door and climb in. “You wanted to see me?”

“Yeah,” he shuts his laptop to focus on you and you begin to worry that he's going to tell you to stay away or something. “Wanda's request for the expansion wasn't approved. We have to undo all of the work we started and put it back the way it was.” 

You're relieved that the chat isn't about your night but you're upset by the news. “She can't fight back on this?” You ask as you think of the ways that Wanda could get what she wants. 

“She could, but it didn't sound like she had the energy to. And since we don't own the home there's nothing we can do about it.” Pietro explains. You nod with a deep breath and tell him that it sucks before leaving the office promising that you'll see him tomorrow. 

After work you send Wanda a quick text letting her know what you think about the situation. When she doesn't respond, you assume it's because she's busy with the boys. Instead of checking your phone every five seconds, you get ready for your date. You shower and put on the nicest clothes that you own. You spend time making sure your hair looks perfect and smelling good. 

You drive to the address that Daisy gave you, it isn't Phil's house and you're curious why she's staying somewhere else but when she gets in the car she explains that she doesn't want her dad to know anything about her dating life unless it's someone worth mentioning. “That's pretty much what any single parent does,” you say with a small laugh. 

“I know, my friend comes from a broken home. I just thought after a few bad attempts of bringing people to meet my parents it would be best to have my own place when I was in the position to do so.” Daisy says as she fixes her makeup in the sun visor mirror. “You look amazing by the way. I had no idea that you cleaned up so well.” 

You smile as you take a moment to look at her during the stop light. “Thank you, I try. You are stunning, Daisy. I think I might lose you at some point tonight. I don't know how anyone will be able to look at anything else.” 

Daisy tries to hide her blush as she holds a seriousness in her eyes, “I don't care about anyone else. I only want your attention.” You start to lean in to kiss her but the car behind you honks the horn and you realize that the light is green. “Keep your eyes on the road. Wouldn't want to end up in the hospital on our first date.” She places her hand on your thigh, startling you, and squeezes. 

“Woah,” you say as you take her wrist and pull her hand off of you. Instead you hold it in your hand and drive with the other. “How was your day?” you ask in order to start some sort of conversation. The two of you find something to talk about the entire way to the restaurant, easing the nerves that had been eating at the both of you. 

When you're seated you notice a couple of guys looking over at your table but you don't think much of it. “Oh this pasta sounds good but so does this one,” Daisy says as she points them out on the menu in front of you.

“They do sound pretty appetizing. How about I order one and you order the other and we split it, so we can try both?” You suggest.

Daisy scrunches her face and denies the idea. “Actually, I think I'm going to get the steak,” she says as she browses the menu more. You nod and start to look for something else on the menu. 

After the both of you have ordered you're left staring at each other, sipping your drinks. “Can I ask why you wanted to go out with a single parent?” You finally pose the question that has been haunting you since last night. 

“I have always kind of wanted to date you,” she shrugs. “You’re good looking, kind, funny, wise, and have a good heart. What more could a girl ask for?” 

You fail at hiding the affect her words have on you and grin as you shake your head. “That is a really sweet answer but I'm trying to figure out what you want from dating me. I mean, I have a daughter and she will always be my number one priority. I know that many people aren't okay with that and-” 

“I’m not one of them,” she interrupts as she lays her hand on the table top for you to take. You place your hand on her wrist and the two of you hold each other like this from across the table. “I’ve met Rachel. You've had me babysit her in the past. She's a great kid and I love her. I don't blame you for putting her first. In fact, I respect you for it.” 

You fill with relief at her words and nod, “Thank you, I just wasn't sure. I mean, you're in your early twenties. You should be young and free and not dating someone like me.” 

Daisy shakes her head, “You're not some decrepit person that can't leave the nursing home. You're still young and free and in your twenties. I don’t know what you think people my age do but I've dated plenty of them. None of them want a real connection outside of physical. Honestly, I'm ready to start thinking about settling down with someone. Build a life, y'know?”

You nod and bite your tongue to keep from pointing out how young she is to start thinking about that stuff. You're in no position to say anything because you don't regret the decisions you've made and you know that at eighteen you wouldn't hear that kind of advice. By twenty-two you probably still wouldn't have listened. 

Halfway through what turns out to be a quiet meal, you excuse yourself to the restroom to give yourself some space and a pep talk to stop being so awkward. While you're exiting, your phone starts ringing and you answer when you see that it's Wanda. “Hey you,” you greet as you lean on the wall near the door. “How's your night going?”

“It’s going alright,” Wanda says as she puts the clean dishes away. “Did Pietro already tell you?” 

“Yeah,” you say sadly. Someone asks if there’s a line and you shake your head and point to the phone. You move a little further away from the door. “How bummed are you about it?” 

Wanda sighs, “Pretty bummed but the boys are home tonight so I can’t drink about it. Which is for the best. Don’t want to start that bad habit.” She starts to wipe down her counters. “What are you up to?” 

“Nothing much, just having dinner with an old friend,” you say as you glance around the wall to see if Daisy is okay. She looks bored and picks up her phone. 

“Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry for interrupting,” Wanda says. 

“Don’t be,” you assure her, “I could have not answered, you know? It’s not your fault.”

“That’s true,” she drags out the word in confusion. “Do you need me to come up with an excuse for you? I can have you out of there so fast, no questions asked.” 

You laugh at the offer, “No, it’s uh, it’s going.” You notice Daisy checking her watch and looking around the restaurant. You sigh as you figure that you’ve been away for too long. Are you avoiding her? You don’t know. “Which I probably should too. I think I’ve been gone too long, I don’t want her to think I’ve ditched her.” 

“Oh my goodness! You’re on a date!” Wanda gasps loudly. “You’re an idiot, go back to her. Don’t tell her you took a phone call either. Just say it was an embarrassing bathroom issue or something just… shit, hang up already!” 

You can’t help but laugh at Wanda as she rambles on, “Arlight, I’ll tell her all about my explosive bathroom episode.” Wanda makes a noise but tells you that it's perfect. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” you say as you end the call and walk back to the table. You feel guilty when Daisy’s eyes shine with relief and so you start rubbing your stomach. “I don’t want to be gross but that food went right through me!” You joke and Daisy laughs telling you that it’s fine. “So, are you thinking about having dessert here or should we go somewhere else?” 

Daisy hums in thought and reaches across the table for your hand which you allow her to take, “Depends, do you have any dessert at your place?” she asks flirtatiously, almost causing you to have a coughing fit. 

You clear your throat a couple of times as you start to avoid her gaze a bit in order to come up with a proper response. An easy let down that will have her laughing instead of feeling rejected. “Well, I don’t know whatever lies Steve might have told you, but I don’t put out on the first date.” Daisy is confused for a second before she bursts out laughing. You join her a little as you’re able to look at her again. 

“Ok, I have to admit. I was kind of testing you with that question and you passed with flying colors,” she says once she has settled down, you let her know that it’s a relief. “I’ve heard of this twenty-for seven cupcake ATM machine and I’ve been dying to try it but haven’t had the chance. Do you think we could do that?”

“Absolutely! Rachel loves that thing,” you say as you start to flag down the waiter to get some to-go boxes for the rest of the food on yours and hers plates. When the bill is settled, you and Daisy head over to the nearest cupcake ATM and you help her learn how to use the machine. She takes videos to share on her social media and even a few pictures with you to keep for herself. You don’t ask why she doesn’t post them because you’re happy to not have that conversation right now. The two of you walk and talk while you eat your cupcakes. She is a bit more relaxed and you have to admit that so are you. 

When the date has come to an end, you walk her to her door and wish her a goodnight. “Wait,” she stops you from leaving. “I know you don’t put out on a first date, except for Steve Rogers apparently,” you laugh a little at her statement. “But um, gosh I’ve never had to ask this before.” Daisy blinks a few times before gathering up the courage to ask, “Will you kiss me before you leave?” 

