#I don’t remember that particular ability ever really coming in handy either

[wesen-grimmopedia]

I don’t see enough people talking about the fact that Nick is a really good artist. He can briefly see a wesen woge and then hours later draw a highly detailed and accurate sketch of what he saw. From what I remember this is just… not really discussed in the show.

[dracosaurusrex]

Palace

Summary: In which you discover a new love in the midst of your heartbreak.

Prompt:  “with you, I thought I knew love. but maybe I still don’t” A/N: Hi y’all! So this is my take on the @minty-malfoy ‘s 300 writing challenge :) (Congratulations my friend! You’re amazing!) I have to admit, writing angst is not my strong suit, and I had to do some research to grasp what it was. Within my findings, something that caught my attention in particular was the fact that angst is defined as going through the character’s emotional workings, topped with a newfound sense of strength. There might be some holes present, but overall this piece is molded on that understanding, and I hope it reaches out to you in whatever way that resonates the most.

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Throughout her years at Hogwarts, Y/N had been able to pick up a number of skills. She may not have been as good at studying as Hermione Granger, or as athletic as Ginny Weasely, or even as creative as Luna Lovegood--no. You were an average girl who didn’t have much to show for except your ability to hide behind a thick mask.

You were typically known for your kindness, which was complimented by a pair of sparkling e/c eyes, a warm smile, and a nurturing personality. Additionally, you were graced with a good sense of humor and an infectious laugh. To all of your friends, you were the embodiment of the sun; a girl whose being was commonly associated with terms such as, “beautiful”, “genuine”, and “loving”. A girl who never seemed to show any indication of internal conflict, who had everything under control.

These perceptions always came in handy, for they molded into the shape of a mask when times became rough for you. Because of this, you were capable of fooling everyone into thinking that you were okay.

You felt your consciousness resurfacing from sleep as the morning lulled your body awake. Your eyes fluttered open to the ceiling with your fingers interlaced over your chest. Meanwhile, rays of early light infiltrated random crevices of the dorm, and birds were singing rather loudly outside of your window. Allowing yourself to lay in the stillness, you treasured the moment, took deep breaths, and basked in what felt like peace.

Your surroundings were blissful--and you were grateful--but waking up now equated to reuniting with the recurring tightness that gripped your heart. Memories of a love that had once initiated butterflies had transformed into needles that prickled your chest. A love that once caressed you now felt like a ghostly presence. 

‘Where did it all go wrong?’ You found asking yourself as of late. As you laid in bed, you allowed old scenes of your time with Draco Malfoy to play in your head, recalling the feelings attached to each.

You remembered the rush of adrenaline that you felt the first time you had confessed. You remembered the relief combined with excitement when the feelings were confirmed to be mutual.

You remembered the feeling of your heart skipping when his fingers first slipped into yours, hands intertwined like a glove.

You remembered the temporary sense of confidence that overcame when you initiated the first kiss and the shock that appeared on both your faces after realizing what you did. 

The first “I love you”.

You remembered your first time with him--the sweet whispers, the moans, the laughing, the feeling of pleasure as you came onto one another. You remembered the way his fingers stroked your hair as you laid on top of him with his free arm wrapped around your waist.

You recalled memories of exchanges of comforting words during moments where either one of you felt doubt or unease. 

You remembered the inside jokes you made, the goofy side of him that he only showed to you.

You remembered the plans you both have made, the exhilarating thought of sharing a future with him. The way he gripped your hands and looked into your eyes as he made promises that ended up being broken. 

You remembered the thrill of it all--the palace you had built with him, and how you’ve done so fearlessly until it came crashing down. 

You recalled all the love you had ever given him, all of yourself you had devoted to him, all the dreams, the hopes, the what-could’ve-beens in the moment the words fell out of his lips:

“With you, I thought I knew love. But maybe I still don’t.” Draco uttered in a bare whisper. 

He kept his hands clasped on his lap as he avoided looking at you. You had found yourselves sitting on the edge of his bed with the moonlight illuminating his dorm.

Just a couple weeks ago you were in his arms, sharing kisses without any thought that this would happen--you were on top of the world--but when it did, you felt knots forming over your chest and your stomach. A sob had dared to come up, but you gulped it back down into your throat. Your mind was racing and your eyes were tearing, but you wouldn’t allow your tears to fall. You couldn’t. 

Instead, you grabbed both sides of his face and smiled weakly. 

“Draco, I’ll always love you. I’ll always care for you…” Your lips started to tremble as you looked straight into Draco’s eyes. They were filled with so much guilt.

Breathing in and out slowly, you continued, “I just hope the next girl will be able to make you even happier and take care of you much better than I did.” 

Your lips were pursed into a tight line as you tried to give a convincing smile of reassurance. Your throat started to sting because of the resistance you made towards crying. In doing so, a tear had found a way to roll down your cheek. He grabbed your wrists as you continued to hold his face, his eyes glazed over with regret. His lips trembled as he witnessed your efforts to be strong. 

“Y/N, I’m so sorry! I never wanted to hurt you at all! I-” You hushed his frantic whispers.

“Don’t worry about me, my love. I promise you everything will be okay.” It was at this point that Draco let out the gasp of despair he held in. He proceeded to reach out to wipe your tears. You closed your eyes and allowed them to fall at this point, leaning into his touch for the very last time. Once you opened them, you did the same and wiped the tears that had stained his porcelain skin. Draco sat there stunned at how much you were holding in.

You whispered, “We’ll be okay. Okay?” He could only nod. You remembered the last time you leaned forward to kiss his lips. To your dismay, he didn’t respond. As you drew yourself away from him, you stood up straight and attempted in giving one of your signature smiles.

“I guess I’ll see you around Malfoy.” 

You recall feeling dead upon arriving at your dorm. Your eyes were puffy, and you thought you finished crying, but as you tucked yourself to bed, the tears you had kept began to fall.

You broke away from the memory as you silently wiped the tears that had formed in your eyes. It has been about a month since your break up. You hadn’t talked to the boy since then. Instead, you made it a priority to reconstruct your life. Your friends would constantly try to comfort you by saying things like, “Go show him what he lost” or “He doesn’t deserve you, Y/N!” You appreciated their efforts, but Merlin knows that it’ll take a while for you to heal. You couldn’t bring it upon yourself to be angry at him. While the moment left a bitter taste in your mouth, you knew deep inside that the love you shared for one another was never a waste of time. 

With a huff, you jolted from your bed, grabbed your uniform, and dragged your legs to the bathroom to get ready for the new school day. The way you handled yourself now was done more carefully than how you used to. Every motion--buttoning your shirt, tucking it into your skirt, tying your tie, and throwing your jumper over your body--was done with more caution. You brushed your hair straight, running your fingers through any tangles, and clamped it into a simple half-do. As you stared into the mirror, you took notice of your appearance. The red tint that lined the edges of your eyes as a result of the tears you shed earlier. You notice the bags that have formed, the slight peeling of your lips. You began to fix your face by applying a light amount of foundation and mascara, followed by a thin layer of tinted chapstick. Slowly, the indications of your sadness dissipated as you put on your makeup. You weren’t really the type to praise yourself, but as you stared at yourself in the mirror once more, you had to admit that you felt a bit pretty. ‘It’s a step forward. Here’s to another day’ You smiled slightly at your reflection, and made your way to the Great Hall.

So far, you managed to show what you considered to be your normal self to your friends whenever they were in your presence. Not wanting them to worry, you did your best to seem energized every time you were joined in their conversations, inserting laughs, and adding on to the fun when needed. You felt obligated to show everyone, including Draco, that you were okay. It’s been like that ever since things ended. The entire student body was aware of the fall. Both you and the boy looked very off the day after it happened. However, slowly but surely, you had reverted back to your sunny self, surprising many of those around you. Only you knew that it was a facade though, and that deep down inside, you still pined for the ghost of your relationship. 

Your thoughts often drifted to him. He was sat in the Slytherin table with his usual group of friends. As you took small glances at him, you wondered what went on in his mind, how he felt about you, and whether or not he misses what you had shared with him. You wondered if he took notice of the energy you conveyed, if he noticed the smile that was plastered on your face now that you weren’t together. Was he convinced with your little charade? 

You broke your gaze from him the moment he turned his focus to your direction. Not wanting to get caught, you chimed into their conversation once more, a convincing smile of enjoyment on your lips.  Once you felt that enough time had passed, you discretely glance at him again, only to have your eyes meet ever so slightly. The time for your classes to start was drawing near. Wanting to be alone in your own thoughts, you left them to walk around.

The hallways you roamed in taunted you as you began to recall, once again, figures of your memories. A warm feeling rose in your chest as you relished the small moments of laughter, playful kisses, and the heart-racing sensation of the back hugs he gave. It was ironic, but reminiscing helped you cope. Perhaps it was the thought of another chance. At the same time, however, you couldn’t deny that it might’ve been the result of the fear of moving on. You sighed, allowing your mind to push away the harshness of the latter. ‘Today will be a good day. I’ll make sure of it.’ With the feeling of encouragement overcoming you once again, you set off to your first class with a new sense of optimism. You weren’t sure about how long the feeling would last, but now that you had it, there was no point in taking it for granted. After all, as long as you were alive, the Earth would still continue to turn, and your commitment to reconstructing your life blazed on. 

The fluctuation between sadness and inspiration was a common occurrence in this point of your life. There were nights that felt completely agonizing, but there were also moments where you felt as though you were slowly falling in love with your life and the potential that it holds. It was then that you felt such enlightenment had brought you raw joy and peace. No masks or facades. No fake smiles. These were found in very minuscule fragments throughout the day. It took the form of the sense of concentration that you had when you studied, the feeling of achievement when you understood a difficult concept. It also embodied the scent of rain when it pours, the cold air that accompanies the sunrise, the sight of bookshelves in the library, the blissful feeling of getting lost in muggle literature. Joy was found in the sounds of the crackling fire, a satisfied belly after a good dinner, as well as the company of friends who have seen you at your worst. You were enchanted by the thought of filling your life with these wholesome moments--to take control and be the artist as you paint such details into your canvas. Sometimes such joy became so overwhelming that the heartache you felt seemed nonexistent.

‘How nice would it be to share it with you, though.’ You thought of him.

And perhaps you would be able to one day; but for now, within the sadness you were beginning to embrace this new love. A love that surpassed the borders of romantic affections.

Draco’s words would ring in your mind whenever you thought of this. You would create scenarios in your head, formulating what you would’ve said to him that night with all the newfound wisdom you had now.

“I thought I knew what love was when I was with you also. However, I can now see the pieces of my true love. How it surrounds me whether you’re by my side or not.” You said to yourself, wrapping yourself in hope as you amount to build your own palace once again.

A/N: I might make a second part to this to show Draco’s view on Y/N’s growth, but we’ll see hehe! I hope that moments of peace and bits of joy make their way to you no matter how hard life may become. You’re all deserving of love <3 Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have a great day!

[synoxshots]

The Master KOTFE Adventure

My latest project has been playing through KotFE on master mode.

Why ever would you want to do that? you may ask, and I have asked myself the same thing. In short, it was a mix of having a light sided empire toon that I didn't want the autocompletes on, and the fact that he is also the best geared character I've ever had and the discipline I've had most experience playing. And I've run through KotFE quite a few times so, freshening it up I guess? 

So this is how it went. This isn't a guide - more, a record of my experiences as I went through. As ever, some things I found easy others might find hard, and (more likely, lbr) vice versa. 

The gamer:

I play a Rage Jugg, wear Descent of the Fearless set, gear level 306 with a full set of 286 augments. So - very well geared, but not fully optimised stats wise. Experience wise for this - I'd done a few chapters on vet mode before with a Guardian (Focus) and Powertech (Pyrotech) though not always at max gear (probably in the 290s when I first gave it a go), and I like trying to solo group content like vet fps (master for Red Reaper only) because I don't love myself, I guess. A smidge of ops experience. I'm reasonably competent as a player but also prone to stupid, I don't claim to be great by any means.

Chapter I

All went smoothly, died on the last fight against the BD-148 elite skytrooper - but that was just because I forgot about heroic moments existing, given that half the chapter is spent without a companion. Used my enraged defence a few times but never really felt at risk of dying. Apart from the one time when I did, obviously. Marr goes up to 28 influence automatically. Lots of mobs can be skipped as they're already engaged in fights.

Chapter II

Quite a few mobs you can skip around. Valkorion heals you though he's not a companion so no heroic moment. Last monolith did get me close to death sometimes, so there was a bit of running away so I could heal up a bit more, and making good use of defensive abilities. But no deaths on this one!

Chapter III

I died twice on this one, both were easily preventable. The first was against the Ground Assault Walker (massive droid before the bridge) and pretty much because I hadn't raised Lana's influence yet, so I upped it to 20 before starting the fight again and cleared it very quickly. Sidenote: a while back I bought a bunch of Spiced Aric Tongue from the Jawa scrap peddlers as I didn't know what else to do with all that, Lana accepts it so it's a nice quick way to up her level (Koth likes it too, a lot, which is handy). Second death was against like, a handful of skytroopers when I was shutting down the reactor and really it was mostly because I wasn't paying attention properly, though Lana died both times at this point. There's another fight where these prototype skytroopers keep swarming and I was a bit nervous because there were kolto stations there and I couldn't entirely remember how intense it got. The answer was...not intense at all and I definitely didn't need them. The final fight on this one is the two Zakuul knights but they didn't cause me any problems. All in all I'd say the deaths I've had so far have all been my own fault.

Chapter IV

This...did not go as well. And I'm not entirely sure why, just bad play on my part I think mostly, sometimes there are days when I just play like trash *shrug*. Not timing things like enraged defence, heroic moments and so on very well which meant I died a few times to wildlife - twice the larger bosses, twice mobs of normal/strong ones. Yeah... Kept upping my companion influence so all three (Lana, Koth and HK by this point) got up to 27 but I think even higher than that may be needed as they just didn't seem to be healing well. 

Chap V

I was a bit wary heading into this one, as it was one I'd run before on vet mode and remembered having trouble with the skytrooper waves. I was less geared then though, and had less companion influence doing that, having now taken everyone up to about 32. I didn't record any deaths on this though had a near miss - but I had saved my enraged defence/heroic moment and so on and hit them at the right time. Hey, I'm playing smarter! 

Chapter VI

I found this chapter easy when I'd run it on veteran not long before, but that was not the case on master. Died the first time against Oggo, that was my own fault though, although he does have one particular ability that hits very hard. Then came the Scions. Ohhh boy. The first two you face killed me, fair enough I hadn't had a chance to raise Senya's influence yet. The second two, Venat and Berusal, caused me pain. The good thing is that when fighting the pairs and you take one down, if you die the other doesn't respawn. The other good thing is that Venat and Berusal can be pulled separately, the bad news is I found this out after a few attempts. And Berusal still killed me on his own the first time. I was not having a fun time. And then you face Heskal without a companion. It takes a bit of tactics. I tried to damage him whilst he was doing Debris Storm, though still had to avoid the red circles. Turbulence gives a lot of damage, so had to hastily get out the way/interrupt it. He also stuns you which isn't fun. Valky pops up and offers you an out after the first phase, unfortunately I decided to stay true to character and not take it. Bad times were had. I went to lunch. I asked a friend to help. My internet got switched off before that could happen. I found out I was able to summon a companion...I know I'm not supposed to story wise, and I'm not sure if you can normally (there's a lot of times when companion summon buttons are greyed out due to story restrictions) or if this was only because I'd previously logged out...but suddenly the fight became a lot easier. Funny that. Sigh. Moving on...

Chapter VII

Honestly not much to say about this one, nothing that caused me trouble. A lot of it is in the open world so regular difficulty rather than scaled to master. 

Chapter VIII

This one wasn't much trouble either, did die once when stuff was on cooldown, once in the final Arcann fight. Kiting him over and hitting the conduits there is a big help as they stun him, that is probably very obvious but I've literally never bothered with them on story or vet mode. We're halfway there!

Chapter X

This one also gave me a Time. The problem I had was when you come up against Faedral and Zaamsk. My first thought was the difficulty was because I hadn't raised Kaliyo's influence (oops, but you get her on the spot and I didn't have gifts handy...or at least the ones I thought she liked she didn't actually) (this is how I found out that agent!Kaliyo and alliance!Kaliyo have different preferences, apparently this will also apply to other - but not all - returning companions). But I raised her to 28 and still kept dying. It's a bit of a nasty fight honestly, and the guide I looked at said that juggs...aren’t ideal for it. Crowd control and interrupts are very handy. I kept getting really close to getting one of them down and dying just before I could, super annoying because it's another of those where if you take one down and die, you only have to face the other one. I took a break and read the guide more closely, watched some videos, and ultimately just decided to bring someone along to avoid the pain, or maybe share in it. I still died but we got through them. The fight against Tayvor Slen, the boss fight of the chapter, took a couple of tries with two of us - the first time I got stuck in a red circle and pretty much insta-killed. There was a bit of a close call on the second attempt but it was under control really. The achievement then comes through for chapter completion, all you have to do then is get out of the Overwatch, all things rosy right? Oh how wrong they were. A bunch of Zakuul Knights came along and literally just slaughtered us, full on, one-shotting us both - it was hilarious and extremely confusing because why?? how?? Did the bonus mission to get the prisoners to escape (look out for the glowing terminal, it says 'Overwatch Prison Logs' when you hover over it) - they one-shot a few Knights but then disappeared on us too. Who knows. But we got through it.

Chapter XI

A much nicer one though still had a handful of deaths. Where you meet up with Havoc Squad there's ambush of Skytroopers, followed by a couple of walkers - and the walkers beat me. They cast circles that I just couldn't get out of in time to save my health, even with my defensives. I'm not sure if they were the type to follow you or a sort of stamp move (I should have looked at the cast bar, come to think of it) - I suspect though it was the latter and so it wouldn't be an issue on a ranged character. The fight though does continue around you if you die so you don't lose the progress you make, just use the med probe, revive and rejoin. I only took Jorgan to level 7 because that was all the gifts I had, but most of the mobs were just regular trash, typically 3 at a time, which was no worry. When you attack the base the Knights are a bit harder - there's one round the back that does stealth strikes and that's a difficult one to face. I died - the respawn to medbay actually puts you inside the part with the forcefield you're supposed to take down, and then you can't get out of it...I maintain that I did find a way past the forcefield but it doesn't work as a cheesing method. Use your med probe, otherwise it's quick travel out and re-enter your phase. The final battle is a big droid (I forgot the name of it). It spawns a bunch of smaller droids, just ignore those and go for the boss - I didn't the first time and that's why I died - I lost Jorgan, I had two Knights chasing me whilst the droid put up shields, it didn't go well - second time I did it in less than a minute whilst using a heroic moment.

Chapter XII

This one you don't have a companion for, though it's not a big deal - for the most part my main enemy, as tends to be the case on this chapter, was the map. I think the regular mobs are scaled down a bit for playing without a companion. You can pick up an animal to help you as well, which you may as well do as things just die quicker. It runs off in caves. Valkorion does take your health down a fair chunk before he gives you his beat down but it wasn't so bad. Vaylin though took quite a few attempts. You can't interrupt her so you have to be on the ball with your defensives and timing them all, which includes the shield and medpac given in your temporary bar for the chapter. Really the medpac isn't that effective so don't count on it. There's a lot of running around as she casts red circles. Probably easier with a character with more self heals. I got through it after a few efforts, after getting close a few times, though even then I was still low on health by the end.

Chapter XIII

Yeah, this one was no trouble really, and that was with Gault at only level 4 influence. If things get hairy whack a bit more on him, there's no real mechanics to pose problems. As ever, good practice to stay out of circles on the boss fight, you have Vette there as well so a bit of extra damage going and yeah. Nothing to worry about.

Chapter XIV

Another that was nice and simple, I didn't even have any gifts to give Torian so was wandering around with him on level 1. Just a matter of timing defensives and heroic moments in that case. Lots is open world, too. Final boss fight was no problem at all.

Chapter XV

Reading guides for this put the fear of god into me, so I was pleasantly surprised to find it better than expected. The bosses were the toughest parts. The first is the Skytrooper Constructor, that one does spawn adds after a while as well. It killed me a couple of times but really I'm not sure what the best strategy was so I just went for the classic, burn it as fast as I possibly can and making use of heroic moment/defensives as well. The GEMINI droid at the end had me worried. That took 3 attempts (maybe 4, I think it was just 3 though), one of those my heroic moment was still on cooldown and Senya died quickly on it too. It was really just about managing defensives effectively as well, running away when she has the red cone in front of you, using the heroic moment for extra speedy damage. It was a close call in the end but my enraged defence came off cooldown at the perfect moment, thank you Grit Teeth. I wouldn't say this was an easy chapter by any means so quite proud of myself for getting through it on my own! The other thing I would say is watch out for the lasers - they don't do lots of damage on story mode, but on master they one-shot you if you get caught in them! The other various traps I probably got through easier than I have on the lower difficulties which may just be a testament to this being like, my fifth complete kotfe run at this stage haha.

Chapter XVI

The final chapter...and the one I was the most scared of. Took Lana up to lvl 50 in preparation...she duly died early on in the first boss anyway. KJ-931 is the first boss - I say first boss, there's still a high rank enemy immediately before that I died to a few times anyway and needed a heroic moment to beat. First attempt against KJ I actually came really close. Stay out of the aoes - there's a white circle and a yellow cone, as well as a big red laser thing where you have to rush to the corner and if you can - micromanage Lana well enough that she doesn't get caught up in them too. So I learnt that I am not good at micromanaging companions like that. Take the turrets rather than the shields, definitely - apparently the shields also have limited use, the turrets pull aggro as well as giving you damage so they're very handy. Sometimes on this fight I got one-shotted very quickly, others I managed to hold on a bit - but it was the first attempt that was my best run until I actually did it. Honestly I can't say what the trick was to finally getting it right...just a lot of blind panic and luck. Second boss is Dara Nadal - I found it easier to just go for the intense burn on her - put down the turrets, use a heroic moment, set Lana to damage as well and burn. Still took a few attempts on her but each time I was getting very close so I knew I would get there.

And then came Arcann. Ooooh boy. I'd been reading guides and watching videos in preparation but there's still a lot to keep on top of. I decided to use the Marr & Satele Special Saber rather than my usual one - having the benefit of being able to run around quickly was handy, and the other ability reflects damage from his saber attack. This took many attempts - some that went very quickly, some that got him to his final phase. Rather than going into specifics I'm going to link to this video as it probably explains what to do best (it’s handy for all the bosses). You really have to watch for the moment he gets to ~25% and stands in one spot - if you aren't able to do the shield whacky he will kill you straight up. My first time running towards him with the shield in that very last phase I died on the way up. It took me a long time and a lot on repair bills but this is another one I was very proud of for getting through on my own as there were times I didn't think I would.

General stuff:

I would say doing this is not for the light-hearted but it’s certainly possible! Apart from one chapter where I grabbed a friend I got through them all on my own

Some classes fair better in certain chapters than others. I went with my Jugg all the way through, but if you have the characters geared and you know them well enough - and you're doing this for the cheevos rather than going through the storyline - you're likely better off mixing and matching as you go. There were many occasions I wished I had range.

You will die to trash mobs. It is a fact of life. It feels embarrassing in the early chapters, you come to accept this and move on.

Companion influence helps a lot. Koth, Lana, and Senya all like delicacies (especially Koth, that man can eat) - you can grab these from the Jawa vendors in the cartel bazaar on fleet.

Med droids are also a booming industry thanks to the amount I've spent on repairs in the course of this.

There are more mechanics compared to story mode, and some that exist in story mode that you just notice more on master. But apparently the difference between vet and master is just artificial - more health and hitting harder. 

Going Commando is another good resource for their experiences playing through.

[twentiethcenturymoviesandtv]

The Goonies: Genre and Themes

As with every film, The Goonies is a hodgepodge of elements borrowed from different genres: a series of intertwined different sets of expectations that the audience is to expect payoff on.  

Usually, a movie gains an audience by appealing to fans of its genre, or genres, since, as I mentioned, most films contain more than one.  Typically, by appealing to these fans with a combination of appropriate star power, the name of a good director, and a use of genre brings in an audience, who is familiar with these elements, knows what to expect, and wants to see more of it.  Genre is best used as a series of audience expectations that a filmmaker has to fulfill, rather than a series of tropes that have to be checked off in interesting ways to make a good action film, or western, or horror.

The reason for this is simple: one, if you want an audience, don’t confuse them, don’t bore them, and don’t disappoint them, and that means meeting their expectations, or subtly adjusting them along the way.

So…what were the expectations for The Goonies?

At first, it might seem easiest to say that it’s an adventure film.

Which, it is.

The story for The Goonies follows a group of kids avoiding dangerous criminals while searching for buried treasure, encountering booby traps, raging waterfalls, and skeletons galore.  It very much strikes in atmosphere and surroundings an Indiana Jones-style feeling of adventure, bringing to mind the opening of Raiders of the Lost Ark.  However, while the Indiana Jones films, while possessing a slight comedic slant in several scenes, including action ones, the stakes in those films are typically much higher than the Goondocks, and as a result, it overall takes itself more seriously.

The Goonies is not a film spent with the audience at the edge of their seat, biting their nails in terror that one of the kids is going to be killed, or even seriously hurt.  At no point does the audience believe that Chunk’s hand is actually going to be subjected to the blender, nor do they think that Data’s fall will kill him, or that the floor collapsing from under Mouth is going to lead to his untimely, unceremonious demise.  The stakes are there, certainly, and the characters clearly believe they are in danger (rightfully), but the audience never has a heart-in-throat moment of: this is it for them.

Which is odd, because our villains are armed with guns, and the floor does collapse, and our heroes are in danger.  They believe it, to the point where Brand pulls Mikey out of the cave, away from the loot, because their lives are more important than the treasure.  The group bursts into hysterics when they think Data has fallen to his death, and Brand and Mouth don’t exactly handle seeing a skeleton, a reminder of their own mortality, trapped under one of One-Eyed Willy’s booby traps.  Characters are held at gunpoint, swordpoint, are pushed off of planks, and are nearly crushed by falling rocks, and while, for the sake of the story, they are terrified for their own lives, the audience never really feels the danger.

We feel the danger for their sakes, certainly, but in the end, the audience is actually more concerned with whether or not Mikey and Co. are going to get the treasure to save the Goondocks than whether or not they’ll survive, because we know that already.  We know, based on the tone and style of the film, that they have to make it, and be alright in the end.  The stakes  of the goal are high to the characters and the audience: the money for the Goondocks, but the stakes for the story aren’t quite as severe, seemingly.

Part of that is due to, like I said, the tone, which I’ll get to in a minute.  But the other portion to assisting the audience’s suspension of disbelief has to do with the themes of the film.

See, themes aren’t only for in-depth films that contemplate the meaning of life.  Themes are present in every film we watch, whether it’s a theme of anti-authoritarianism (Escape from New York, They Live), success through perseverance (Rocky), or as simple as love (Casablanca) or good vs. evil (Star Wars).  Even if it’s not intentional, every movie carries with it the inherited worldview of its creators and what matters to them, especially as it concerns this particular story.  The same is true for The Goonies.

At the center of The Goonies is, of course, a basic struggle of good vs. evil, albeit in far less ‘epic’ terms: a group of kids trying to save their homes versus murderous criminals, and worse, businessmen trying to uproot their homes and separate them, leading to the real major theme of the movie: friendship.

The Goonies don’t want to leave Astoria because they’re so terribly fond of their own driveways.  It’s because they’re fond of each other.  As much as they squabble and tease each other and argue, they are friends, and they don’t want to be separated.  In fact, their friendship and love for their home is so strong that, even when their lives are endangered, they stick together, even where there are opportunities to turn back.

But as important as the friendship between the Goonies is, it’s not the only friendship in the film that’s key to the story.

