#I’m a terrible person sorry Hugo

[antiquepearlss]

Did I just listen to a song from West Side Story after months of forgetting it existed and immediately begin to think of the Freckle and Team Awesome Siblings? Yes. Yes I did.

Did I just spend and hour writing a small fic despite the fact that I have another wip I need to finish plus an inbox full of requests I said I would do? Yes. Yes I did.

Do I regret it? No. Because Freckle Sibs and Eugene angst.

Rapunzel clenched her teeth. For the first time in her life, she was angry at Varian, her little brother. Which she felt guilty for, none of this was his fault, he lost his brother, his closest family member, he was hurting too. She desperately wanted to feel anything else than anger at him. She just wanted to be angry at the boy, the monster that killed her love. But no, Varian, her sweet lovely Varian, was defending him.

“A boy like that, who’d kill your brother, forget that boy and find another.” She began to sing, overcome with grief and rage. She turned to the young ravenette who was standing still, grief plastered over his face. If the Saporians had never tried to take the Coronans turf this never would have happened. Eugene would be alive and she wouldn’t have to wipe her or Varian’s tears. Her scowl hardened. “One of your own kind, stick to your own kind.” 

Grief and pain flashed across her little brother's face, and he promptly turned his head as he clenched his fists. She could feel the mix of anger and pain and heartbreak emanating from him. The room was filled with it. But unlike her, he was being stubborn and idiotic. 

She forced back a sob, her grief being pushed back by her rage. Varian was being blind to young love. He wasn’t thinking straight. She once prided him on his optimism and big heart, as she shared it with him. But eventually reality had to set in. Why it sat with her and not her baby brother, she wasn’t sure. 

Well, she was. He was blinded by young love. Young love with a murderer.

“A boy like that, will give you sorrow. You’ll meet another boy tomorrow. One of your own kind, stick to your own kind.” 

She would never force Varian to be with someone he didn’t love, but why couldn’t he have gotten with Faith, or Jane? Not Saporian scum. Clearly, they were all cruel inhumans. Bent on destroying her life. They took away her Eugene, and now they were trying to take away her Varian. They murdered her love and used cunning and trickery to manipulate her second love.

Varian scowled and he turned away, unable to even face his sister in her grief induced rage. He had never seen her like this, he didn’t want to, he couldn’t stand it. And he couldn’t stand that in a way, he was perpetuating it. He had hurt her. By being in love.

He swallowed back a sob. He lost his brother and he was going to lose his sister. Over some boy he met 48 hours ago. But he loved that boy. He was in love.

Rapunzel didn’t understand. Varian loved Eugene and he was heartbroken, utterly heartbroken. He wasn’t sure how to even go on after his death anymore. But, his death was inevitable. This gang war, this cycle, someone was always going to end up dying. Eugene was always going to end up dying by a Saporian’s hand. It just happened to be Hugo who was holding the knife. But he knew Hugo, he knew he didn’t want to kill his adoptive brother. It was all just a horrifying, unfortunate situation. But Rapunzel was too wrapped up in her grief to see it that way.

She, like him, had been against the turf war, the separation, the hatred. But, after years of the fighting, and then seeing her fiancée’s body in the morgue, the hatred had gotten to her too. He couldn’t say he blamed her, but why couldn’t she see Hugo was just another victim too?

“A boy who kills cannot love, a boy who kills has no heart.” Rapunzel sang angrily over Varian’s thoughts. His attempts to, avoid her, in a sense, hadn’t worked. She angrily stomped over to him  and grabbed his chin. She was gentle, but the anger in her eyes was more painful than if she had clawed him. 

“And he’s the boy who gets your love and get your heart. Very smart, Varian. Very smart.” She spat. 

Varian glared at her and ripped his head away from her hand. He rushed through the curtain acting as a door, desperate to get away from her. But she was quick on his heels, her grief and anger lacing her melodic voice and cutting through his heart. He held his hands over his ears, clawed his hair, and grit his teeth.

“A boy like that wants one thing only. And when he’s done he’ll leave you lonely. He’ll murder your love; he murdered mine. Just wait and see, just wait Varian, just wait and see.”

Varian’s grief, and building anger, boiled over. How dare she. No, he understood why she was mad, he sympathized with her. He was mad too, but she didn’t understand. He needed her to just listen. He turned to her, the neon signs from outside the kitchen window providing enough light to see her, contrasting with the eerie shadows of the small, darkened, run down apartment. All of Rapunzel’s paintings, crafts, and thrifted decor did nothing to offset the darkness that was cast in the wake of Eugene’s death. The darkness of the evening seemed much darker now.

“Oh no Rapunzel no. Rapunzel no.” He sang back, trying to be calming and loving. He wasn’t mad at her. He desperately just wanted her to listen, to not let her grief blind her and for her to be her open-hearted self again. “It isn’t true, not for me. It’s true for you, not for me.” He walked up to her, face to face. He felt tears begin to burn in his eyes, Rapunzel’s glare softened very slightly, so he continued.

“I hear your words, and in my head, I know they’re smart.” Because he did. He knew Rapunzel had every right to be angry and to hate Hugo. He knew that he should be angry and hate Hugo. But he didn’t, because he loved him too much to blame him. And he couldn’t stand Rapunzel, his sister, hating him and trying to get Varian to hate him.

Didn’t she always say that hate was the root of the problem here? What caused this war? Didn’t she see she was perpetuating this cycle? That she will end up just like Eugene and Andrew?

He loved Hugo. He wasn’t going to end up like them, like she was becoming. 

“But my heart, Rapunzel, but my heart, knows they’re wrong. And my heart is too strong. For I belong to him alone, to him alone. One thing I know, I am his. I don’t care what he is. I don’t care why it’s so. I don’t want to know.” While he sang, trying to get through to her, she stubbornly repeated her earlier words. “A boy like that, who killed your brother, forget that boy and find another. He’ll murder your love and he murdered mine. A boy who kills cannot love. A boy who kills has no heart. And he’s the boy who gets your love and gets your heart. Very smart, Varian, very smart!”

Both of their voices cracked, and their respective dams broke. Rapunzel was giving him the most angry, hateful, pained look. Varian glared at her. Both, through their tears. 

Whilst singing, Varian’s nervous restless nature had backed the two of them into the nearly pitch black bedroom Varian had claimed.

“Oh no Rapunzel no, you should know better!” He practically screamed. “You were in love, or so you say!”

Varian panted, sweat and tears mixing down his face. Rapunzel looked about the same. They were standing toe to toe, two broken hearts. Two grieving hearts. Rapunzel was angry and hateful, she was hurting. And he was making it worse.

He never wanted to see the face she was making at his words again. The pain, the hurt, the betrayal. It hurt him. 

His glare softened and he took on a gentler tone. He took her hands and sat down onto the worn down mattress. She joined him, the dip brought them side to side, touching.

“You should know better.”

“I have a love, and it’s all that I have. Right or wrong, what else can I do?” “I love him, I’m his. And everything he is, I am too.” He leaned his forehead onto hers as he crooned. She leaned into him with a sob.

Because she could understand Varian. He fell in love easily but he had never fallen as hard as he had with Hugo. The two were practically made for eachother. One look at them and she had begun to plan their wedding. And she knew, down in her heart, past the grief induced anger, that Hugo loved Varian. That Hugo was a good person. He had left the Saporians. Sure he had a rivalry with Eugene, but he wasn’t a murderer. He had just happened to be holding the knife.

She didn’t forgive Hugo, she didn’t think she could yet, if ever. But she couldn’t blame Varian for loving him. And she couldn’t live with herself if she ever convinced him to abandon his love for him. They were made for eachother, they were deeply and madly in love, they were best friends. 

They had what she and Eugene had. How could she take that away from Varian? Especially when she knew Eugene could be a bad person, and had hurt her family? Not the same way Hugo had, but she didn’t want to be hypocritical. Eugene had hurt people and he had changed. He had invited his baby cousin to come live with him and doted on the young boy, treating him as a cherished little brother. He used to be a selfish thief, and had remained a gang member. But he was also a doting and loving fiancée, and a loving brother, with big dreams for their family.