You are surprised by the request but it is a date after all. “Yeah, sorry,” you say as you step closer to her. This was weird, you’ve never been asked to kiss someone unless there was tension and right now there wasn’t any. You close your eyes as you lean in and kiss her on the lips. It turns out to be a decent kiss but it doesn’t have you craving more. It’s been a long time since you’ve craved someone. At this point you’re convinced it’s just you because Daisy goes in for more when you try to break away. You kiss her once more to try and clear your head but it still doesn't feel right, so you really take a step back. “I have an early day tomorrow, I’m sorry. I’ll let you know when I’m available next.” 

“Okay, yeah,” Daisy nods as she wipes her lips. “I’ll see you then. Or maybe you could stop by the Hub. We don't always have to see each other for dates, you know.” You agree and say that you'll try to stop by without promising too much. “Have a good week with Rachel.” She says with a sweet smile. 

“Thank you, I will,” you smile back and walk away. 

The next morning you go to Jean’s house to pick up Rachel. While you're waiting, you chat with Jean for a bit about nothing important until you notice her acting a little funny. You ask her what's up. “Nothing, nothing, I don't know anything about anything.”

You shake your head and ask in a low tone to keep Rachel from hearing, “Great, who told you about my date?” 

“No one,” she says as she fails to hold back her grin and you ask again. “Okay, it was Anna,” she confesses. You drop your head as you shake it again. “In her defense, it's your fault that you chose my favorite restaurant to take her to.” 

“Excuse you, I believe I won that restaurant in the divorce,” you say back lightly instead of reminding her that it was your favorite restaurant first. 

“Whatever, I was craving it last night and so we got a pick up order and she saw you when she was picking it up,” Jean finished the story. “She’s cute,” she says next and you take a slow breath. 

“She took a picture?” you rub your face, upset by the lack of privacy in your life lately. You never signed up to be a celebrity. 

“What? You think I was just going to believe her when she said that? I needed proof!” Jean exclaims, causing you to tell her to quiet down. “Sorry,” she grimaces. The both of you wait to hear any sign of Rachel before continuing. “So, how'd it go?”

“It went,” you reply. 

Jean rolls her eyes, “Come on, you can do better than that!” 

You sigh and sit up as you think about how to describe the date to your ex-wife. “It was good. A little bit awkward. She’s had a crush on me since she was seventeen, so it's-” 

“Hold on what,” Jean stops you with concern and fear in her eyes. 

“Oh! Sorry, she's twenty-two, completely legal. Um, remember Phil's daughter? She used to babysit Rach before she went off to college?” You try to jog Jean’s memory and it takes her a second to process. She pulls her phone out to look at the picture again and she starts to finally recognize her. 

“Oh?” she says as she straightens up and scowls at the picture. “She looks… grown up,” she says slowly. 

“Yeah well, she asked me out and Kate kind of encouraged me to say yes. Then I talked to Phil about it and he seemed to be somewhat okay about it,” you clear your throat as you shift uncomfortably from the lack of playfulness from Jean. “It’s not weird… is it?” 

Jean shakes her head, “Just, please tell me that you didn't find her attractive when we had her babysit for us when we were doing couples therapy.” 

You pinch your eyebrows together and frown, a little offended by the accusation. “I didn't know her when we were married,” you state first as you try to remember that first year that you worked at the bar. You know that you started there at twenty-one but you don't remember hiring Daisy then or even meeting her. Did you?  

“Well, that's kind of a relief, ” Jean mutters. “You got the job working for her dad to help us pay the therapy bills remember? And he offered for Daisy to watch Rachel when we needed,” now she is trying to jog your memory but as you've pointed out before, you don't really like to think back on that year. You shake your head as you come up blank. Is Daisy a year younger than you originally thought she was when you met her? The math isn't really holding up here. 

“That doesn't make sense, she said that she had a crush on me when she was seventeen. When we met,” you say. “She would be twenty-one now if we met when I was twenty-one.” You try to understand what Jean is saying. 

“Honey, her birthday is July second, she turned twenty-two only weeks ago. And you’ll be turning…” she draws out the end to let you catch up. 

“Twenty-eight this year,” you conclude as it all starts to make sense now. “Huh, I really should have paid more attention in school.” Jean laughs because she tried every year to get you to focus more on school instead of her or the next get rich fast scheme you always had cooking up. “Anyway, I wasn’t paying attention to her in that way back then, I promise. It’s still kind of hard for me to think of her in that way. Except it’s not like I still see her as a kid I just think I see her as more of a friend,” you explain. 

Jean nods, “So it didn’t go well.” 

“I wouldn’t,” before you can say anything else, Rachel is running towards you with the things she wanted to bring with her. “Hey, munchkin!” You rise and greet her with a tight hug. She hugs you back just as tight and it warms your heart knowing that your daughter loves you. “Are you ready? Because we have to get to Ms. Wanda’s a little earlier today.” 

“Yup, all ready! I have something I really want to show Billy and Tommy,” she says as she moves her bag around. “That’s what took me so long. Sorry, I needed to get it done before we left. I’ve been working on it all week.” You smile, impressed that she worked all week on something to show her friends. 

“It’s okay, I got to catch up with mommy,” you say as you tug one of the shoulder straps on her bag. “Do I get to see what you made?” 

“No,” she shakes her head before she turns around and opens the front door. “Let’s go!” She hops to your work truck and climbs in. 

You laugh and look at Jean, “Have you seen it?” 

She shakes her head, “Nope, she wouldn’t let me or Anna in her room because of it.” 

“Wow,” you look at her from the entryway of the home and she is sticking her head out of the window calling for you to hurry up. “I can’t believe it, ten-years-old and she already has secrets from us.” 

Jean shrugs, “It was bound to happen sooner or later.” 

“I know but I was hoping for later. Much, much later,” you say as you wipe fake tears. Jean pushes your arm as she calls you ridiculous, you smile as you pull her in for a half hug. “I better go. I’ll see you next week.” She rubs your back and pats you a couple of times. 

“You better update me on your whole cradle robbing situation,” she teases you. 

“I should have seen that coming,” you walk away as she calls you a few more names, making you laugh all the way to the truck. Rachel asks what’s so funny. “Your mom is a weirdo,” you say. Rachel agrees and then says that momma Anna is even weirder and you have to refrain from laughing by telling her that’s not nice. She says it’s true and you cut the conversation by playing her music on the car stereo. 

You and Pietro work fast in rebuilding the wall so that Wanda doesn't get into too much trouble with the representative from the homeowners association. It was turning out to be easier putting it back together than it was tearing it down. Of course though, now you don't have to worry about removing the wrong thing and causing the entire house to collapse. Everyone lucked out that you and Pietro hadn't started on expanding the floor yet. That would have been a little more difficult to fix up in the short window of time that Wanda was given. 

When lunch comes you and Pietro scarf the food down in order to keep working. Especially since the new siding for the house got delivered to the job site across town and the two of you had to go pick it up. The original siding for the house was destroyed the previous weekend when the two of you finally made it that far. Pietro thought it would be best to order new material at the time anyway since they would need it to cover the new extension of the house. 

All day you and Pietro are working inside and outside of the house to get the wall repaired with the material that you have available at the moment. Unfortunately, the beams that are needed in order to continue won't arrive until tomorrow. Which means that you are heading home earlier than expected. You slowly walk up the stairs to warn Rachel that you're packing up to leave but when you get close to the boy's room, you overhear them talking about some sort of plan. 

You take a small peek into the room through the crack in the door that should have been wide open. Rachel was holding up a notebook as if she was presenting to the boys sitting in front of her. That's possibly what she was working on. You try to get a better look by opening the door a little more but it knocks over a noisy toy and causes the four kids to scatter and pretend to look normal. You give Rachel a weird look as she asks you if you're done working. You confirm and then leave her to collect her things so that you can do the same. 