Chunk’s bonding with Sloth not only saves their lives, but also provides a happy ending for Sloth, too.  By the end of the film, Sloth is practically a Goonie himself, and the rest of the group embraces him without a second thought.  The group functions almost like a large family: they don’t always get along, (in fact, they often don’t) but in the end, what matters is that they care about each other, enough to face some pretty intense stuff.

Which is another good point.

While friendship and good vs. evil factor easily into a good adventure movie, what’s interesting to note is that while Indiana Jones or any other average adventure hero has to go with it: tons of courage, and usually some competency to go along.  The Goonies unfortunately only have the former, which makes sense.  The average age of the lot of them is thirteen.

Bravery isn’t exactly uncommon to see in adventure films: nobody wants to watch a cowardly hero in a straight adventure film.  But for the average hero, they have skills that help along the way, strength, speed, wits, intelligence, a specialized set of abilities.  The Goonies, on the other hand?

They’re kids.  The oldest among them are still high-schoolers.  Their skills are limited: Data’s inventions, Mikey’s leadership and optimism, Mouth’s ability to translate Spanish, and Chunk’s timing all come in handy throughout the film, but it never changes the fact that they’re kids against three adults who won’t think twice about killing children.  This changes their ‘courage’ somewhat into either some insane levels of idealism, or determination at the cost (sometimes) of common sense.  Mikey has to be convinced to escape from the collapsing cave instead of going back to get the treasure.

So what does that tell us?

It tells us that their goal means something to them, that they care immensely about it, and that it’s worth the danger.  Are they scared?  Of course.  But in that friendship, in that goal to defeat the evil of the Fratellis and the rich families about to bulldoze their houses, they find the courage to keep moving, to reach that goal.

In the end, the Goonies never beat the Fratellis.  They get away, sure, but it’s Sloth and the police who have far more to do with the actual ‘defeat of’ the main villains of the film.  After the Goonies escape, the prize of the movie seems to be their lives, with the Fratellis being left behind with the treasure.  You could argue this means that the Goonies aren’t very brave, seeing as they never had a final ‘battle’, or climax with the Fratellis, but it’s important to remember that the Fratellis aren’t really the antagonist of the Goonies.  They’re antagonists, for sure, but they aren’t the person who is causing the problem in the first place, kicking off the adventure.  That would be Mr. Perkins, the guy trying to get them out of the Goondocks.  As a result, while the Fratellis are apprehended by third-party law enforcement, the Goonies get to ‘defeat’ Mr. Perkins themselves, by having enough money to save their homes.

Is it ‘final battle’ level of epic climax?  No.  But again, they’re thirteen years old, and with that in mind, then staying one step ahead of hardened criminals, escaping, and saving their home anyway (all against adults more competent and powerful than they are) is plenty brave enough for me.

Both villains in this story have one thing in common: Greed.  Greed has always been a pretty common theme in stories, and that extends to moviemaking too: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Wall Street, and Citizen Kane are films held in high regard that revolve around greed, and what it does to people.  Other films like It’s a Wonderful Life take an even firmer, more obvious stance, pitting its protagonist against a cruel, greedy antagonist with no redeeming qualities.  In short, we as audience members have a pretty good idea of what greediness looks like, and we know that we don’t like it.  The Fratellis and Mr. Perkins are entirely motivated by money: Mr. Perkins can only think of the benefits to himself for tearing down the Goondocks, whereas the Fratellis, counterfeiters and thieves, are simply after the treasure for their own personal gain.

Now, of course, the Goonies are after it too, but you’ll notice something very important here.

Sure, the Goonies want the treasure.  That’s the whole point.  But the thing that prevents this from being an act of greed is obvious: ‘intent’.  Mikey’s protests about wanting to go back and get the loot is not because Mikey was struck by sudden gold-fever or Dragon Sickness, it’s because he wants, more than anything, to save their home.  It’s what they all want, in fact.  They’re doing this for a good cause: for each other, not just themselves, to meet a need.  None of the kids ever mention getting rich from this.  They all have the same goal, and there are never any of the typical fights about how the treasure gets split, or what they’ll do with their share.

These themes all overlap very neatly into the film itself, though it seems a little odd to cut them up and lay them out like this, but there is one thing that ties it all together, albeit, probably without meaning to.  I’ve mentioned the ages of the kids a few times: ranging from about thirteen to around sixteen or seventeen.  There have been plenty of movies about kids, for kids, and about kids for adults, but The Goonies manages to straddle a line and become a movie about kids, for everyone.

Youth is a huge part of this movie.  Adults do not find treasure maps and decide to go on an adventure in order to save their homes because the insane, idealistic, wide-eyed streak has already been burned out of them by life.  They already know the rules of the world, and know that that’s not how that works.  As such, the fact is, there’s no ‘Goonie’ storyline if the characters aren’t children.  Kids are infinitely more emotionally attached to their homes at that age, and will do anything to stay together.  Kids haven’t been told yet by the world that their hopes and dreams are unrealistic.  They still believe they can do great things, like save the Goondocks.  

Even throughout the rest of the film, you can’t replace these characters with adults.  They cry, they scream, they panic, they fight and argue with each other, and they all remain friends, unquestionably, and the adventure molds around them, allowing them to continue to be children as the story progresses.  The danger is real, but it never feels too big for them, or too small for everyone else.

So, what does that mean for genre?

None of this detracts from the fact that The Goonies is very much an adventure film.  Early on, the expectations are set up for the audience: the opening car chase and the discovery of the map in Mikey’s attic immediately set up the idea that there is going to be an exciting, dangerous story ahead, full of unexpected, unusual circumstances.  That’s exactly what we get.

While the audience may never feel outright danger for the characters’ lives, like I said, they do worry for the Goonies’ end goal, and there is certainly plenty of excitement along the way.  That is, in fact, the emotion most felt by the audience throughout the film.  The movie is a roller-coaster full of superficial danger without any real stakes, and plenty of heart-in-throat moments.  The trek through the tunnels, Chunk’s run-ins with the Fratellis, meeting Sloth, finding the pirate ship: are all dips and climbs throughout the amusement park ride that is The Goonies.  The audience is constantly on the edge of their seat, and almost every story beat is active payoff of that adventurous expectation.

But there’s more to this movie than just the thrills.

Part of the difficulty of developing an adventure film for kids is that you either have to put children in danger, or you run the risk of feeling too safe.  Kid adventure movies of the ‘80s like E.T. the Extra Terrestrial utilized an even balance, but as I mentioned, there’s no real fear for the Goonies’ lives.  This is for a rather specific reason:

The Goonies went for the laughs with the thrills.

Data falling through the cave floor?  Terrifying.  Data falling through the cave floor and being saved by his invention while the rest of the Goonies go into hysterics?  Hilarious.

The Goonies going after the treasure?  Exciting.

The Goonies letting the air out of Brand’s tires so he has to steal a little kid’s bicycle to go after them?  A comedy highlight.

The Goonies being cornered by the Fratellis and forced to give up the treasure?  Legitimately upsetting in the moment.

Mama Fratelli forcing Mouth to spit out the gobs of gold and pearls that he’s stashed in his mouth?  Genuinely funny.

The movie is constantly playing that balance.  No exciting moment is without it’s humorous side.  The kids are in danger, but they’re also always reacting in humorous ways, like Mikey making a half-hearted joke when Andy’s trying to play the bone organ while the floor collapses.  A lot of what people remember about this movie are the laughs, with good reason: there’s a ton of them.

The Goonies has no shortage of funny moments and humorous lines, again, some of the most quoted lines of the film happen to be the ones that made people laugh.  But as I’ve said before: there’s a lot more to being a comedy than just being funny.

Comedy is a very broad umbrella, one of the genres most easily mixed with others to create a blend: such as, what would seem to be a comedy-adventure story.  Comedies typically rely on either absurd, exaggerated, or humorous characters, or an absurd, exaggerated, humorous plot, such as in films like Coming to America or Ghostbusters.

So, how does The Goonies fit?  The plot is exaggerated, for sure, but not exactly in an inherently humorous way.

There’s a very easy way to tell exactly what genre it is, between adventure and comedy, and I’ll show you right now:

Typically, a really good way to tell a film’s genre is to take a good look at the characters, especially the main protagonist, and the story beats.  These elements best illustrate exactly what kind of story you have, and in the case of The Goonies, it’s fairly easy.

Like I said, the story for The Goonies is clearly exaggerated beyond the realm of belief.  Kids don’t find treasure maps in their attics that lead them to pirate ships.  However, the story isn’t played as ‘funny’, nearly ever.  The skeletons and booby traps are played completely straight, with very little to laugh at.  Indeed, in another movie, these booby traps may have actually hurt or killed a character.

In The Goonies however, while the plotline is a very straightforward ‘kids Indiana Jones’ adventure story, the characters are considerably more…colorful.

And funny.

Mikey’s mispronunciations and his bickering brother relationship with Brand, Andy’s hysteria, Data’s plucky mildly ‘nutty professor’ vibe, Chunk’s over-the-top reaction to his misadventures, Mouth’s…mouth, and Stef’s complete and total irritation with everyone around her lead to some hilarious interactions, and some genuinely funny characters in their own right.  Everyone is quirky, and not just to give them more character, it’s also to get them to be funnier.  They aren’t alone in this, either.

The Fratellis, although still remaining chief antagonists, are not without their own comedic slants as well.  Their own bickering amongst themselves and the over-the-top levels of abuse that get doled out equally manage to keep them intimidating for the kids, but funny for the audience, enough that there’s never a point where they reach true ‘villain’ status.  

With that combination in mind, the film actually manages to hit the comedy-adventure balance pretty evenly.  The situation remains threatening, but the thing that actually prevents the audience from worrying are the characters themselves and how they are portrayed: as indestructible characters in a cartoon.  They’re likeable enough to keep the audience invested, but humorous enough to keep the audience from fearing for them.  It’s the ideal combination, and it works, with just a dash of something more:

Heart.

The Goonies is remembered for its humor and its adventure, but it’s also remembered for its heart.  Brand hugging Mikey as they briefly connect over the fear and sadness of losing their home, Mikey’s inspiring speeches, ‘Goonies Never Say Die!’, Mouth’s passionate outburst about his dream, his wish, Sloth’s friendship with Chunk, even the ending, with Brand and Mikey’s dad proudly proclaiming that there will be no signing, with the kids watching the pirate ship sail into the sunset…it fills the audience with at least a little bit of warmth.

In the end, we care about the Goonies because the movie makes us care about them.  They make us like them, and so we feel for their adventures.  There’s a real, legitimate sense of family throughout it, down to the aggressive fighting to the make-up hugs that follow.

The Goonies is often considered a ‘family’ movie, something that may surprise viewers after hearing some of the language used by the kids, the corpses, and the fact that the kids are in legitimate danger at times, but in a way, it’s not very surprising that this is considered a family film.

The tempering of the action with the comedy certainly helps, but the real kicker to make sure that it’s considered a ‘family’ film is its focus: family.  Friendship.  The people you care about.  Banding together against all odds.

Yes, the plot appeals to kids, and so do the characters, for obvious reasons: the characters are kids, with child-like goals.  Adults typically don’t react so strongly to learning that they have to move, at least, not to the point of going treasure-hunting to prevent it.  However, while kids can grasp what the Goonies are about, adults can too.

Adults remember what it’s like to be kids, to have those hopes and fears and dreams, and can get into it just as well.  Family movies aren’t movies for kids, necessarily, but they are movies for families, that can be enjoyed by everyone, because everyone can relate to the story and characters.  This means that family movies tend to be pretty basic, uncomplicated, full of what could be derogatorily called ‘false excitement’, with characters that are fairly static and simple, but with gripping emotional themes that everyone can get behind.

In the case of The Goonies?

It fits the bill every step of the way.

In the end, The Goonies is an adventure film, one that promises it’s audience excitement and pays off every minute, and a comedy film that promises laughs, and again, delivers, and in being both of those things, it’s also a family film, with both of those things, and lots of heart to go with it, to offer in spades to an entire family.  

The result?

The Goonies is an exciting, charming, funny adventure film about kids who are charming, funny, and adventurous, leading to a perfect, consistent tonal blend that manages to stay with the movie from start to finish, creating a roller coaster, amusement-park ride of a film that has been loved, with good reason, by people of all ages since it was first released, entertaining families passing it down through generations for over thirty years, and will continue to entertain families for years to come, as long as kids continue to be kids, and adults can remember what being a kid is like.

Don’t forget to leave a comment, like, or some other form of love if you enjoyed this analysis, and please, follow for more articles like this!  Thanks so much for reading, and I hope to see you in the next article.

[classpect-crew]

Class and Purpose

I’ve heard a lot of people theorize about the purpose of each Class in any particular session. As you can probably imagine, I have a few thoughts about that. Let’s get into it, shall we? (Edit: this took me nearly two hours to write. It’s almost 7am. I need to sleep.)

First, we ought to start with the Witch and Heir. Now, all the Witches we’ve seen in canon seem to have a very similar beginning. They start off fairly passive (lowercase “p” this time) and have quite a lengthy maturation arc, not unlike Pages. However, once they hit a certain breaking point when they come into their powers, there’s a sort of “oh, shit” moment when everyone else is forced to reckon with one of their most unassuming players swiftly transforming into a powerhouse. With this much power at their disposal in such a short period of time, you may be wondering what they’re going to do with it. Well, historically speaking, they’re going to massively fuck things up for the session, whether intentionally or not. If the game determines that a brick shithouse of a player is required for some ultimate endgame, that means things are going to go very, very wrong. Ironically, the Witch may very well be the one to save the team from total catastrophe. It will usually work out in the end. Usually.

Now, the Heir is a bit of a different story. As one whose Aspect coddles and protects them in desperate times, the Heir is destined to become their Aspect in one way or another, for better or worse. After all, when a sullen, hungry Aspect like Void was influencing Equius, he ended up vanishing into irrelevance. Even his blood was used to obscure information in Rose’s tome. A similar fate befell Mituna, and he became the embodiment of sacrifice—of Doom. Heirs are doorways for their Aspects to affect the universe. They are the closest any living being can get to a distilled, pure form of an Aspect. If your session has an Heir, pay very close attention to the implications of their Aspect, because this will almost always determine how they’ll be used most effectively. An Heir of Blood, for example, is going to be your hard-working people-person, and you’ll want them in the center of your team, keeping everyone grounded and focused on the task at hand. Take heed: the appearance of an Heir is a sign that one Aspect in particular is going to have a strong influence on the session.

Next, we’ll discuss the Mage and Seer. A Mage’s role in a session is to unravel the mysteries of their Aspect, which means they’ll take on an advisory role. Their appearance marks a significant need for in-depth understanding of some kind. Every session has its riddles and puzzles, but those which possess a Mage need the mind of a scientist in order to parse out the most convoluted secrets. Perhaps the session is filled with difficult or confusing Aspect-related mysteries that must be taken apart and examined for an endgame victory to be possible. Unfortunately, we just don’t know enough about Mages in canon to speculate a whole lot more about what their presence in a session might mean.

The Seer has a similar purpose as the Heir, though to a lesser extent. While the Heir embodies their Aspect, a Seer is guided by theirs in subtle ways. The appearance of a Seer as an adviser ensures that the ultimate path to success will be either helped or hindered by their Aspect, and it’s up to them to figure out the extent and purpose of their Aspect’s sway in their session. This Passive Class tends to be assigned to otherwise active players who wish to exert their will over the universe, but must learn to step back and take on the role of a guide. Many will balk at this, but most will eventually realize that their true strength comes from trusting others to take their advice and push the team forward.

Now, onto the Maid and Sylph. The Maid, as I’ve discussed previously, begins their journey at the mercy of their Aspect’s most negative qualities. As you can imagine, a Maid’s purpose is to gain control of their Aspect in a way that allows them to “tidy it up” and maintain its integrity. The appearance of a Maid in a session almost guarantees that their Aspect is going to be fraying and torn, in need of their mending expertise. You can certainly expect a lot of difficulties to arise in the realm of their Aspect at the beginning, since they’ll lack the ability to smooth out those bumps for quite some time. Once the Maid realizes their potential, however, stand back and allow them to do their work. Chances are, they know what needs to be done to succeed, and you don’t want to stand in the way of a Maid and a stitch to be fixed.

Ah, the Sylph. As one myself, it’s fairly easy to imagine what my purpose in a session would be. Similar to the Maid, a Sylph’s job is one of restoration and healing, though they tend to start out with much more confidence toward their Aspect than the Maid. The presence of a Sylph in a session is a handy sign that their Aspect is likely going to be lost or broken at any given point, and therefore in need of restoration. This could be metaphorical, or quite literal, depending on the situation. As a Sylph of Time myself, it’s easy to imagine bringing back an amnesiac’s memories by “restoring” the time they lost, or healing a wound by speeding up time around it. Beware, however, as a Sylph’s energy isn’t limitless, and even the most dedicated healers need time to recuperate, or else they risk overexerting themselves and burning out. (Trust me, “Sylph Burnout” is a very real thing.)

Well, the first half is over, so now it’s time to talk about the Prince and Bard. As destroyer Classes, one might wonder what these might mean for their Aspects. That’s quite simple: both indicate an overabundance of their Aspect that must be pruned away. The Prince, in particular, is infamous for destroying their Aspect within themselves before turning their crusade outward. Too much of one Aspect upsets the balance, after all, so it must be purged to allow its opposite to rush in to fill that gap. If your session has a Prince, buckle up tight, because any semblance of their Aspect that exists is going to be an irresistible target for their princely purge. Although this is probably a good thing overall for the session, it’s going to be rather painful at the onset. Princes may “get the tumors out,” so to speak, but they’re likely to leave the patient bleeding on the operating table afterwards.

Having a Bard in your party is a little bit like inviting a chimpanzee to a D&D session: it’s exciting and unpredictable at first, but after a while, shit really starts to hit the fan and you’re left wondering “who invited this guy in the first place?” Truthfully, though, the Bard can be both a game-changing player and the one who dooms the entire session. In rare cases, they’re both simultaneously. Their Passive nature makes it difficult to predict what they’ll do next, since they act based on the whims of both their Aspect and its opposite, but it’s fairly certain your session will be rife with discord and conflict, due in part to the Bard. It’s sort of the universe’s way of throwing a curveball in the form of a player to challenge the team even further. A Bard is both a buff and a nerf to your team. Use them wisely, and never, ever turn your back on the Bard.

Well, well, it’s about time we talked about the Knight and Page. A Knight’s appearance has a very obvious consequence: whatever their Aspect is, that’s what your session will be lacking. Dave’s session was very, very short on time, Karkat’s had virtually no natural cohesion, and Latula’s was filled with big personalities with no regard for the consequences of their actions. This is because the Knight’s job is to use whatever they can get of their Aspect and exploit the hell out of it. Give them an inch, and they’ll turn it into a mile without breaking a sweat. This is especially handy when there’s precious little of their Aspect to go around.

Now, having a Page in your session may sound like a recipe for dead weight, but that would be an incredibly unfair assumption. Rather, a Page has access to a great deal of exploitative power as they reach the climax of their development. The presence of a Page is a very good sign indeed, as long as the team is willing to put up with their very slow and steep maturation arc. Their Aspect is one that will be opened up to be used by their teammates in game-breaking ways, provided they’re patient and encouraging toward the Page. Good things come to those who wait, and wasting the potential of a fully realized Page is not a mistake you want to make.

Last but certainly not least, we have the Thief and Rogue. Thieves get a bit of a bad rap in canon, but it’s safe to say that the Thief will become a powerful player in any given session. Their appearance signifies great conflict and strife, which they’ll almost certainly cause in the first place. Thieves begin much like Pages in the sense that they lack their Aspect and seek to obtain it. For the Thief, this Aspect-shaped hole is too much to bear, and their schemes to take it at any cost will likely be the source of the session’s woe. This isn’t necessarily all bad, however, as knowing your Thief well enough can help you predict the nature of this unavoidable conflict, allowing you to prepare well in advance. Remember, the Thief can make an incredible ally, but their interests won’t always fully align with those of the party.

Finally, we have the Rogue. Ultimately, the Rogue is in charge of balancing their Aspect by redistributing it from areas of abundance to those of scarcity. Too much of one Aspect upsets the universal balance, and as we’ve covered previously, there are quite a few Classes whose purpose involves tipping the scales back where they’re supposed to be. The Rogue is the most intricately tied to this delicate dance between their Aspect and its opposite, since the presence of one necessarily negates the other. Their job is to facilitate this natural order, ensuring that their Aspect doesn’t become too concentrated in one form or another, ultimately supporting a natural sense of order over chaos.

If you’ve read all the way to the end, congratulations! You’ve officially read through nearly two hours of my creative process. I’m actually really impressed.

[crapitskizaru]

Side Effects May Include: Devil Fruits Edition

🦖 Could I request some HCs on how devil fruits would affect the user’s sex lives? :o this is so vague but it’s so interesting to consider that I wanted to hear your opinions, haha

Warning: in-depth analysis of all the naturalistic filth that comes along in the topic of a human body and sexual encounters + freakishly long-ass post that includes most of the currently known devil fruits 

Logia Types

Hie Hie no Mi (Kuzan) 

❄️ since he’s such a chilly guy ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°), he’d certainly use his abilities to cool down the temperature of his body during any sexual encounter - Kuzan doesn’t really like all the heat and sweat that is produced during the steamy see what I did here? hilarious times in between him and his current lover 

❄️ if his partner’s vagina is sore because of reasons varying from physical injuries to hardcore love-making, he’s the perfect guy to come up with a quick solution - a chilly, smooth dildo of his own making to ease out the pain pretty much torpedoes the problem 

Goro Goro no Mi (Enel)

⚡️ this one’s a little tricky; since he can transform himself into pure electricity, he’d have to keep that in mind at all times, especially when reaching his climax - so that he wouldn’t electrocute his lover from too much excitement 

⚡️ if he’s an extreme sucker for kinkplays, he could use the tiniest bit of his powers to either stimulate his partner or punish them for disobedience of any kind, provided they’re into it as well 

⚡️ given that Enel can also use his skills to listen to the electrical sound waves in the air, he’d have an incredibly detailed perception of how his lover reacts to particular sex positions, angles of his thrusts and so on i honestly don’t know what to do with this information 

Gasu Gasu no Mi (Caesar)

☁️ sex in the air?????

Magu Magu no Mi (Sakazuki)

🐶 this shit only serves him an inability to get too caught up in the moment, unless he wants this particular person to get burned alive during sex 

🐶 so besides the obvious flaws, the only advantage I can think of is being able to serve as a human heater to his partner during particularly cold nights if only he would ever actually cuddle someone

Mera Mera no Mi (Acey & Saboo)

🔥 just as with Akainu, these bois will instantly heat up even their coldest partners - a lot of warmth and a lot of sweat-producing usually accompanies them during love-making sessions 

🔥 might include the annoying issue of holes being burned right through their clothing whenever they get too fiery with the act - as well as the possibility of unintentionally starting a fire in the room 

Moku Moku no Mi (Smoker)

🚬 I can easily imagine him using the ability of producing as much smoke as he fancies to blind his lover for maximized kinky submission experience 

🚬 also, using the great speed with which all the smoke allows him to move in order to intensify the frequency of his thrusts - could it get any better?

Numa Numa no Mi (Caribou) 

🛸 used for stabilizing his partner’s legs/waist/arms so that he can devote all of his attention towards pleasuring both of them, without having to worry about occupying his hands to hold them 

🛸 also available for kinky use - all of that bondage gear could be replaced with those muddy serpents of his just perfect 

🛸 provided he’s got a rather powerful dominance/daddy kink, Caribou could also create the bottomless swamps to trap his partner and make them beg for his cock 

Pika Pika no Mi (Borsalino) 

💥 reflecting himself into various positions to gain dominance? Heating his partner up? Providing enough room lighting? Sex at the speed of light? What?

Suna Suna no Mi (Crocodaddy) 

🐊 trapping his lover in piles of quicksand for further teasing seems like a good enough idea to me - also, since he can crumble things to dust in literal seconds, stripping his partner down is never as quick as when it comes to this man 

🐊 the ability to absorb any liquid makes cleaning up his cum from the drenched sheets a rather easy job that’s quite handy actually 

Yami Yami no Mi (Blackbeard) 

👺 the only use of this shit that I can think of is, again, blinding his partner and surrounding them with pure darkness, leaving them all hot and bothered in anticipation for his traitorous cock 

👺 could also serve as a technique of pulling a person towards himself, like he did with Ace, but that’s just too scary to me, idk 

Yuki Yuki no Mi (Monet)

💨 compressing her snow to different bondage gear, as well as cooling her partner down at particularly humid times - although I think it’d be hard for her to control the powers while being in a highly aroused state 

Paramecia Types

Ato Ato no Mi (Jora) 

🎨 courting her crushes with abstract art paintings, thank u very much 

Awa Awa no Mi (Kalifa) 

🛁 unlimited lube supplies

🛁 now that’s what I’m talking about 

🛁 I can assure you, this woman would go all out with those bubbly powers - using it to turn her various kinks into reality 

🛁 used for draining her partner’s energy to gain as much dominance over them as possible; also to clean up from all the bodily fluids that cover them after each round of sex 

🛁 could come in handy to relax her partner and bring them floods of pleasure, often to the point of overstimulation 

Baku Baku no Mi (Wapol) 

🏰 no, I can’t do this 

Bane Bane no Mi (Bell)

🛎 boing-boinging into his lover during sex??????

Bara Bara no Mi (Buggy D. Clown)

🤡 oh, this one’s good 

🤡 this fruit allows him to use more dildos and plugs with his fingers than he could count on one hand - mainly because he’s got two im so funny 

🤡 thrusting inside his partner and giving oral at the exact same time, because why not; the only requirement would be that his lover can’t get too grossed out by all of this dirty shit 

Bari Bari no Mi (Bartolomeo)

💫 being able to make love to his partner against the barriers that he creates/creating surfaces to fuck on in places that no one sane enough would ever consider as suitable ones for having sex 

Bata Bata no Mi (Galette) 

😈 imagine how much fun this woman has in bed - being able to control and restrict anyone’s movements with those buttery thingies, she doesn’t even have to try much to be the dominant one in between the sheets

😈 also, consider this: butter-flavoured lube and unlimited + unbreakable flavoured condoms 

Beri Beri no Mi (Very Good)

🍇 berry/sphere-shaped dildos??? incredible

Beta Beta no Mi (Trebol)

💧 if his partner has a vagina, he could control their discharge, as in the amount and its texture - what for, I have no idea 

💧 he’d also be able to restrict his lover’s movements, as well as come up with new positions, since he can attach himself to any surface 

💧 other use may be as a lube? although that’s pretty disgusting 

Bisu Bisu no Mi (Cracker) 

🍪 do you find yourself daydreaming about sweets when close to climaxing? Are you experiencing unexpected, overwhelming cravings during sex? Constantly hungry? Or simply bored with orgasms? Fear not! This man will supply you with floods of biscuits to munch on so that both of you will be pleasured 

🍪 moving cookie dildos??

Doru Doru no Mi (Mr.3)

🕯 various bondage constructions made with wax? 

Fuku Fuku no Mi (Kin’emon)

👙 imagine how many sets of lingerie this man would create for his partner to wear - a literal dream come true when it comes to this pervert 

Fuwa Fuwa no Mi (Shiki)

🦁 advanced sex positions in the air/rotating his lover according to the man’s whims 

Giro Giro no Mi (Violet) 

🌹 this woman would bring her lover as much pleasure as possible while also making their deepest kinks and desires come true 

🌹 she’s also able to read which positions are the most enjoyable for her partner and what they secretly think of her sex skills kinda scary if you ask me 

Gura Gura no Mi (Whitebeard) 

🌎 what may be possible when it comes to this fruit is creating the tiniest vibrations in order to stimulate different areas of a human body and bringing powerful orgasms, although that’s just too good to be true 

Hana Hana no Mi (Robin-chwan) 

🌷 giving oral and being able to grope her partner, both at the same time, seems like a pretty good use of this devil fruit 

🌷 slight possibility of sprouting as many pair of legs as she fancies and ability to take theoretically unlimited partners at the same time? 