They were the only family they had left anymore. She wasn’t going to leave him, she wasn’t going to hurt him. 

She couldn’t live with herself, and she didn’t want Eugene to look down from Heaven to see the two most important people in his life separated. To see that she abandoned his baby brother, their baby brother.

Besides, love changed a person. It changed Eugene. There was no way Varian’s love wasn’t going to change Hugo, if it hadn’t already. 

She knew that man felt remorse, guilt, for what he had done.

In a way, a very small way, that was enough for her.

She could feel their anger subside as she placed a hand on Varian’s cheek, and cried with him. She listened to him sing through his tears, she knew he knew she was listening to him.

“I have a love, and it’s all that I need. Right or wrong, and he needs me, too. I love him, we’re one. There’s nothing to be done. Not a thing I can do. But hold him, hold him forever. Be with him now, tomorrow, and all my life.”

Rapunzel let the words sit in and resonate with her. She understood. She absolutely understood. She opened her eyes along with Varian. She smiled weakly at him. Her eyes were pained, but loving. Varian reciprocated the look. 

Rapunzel loved Eugene despite all the pain he had caused, and Varian loved Hugo despite all the pain he had caused. 

And Rapunzel loved Varian. And Varian loved Rapunzel. They were best friends, siblings, family.

Rapunzel pulled her little brother into a hug which he gladly accepted, wrapping his arms around her like she was a lifeline, and burying his head into her shoulder, the shawl she wore still reeking of death from the morgue. She wrapped her arms around him supportively, protectively, lovingly.

The two sang in unison.

“When love comes so strong, there is no right or wrong, the love is your life.”

[lollygaggingloser]

More VAT7K brain blerps – Hugo’s prosthetic limb Continued

I didn’t realize how much others like prosthetic limbed Hugo, so now I’m more excited to share my other ideas on it. Thanks for the validation y’all. 

After the fiasco with the thugs and Varian finds out about Hugo’s artificial limb, the alchemist is on the same curiosity level as Yong, wanting to know more about Hugo’s alterations to it. Hugo spends an entire evening talking to the two as they sit by the campfire, answering their questions on the materials he’s used, his own schematics, and each component in his prosthesis. He enjoys displaying the fruits of his labor and uses his invention to get the two’s interest and trust in him. The talk goes on late into the night and while Yong eventually ends up falling asleep, Varian stays up longer, fixated and impressed by Hugo’s work. At some point, Hugo removes the limb from his body when Varian asks to get a better look. Normally, he would just let a person get close to him to see, but when Varian leans in toward him, the closeness sends a wave of nervousness and awkwardness through his body. 

Thinking quickly, he moves away to get a better angle to unlatch the device, not certain why he felt self-conscious earlier.

Just make sure you give it back, alright, Goggles? He jokes as he removes it. Varian gently takes it into his hands and gets a closer look at the internal interlockings. As he does, Hugo goes back to boasting about his work. Impressive, right? Much better than the usual peg or hook you’ll see on others. It’s fully functional while still serving as a work of art.

Instead of rolling his eyes at Hugo or scoffing at his prideful demeanor, Varian nods, agreeing with the blonde. It’s beautiful.

Hugo is taken aback by the compliment and feels his ears burn as he realizes that Varian just called a part of his body beautiful. At that moment, Hugo is grateful that Varian is too immersed in the prosthesis to see him blushing.

During their travels, Yong asks Hugo why he keeps his limb hidden under his clothing. If I had something that cool, I’d show it off.

I don’t think people other than nerds like you two think it’s cool Hugo explains. Plus, it’s easier to get around without attracting attention.

Truthfully, Hugo hates the look of pity strangers give him when they find out he has a fake limb. Even before he got his prosthesis, he learned how to get around and function well without his arm/leg so it nerves him to be seen as something less because of it. Therefore, he keeps it hidden to avoid those looks and be treated no differently than any other person. Seeing Yong and Varian react so positively compared to the usual spiel was both refreshing and appreciated. The two never treat him like he’s incapable of handling himself, even when he can be reckless.

Sometimes Yong forgets about Hugo’s prosthesis or forgets which limb is artificial. The kid will mistakenly high five Hugos metal arm way too hard and hurt his own hand. Or, Yong accidentally drops something heavy on Hugo’s fake foot and apologizes.

I’m so sorry Hugo! Are you hurt?

I’m in terrible pain, Sparks he answers in a monotone voice. I think I lost feeling in my toes. We may need to amputate.

Once Hugo’s more comfortable making jokes with Varian and Yong, the two end up dealing with his morbid sense of humor.

Yong will wish him good luck and tell him to break a leg.

To which Hugo will respond with I'm already ahead of you!

He also definitely pulls this move on Varian when the alchemist asks him to lend a hand.

It’s amusing the first few times, but by the fourth, Varian has to control himself from not throwing the prosthesis back at him. 

He gets back at Hugo with this joke eventually. One day, Varian asks Hugo for help and the engineer tosses his arm to him as predicted. Without missing a beat, Varian takes Hugo’s mechanical arm and uses it like one of these bad boys:

To retrieve a book from a high shelf. Hugo is left both insulted and bested.

Give me that! You know what, Goggles? You just lost your Hugo arm privilege. He chastises Varian, who looks rather pleased with himself. He snatches back his prosthesis with the book still in its grasp. So insensitive! Why I’d never!

Brain Blerp part 1

Brain Blerp part 3

[dolphin1812]

“The lion shaking off dogs” is an appropriate comparison for the barricades, bringing back the imagery of wild cats being rebellious in contrast to the law-enforcing dogs! 

Marius and Enjolras are terrifying (and Hugo even uses “terrible” for Marius here). 

It’s sad that Courfeyrac has lost his hat, but at least he jokes about it a bit! And while it’s sad on the personal level, it’s important for appearances. Without hats and cravats, the men at the barricades are much less distinguishable on the basis of class. Even death doesn’t bring equality in this book (we saw that with Fantine), but at the barricades, they might actually all die as equals, indistinguishable from one another without these class markers and all branded as disloyal rioters. 

Their “jokes” are much darker now, though, with the lightheartedness of earlier chapters vanishing.

Hugo brings up the Trojan War and epic verse here, and he seems to draw on it in writing. In the Iliad, there are long lists of names of the dead with the occasional brief description of how they died (he quotes an example). That’s how we learn of the majority of Les Amis’ deaths:

“Bossuet was killed; Feuilly was killed; Courfeyrac was killed; Combeferre, transfixed by three blows from a bayonet in the breast at the moment when he was lifting up a wounded soldier, had only time to cast a glance to heaven when he expired.”

(I’m sorry for including this line). But here, we see that there’s still no time to grieve, even as most of the group dies in quick succession. Combeferre gets a bit more detail, but only to remind us that he was a medical student, more interested in healing than in combat. And yet even as a healer, he’s not spared, killed when he was trying to treat someone (possibly an enemy, too! He’s described as a soldier). 

In epics like the Iliad, there’s a section called the “aristeia” where a hero shows his prowess on the battlefield. This is Enjolras’ aristeia. He’s the only one who hasn’t taken any blows, and he’s fiercely defending the barricade in a way that definitely reminds us why he’s “terrible.” He’s paralleled to a god, and he’s certainly “god-like” by epic poetry standards here.

[ineedmorevat7kinmylife]

Okay so I watched Empire Strikes Back tonight, and like, how have I never seen any Varigo as Han Solo and Leia? Like they’re perfect.

Anyway, this triggered a “what if I wrote a whole fic about this and put all the characters from tts and vat7k into Star Wars?”

So here is who I’d think be who. Keep in mind, my Star Wars knowledge is limited to mainly just the original trilogy, and even then isn’t much.

Varian - Leia So, basically instead of Varian being a princess or prince of whatever planet Leia is from, he would be a royal scientist who was naturally good at the force and just didn’t know it yet.