“Hey,” Wanda calls as you pass her office on the way back to the stairs.  “Do you have a second?” You look around to be certain that she's talking to you before you approach. She isn't on the phone and no one else is in the hall, so it could only be you.

“Uh, sure,” you say as you step closer. You didn't get to interact much with Wanda today and you couldn't tell if it was you avoiding her or her avoiding you. Last night after the awkward kiss with Daisy, you couldn't help but compare how you wanted to kiss Wanda the night before. Then you started to think that maybe if you got to kiss her, maybe it would feel right. But you couldn't test that theory out yet. Not when you're in too deep with Daisy. 

“Just for some peace of mind,” Wanda closes her laptop and focuses her attention on you. “And I don't want to make things awkward between us by saying this but, I feel like it kind of needs to be addressed.” Her rambling has you a little concerned but you let her continue. “I know we've said it to other people but I don't think we've really said it to each other. Um, we are just friends, right?” 

There is a slight pain in your chest when she says that but it's the truth. “Of course,” you say confidently. “Yeah, we're just friends,” you state again, this time with an unintentional undertone of disappointment. You clear your throat and look back before stepping in the office a little more. “Why did you feel like that needed clarification?” You ask, against your better judgment.

Wanda looks around her desk as if she wrote the answer somewhere but not a single blueprint can help her. “No reason it's just, I don't know… well, so many people assume things and I just want to make sure we're on the same page. Yeah, that's it. Just, I don't know. Forget I asked,” you don't press for more because you can tell that part of her might feel the way that part of you feels but you aren't quite sure what to do with that feeling. 

“Okay, well, we're done for the day, I was about to-” 

“How was your date?” she interrupts and your eyebrows shoot up as your mouth shuts. 

“Uh it was okay,” you say. You're not used to so many people knowing about your dating life. “I don't see a wedding anytime soon but it was good. We'll probably try to go out again when I don't have Rachel.” 

Wanda nods, “That’s fun, that's fun. How um, how long have you been seeing her?” 

“Yesterday was our first date, actually you met her. She was the waitress at the, ehem, the bar we met up at,” you say awkwardly. It feels like the two of you are trying to be friends. This conversation doesn't feel as natural as any other conversation. 

“I remember her,” she is a little disappointed that you chose someone younger but it's not her life. She might only be feeling this way because her ex-husband cheated on her with a college student. 

“Yeah, um,” you start to explain yourself once again but Rachel runs to your side and grabs your hand asking if you're ready to go. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” you tell Wanda who stands from her desk and walks over to you and Rachel to give proper goodbyes. She hugs both of you separately and thanks you for all of your help. You finally make your way downstairs and decide to leave the tools since Pietro already put away the dangerous ones. 

You leave the home conflicted by the conversation with Wanda but by the time you get home, you decide to not read into it too much. The two of you are friends and that's all you will ever be. 

On Wednesday, the representative from the homeowners association arrives in the early afternoon to inspect the house. On Sunday you and Pietro were so close to finishing the wall but it was going to take another day or two. Wanda was fine with explaining to whoever she had to that it was going to be fine. 

She was starting to get fired up again about it being her house so she should be allowed to do as she pleased. Especially when she received an email explaining that the appointment was rescheduled due to them wanting the entire house inspected. Which meant that she had to make sure the house was spotless. Especially the former man cave which she hasn't seen since Pietro destroyed everything. She hadn't known that you and him already cleaned up the mess until she made her way down there. 

The space needed some dusting and vacuuming but beyond that, it was clean. Luckily Pietro only trashed the stuff in the boxes that didn't include the furniture or the television. So the room still looked pretty decent, better even without all of the junk on the walls. 

As Wanda guided the woman around the house after she assessed the wall, she noticed that the woman was being a little bit flirty towards her. She wasn't sure if she was making it up or if she was misreading some of the woman's remarks. But Wanda was kind of into it. She hadn't been with a woman since her sophomore year of college. Raven Darkholme lived a couple doors down from hers and the two found themselves being left in the common area and locked out of their rooms often. One thing led to another and they dated for a solid six months before Wanda met Vision while taking his class. 

“I don't see any issues here, Mrs. St-” 

“Actually it's Ms. Maximoff,” Wanda corrects. “I’m not married anymore,” she adds although she wasn't sure if that was necessary information. 

“My apologies, Ms. Maximoff,” the woman smiles and looks her up and down before continuing. “As I was saying, other than the obvious incident with the wall which you said you're having repaired, I don't see why my visit was necessary. But I can't deny that I'm not happy to be here.” 

Wanda is starting to realize that it isn't in her head at all. “I must admit, I wasn't too thrilled about today, Ms. Romanoff. But it's been a relief knowing that my house is up to the HOA’s standards.”  

“Look, I know that this is totally inappropriate and unprofessional but um…” the inspector grabs one of her business cards and scribbles down her personal phone number. “Call me, if you're interested in letting me inspect you.” She says flirtatiously as she hands Wanda the card. The brunette blushes as she tries to hide her grin. That was quite a line. 

“I will keep that in mind, but you should know. I'm a mo-” 

“Mother of two boys? Yeah, we covered that when we walked around upstairs,” she finishes Wanda’s sentence. 

Wanda laughs as she is flustered, “Right, sorry, I'm just. Sorry, this hasn't happened to me in um years.” 

“I find that hard to believe,” Natasha says. The two stand in the living room space staring at each other until the blonde's watch goes off, reminding her of her next appointment. “I better get going. I have another inspection in fifteen minutes. I'll let the board know that you're clear and that they don't need to send anything else. Call the business number on there when you have the wall finished and I'll send the paperwork to the board so that they'll leave you alone.” 

“Thank you, I really appreciate that,” Wanda says carefully. 

“It's my pleasure,” Natasha says as they walk to the front door together. “I hope to hear from you soon.” The woman walks away and this is one time that Wanda is relieved that her boys aren't here with her to witness that interaction. She shuts her front door and bites her bottom lip as she looks at the phone number on the card. Natasha even drew a little heart above the number. Maybe she is ready to start putting herself out there. This just wasn't what she ever imagined.

Chapter 8

Taglist: @princessprudy @sayah13 @agaymilflover @awkwardmandalorian @bentleywolf29 @thatshyboy1998 @artisannat @thisischaismagic @wqndanat @madamevirgo @likefirenrain @tearsofglitter @feltlikethat @the-writer-arcane @natashasilverfox @karsonromanoff @aloneodi @lovelyy-moonlight @red1culous @jovialsublimecomputer @natasha-maximoff @iliketozoneout @doudouneverte @druggedduck @notbornbutforged @when-wolves-howl @lifespectator @justyourwritter69 @wandaromamoff69 @awesomelygayasf @nekoannie-chan @diaryoflife @wuwu96 @wandanats-goodgirl @sincerely-indi @blueredg52 @sisiwritesfanfics @fuzzyuniversityeclipsefriend @arcturusseer @scarlettwidow34 @chasethemoon @raven-ss @canyonyodeler @sokovianbaby @alexawynters

[yallemagne]

Finally posting my feelings on season 3 of X-Men: TAS. Ughhh.

Episode 1 & 2: Out of the Past

Looooove Gambit and Jubilee’s continued sibling relationship. 

Yuriko: “You killed my father!” Logan: “I didn’t!” Yuriko: “I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that.”

Don’t got much else to say other than ugh this leads into the space shenanigans and I haaaaate that. 

Episode 3, 4, 5, 6, 7: The Phoenix Saga

This saga is a drag but that doesn’t mean I didn’t get emotional when Jean and Scott parted. Seriously, when they kissed?? And Jean’s hair lit up like it was aflame? Fucking sexy as hell can I be them? These two are romance incarnate. 

Episode 8: No Mutant is an Island

Scott is so fucking done and I love that for him. He deserves a chance to go apeshit. Says he’s sick of playing “den mother”??? Oh my god. Speaking truth to power. Especially since Logan’s absence clearly marks that he’s already gone off to sulk, Scott deserves some sulk time for himself. 