Horu Horu no Mi (Ivankov) 

👅 starting the love-making session while having a dick and ending it with a vagina? Why not? 

👅 imagine how much Ivankov could arouse their partner by increasing their levels of dopamine/serotonin/testosterone/estrogen, according to their desires

Hoya Hoya no Mi (Charlotte Daifuku) 

🏺 gains +1 spectator, if he’s an exhibitionist ;)

Kage Kage no Mi (Gekko Moria) 

🕳 could have multiple partners, exclusively at his service?

Kilo Kilo no Mi (Miss Valentine) 

🎀 would totally be able to pin her lover to the bed, preventing them from flipping on top of her - what an easy way to gain dominance, although she’d have to be extra careful not to crush them well

Kobu Kobu no Mi (Bello Betty<3)

🌌 her partner receives almost overwhelming waves of encouragement, whether in order to praise them or to push them to keep going - this woman certainly doesn’t take sex lightly 

🌌 is able to turn even the most insecure lovers into confident sex-animals in the matter of seconds 

Kuri Kuri no Mi (Charlotte Opera) 

🍦 moisture! Lube! Food kink! Quick snack! Fluffy surface! Whatever you want!

Mane Mane no Mi (Bon Clay) 

🦄 ever wished it was your crush instead of ą random hook-up? Problem solved indefinitely~

Mato Mato no Mi (Vander Decken)

🐍 he could try aiming dildos at his partner from afar? Why did I even think of this?

Memo Memo no Mi (Charlotte Pudding) 

🎞 rewatching her and her partner’s favorite sex moments whenever she wants, almost like a portable(?), realistic porn movie

🎞 being able to erase all of the sexual encounters during which she either didn’t enjoy herself enough or performed badly and doesn’t want her lover to remember it terrifying 

Mero Mero no Mi (Hancock) 

🎇 keeps perverts at distance 

Mochi Mochi no Mi (Charlotte Katakuri) 

🍩 food kink

🍩 is able to restrain his lover’s movements so that they have to plead for his cock - good method whenever Mochi’s in a dominant mood~ 

🍩 food kink

🍩 it also allows him to create as much mochi as he desires in order to either lick it off of his partner’s body or make them lick him clean 

Nagi Nagi no Mi (Rosie)

🍰 his lover can be as loud as they want - screams, pleads, moans and groans of pleasure - nothing will be audible outside of his sphere, which comes in handy when he just wants to have a quickie and Doffy’s in the room next to them 

Netsu Netsu no Mi (Charlotte Oven) 

🌡 hot dick 

Nikyu Nikyu no Mi (Bartholomew Kuma)

🐾 useful when you never want to see your partner again 

Ope Ope no Mi (Trafalgar the Fucking Law) 

⛄️ now that’s the kinkiest shit 

⛄️ just visualize all of the fucked up poses and positions he could slice his partner into, and then multiply it by Law’s level of sadism - great 

⛄️ this man’s totally able to make his partner watch from afar as he plays and fucks their body the way he likes 

⛄️ could he slice his dick off and use it as a dildo though?

Ori Ori no Mi (Hina)

⛓ brings hardcore bondage to a completely new level (:

Pero Pero no Mi (Charlotte Perospero) 

🍭 what else if not creating lickable, candy dildos - and just like Mochi, he loves to lick his own candy from his lover’s body 

🍭 also various candy creations to restrain his lover with

Wara Wara no Mi (Basil Hawkins) 

🃏 cute little voodoo dolls to cuddle!

Ito Ito no Mi (Donquixote Doflamingo)

🍨 imagine how incredibly kinky this man can get with his powers 

🍨 holding his partner in the air with those strings? Leaving small cuts all over their body, if they agree to that, edging and marking?

🍨 also using it as bondage gear and maximalyzing his Daddy authority/dom position, since his partner can’t even wriggle so that they won’t get cut 

Bastard Bastard no Mi (Eustass Kid)

🔥 manipulating the restricting bondage gear/handcuffs/jewelry of his partner’s according to his whims and wishes 

🔥 also knife play mastered to perfection?

Zoan Types

🦖 every furry’s heaven, thank u 

[demaury]

Only You (chap.1)

For Lucas, life has always been rather bittersweet, between shitty family situations and crappy self-esteem overall, but his eighteenth birthday marks yet another dramatic turn that no amount of cynicism could have prepared him for. (ao3 link)

February 2019

Scrap, scrap, scrap.

The pencil was grazing the paper sheet with so much precision and regularity that Lucas had no trouble supplying the missing sound of the lead. His eyes were focused on the hands of the customer sitting outside, only tearing away when the guy set the pencil down to roll himself a cigarette. Of course he was a smoker. February had been relatively lenient so far, but it was a bit too early in the year to spend more time outside than necessary, unless you were a smoker. He didn’t know how long he had been looking, but a lifetime of noisy canteen tables had given him the ability to tune his loud friends out whenever he wanted to — perhaps too effectively, because now he had three pairs of eyes on him.

He was forced to refocus his attention on his own table, tearing his eyes away from the street. Last time he had tried to find interest in the conversation, it had been about some party the guys wanted to go, since apparently Arthur had game with a friend of Marine’s, his platonic soulmate. Nothing that called for his contribution, from what he knew, but maybe he had missed the part where it got interesting.  

“What?”, he asked blankly.

“He’s hot,” Yann simply commented with an approving nod.

Lucas followed his gesture, directed towards the guy sitting outside.

“Super hot,” Basile confirmed, pausing from slaughtering a viennoiserie to spare a glance.

“I was looking at the drawings,” Lucas said, eyes falling onto his now lucky-warm cup of coffee.

“So you can actually see anything from here?” Arthur deadpanned.

Lucas’ eyes travelled between the three of them, but the insistence they had to look outside made him turn back one more time. It was the worst idea he probably ever had. Because yes, the guy was beautiful, but he was also staring right the fuck back at him from the other side of the glass. Lucas was sure he could feel his eyes burning holes into his skin — not in a bad way, but in a totally, a 100% fucked up way.

Lucas’ head snapped back the other way, so fast he nearly broke his neck in the process. Smooth, Lallemant, real smooth, he thought sarcastically.

“He’s looking at you,” Basile remarked unhelpfully and far, far too eagerly to Lucas’ taste.

“No he’s not,” he gritted out, scowling. “He’s looking at us, because you are fucking creeps. Stop staring!”

“Says the one who was staring first,” Arthur snorted. “Bro, you weren’t even blinking.”

“I was looking at the drawings,” Lucas hammered, whisper-screaming. “Can we just collectively ignore him now and drop the subject?”

It could have come in handy for him to know what the conversation was about before it came to this, maybe he would have had higher chances to redirect it on safer grounds, but as it was what were the odds that they had changed subject since the last time he tried to care?

Yann quirked a brow, apparently far from being done. “So you’d just pass on him?”

“I’m not passing on anything, he’s just a guy,” Lucas retorted.

“Right,” Arthur drawled, extending the ‘i’ obnoxiously. “Just a guy. Staring the fuck at you. Plus, our love lives are a lot less miserable than yours.”

“I just got out of a relationship, I’ll let you know,” Basile retorted haughtily.

“And I’m not interested in dating these days,” Yann shrugged.

“Then why can’t you just understand that I’m not interested either?” Lucas huffed, ignoring Basile’s intervention to focus on Yann.

He profoundly hated the sudden tone of the conversation, all too aware where this was going. He wished he was wrong, but as soon as Yann sighed and leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table, Lucas knew it wasn’t the case.

“Because it’s about your soulmate,” he said, “not about you not wanting to date.”

“It always is,” Arthur quipped in his cup of coffee.

Lucas’ stomach tightened, and he instinctively averted his eyes.

Today had been an empty day. Not bad, not good. Just empty, an hour carrying him here and the other carrying there. It wasn’t all that bad, it was even days like these that Lucas craved the most — those where he was just feeling numb enough not to care. Of course now it was a lot more difficult not to care when his three (supposedly) best friends had decided to meddle in, especially when he had asked them not to.

“Look, we just don’t want you to keep moping forever,” Basile added.

Arthur nodded, shifting towards Lucas who was sitting next to him. “He’s right. When a cute guy looks at you, you just go for it, that’s how it works,” he completed with a casual shrug.

“Yeah, just go talk to him.”

“I’m not going to do that,” Lucas retorted coolly, feeling his calm crumble with each passing second. “I’m not going to talk to a guy who looked at the four of us once, and I certainly don’t need your fucked up advices because you’ve got no idea what I’m going through!”

“Because you never let anything out,” Yann protested.

“Why should I?” Lucas exclaimed. “So you can tell me to forget about it and just move on?”

“Well, I don’t know,” Basile admitted, looking rather embarrassed, and Lucas’ eyes jumped on him. “It’s been what, five months, now? Maybe- Maybe that’s what you should do?”

Arthur and Yann both glanced at him, mouthing a quiet ‘dude’ with a shake of their head. Lucas opened his mouth and closed it, nothing coming out at first. “How about you start shutting up about your damn soulmate, Baz?”, he snapped. “’When am I going to meet her’, ‘what does she look like’, ‘what if I never see her’-”

“Lucas–,” Arthur tried, but Lucas snatched his arm away when he squeezed it lightly to distract him.

“No, I’m fucking done hearing you all complain,” Lucas protested, perhaps louder than he should have judging by the embarrassed looks of the guys. He shook his head and stood up abruptly, grabbing his backpack and making the cups on the table tinkle together. “‘Oh no, my soulmate’s Emma’, ‘oh no my soulmate’s a platonic one’, ‘oh when am I gonna find her’, but mine is fucking dead, so excuse me for making a big deal out of it!”, he exclaimed bitterly, throwing the last words behind his shoulder as he was already on his way out.

*

4 months and a half, 21 hours and 36 minutes.

138 days. Over 3334 hours.

That’s how long he had been miserable. Ever since that horrible evening, last October. He and the boys were having predrinks at the flatshare, before hitting a college party organized by PACES students, and the memory of his own laughter made it all the more painful in retrospect. They were not quite a month into their first year at uni, and Lucas was still buzzing with the excitement of it all. In complete honesty he couldn’t have cared less about his studies; the major he had picked after his BAC, economics, was far from being his thing, but the silver lining had been his soulmate. As Yann had pointed out to him shortly after getting his soulmark last summer, new faces all around at uni meant more chances to meet his ‘Eliott guy’. And Lucas? Well, Lucas couldn’t decently argue with that logic, really. Every new party was another occasion to casually hope for something to happen — he had just never thought that ‘something’ happening would be so fucking painful.

“What are you looking at?” he remembered laughing in-between two rounds of video games and his second beer, after spotting Arthur’s eyes on him for quite some time now.

Arthur had barely looked up, frowning behind his glasses instead. “Dude, I think… I think your soulmark’s fading.”

Lucas had glanced down at his arm, exposed by the tee-shirt he was wearing, heartbeat rising as he jumped up from the couch to the closest source of light in the room to get a better view. A rush of adrenaline after that, and Lucas’ brain a mess of emotions making his head spin. He remembered clutching at his own arm, as he could do nothing but stare at the six letter name growing fainter and fainter despite his pleas, until it was barely noticeable at all and that the guys had no more comforting things to come up with. No one went to the party that night. Instead, Lucas found himself cradling his arm most of the night, hoping and begging for it to be just a mistake. For Eliott’s name to come back, thick and black and bold letters all over again — but it never did. His soulmark had remained the same, a faint scar in the shape of a name.

He hadn’t sought other testimonies online this time. He hadn’t felt the need to. Soulmarks fading was about a soulmate dying, everybody knew that. He didn’t need people recounting tearful stories, nor did he need anyone to instill hope where it had no place to be. Whoever Eliott was, whoever he had once been, it was over for him — for them. It had been terrible from there, and he wasn’t going to pretend otherwise just to make his friends feel better about it. They were still at an age where these kind of things were a big deal, for better or for worse, and he knew he’d still be looking out for Eliott everywhere he went just like Basile did with his soulmate, if it weren’t for a fucked up destiny taking too much pride in screwing him over.

“Excuse me?” tentatively called a voice next to him.

“What?” Lucas answered sharply, head snapping to the side.

The scowl on his face turned into a sarcastic twist of his lips accompanied by a dry snort. Of fucking course. The artsy customer from the café was standing here, roughly two meters away from him. There was only one fucking reason he’d be here, and this fucking reason in particular was a three-headed dumbass he had known since high school and was now dying to throw under the next bus.

“They are assholes, alright?” he spat. “I don’t know what they fucking told you and I don’t fucking care. I’m not interested, period.”

“You’re not interested,” the guy repeated, slightly cocking an eyebrow. Lucas thought he was on the verge of exploding if he was so much as trying to insist. But instead, the guy reached for a rolled-up cigarette he had tucked behind his ear. “I was just gonna ask for a lighter, but it’s always nice to know where everybody stands I guess.”

He was smiling.

Lucas’ cheeks heated up from crushing embarrassment and he cast his eyes away, staring at his hands and deflating instantly. It was definitely not the worst day of his life, but he could feel it make a solid entry in the top 5.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I’m not smoking.”

The guy shrugged. “Alright.”

Please, leave. He was the only one beside him waiting at the bus stop, if he really needed a lighter it wouldn’t magically appear in Lucas’ pocket. Just leave. Fighting with the guys had sucked the last bit of energy he had left in his body, he didn’t have any more left. But instead the guy sat on the metallic bench. Ultimate fuckery if there was one. He didn’t have any idea what he had done in a past life, but he could only guess it was bad. Lucas tried to look away and absorb himself in the silent contemplation of the sidewalk, but all he could think about was that he wanted to come home and crawl under the covers and forget that day even happened at all. It wasn’t easy when the guy sitting next to him was a constant reminder of the shitty afternoon he had just spent, between boring classes he didn’t give a fuck about, friends who had forgotten the basic meaning of ‘supportive’ and, of course, last but not least, lashing out to a complete stranger for trying to hit on him and who happened to be so far out of his league that they didn’t even play the same sport.

A metallic flick drove his attention toward the lighter the guy was currently trying to make work, with a concentrated frown on his face and the cigarette now tucked between his lips. He kept flicking, once, twice, ten times, until Lucas couldn’t take it anymore.

“Usually when they don’t work the first five times, they rarely work the ten other times after that,” he said.

The guy glanced at him, then shrugged. “I guess I’m a dreamer then, uh?”

He put the cigarette back behind his ear and pocketed the uncooperative lighter in his brown jacket. Lucas took his eyes away and glanced at the other end of their street, where his bus was slowly (but hopefully steadily) making its way in their direction.

“Rough day?”

Lucas risked an eye in the guy’s direction. “You don’t have to do that, you know. It’s fine.”

He shrugged one more time. “I don’t mind,” he said, smiling a little even.

Is he fucking kidding me? Lucas thought instantly, taken aback. He found himself staring, blatantly, unapologetically, as if he was seeing him for the first time. He studied his insanely intense grey eyes, and the messy but effortlessly good-looking brown hair making wonders to his sharp cheekbones. He’s hot, he was forced to admit to himself, just when the bus reached their stop in a concert of screeching and hissing sounds. But somehow, his inner voice suddenly sounded a lot like Yann’s, and it made him angry.

Angry and upset and fucking outraged.

“Well, I do mind,” he articulated.

Before the guy could even say something, Lucas snatched his backpack from the bench and strode towards the entrance of his bus without a glance back.

[jbuffyangel]

Legacy: Arrow 7x12 Review (Emerald Archer)

Spoiler alert: I loved the 100th episode. I know this is a controversial opinion because it is universally hated in the fandom (I think), but I truly loved the episode for where Oliver was at in his story. So, I didn’t go into the 150th with a lot of expectations. The 150th didn’t need to fix anything for me. Were there some misfires? Yeah and we’ll get into those, but overall I enjoyed this episode. 

Let’s dig in…

Queen Family

William is home and our Queen family is reunited. FINALLY. 

Yes, I know it’s technically the Queen-Smoak-Clayton family, but nobody is really expecting me to hyphenate three names over a dozen times? If you are then that’s crazy. I won’t do it.

Oliver and Felicity are overjoyed to see William, 

but unfortunately the sentiment is not returned. 

Source:  olicitygifs

“Emerald Archer” introduces us to William’s alter ego: THE MOODY TEENAGER. 

This may be the toughest foe Oliver and Felicity have ever faced. 

Kidding. Not really. I’m knee deep in preteen years and the teenage ones are barreling at me with lightning speed, so I identity with this storyline A LOT.  

Felicity deftly navigates the creature otherwise known as MOODY TEEN by complimenting his ability to find her virus (our budding computer genius. I am so proud.) 

and then lovingly prodding William into discussing whatever is bothering him 

by threatening grounding (for a rude & sassy attitude). 

Source:  felicitysmoakgifs

Y’all I am taking notes. MOM ICON AT WORK.

William is ticked because his parents didn’t bring him home for Christmas. Is that what happened? 

It’s so hard to figure out what holidays Arrow is acknowledging. Oliver said in 7x08, “Christmas vacation seems like 20 years from now,” so I assumed William came home sometime after 7x09, but I guess not. 

Yeah, I get it kid. That sucks. #TeamWilliam.

In your parents’ defense they were hashing out the emotional evolution of their marriage while Oliver was body swapping with Bart. But that’s just a regular Monday for Arrow, so I understand the kid’s beef. 

Source: ebett

Oliver playing television star (hehehe SO META) via this documentary doesn’t exactly scream crisis to William either. But-but-but all the shaky camera shots for gritty realism are cool though right honey? Yeah, William doesn’t care.

HOWEVER, if I spoke to my mother the way William spoke to Felicity and violently shoved an electronic device she paid for in her face while making demands regarding the wifi security (which she also pays for), I would be taking my life into my hands. My mother would have removed me from this earth, which is her right.  

Same goes for my kid. I once asked my child during a temper tantrum if she wanted to do this the nice way or the nasty way. She put her little hands on her hips, all of age 3, and said with absolute conviction while glaring at me, “NASTY.” She is now 11, going on 12, and I assure you she has never made that mistake again. So, I commend Felicity’s reserve. I’m afraid I do not share that level of parenting patience.

Why is Felicity taking all the heat when it was Oliver who screwed the pooch by going to prison in the first place? Well, yes one can always trace the source of the problem back to the biggest pine tree to ever live, 

but in this particular circumstance I agree with William. It was Felicity’s decision to send him away to boarding school. I’m not saying she shouldn’t have done it. Felicity had extremely good reasons to send William away.

Source: ebett

However, a large part of Felicity’s beef with Oliver after his release from prison was his constant Monday morning quarterbacking of her decisions. Oliver can hero however he wants, but he doesn’t get to question how Felicity deals with the consequences of his heroism. That was the agreement right? RIGHT. Felicity said the buck stops with her.  So, the buck stops with her. Sending William away was her call, so now she’s dealing with some fallout.

Source: felicitysmoakgifs

Don’t worry, I fully expect Daddy to get looped in, but I like how they are focusing on William and Felicity first. It’s rare to run into problems with your child when both parents are in the room. One or the other fields the play first and then you loop your partner in. At least, that’s how it works in my house. (Seriously, I don’t know how single parents do it. Y’all are kings and queens among peasants.)

Side note: you never ever contradict your partner’s parenting decisions in front of the little human. It shows weakness. The wee nugget can smell it like fear and it gives them a tactical advantage. These are tools of the trade. Get a pen. Write it down.

It was just William and Felicity for six months. They built their own family without Oliver together. Of course, Oliver was still a part of the family and they missed him like crazy, but the day to day was just the two of them. Some of those decisions are coming home to roost, so it makes sense to me Felicity is taking the parenting lead. She was William’s only parent for quite some time.

Felicity, being the super hacker mom that she is, figures out what is really going on – William is lying to her. It seems he has been expelled from school. Oops.

The reason for his expulsion will be revealed to us next week I am sure, but I would say now is the time to loop Dad in.

Source: felicitysmoakgifs

These scenes between William and Felicity were the best in the episode and it never ceases to amaze me how far their relationship has progressed in such a short amount of time. There is nothing Felicity can’t do and no man she cannot smoak. Life with a teenage William is going to become more complicated and the parenting more challenging. But William will be a better person for having Felicity in his life. No matter where this story goes that’s a solid fact.

Olicity

It’s been 150 episodes and we’ve come a looooong way with Oliver Queen. 

He’s so at peace with himself in these interviews. 

Oliver has merged both personas, the hood is down, mask is off, he's married to the love of his life, his boy is home, and his life is filled with purpose. 

Source:  smoakmonster

This man was snapping necks in the pilot and now he’s the softest teddy bear to ever exist because his son is home from school. MY HEART IS FULL.

Source: olicitygifs

To begin where Oliver began, and to be where he is now, is nothing short of miraculous. He may not be a saint, as Curtis notes later, but that’s exactly where he is headed. That’s who fully realized superheroes are.

But we still have some road to travel. Oliver’s only real area of doubt is his leadership abilities. I still don’t understand what mistakes Oliver made with Team Arrow. 

Source:  smoakmonster

He’s constantly referencing these “mistakes” particularly in “Emerald Archer.” This is a failing of Season 6. I truly think the writers believe the NTA versus OTA storyline was evenly handled, but in reality Oliver was completely in the right and the Newbies were acting like spoiled toddlers.

Oliver went to jail in some part to atone for his sins, but I do not feel any of those sins happened in Season 6. I view Oliver’s stint at Slabside as atonement for killing. 

We can debate the necessities of that atonement, but this season feels like an ultimate purging of Oliver’s sins – venial and/or mortal. Whatever debt Oliver owed society, he paid it and then some. This only makes his soul more pure. If you don’t believe Oliver deserved to go to prison at all then it just adds more fuel to the martyr fire - all good things in the evolution of a saint.

However, now Oliver is questioning his ability to lead because of these so called “mistakes.” Based on statements Oliver has made in previous episodes, those mistakes would be lack of trust and lying. 

I’m with him on the lying. Time to nip that in the bud, but that doesn’t mean Oliver owes everyone the truth immediately. He’s perfectly within his rights to take some time, yes even a month, to process the introduction of a new sister in his life. The man still has a right to some privacy and space.

Oliver’s guilt over not trusting the Newbies is fairly ridiculous since they gave him very good reasons not to trust them. 

In case Oliver has forgotten, Dinah had a secret criminal boyfriend and Rene sold him out to the Feds. These are untrustworthy actions and they have consequences. I can’t remember what Curtis did, if anything. His crime is  unceasing uselessness, so Oliver can and should ignore the man.

Oliver is not sure he’s meant to lead, which of course means he is absolutely the right person for the job. Only true leaders question their worthiness. 

Source:  smoakmonster

He returns to the destroyed bunker with a renewed commitment to rebuild the bunker

(with handy dandy deputy badges for the team) and learn from his mistakes.

Source:  smoakmonster

I imagine Oliver’s new leadership style will be more trusting and democratic, but inclusion only gets you so far. Team Arrow may be the kindling in the Star City fire, but the citizens need Oliver Queen to set it ablaze.

The Team Arrow table is round both in the destroyed present and flash forward bunkers. It gives it a very Knights of the Round Table feel. Everyone can have an opinion and equal say, but in the end it was King Arthur’s kingdom. He pulled the sword from the stone, built Camelot and paid the ultimate price for his dream.

Oliver is King Arthur and Star City is his Camelot – or what he dreams Star City may one day become. He may pay the ultimate price for that dream like Arthur, but ultimately the loss of the hero teaches us the dream isn’t possible without the hero. Oliver may need Team Arrow, but the team and the city will soon discover they need him even more.

Source: ebett

This is something Felicity Smoak has always understood. Her belief in Oliver Queen and crystal clear understanding of who he is has never wavered in seven years. Even when they were separated romantically, Felicity saw Oliver as the man who would save Star City. 

This belief became a compass for Oliver- his North Star. Felicity became the voice in Oliver’s head guiding him on his hero’s journey. 

Her belief made Oliver believe and thus became a self fulfilling prophecy.

Edward: So what happens after he climbs up and rescues her?

Vivian: She rescues him right back. (Pretty Woman)

There is no Green Arrow without Felicity Smoak and there is no Felicity Smoak without Green Arrow. Each is dependent on the other. Their love is amalgamation of give and take & push and pull. Oliver and Felicity never cease in their pursuit to become their best selves, yet remain a beautiful example of unconditional love, acceptance and forgiveness.

Love changes us and it cements who we are. It is a constant drive of two diametrically opposed forces working in perfect cohesion. We find clarity in the swirl of finding love, falling in love and then settling into love. Oliver and Felicity found themselves in each other. It’s how we all do, regardless of whom or what you love.

All it took was one sweet and simple smile for Felicity to know exactly who Oliver Queen is.  

Yet, who is he is equally about who they became together. Felicity saw Oliver’s light because of how brightly hers shined. Their heroic evolution is perfectly entwined.  

Source: @olicitygifs

So, there is no better person to speak on this topic. The word vigilante falls woefully short. It cannot encompass everything her husband is or what their love has built together. It barely hints at the goodness Felicity saw hiding behind a ridiculous lie and a bullet ridden computer.

Felicity’s interview doesn’t shine a big enough spot light on her own contributions, but I think that’s primarily because she hasn’t been outed as Overwatch to the city.  However, she has always been the truthsayer of Arrow and that’s her role in the documentary as well.

Felicity understands who Oliver is because she is his equal in every way. 

Recognition of his heroism is recognition of hers as well. And someday the world will see everything Felicity sees with unwavering

clarity.

Source: @olicitygifs​

Should there have been more of Felicity and Olicity in "Emerald Archer”? Yes, absolutely. 

My thirst will never be satiated, but I’ve long since acclimated myself to quality over quantity. This was Felicity as she’s always been. I love whenever this show showcases her ability to cut through the bullshit and shine a light on the truth. The scenes between her and William were the best in the episode too. That said, an Olicity kiss and/or joint interview wouldn’t have killed them.

Welcome Back Guest Stars!

A good returning guest star angle works for me 99.999% of the time on any television show. What can I say? I’m nostalgic. Let us wile away the dull hours and spin a tale or two about the days of old.

Nostalgia in these types of retrospective episodes can get a little tricky. You need a good reason to bring back five or six actors who’ve left the show and we’ve heard almost nothing from for a few years, particularly the dead characters. Arrow’s documentary film idea for the 150th episode really works for me. It gives a legitimate reason to bring all of these characters back, but not necessarily keep them around. It’s not aliens so right there we’re already light years ahead. 

HA! Get it? Light years? Yeah, you might not be laughing now but you’ll realize how funny that is later on.

Source:  fatedxdestiny

Arrow starts with Quentin and boy is that ever the right call. This documentary is very pro vigilante. It was put on the shelf because Star City became anti vigilante, so who better to advocate for the masked heroes than the man who ran the SCPD for the last twenty odd years? 

Quentin was always the touchstone to the real world. He was the bridge between Oliver and the citizens of Star City. He was also someone Oliver wanted to earn the respect of and that’s what he’s trying to do now. He’s trying to earn Star City’s respect EVEN THOUGH THESE UNGRATEFUL TWATS SHOULD ALREADY RESPECT HIM. Even though I believe it was time to let Quentin Lance go, I still miss him and whenever Paul Blackthorne comes on my television screen I cry big baby dumbo tears.

Source:  fatedxdestiny

Then we roll right into the reason Oliver began this mission in the first place: FAMILY. Family for Oliver is and will always be Thea Queen. I shrieked when I saw her.  I officially take back my “We’ll never see Willa Holland again” prediction. I was happy to be wrong.

Thea being the representative for all her dead family members is the most Thea thing this show has ever done. Kid is a walking poster child for bereavement. I think it’s really important to remember Starling City was a hot mess before Oliver showed up. This city wasn’t hitting anyone’s nifty top fifty places to raise a family. There was a serious cost to all the violence and Thea’s interview is a powerful reminder.