Eugene - Luke Luke and Leia would be cousins in this, Eugene being the son of Darth Vader, and Varian being Vader’s nephew. Eugene, after being born, gets taken to an orphanage on Tatooine, where Ben watches him and makes sure he’s not evil. Hugo - Han Solo Hugo would still work for Donella, he would be more of a bounty hunter than he is in the movies. He has his own ship, but Don gives him assignments. Olivia - Chewbacca/Millennium Falcon Chewy: so I’m imagining like a big robot that Hugo built, she could’ve worked as R-2, but Chewbacca is always with Han, so it just made more sense. In this Olivia would be used less for sneakiness and more for brute strength, because Hugo needs that more Millennium Falcon: Olivia is an AI in the ship, Chewy is just Chewy Donella - No one! She doesn’t really fit with anyone, or maybe she does and I just don’t remember them. So here she’s kind of just inserted Qurin - Leia’s dad Seeing as we never see Leia’s adopted father, we don’t know much about him, just that he was an old Jedi master. (I think. I’m getting most of my info from my dad, so let me know if I’m wrong) But he presumably dies when her planet blows up, so that’s what happens to Qurin here! Sorry! Edmund - Darth Vader So, since Eugene is Luke, Edmund had to be Darth Vader, and the more I think about it, the more I like it. Especially because of Dark kingdom/Dark side. Sorry to Edmund fans, (not sure how many there are) but I can personally totally see him being evil if the Dark kingdom was just a bit more evil. Rapunzel - Jedi leader Not an actual character that I know of, she’s just one of the generals or whatever for the Jedi. Lance - Lando Calrissian Because it just works okay. Especially for Lance’s first appearance in the show, when he was kind-of reformed, but not really, then later becomes better. It just works. Also I like the idea of Lance and Hugo knowing each other before hand. Eugene and Hugo did, it’s not too much of a stretch to say Lance did too. Baron - Jaba the hut I have nothing else for this, it’s self explanatory. The Force: So we’re going more moonstone with this. Those who can connect to the moonstone are Jedi, and they can use its magic. Usually trained from a very young age. If you’re a Jedi you get a fun hair color (it matches your lightsaber), and makes it very hard to blend in. This is mainly cause I like the Varian’s hair stripe means he’s got some moon magic in him theory. Dark side: Dark kingdom wants to protect the world from the moonstone, they think it’s dangerous. Darth Vader rose to power despite being connected to the moonstone and using the force, he claims he can use it without being connected, but he can’t. The reason he wears the mask isn’t because he’s terribly disfigured, cause that’s a little bit of bad messaging, it’s so he hides his bright red, glows-when he-force-chokes-someone hair. And cause he thinks it looks cool. I didn’t want to make Adira and Hector evil, so I just didn’t include them, let me know if you think of a way they work. If I do end up writing this, it will take a long time, feel free to use the ideas for your own fic, especially if you know more about Star Wars than I do, just let me know and please credit me. :)

[syrupsyche]

sorry OP for the inevitable long post but:

Enjolras is most definitely queer but IMO, not entirely for the reasons people usually think! In the book, he is described as such:

"...he was serious, it did not seem as though he were aware there was on earth a thing called woman. He had but one passion--the right; but one thought--to overthrow the obstacle. [...] He chastely dropped his eyes before everything which was not the Republic. He was the marble lover of liberty. [...] If any grisette [...] had tried her beauty on Enjolras, an astounding and terrible glance would have promptly shown her the abyss..."

From this, one can clearly see that he has no interest for women, directing any capacity of romance he might have had for them to his republican causes instead. If any women had tried to flirt with him, he would have rejected them.

The most obvious takeaway is that, therefore, he isn't attracted to women and thus, is not heterosexual. Here is where headcanons begin to branch out, all making equal amount of sense: his disinterest in women could very well mean that he's gay (hence his very popular mlm ship), but could also mean a disinterest in romance and/or sex in general (hence his popular aro and/or ace headcanons).

BUT...my personal reasoning is that regardless of what identity he may or may not be, Enjolras is queer simply because he is devoid of sexuality, particularly heterosexual sexuality, and thus not conforming to society's (and especially 19th century society's) expectations of a bourgeois, young man.

In the above block quote, Enjolras DOES have the passion a young lover might have, but only for fighting for the cause. And he IS a charming lover, but only for Liberty. He stares longingly only for the Republic and does not (and cannot) see anything else. That is his lot in life: to be in love with the future, and sparing no other feelings.

This means that IF Enjolras ever lived in a world that did not require his wholehearted dedication to the revolution, he could very well be any sexuality at all! He could even be straight, and not queer at all!! But the fact that he is never given the chance to explore plausible romance options sets him outside of societal norms and expectations, and is thus in of itself queer.

And this is not to mention his feminine looks* as well. Hugo does explain that “like certain young men at the beginning of this century and the end of the last, […] he was endowed with excessive youth, and was as rosy as a young girl”, so his looks may not be particularly transgressive for its time, but a contemporary reader may find it subversive that the strong and fierce leader of Les Amis de l’ABC is portrayed to be so feminine in looks ((and a small digression here: this is where many Les Mis adaptations fail at capturing Enjolras’ full essence; they may often find someone hot and handsome enough, but they rarely ever find someone /pretty/ enough)).

TLDR: Enjolras is queer because he subverts heteronormative ideals, not simply by being (possibly) gay/aro/ace etc., but because he is inherently devoid of sexuality. He only exists for the cause. His gender expression, to contemporary readers, also constantly conflates his masculinity and femininity, and can be subversive as such.

Not sure if any of this makes sense and I’m a little embarrassed now that I’ve rambled so long on some poor OP’s post but….here it is anyways!

*I am a cis woman so I’m unable to provide a personal account on what Enjolras’ constant feminine descriptions may mean WRT queer gender identities. If anyone has any thoughts on this pls let me know!!

Enjolras

from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

submitted by anon

[claraswritings]

All I Want

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader (Andrew Garfield Peter/TASM Peter)

Warning: Bit of angst, no spoilers, not one of my best- might delete.

Notes: I’m not entirely sure if I like this one or not.

***

You’d first become friends when he’d awkwardly asked to sit next to you in a library. You were reading a book but had a notebook open in front of you with jotted down quotes and snippets of what Peter assumed was your brainstorming

“Can I…”

You looked up from your book. “Sure,” you shrugged and whilst going back to your book you held out a bag of sweets

“Want one? Help yourself. You’d be doing me a favour if you ate the green ones though, ever since they’ve swapped from apple to lime they’ve gone down”

Peter smiled “Green happens to be my favourite,”

“I would say you have terrible taste but you’re probably the best person to share a pack with in that case. I’m [Name],”

“Peter Parker” he offered a half wave.

A copy of the Daily Bugle folded under his arm caught your eye.

“You read that crap?” You scrunched your face up “Jameson is the worst,”

Peter raked a hand through his fluffy dark hair “Yeah… he’s…something alright…You’re not a fan?”

“Hell no” you snorted. “Guys a loon,”

“You’re telling me? you ever met him,” Peter shared a wry smile. Jameson was indeed a bit of a loon. He’d on one occasion thrown Peters stack of images out of the window all because he didn’t manage to get a picture of Spider-Man “helping” the getaway driver. Jameson had convinced himself that by focusing on catching the robber with the money rather than the man in the idling truck, Spider-Man was involved with the robber

“God no,” you cackled “I don’t think J Jonah Jameson and I run in the same circles, thank god, you don’t look like the kinda guy who’d read this,” you joked.

You nodded at the research notes he’d also had placed on the table between you.

“You have all those science looking notes, you gotta be smart”

“Im…” he protested quickly “I’ve erm…just got a second job working for him… freelance photography…but it’s extra money, I help my aunt out and…” he trailed off “rents expensive”

“Oh shit I’m sorry” you stated so matter of factly that it took Peter a moment to click you meant “I’m sorry you have to work with that guy” rather than “I’m sorry your boss is insane,”

You’d realised you lived close in the city and you’d been friends ever since…and Peter had liked you as more than a friend since about a week after that.

***

You were soon inseparable, you’d go out for food, for walks, to movies. Hed come over to yours and often fall asleep on your couch and wake up the next morning with a perfectly timed coffee and a blanket over him.