THE ORPHANAGE. RUSTY!!! RUSTY COLLINS!! My darling Russell. 

“He’s just not used to the loving discipline a boy his age needs.” Kill this pervert. “After only two days I already love you like a son.” SCOTT KILL THIS PERVERT!!

Killgrave’s using these fucking kids as a scapegoat and the crimes they’re blamed for in his stead are what keep them from getting the help they need. I fucking hate this cunt. 

THEY DUMPED SCOTT IN THE POOL??? DOG?? What are y’all gonna do when a man is found drowned in your pool? Say “whoops guess he couldn't swim”??

I don’t like this Sarah chick. I’m sorry but like Killgrave is the most suspect guy ever, and she endangered the lives and futures of those children because “no one else would take them”. All that bullshit about her seeing the mutant kids as family? Girl, you got rid of them. She’s just gonna sell them to the highest bidder again because that’s what she did last time. 

I don't like that the message is "acceptance and tolerance is earned not forced" no, tolerance is NOT earned. Under no circumstances should a child be forced to EARN the right to live. Killgrave is wrong because he's a human trafficker using children to commit crimes. And obv his plan to groom the kids to become politicians would have never worked because his actions have gotten the kids in trouble with the authorities before, meaning they are distrusted by society because of HIM.

Episode 9: Obsession

I’m just gonna take a wild guess and say the Ming Dynasty scroll was planted to lure Archangel in. 

Warren is a fucking prick. Worthington is a dumb cunt and I hate him. “Deep down, he is still Warren Worthington!” Well, Warren Worthington is a bit of an angsty prick, so that ain’t saying much Rogue. Rogue and her sympathy for bitter blue bastards is gonna be her downfall. 

“Xavier was right, it is sentient! We can speak to it!” Uhh… or the ship just has Siri, McCoy. 

“Ship, you are a work of art.” “Thank you, Henry McCoy. You have no idea what a pleasure it is to interface with someone who appreciates the subtleties of my programming.”  Okay damn. I stand corrected. And Hank is about to wine and dine a ship. Jioegpoi Hank getting shocked for attempting to hack the ship and the ship apologizing. Wolverine and Cyclops are just standing there like “why are we here playing voyeur to this weird shit?”

I knew it, the scroll was planted. I fucking called it.

They need to stop giving Hank compelling love interests and then getting rid of them by the end of the episode. 

THEY SHOT APOCALYPSE INTO SPACE LIKE KARS. 

Episode 10: Longshot

Logan teaching Jubilee to drive!!! And he’s wearing a fuckin’ cowboy hat and a bolo tie. Why is he dressed for the rodeo? And he’s just such a dad for the rest of the episode, he recognizes Jubilee’s crush on Longshot and IMMEDIATELY goes into Dad Mode. 

“Bad doggie! No biscuit. We got leash laws in this town, mutt.” I fucking Love Wolverine. 

“Allowing me to scan his mind must be Longshot’s decision.” We love a king who respects consent. 

I fucking love Domo’s nicknames for Mojo. 

Yeah, I think I love Longshot. And I think most of the reason is just that I’ve read Exiles but ya know. He really is a heartthrob. He’s cliché but it’s a fun cliché. 

Honourable mention: that ram guy who threw away his gun to pull out a knife. 

Jubilee outfit without the coat is cute. Lol but they kept accidentally animating her with the coat on. 

Episode 11: Cold Comfort

BOBBYYYYY. Gay boy what are you doing here? Lol Bobby was the golden child, that much is obvious. At the same time he’s like “I was never good enough for you!” Dude Xavier let you get away with everything and that bred resentment in your teammates. 

Scott’s been wearing a bomber jacket recently and it just makes me miss Morph more

“What’s with those two? I’ve never seen the Professor so angry.”Daddy issues. “It’s a surrogate father-son dynamic with unresolved issues of dominance.” Wow damn I was right. 

Bobby: *insults Scott* Logan: *unsheathes claws* “Only I can call Cyke a goody goody.”

Jubilee looking up the records <333

FORGE???

QUICKSILVEr????

…Havok? oh gee.

Love Logan calling out that the government is employing mutants to police mutants. Forge says they're helping but like... Jaguars. Faces.

WHAT THE FUCK POLARIS. Polaris you absolute piece. “You wouldn’t have supported my decision so we faked my disappearance.” Who does that? Imagine needing to have absolutely no pushback in your decision-making, so to avoid having an argument with your boyfriend you fake your own kidnapping and start dating someone else without ever breaking up with the first guy. I wouldn’t hold it against her if it were just a simple misunderstanding, like if she left a note but he thought she wrote it under duress, but she purposely led him to believe that she needed to be rescued. 

They need to stop introducing characters that could be permanent additions to the team and then squandering that.

Episode 12 & 13: Savage Land, Strange Heart

Who is this chicken lady? I can’t take her seriously, she looks like a chicken. 

Rogue and Storm are lowkey dating and I love it. 

NO ONE KNOWS HOW TO CLOSE THEIR EYES. Who knows? Maybe it isn’t as simple as closing your eyes or looking away… but then why have Sauron repeat the phrase “look into my eyes” if you don’t actually have to look for him to control you? It’s stupid. 

“Well, next time Storm is kidnapped, I’ll make sure they take her someplace nice.”

The Savage Lands are fucking boring oh my god. 

I’m guessing… Sinister was in the soil when they last left… they’re saying Garokk is in the soil… hmm?? I’m probably wrong tho… it actually is just Garokk, that’s boring.

WOLVERINE TACKLING AND PETTING ZABU!! Fucking adorable.

Episode 14, 15, 16, 17: The Dark Phoenix

This whole saga gave me the ick. It made me sick to watch. It’s is just a very disgusting storyline. First, Phoenix invalidates Jean’s free will, then the motherfuckin’ Rape Syndicate drops in and invalidates Phoenix’s free will. It’s just very gross and I felt like I was playing voyeur to some gross man’s fantasy. OH WAIT I literally fucking was because of that creep character I refuse to remember the name of.

“Ohoho! Looks like you’ve been having fun without me! Where’s the Cajun?” kinky

Who the fuck are these silk-stocking wearing hoes? “Tradition demands that this power be wielded by us” Ah, so they’re white supremacists. 

Every woman wants a piece of Scott. Callisto wanted a piece, Dazzler wanted a piece, The Phoenix is staying in Jean’s body because she wants a piece. “Dark pleasure of destruction” Fancy words for saying you want to peg that man. 

KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER. GET A JOB. STOP FUCKING TOUCHING HER YOU CREEP. I scream. They do not listen. But hahahaha Scott’s beautiful eyes broke her out of the creep’s rape fantasy. 

DAZZLER YOU PIECE. I know it’s hard to resist Scott’s charms but you do NOT spring a kiss on a man. Literally this whole thing is caused by people not respecting consent. The only reason Scott and Jean’s psychic rapport was broken was because Dazzler couldn’t fucking keep her hands to herself. And it's SOOO forced bc he could have just sent Gambit to play bodyguard.

These guys are fucking governing Genosha in ’97. Whose bright idea was it to put the Rape Syndicate in charge of a sovereign nation?

“I know what you’re thinking, bub. Question is: “Can I get Wolverine before he turns me into shish kabob with his claws?” Well bub, seeing as these claws are adamantium: the strongest metal known and can slice through vanadium steel like hot butter, you gotta ask yourself: “Do I feel lucky?””

“Lousy year.” *drops wine bottle on man’s dick*

I just love unhinged Wolverine quotes.

“I need no help from a woman to destroy the X-Men.” What a surprise. The head creep is a misogynist. Question: if Shaw can absorb any energy, can he absorb the energy of me ripping his spinal cord from his back? Asking for a friend.

Just when I think it’s over this damn saga still won’t end. Lilandra I thought I was done with you, woman. You come back into my life to fridge Jean Grey a second time, you piece. 