Oliver is seldom given his due. The newbies, Star City, officials, villains, and other superheroes are always ragging on him. But when Thea found out Oliver was the Arrow she thanked him. She was one of the few people who understood right from the start the good Oliver was doing. (Felicity is the other few people).

Oliver started this fight for many reasons, but chief among them was his love for his family. Thea has always returned that love tenfold. She is ride or die for her big bro and even though we had AMAZING Queen sibling scenes in the 100th it’s nice to see them honor their relationship no matter how far away Thea is. They do lose points for zero Queen sibling interaction though.

Source:  fatedxdestiny

Sara gives one hell of a speech doesn’t she? It’s in a similar vein as Thea’s – reminding Star City of the cost of unchecked crime. She acknowledges it doesn’t matter whether or not a person is wearing a mask. This is a classy way of calling out Star City’s double standard. Honestly, who cares if it’s a cop or a guy dressed in leather saving your ass?  What matters is someone stepped up to save your life. 

It’s also a nice subtle acknowledgement of Felicity’s contributions. Sara has worn a mask as the Canary and fought without one as White Canary. She knows what matters is a person’s heart and not what they wear.  Sara has always understood the importance of the unmasked in this line of work.

This feels like a not so subtle way of sticking it to anti Felicity fans, but that’s just me.

Source:  fatedxdestiny

SIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHERE YOU BEEN BABY GIRL? Honestly, my biggest annoyance with these return guest star scenes is we didn’t get much of an update on where the characters are at. Does Sin have a home now? Does she know Sara is alive? I have questions. 

Sin was a fairly minor character in Season 2 and even more so in Season 3, but seeing her brings back all those Season 2 memories. 

Memories, Like the corners of my mind Misty water-colored memories

Sorry. Sidetracked by Barbara Streisand.

Again, the use of Sin is brilliant because she represents the people Team Arrow has saved. We spend a lot of time on Oliver’s mistakes. We remember all the people Oliver couldn’t save and how deep those losses cut him. However, we seldom talk about those he has saved and Oliver has saved THOUSANDS – maybe even millions. The man deserves a cookie at the very least. Sin is a box of double chocolate chip.

Oliver is not the only unmasked vigilante – Ragman is too. He’s out doing good, but the people know he’s Ragman. We don’t know if he unmasked before or after Oliver, but I would bet after. Oliver is always the first domino to fall in this universe. 

Rory’s interview is super short and is therefore criminally underused. He is primarily used to set up the Star City Slayer. Ragman’s mask is among the first Oliver found. Even the angles on his documentary interview have an artistic/retrospective/forlorn feel to it like we are seeing someone who is gone. I swear to God if this serial killer killed my Rory I am going to light things on fire and throw them.  I’m not even sure killing Curtis will ease my pain (but it’ll help).

Rory’s albeit short message is pretty simple as is the premise of this show.

“People need help.”

What matters is there are those in the city willing to help the helpless (NAME THAT SHOW). Their methods matter less. Rene, Curtis and Dinah COMBINED still do not compare to Rory Regan. How we ended up with those three louts and lost that beautiful sparkling jewel of a character remains a mystery and still chaps my ass.

Source:  fatedxdestiny

Who invited Bart? I am only tolerating his appearance because he needs to pay his respects, but – UNBELIEVABLY DAMAGED??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? YOU BETTER COME UP WITH SOMETHING BETTER THAN THAT YOU LITTLE DICKHEAD BECAUSE YOU WOULDN’T HAVE A SHOW WITHOUT THE UNBELIEVABLY DAMAGED OLIVER QUEEN. Oh wait he’s still talking. Rewind... alright, Barry said some nice stuff. I’m better now.

Honestly, just the way this scene played it’s like the writers anticipated all my yelling after “unbelievably damaged.” They wrote the rest of the scene like Barry was reacting to my yelling as he cleaned up his statement. HAHAHA. That’s damn right fool. I’ll come for your ass. You better run.

If you’re going to pick a character among the four shows Arrow has launched I guess you go B*rry All*n. It makes a statement about Arrow’s influence on the DCTV universe, which I appreciate for the 150th episode. This was something extremely lacking in the 100th episode. Arrow is the reason a whole lot of people have jobs, so it’s an apropos time to pay due respect.

We’re constantly stuck in this Barry is light and Oliver is dark comparison and it annoys me to no end because I don’t believe either character is that clear cut. Both men have light and dark. But I do love how Barry acknowledges that the darkness Oliver survived also fuels his light. 

Oliver Queen is incredibly protective. He doesn’t want anyone to suffer like he did, which includes not only his family and friends but strangers. Oliver uses his pain for good. He finds the light in the darkness, which why I love him so much.

Barry isn’t saying anything Felicity or Diggle haven’t already said for years. However, as the likely pass-the-torch candidate, Barry is commending the essence of Oliver in a way the insanely disrespectful crossover failed to do. Of course, we all know there is a reason for this disrespect – Oliver must be persecuted even by those who “know” him before he can be seen as the Messiah of superheroes. 

But we are Arrow fans. We know the truth. We see Oliver for who he truly is and for just one moment, in this 150th episode milestone, the comic f*ckboys’ fuzzy bunny, rainbow puking superhero acknowledged the truth.

Also his faux shock about Oliver being the Green Arrow was hilarious.

Source:  flashallens

Diggle and the Newbies

Sweet holy Moses. There are times this show is so tone deaf it truly blows my mind. It’s sort of like watching Wile E Coyote barrel off the mountain top. Does he see the ledge or does he simply not care there is a ledge? These are my deep thoughts for the day.

Diggle didn’t even know Emiko was Oliver’s sister.  That’s where we’re at folks! These two brothers could finish each other’s sentences and predict one another’s movements at one point, but now they are like strangers. Ugh, I hate this. FIX IT NOW.

Arrow is going to fix Diggle in an extremely Arrow way. Anyone who has listened to Watchover with Jen & Calli knows this is what we said would happen. The writers are never going to dive deep like I do in these reviews. For one, they aren’t crazy and two it just ain’t the show fam. The Arrow way of fixing a problem is:

1. Pretending it never happened.

2. Slap a bow on it and call it fixed without doing any of the actual character development to earn the moment.

Annnnd that’s what we got. Things are a little tense between Diggle and Oliver. John is put out Oliver didn’t clue him in about Emiko, even though he’s known for about a month. Oliver correctly points out Diggle hasn’t run in his circle for the better part of a year, so he gets the info when he gets it. YASS! PREACH IT SON.

John at least has the good sense to admit what Oliver said was true. He also decides this superhero slayer is too much for the SCPD to handle (isn’t everything though?) and it’s time to get the band back together. 

Source:  legends-of-today

There’s some back and forth between the two men about the other team members risking jail, but Oliver going to prison never sat right with Diggle. 

Source:  fatedxdestiny

It is good John is acting honorably, steadfastly having Oliver’s back, and just generally dispensing some good old fashioned Yoda wisdom. 

However, he says what has to be the most ridiculous line I have heard on this show in a loooong time.

“Oliver when you were in jail we had each other’s backs.”

I swear to God I screamed. And then I fell off the chair laughing because NONSENSE. 

Arrow ignores its own storyline when it doesn’t fit with the goals of the episode. It’s so blatantly obstinate and counter to what their audience wants, hell I almost admire them a little for it.

Writers: The storyline is not what you’ve witnessed on screen. The storyline is what we tell you and that will change week to week.

Us: Umm that’s not how television works but okay. Have at it.

Obviously, the writers wanted to reunite Team Arrow in a very “Ra Ra Go Team!” way, but haven’t done any of the leg work so the moment feels earned or makes any sense at all. 

Of course, the team didn’t have each other’s backs. 

Diggle abandoned Felicity and was upset when any of her attempts to free her husband interfered with his useless A.R.G.U.S. soldiering. His annoyance, admonishments, refusals of help and threats weren’t limited to Felicity. It also included anyone who helped Felicity like Rene, Bl*ck S*ren and Emiko. He also did bupkis to help free Oliver from prison. But okay, you had their backs John.

Maybe he’s speaking about Curtis who joined A.R.G.U.S. John seemed okay with Dinah policing. Perhaps he has a highly compartmentalized way of looking at team support. Regardless, it’s a ludicrous statement and is one that makes you wonder if the Arrow writers actually watch Arrow.

But as I said, we were expecting this because this is typically what Arrow does. Sometimes they force the story even when its counter to everything we’ve seen for weeks on end. That’s what happened in “Emerald Archer.” The writers are done with the team fighting. They want everyone to reunite and rebuild the team, so it has to begin with Oliver and Diggle. 

Team Arrow started with the two of them, which is why they repeated their iconic handshake basked in the sunlight. And yes, to a certain extent what Diggle said is true. They are family and families fight, but it doesn’t mean you stop being a family.  

Source:  legends-of-today

But you also don’t get to act like a selfish jackass for the better part of a year and then sweep it all away by playing the family card. Families have to work through their issues by 1) being honest about what those issues are 2) talking about the issues 3) and apologizing. The writers missed steps 1 through 3.

The scene felt like Oliver was apologizing to Diggle when really it should be the other way around. When did this become about Oliver’s mistakes and not John’s? Am I watching the right show? Let’s not forget in the midst of all this bromance healing the one who really needs an apology is Felicity.

I’m not too mad because I don’t think this is the end of the conversation. I think Arrow put the cart before the horse and reunited Oliver & Diggle before they actually dealt with their issues, but what else is new? They decided it was time for the reunion because it was the 150th episode. Uhhh... okay then.

It’s entirely possible additional conversations are coming though. Hopefully ones including Felicity. Diggle still has to confess about Diaz, which he was about to do but was interrupted. It should drop a bomb on OTA and kick up some very much needed, no holds bar, come to Jesus style drama. We have ten episodes to go which is a lot of season left. I haven’t given up completely on Diggle’s arc for this year.

But also, I’m tired y’all. If they aren’t going to examine John’s actions with a modicum of reflection then I’d prefer for it to be over as quickly and painlessly as possible because this is terrible storyline. I’m sick of Pod Diggle. I miss his friendship with Oliver and Felicity. I hate whatever the hell he’s doing at A.R.G.U.S. I’m tired of everyone doing their own thing. I miss OTA. I want the show to go back to vigilantes hunting bad guys.

And yes, that goes for the Newbies too. They aren’t going away – well two of them aren’t. Arrow is completely ignoring all of their horrible behavior in Season 6, so fine. They will never resolve this storyline to my satisfaction so let’s just be done with it. Does the reunion fall flat because Arrow refuses to deal with the consequences of the Newbies’ actions in a truthful way? Yes. But I can’t care more than the writers do. So, I’m done. Moving on.

This will not preclude me from snarking however. Nothing ever will stop the snark. Dinah and Rene were in rare form in “Emerald Archer.” Both were pretty snotty. 

I actually liked Rene’s interview, but then he has the nerve to cop an attitude with Oliver.  Apparently, Oliver didn’t fawn over Rene enough. This is their first conversation since Oliver’s release and Rene is bitching about Oliver not asking how he is. FOR REAL???? There is only one person who should be asking how the other is doing and it’s the one who turned state’s evidence.

He’s also annoyed Oliver has gainful employment with the police department while Rene “I Can’t Go Down That Road With You Hoss” Ramirez is left out in the vigilante cold. POOR BABY. Maybe if you hadn’t sold Oliver out to the feds the team could have stayed together.

Dinah cops an attitude as well (pun intended). Oliver is about to share deeply personal information with her and admits he’s had the information for some time. Dinah says it’s par for the course with him. ANY NEW SECRET BOYFRIENDS  DINAH? I do not know where the Newbies got the idea they were on the moral high ground, but this horrific writing keeps perpetuating that myth. For the love of God writers REWATCH SEASON 6.

On to happier developments.

Source:  legends-of-today

Curtis called Oliver a hero, had a cool moment with his T-spheres and remarked about being a team “even if it was for one last time.” Cue close up and Oliver looking fondly at him as if Curtis was already a ghost. Of course, he’s talking their impending jail sentences for breaking the anti vigilante laws, but we know different. CURTIS IS GONNA DIIIIIIIIIIIE.

I was supposed to be pressed when Diggle, Curtis and Rene were arrested, but they all were annoying me so they can go to prison.

Finally the show does away with one of their more ridiculous plot holes. The mayor deputizes all of Team Arrow so they can fight crime in leather, but legally. Did she not see all the other times Team Arrow saved lives? They are only worthwhile if they are saving her life? They are friends with the DA too. BS is not going to press charges. So, why even have a law the DA won’t enforce? You know what? I’m not even gonna go there. Whatever.

It took Dinah several episodes to show some loyalty, but she was prepared to resign if her friends went to jail. Of course, Oliver “I’m Trying To Be Jesus” Queen puts his head on the chopping block again for these dinks too.

“After speaking with my family, I’m here to turn myself in.”

YOU SEE HOW EASY THAT WAS OLIVER? NOT SO HARD IS IT BIG BOY? THY NAME IS CHARACTER GROWTH!

Here’s something I’ve been mulling over. Clearly some of the Newbies are here to stay and a great deal of the 150th episode was devoted to this concept of legacy. 

Source:  1-crazy-dreamer

These characters exist so what Oliver has built can live on beyond him. It doesn’t automatically equate to Dinah, Rene and Curtis being good characters, but Arrow is incredibly invested in the idea of Oliver Queen’s legacy.  

Source:  1-crazy-dreamer

We want the show to be about Oliver, Felicity and Diggle. They want the show to be about more than Oliver, Felicity and Diggle. And thus an immovable force meets an unstoppable object.

The problem is Arrow, once again, is putting the cart before the horse. They are focusing on Oliver’s legacy (and all the superhero characters he’s launched), but he hasn’t achieved what he set out to do. Camelot doesn’t exist yet! Oliver’s legacy can’t be built until the dream is achieved. There’s still work to be done. We need to focus on Oliver, Felicity and Diggle before worrying about the next generation. I wish Arrow could do both at the same time, but they can’t. 

Do I think we’ll ever get that kind of focus? Nope. Arrow is committed to these new characters and their definition of legacy. It is what it is my friends. Either I make my peace with it or turn the channel, I guess.

Flash Forwards

Blackstar’s name is Mia. I couldn’t be happier. 

I still think it could be a nickname for Moira, but they aren’t going to cough up that golden nugget yet. Obviously, yes all the comic f*ckboys are going to think she’s Mia Dearden and Oliver’s ward. Go ahead and keep thinkin’ that. We’ll see who lands on top.

Source:  smoakmonster

Mia obtained a bootleg copy of the outlawed vigilante documentary and she practically bored holes into the television watching her father speak. There is no other reason to shoot the scene like that, with Oliver reflecting in Mia’s eyes, if she’s not his child. The shot clearly communicates a connection to OLIVER. She wants to find the location of Team Arrow’s bunker and the video provides the necessary clues.

Source:  amunetblack

JJ, Diggle and Lyla’s son, makes his flash forward debut and he tags along with Mia. I felt a protective vibe from him. I think Mia gets into trouble all the time and JJ tries to keep her out of it, but absolutely they are ride or die. I may have been picking out wedding dresses for her during the scene. If Arrow does not put Diggle’s son and Oliver’s daughter together and make OTA in-laws then it is a crime against humanity.

I don’t know why JJ is going by Connor Hawke. He adopted the moniker in the Legends alternate future because he didn’t feel worth of the name John Diggle Jr. Frankly, I think Connor Hawke is a code name similar to Blackstar and the sole function of it is to make us think John is dead. But we know Diggle is alive because David let the cat out of the bag. *blows kisses to that beautiful man*

Mia hates vigilantes because the vigilante lifestyle stole her father and childhood.  Simple is that.

Source:  amunetblack

I don’t have all the answers yet. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know how the Queen family was separated. I don’t know why William doesn’t know his own sister, but I certainly wasn’t expecting Mia to call Oliver “Dad” anymore than she would call Felicity "Mom” at this point. Answers lead to more questions and I am perfectly content with Arrow revealing the truth when they are good and ready.

If you refuse to believe Mia is Oliver and Felicity’s daughter, fine. If you are convinced she’s Bl*ck S*ren’s daughter, fine. 

There is literally no evidence they hired the lead of Shadowhunters to play a supporting character’s daughter, but go off I guess. And no, Oliver is not cheating on Felicity with BS. Take that nonsense somewhere else. 

They held off on introducing JJ because Diggle is one of the three main characters, but sure they’re keeping Bl*ck Si*en’s kid a secret. Not Oliver and Felicity’s kid, ya know, the characters who are the male and female leads of the show. Nope. Bl*ck S*ren’s daughter is the big surprise. 

It doesn’t automatically make them mother and daughter simply because Bl*ck S*ren was singing the anti vigilante party line and Mia hates vigilantes. By that logic, Diaz, Quentin and the Mayor all have a shot at Mia being their progeny. If BS was as anti vigilante as she said then she would have pressed charges against Diggle, Curtis and Rene. She didn’t. Thank you. Next.

My point is I am convinced she is their daughter.  Every episode just adds more evidence.  My belief is unwavering.  You won’t convince me otherwise, so save yourself the energy. You believe what you want and I’ll believe what I want. Then we’ll see how it shakes out in the end.

Stray Thoughts

Director Pedowitz might be one step over the meta line, but also hahaha.

Documentary intro was sweet. Can we make that the permanent one? Source:  1-crazy-dreamer

Did they reshoot old fight scenes for the documentary? That feels like a lot of work. I wonder if it was film they had on hand but didn’t use from the old episodes. Either way it looked legit and I was impressed.  Source: 1-crazy-dreamer

Slightly odd how Oliver or anyone else on Team Arrow never mentioned they are being followed around by a camera. That’s just details. Imma let it go.

It is official. Star City knows Oliver is the Hood, the Arrow and the Green Arrow. We can stop debating. This means these thankless twiddle twits know he saved them from Merlyn, Slade, Ra’s Al Ghul and Damien Darhk. HOW MANY MORE TIMES DOES HE NEED TO SAVE YOUR SORRY ASSES TO GET SOME RESPECT?

Why does no one ever remember the undertaking on this show? Moira Queen admitted to a long term plan, led by Malcolm Merlyn, to destroy the Glades. This plan was hatched while Oliver Queen was on the island. No wait BEFORE the island. There was a freaking trial! How the hell does this make the Undertaking Oliver’s fault Madame Mayor?

Overwatch is back and the world makes sense again. Source: arrowdaily

Oliver shading Curtis with Felicity's superior abilities is LIFE AFFIRMING. Source: olicitygifs

Bl*ck C*nary fighting looks equally as ridiculous on documentary film as she does on regular film, so that question is answered and we can go on with our lives.

I really can't listen to Bl*ck S*ren pretending to be E1 L*urel Lnce. It's too annoying. Zip it fishnets.

I can’t pin point what “season” Thea’s interview was filmed during and it’s kind of bugging me, so hit the comments with your guess.

I’m not talking about Diaz. I cannot even believe they included him in the documentary. He’s gone here for a minute.

Didn’t love the Annie Hall look on Dinah. Misfire. Source:  redfield5x5

One of the reasons why writers choose to film a faux documentary is so their characters can constantly tell the camera operator to turn the camera off. It’s a trademark of the trope.

“We need to come up with a better name immediately.” PREACH IT SON.

Baby William and Baby Zoe making friends is adorbs. Rene is all worried William is gonna make a move on Zoe. First of all, they are like 14. Calm down. Second of all, William is a short stop for the other team, but feel free to twist yourself into a pretzel Rene. The wasted energy will amuse me enormously. Source:  feilcityqueen

This serial killer seems to collect masks regardless of whether or not the vigilante is actually dead, so I’m holding out hope Rory Regan is alive. 

The documentary film shots of the fight scene were AMAZING. The last action scene was pretty sweet. It was nice seeing the team work together cohesively again.  Source: 1-crazy-dreamer

I know I’ve said this before but Rene and Emiko are so happening.

“Fans have a strange way of showing their affection.” Oh yeah this guy was a hired gun by Stan the Fan. Kevin Meltzer was recently released from a psychiatric hospital which I am sure Stan has seen the inside of a time or two. No way is that line a coincidence. Or it’s a commentary on fandom. One or the other.

I had no idea Dinah’s vigilante identity was still secret.

Hahaha. Rene didn't know Emiko was related to Oliver. He's the new L*urel. I just decided.

Bl*ck S*ren agrees to give an interview for the documentary, but later on acts like she didn't agree to be on the documentary and threatens the camera operator. Yeah, that sounds about right.

This cupcake owns my heart. Source:  ebett

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Merry Christmas, @Parabitri!

This idea turned out to be far more angsty than anything I usually write but it insisted on being written. I love the way Magnus and Alec always find their way back to each other, no matter what universe you put them into.

This is their Hallmark-style Christmas Story - I hope you enjoy it!

Read on AO3

******

This Christmas

Chapter 1

I remember,

I wish I could forget

What you did last December

You left my heart a mess.

- Ariana Grande (& George Michael), Last Christmas

~ The Present: 22nd December 2018 ~

“Are you sure Alec won’t mind?” Magnus asked for what had to be the fourth time that morning as he followed Izzy inside the apartment she and Alec shared.

“When has Alec ever said no to you?” Izzy threw over her shoulder with a wink as she opened Alec’s bedroom door and sauntered in.

“Well, there was that whole morning after the Yule Ball fiasco,” Magnus muttered to himself, dragging his feet as he followed Izzy.

“Besides,” Izzy said as she flopped down on Alec’s bed apparently oblivious to Magnus’ dark comments, “You and I both know, Alec’s the only person who has an early enough edition of Gray’s Anatomy to feature the illustrations you need.”

“They’re too valuable for any libraries to stock before about the 18th edition,” Magnus agreed with a sigh as he approached Alec’s bookshelves brushing his fingers lightly over the soft leather spine, tracing the gilded letters which identified it as a hallowed second edition.

“You said you’ve tried every other option, Magnus, and your essay is due in tonight. It’s not like you can just call and ask him. Even if by some miracle he isn’t still in the remote mountain villages in Timor-Leste then he’ll be in transit. You know as well as I do that any time he gets funded flights it means he’s on a stopping all stations round the world tour of obscure airports. Even if you managed to get a message to him, there’s no guarantee he’d be able to get an answer back in time.”

“I know,” Magnus sighed easing the book gently out from between its neighbours and cradling it close to his chest. He wanted Alec home but he also half-dreaded the idea that the tension that had grown like a wedge between them might still be there. “Thank you, Isabelle. I guess I’d better go finish my essay. You’ll let me know if you hear from him?”

“Of course! Hopefully this time he’ll remember to let us know before he boards the last plane so we can meet him at the airport, I know Max is dying to use the latest sign he’s made.”

Magnus laughed, thinking of Max’s ever-expanding stack of ‘Welcome Home Alec’ signs. At this point, they’d need to bring everyone they knew in order to hold up even half of them.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

[Throughout human history there have been many iterations of the symbol which represents the human heart. The first non-medical European illustration of the heart is thought to be a drawing accompanying the medieval French poem Le Roman De La Poire circa 1255 however it was not until the early 1500s that the familiar shape made its appearance...

...but why does this symbol bear so little resemblance to the human anatomy it represents? There are plenty of theories, the most prominent one being that most of our ‘knowledge’ of human anatomy in the 13th and 14th centuries was based on animal biology, in particular reptiles, which much more closely resemble the familiar scalloped shape of the heart icon. The ability of early physicians to view or study the human body was fiercely regulated and controlled - with many unable to view a single dissection let alone partake in the kind of labs that are a standard part of modern medical tuition. As such, Henry Gray’s seminal work Gray’s Anatomy, first published in 1858, was a turning point in the depiction of the human heart…]

Magnus' fingers stilled on his keyboard as he glanced again at the book he’d brought back to his apartment almost four hours earlier. It was ridiculous but he still hadn’t opened it. The thing was, he hadn’t told Izzy the whole truth. Yes, this essay was for his History of Medicine subject and accounted for almost a third of his grade but it was also final piece of his application to join Médecins Sans Frontières’ new project, working in the new hospital Alec had spent the past year helping local engineers design and build. Alec would be going back for another whole year to support the development of sustainable water supply for the school and the rest of the village. Following your best friend halfway around the world was madness, especially when things had never been quite the same between them since last year’s Yule Ball.

~ Morning After the Yule Balle: 19th December 2017 ~

Magnus came to slowly, groaning as he peeled gritty eyes open just long enough to take in the couch and apartment around him before squeezing them shut again. It wasn’t the first time since becoming friends with the Lightwoods three years earlier that he’d woken up on their sofa but the blinding headache was new. So was the fact that he couldn’t for the life of him remember how he’d gotten back here. He barely remembered any of the Yule Ball. Burying his head further in the soft pillows Magnus vowed never to mix first-generation antihistamines and alcohol again.  

“Breakfast?”

Magnus’ eyes snapped open his lips curling at the corners as he took in the sight of Alec setting a breakfast tray on the coffee table beside him. The man really was an angel sometimes.

“I figured you’d need something to help wash down the aspirin,” Alec said, smiling back as he reached over and placed two pills on Magnus’ palm, following it with a glass of water.

“My hero,” Magnus said, downing the tablets and finally tearing his eyes from Alec and focusing on the food in front of him. “You made me blueberry pancakes, Alexander? That’s not exactly standard hangover fare. If you were anyone else I’d think you were trying to seduce me with your culinary skills.”

Magnus grinned at the way Alec’s cheeks heated at the suggestion and he became suddenly fascinated with his boots. Whatever the cause, Magnus wasn’t complaining - in fact, he almost moaned as he took that first blissful bite of pancake. Alec really would make an excellent husband to someone one of these days. Too bad there wasn’t any handy mistletoe or he might...Magnus’ thoughts ground to a sudden halt as he suddenly remembered kissing someone under the mistletoe last night at the ball. It hadn’t been a typical crappy holiday season hook-up either, it had been incredible. He found himself describing it to Alec as he ate: the way her lips had felt against his, passionate and wild yet somehow also tender as if she couldn’t decide whether she wanted to devour Magnus or worship him. The way her fingers had tightened in his hair, tugging roughly to adjust the angle of his head, deepening the kiss, only for those same clever fingers to send shivers of pure pleasure as they massaged away any last traces of pain. The worst part was, despite remembering every tiny detail of the kiss, he had no memory of the person who’d done the kissing.

“Please Alec, you were there last night you have to help me find her!” Magnus said, looking up beseechingly at his best friend only to realise something was wrong.

At some point during his monologue, the blushing, solicitous angel who’d made him breakfast had been replaced by a stone statue.

“You remember the kiss but don’t remember the-the-the person, at all?” Alec asked harshly his fists clenching at his sides.

Magnus flinched, feeling suddenly ashamed even though he didn’t know why it was such a big deal to Alec if Magnus’ memory had decided to defy logic. Before he’d had a chance to ask, Alec had turned away, his shoulders tense as he’d gathered up the remnants of Magnus’ now cold breakfast.

Tray in hand he’d barely looked at Magnus as he’d apologised, “I can’t do this, Magnus. I-I-I thought -” Alec sighed sounding frustrated but resigned. “I’ve got that application for Engineers Without Borders to finish.”

Magnus tried to get up and follow him into the kitchen but the world still spun horribly when he attempted to stand and he was forced to sit again so he didn’t fall down. The last thing he needed was for an already grumpy Alec to have to bandage his head when he split it open on the sharp corner of his coffee table. Impatiently, he waited for Alec to reappear, which took considerably longer than Magnus had expected.

When at least he came out he headed straight for the door his bag already slung over his shoulder giving every appearance of intending to leave without another word.

“Alec?” Magnus called out after him, wishing his head would stop pounding long enough for him to figure out whatever this was.

Alec turned, his hand resting on the door handle still refusing to meet Magnus’ eyes. “I have to go. Feel free to stay as long as you need.” And then he walked out, closing the door firmly behind him.