It hadn’t gone unnoticed by May that he’d made a new friend. She was grateful he was finally doing something other than work and visit her. You’d picked him up from her place once and May was quick to notice the reaction her nephew had to you. She hadnt seen him like that since his former girlfriend. Given how she’d passed and how Peter seemed to avoid any sign of romance, she was a little surprised.

When he’d returned for dinner she’d invited you in and whilst you were parking, she gently pried to see if there was something more but Peter had just shrugged and told her he didn’t think you liked him that way.

By the end of the evening, she knew the answer. Long before you did.

***

The day you told Peter you were going on a date, he felt an ache in a part of his heart he’d thought was long since numb to any semblance of heartbreak.

His name was Liam Parsons. You’d met in a coffee shop.

The second he’d arrived home, Peter had fired up his laptop. From looking at his google search results, Liam was a once divorced art dealer, 6’2”, blonde hair slicked back with almost an entire tub of hair gel. He seemed to wear almost exclusively Hugo Boss suits and Rolex watches. He had a Porsche, a speedboat and a holiday home in the Cayman Islands.

Peter slammed his laptop screen shut with more force than necessary and took off into the night to patrol the streets. In a rare moment of peace, he found himself swinging over to one of the penthouses Parsons lived in and staring at the shadows moving inside.

It was 11PM and he wondered if you were one of them and shook the thought from his head. The implications of you going home with Liam was not something he wanted to think about.

He wondered what you saw in Liam. You never were impressed by rich, flashy guys so what did this guy have? Peter couldn’t decide what would be worse. Liam being a good guy as well as having everything or if you were just dating him for the fun lifestyle that he could never ever offer you.

He didn’t care. Liam could keep the nice car and the fancy penthouse, the seven figure salary and the beachside villa. All Peter wanted was you.

***

That night Peter watched you from a rooftop, Liam was beside you, one arm casually over your shoulder as he chatted to another man in a suit with a too tight shirt.

You looked beautiful in that black dress. You always looked beautiful. Peter couldn’t remember a time when you weren’t the most lovely person he’d ever seen. It would have been before he met you.

Even from a distance he could picture the favourite red lipstick you’d have worn, from how often he’d looked at your lips, he could pick the shade out of a million. He knew the way you’d have curled your hair carefully but you could never get that one bit right first time, so many times he’d wanted to be the one to reach over and fix it back for you.

You looked cold and uncomfortable and Peter could tell by how you were shifting that your feet were starting to hurt in your heels. He felt a pang of annoyance he knew was unjustified. Liam was still talking away, whilst you rubbed your arm, awkwardly.

If he was your boyfriend, he’d offer you his jacket and carry you home. Unable to watch anymore, he leapt off, swinging into the night.

He loved you for your details. The way you pinched your ear lobe when you were nervous, the way you had five different smiles depending on your mood or who you were with, the way you were so unashamedly honest, the way you once told him you hated an iconic movie for ending on a cliffhanger in such a casual way, the way you went out of your way to help anyone who needed it without having to be asked.

Watching you with another person was like the worst gut punched he’d ever felt.

***

He took to watching Liam from a distance. Sometimes you were there, sometimes he was just making sure Liam wasn’t some sort of criminal. A part of Peter wished he was. The jealousy was unbearable sometimes. How cruel was fate to give him his perfect match in every way but he couldn’t.

Why didn’t he kiss you on the evening when you’d sat together watching the sun come up after a night of watching lame movies. Why didn’t he pull you in closer when you’d fallen asleep on his shoulder when you’d had a picnic in Central Park. Why didn’t he tell you how stupidly, insanely, irrevocably in love with you he was when you’d sat on his fire escape with him for three hours because he’d couldn’t sleep. Why didn’t he thank you for being the best thing in his life when you comforted him over the phone when he spent nights reliving the worst moments of his life.

***

It carried on like this, a week, maybe two passed, and you’d visited his as normal and the whole way through the time you spent together, Peter could barely concentrate. Each minute ticking closer to when you’d leave felt like a step closer and closer to losing you.

He feared when you’d step out the door, he’d never get a chance to say what he needed to.

So he acted on instinct to stop you going.

“Don’t go”

Flicking your eyes from your hand now webbed to the door to Peter and back, Your expression was one of pure shock, Peter could almost see the cogs turning, processing every clue he’d ever dropped.

“It’s you,”

Peter nodded once. “Yeah, it’s me,”

“What the FUCK,” then you tacked on “I don’t know how I didn’t notice”

“I need to tell you something…I forgot…” he hesitated. He could hear the cars below and the neighbours and the blood rush in his ears. “Actually I remembered what I had to say,”

And with a surge of confidence he kissed you, one hand in your hair. “I love you”.

It was short but passionate and said everything he could ever need to say and when he pulled back, you were a little breathless

“So… any thoughts… can you say something… anything about any of this?”

“You’re Spider-Man? And you’re in love with me?”

“Yes” Peter “to both. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, I didn’t want you to get hurt but…” his eyes searched for a reaction in your face “Don’t be with Liam, leave him, be with me, I know it’s selfish but I don’t care… I love you, You’re the first person I think about in the morning and the last person I think about at night, All I want is to make sure you’re safe, All I want is you to be happy, I never ever want to spend another day without you as my girlfriend, I’m so so so crazy about you, You’re it for me, I never thought I’d ever love someone again, until I fell in love with you,”

“Pete” you stared at him then started laughing.

“What. What’s happening” he was panicked now. “Shit did I say too much”

“I ended things with Liam. Last week. He was nice…but I ended things because I couldn’t ever see myself in love with him…mostly because I’m in love with someone else,”

“Oh..Oh,” Peter raked a hand down his face “Well I erm, I hope he’s good enough for you or… yknow, I’ll have words” he gestured

“he’s tall, he’s dark haired, total science geek- i love listening to him talk about experimenting even if I don’t understand it, and he reads every single draft poem I send him, he’s my best friend, he helps people, everyone and asks for nothing in return, I never cared about falling for someone or finding love until I realised that was because I was already in love with someone, him”

Peter was staring at you and a smile spread over his face.

“You… you mean me right”

“Of course i mean you, you idiot” you joked

“I love you,” he stressed again “I’m sorry it took so long for me to catch up,” he stepped in close and pressed his forehead to yours.

“I forgive you” you teased “Now can you get my hand off the door? I think we have some making up for lost time to do”

[moongirl-and-her-thoughts]

Feminism/Diversity in YA literature

Okay, so like, I’m a 110% feminist, but like, there is a lot messed up about it in books. 

Like, guys have 40% more upper body strength, so when a girl who’s like... skinny and petite manages to floor him (AHEM, Celaena, AHEM) it just seems slightly wrong. I get that like Celaena is fae, or whatever, so that is helpful, but there are so many more books where the ‘badass’ heroine manages to kill a dude with no training whatsoever. And like, Clary in TMI, kills a demon with no training and the excuse used is (this is an actual quote from the book) ‘it’s in your blood’. Like, the hell? That’s like saying ‘I’m gonna get braces so my kids have straight teeth’, your genetics do not matter. (If someone’s going to reply with ‘but she’s Nephilim’, can you imagine Tavvy (Octavian Blackthorn) trying to stab a demon at age 7 with no training at all? no. Same with Clary)

Then there’s the whole thing with guys being like ‘You’re not like other girls, you’re different, that’s why I like you’, like wtf it’d bad enough when the girl says it herself and be like ‘I’m different’, but when the guy has to point it out for us like... it is mildly infuriating. And you know why the main chick is different? cause she doesn’t party or wear girly clothing and isn’t a shallow, pathetic, dumb weirdo, but you know who the other girls are? US. They really are calling us shallow and dumb and pathetic. 

Then there’s the whole part where you cannot make ‘being feminist’ or ‘being diverse’ their whole personality like, no, make your mc feminist, but make her a real person, give her weaknesses and strengths and hopes and dreams and fears and flaws like a REAL PERSON and don’t turn her into an annoying Mary Sue of a character. Make your main character someone relatable, but not in the annoying ‘quirky’ manner. 

e.g.(I do not want to get attacked so for the sake of this rant I’m going to use Belle from Beauty and the Beast)  Belle’s entire personality was that she liked to read, that she was weird because she liked books and that she was smart. That was literally it. Where were the hopes and dreams and actual bits of her character (so, I never saw the original film, so if I got the story wrong, correct me). 