Scott/Jean has captured my mind and soul. They’re perfect. I love them so much. 

Episode 18: Orphan’s End

What an on-the-nose title for an episode where Cyclops learns his father is alive. Oh by the way that was mentioned before, his father is a space pirate. 

Cyclops mockingly calling Corsair “dad” fuels me. Let him tear his father a new one. 

Corsair says that if he’d known his children were alive nothing could have stopped him from coming back. Girly you never even looked, deadbeat. Just assumed your sons were dead for convenience, motherfucker. 

Episode 19: Love in Vain

We need a codeword for when Rogue gets dragged into some bullshit by toxic people from her past. Girl has had too much. Cody gave me bad vibes from the beginning. 

The fact that they defeat the Brood by talking to their sentient fish space ship? Two for two on sentient ships saving the day this season.  

Logan trying to comfort Rogue but her gravitating toward Gambit, the one whose affections she spurned going after the one that got away… I just got a lotta feelings, okay?

Season 1

Season 2

[training4theapocalypse]

Finders Keepers (Cormac McLaggen x fem!reader)

Rating: Explicit 18+

Word Count: 2.2K

Warnings: Eventual smut in future chapters (not this one though sorry), language, sexual themes, homophobia (kind of but it's received by reader as banter)

Summary: It's your seventh year at Hogwarts and you've finally been made Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain. This year is going to be your year... if you can make it through your N.E.W.Ts without being distracted by your new Potions partner.

A/N: The content nobody asked for. But I am begging the Freddie Stroma stans to give Cormac McLaggen a chance. I PROMISE I CAN FIX HIM!!!! Reader is a bisexual 'not like other girls' type of girl but she becomes more bearable as the story goes on. Reader and McLaggen are both 18. Also I just want to say that I fucking hate JK Rowling and will be gleefully bastardising her work.

Masterlist

Chapter 1: Amortentia

Breakfast on the second day of term was a much more rushed experience than it had been in previous years- you barely had time to collect your timetables from Professor Flitwick, never mind eat anything. You hardly noticed the cool September sun streaming through the ceiling of the Great Hall. Gazing wistfully at the breakfast table, you listened while Flitwick reminded you of the importance of your seventh year at Hogwarts.

Marietta was taking much longer than usual to get ready these days, and so, you, her and Cho had left Ravenclaw Tower late. Ever since that Hermione Granger had cursed her, Marietta had been applying a thick layer of makeup to hide the pimples spelling ‘sneak’ across her face and you resented Granger for upsetting your dormmate- especially when that dormmate’s new skincare routine just made you miss your favourite meal of the day.

“What do you think Slughorn will be like?” asks Cho, as the three of you stand at the back of the short queue outside the Potions classroom- your first lesson of the year.

“Seems like a bit of a creep,” you shrug. “Didn’t you hear about his Slug Club? Nonce behaviour if you ask me.”

Cho chuckles half-heartedly while Marietta only deigns to give you a scandalised look. Alicia would have found it funny, you think to yourself, a knife twisting in your stomach when you’re reminded of her. 

Cho and Marietta were the closest friends you had at Hogwarts now that Alicia Spinnett had graduated and then unceremoniously dumped you immediately afterwards. Your sense of humour was a little too crude for Cho and Marietta, and this combined with your general disinterest in giggling and gossiping about the boys at Hogwarts made you the third wheel of the group.

The queue starts moving and you file into the dungeon past a cauldron, filled to the brim with what you quickly recognise from your textbook as Amortentia. The powerful love potion is supposed to smell different to each person, depending on what attracts them and you’ve always wondered what it would smell like to you. The three of you step forward - you inhale and it smells simultaneously like the leather of new Quidditch keeper gloves, buttery toast and a spicy amber and jasmine scent that you only vaguely recognise.

The class is considerably smaller than it was last year after several students found Snape’s demands of N.E.W.T level students to be too much and dropped out. Cho and Marietta, predictably sit at a table together leaving you to sit at the desk behind them next to… ugh, Cormac McLaggen. You suppose that you don’t hate McLaggen but you’ve always found him to be a typical Gryffindor- arrogant and entitled. 

You give each other a silent nod in recognition as you walk towards him. McLaggen reluctantly moves his book bag from the chair beside him as if it’s inconveniencing him to put his belongings on the floor - entitled. You sit down and have to shuffle your chair away several inches from him because his stupidly broad shoulders take up so much space. Even from the very back of the classroom, the sweet and spicy fragrance of Amortentia reaches your nostrils.

Professor Slughorn opens his arms. “Welcome, seventh-years, to the most important year of all at Hogwarts. Your N.E.W.T.s will take place in just a few short months.” You fidget with your silver cutting knife impatiently- you’ve already heard this speech. Slughorn walks over to his cauldron and continues “Today we’re going to be making something that regularly comes up in your practical exam: Amortentia. Can anyone-”

You practically hear the whoosh of four hands shooting up in the air, the Ravenclaws already desperate to prove their potions prowess to the new teacher. You roll your eyes and catch McLaggen doing the same. Ugh, you don’t want to be associated with McLaggen, who doesn’t even feel like he has to try to impress Slughorn - arrogant - so you lift your hand listlessly in the air.

“My, my!” guffaws Slughorn, observing the eager students around the room. “I see we’ve all had our breakfast today!” Your stomach grumbles. “Can anyone tell me what Amortentia is?” Your half-hearted hand seems to draw his attention more than the keen, upright ones. He points at you.

“It’s the world’s most dangerous love potion, Sir.”

He raises his eyebrows. “Oh-ho! An interesting choice of words. Would you care to elaborate?”

“It causes intense feelings of infatuation, to the point of obsession. I think it should be made illegal.”

“Here we go,” mutters McLaggen and you feel the tension in the class as they brace themselves. You’re reminded by their reaction that your tendency to be hot-headed was the final straw in your breakup with Alicia. So instead, you take a deep breath and give a more measured answer than you had originally intended.

“MACUSA made Amortenia a controlled substance in 1922 and I think the Ministry of Magic should follow suit. The use of any love potion on a non-consenting person, but especially one as strong as Amortentia, is unethical, to say the least.”

Some of your fellow students shift uncomfortably. If the rumours are to be believed, many of them have used love potions before but you hold your tongue.

“I say!” says Slughorn, looking pleased with the mild discourse you’ve caused, livening up his early morning lesson. “Very well-reasoned of you. And I assume, by your impassioned stance, that it’s your desire to join the Department of Magical Law Enforcement when you leave Hogwarts?”

“Er…” You hesitate, anticipating the usually negative reaction your answer gets you. “Not really. Well, maybe if I can’t play Quidditch. Professionally.”

“Well, you may end up a tad over-qualified - there aren’t many professional Quidditch players with an N.E.W.T. in Potions, I can tell you that! But take a well-earned point for Ravenclaw for your answer.” He smiles genially. “Convictions aside, we will be brewing this very love potion today. And while they’re not illegal, they are banned at Hogwarts so I’ll be ensuring that you’ve vanished your potions at the end of class.”

Professor Slughorn instructs you all to find the page on Amortentia in ‘Advanced Potion Making’ and to start brewing the potion. It’s one the most delicate potion recipes you’ve ever come across- even compared to the other N.E.W.T. level potions you made last year. 

Your cauldron needs to be as hot as possible so you set the fire underneath it and get to work, furrowing your brow and reading the steps outlined in your textbook. You add rose petals to your pestle and mortar and start grinding them into a paste.

“So, what did you smell when you walked past?” McLaggen nods to the front of the room. “The Gryffindor girls’ dorm?”

“Yeah, right, what did you smell? The seat of Harry Potter’s broomstick? Because sticking your nose there is the only way you’ll actually make the team this year.”