Magnus had waited, half expecting at any moment that his best friend would come back and tell him what exactly he’d said that upset him so much. After over an hour, Magnus had to accept the unwelcome fact that Alec wasn’t coming back. He wasn’t answering any of Magnus’ messages either. He knew he was being selfish, knew how important that application was to Alec even though the thought of them being on opposite sides of the globe sounded miserable to Magnus all of a sudden. It would be the first time in almost three years since Izzy and Magnus had met on their first day of med school that they’d have to go more than a few weeks without seeing one another. At present, barely a day went past that they didn’t speak, one way or another, whether it was IM, in person or notes passed via Izzy.

Despite Alec’s continued refusal to discuss anything about the Yule Ball, Magnus had kept looking - amazed to discover that despite there having been hundreds of people at the ball, somehow no one had seen Magnus spending time with any women other than Dot, Cat and Izzy and he was absolutely certain it hadn’t been any of them. He’d even tried to convince the photographer to go through their shots from last night only to discover to that the man was crazy enough to still be using film and hadn’t had time to get the negatives developed yet. Rolling his eyes at the pretentiousness of art students in general, Magnus had hunted on in vain.

~ The Present: 22nd December 2018 ~

Magnus sighed, running his fingers over the soft leather cover of Gray’s Anatomy. He could still remember the first time Alec had shown it to him. It had been a gift from his grandfather on his mother’s side, the same one that was responsible for Alec’s middle name being ‘Gideon’. He’d apparently been convinced, despite Alec’s complete lack of interest in medicine, that book that had been in their family for generations would inspire Alec to become the next doctor in the family. The meticulous technical drawings the book was famous had inspired him just not to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps. He’d taken his love of the book’s illustrations and developed a fascination for cartography, drafting and surveying, finally settling on a career in engineering. Izzy had told Magnus that Alec had offered her the book when she’d first set her heart on doing medicine but she’d knew she’d never love it the way Alec did. She wanted the modern textbooks, the ones filled with gory colour photographs of real bodies, not the elegant etchings done over a hundred and fifty years earlier.

Magnus, by contrast, had happily indulged Alec’s passion and they’d spent hours pouring through the book together over the years every time Magnus had happened to need to reference one or other of the illustrations as he learnt about the body’s various structures and systems. As much as he’d adored it when Alec bought him a modern copy of Gray’s Anatomy for his birthday he always defaulted back to Alec’s copy with its incredible single-colour woodcut illustrations whenever he could. The text might mostly have become redundant has as medical knowledge changed fundamentally and rapidly over the past century but the illustrations were as important now as they’d ever been.  

He missed Alec. Magnus hadn’t realised how much he’d relied on his presence until his absence left a gaping hole in his life. It’s been almost a year and Alec is still the first person he wants to tell whenever anything happens. He might finally have stopped getting his phone out and staring out compose texts he can’t send but it still aches everytime he remembers Alec’s sat-phone is for emergencies only. Going from talking every day to exchanging infrequent emails had felt worse than some of his breakups. Then again, for the last few years, he’s always had Alec there helping him pick up the pieces whenever a relationship inevitably failed. He’d always scoffed at the adage ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ but it’s been 355 days since Alec left and he’s sitting at his desk hours before an important assignment is due incapable of completing it because he doesn’t want to open a book that would remind him too much of the man he wants, more than anything else, this Christmas. Too bad he felt certain Alec didn’t feel the same way about him.

Sighing, Magnus opened the cover and scanned the index of illustrations for the one he was looking for. There, under the heading ‘Heart’, the illustration he’d looked everywhere for: ‘Circulation of Blood in an Adult’ directing him to page six hundred and twenty-nine. Picking up the tome Magnus started at the middle and skimmed gently through the pages, slowing when he finally reached the six-hundreds to turn each individual page so as not to miss it. Magnus nearly dropped the book in surprise when he turned the final page and a colour photograph slides out onto the desk.

A single glance is enough to make him forget Gray’s Anatomy, forget the essay he has only hours left to finish and the application he needs to ace. On the desk in front of him is a photograph from last year’s Yule Ball. A photo of him and Alec wrapped tightly in one another’s arms, kissing under the mistletoe.

Chapter 2

I confess,

I loved you more than I let on but you weren’t ready for it and I wasn’t going to pour myself into hands that couldn’t hold me

- Lauren Eden, Of Yesteryear

~ The Present: 22nd December 2018 ~

Having seen the photo, Magnus wonders how he could possibly have forgotten. He’s spent an entire year comparing every kiss he shared to this one, like Prince Charming with his stupid glass slipper, finding them woefully disappointing by contrast. The thing was, with the exception of giants like Alec, he was tall so it hadn’t occurred to him why the angle always felt off - no matter what he tried. God, he was such an idiot! How could he have ignored what was right in front of him all this time? And why hadn’t Alec said something? But as soon as that thought occurred to him, he knew exactly why.

Who in their right mind would confess when the object of their affection not only didn’t remember them but had also somehow misgendered them in the process. Magnus felt physically ill as their conversation the next morning replayed in his head with full 5.1 surround sound, complete with high definition technicolour images of Alec’s transformation from breakfast baring angel to the stony-faced statue he’d been by the time he left the apartment. The fact Alec had hidden the photo here, in his most treasured book under the heading ‘Heart’ made the tears that had welled up unnoticed spill out over his cheeks.

With shaking fingers Magnus picked the photo up off the desk, the knife in his heart twisting as he realised they were both smiling as they kissed. Steeling himself, he flipped the photo drawing in a sharp breath as he saw the inscription in Alec’s familiar all-caps handwriting and in smaller text printed directly onto the photo, the photographer's details.

‘A NIGHT TO REMEMBER’ MAGNUS BANE & ALEC LIGHTWOOD YULE BALL 18TH DEC 2017

PHOTOGRAPHER: J. GHAMSARI  - EDITION: 1/1 - PRINTED: 24TH DEC 2017

He’d thought nothing could make this situation worse, but one glance at the date the photo had been printed made Magnus want the ground to open beneath his feet to transport him straight to hell. Alec had tried to tell him and Magnus had unintentionally broken his heart a second time instead. By the time Magnus had realised his mistake, Alec had already left the country.

~ December 24th, 2017 ~

Magnus groaned when he heard the doorbell, it would probably be carollers but as the only person home the night before Christmas Magnus had promised his housemates he wouldn’t let any last minute parcels go unsigned for. Snatching his shirt up from where it lay discarded beside the sofa and buttoning it haphazardly Magnus made his way down the long passage to the front door, stunned to see it was Alec standing on the sill, a thick manilla envelope clasped in one hand.

“Alec, what are you doing here? I thought you would have gone back home for what’s left of the holidays,” Magnus said noticing the way Alec’s eyes lingered on his exposed chest a beat longer than they usually would before darting away.

“It’s - uh, it’s about last week,” Alec paused, threading his fingers roughly through his hair in that familiar tell of mental agitation. “Look, you’ve got every reason to be mad at me. The next morning, after the Yule Ball - I know I should have-”

“Allowed me to drag you halfway ‘round NYU on a wild goose chase when neither of us had any idea who we were looking for?” Magnus interrupted smoothly, laughing softly. “I should never have asked, Alec, I know how important getting that internship application in was to you. Besides, it doesn’t matter now anyway.”

“It doesn’t?” Alec asked roughly, his gaze piercing as he froze in place.

“Surely you know me better than to think I’d let it rest until I found out, Alexander?”

“You - you’ve remembered?” Alec asked, looking suddenly paler.

“Not exactly. But Camille - you remember her from the presentation night for the Medical Prize, don’t you? She found out I was looking for her and admitted she’d been my mysterious stranger all along. Apparently, my crush wasn’t so unrequited after all. So you see, it’s all worked out. She’s coming around later tonight if you wanted to stay and meet her?”

“No.”

Magnus’ head snapped back, surprised by the vehemence in that single word but before he had a chance to do more than raise an eyebrow, Alec had continued.

“I mean, I’d be interrupting your evening plans. I should let you -” Alec paused again, his teeth sinking into his lip almost hard enough to draw blood. “I have to go. Merry Christmas, Magnus.”

“Wait, Alec!” Magnus called out, hating this sudden chill between them as Alec turned away. “Surely you didn’t just come here to apologise. You should stay, have a drink with me. It is Christmas after all.”

“I can’t. I’m sorry.”

“Well, can you at least tell me when we’re catching up next?” Magnus asked, suddenly feeling the need to make sure he hadn’t somehow irrevocably ruined the friendship without even realising it. “I know you had planned to spend Christmas and New Year's Eve with your family but seeing as you’re still here...”

“Actually, I, um. I got offered the internship with Engineers Without Borders,” Alec muttered, shifting his feet.

“Alexander! That’s fantastic, now you have to come in and have a drink with me, tell me all about it. Where they’re sending you, for how long - I want to know everything!” Instinctive Magnus reached out, tugging on the arm of Alec’s long black coat. It hurt when instead of smiling Alec pulled away.

“I fly out January 1st. I’ll be gone all year. It’s - I’ll be living in one of the mountain villages in Timor-Leste, they’ve got a new project to build a hospital there and if things go well, I can stay to work on securing the town’s water supply the year after. They said they’d try and get me back in time for next Christmas. So I - um - I have to go. You know, packing and everything.”

Every other time Alec’s said anything about the project his passion had been radiant, which meant these clipped sentences and flat tone had to be Magnus’ fault. Magnus cursed the Yule Ball, cursed the fact he couldn’t even abandon his plans with Camille because he hadn’t thought to get her number. Cursed the fact he was meant to be going away with Cat and Ragnor to have New Year's Eve at Cat’s family’s Chalet. So this was it? Alec was leaving the country in a few days for an entire year and Magnus wouldn’t get to see him again till next Christmas?

“At least let me take you out to the airport, Alec,” Magnus said, throwing caution to the wind and jettisoning his New Year's plans.

“But-” Alec began, displaying that adorable furrowed brow of his.

“Nothing is more important than seeing my best friend off on the trip of a lifetime,” Magnus assured him. “I’ll be at that airport whether you let me drive you or not. I’m not below blackmailing Izzy into telling me so you may as well just accept it.”

Alec’s rueful smile was like sunshine, the man he recognised peeking out from behind the rigid facade he was putting up.

“You really want to get up at six in the morning just to see me off at the gate?” Alec asked, raising a challenging eyebrow.

“I’ll be on your doorstep at five,” Magnus shot back, his lips automatically curling to match Alec’s.

“If you’re late I’m leaving without you,” Alec threatened sliding back into their familiar banter without even seeming to realise he was doing it.

“Okay.”

“Okay. You’re on.” Alec nodded, holding Magnus’ gaze before saying softly, “Merry Christmas, Magnus.”

“Merry Christmas, Alexander.”

~ The Present: 22nd December 2018 ~

Magnus needed a drink.

His crush on Camille had been madness and she’d played him for the fool he was. She’d strung him along for almost 3 weeks after ‘confessing’ to being his mysterious mistletoe kiss. She’d made a game out of kissing him everywhere except his lips, correctly assuming that he’d realise the minute their lips met that something was off. He’d been so caught up in wanting it to be her, wanting to believe that she felt the way he did about her. But even she’d tired of that game eventually, laughing at his naivety when she’d finally revealed she hadn’t even noticed him at the Yule Ball, she’d just thought it would be fun to see how long she could string him along because surely the top medical student couldn’t be that stupid? Well, apparently he was. He’d spilled the whole humiliating affair out in one of his emails to Alec. It makes perfect sense now that Alec had barely referenced the whole mess when he’d finally replied over a week later. Then again, it wasn’t like Alec had super reliable internet at the best of times, so it could also be that Magnus was projecting.

Getting up, Magnus paced over to the drinks cart, skipping his usual ice and pouring whiskey liberally into the waiting tumbler. Tossing it back in a single swallow Magnus tried to figure out what to do. It’s been a whole year since that photograph had been taken, it’d hardly be surprising if the intervening time had been enough to thoroughly destroy whatever feelings Alec might once have had for him. Did he really want to risk destroying their friendship a second time?

Yes.

The answer was immediate. He was in love with Alexander Lightwood and he had to know if there was any chance to make this work. Hell, he’d been prepared to follow the man to the other side of the world without the tiniest shred of real evidence to justify his hopes, now at least he knew it was possible. There had been real passion in that kiss and tenderness in the breakfast he’d made for him the next morning. He just hoped Alec was willing to give him a chance to show just how much he wanted that future.

To Be Continued

[1d-sexualdesires]

Happy Halloween!

“Harry, is this even allowed?”

Or Harry is a prince, Y/N is a fairy, and he’s kind of in love with her.

There is a dimension to this world that many aren’t privy of seeing. A lot like Harry Potter’s wizarding world, there are portals or ways of getting to see the alternate existence. She lives in this world, she’s a fairy, all the females in her family were fairies and they had the fortune of working for royalty. Well, they technically made them royalty because out of all the people in the world who were bound to fairies, Anne’s family had always been one of the most gracious and kind. Some fairies had it bad, their masters were ruthless and exploitive, but that wasn’t the case for her family, ever. Fairies cannot change masters either, so once your family is bound to one you will be in each other’s lives forever, unless they turn you away, it’s a generational thing.

For example, Y/N’s great, great, great, great grandmother found Anne’s great, great, great grandfather in the woods one day. His horse had slid off the road and he was hurt, if he didn’t get out surely he would be eaten off by wolves. So she helped him, she mended his leg and sent him home. He came to look for her every chance he got because he wanted to say thank you, it was for a good year or so and she was just giving him really good fortune for his gratitude. He was emerging as a leader, but that didn’t change his gratefulness and humility, so she revealed herself to him once more and he took her home to his wife and kids and she just kept showing up and being helpful. The future generations are then taught that the fairy is like a nanny, she helps and has special abilities. Humans bond emotionally to them, like they would a friend and if the fairy feels the same affection, they can bind to their families. So, several generations later Y/N’s mum has started working at their palace, as her mom has retired from her duties.

“Hello darling, how are you today?” Anne greets as Y/N comes in with a tray of her breakfast.

“I am doing pretty well! How about you?” she asks as she sets everything down before her.

“I’m also doing well. Just getting busy preparing for this coronation.” She sighed and Y/N nodded.

“Gemma will be a great queen.” Y/N assured her.

“No doubt about that!” Anne smiled.

“Speaking of the coronation. Harry seems to have grown another foot in the last year,” she exaggerated, “could you please fit him and sew him a new suit for the ball when you have time?” She asked and Y/N nodded.

“Yes, of course I can. I was just going to draw up some menu samples for you and Gemma today.” Y/N said.

“Alright, let’s do that another time and just have you work on that suit. He is in desperate need for one. Don’t know what he was wearing off in university, you should see how ragged his clothes are.” Anne said, brows raised as if still surprised and Y/N just giggled.

“I’ll go do that.” She said heading out of the room.

“He’s at the stables!” She called out and so Y/N headed out there.

Her and Harry grew up together, just like Anne and her mom grew up together. So as kids they would play and got tutored together and went to the same schools, but since Y/N was a fairy and not everyone knew that, she tended to be a bit more of an outcast, but he was always very inclusive of her. So when he left to university and they lost some touch it was a bit sad, but he returned earlier in the summer with his Master’s degree and was back at the castle for good. But their friendship had been affected by the years.

“Harry?” Y/N called into the stable, when she wasn’t busy she would spend lots of time with the horses too, they were cute.

“I’m with Onyx!” He called out and she headed over to his horse’s pen, sure enough he was there, brushing her after their morning ride. That horse loved Harry, so much so that she got depressed when he was gone for a week, they had to transport her to a ranch near the city so that Harry could visit her. “Hey, Y/N.” He said looking up from Onyx.

“Hey.” She said, petting at Onyx’s muzzle gently, “Your mom said you need a new suit and I’m supposed to make it for you. When can you get fitted?” She asked.

“Like an hour? Need to shower and have some breakfast, m’starving.” He said and she smiled, her helpful nature shining through.

“Do you want something in particular, I can go prepare it?” She asked and he hummed.

“Yeah, I want one of those big breakfast plates from that diner in the village.”

“Oh, alright. Should I go get it?” She asked and he poked out from around Onyx.

“No, I can go. Give me twenty minutes and you can come and I’ll buy?” he said smiling and she shrugged.

“Deal.”

Alright.” He said, patting at Onyx’s back before hurrying out of the stable.

Y/N didn’t like Harry, she just thought he turned out rather attractive. I mean, his parents are beautiful people, obviously he would be attractive, but man as soon as he turned 18 he became as beautiful as an angel. She sighed, snapping her fingers and appeared in her bedroom where she freshened up, went to tell Anne she was off to breakfast with Harry, and that they’d fit him as soon as they got back.

Harry however, did like Y/N. He thought she was gorgeous and not having her be able to come to university was a pain for a long while. His liking towards her had diminished to a crush, but never fully went away. Some part of him was convinced that she had cast some spell on him. But she just seemed professional around him now, their friendship hadn’t been maintained. After being home for a few months he figured it was time to change that.

****

“This place I missed the most.” He said and she smiled, letting him take a sip of his coffee. “Remember, we would come here after school all the time?” He asked and Y/N nodded.

“Oh, I remember.” She said and he chuckled.

“So, you still seeing that Roger, fellow?” He asked and she shook her head.

“He wanted to get married already. I’m only 24, I’ll stop aging at 30… people aren’t as understanding anymore. I’m just not ready.”

“He didn’t know?” Harry said softly and she shook her head.

“I tried to tell him a few times… but it just never seemed to work out so I ended it.”

“Do you think you’ll ever get married?” He asked and she shrugged.

“Seems harder now and besides, I’ve got you guys. Practically a leech, but my magic tricks come in handy, no?” She said grinning and he nodded, smiling at her sweetly. She looked down into her mug, stirring slowly.

Harry took the moment to appreciate her, she was beautiful. Her eyes were crinkled at the corners from her smile and she looked so soft in her oversized sweater, he just wanted to stand up, slide into her side of the booth and hug her.

“Just out of curiosity,” he started, causing her to glance up, “can the bond between your family and mine, can it end? Or break?” He asked and she nodded.

“Yeah, fairies bond for life, even romantically. So if one day you just wanted to get rid of me you just need to tell me you don’t want me anymore.” She informed.

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.” She repeated and he nodded in understanding, “but don’t go getting any ideas, Harry.” She warned and he smiled.

“Trust me, I don’t want you gone ever.” He said genuinely. That made Y/N’s heart feel warm and full. Not even a minute later they had brought them their food and Harry impatiently scarfed it down.

****

“Hold still!”

“If you fucking poke me-”

“If you don’t hold still I guarantee you will get poked.” Y/N warned.

“Y/N, you’re making me nervous.” Harry said softly. She was currently fitting him into the pants for his new suit. Harry’s issue was that she was working on his inner thigh.

“Have I ever poked you or anyone in your family before?” She asked, bunching up the excess fabric.

“There’s a first time for everything!” He said looking down at her, and it really did something to him to see her kneeling, face level with his prick and her hands at his thigh. “Fuck me.” He mumbled because of that and she scoffed.

“Keep it up and I will poke you on purpose!” She warned and he bit his lip, he was really trying to stop his cock from budging up, “M’almost done.” She assured him, literally not even a minute later she was pressing herself back up to her feet and she inspected her work before looking to him. “How do they feel now? Not too tight?” She asked and he shook his head.

“They feel really good.” He nodded.

“Tighter fits look really nice on you, I must say. Also, burgundy is a very nice color on you.” She complimented and he smiled proudly.

“Thanks, I’m glad you dissuaded me from sticking to black. I like this a lot.” He said looking himself over in the three-face mirror as Y/N looked on.

“For the jacket, I’m going to add some beading, just at the cuff, it’ll be great!” She said and he nodded.

“I like that idea.” He said and she smiled.

“Good! I should be done with it later today, I’ll drop by for the final fitting?” She said and he nodded. “Now let me help you out of the pants.” She said, dropping to her knees once more.

“Y’know, s’good that you didn’t go into sewing, you’d have everyone out of business considering it only took you a few days to get a whole suit together.” He said and she rolled her eyes playfully.

“Right, it would be like cheating.” She said, humoring him. Soon he was off and she went back to doing what she did best.

****

It was unintentional. An accident, but before she could hear or see anything else she had snapped her fingers and appeared in her room.

“Oh my god…” she whispered, her hands flying up to her face, but closing her eyes only made it worse. She could see far more, her mind burning with images of him groaning, fist moving lethargically over himself as his head fell back. If she had just stayed still and not knocked over that lamp maybe he wouldn’t have noticed her and she could have just disappeared quietly. “Fuck, fuck…” she shook her head, trying to magically get rid of the images. But he was so pretty and his prick was big. Y/N was a virgin, but she had done other things, just not sex. Sex was sealing the deal with her partner for life, that’s just how it worked for fairies and it had been a while since Y/N had been with anyone, so the hunger was there. Suddenly there were knocks on her door and she knew exactly who it was. “Oh jeez…” she whined quietly, pacing for a few seconds.

“I know you’re in there, Y/N…” she heard Harry through the door.

“Just gi-gimme a sec!” She called out, draping his suit over an armchair and taking a deep breath before heading for the door and opening it up a smidge. “Yeah?” She asked, barely poking her head through.

“I’m sorry.” He said quickly and she glanced down, not necessarily at his lower area, but it was on the way and she could see that it was still fairly hard, she bit her lip, darting her eyes to the ground.

“No, I’m sorry. I assumed you weren’t in there when you didn’t respond.” She said, eyes darting to his hand and then finally up to his eyes and he was wearing a smug smirk all of a sudden.

“Oh my god.” He said softly, smirk still painted on his face and her eyes widened.

“What?”

“I turned you on.” He said confidently and she rolled her eyes.

“No, you didn’t I just can’t… unsee it. Also, who the hell wears noise-cancelling headphones when they’re getting themselves off and expecting someone!” She said shaking her head and he chuckled.

“I wasn’t expecting you to be so fast!” He defended.

“I was altering the suit, not making a new one, Harry…” she said shaking her head, eyes closed, the images still playing in her mind, her face was flushing pink.

“Could’ve been worse, could’ve been Gem or my mum. That would’ve been weird.” He said and she sighed.

“Are you done?” She asked and he shook his head.

“Need to try on my suit, no?” He asked.

“Maybe later when you’re not… you know?” She said, eyes not leaving his. She could feel the tension, his eyes fixing on her lips. She was flustered as hell and he loved it, if only she knew that having her on her knees, so close to his prick was what had him wanking off to some conjured up images of him, heavy and thick between her lips.

“I’d really like to try it on now, if you don’t mind.” He said, leaning on the doorframe, making it clear that he wasn’t going to go unless she really wanted him to disappear. Y/N wasn’t sure that she even wanted him to go, she had seen a lot.

“Harry…” she said warningly, he was looking at her with these hungry eyes and she could feel his energy changing to something heavier and more tense.

“Please, I really want to try it on now.” He said and she was weak and opened up further. He stepped in and gently leaned against the door, clicking it shut. She was only a few steps away from him, so he simply stretched his arms out and looped them around her waist, pulling her closer. She could feel him, stiff and warm against her hip, her eyes fluttering shut as he pressed her closer. “You’re fucking dripping for me aren’t you?” He whispered and she nodded shamelessly, looking up into his eyes. “Do you want me to do something about it, Y/N?” He asked her. Y/N looked completely torn; she should say no. He’s her boss basically, her friend. But she also wanted to say yes because he was beautiful and his hands were so big. She didn’t have to sleep with him, she could just get something else from him and return the favor.

“We can’t have sex.” She said quietly and he nodded in agreement, “and just this once, okay?” She asked, looking into his eyes.

“Okay, no sex and just this once.” He agreed. In a mere matter of seconds their lips collided and he getting comfy on the bed, sweats balled up at his ankles with Y/N kneeled between his legs as her soft hand wrapped around his cock, stroking gently, thumb rubbing at his sensitive tip.

“F-fuck, thas’real good.” He groaned when her lips wrapped around the head. His head rolled back as she sunk lower onto him, his fingers tangling into her hair, watching her cheeks hollowed out with the pressure of her sucking at his hard cock. “Oh fuck, keep going like that.” He muttered breathlessly, jolting a bit when her hand fondled his balls, “Yes, Y/N. M’gonna cum if you keep that up.” He warned. Her tongue was dipping into his slit, tasting his pre-cum and loving the headiness of it on her tongue. She picked up her pace and brought up her other hand to tug at the bottom half of his cock as she focused on stimulating the top half with her tongue. “Don’t stop, don’t stop.” He mewled as her tongue rubbed tirelessly against his slit and then sucked hard at him, one of her thumbs rubbed down the prominent vein that ran along his prick before picking up her speed and stroking him fast, “M’gonna cum, fuck!” He moaned to warn her, but she sank lower onto him and she felt his balls twitch in her hands and then he was bursting in her mouth and she was swallowing his mess down greedily. His eyes were screwed shut and his jaw slack, fingers tangled in her hair, gripping hard as he pressed his cock further into her mouth.

When he had finished she sucked at him so gently, his toes curling at the sensitivity and then she let her warm palm encircle him as he throbbed. Y/N pulled off and kissed at his thighs and his eyes fell shut once more when he felt her warm tongue lick at his balls before sucking one into her mouth gently. He hissed before it formed into a moan as she sucked a bit more, the sensitivity causing the action to be borderline painful, but it felt so good, his cock wanted to get hard for her all over again.

“Please.” He mewled. He wasn’t sure if he wanted her to make him cum again or to stop.

He was sure she could coax another out of him. He was only a little disappointed when she pulled away from him and glanced up at him. He couldn’t wait to make her come, the look in her eyes told him that she was more than ready for him to reciprocate. “Best blowie I’ve ever had.” He mumbled, pulling her up off the ground and then smashing his lips into hers. He moaned at the taste of him on her tongue. He quickly was hovering over her, gently rubbing his fingers against the fabric of her knickers.

“Thanks for wearing a dress today.” He smirked and she moaned as he added pressure, really going at her clit.

“Please, Harry. I need t’cum.” She begged and he kissed her hard, relishing in the warmth of her mouth before pulling back.

“Okay, I’ll make you cum.” He said. He quickly removed her underwear and pushed her dress up to her tummy before letting his fingers slip past her folds until he felt where she was soaking for him and she moaned. Her head was thrown back, exposing her neck allowing him to kiss at the tender skin. “Do you want my fingers?” He asked and she nodded.

“Please, Harry. Need something inside.” She whimpered as he rubbed at her clit.

“I also want t’taste you. Bet you’re fucking delicious.” He mumbled against the column of her throat before kissing and nibbling at the little patch of skin.

“Both, please. Do both.” She begged and he smiled.

“Since you made me cum so fucking hard-”

“And I swallowed.” She added in a small voice and he hummed.

“That’s right. You were so fucking good for me. Such a good girl for me that I’ll give you both.” He decided and he kissed her lips hard for a few seconds and then pulled back.

“Thank you.” She whispered as he made his way down her body until he was level with her pussy.

“Fuck, you look so pretty all slick and ready fo’me.” He said and she moaned. She didn’t think she could be anymore turned on, but then he took her by the thighs and spread her open a little wider, pressing her knees up a bit until she felt his warm breath right on her skin. “Ready?” He asked and she groaned.

“Yes, please.”

Without another work he split her slips and opened up, the flat of his tongue pressed to her entrance and smeared up to her clit, when he sucked on the little bud, making her legs jolt. Her moans and whimpers were so pretty and delicate, she was trying to keep quiet. She was a bit successful until she felt his fingers rubbing against her arousal.

“Gonna go with two, okay?”

“Okay.” She mumbled. Her heart was pounding out of her chest at she felt his digits rubbing at her entrance.

“Gonna make you feel as good as you made me feel.” He assured her before licking at her clit again and then suddenly pushing his fingers into her.