While I’m on the topic of Disney issues, FOR THE LOVE OF LUCIFER SOMEONE TELL CINDERELLA TO SEE A DOCTER, SHE SPEAKS TO RATS BECAUSE SHE IS LONELY and like, we’re supposed to feel sorry for the girl but like she is the epitome of stereotypical perfection (other than the mental issues) with bright blonde hair and clear blue eyes and an hourglass figure and rich family-

 (k, back onto literature, sorry bout that)

And we’ve really just got to get more authors to write more non-white or non-straight or just non-perfect characters without that being their whole personality. For example, Harry Cameron (7 husbands of Evelyn Hugo) was literally amazing, with a life outside of being a gay producer. He was kind, brilliant, tortured, just (I could go on but distractions aren’t currently welcome).

Also, this might be just me, but why do we always love the love interest more than we like the mc? Like, I was on some website the other day and saw girls as young as nine saying that Sebastien Morgenstern is the perfect book boyfriend  because he would do anything for Clary. That’s right. They said that the mc’s psychotic brother who beat her bloody and then tried to rape her was really sweet. What the hell? Sebastien was romanticized, even though he was terrible. It is twisting young girls into thinking that a relationship isn’t a proper one without angst and drama. (I love Will and Jem and Tessa though).

And don’t even get me started on the whole ‘I can fix him’ trope. I’ve seen relationships where the girl thinks she can fix the bad boy, she can heal him, but it never turns out well. Just look at It Ends with Us, it shows you what happens when you get with him. Blissful at first but ended painfully. Some books, like The Infernal Devices, the character had an honest reason (Will, the curse) so they did what they did. But the entire trope is messed up, with the whole 50 shades of Grey/Beauty and the Beast style overlook.

Overall, there are so many harmful and anti-feminist parts of Young Adult literature, which could potentially be a bad impact on younger readers who have never had experiences in love. It is also rude at times. I wish to say, not all YA/A books are bad, but there are so many that are that they overshadow the beautiful content that is sometimes found. 

I don’t care if no one reads this, I will definitely make a part 2.

[motherjoel]

hot cocoa (spencer reid x reader)

summary: spencer accidentally spills some of penelopes famous hot cocoa onto a beautiful stranger in the airport (who just so happens to be sitting next to him on the plane)

a/n: this one takes place during the holidays but its not all about xmas! also i tried to make this gender neutral and i think it is but if i missed something let me know

wc: 2.2k

warnings/includes: reader curses a lot & has flight anxiety, spencer is awkward and sweet

-

Spencer was rarely late- even when he had food poisoning from some bad chinese food, he made it into work with time to spare. Sure, he might have turned green at the sight of the evidence board, but he even made it to the trash can in time. His punctuality had come into question today, however, as he booked it to the boarding area. I shouldn’t have let Garcia distract me, he thought back to the holiday party at the office. Well, surprise party- they had all returned from a case sore and exhausted, but of course Penelope had baked an entire array of cookies and decorated the office to the brim. He stayed for one cup of hot cocoa, which turned into three, and before he knew it, his flight was an hour away. With his travel mug filled with cocoa in hand, he awkwardly ran through the airport to catch his flight home to Vegas.

Spencer never considered himself a coordinated person- sure, he had to have a certain level of finesse to be an FBI agent, but if he wasn’t a genius he never would have passed the physical. So when he found himself tripping over his own feet in the middle of an airport, he wasn’t as much surprised as he was perturbed. That annoyance soon shifted into pure embarrassment when he looked up to see you- the ethereal being he had just spilled Penelope’s famous hot cocoa onto. The beautiful person whose “I <3 DC” sweatshirt was now stained an unattractive shade of brown. His mind went completely blank in that moment, the apology he had wished to conjure up lying dead on his tongue. As he began to stammer in shock he stopped in his tracks- you were laughing. A noise Spencer swears could find world peace and end world hunger. A voice that finally encouraged Spencer to find his own.

“I am so sorry,” he apologized, hands frantically flying to his personal pack of tissues he kept in his bag. You continued to laugh, doubled over as you accepted the wad of tissues.

“Oh, it's okay,” you said, taking a deep breath. “God, I definitely seem insane. Sorry, I’ve just been having one hell of a shitty day,” you began to explain, confusing Spencer even more. “So my boyfriend breaks up with me the morning of my flight across the country, which I’m running a bit late for,” you continued, glancing at your watch. “But I have to go home for the holidays of course so I pack my shit and head out anyway, but I forget a sweatshirt! I’m freezing cold so I buy this overpriced ugly thing,” you gestured to your now-stained sweatshirt. “Only for you to spill your…” you sniffed the mess, “hot cocoa?” you questioned, Spencer nodded frantically, “all over it. I guess that's one way of warming up,” you huffed. 

“Wow, I- um, I don’t really know what to say. I’m really sorry about your day being bad. And for spilling my drink on you, of course, um,” he reached into his suitcase and pulled out his backup cardigan. “Here, take this,” he said, almost shoving the knitwear into your hands. “Please, it’s the least I can do,” he said, unintentionally flashing what Prentiss called his “puppy dog eyes.” He exhaled in relief as you grabbed the sweater from him, sliding off your stained hoodie and replacing it with his soft and coffee-scented cardigan. 

“Thanks. And I’m sorry for dumping my days' trauma on you, but I really do have a flight to catch, so,” you gestured towards the boarding area (which just so happened to be his designated boarding area). You rushed off to board the plane after giving him a tight-lipped smile and a soft wave, leaving him in a dazed state. Breaking out of his trance, he grabbed his suitcase and continued his beeline towards the plane. 

There was something about you that stuck with Spencer- although it may not have been your proudest moment, he was incredibly intrigued by you and the way you reacted to disaster. Spencer had seen his fair share of terrible coping mechanisms, but the way you laughed in the face of tragedy was something he admired- envied, almost. Envy wasn’t the right word for it, there were no negative connotations he associated with the way he felt about you. Perhaps it was too soon to tell.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped onto the plane, the anxiety of missing his flight finally lifted. Said anxiety was soon replaced by a new feeling that was ruled by a flutter in his chest, one that he had only experienced a few times in his life. This fluttery feeling was the result of seeing you planted in the seat directly next to the one written on his plane ticket. His breath caught in his throat as you looked up from the book in your hand, giving him a small wave. His eyes widened as he looked around, wondering if you were actually waving at him. You laughed and looked back down at your book, a soft smile rested on your lips. As Spencer got closer to his seat he could feel his heart rate picking up. You looked up from your book as he struggled slightly to lift his carryon into the overhead compartment. His cheeks heated up in embarrassment over the struggle, but he eventually managed to secure his carryon, taking a seat in 32 B. 

“So we meet again,” you smiled at the disheveled man next to you.

“So we do,” Spencer smiled and grabbed his copy of Les Miserables from his backpack- he lost track of how many times he had read it, but it was an easy plane read for him.

“I’m Y/N, by the way. Sorry, I probably should’ve introduced myself earlier after telling you my life story. I just didn’t expect to be sitting next to you,” you said with amusement.

“I’m Spencer, and no problem. Hows, um, the sweater?” he asked, trying to continue the conversation. Normally he’d be a quarter through his book by now, but you were a rare something that was more interesting to him than Victor Hugo. 

“It’s great! Cozier than my ‘I heart DC’ hoodie for sure,” you laughed and Spencer swore he heard angels singing.

“I’m glad, I felt really bad. Hot chocolate is actually a really difficult stain to remove because it has fat, sugar, tannins, and protein. It would take a lot of work to remove that stain, especially with the chocolate to milk ratio Penelope uses,” Spencer rambled, the embarrassment setting in the second he closed his mouth.

“Penelope?” you asked, genuinely curious.

“Oh, she's my coworker. She’s known for her hot chocolate and her cookies. Oh!” Spencer remembered the plastic bag of cookies Garcia had sent him home with. “Want one? They’re chocolate chip,” he said, grabbing the bag of cookies and holding it out to you.