He laughs. “I don’t know, I fancy my chances now that a few of the old stalwarts have left. What’s Alicia up to these days, anyway?” He asks, not unpleasantly but your jaw clenches all the same as you grind your rose petals.

“We broke up at the start of summer.”

“Ah well, I’ll put a word in with Katie Bell for you when I join the team. I know how much you like those Gryffindor chasers.”

“Fuck off, McLaggen.” You realise you’ve been mashing your rose petals a bit too hard and they’ve turned to slop. Shit.

“Alright, just a joke.”

“Yeah, well don’t bother.” 

While your breakup isn’t fresh, you’re in no mood to talk about Alicia. Minutes pass as both of you stand side by side, stirring your cauldrons anti-clockwise. Your arm aches and your brow begins to sweat from the heat of the cauldron as you count to one hundred and eleven- the correct number of times you’re supposed to stir it according to ‘Advanced Potion Making’.

You stop stirring and drop a moonstone into your potion. The sweet and spicy smell coming from McLaggen’s direction is already much stronger than yours even though you’re a step further ahead of him. You peer interestedly over at his cauldron just as he holds a stone over it, ready to drop it in but your hand flies out to catch it before it can hit the liquid.

“Woah, what-?”

“That’s quartz- not moonstone,” you tut, tossing the quartz on his table.

“Shit, thanks. Good catch- you could be a seeker.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

He smirks in agreement as he chucks a moonstone into his cauldron.

“So, how’s your team looking this year?” He asks, breaking the silence as you wait for your potions to start bubbling, watching for the steam to start rising in characteristic spirals. 

“Not bad. Most of last year’s squad is still here, including Cho obviously. I just need a new Chaser to replace Davies.” The heady smell is almost overpowering now as you both lean against the table. You start chopping peppermint leaves and he does the same. “I’ve booked the pitch for try-outs this Saturday. When are Gryffindor’s?”

“No word yet. Potter’s not as organised as you.”

“Well, let me know and I might pop down to watch you embarrass yourself.” 

He laughs and scrapes his leaves into his cauldron with the edge of his knife.

“I’m hoping to catch him at Slughorn’s dinner party, see if I can butter him up a little.”

“Right, Slug Club,” you say derisively. Honestly, you’d have more respect for Potter if he made his useless friend Gryffindor keeper rather than choosing McLaggen because they’re both in Slughorn’s clique for the Howarts elite. 

You tip in your leaves and stir your cauldron counter-clockwise, waiting for the liquid to turn from sage green to pearlescent milky white. McLaggen quickly grabs your arm, his large hand encircling the entire circumference of your forearm. 

“Clockwise!” He urges, releasing you so you can start stirring in the opposite direction. 

“Fuck!” Making stupid mistakes in Potions is thus far unmarked territory for you. You’re not used to having a Potions partner who distracts you. You watch your potion as you frantically stir the other way, praying that it turns its signature mother-of-pearl sheen. It stays adamantly green.

“Sorry, I didn’t notice- I should have stopped you quicker.”

“And time’s up!” says Slughorn, clapping his hands together. 

You look up at McLaggen and he’s looking back at you apprehensively as if you might go off on one- your fiery reputation predecdes you. You take a deep breath and your nostrils fill with the amber and jasmine scent, making you instantly feel calmer. “It’s fine. My mistake. Besides, we can’t all have my reflexes.”

Slughorn walks around the room inspecting the potions and providing feedback. You feel a twinge of resentment when you see that McLaggen’s looks almost identical to the example potion.

Slughorn looks in your cauldron and gives you a small nod. “A decent effort but that should have been clockwise stirring in the final step, my dear.” You purse your lips and give him a curt jerk of the head in acknowledgement.

He positively beams when he turns to look in McLaggen’s cauldron. “Ah, excellent, excellent Cormac m’boy!” coos Slughorn, reaching up and gripping McLaggen’s shoulder congratulatorily. He gestures to the rest of the class to come over and see McLaggen’s cauldron. “Now, this is what we’re looking for. A textbook example. One drop and I daresay we’d all be besotted with you.” McLaggen looks at you intently, you suppose he’s feeling guilty for accepting Slughorn’s praise without giving you any credit. “Class dismissed. Cormac, take five points for Gryffindor and I’ll see you on Thursday night for our little get-together.”

“Yes, sir.”

You quickly vanish your potion, shove your belongings into your bookbag, and leave the classroom to catch up with Cho and Marietta in the corridor. The three of you start making your way upstairs through the throng of students to your next class but you hear a voice calling from behind you.

“Hey!” A heavy hand clasps your shoulder and you spin around. “Thanks for saving me in there,” says McLaggen. 

“Anytime,” you say, in what you hope is a casual, and not annoyed tone.

In the busy corridor, someone bumps into the heavy bag on your shoulder, knocking you off balance. McLaggen catches you before you fall, holding you tightly against him and you’re overpowered by the scent of amber and jasmine again. He helps you stand back upright and places a hand on each of your shoulders to steady you. You blink up at him, stunned, meeting his green eyes.

“There. We’re even.” He grins. “My reflexes aren’t that bad after all. Anyway, see you later.” He slaps you on the back in a sporting kind of way and heads off in the opposite direction. 

“Are you okay?” asks Cho as you stare after him, speechless, watching his broad figure, head and shoulders above most of the crowd, as he walks away. You feel your heart pounding in your chest.

He smells like Amortentia.  Or, says a small voice in your head, Amortentia smells like him.

Chapter 2: Confundo

[theslay3d]

Percy Jackson x daughter of Dionysus where Dionysus walks in on them making out or it looks like they’re making out from a specific angle and he goes crazy

Percy Jackson x Daughter of Dionysus!reader

Gender:Female

Warnings: none

Word count:858

A/N hi im like about to start reading the third book in the magnus chase series very excited!

You were dating Percy Jackson. Even though your dad kind of hated him and Percy didn't necessarily like him. You guys were dating anyway. Plus it's not like your dad even knows that you're dating. 

Well at least he didn't know until now. Let's rewind.

You were in your cabin by yourself as usual. When Percy came in because he “Was bored” apparently. So you guys just chilled in the cabin for a little bit until Percy and you started to make out. It eventually led to you both on the bed still kissing. Until your dad came in.

He has been super protective ever since Castor passed and understandable but can he knock?. He busted the door open and stood in the doorway for a few seconds. You thought maybe you broke apart quick enough for him not to see but your hope died out when a crazy look in his eyes appeared. 

His mouth opened in shock and he lifted a finger to point in between where you and Percy were on the bed. “That's- no” He walked forward and grabbed Percy by his arm and dragged him out. 

“Wha- Dad!” You said and quickly got off the bed to follow him out. He was still dragging Percy by his arm. “Where are you taking him?!” You yelled out as he was a few feet ahead of you. He didn't reply but you could hear him muttering something to himself.

He made it to the Big House, walked in with Percy and shut the door. You're glad that their wasn't many campers there that day as you banged on the door. “DAD! Let me in!!” 

“NO! You'll see your little boyfriend in a minute! Be patient” 

“PATIENT? Like you patient” You questioned his choice of words.

Percy was panicking. What else was he supposed to do when his girlfriend's dad pulled him out of her cabin and into the big house. He just went along with it plus Dionysus already hated him. Why not make him hate him more?.

Once Dionysus pulled him in the house and forced him to sit on the couch is when he took a breath. Dionysus was pacing in front of him. He could hear him muttering under his breath “Why Why Why” “Not my daughter” “Why Peter?” 

Percy guessed he was Peter as that's what Dionysus usually called him. “You know contrary to the campers belief I don't actually hate you Peter Johnson I'm just not necessarily excited about your existence. So now why would you do this hm?” He stopped pacing and was now staring at Percy who shifted a little on the couch.

“I-” Dionysus stopped Percy from talking by going “Shush i can't handle your voice yet give me a minute” Percy doubted he would ever be able to even defend himself if Dionysus wouldn't even let him talk. He could hear you banging on the door still. It comforted him that you were still there in case Dionysus decided to kill him at least you would hear his screams. 