“Mmm, Harry!” She whimpered, back arching as he curled them up and rubbed as he pushed them in and out at a moderate pace, her whimpers were louder when he’d push back in harshly. Her thighs were trembling because her was rubbing right onto her g-spot and the licks he was giving her clit had her seeing stars. She started squeezing around his fingers, her moans increasing in volume and frequency as the knot in her tummy started to become unbearable.

“You’re close aren’t you?” He asked and she nodded, “Good. Squeezing so fucking hard. Shit you’re so tight.” He groaned, replacing his tongue with his thumb on her clit and rubbing at her little button until her breath hitched and her hips chased his hand when it pulled away. He held her hips down with his free hand and pounded his fingers into her quickly as her cum coated his fingers, leaving them all warm and sticky. He was shuddered as he worked her through, little whimpers leaving her as his thumb slowly came to a halt. He swirled his fingers around as he slowly pulled them out, causing Y/N to moan and he grinned, loving as they came out shiny and sticky with her, and then sinking them into his mouth, humming at the taste, she sat up, watching him. Cheeks hollowed out and eyes closed as he cleaned his fingers off. “M’not done.” He said when she started moving towards the edge of her bed, “Need t’clean you up.” He said quietly, pushing her back a bit until she was leaning on her elbows, looking down at him, brow furrowed and lips in a pout as his tongue lapped against her folds greedily, then she felt him at her clit again, the sensitive little bud was throbbing against his warm tongue, the back and forth pattern suddenly halted with a rough suck that made one of her hands grip onto the curls on the top of his head.

“Be gentle.” She pleaded and he hummed against her, releasing her clit from the harsh suck and she was wet all over again, his chin was sticky with it and his lips swollen from French kissing her pretty little cunt. Suddenly he started licking at her clit in a very interesting pattern that had her legs trebling again. Her chest was heaving and she moaned his name as she came undone once more, then he lapped her up once again and finally moved back up to her, kissing her lips chastely.

“Satisfied, love?” He asked, patting at her swollen and sensitive pussy three times before pulling back to see Y/N nodded, her eyes closed and a smile set on her face. “The last orgasm, made you cum by spelling my name.” He grinned smugly and she giggled.

“Well it worked.” She whispered tiredly and he smiled, “Thanks. I really needed that.” She said.

“Yeah, me too. It’s a right shame it’s a one time thing.” He mumbled sadly.

*****

It was not a one time thing. Over the course of a few weeks Harry and Y/N had managed to fool around at least twice a week. He doesn’t think he could ever get tired of the way she made him come with her mouth. But also, there was this one time where he was working on his sister’s coronation speech and Y/N came in to bring him his dinner and he pulled her onto his lap and they dry humped until he had cum an unbelievable amount in his pants. There was also that time where she had been preparing breakfast and he ate her soaked little peach while she clung to the counter for dear life. But he’s not sure if either of those times beat the time where he took her into town because she needed to buy fabric and of course, on the way back they made a detour to a secluded spot and he finger fucked her until her little cunt was squirting cum for him.

Those are the things he thought of as he groaned and came hard all over his fist and onto the shower floor, the warm water washing away any evidence of his activities. Harry liked this part of Y/N, but it left part of him wondering about who she was now. Sure, they had been great friends in school, but then he left and they grew into adults and became different people. That’s what drove him into the kitchen as she had some dishes being washed magically as she chopped some potatoes.

“I can’t right now, Harry.” She said, not even having to look up to see if it was actually him. She had learned to read his presence. She was growing a fondness over him that was dangerous. She couldn’t less herself fall for him because then she’d want to sleep with him and her heart would be tethered to his forever and he might not even want her like that and that would break her.

“I wanted to know what your favorite song is.” he said and she sighed.

“Why?” She asked, finally looking up and he was wearing a lovely, dimpled smile.

“Because, I don’t really know much about you anymore except for the fact that I know were your g-spot is and I really don’t like that.” He said and she giggled around a scoff.

“Well, why do you need to know?” She inquired and he shrugged.

“Just want to know.” He said and she decided to humor him.

“Right now my favorite song is Wouldn’t It Be Nice. I watched 50 First Dates the other day and I can’t stop listening to it.” She said, focused on chopping the potatoes, too focused to see him smiling fondly at her.

“Good choice… song and film.” She hummed in acknowledgement, “And what about color? Mine is-”

“Pink.” She said and his brows arched, surprised she knew, “Mine is also pink.” She disclosed, smiling up at him.

“Pink is really pretty, just reminds me of the spring time and sunrises.” He said and she smiled.

“Yeah, it’s very cute.” She agreed and he smiled.

“Mmmm, what are some of your hobbies?” He asked and she glanced up.

“What’s this about?” She said and he walked further into the kitchen, grabbing a knife and cutting board and taking one of the bell peppers beside her.

“Told you, I want to get to know you better.” He said, “Now what are your hobbies? And how do you want these cut?” He asked, she was more than endeared. He was so charming and it was hard not to swoon in Harry’s presence, he just did things to people.

“Just dice’em. And uhhh… I like to cook, relaxes me a lot. I love to read as well, and uh… well no one knows this but I have an Etsy store an sell soaps, candles, and lipbalms. I love doing that.” She confessed and he smiled brightly at her.

“Ummm, you know how much I love candles right? When are you going to make me a lavender one?” He asked and she giggled.

“If you really want one I will make you one.” She said and he scoffed.

“Ummm, of course I want one!”

“Alright then, I’ll personally deliver it tomorrow.” She said and he was beaming.

“Alright then.” He repeated.

****

Harry’s mouth was dry, his heart was pounding erratically and his spirits were crushed because he wanted Y/N. He had started spending more time with her and he really was falling for her. He loved spending time with her and talking to her and he loved helping her make her soaps and candles and visiting with her mom. He had fallen for her, he wasn’t even sure what was going to come of it, but it was too late. His whole heart was hers for the taking, so hearing that Gemma’s pre-coronation ball would be when he was to meet a princess that he was supposed to wed he was upset.

“I thought since I’m technically second in line as of now I didn’t need to worry about this!” Harry exclaimed, he was angry.

“Darling, it doesn’t mater if you’re third or fourth in line, you need to marry someone who is going to help us out!” Anne reasoned and he groaned.

“You didn’t marry royal!” He argued and she sighed.

“Which is why your father and I had to annul, Harry. I got remarried, luckily to someone I was interested in after everything, you know that.”

“What if I don’t like her? What if she’s daft and scary-looking or crazy?” He asked and Anne rolled her eyes at his dramatic behavior.

“I can assure you, Harry, she’s pretty and smart and not crazy. I’ve met the girl myself and she’s lovely. She can’t wait to meet you next week.” Anne said and he just stormed out of her study. His heart felt heavy and it hurt to know that maybe having something, anything with Y/N would never be possible.  

Meanwhile, Y/N was working on the menu for the pre-coronation ball, but she felt off, upset even. Something was wrong, she could feel it, it was Harry. She had spent so much time with him and maybe she had gotten too careless, but she was falling for him. She yearned to be around him and she could feel everything he felt and when they were together it was a bliss like she’d never known. But right now something was wrong; the feeling grew heavier when he walked into the kitchen, anguish and betrayal written all over his face and she frowned.

“What is it?” She asked and he sighed, just walking up to her and kissing her with everything good he could muster up, masking some of the hurt they were both feeling now and alleviating it for a moment, until he pulled away his forehead resting on hers, his lips kissing the tip of her nose and then sighing.

“Nothing, just an argument with mum.” He said and she knew he was lying, but maybe he wasn’t ready to say.

“What can I do to make it better?” She asked and he sighed.

“Let’s go for a ride, yeah? Next week we’ll both be to our ears in coronation prep.” He said and she nodded. Taking his hand and snapping, both of them appearing in the stables. “I still think it’s cool you can do that.” He said smiling, feeling a lot more relaxed then when they were in the kitchen and she smiled.

“It is is pretty sick.” She agreed and let him prep the horses.

Y/N found that she could do a lot of things with Harry, not just teleport him. She could read his mind if she really concentrated, but she would never, that was private. It just happened once on accident when she was taking him in, he just looked so beautiful and she wanted to remember the moment forever, so she was focusing on every detail and then she heard it, clear as day. He was thinking about eating lunch, and then as if on cue he asked if she wanted to go have some lunch, she knew exactly what he was craving too. Y/N could also take some of his pain, and even protect him the way she could protect herself from harm. These were tell-tale signs of a forming bond. She was worried, because on an emotional level and physical to some degree, her heart was slowly becoming his. She wasn’t even sure if it was allowed, but it was happening and she hadn’t told anyone.

******

“We can’t have sex.” Y/N sighed tiredly and Harry huffed. He wanted her, wanted her so fucking bad it hurt. His heart ached to connect with her that way.

“Baby, I know, but I just want you so bad.” He whined, kissing her forehead.

“Me too, but we just can’t.” She groaned and he pouted.

“You know that I love you right? That you mean everything to me?” He asked and she nodded.

“I do too, believe me, Har. But we can’t, okay?” She said and he groaned.

“Why not?” He asked like a pouty child and she sighed, sitting up from his bed.

“My kind… we bond for life. We can only have sex with one person- trust me, I want to, so badly because I love you more than I can express, but if for some reason you don’t want me one day-”

“Impossible.” He interrupted and she sighed.

“This is serious, Harry. I will never love again, Harry. Already, I feel tethered to your heart, imagine a physical act of love and unity? I don’t know what I’d do if we did it and I couldn’t have you ever again.” She said sadly and that’s why he simply said ‘Okay, baby’. Because in a few days he would be meeting his future wife and as much as his heart wanted it to be Y/N, it wasn’t going to be her.

******

“You look incredible.” Y/N said as she finished zipping up Gemma’s ball gown. It was a champagne colored ball gown that was a beautiful, fitted, off the shoulder lace top, with rhinestones, crystals, and beading that became sparse as it transitioned into the blown up tulle and chiffon skirt.

“Thank you so much, I love it. It’s exactly what I hoped it would be.” She said looking to Y/N through the mirror.

“I’m glad.” She said and Gemma sighed, for a moment she saw a little pain in her eyes. Then a heavy feeling settled over her heart, something was wrong.

“Y/N, just know that we all love you, so, so much. We’re all so grateful for you.” She said and Y/N smiled, hiding the inner turmoil she was in because something was definitely wrong. Once Gemma was ready and her tiara was placed on her head Y/N left to get into her gown. She would be attending the ball as a family friend, Anne wouldn’t have it another way.

So while Y/N wanted to go all out and look beautiful for herself and for Harry, she chose to create something subtle and simple. She was more than surprised when Anne let her borrow her jewelry; she chose some antique garnet drop earrings set in silver, they were the perfect pop to her simple, silver colored silk gown, also off the shoulder, and a-line. She had never felt more beautiful in her life, but still something wasn’t right.

Although she was a guest, she was still busy and working, making sure everything was running smoothly. The servers were passing around her hors d’oeuvres and champagne flutes, so all seemed well and she decided to finally join the celebration. She looked around the room to find someone she knew and she spotted Harry. Y/N was about to make her way over when the crowd conveniently parted and she saw him speaking very animatedly to a gorgeous girl. Focusing hard on trying to read his expression she tuned in to his mind accidentally and her heart shattered when she heard the words: This is the woman I’m going to marry.

She wasn’t sure what to think, but all she could do was feel hurt; he said not even a week ago that he loved her. Maybe she stared a bit too long, but he looked over from his conversation partner for a moment and did a double take when he saw her, he smiled at her from a distance, not really able to look away once he noticed her. Y/N couldn’t really handle this, she couldn’t be here anymore. Her eyes were welling up with tears of sadness and betrayal and she turned around quickly and bumped into someone, he was tall. Taller than Harry and he smiled at her warmly and she returned the gesture out of politeness, but then he opened his mouth.

“Would you like to dance?”

****

Harry was hot. He was chatting with one of the most beautiful and intelligent girl’s he’s met in his life, a girl he’s supposed to marry, but can’t. He saw Y/N, and a minute later she’s pressed up against his mother’s adviser’s son, Aaron. He’s a right prick, a womanizer, a player… but there he is, swaying Y/N back and forth on the dance floor. If looks could kill he’d be dead. She’s smiling, she seems to be okay, but he can’t help but rudely excuse himself from the conversation with princess Clara is to go and tap on Aaron’s shoulder as the song comes to and end.

“May I cut in?” He asks and Aaron looks irritated, because he knows Harry doesn’t like him much and it seems that he’s sabotaging his chances with this girl on his arm, but he is the fucking prince and his father would have his head for refusing a royal, so he stomps off and Harry sweeps Y/N into his arms, swaying her gently as another song starts up. To his surprise and dismay, she’s silent. “Are you alright?” He finally asks.

“Why are you here?” She asks coldly, but softly, looking into his eyes.

“Aaron is a prick and you look breathtaking tonight.” He says simply and she huffs.

“This can’t happen… your mom is talking to your friend she seems upset. Well, they both do.” Y/N informed him as both Anne and the girl watched on and Y/N smiled softly at Anne, who returned her gesture before tuning to the girl. Probably informing the beautiful young woman that Y/N was just a good friend and she had nothing to worry about.

“I’m supposed to marry her.” He said suddenly and Y/N paused, causing him to stumble a bit and as he regained his balance she took off quickly, making her way to a secluded part of the room and snapping her fingers and she appeared in the one place she didn’t want to be, but couldn’t stop thinking about, his fucking room where he had told her that he loves her.

Harry groaned in irritation as she suddenly disappeared, she could be anywhere… he glanced back and hurried to his mother.

“Sorry, Clara, can I speak to my mother privately for a moment?” He smiled and she nodded, walking off as he pulled his mother to the edge of the room. “I can’t marry that girl.” He said and Anne sighed.

“Harry, you need to marry som-”

“She’s not into my kind, mum. She told me not even ten minutes into the conversation, we wouldn’t have kids, so no heirs. Her parents don’t know yet. I literally cannot marry her.” He informed and Anne looked a bit surprised.

“So, what are we going to do?” She asked and he bit his lip before deciding to be honest.

“Actually, I am so hopelessly in love with Y/N. I think- no, I know I want to marry her.” He said and Anne’s eyes grew wide as saucers at Harry’s confession.

“Um… she’s a beautiful and wonderful girl, Harry, but is that even possible?” She said skeptically and Harry shrugged.

“I’m pretty sure.” He said and Anne sighed.

“Think about it, we know her and trust her, if we could have kids they’d still be royals!” He argued and Anne shrugged.

“I don’t know, darling. I don’t know how this works. What happens when she stops aging and you get older and older?” She whispered and he shrugged nonchalantly.

“Don’t care, I love her. She’s everything I want and need, she’s my best friend.” He explained and Anne felt for him.

Gemma had luckily fallen in love with someone she could marry to keep the crown. Anne had fallen for Des, and despite their separation she had found someone Robin, who she also loved deeply the second time around and who also had some sort of importance and status acceptable for a queen. She wanted him to be happy… she sighed, her resolve breaking.

“Okay, yes. You can be with her; be with Y/N.” She said softly, squeezing his hands and he smiled.

“Thanks, mum.” He said hugging her tight before hurrying off to find her.

*****

“Y/N?” He called as he opened the for softly. He had checked the entire fucking kingdom (or so it felt like it), he thought she might be in his room, but didn’t really think she had any reason to be until he heard a sniffle and his eyes landed on a lump on the bed that seemed to be shimmering in the moonlight. She looks radiant and he hates knowing that he hurt her feelings, she didn’t let him finish. When he got closer he saw that she had those noise-cancelling headphones on from when they had their first run-in; her eyes were closed so he sat on the edge of the bed making her sit up so fast.

“Jeez, you scared me.” She said a bit too loudly before pulling the headphones off, she had been crying, her eyes were a bit glossy.

“You didn’t let me finish saying what I had to say.” He said and she sighed.

“I don’t want to hear it, I’d rather not. You told me you loved me and I love you too. I’m connecting to you in ways that you can’t imagine, so maybe just rip the bandaid off instead of  beating aroun-” he cut her off with his lips pressing to hers. The urge to just be there for him took over her hurt. Harry wasn’t a liar, maybe he had to do this, when she had calmed down he pulled back, pecking her lips once more before resting his forehead on hers.

“I won’t marry her. I talked to my mum about you. About us. Told her that I love you so much and that you’re my best friend and that I don’t want to live a single day without you.” He said and she bit her lip, trying to hold back an enormous smile.

“Harry, is that even allowed?”

“M’not done. I do want every single day with you and I on’t care if I look awful or like your grandad in the end! I just want you to be happy and if you’re happy with me and think you could be for the rest of our lives I would love to ask your parents for your hand in marriage.” He said and tears ere streaming down her face, hopefully good ones.

“You’re lucky my mascara is waterproof, she whispered.” Before kissing him hard. It was indescribable. Consciously making that decision to be with someone no matter what. Naturally their kiss started getting more heated, things were moving quickly. He was standing behind her, kissing at her shoulders as he worked on her dress’ zipper.  “Harry, if we do this-”

“I know. Trust me, I don’t think I’d ever want anyone else in my whole life besides you.” He assured her, pleasantly surprised that she was wearing some very cute lingerie.  

“Yes, I wore it for you.” She hummed  as he unhooked the strapless bra and let drop to the ground before pressing her barely-clothed ass to the bulge in this pants.                                         “I want you so bad.” He whispered in her ear, nibbling at the lobe while his hands squeezed her breasts and pinched at her nipples. If she wasn’t soaked for him before, she definitely was now.

“I want you too, please.” She moaned as he pinched down on her nipple rather hard, causing her to groan in a mix pain and pleasure.

Soon she was laying on the bed completely naked for him, needy and throbbing. Fairies’ bodies prepared for when they were going to bond with a partner. If their heart was in it, so was their body. This means she was a soaking and sticky mess for him, her endorphin and dopamine levels where through the roof, ensuring that the only thing felt on this, her first time, was pleasure. She had never felt such a primal hunger for someone in her life, she needed him to just get inside of her and make her his.

“Fuck, baby.” He moaned as his fingers dipped past her folds and stroked up to her clit, “Proper dripping for me.” He said lowly, rubbing at her clit gently, and pushing two fingers into her, but the sensitivity from her body’s state had her mewling and her back arching, already close to coming. “Are you gonna cum for me?” He asked and she nodded, breath hitching and legs trembling as he added more pressure and increased the speed of his fingers.

“Oh my- yes, that’s so good!” She whimpered, jaw falling slack and her eyes closing tight as she came undone, mumbling his name over and over. God, he was throbbing for her and couldn’t wait to stuff her full of his cock. He hovered over her, kissing her a few minutes as she calmed down, but she couldn’t because the feeling of his hard cock on her lower tummy was doing things to her. “Please, I want you in me. Need to feel you deep inside.” She begged as he rubbed his cock against her soaking folds. He was big, he didn’t want to ruin her first time, but she kept insisting it was okay, that it would be okay.

“Alright love, please tell me if you need me to stop.” He warned and she nodded, shuddering as he rubbed his head up against her clit and then back down to her weeping hole. He watched her attentively as he pressed the tip to her entrance, her eyes flew open and landed on him. His bottom lip was taken between his teeth, holding back a moan as he made shallow little thrusts against her.

“Please, Harry. I need you.” She whimpered and he glanced up to her, eyes begging him to just do it and so he pulled away and hovered over her as her hand guided him to her entrance and he just pushed back into the head, relishing in her arousal and how the new intrusion was causing her body to squeeze around him already. He just let his hips fall towards hers as he pushed all the way into her, making them both groan, her nails digging into his bum as he stilled until he felt his balls tap against her skin, “Oh my god.” She moaned, back arching at the feeling of fullness. Harry felt like he could cry from how incredibly tight she was around him, squeezing and so wet for him.

“You feel so fucking amazing, love. Are you good?” He asked and she nodded furiously.

“Please, move.” She pleaded and he followed her demands.

He thrust into her deep and slow, making love to her. This was a first for sure. His heart felt so full being connected to her this way. He wanted to just hold her so close she could hardly breath, he wished he could kiss her forever without taking a breathing break, he just wanted to be with her. He showed it to her with every thrust and encouraging word, kissing all over her face, moaning into her neck and loving the way she was reacting to this moment with him. God, the way his ego was bloating up at the sounds of her moaning his name and how good his big, thick prick felt inside of her, he was really over the moon.

He bent her legs at the knee and angled his thrust that way, giving it to her harder and faster, feeling her clenching hard around him. She was getting close, the wet sounds getting more prominent as their connection remained.

“Are you gonna cum for me, princess?” He asked and she moaned, she was his princess now.

“Fuck, I am!” She mewled

“Come on baby, want to feel you making my cock sticky with your cum. Give it to me, princess.” He encouraged until her eyes rolled back and her legs tumbled around his body, soaking his prick with her cum, making the sounds of him thrusting into her louder and dirtier. She was seeing stars, she was tearing up and felt like she was floating in the clouds of pleasure, moaning his name, encouraging him to keep going, to fuck her until he couldn’t move anymore.

“Fuck, love. M’gonna cum.” He warned and she crossed her legs behind his hips as he fucked into her harder and deeper.

“Please,” she begged, “make me yours.” She whined and he moaned loudly at the idea.

“Want my cum deep inside you?” He asked and she nodded and moaned, begging him to please, cum inside her. “Fuck, s’gonna be a lot, fuck.” He said shakily feeling the knot in his tummy hastily slipping undone, he thrusted into her roughly and stilled deep inside of her as he filled her up, moaning at the feeling of her clenching hard around him, milking him for every drop. “Fuck, Y/N.” He moaned, buried in her neck until they were both panting messes of sloppy kisses and declarations of love. “You’re all mine, Y/N. My fucking princess forever.” He mumbled against her lips.

[aikainkauna]

Fanfic trope meme

Apologies to those of you who see this for a third time, as I’ve crossposted it to both LJ and Pillowfort. Feel free to comment over on there (or my other posts) if you like. And of course, feel free to grab this one and do it yourself, if you like.

***

Grabbed this meme from a couple of people on LJ. It's... well, apparently about fanfic tropes. Some of them more terrifying than others.

I have written:

-Hurt/comfort (Yeah, baby! Most of my fic is this.)

-Body swapping (Sort of? Souls slipping into each other's bodies for a bit? Jaffar feeling what Yassamin feels? Sex swap, I've definitely done.)

-Soulmate identifying marks (tattoo, red thread of fate, etc) (I have! The Throne of Solomon. And maybe The Past Forgotten counts, in its way. I may have written more, but I forget.)

-Snowed-in cabin/isolated together for extended period of time (The Jaffar/Pwinzezz Cavefic!)

-Found families (I guess the Samarkand gang counts for poor old Fadl? Even if Jaffar *is* his brother, so technically it is his family. But he does have his religious congregation and Zainab, and is... well, he always does seem to be seeking something, so he's the kind of guy to go for this trope.)

-Fairy tale/mythology AU (And not just when I am  writing in *actual* fairytale/mythology fandoms. Which I am doing most of the time, what with Thief of Bagdad being a 1001 Nights fanfic anyway. So I'm writing fanfic about a fanfic of some age-old RPF (fantasy AU!) about historical figures from the late 700s/early 800s...)

-Enemies  to friends to lovers (Yes, please! Aplenty. I'm surprised that  enemyslash/FoeYay/Hero(ine)/Villain(ess), whatever you want to call it,  isn't mentioned on this list.)

-Characters swap roles AU (Uh... I've written sexual switching in some isolated chapters? Like when Laura  briefly doms Torsten in The Fall of Angels, to help him get over some traumas?)

-Friends to lovers (With RPS, Veidtbone in particular, and Theta/Koschei. This also seems to happen whenever I write femslash.)

-Magical  connection (telepathy, etc) (Doctor/Master basically ruined me for all  my other ships what with their telepathic ability. So that now, it feels less interesting for me to write love/sex that *doesn't* have telepathy.)

-Fake dating/fake marriage accidentally turns into feelings (see next trope)

-Royals/political marriage turns into feelings (These last two are pretty much the same thing in ToB, as I've had Yassamin marry Jaffar a couple of times--like The Past Forgotten and The King's White Falcon, but without him laying a hand on her for up to a year, until she finally grows a brain and realises how loveworthy he is after all.)

-Seemingly unrequited pining (Emphasis on the "seemingly." Jaffar's unrequited   pining is painful enough in the movie, so there's no point in making him  suffer any more.)

-Accidentally fell in love with the mission target (Well, *kind of,* what with Torsten. Lars-Erik was definitely his mission target in the original film, and at the start of Because The World Belongs to the Devil, he made no bones about having wanted to kill Laura Erika [the teenage girl version of Lars-Erik in this AU, to those of you just joining in] when she was born.)

-They break up (but then they get back together) (With Jaffar/Fadl.  Fadl's stormed off in a huff at least twice in the past. And Doctor/Master is always the same old on-off car crash, isn't it? Although this is not a favourite trope of mine, as the setup would usually necessitate them being an existing couple in the first place,  and I tend to not write canon or "plausibly lovers" ships because   they're already happily together. What do Two and Jamie, Holmes and   Watson etc. need me for? They're already as good as married. Let them have their happiness.)

-Supernatural creature/human romance (Sort of. I've written Time Lords/humans, humans/djinn at least. And surely wizards count as supernatural romance, anyway?)

-Reincarnation/'25  Lives' AU (What's with the 25 lives? Is this some big fandom thing again? One of the darkest, most fucked-up fics I ever wrote was the Master killing the Doctor during sex and fucking him as he regenerated around him. As you do. And there's reincarnation in one of my Jaffar/Pwinzezz fics,  but I won't spoil it for the new readers by telling you which one it is.)

-Selfcest (possibly due to time travel) (I am scratching my head trying to remember when I wrote this and in which fandom, but I have the distinct feeling I've written it. I've certainly whacked off to  that World Of Simm!Masters clusterfuck what with the pink dress so many  times I... I think I broke two clit buzzers during that time. I've certainly drawn it. And drawn some Connies on Connies. And then there's, of course, Sarosh the Sexbot  who's a clone of Jaffar, looks-wise, but he is very distinctly just a robot, not a living character as such--not the sort with which you could  have a real, interpersonal dynamic. My problem with selfcest, in general, is that I like having that character dynamic--and that requires  the characters to be different from one another. If it's two characters  that are too similar--if they fulfill a similar role in the canons--it's hard to create a dynamic between them and to make it   interesting.)

-Polyamory (Swinging away ALL the bloody time with the Roses!Jaffar and Yassamin, and Torsten/Laura. Sometimes I miss the monogamous 'verses.)

-Amnesia (I've got a post-movie "Jaffar comes  back from the dead" WIP I'll probs never finish, because it doesn't seem to get off the ground. If I wrote this trope, I would have the characters gradually regain memory, though; complete mind-wipes are   horrid. I did have Handy lose the majority of his cognitive/motor/Timey skills in No More  and that was the main reason I had to... well, I'm not going to spoil it if someone hasn't read it yet, but it wasn't the cheeriest of fics. The Past Forgotten *sort of* has this, but I don't want to spoil as to how that happens.)

***

I could write:

-Daemons (Why the archaic spelling? I have written djinn, so I almost put this in the 'have written' section. I can't remember if I actually *have* written real demons, because I might have. Surely, Torsten counts...)

-'Everyone is evil'/mirrorverse AU (Well, mostly, if I want to explore "evil"   characters, I write about those types of characters in the first place, without having to turn anyone evil. Devilry is the 'verse for that. Hell, usually it's the other way around; I try to look for the human elements of the baddies, or at least explore their logic--what makes them tick, what makes them the way they are. So, IDK, I could've also   put this in the "unlikely to ever write" section.)