“Sure,” you laughed, taking a bite of the surprisingly delicious cookie. “Oh. My. God. That is incredible! This Penelope person has a gift,” you laughed, finishing the cookie surprisingly fast.

“I’ll be sure to let her know,” Spencer smiled, taking a cookie for himself. A comfortable silence ensued as the two of you munched on your cookies, the plane almost done boarding.

“So, what brings you to Vegas?” you asked. Spencer was a little confused as to why you wanted to talk to him, but he decided not to question the anomaly.

“Oh, I’m visiting my mother for the holidays. I work at Quantico in Virginia so I don’t get to see her too often,” he shared, surprised at his willingness to be open.

“That’s nice! I’m kinda doing the same, except I am not returning to DC,” you sighed. Spencer felt his heart drop as he internally begged for you to elaborate, and as if reading his mind, you continued. “That boyfriend I mentioned earlier was kinda my only reason for moving here, and now that he's a cheating jackass- sorry, oversharing again, um, now that we broke up, I’ll probably just stay in Vegas,” you explained, opening the book in front of you and mindlessly flipping through the pages. He focused on the chipped nail polish painted on your bitten nails as you turned the pages, eyes moving to the title of the book.

“Le Petit Prince?” he asked, pointing at your book.

“Oh, yeah. I’m trying to teach myself some french so I’m reading this to get a little better,” you smiled before your eyes drifted down to the thick book in his lap. “You’re reading Les Mis?” you asked, slightly shocked at the french writing on the cover.

“Yeah, well it's my.... fourth, I think, time reading it. Well, in the original french,” he said, oblivious to his accidental brag.

“Damn, are you a genius or something?” you laughed, noticing the blank stare on Spencer’s face. “Wait. You are,” you pointed at him, your shock turning into joy.

“Well, technically, I am I guess,” he smiled awkwardly, trying not to flaunt his intelligence.

“That’s so cool! God, maybe if I was a genius I could get past the first chapter of this book,” you huffed, looking defeatedly at your book once again.

“May I ask, why are you learning French? It’s the fourth most important language behind Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and German. That’s just my opinion, of course,” he said, slightly flustered by the look on your face.

“Yeah, I guess it's not the most practical. But there's something so romantic about France, you know?” you asked and he nodded, blushing lightly. “I’ve always wanted to visit Paris, hell, maybe even live there. It’s stupid,” you laughed, brushing a piece of hair behind your ear.

“No, it’s not. It’s called the city of love for a reason,” he said with a tight-lipped smile. You were both silent for a moment before the flight attendants began their safety announcements and prepared for takeoff. Spencer noticed you stiffen as the engine started to rumble and the plane got faster. “Are you okay?” he asked as you shut your eyes tightly together.

“Yeah, yes, um. I just have really bad flight anxiety,” you confessed, eyes remaining closed. The plane lifted off the ground and you sucked in a deep breath, instinctively reaching over to grab Spencer's hand. All thoughts of germs and disease had completely left his mind at your touch- facts and logic meant nothing at this point if it meant you wouldn’t let go. “Could you just um, distract me?” you asked, peeking at him from the corner of your eye, hand still clutching his.

“Oh, yeah of course,” he said, thinking quickly for a distraction before grabbing the book from your lap and opening it to the first page. In perfect french, he began to read. “Lorsque j’avais six ans j’ai vu, une fois, une magnifique image…” he read for almost an hour before he felt your head relax on his shoulder, eyes closed. He continued to read for a bit longer before the lull of sleep pulled him under as well, your touch comforting him and providing safety.

Spencer woke a few hours later with a start to the seatbelt light beeping on. Gathering his bearings he looked to his left to see you already awake, looking at him with a smile.

“You’re cute when you sleep. Snore a bit, though,” you laughed and yawned, looking out the window. Spencer's heart rate picked up at your mussed hair and dazed expression. “Thank you for reading to me. I’m completely chill now,” you reassured him.

“Oh, no problem. Also, I’m not the only one who snores,” he quipped, a soft smirk on his lips.

“Hey, gimme a break! That was the most I’ve slept in days,” you defended.

“Believe it or not, me too,” Spencer realized, surprised that he slept more on an airplane than in his own bed. Maybe that difference was you.

“Looks like we’re almost landing,” you noticed, causing a pang in Spencer’s chest.

“Oh. Yeah, I guess so,” he acknowledged with a slight tone of disappointment.

“Hey. So this might sound crazy, but what if I gave you my number? And while you’re still in Vegas, maybe we can hang out? Sorry if this is too forward,” you cringed in embarrassment.

“No!” he started, eyes wide.

“Oh, okay. I shouldn’t have asked,” you immediately took back your statement.

“No! I mean, it's not too forward. I, uh would love to… hang out with you,” Spencer said, the words seeming unfamiliar on his tongue. The smile you gave him seemed to stop the earth for a few seconds (although Spencer knew this was scientifically impossible, something about you defied laws of science). 

The plane soon landed and numbers were exchanged, and one unexpected (but lovely) goodbye hug was given, and Spencer was floating. He couldn’t wait to tell his mom.

-

shoot me an ask or message to be on my taglist! :)

taglist: @rigatonireid​, @goldenxreid, @aworldoffandoms, @moonshinerbynight, @averyhotchner

[pumpkinspice-prouvaire]

hi i think it's fair to assume you like enjolras

so okay

why do you like him? what are traits/qualities of his that make you like him as a character? i genuinely want to know

i've been trying to find arguments to kinda force myself to like him and not just hate on him for no reason because im sure he's an interesting character, but i just can't bring myself to like him. idk why. maybe someone who likes him might make me see beyond what i see.

thanks in advance, also love your blog :D

hey anon! Thank u v much I’m glad you like the blog I’m sorry this took forever xo

yes it is fair to assume I like Enjolras, I am not very subtle about it lolll.

Please note that I have not read the brick in a good.........Seven years ish? A long time, anyways. And also I am by no means an expert on analysing text/characters, genuinely when it comes to a lot of my favourite books/characters it’s just “I enjoyed myself and I like their vibe” lmao

that said, I’ve really tried here lolll pls no one bully me. 

I think the reason I’m personally such a fan is because he has a lot of character traits that I personally wish I had more of sometimes? The charisma, the self-assuredness, the idealism, the determination and decisiveness. All very good character traits. He’s compassionate, but he’s also a pretty ruthless person if it means going after something he wants. But it’s cool bc even when he’s at his most ‘terrible’ it’s in the service of  a better world for the people around him and the people who will come after. He genuinely think he’s doing the right thing, and he isn’t afraid to sacrifice himself or his morality if he thinks it’ll go towards achieving the goal of Les Amis. 

Also I love the fact that he just....Admires the people around him so much? His interactions with Combeferre at the barricade, the entire ‘Enjolras and his lieutenants’ chapter where he’s able to individually select the best person for each job based on their respective strengths (minus Grantaire, but hey that isn’t exactly his fault let’s be real), the way he talks about Feuilly at the barricades. He knows the people around him, the comrades he’s working with. Apart from when he let Marius be a leader of the barricade bestie wtf were you thinking (/j). And I think it’s really nice that we can take this and turn it into “Enjolras really loves and admires his friends” and/or “Enjolras respects his comrades and recognises their importance to the cause”- It’s def one of my favourite things about him. 

Also I live for the scene where he fights with Gavroche- He’s canonically a giant dork and I think that’s really sexy of him (and so does Victor Hugo and he will remind you every page with Enjolras on it)

He gets a lot of amazing, intense scenes and lines in general as well which I think just makes for a really fun character. The execution of Le Cabuc, “your friends have just shot you” to Javert after the National Guard execute Jehan, “The 19th century is great but the 20th century will be happy” (makes me go OOF every time), “Love, thine is the future”, his DEATH scene???? Honestly it’s kind of sad that most of his ‘big’ scenes didn’t really make it into the musical because they are missing some great action

also I just like his vibe

That said, I feel for you if you can’t get into him, since so much of the fandom content, especially for the Les Amis side, is centred around him (and since I haven’t done him much justice with my rambly mess of an answer lmao). It’s stange since he’s such a minor character in the book and even more so in the musical, but that’s the power of a shippable twink I guess. 