“OK speak Perry” 

Percy didn’t see any point in even correcting the name as he started to speak “Listen Mr.D-Sir um i’m dating your daughter…and i’m not just doing it because you hate me or well i thought you hated me i’m dating her because i actually really like her and i want to date her” 

“Ugh you've made it worse” Dionysus rolled his eyes and continued pacing. “This is what I get, hm Zeus? Perry dating my daughter of course of course” 

Percy was watching him pace back and forth until he stopped and stared Percy in the eyes “Listen…Percy im only giving you one chance because i see how my daughter looks at you and how you look at her. If you hurt her i'm not afraid to turn you into wine consequence be damned”

Percy almost smiled at Mr.D finally calling him Percy but held it back. “Yes Mr.D thank you” 

“Yes yes now get out” He waved his hand in a get out motion towards the door. 

Percy got up and walked to the door he opened it and saw you sitting near it with your head in your hands. Percy shut the door and kneeled down to where you were sitting on the floor. “Hey you ok?” 

You snapped your head up and quickly hugged him, wrapping your arms around his neck. “Oh thank the gods your ok i thought he might have killed you” 

Percy laughed a little and said “Nope all good”

“What did he say?” 

“Just that he…approves, kind of it's fine let's go back to your cabin?” Percy said avoiding the question so you wouldn't know about the threat as you would go in there and say something to your dad. 

You narrowed your eyes but agreed to go back. 

As you grabbed Percy's hand to start dragging him back Percy turned his head back to The big House without you noticing.

He saw Mr.D at the door and he did the “im watching you” sign. Percy nodded back and continued walking with you.

[boots-with-the-fur-club]

Chapter 6 of These Are Not Our Masks!

@daboyau

@that-0n3-shr00mi3-guy

@iobsesswaytoomuch

@sady-is-secretly-an-alchemist

@dluebirb

@burritello3000

“That’s not true! I don’t pick favorites!” Mikey pleads.

“Yes you do! And it’s me! Did you think you weren’t being obvious!? Atlas knows just how much you hate him!”

“How could you say that!?”

“Think, Icarus. Actually use your brain and think! How could I!? Why wouldn’t I!? Just like why wouldn’t Apollo leave this little present on your face?” Leo shifts his hand to grab at the marks covered with the bandaid.

“Let him go!” April shouts.

Leo cocks his head.

“Or what? You and the traitor are going to stop me? Go ahead! Try! It’d be funny!”

Casey gets into a defensive before a portal opens under her and tosses her into a tree where she tumbles down various branches. She lands on the ground with a thud. April screams her name.

Mikey reacts without thinking.

He lowers his head and lifts his foot. The back of his head smashes into Leo’s masked covered face as his foot takes out Leo’s knee cap. Leo releases Mikey and stumbles backwards. Mikey runs away from him and towards April.

“TODD!! We need help!” He yells.

April’s hand gets grabbed by him. She can’t help but look back at Leo while being led away. By far, the most unnerving part is not being able to see anything of his face.

All he has is his body language and tone of voice. Leo loves making facial expressions. He calls himself the face man.

Taking it away is beyond cruel.

Todd charges forward with his army of puppies, putting the cap of his famous lemonade in his teeth before twisting it off and spitting it out.

“This will hurt me more than it hurts you!” He downs the drink and goes into his saiyan mode.

Leo shakes with rage, standing up somewhat off balance because his knee is still recovering from Mikey’s hit.

April looks forward again as Mikey pulls her faster. She knows why. The daylight is starting to wane. They’re going to be trapped in the dark woods soon, with Leo.

They’d be safer with a wild animal.

Someone might argue that he is one right now. What he is, it’s much worse than that. A wild animal bites and scratches and attacks without much coordination.

Leo plans everything.

Mikey rushes over to Casey.

“Please please please don’t be dead!”

Casey groans.

Mikey breathes a sigh in relief and puts her over his shoulder before rushing off with her and April again.

“There’s no way we’re going to outrun him! Todd might be secretly crazy jacked but he won’t buy us too much time.” April urges.

“Then we don’t outrun him! We hide. They say you can run but you can’t hide, so the opposite has to be true!….Right?” Mikey smiles hopefully.

“Oh we are so doomed. We need a real plan!”

“We’re out of the plan guys! All I have is razzmatazz!” He whines.

They can hear the battle becoming more intense.

“Ugh! Fine! I’ll make the plan!“ She grabs Mikey’s phone and throws it as hard as she possibly can away from them before taking Casey’s phone from her pocket.

“Can’t they track that too!?”

“It’s fine, Donnie taught me how to go off grid!” She removes the sim card, turns off the Bluetooth, and turns airplane mode on.

She then dims the brightness completely.

“How are we supposed to make calls!?”

“We’re not! I’ve got something else we’re gonna use it for. Now stop giving away our position!” April whisper shouts.

The three of them search for the best hiding place they can make in this situation, a large enough bush, and stay quiet.

Sunlight finally dies as the moon takes over.

April’s heart nearly beats right out of her chest at every single noise they hear. She curls around Mikey like she’d be able to protect him somehow. Deep down April knows she stands no chance.

Mikey keeps a close eye on Casey. She wasn’t knocked out, but it’s probably better for all of them that she doesn’t move or make a noise anyways. Her pride is as wounded as she is.

The noises of the forest turn more purposeful. Someone, something, is walking nearby. Labored breathing becomes apparent. Listening closely, the steps made made are uneven.

“Ha….ha….Mikeyyyyyy! That was a good hit! It hurt! It really hurt!” Leo growls out so much his voice nearly sounds distorted.

Mikey shakes in April’s arms. She holds him closer and turns the phone on. After tapping through the clock app, she throws it as far as she can.

Leo moves faster towards the noise. He starts digging through bushes in the area. Once an alarm goes off, he dives at it. It’s like the noise itself set him off.

A good enough distraction.

April helps Mikey and Casey start heading back the way they came. They’d be able to find out how to get to the highway again there. There’s also a lot more solid hiding places.

She suddenly feels a hard shove to her back that sends her and Casey sprawling on the ground. April manages to see Mikey get tackled so roughly they roll for a bit.

Leo is pinning Mikey to the ground once they stop. Mikey can see blood that has dropped down from under the mask and down Leo’s neck. Guilt pools in his gut over knowing that it was his doing.

“You got better at that game, Icarus! But it’s over now! I finally got you!” Leo laughs hard, too hard.

April tries to get her body to move to help, but it’s not cooperating.

Mikey turns his head, giving her a weak smile. He’s trying to tell her that it’s going to be alright.

Leo grips his plastron and smacks Mikey into the ground again.

“HEY! You’re paying attention to ME!” He barks.

Mikey grunts from the impact but keeps his smile.

“Leo? Are you okay?”

Leo stills. He’s caught off guard by the question.

“You hit me! You sent Todd after me! You think I’ll say I’m fine to make you feel better!? I’m bleeding because of you! I’ve got bruises!”

April doesn’t miss how Leo actually responded to his name this time.

“I didn’t want to do that to you. You know I didn’t. I love you so much-!”

“NO YOU DON’T! But you will…..we’re going to be perfect!”

Mikey takes his arm out of Leo’s grip and reaches up to try to put his hand under the mask.

“We don’t need to be perfect. We’re us! That’s way better.”

Leo’s breathing starts evening out.

“You….you don’t get it….”

“Then help me so I can.” Mikey gets his hand partially inside, but a tendril wriggles its way to his finger.

Leo pulls away before it can start imbedding itself anywhere. He grabs Mikey by his wrist and stands up, raising him at the same time with viciousness.

“WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!?”

Mikey shouts in pain. His shoulder might be dislocated right about now.

April screams for Leo to let him go.

Another voice joins hers.

“B-Blue! Put your brother down!” Splinter stutters out, skidding to a stop once he fully sees what’s happening.