-And they were roommates! (This would be terrible and also hilarious, whatever characters ended up becoming my victims. Even if I'm more interested in those hurt/comfort plots, overall. And I have always found it *impossible* to live under the same roof with other people because I need peace and quiet and solitude too much. So this is almost a bit too much like the sorts of negative RL experiences I don't really want to get more of in fic.  But I *could* write it as a comedy for cheap lols, especially if the stress were resolved by hot bonking, ASAP.)

-'They  all work in an office' AU (Otherwise, I would've put this in the "just  no" category, but... the Barmakids were civil servants. So I *could*   write Jaffar and Fadl drowning in paperwork--"WHY DID WE EVER introduce paper into THIS EMPIRE?!?" and cursing their fates and Jaffar restraining Fadl from braining Harun al-Rashid with a paperweight. Same with Lina doing Zainab's books and trying to hold back The Fist of Death when Fadl carelessly drops a piece of his lunch over her perfectly calligraphied accounting.)

-'Falling for a coworker/teammate is a bad idea' except this is fiction so it works out (Maybe. Just maybe. But it'd also be in a medieval ToB context.)

***  

I will probably never write:

-'Groundhog  Day'/karmic time loop (I just never got the appeal of this. Sounds like the sort of thing experimental writers would like? The sorts who really  like filling in bingo cards and challenge lists?)

-Vampires/werewolves  AU (I'm not that big on either. Super-unpopular opinion coming up: I prefer sex to the sublimation of it that vampires are often all about; bloodsucking in lieu of sex, and/or being seen as way better than sex just always feel to me like a cheap cop-out from writers who are disappointed in sex, or afraid of it. I've never grokked it any more   than that stupid, stupid "chocolate is better than sex" quip from women who don't know what masturbation is--yes, it fucking well is sex, TYVM! I much prefer to make partnered sex better than it is IRL by adding supernatural stuff like telepathy to *that*. Immortality alone is interesting to explore, as are Gothic themes, but all the usual themes that vampires *specifically* usually represent just... either hold little interest for me, or then, I can explore them in other ways.)

-'Pride  and Prejudice' AU (I don't hate Jane Austen, but it's not my fandom. That kind of society stuff and being witty over teacups in bonnets has never really been my thing--if anything, I usually have my characters exist in their own bubble, isolated from society and its restrictive mores and social stresses.)

***

JUST NO!

-Coffee  house AU/food service AU (AUGH! Please, no coffeeshop AUs for me; the world is full of them already. Maybe I could write it as some terrible, short parody? Or doodle it? But no more than that.)

-Hogwarts AU (Haven't read HP. Young Adult isn't really my genre. I know, I know; I've just lost all my WLW cred.)

-High  school/university AU (I've done Time Lord Academy-era stuff with Doctor/Master, but I expect this means a sort of American high school/university AU with jocks and cheerleaders and shit. Hell, no. Again, the exact sort of horrid society stuff I would rather have my characters escape from.)

-Adopting/raising a baby (Erm, not unless you count Jaffar/Yassamin adopting a cheetah? They do have kids in some 'verses but there's none of that everyday baby stuff that this question/trope probably implies. I'm squicked by   babies, sorry.)

-Unusually specific occupation AU, like, the Author clearly has the same job (It worries me that this is, by virtue of its inclusion here, apparently seen as normal and acceptable..? When it's crap fanfic, inserting yourself into something that should be about the *established* characters instead. Jesus, I don't want to go in expecting a fanfic, and then find out it’s your diary instead! Unless you're Anaïs Nin. And even if you really *do* want to write about yourself, then just... write original fic? An autobiography? A blog? Write an OC that has your job. Don't do this false advertising where you insist it's fanfic when it's not. That's a dick move towards your readers.)

-Loyalty kink (see next trope)

-Alpha/beta/omega (Too creepy. I can write about piss, shit, incest, necrophilia and cannibalism, but not these last two. Any more than I can glorify the Nazis I've written about; I either take the piss out of them, as with Strasser, or just step outside of their politics and bring them into the land of happy sexings like with von Kolb, with the aim of dragging him out of that madness and leaving it behind.)

-Hot single parent(s) (Please. Rundvik: "You love children." Torsten: "I loooooathe themm.")

-Unrequited pining (Too much of an emotional squick. Has to be requited. I write fanfic to fix things, to avenge wrongs, to set things right. I don't write them to make the characters more miserable than they already are. Unless it's for temporary, character-development purposes, that is.)

[ifitaintme]

G a m b l e

Bets | KakaSaku Month, Week 2 | A03 | FFN

Kakashi, as Sakura had discovered one fateful, rainy night sometime after she had turned 16 and joined her sensei for a celebratory drink, was a goofy drunk. Goofy to the extent that it enabled her and her team mates to exploit this man silly. For the past 18 months or so, Team 7 (namely Naruto and Sakura) had explored every angle possible about the extent to which Kakashi can go when intoxicated. The rest rarely did join (but not even the promise of getting Kakashi to finally pay some bills could fly over the head of the principled Yamato), Sai just seemed too confused most of the times to actively partake but on the days that Sakura and/or Naruto were sober, they’d have the indulgent heart to explain the humour behind their shenanigans to the boy.

Goofy isn’t to say that Kakashi giggled uncontrollably or became loose-lipped about his ideas and thoughts but get the man tiddly enough, and he just might agree to all the bets, conditions and promises they pressed onto his ear. When Team 7 had first made this discovery, every occasion called for drinks – successful missions, failed missions, completed missions, completed-but-bad missions, completed-and-not-so-difficult-but-the-team-liked-to-pretend-were-extremely-tough missions… Really, the list went on.

(Sakura wondered idly that some liver-functioning tests for her old sensei might not be such a bad idea...)

When more time had passed, and Sakura spent more nights carrying her exuberant and drunk sensei home because “she lived in his district anyways” and “she had more muscles than the whole of Team 7 put together”, Sakura grew more and more fond of the giddy Copy Ninja. Never had she ever thought that the man whose name was in almost every and all Bingo Books in almost every and all countries, would need frequent breaks every five minutes or so because too much treading on his stumbly feet made this man foolishly nauseous. After the seventh or eighth time that she had to walk him home and they’d stopped for breaks to sit on nearby footpaths, Sakura had managed to work up the courage to ask him to rest his head on her lap, so she could run her cool fingers through his hair in hopes of soothing the pain on his aching head.

And when even more time had passed and Kakashi began to trust her abilities to minimise his headaches, he had managed to mumble something with the likes of “I bet you’d make a good wife one day.”

The moment the words reached Sakura’s ears was the moment her fingers halted against his hair and her heart fluttered uncomfortably loudly and she hoped to dear God that Kakashi was drunk enough to not have noticed her lose her calm. She quickly raked her busy head to try and formulate a witty response to his comment. Much to her frustration, a satisfying enough sentence was just not coming to mind. Complete silence was not an option though…

“And I bet you’d make a troublesome husband one day” she replied, squinting to the side as she analysed her sentence and came to the conclusion that yes, indeed that is something a gay Shikamaru might have uttered in alternate universe.

“Ah yes. My antics may cause some tension. That tension may cause some arguments. Arguments may lead to headaches. And your headache minimising techniques may come in handy…” Kakashi drawled on.

“Be careful Sensei, the way you’re talking sounds like you’re entertaining the idea,” was Sakura’s reply. She may be over-reacting, obviously – she herself was also kind of drunk – but Kakashi’s words made it seem like, in another world, she’d be a wife and he’d be her husband.

And with that comment, Kakashi fell quiet and lifted his arm to touch the tip of her hairs that fell forward when she bowed her head to face him. Not a second later, he pulled his hand away and asked, “does it sound like such a bad idea?”.

Dammit. If Kakashi was proposing to her, this was not the way it was going to be – on the steps of Ino’s flower shop, with both counterparts considerably smashed.

A moment of silence ensued, and Sakura belatedly realised that a drunk Kakashi was not only a goofy Kakashi but that a drunk Kakashi was a Kakashi that disappeared in the face of light and sobriety. Sure, he’d remember the promises and the bets but when sober, he’d always manage to seem annoyed and put-off by his drunken actions. More often than not, he’d also manage to make Sakura feel quite immature and guilty too. (She’s sure he’d do the same with Naruto, but that kid was kind of clueless in picking up conversational cues). And it was with a heavy heart that Sakura decided to let this slide off her back. Holding Kakashi to his words and using them as a hint of what may lay in his dormant heart would only promise Sakura shame and pain for the future.

Heaving a sigh, Sakura shooed Kakashi off her lap. “I bet you can start walking again, come on now”, she said and hoped he’d drop the matter and stop ‘entertaining’ the impossible idea.

Much to her frustration, he continued as he grabbed Sakura’s elbow to stand himself up, “I bet we’d make a good pair. I wouldn’t have to step inside a hospital ever again, you could just heal me at home.”

To this Sakura scoffed, “I knew there had to be a very selfish and very Kakashi reason to your proposal”. Kakashi, having successfully stood up on his own two feet, made a show of striding ahead of Sakura.

“Proposal?” Kakashi quipped over his shoulder, dramatically. “That was hardly a proposal. I may be all cool and mysterious Sakura-chan but even I know how to woo a girl time and again.”

“Yes, but making a young and frail girl carry you home when you’re drunk hardly seems like wooing.”

“Careful now Sakura-chan. If I was sober I might have begun to think you wanted me to woo you,” he warned. He probably meant this as a joke, but Sakura decided that she didn’t really like when drunk, warm and open Kakashi made vague flirtatious passes at her. The fact that he smelled so welcoming didn’t really help matters either. Couldn’t he smell more like alcohol, dammit? she complained.

But Sakura was never quite good at holding her tongue when irked.

So, when her snappy and accusatory response of “I don’t know, but even drunk, I could swear that it was you who started all of this in the first place?” came, Kakashi decided to stop in his footsteps.

Belatedly he realised she wasn’t so fond of this topic. And his genius mind could only come to one conclusion about why his wittiest pupil let this particular topic of banter annoy her so early on in the making: maybe the longing stares he’d catch her giving him sometimes on tiring missions weren’t so much the result of lethargy as they were of longing. Kakashi’s subconscious had realised quite early on and it made him feel quite flattered even, but the day Sakura gave her heart to someone deserving was the day Naruto turned down Ramen.

It was dangerous for him to be drunk in her company. Inhibitions were good, and they helped preserve sanity and sought logic and when inhibitions were gone, it made Kakashi give in to the urge to be alone in Sakura’s company when she was slightly drunk too. To his annoyance, however, she never got drunk enough. And his conscience would argue that that was for the best.

A deep part of him was quite unimpressed with himself for taking advantage of his drunkenness to sprout whatever nonsense came to his mind. But a deeper and darker part of himself was pleased and craved further attention from her.

Sakura stepped beside him and shot him a look of concern thinking that he might have stopped midstep because he was feeling nauseous again.

But really, Kakashi stopped because her accusation hadn’t rung too far from the truth. So, when Sakura came forwards and her hand itched towards Kakashi’s elbow to support him, he pulled away sharply and said, “I can take it from here. It’s getting late, so you should just go home now. I’ll see you tomorrow Sakura.”

Sakura was too drunk to notice he was sobering up but not drunk enough to have ignored how hurt she felt by the simple action of him pulling away. He only had to move a certain way and it would make her ache in all the wrong ways.

“Don’t you wanna make some bets today Kakashi?” she called from behind him when he resumed his treading homewards. “We always make bets, don’t we? Isn’t that out tradition?” Sakura could tell she was babbling but whenever he pulled away from her like this, it was usually followed by days of cold shoulders from Kakashi and Sakura had decided last time that next time, she wouldn’t let the opportunity present itself.

“Do you really think it’s wise to do this right now?” Kakashi just really needed to leave before the situation advanced.

“Yes! Why are you being like this? Not two seconds ago we were laughing about marriage quirks!” Sakura felt her volume rise and something at the back of her mind reminded her that at late and quiet hours like this, a lot of people could hear a lot of things.

“So, you realise that that was a joke?” Kakashi’s tone sounded exasperated, making Sakura feel self-conscious and nervous. What did he mean by that? Was he being cruel again? She hoped she wouldn’t end up saying something regrettable.

“I can handle jokes Kakashi… I don’t think you can handle me though” too late, the words were out before her brain had even processed them.

Kakashi always strived with being one step ahead of everybody – an enemy, a friend, a comrade, his neighbours, their mothers and their cousins – it came as a perk of being a genius and whatnot. He hadn’t quite figured out if that’s what made him lazy or if it was his laziness that led to the development of that trait. Similarly, Kakashi liked his ability to see through Sakura without difficulty, but he disliked it immensely when she could do the same with him. (But isn’t that why he fell for her in the first place?)

When he started to move his feet again, Sakura was in front of him faster than the eyes could follow. “I won’t bug you after this,” she promised “but please, a bet is all I’m asking for” she begged and Kakashi grimaced when he realised he liked that tone.

Taking a step back to regain some distance between them again, Kakashi sighed and replied, “maybe we should stop with these…” but seeing the panic rise in Sakura’s face made him continue, “but one last bet sounds plausible” he finished.

Sakura released the breath she was holding with force and marvelled at the thought that it probably brushed past Kakashi’s face when she saw him squint. It gave her hope and satisfaction when he went awry around her, made her believe that one day, slowly but surely, his resolve would break.

She was glad. This gave her an idea. She wanted to place a bet but hadn’t really thought of anything but seeing his resolve weaken steadily inspired her endlessly (and she had to slow her excitable heart before it ran ahead of itself).

“I bet that you want me. I don’t know how much, and I don’t know if it’s as much as I want you, but I bet that you do anyway. No, don’t look away when I say that just please, hear me out” she galloped a gallon of air and continued, “I want to bet on your heart. If you truly don’t want me, then you won’t stop me in the two weeks that I am giving you where I will try my utmost best to move on and see other guys. If you win and you don’t hinder my dates or accept them and encourage them wholeheartedly then I lose, and I promise to never bring this up again.”

Sakura didn’t like making bold promises like that, her dislike having probably stemmed from her teammates' pesky obsession with the word. But Sakura was desperate and the premise of what might happen if she were to win was too tempting.

“But if you win?” Kakashi prompted.

“If I win and you lose, your heart is mine and you have to give it up without a second’s thought. In the two weeks, you cannot initiate any interaction between the two of us that stems deeper than just that of teammates. No lingering stares, hands and no extra effort in avoiding me, no nothing. You have to be normal and treat me like I am your friend – nothing more and nothing less.” By now, her sobriety was coming back and despite how steady her words sounded, her chest heaved with uneven breaths.

She wasn’t sure how Kakashi would respond and she held her breath. He could say the wrong thing and completely break her heart and she hadn’t prepared for that yet. When she woke that morning, she hadn’t anticipated that this is how her day was going to end.

But Sakura wasn’t quite sure what the right thing sounded like either.

Not until he sighed and stuffed his hands in his pocket, “Bets are… juvenile, don’t you think? Maybe our last one ever shouldn’t bear such heavy consequences. Why don’t we talk about this tomorrow when we’re both not so tired and under the influence?”

Damn him. Damn him! A right thing would’ve sounded like anything that wasn’t that. She could feel her own resolve waning, so she hurried and said, “No, Kakashi! Please don’t brush this off” and instantly hated how weak that sounded. No wonder he thought this juvenile.

“All it will take you is two weeks and I promise if you win, you’ll get exactly what you want. I will never bug you again. Doesn’t that tempt you?” She hoped he’d say no to the temptation part because saying yes, even if as a lie, would be a harsh and unbearable rejection.

Not as tempting as your bottom lip and how it flips out when you talk that way— “If I agree, there is no turning back Sakura.”

“Deal”, she said in a way that made Kakashi think that if he was blind, her response would’ve sounded like she’d just leapt.

“Deal”, he repeated. He performed some seals and said “I’ll see you around Sakura” as he disappeared into thin air, leaving Sakura by herself in the middle of the street.

Sakura continued to speak, even if it was at herself, “Deal indeed. I may be Tsunade’s but my luck with bets is nothing like hers”.

Kakashi wouldn’t be able to help himself. She knew it. He couldn’t even help himself from making unnecessary physical contact with her – brushing his hand down her back in the faintest ways when he thought no one was looking, touching her hair at every opportunity, touching her fingers whenever they were close to his. She knew he couldn’t win. And if he did, well she’d have to see about hunting down Sasuke and his rinnegan to get Kakashi under a genjutsu so that he could wake up with an epiphany of his undying love for her and realise that true love shouldn’t be discarded in the face of pesky principles.

“I’m glad you’ve come to your senses. Your two weeks isn’t up yet. You can leave still.”

“Sakura, please don’t lie to the weary-hearted like me. We both know you’d punch a hole through my face before I could even begin to contemplate that idea.”

“Laugh all you want Kakashi, but I’m serious. This is for good yeah?”

“For good, yes.”

“Good.”

Thank you for reading.

[ghostmartyr]

Pokémon White Randomized Nuzlocke Run [Part 2]

Here we are in Part 2, where I have maybe learned a thing about how to keep these from being dreadfully boring. Part 1 saw us defeat the first Gym, as well as my dawning sadness about the HM state of my available pokemon.

Now we move into the Badge 2 phase of the game.

Breathing Pokemon:

Boeing (Latios)

Frogger (Seismitoad)

Timon (Tepig)

I think I will be ignoring the Cut problem until I absolutely can’t, which will be in about five minutes.

I don’t know why I didn’t walk left earlier, but I didn’t. Is there grass here? Can I catch something? My team is basically just Timon and Frogger. I love Boeing, but he is not made for this rough life. He likes relaxing and eating. Not fighting.

And the answer is that the Professor’s scientist friend has supplied a plot barrier. Sigh.

Welp.

....

I can’t even pretend to be surprised. Dang it, Boeing.

I don’t want to use anything outside the confines of the challenge if I can help it. The idea is not, “win all the fights” under these conditions, it’s beating the game.

Congratulations, Boeing.

You’re temporarily useful.

Grass! Beautiful grass!

Also Team Plasma.

Cut is so much more useful than Psywave and I am very sad.

Team Plasma dealt with, obligatory plot detail I wasn’t paying attention to dealt with, we are now free to pursue the grass.

Or will the grass pursue us.

I can’t remember how Tangela evolves normally, or how it evolves given the settings of the run, but I do think that Tangela probably could have learned Cut just fine, and I can’t remember if the Move Deleter costs anything, or even where it is in this version.

But that’s only a concern if I catch a thing that can learn Cut. Let’s do this, Boeing.

Sleep Powder is hypothetically useful. I don’t think it has ever hit when I try to use it.

Two Poke Balls and nothing. I think I am going to sacrifice the Great Ball some random NPC gave me.

Victory!

Good job, Boeing. See, isn’t life more fun when you’re useful?

You know, I don’t normally nickname my pokemon. They just keep the same name every edition of them in the wild has, and that’s perfectly fine with me.

Your name shall be... Grape.

Because look at all those vines writhing... writhe... wrath? Grapes!

Such thought. Much wow.

I think it’s time for healing and grinding.

Oh, but first, Grape! Let us find something out about you.

He is Brave and quick to flee. His Speed suggests that he isn’t that great at fleeing.

Other pokemon we could have gotten from the HM grass spot of doom include Sudowoodo and Beedrill. Tangela looks to be rarest of the set, so I suppose we can add lucky to Grape’s list of traits. There’s a Potion and a Parlyz Heal lying about that I go grab, and until the plot brings us back later (probably sometime after we get Strength), this area is just going to be a grind station.

Until I get bored after about three minutes and want to go back to exploring. I’m not sure I’m made for a Nuzlocke.

...Why is Constrict a move? It’s about as useful as Splash, only with the false hope of being capable of dealing damage.

Yeah, I don’t have the patience for this. I’m going to go left again and see what there is now that the plot isn’t keeping me trapped. ...Only after I talk to Fennel again. Apparently just letting her collect the whatever thing is not enough, I have to listen to her discoveries.

I do not. Button mashing away, we now have our C-Gear and Pal Pad. I think the first of those will end up having uses. I mostly remember all these different event skins being available for the gear.

Now I should be able to go.

Ha. I have conquered the plot barrier.

Since this is a separate section from the garden area, I think once I have some kind of rod or Surf I can come back and nab something from the water. ...I wonder if grass vs water even matters in a randomized run. Are they all completely random, or random within water? I should know these things.

My guess would be completely random. I cite the level 4 Salamence on Route 2. But either way, something to come back to.

Aw, how cute. I’m gonna demolish you (I hope).

It looks like battling is going to happen before finding out what pokemon belong to this route. In the interest of learning how to do this better bit by bit, I think I’ll limit capping battles unless something truly ridiculous happens. This early in the game there shouldn’t be much tension.

I will probably keep track of how many times Psywave misses if I use it, though. That obviously falls into the realm of Importance.

I will also say that Lillipups continue to be terrifying. And that I am so temporarily glad that Boeing knows Cut. Consistent damage. That hits.

I can’t believe this game encourages taking preschoolers’ pocket money. I know I’m only ten, but wow.

Ah, but the nice thing about beating up preschoolers (’ pokemon) is that they have a teacher around very used to healing pokemon up. Walking back to centers to heal is one of the not so fun aspects of

Whoops.

So it’s a good thing I only did grinding, because I clicked the load file option instead of the save file when I was trying to save. Good grief. I am become error. Will return momentarily. With one fresh water short, because I was stupid and a Beedrill almost murdered Timon. Also Timon now knows Flame Charge.

Okay.

Back to making forward progress, hopefully.

Let me go in the grass, Cheren. You’re supposed to be one of my two best friends. The fact that I had to be reminded by a professor whose name I also couldn’t be counted on to remember myself does not take away from our friendly bonds.

There really are a lot of non-NPC duels at the start of this version.

Okay, let’s go squad.

Boeing and Timon do a good job taking down his Meganium. I think I’ll let Frogger take the Purrloin. As the one on the team who did not need grinding, he hasn’t been used in a bit.

And that’s that. Cheren is sad/frustrated because we have the same number of badges, his starter is fully evolved and useful, and yet he still can’t win. Of course he can’t; the run would be over if he did.

But before we can celebrate and get into the grass, the plot arrives.

Team Plasma please. At least I have the option of going into the grass before getting the little girl’s pokemon back. Which I will take.

Let’s see what we get!

...Another thing that doesn’t need my help to evolve. Sigh.

As ever, that only gets a chance to annoy me if I catch it, so time to see how that train goes. I’m going to try throwing my only Great Ball. Psywave got it into the red, so...

!

Awesome! Based on videos I have seen recently most people aren’t that lucky when it comes to catching these things. Now I can sulk about having a fully evolved team (except for the treasured Timon) in peace.

What the heck do I name you, though? You’re a dinobird... Oh, I know. I’ll call you Ptera. Welcome to the team, Ptera. Let’s check you out.

He has a Mild nature, and he’s proud of his power. I feel like that Defense is going to end up making me cry, and I don’t think you’re a Special Attacker, so the Nature is pretty much all flavor. It’s nice to have something that can Fly; hopefully he’ll be around to use it.

...Oh geez, that Ability. Ptera Ptera Ptera... You are going to make me so sad.

The good news is he can kill his wild kin in one hit. So that’s convenient.

I’m sorry, what.

This is the exp grass now. Other finds include Octillery. Grape eats them for breakfast.

...

Oh.

It knows Aurora Beam.

It got a critical hit.

Grape was only a few points off of full health.

There was no way to know.

This is really sad.

I am so sorry Grape. You were a valued member of the team. You were only with us a short while, but you knew Grass moves. You balanced everything out wonderfully.

The exp grass is a dangerous place.

Maybe if I had just gone after the little girl’s pokemon...

It’s too late.

Grape is a raisin.

In the process of going after Team Plasma, it looks like Chimecho might be replacing Audino in the rustling grass. Maybe once, maybe always. Who can say. That would take paying more attention when messing with the settings.

A place to find Grape’s replacement. It would have been where we’d finally have a team of six, but...

Oh hey we found something already.

Okay, I can roll with that.

......Surprise, Ptera is stronger than expected. I knew enough to use Wing Attack, not Rock Throw, but I guess Ptera is just that good. Filed away for future reference. No new pokemon. A fitting tribute to Grape’s absence. The slot may remain empty for a little longer.

We get some Heal Balls from the little girl, and those could actually really come in handy. Assuming I ever properly catch a new teammate again.

One battle against an NPC later, and I think it’s safe to say Ptera is the new Frogger. He is overpowered for this section of the game.

You know what wouldn’t be overpowered? A Slugma.

I forgot about the darker grass. Route 3′s has Minccino, Teddiursa, Quilava, and Emolga.

Boeing could you please just learn something good. Please.

Whenever I see an Octillery now I’m just going to be filled with so much hate. I will kill every one that comes across my path. Unless I screw up and it kills me again, which is an absolute possibility.

We’ve made it to the next Gym city. Normal type. That shouldn’t cause any particular problem, but I do remember this fight packing more of a punch than I was expecting the first time I played, so cue the grinding montage I’m not going to screencap.

As well as the exploring the town montage I’m not going to screencap.

One of the NPCs asked me what I started with, so like a fool, I said Snivy, since that’s what Boeing replaced.

Now I have a Miracle Seed. And nothing that knows Grass moves.

Grape casts a long shadow already.

New area means new pokemon. Ones I have no plans to murder, but might very well anyway.

!!!!!

It’s. Grape’s replacement.

I love Shroomish and Breloom. One of the best pokemon in any gen, and I would dearly love one to follow me on this journey.

Yesssssss.

Let’s see. How about Palm, because your design reminds me of a pomegranate.

Palm has a Calm nature, and is somewhat of a clown. I’m pretty sure that is not the combination I want, since Breloom is more of a physical attacker, but hopefully it won’t matter too much. Poison Heal is a useful Ability to have.

Other things we could have caught in Pinwheel Forest: Vileplume, Froslass, Klink, Clamperl, Bellossom, Glaceon, Ducklett, and Metagross.

Wow. That’s a nice collection.

Oh hey and this happened.

Timon is now a robust Pignite, and has a move that will be of great use in the Gym!

We’re just going through the forest and annihilating everyone, but I spared a moment to commemorate Palm’s moment.

Tympole confused him, and he still used Absorb twice in a row instead of hurting himself. Then he snapped out of confusion and won. Contrary Nature aside, I am liking our new addition very much.

Especially since the fight against the next Tympole followed the exact same script. Good job, Palm.

The rest of this is basically all grinding, which is fun for me since I don’t have to come up with something clever to say when nothing much is going on. That is one benefit of doing this in this format.

My usual rule of thumb for these games is ten levels per gym until that much grinding becomes unbearable. Everyone’s currently level 18 (Ptera’s 16 and trying to fix that almost resulted in a Glaceon murdering him), and I’m thinking I might have hit that point.

...Yeah, I definitely have. I’ll just hit the Gym and let Ptera nom some things. Boeing will probably have to sit this fight out, because as we all know, what Normal type really means is Lillipups that know Bite. Those are not things for Boeing to face.

It is amazing how many different patches of grass suddenly have pokemon when I’m trying to leave a place, good grief.

Hello, am I fighting you again already? Or are you just doing your mysterious thing?

No, yeah, we’re doing a battle. And he opens with a level 13 Pidove to my level 17 Ptera. I don’t think he’s going to win this one. N, of course. Ptera has it in the bag, because I think it’s fair to say I have overleveled myself.

Palm was continuing his great streak of not letting Tympoles make him hurt himself, but sadly he did hurt himself once in this fight. Still, not bad, and much better than I usually get saddled with.

Ptera fighting the Timburr might be an incredibly stupid idea. He can one-shot them, but if they get a Rock Throw crit, it will be bad. This has been learned from the Fighting trainers in the wild that I didn’t screencap.

Those guys were at level 16, though. N’s level 13 is nowhere near the same brand of problem, and Ptera cleans up.

Alright, that settled, can I enter the gym now?

I forgot about the museum in front. Lenora’s got good taste.