If you want some recs for fics etc where he isn’t there/isn’t a main character, let me know and I’ll do my best to help!

[innocentsshounenjuujigun]

In regards to a parent, who is more easily able to trust that they mean them no harm and who is hesitant?

OwO This is a veeeery interesting thing to analyze. There are a lot of depending factors here, because even some of the kids who respond to a parental figure better aren’t the ones who trust the easiest... I’m also assuming that this is pre-Hugo or in a situation where that didn’t happen at all, as that situation changes the four involved pretty heavily. 

. . . 

MOST

Marc — A large part of this is because Marc wants to trust. He’s a very naive sort of person, yes, but he also really, really hopes that the person being kind to him will be someone he can open up to. After everything that’s happened and how scared he’s been, combined with his natural friendliness and ability to trust, he’s actively choosing to believe in you. 

Henri — As young as he is, Henri doesn’t quite have the realism in him to doubt you. He has his moments where he’s skittish and shy, but he’s also so desperate for parental affection and safety that he doesn’t really let himself think twice. His feelings are very similar to Marc’s, he’s just more of a shy child, and is scared of being mocked for being a baby when he gets clingy. 

Etienne — He’s absolutely the type who wants to believe that you’re good and trustworthy. Etienne is generally a decent judge of character, but he also tends to assume the best of people— even when he shouldn’t. He’s a little more hesitant than the two above, but he’s still making the choice to try to trust. He wants you to be a safe person for him and all of the rest of them. 

Remy — A lot of Remy’s issues with trusting you are that he knows people aren’t supposed to be near him. He’s still a very sweet, open child, but he hesitates out of fear of hurting you, rather than the other way around. He’s also somewhat expecting you to turn around and decide that being kind and close to him is a mistake, so that makes him close off a little more. 

Pierre — While he’s definitely a lot more of a brat about it, Pierre is childish, naive, and entitled enough to believe that you wouldn’t do anything to hurt him. He’s clingy and needy, wants constant attention, and neglects to really think that you’d try anything untrustworthy. He’s not as quick to open up or place his faith in you, but when he does, it’s a rapid spiral of dependence. 

Luc — He’s also a very open, friendly person... but Luc is also mature enough not to immediately place his faith in someone he doesn’t know. Especially after what’s happened during the Crusade, he’s not going to put his full trust in an adult without knowing for sure that you’re safe. It’s more for the others’ sakes than his own, though. He doesn’t want to see anyone get hurt. 

Isabelle — After everything she’s been through, Isabelle has learned the hard way how to tell which people will be kind to her and which ones are bad news. She knows very quickly that you’re safe, but because of her trauma and history, she doesn’t let herself open up without giving it time. She’d rather be safe than sorry when it comes to trusting an adult she doesn’t fully know. 

Guillaume — He’s a lot more standoffish than Pierre, but follows a very similar pattern. Guillaume will put up quite the fight. He’ll be as awful to you as possible— but a large part of that is a subconscious “test” to see if you’ll actually put up with him. When it does sink in that you’re not going anywhere, he falls just as hard and fast as Pierre, yet still remains pretty tsun. 

Nicolas — Considering the situation with his uncle and his general attitude altogether, Nicolas is not the kind of person who has any faith in most adults. There are things about you that make him want to trust, but after finding out what a terrible person Hugo was, he’s not too eager to make the same mistake. It takes Nicolas a good while to let himself put any trust in you. 

Michael — He’s a weird case. At the same time that Michael actively hates and looks down on almost everyone around him, he’s also so starved for parental love that he caves faster than you’d expect. It’s kind of hard to tell (because he’ll be awful all the while), but once his initial prejudice wears off, he gets attached fast. The problem is that it’ll take quite a while to get there. 

Laurent — He’s seen enough of how horrible adults can be while living on the streets with his brother not to open up to you at all for a good while. It’s just not safe to believe it when people like you say they’re going to be kind. But Laurent has a softer heart than the people below him on this list, and he’ll, little by little, learn through your actions that you won’t harm him or Lillian. 

Christian — Largely in part because of how negatively she views herself, Christian doesn’t particularly want to open up to you. She’s convinced that if you knew what she was actually like, your kindness would disappear in an instant. It’s much easier and safer to keep her distance and not open her heart to anyone else. Her feelings for Etienne hurt enough, as it is. 

Lillian — Like Laurent, he’s had a life of witnessing first-hand what adults do to kids who make themselves vulnerable, so he’s in no hurry to trust you. It’s a long, slow process of convincing him that you actually care and mean no harm, and even then, it’s tentative. The childish side of him desperately wants your kindness to be real, but he knows that it’s just plain naive to hope. 

Guy — With the life he’s had, Guy doesn’t trust anyone for a second unless they truly prove it. He’s on guard around you for ages, completely unwilling to believe that you’re genuine until he’s seen the truth over and over again. And even once he trusts you with the others, Guy doesn’t let himself open up until you all but force it. He doesn’t want to make himself vulnerable like that. 

LEAST

[carmichealroyals]

SILVER CREEK CHURCH, DAVEN PROVINCE, 2:41PM

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

Natalie: Thea, wait--

Dorothea: No, I’m done waiting for you.

Natalie: Thea, please, we can talk about this--

Dorothea: I think you’ve already talked about it plenty, Nat. 

Natalie: Please, Thea, I have my reasons, would you just stop--

Dorothea: I said I’m done, Natalie! Why can’t you get your head around that? Do you know how hard it is for me to watch you cozy up to him, pretending that you love him, having him on your arm for all these events while I’m either your younger brother’s date or your “close friend”? It’s breaking my heart! I want to be able to hold your hand in public, I want to be able to kiss you in the street, but because of you and your damn pride--

Natalie: It’s not pride.

Dorothea: Then what is it? Please, Your Highness, enlighten me as to what is keeping you from coming out to your family when Oliver has already done it and hasn’t suffered any serious repercussions from it aside from a bruised ego! You don’t love him, you never have, it’s been a relationship of convenience just as much for you as it has been for him! So why put yourself through the torture of being married to him when you’ve been lying to him this entire time?!

Natalie: It’s fear, okay?! Yes, Oliver came out and he was fine, but there’s going to be a double standard for me because I’m a girl, because I’m bi and that’s more excusable as a phase than being gay, because we haven’t been seen together so people can question the validity of it until they get the proof they want! My brother could have had a major scandal with his name on it and married to avoid it. Emmy is getting married, Mattheus has been spending more and more time in Winchester, Hugo is serious about his girlfriend, Giselle is marrying a Crown Prince for goodness sake! I’m the only one left besides Alexander, but he’s so young that it doesn’t matter what he does, and it wouldn’t anyway because he’s a Prince, not a Princess, and he’s allowed to date around, but if I date more than one person it’s all over the newspapers! As far as they’re concerned, as far as my family is concerned, I’m next on the chopping block, and I have to make this choice before it’s too late.

Dorothea: And what choice is that? Either continue lying to everyone in your life, including yourself, or being yourself and risk what, a slap on the wrist from your family?

Natalie: It’s more complicated than that, and you know it. You think this doesn’t hurt me too? Do you realize how hard it was for me to not reach over and hold your hand even for a second during that ceremony? If I had it my way, we’d call the priest back in here and marry right now! But we can’t. And you know we can’t.

Dorothea: I heard things, rumours about how he treated the Monacan princess. He was terrible to her. That’s why the family relocated, because he was threatened into being exposed for what he’d done if they didn’t. I just don’t want to see you get hurt, Natalie. I love you so much it hurts, and if he laid a finger on you that he isn’t supposed to, I… 

Natalie: I won’t let him. I’m the one elevating him. He might be bigger and stronger than me, but I hold the political power. If he’s smart, he won’t try anything, and if he does, I go to my uncle. I know you want to try and protect me Thea, but you don’t need to. I can take care of myself. 