“You’re late to the game, has-been! The soup is cold! If you want him down, I’ll get him down!” Leo opens up a portal and drops Mikey in.

April and Splinter yell and move at the same time. Leo drops in behind Mikey and closes the portal after himself, letting the other two land on the dirt instead.

Mikey lands on his arm and writhes in pain on the ground, tearing up.

“Oh walk it off! You’ve been through worse!” Leo taunts.

Mikey looks at him with wide eyes. How could he have switched back to this so fast? He was getting through to him! Draxum wasn’t even there to stop it from happening! What went wrong?

Was it when put his hand under the mask?

Leo said….

Oh.

Oh no.

That’s what went wrong.

Mikey wasn’t thinking. Again.

He might have gotten controlled somehow just like them if Leo hadn’t stopped him. How many times are his brothers going to have to pick up the slack because he just can’t seem to make the right decisions!?

No.

If he just keeps blaming himself, he’s not going to be able to help them. Mikey got through to Leo and Leo stopped Mikey from being like him.

It has to mean something.

He can reach him again.

There’s hope. Always.

Leo picks him up again, shaking him around.

“Hello!? Earth to Icarus!? I’m talking to you!”

“I-I’m not-!”

Mikey gets grabbed and lifted up from behind. He reaches back and kicks the air.

“Stop! Let me go!”

“Draxum’s waiting. Stop pissing him off already.” Raph growls slightly.

Mikey’s jaw drops.

“R-Raph, no….”

“He’s the most pathetic of us all. Falling for the same traps over and over again. If it’s not removed, he’ll be a complete failure.” Donnie comments, popping up and grabbing at Mikey’s face way too hard, analyzing.

Mikey tries to pull it away, but Donnie grips it tighter.

“Stop wriggling, brat. Don’t embarrass us.”

Mikey tears up again.

Leo finally pulls him out of all the grips he found himself in.

“It’s too early for any of you to be even touching him! Draxum told me to get him, not either of you!”

Donnie hisses.

Raph snarls.

Leo clicks back.

“Don’t make me show you why I’m his favorite.”

Donnie and Raph stand there, unmoving but staring hard enough for tension to just fill the room.

Eventually, but with great reluctance, the two leave, keeping their stares until the very last moment when they leave line of sight.

“They’ll be back. You’ll be ready for them next time. You don’t have a choice.”

Leo enters another room and tosses Mikey down to the ground near Draxum. The sheep man looks at them with such joy that it makes Mikey even more scared than he already is. How could he look so happy after everything he’s made his brothers do? He took the people who he cared about most and turned them into unwilling monsters.

Mikey’s shoulders shake as his hands grip the ground.

“Y-You can’t do this. D-Don’t make me like them.”

Draxum holds his hand out to his side expectingly. Leo, despite still being in rough shape, gets a mask from the table and gives it to him.

Mikey trembles even more, tears falling and wetting the floor as he looks up at Draxum.

“You shouldn’t be crying. You’re going to complete the set. You’ve been begging for your brothers back, haven’t you? Allow me to start the reunification process.” Draxum starts walking closer.

Mikey’s breathing becomes more panicked. He doesn’t want Draxum to be the last thing he sees in his final bit of sanity. So, his eyes moved to where Leo’s should be if they hadn’t been replaced black voids.

“L-Leo. Please. Help!”

“Your pleas may not go unheard, but they are unanswered.” Draxum leans forward to place the mask.

Mikey shuts his eyes tight.

He hears a few things as once.

A cut, a squish, and a grunt.

Something splashed on his face.

Mikey opens his eyes only to scream.

Leo has stabbed Draxum right through the abdomen. The mask drops from the latter’s hands as he reaches for the blade coming out in front of him.

Leo pushes it further, making Draxum cough up blood and make another pained noise. This one is more of a wheeze. He drops to his knees.

The katana is finally taken out with more sickening noises. Leo slashes it down, tossing blood droplets off. He then opens up a portal and shoves him in. It closes right after.

There was very little time for Mikey to take in a single thing that just happened, let alone all of it.

Leo kneels down and grabs Mikey’s cheek slightly roughly, in a way that would have been comforting in any other situation. His fingers dig into his skin.

“See? I helped.”

[miracles-and-butterflies]

How the reunion with the others will go?

Dolores hadn’t been as cheerful as Isabela had been to be freed. Sure, she was relieved and grateful, but neither of her cousins got a hug or anything. Dolores had only gotten close to Mirabel to inspect the loss of pigment and see if she could understand this gift. Like Isabela though, she seemed to share some jealously that this hadn’t been the gift she was assigned.

“I don’t understand,” Dolores muttered, following Mirabel and the man down the corridor. “It would be the perfect gift for me.”

“It would be fun to mess with people with.” Isabela agreed.

“No. I would use it properly, unlike some people.”

“Ugh. You’re no fun, prima.”

“I’m just being honest. Tell me I’m wrong. I can think of a dozen gifts that would be better suited for Mirabel. This easily could have been mine. But as usual, the miracle hates me.”

They came to a stop by a door. The man fidgeted with the keys in his pocket, trying to find the right one. Mirabel herself was fidgeting with her fingers, eyeing up some of the damage - the corridors were better lit than their cells.

“Whose room is this?” Isabela asked.

“Tía Pepa’s.” Mirabel supplied.

Isabela nodded in understanding. “I’m saying after we get her out, we all go on a kill— I mean, we’ll go distract the centre staff, while you can get Luisa out. Because something tells me, she’s going to be a pain.”

Mirabel stopped. “You aren’t going to do anything illegal, are you?”

“No, of course not. I’ll just tie them up in vines, sis. Don’t worry about it.”

The girl didn’t look convinced, but was too busy in keeping on task that she didn’t say anything more.

“We’re gonna go on a killing spree,” Isabela explained, whispering to Dolores.

“I got that.”

“Just making sure.”

“Stop whispering in my ear. It’s weird. You aren’t five.”

“First to a hundred kills gets to be in charge?”

“So long as you can’t use your gift.”

“Won’t even need it.”

In the meantime, the door had been unlocked and Pepa practically flung herself out the cell. She abruptly pulled the three girls into a tight hug, repeatedly pressing kisses to Mirabel and Dolores’ forehead and Isabela’s check (due to height different).

“I was so worried about you all,” she weeped.

“Mama, you’re getting us drenched.” Dolores complained through her smile. She waved a hand above them, trying to clear the clouds.

“Ay, Lolita, you’ll live.”

“I’m not going to be much help if I catch a cold.”

“So me and Lola have a competition going,” Isabela explained. “To see how many scientists we can distract, while Mirabel goes to get Luisa and before we blow this place up. You want in?”

Pepa released the trio, stepping back and during her eyes. She got a proper look at each of them. Dolores didn’t look too rough, maybe a little malnourished and more grown than she remembers her daughter to be. Isabela, also more grown, looks to have been the case of a few beatings but she is still as bright and energetic as always, so she can’t be too badly injured. Mirabel, covered in marks and paler than she is in places, sends a lot of questions through her mind but again, doesn’t look to be anywhere near as bad as when they escaped the last time.

She steps towards the youngest, brushing a hand through the now white hair. “Will you be okay on your own?”

Mirabel nodded. She gestured to the man frozen in place just behind her. “I should be. Luisa’s cell isn’t too far and I have him.”

“Who is he?” She furrowed her brows.

“Some random guy,” Isabela shrugged. “Mirabel got her gift; mind control.”

“We’ll explain on the way.” Dolores promised, tugging at her mother’s hand.

Pepa clearly wasn’t too pleased with the idea of leaving Mirabel alone, but also knew that they would have a better chance if she was helping the fight with Isabela and Dolores. Julieta had been alone when she died and now… she pulled her niece back in for another hug, only pulling away after giving a final piece of advice.

“You are not wrong for defending yourself, okay? Be careful.”