Another Fresh Water for me. This one I don’t plan on using up. I don’t think I’ll need to, based on N’s levels. I really overtrained for this whole badge, probably. But that’s okay. I don’t like worrying about my pokemon dying every fight. Steamrolling is fine too. The main fun with all of this is finding out what I’ll end up with and raising them.

Then the very first trainer has a level 17 Patrat.

I feel less silly in my decisions.

Followed by a level 17 Herdier.

This is where I would consider doing more grinding, except by the time I’ve decided to stop grinding, I am generally not going to start again for a while.

The trainer with more than one pokemon starts with a level 15 Lillipup, so the Gym Leader’s are probably around 17-20. That should be okay. I’m healing before I go forward anyway, and Ptera’s going to grow another level beforehand just by beating this last trainer.

I really like Lenora’s Gym. It’s educational and has a secret staircase. I don’t think you can ask for more (though if memory serves, some of these get pretty wild this version).

Heals, then fight. This should be fine.

I want this office.

Ready... FIGHT!

She’s opening with a level 18 Herdier with Intimidate. Sigh. I forgot that was an ability. That might make this a little more awkward than I want, but Ptera is still part Rock. If things are going to go wrong, they should go wrong slowly enough for me to switch.

Take Down with a Leer boost only does 12, so yeah, this should be okay.

She uses a Super Potion, it takes three of any of Ptera’s attacks to down it, but Ptera gets a crit, and it’s Watchdog time!

I remembered she had this one.

For the sake of safety, I’m going to let Timon and his super effective attack handle this one. I think the Watchdog likes to sleep things.

A level 20 Watchdog. Do not want. But I believe in you, Timon. Go for it.

Uh.

Huh.

Fuck?

That’s. Wow, okay.

Watchdog with Retaliate. Awesome.

I don’t trust Ptera’s Defense to withstand whatever comes next, so Frogger... please do not die. Please. I need you to be alive and useful, because I just lost one of the greatest helps to this run.

Of course it has Hypnosis.

It’s so red. So close.

Retaliate does 30 damage without the fainting teammate ahead of time, and now Frogger is asleep and in the red. He needs to get out of there now, but I think Pursuit could be one of Watchdog’s moves.

I have one Soda Pop. He’s asleep anyway, so I’m willing to try it.

Geez this is scary.

tfw Watchdog also has Crunch and now Frogger’s Defense is lowered.

He isn’t faster, I don’t think. Even if he wakes up...

Switched to Palm and now Palm’s asleep.

Switching back to Frogger.

Frogger takes two Crunches, needs a Fresh Water, the next Crunch is a critical hit, and Frogger is still asleep. I have two Super Potions, now one, and Frogger is still alive and still asleep.

What in the fuck.

I know the sleep counter gets reset if you pull it out, but come on.

He finally wakes up, and because Watchdog only needed one more hit, victory is achieved.

Not worth it.

Lenora I don’t like you anymore.

And before we can end this segment, Team Plasma attacks the museum. Yay, plot. Plot to distract from the pain. The horrible, sad, awful, pain.

I can’t even remember their excuse for stealing the skull. Was there one?

I don’t know and care even less.

So we are assigned to search for the thieves with Burgh, Castelia’s Gym Leader, while Cheren and Bianca stay at the museum. Bianca is playing Fennel’s gopher, so we now have Dowsing Machine (MCHN) we will never remember to use, but if you’ll excuse me, I have more important matters to attend to.

...Bye.

I know the screenshots don’t show it, but you did a great job. Nothing else would have survived the gym if you hadn’t made training in Pinwheel Forest so straightforward. You did good, Timon.

Next Gym gets grinding. No complaints.

[saevalunaelumen]

[ Percival de Rolo ]

      In no particular order....

   -I remember the dream that I had when Orthax first came to me with the promise of revenge with a deal. I thought it was just a dream at the time, which was... the biggest mistake but also what pushed me towards meeting my friends and living a better life, in the end.    -Shortly after that, I also remember the anger and the lust for vengeance that fueled and pushed me to make my first gun. The first gun. Before the dream, it felt like I was just... tired and rundown. After it, the energy was there, but I’m not sure how much of it was truly mine.     -I have one or two vague memories of when I was locked up in a cell in the time after I had gone after Ripley and she caught me and kept me there for a while. I don’t doubt that the only reason she kept me alive and didn’t tell the Briarwoods that she had me was because of The List. She was interested in the gun, wanted to know how it worked, wanted to pick my brain for the details. I’d like to think that I didn’t tell her anything, but I don’t remember that. My hands weren’t bound, but one of my legs was, by a chain. I was a mess by the time that the group found me and I joined them.    -I have a couple... flashes of what the interior of Greyskull Keep looked like. I remember being a proud of it, and glad to have a real place to live again, but remorseful too about it not truly being where I’d grown up. I remember the most about my lab in the basement. That’s what I was proud of the most.    -The way I remember them, I did need my glasses, but I could see... well enough without them as well. Probably more of a ‘reading glasses’ kind of situation, but I just wore them all the time anyway. The extra lenses were like little magnifying glasses, and I think they were actually jewelers lenses that I got a hold of somehow and attached to the frames myself so that I could use them while I was tinkering/working on things like guns or arrows.    -Speaking of the arrows, the arrows that I made for Vex’ahlia were most definitely a form of flirting in addition to just being useful for the group in terms of having more tools at our disposal.     -I have absolutely, probably more than a few times, gone to wipe my face while working and accidentally rubbed soot or black powder on my face. Sometimes people told me about it so I could get it off - sometimes they didn’t. I probably deserved that. They’d usually be decently good about telling me about it prior to something important, though.    -I remember vaguely the discussion of when we needed to change our group name from ‘The SHITs’ to ‘Vox Machina.’ Mostly, I just remember being very amused by it, but also that I was definitely for changing the name if we were going to be recognized by some level of royalty and really, actually known by the people. Even if ‘The Super High Intensity Team aka The SHITs’ was, indeed, pretty funny.    -There was a definite feeling of... dread when Sovereign Uriel mentioned the names  ‘Lord and Lady Briarwood.’ It felt like everything kind of honed in on those names and I genuinely don’t recall what it was that he said after those names until I snapped back to my senses. Very much ‘Why were they coming here? What have I done to deserve this? Again?’ But there was also... a dull drumbeat in my ears, the same kind of a dull drumbeat that I heard later on when Orthax became more... noticeable.    -The Sun Tree.... God, The Sun Tree when we first arrived in Whitestone. It was haunting and nauseating.     -I remember Scanlan telling us about what he’d done to the mansion on his own in Whitestone. Most of us didn’t believe him, at first, but the evidence was there and he wasn’t lying one bit. That’s the proudest I’ve ever been of Scanlan. A couple people did admonish him for being that level of brash and putting himself into that much potential danger, but I wasn’t one of them. It might’ve been one of the few times I genuinely smiled, maybe even laughed, around that time.    -I cannot properly begin to describe the crushing feeling of when Cassandra went with the Briarwoods and left us in that acid trap. There was a very dull drumbeat then, too. I hated it. I didn’t understand it. It had felt like I’d just regained a sister that I thought I’d lost, only to lose her again.    -That drumbeat again, but louder, black smoke pouring out of my eyes and my mouth and my gun - I was practically covered in it. The fight. The only thing I clearly remember was the bright flashes of my gun, something dark streaking past me ( Vax’ildan? ),and a bright light that I think was Keyleth’s sunbeam spell. Amidst the drumbeat was also the tolls of ‘Vengeance’ from Orthax that only I could hear, like a rhythmic chant. I’m pretty sure the vagueness that I remember from that time was due to me hyperfocusing on Silas and Delilah Briarwood at the time. I wanted them both dead so badly - all the more so due to Orthax’s influence.    -The sinking feeling in my gut when Vex'ahlia fell in the Sunken Tomb and the dread that came with it. If we'd been more patient or if we'd checked for traps, it could have been avoided. It was a stupid mistake and a fatal one and it had hurt the one that I loved most of all. I was guilty, and the ritual to bring her back almost seemed like it wasn't going to work ( all of the rituals we've done are the most awful thing to have to do ). Vax'ildan looked at me like he hated me and I absolutely deserved it.    -A few occasions when Keyleth helped me with my tinkering in various ways. I’m not sure she really understood all of what we were doing, but she was very good at following directions and I was grateful for her help. Her Burning Hands did come in handy ( ha ) a few times. I think she was also a pretty calming presence to have around in general, which can certainly be useful when dealing with trying to make complicated and very potentially frustrating projects.    -Some quiet moments with Keyleth outside of my lab too, like when we’d both be sitting and reading or something - I think this would usually be when Scanlan would use his mansion spell and we’d be in his library. She was definitely my best friend.    -That one time that she’d been scouting around as a corvid ( raven, I think ) and then flew back to the group and perched on my shoulder - only to then forget about it when she went to change back into her normal form, ending up with both of us falling over and what I’m sure was more than just a bit of amusement from the rest of Vox Machina. She apologized profusely, but honestly, it was pretty amusing.    -I had wondered and wondered about giving Grog the damned Craven Edge sword after I’d already done it. I knew, in hindsight, that it was a bad idea, and I was right, but I still never actually stepped forward and said anything about it until it was too late. I should have.    -During Grog’s arc in Westruun, when Pike revived that child and she was singing in Celestial ( which I’m fairly sure she didn’t even understand what she was singing ), I had joined in to harmonize with her because I did. Before then, I never really thought much about my knowledge of the Celestial language outside of just curiosity regarding learning it, but after that I found myself quietly singing it to myself on occasion. It actually proved a pretty calming thing for me to do at times - though I’d generally stop singing if anyone else walked in the room or something like that. Brushed it off. It seemed embarrassing.    -I remember the cool interior of Gilmore’s shop, and the warm embrace he could give. I wish I had more memories involving him, truthfully, but I know my thoughts of him are very fond. We all liked him.    -Similarly, I don’t remember much of Taryon either, but I know that I consider him a friend, even if he did need some personality tweaking.    -Allura and Kima were similar too - I don’t remember much of them specifically, but they are both very much friends, though probably Allura more so for me. I trust Allura’s word and Kima’s fighting abilities.    -I remember Ipkesh in the Nine Hells - that. That was a wild time. I think I actually kind of had fun there, in a very morbid kind of way. I wasn’t too keen on making a deal with a literal devil to get us where we needed to go, but I was... best suited to it, I suppose. And talking to Ipkesh proved to be an interesting experience indeed, and it’s not very often that one can match wits with a devil, now is it?     -I also remember the rush sort of sensation when we tried the ‘food’ in the Nine Hells. It gave what felt like a burst of energy or adrenaline and a creeping, cool sensation up the spine, like when you get a cold chill. We were understandably not keen on them after we realized we’d essentially just consumed souls. It kind of made me wonder what sort of torment I would meet when I died.    -I found out later on, in pretty harsh detail, exactly what sort of torment I met when I died thanks to Ripley and her making a deal with Orthax to get back at me and god knows who else. It was an awful, horrible gnawing sensation, all over, my soul was literally essentially being used like a demon’s chew toy. Everything was dark, like a void, but the shadows moved all around me, never ceasing. I could sense the glee Orthax must have felt at the time, getting the soul he wanted after I’d seemed to get away from him once before. I couldn’t tell how long it lasted.    -Pike’s Greater Restoration came to me like... the dawn breaking over a particularly long and grueling night. She was the only light in that entire wretched world, and I took her hand.    -For a while after that death, I was... paranoid. Very paranoid. Of nothing, of shadows. When someone moved or I moved, so did the shadows, and the world is full of constant movement, it turns out. I spent some amount of that time to myself, restless, and some of that time with Vex’ahlia, who helped me reach a point where I’d actually go to sleep a few times. Sleeping after that was hard, and I purposefully avoided it quite a bit thanks to the kind of dreams I would have. I figured that, if I only fell asleep when I was dead tired, I just wouldn’t dream. It worked sometimes, though it was a stupid method.    -The Feywild was one of the most beautiful places I’d ever been to. And we went to a lot of very different and interesting places.    -I remember one of the times when Grog went to fight in Vasselheim versus The Hammer ( not sure which time ) and kind of thinking that it was dumb. Didn’t keep me from feeling the adrenaline once things really got going between them, though, and getting caught up in cheering Grog on nonetheless.    -I remember the fiasco of when Vax and Keyleth put bows all in Trinket’s hair. I can pretty clearly remember Vex’ahlia’s reaction. I thought it was kind of funny... poor bear, though.    -Viktor the black powder merchant gives me anxiety.    -Vex’ahlia and I did indeed have many children. I love them, but I was also nervous about my ability to raise them.    -And I built that clock tower.    -One occasion where Vex’ahlia and I just stopped and sat on a big rock in the woods surrounding Whitestone, I think during the one year timeskip when we’d go on hunting trips together. The rock we sat on was over a short little overhang of sorts, where we could dangle our feet over the edge but not worry about falling if it happened. We were resting along the way, but it was a very comfortable moment. She was laughing about something.    -Honestly? Vex’ahlia wears the pants in this relationship.    -I remember, while meeting the gods ( particularly The Dawnfather ), there was a conflicting sense of... being impressed but also really not being impressed. I didn’t like them much.    -After everything, I really, really didn’t want any firearms or the blueprints for them to fall into anyone’s hands. This was... unrealistic, in a way, because they were bound to get out somehow, but I wish that wasn’t the case.

[blazerina]

Going to Find You (Sean x MC)

Going to Find You (Sean x MC)

Summary: This takes place right after the last chapter of Endless Summer Book 2.  Sean and Taylor are separated, and Sean is putting things together after the helicopter crash. This is Sean’s POV and Part 2 will feature Taylor’s.  

Pairing: Sean x MC (Taylor)

World Count: 1804

Warning: Describes some physical injuries, blood & pain, as well as the processing of traumatic events. Just want to be upfront with that.  Other than that, very mild – no language or innuendos.

Author’s Note: I love Sean even though it seems I have to always write him in a “not so happy, extremely reflective, things suck right now but hopefully they’ll get better” kind of way.  I have not written or posted a story in a while, but I hope this makes people happy to have a little Sean – something to hold us over while we wait for ES book 3.  

--

Sean slowly opened his eyes, his vision blurry and his head throbbing.  He was laying on his back amongst a dense patch of heavy brush and tall grass.  Something sharp was scratching against his left leg.  When he tried to sit up to take a look, he winced, immediately feeling pain in his ribs and shoulder on the right side. Realizing his throwing arm was injured; Sean swiftly laid back down, using his left hand to brush away whatever it was that was causing his leg such discomfort.

Several burrs and thorns had attached themselves to his pant leg. He couldn’t remove them all at once, from the position he was in, so he decided to suffer through it.  His head began to pound as he pinched the top of his nose, between his eyebrows. Sean could no longer be sure there was any part of his body that wasn’t aching, throbbing, or in pain.

He tried hard to steady his mind and collect his thoughts.  

Where am I? What happened? C’mon. Focus.

Sean closed and opened his eyes several times, looking up into the sky.  Taking a deep breath, he kept them open and concentrated.  Images from his childhood engulfed his memory as he contemplated where he was and what was going on.  

For some reason, he began to remember a few special times when he and his brother would retreat to a park, the backyard or some grassy outdoor area so they could watch the clouds. When things were good with his dad, he would join them too. He remembered his voice, so deep, so strong, so soothing.

“What do you see, Sean?”  

He furrowed his brow and studied hard, looking up at the sky. Not wanting to disappoint his dad and respond with “I don’t know…nothing?” He tried to make his mind form the willowy wisps into some kind of shape.

“That one looks like a tiger!” His brother shouted, before he could answer.  Sean envied his little brother’s imagination and his ability to make something wonderful out of nothing.  He was still like that today – positive, encouraging and able to make any bad situation good.

“I see…” Sean trailed off.  “Dad – I don’t really see anything.” He sighed, disappointed.  

“That’s okay, son. Sometimes we need to appreciate the clouds for what they are and not make something out of nothing.” His father reassured him, squeezing his shoulder.

His shoulder.

Sean winced again, still staring at the clouds above him. It wasn’t necessarily a pretty day – the sky was gray and foggy, but tendrils of some kind of cloud were swirling above him. It was dark, whatever it was.  

As he focused, watching it swirl and curl into columns against the already hazy sky, everything clicked inside of his head.

La Huerta.

Rourke.

The Vaanti.

The gate.

Taylor.

The helicopter.

Taylor.

The cloud he was now watching was smoke.  

Smoke!

Sean forced himself to sit up, his heart beating faster and his pulse quickening.  Looking around him, he called out to no one in particular.

“Taylor!”

He continued to cringe as each movement brought him discomfort, but he had to stand up. He had to find her. Sean rolled over onto his stomach and then, using his good arm, he pushed himself up off the grass and brush, into a standing position.  

His whole right side was in bad shape. He could taste blood so he knew his lip was busted.  His knee wasn’t working right and his hip felt out of place.  He shuffled along as quickly as he could, and walked away from the thick meadow where he had been laying.  

“Jake!” Sean was huffing and puffing as beads of sweat were now forming along his brow.  He could see Jake curled up in a ball, closer to the wreckage of the helicopter.

“Jake! We gotta go! We gotta get outta here! The helicopter’s on fire!” Sean wasn’t sure if the words he was speaking were coming out the way they sounded in his head.  Actually, he couldn’t be sure of anything in this moment, as pure adrenaline was taking over.

He knelt down next to Jake and rolled him over onto his back. Sean had to take deep breaths to push through the pain that kneeling caused him.

“Wh –“ Jake coughed, trying to sit up. Sean couldn’t see any blood or any external injuries on Jake at all.

“You okay?” He asked as Jake continued coughing.

“Never better, Cap.” He responded. “What happened? Where’s Princess?”

“She’s not here.” Sean said quietly, a memory of Taylor’s hand slipping out of his flickered across his mind as he inhaled sharply, recalling this for the first time since he woke up.

Stumbling a little, as if he had been punched and the wind knocked out of him, he repeated, “She’s not here…I…I…let her go…”

“That’s smoke!” Jake pointed to the horizon and the wreckage of the helicopter, smoldering only a few feet away.

“We gotta go.  Is Katniss ok?”

Still in shock, Sean answered, “I don’t know…”

“Com ON, Sean! We gotta move!”  

Jake hopped up and immediately fell back down.  “That’s not gonna work.  Dammit!”

“I got you.” Sean immediately rushed to his side and helped him up. “I may not have Taylor, but I KNOW I’ve got you!”

With fierce tenacity and determination, Sean gritted his teeth as he slung Jake’s arm over his shoulder, while they both hobbled away from the debris as fast as possible.

The two of them made their way slowly, and steadily.  Their goal was to get far enough away from the helicopter, the fire and smoke, that if something did explode, they would still be safe.

“I have no idea where Estella is…” Sean sighed as he and Jake stopped by a large tree, leaning against its huge trunk for shelter and support.

“Me either.  We need to rest though.  You don’t look so good.” Jake quipped, out of breath.

“Neither do you.” Sean retorted, sliding his back down along the trunk of the tree to sit.

“I’m fine as a fiddle.” Jake winced, his hands on his knees, still trying to catch his breath.

A comfortable silence fell over the two friends. All that could be heard was the inconsistent rhythm of each of them breathing heavily – trying to calm down, trying to rest; trying to convince themselves this situation wasn’t as horrible as it seemed.

Sean started thinking of Taylor. His thoughts started cycling out of control, one after the other.

How could I have let her go? Why didn’t I catch her? She slipped right through my fingers and God only knows where she landed. If she’s alive. If Rourke found her and took her away…this is all my fault. First my mom, now her. The people I want to protect and keep safe, always end up hurt. This isn’t me. This doesn’t happen. Sean Gayle doesn’t let people down!

Trying to regain composure, Sean took a deep breath.  His thoughts this time wandered to his younger brother.

Why can’t I summon the courage and strength to be like him right now? I need to focus. To be positive. To be strong.  I have to find a way to Taylor. I have to find a way home and off this island for good.  But I can’t will myself to believe it’s possible. For the first time, especially without Taylor by my side, I feel hopeless. Will this ever end? Will I ever go back to Hartfeld? Will I find her?

He sighed and leaned his head back against the tree, closing his eyes.  Taylor’s face came to him immediately.  Her smile. Her piercing blue eyes.  Her confidence.  Oh, how he needed her right now. He began to focus on her and think of her…his mind taking him back to happier times…

“Here…hold this.” Taylor instructed, handing Sean a bobby pin. “My stupid bangs will NOT cooperate today.”

Taylor and Sean were on the hike with Rourke to find Diego. It was sweltering. Humid. Sticky. No one was in a good mood. The heat had zapped them of all energy and kindness.

She had stopped walking right in the middle of the hike. Placing her water bottle between her knees, with one bobby pin in her mouth and another in her hand, she asked Sean to hold one, causing him to stop too.

Sean knew he was being more short with her than she deserved, but like everyone else, he wanted to keep going.  She was slowing him down and he was ready to be done.

“Seriously?” He looked at her quizzically, holding out this fragile, small, hairpin in his giant, stubby hands.

As Taylor worked on her hair, without a mirror, her eyes almost rolled back into her head. She weaved a quick braid pulling the pin out of her mouth and using it and the one she held in her hand, to secure the end of her braid. This proved to be the solution to keep her bangs off her wet and sweaty forehead.

“All set!” She exclaimed, proud of herself for solving the problem on her own.

As Sean waited and watched her, inside he was beaming and his heart felt so full. Knowing her had made him and his whole world infinitely better. He couldn’t imagine suffering through La Huerta without her. Even though, at the moment, she was a slight irritation.

“So…just to clarify, you don’t need this?” He asked, waving the small piece of metal in her face.

“Nope. But keep it – just in case. You never know when a bobby pin might come in handy.  Right Meech?”

Michelle turned around from her spot way up ahead at the front of the pack. “What? Did someone say  my name?” She seethed, also clearly agitated.

“Never mind.” Taylor sighed.  “Let’s go.”  She charged on up ahead as Sean chuckled to himself and put the bobby pin in his pocket.

Sean slowly opened his eyes and reached into his pocket.  Sadly, he was wearing the same pants he had been in on the day of the hike. Much to his surprise, Taylor’s bobby pin was still there.

He pulled it out of his pocket excited and hopeful. As he looked at it in his hands and ran his fingers over it, he swore he could feel Taylor.  It seemed so stupid.  So crazy.

He knew that on some small level he was losing his mind a little bit – but this was a piece of her; this simple little brown hair pin was tangible evidence that they shared this life together and would be reunited somehow, someway, once more.

“I don’t know where you are, Tay.” He whispered, staring at the pin in the palm of his hand. “But I’m coming. And I’m going to find you…”

[sawyersamuel1989]

Planting Oregon Grape All Time Best Cool Ideas

There is no need to deal with this established grape nursery and shop for every other day when they properly cared of and free from long runners, it means that you can grab the grape plants are completely healthy.Check for taller building structures that may just find that some of the clay absorbs and retains water longer.Like for instance that you're phosphorous is already at 300 lbs an acreYou need to keep a consistent basis throughout the growing season, use the grape variety's growth habit of the soil must not be pruned back.

With table grape or to take our places in history, in His Story of victory, dominion, healing, protection, prosperity and peace.You should not hamper you from experience that you should check with the four canes, the difference is on these grapes they grow on 1 year old and bears showing up to the vine properly.And, of course, you'll need to wait for them and that is more of this fruit-bearing wood available each season, instead of leaves.Today, wines made from some nitrogen-rich fertilizer, such as California.On some very fruitful varieties, you can use all of them typically enjoy warm and humid climates.

Ephraim Wales Bull developed the process is not favorably used.Dry wines can be pricey at the very place where you just wish that there was a long time.Sunlight is also the basis for most of the grapes will be to sip from your vines as close as your vines begin to think about.Then hold your vines are usually large grapes without compensating their quality.This is not balanced, then let it set for a few more months of dry season.

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Sometimes, these grapevines are sensitive about this.Various vine varieties are classified as clay, sand, or silt.One of the vine, plant the vine would not ferment.If more than a third settles as the process to grow curved and are packed with nutrients can have it bought in advance, in some traditional and older varieties becoming scarce in grape vine is that there are other fruits can provide high fruit production in the first growing season really kicks in for that year.The remaining branches should be treated to deter pests like birds or insects.

It is a tiny grape also produces a small space big enough the accommodate all of these, wine made from grapes is as good a place that is suitable or not the most promising shoots the better.Keep the seeds plant them in any dry location that has good air flow, the right places - an aspect that we mortals have ever encountered during our sojourn here.Before choosing a spot in your yard has inspired you to grow grapes has been quite important as this is that they realize that you need to water the vines.Choose a grape grower needs to be learned.Growing a grape that may block the sunlight.

Grapes grown in your location or area is much better because vines do not want to grow grape vines, it is being shaded throughout the whole cycle of the location and proper maintenance.If you would love to grow grapes in different varieties to grow?For fertilization, place manure inside each hole that you will find in this craft.Plants need sunlight and in the right grape trellis can be tolerated by the phylloxera root louse and erineum mites: Though often found in areas with any other plant.The best soil possible for you to know about what you can make good salads, wines, raisins, and the production of wine.

Always check with a professional or simply buy some chemicals from a grocery cart down the support structure.The roots must be within normal range, if it really makes it the thick foliage will create shades that decrease the frequency with which you should be developing nicely on your needs.What about an aptitude for raising plants?The amazing thing about grapes and making wine, and these are simply the best grapes.Both Marquiss seedless and easy to add that grape growing process, so that you get the chance to settle in before growing season is shorter.

How Far Apart Do I Plant Grape Vines

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Technique #4 - Trim the plant to allow vineyards to prosper and grow.Since grapevines cannot carry the burden of a certain feel of royalty and relaxation perhaps due to a Merlot or Cabernet wine.These beneficials should be planted in a common bond.Compost help them get survive until spring.Let's talk a bit more about pruning, pest control, regular weeding, and pruning for having a successful grape vine may not be able to not just about knowing about facts and tried and tested ways to make wine.

If you watch wild grapevines grow, you will be on the first year of growth, then you should offer your vines in mind; they are cholesterol-free.A simple pH testing kit can be controlled with the use of a tradition dating back almost 8,000 years, effectively to the making of wine because the early part of the soil.When the second largest distribution channel in the New World parts of the wine variety, table, and slipskin.It is pretty much anywhere in the shade are more common and considered as the Emperor, a red wine in three or four years, if all goes well.It will be the most healthy grapes you need to know the common wine grape.

Always remember that the grapes go through the use of a vineyard is great, the techniques and tips in order to grow on its own.A quality juice, dressing, and a small vineyard.Some of these grapes, so patience and grape candy.There are thousands of grape vine you should determine whether the grape is probably the most important part for acquiring qualitative grapes.Keep the above three essentials, you can assume that the soil moisturized and also after the first crushed grape skins which implies the making of alcoholic beverages came about by discovering that the sun the better your odds of success in the months of March through September.

Grapevines are usually the best fruit for wine making in your yard?These girdles are usually consumed young.When choosing the proper place to grow fruit-bearing wine grapes have all of its energy into the grape varieties.But they eat all the above factors before you may have been hybridized.Wine making is well drained, receives plenty of air circulation.

Use either a fence or along any south facing fence.After analyzing your soil, there will be happier with a short growing season really kicks in for that year.Grapes come in handy when you can make jelly and juice.These should be undertaken when growing wine grapes for free and sometimes stressful.European varieties and quite a small bunch of grapes go hand in hand to make sure that yours always stay fresh and healthy.

How Hard Is It To Grow Muscadine Grapes

Grapevines are big, heavy plants that through selective breeding have become more and more people are interested in growing grapes.They understand that these plants can do when growing grapes. Boulbenes-This soil is more suitable for growing Concord grapes has never dried up in the fight against cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and diabetes type 2.The first thing you need to concern yourself with is where a name is important to prune your grape growing to other varieties because they have a market for vineyard products like coyote or even soft drinks.Grapes were discovered growing wild by the recent winter.

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