Dorothea: I just want to be with you. I’m tired of hiding and pretending I don’t care about you. It’s like being back in the closet all over again, and I promised myself I would never do that. 

Natalie: I know. And I’m sorry I’ve put you through all this. But I promise you, it is all for our future benefit. You own my heart, Dorothea. It’s always been you, and I was a fool to think otherwise for so long. I promise, we’ll figure something out. It will be us at the end of this. I’ll make sure of it. 

Dorothea: You’re sure about this?

Natalie: No. But I don’t have a choice. Just… trust me, okay? 

Dorothea: I do, Natalie. I do. 

[sonicgetsrawed]

Hold Me Today, You Might Not Have Me Tomorrow

Second prompt for varigo week!!!!! I had fun with this one!!!! Enjoy!!! @alistairwrites

Tensions had been high since, well, since Hugo joined the team. It’s not that he was a terrible person, Varian refused to give anyone that title outright. But he couldn’t help be a little weary of him. And now that Nuru has joined them as well, tensions seemed to be even higher. Everyone, save for Yong, was constantly at each other’s throats, something was bound to break soon, he just desperately hoped it wouldn’t be their group. They just needed something to break the ice and pave that magical road to friendship. Varian wrinkled his nose in disgust at that thought, maybe Rapunzel’s attitude had rubbed off on him more than he thought. Regardless, he didn’t want to be part of a team that could get nothing done due to constant fighting. So when the town they were heading through was holding a festival of sorts Varian convinced the rest of the group to stay for the night. It would be a nice break, which would hopefully get them on civil terms.

Varian smiled widely as he took in the banners and streamers that filled the cobblestone street. The flowers hanging from every windowsill, their petals lining the floor, it almost reminded him of the festivals back in Corona, except he couldn’t understand a damn word anyone said. One of the locals had informed them that they were in the midst of celebrating a festival of love, all kinds of love being welcomed, familial, platonic, and romantic. It kind of reminded Varian of the day of hearts. The only downside was that they would be hard pressed to find someone they could understand. As part of their celebrations the locals spoke in the language of their ancestors, a language long lost to anyone outside the village, even Hugo, their seasoned traveler, could hardly make out more than a few words. Unfortunately most refused to break this tradition for fear of bad luck throughout the year, but there were an odd few that didn’t seem to mind one way or another. He supposed it didn’t matter, they were still able to partake in the festivities, scarfing down sweets, dancing in the streets, and playing a few games. Until finally the night was winding down. Candles and lanterns were lit, delicately placed along the pathway, people starting to line up by them. It looked like one final dance was about to take place, and despite his aching feet Varian was determined to partake.

He jumped to his feet, offering his hand to Hugo, who despite their best efforts refused to do any of the previous activities. “Dance with me?” He asked, Hugo raising his split eyebrow at the invitation, his arms crossed defiantly over his chest.

“No.” Hugo responded, staying firmly in his seat on the small rock wall they had found.

“Come on! You haven’t done anything all day, is one dance going to kill you? It’ll be fun~” Varian teased, trying to keep any of his irritation from seeping into his voice.

Hugo gave a light shrug of his shoulders, rolling his eyes with the motion. “I suppose-“

“Great!” Varian pulled him to his feet, before he could change his mind, quickly finding a place in the lineup of people. Varian flashed him a smile and moved into the same position as the people on his side of the street, Hugo thankfully doing the same, his hand joined in Varian’s and the other resting on his hip. The music started shortly after, the dance fairly simple, the group moving in a steady circle as they moved down the street. Varian offered a wave to Nuru and Yong as they passed them. They finally made it to the end of the square where a string of flowers was wrapped around them before being allowed to continue. Varian’s face flushed slightly at the closer proximity the flowers had caused, but it disappeared when he saw that Hugo actually seemed to be enjoying himself, adding an extra step or two to their movements every so often.

“What’s the matter, Goggles? I thought you said this’ll be fun.” Hugo teased, leaning down to whisper in Varian’s ear. Varian’s face turned redder if that was even possible, the closeness of their bodies doing him no favors. He hadn’t even realized they stopped moving, somehow lost in Hugo’s green eyes. He’d known from day one that Hugo was attractive, he’d just never let the fact bother him before, but now like this, he was terribly aware of the fact. His heart started to pound in his chest, no matter how he willed it to stop, no matter how he convinced himself it was just from the dance, because there was no way in hell he had a crush on Hugo.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost missed the announcers words, actually he missed most of them, but it didn’t make a difference he couldn’t understand them anyways. Hugo on the other hand turned white as a sheet, his grip on Varian’s hand tightening painfully so.

“What? What did he say?” Varian asked, a small bit of panic rising in his chest as the pairs, couples, around them began to kiss. Deep down he knew what this was, he just hoped he was wrong and whatever Hugo heard was right. Hell, he’d take a fucking blood sacrifice over marriage at this point.

“He- he said we're married. This was a fucking wedding.” Hugo hissed, his stunned silence quickly turning to anger.

Varian pushed away from Hugo, the flower chain breaking apart as he did so. The streamers and rice falling from above hindering his vision, the firecrackers unusually loud in his ears. There was no way this was happening, he had not just fucking married Hugo. “Oh fuck no.”

He felt like he was going to be sick. The world was spinning, the noise too loud, the clapping, the cheering, it was all so overwhelming. Varian flinched as a hand reached for him, landing harshly on his ass. He yelped as he was roughly pulled to his feet.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?! Get up.” Hugo hissed, keeping a firm grip on Varian’s arm as he dragged him away from the crowd. His mind was still a fucking mess, but Varian pushed any panic away so he could properly deal with the situation. If they just went back and talked to someone surely they could get this all sorted out. Varian pulled back, ripping his arm out of Hugo’s grip.

“Wait, shouldn’t we-“

“You-“ Hugo turned sharply, his finger jabbing Varian’s chest. Varian glared up at him, sure Hugo had the right to be upset, but he didn’t have to be so damn aggressive. “-don’t get to make anymore decisions today.”

“That’s hardly fair. I don’t think-“

“Obviously.” Hugo sneered, turning on his heel and storming in the direction they had come from. Varian rolled his eyes, but followed Hugo nonetheless. There was no point in arguing, he had technically gotten them into this. It wasn’t his fault he was just trying to have some fun, get the group on more amicable terms. That had backfired drastically.

“Maybe if you were nicer I wouldn’t have had to force you to have fun with us.” Varian murmured, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Look, I get Corona is all about sunshine and rainbows, but I’m not here to be your friend. This-” Hugo gestured between the two of them. “-is strictly business, nothing more. Except now we’re fucking married because you couldn’t mind your own fucking business.”

Varian opened his mouth to argue, wanting to insist that it was his business because if none of them got along they’d never be able to complete the trials. They needed to at least learn to work together. He never got the chance to say it, a streamer popping off by his ear.

“Congratulations you two! I had no idea you were so close!” Nuru laughed, her tone far too sweet to be genuine.

“Fuck off.” Hugo hissed, swatting at the stray bits of paper that had landed on his head.

“It’s not that big of a deal. We just need to find someone to reverse it.” Varian said, shooting Nuru a glare. He was trying so hard to keep a level head about all of this, but it was hard with Nuru and Hugo at each other’s throats.

“Not a big deal? You were the one having a panic attack in the middle of the square.” Hugo huffed.

“Well I would too if I found out I had just married you.” Nuru shot back.

“WIll you guys please stop arguing for two seconds so we can figure this out?!” Varian shouted above them, running a frustrated hand down his face, briefly debating if all of this was worth it. It was a hell of a lot of stress for a few answers he might not even get. Sure he wanted to know more about his mom, but there had to be less stressful ways to go about it. He just wasn’t sure how much more of this in fighting he could take. He could feel his resolve starting to break, he didn’t want to give up but this was almost too much. If either replied Varian didn’t hear them, he wasn’t sure he wanted to.

“Maybe we can ask him.” Yong said, tugging Varian’s shirt and pointing to a man walking by, a man Varian recognized as the announcer from the wedding. Varian pushed away his negative thoughts as best he could, he could deal with them later, getting this fixed would have to come first.

“Good idea.” Varian said, not bothering to interrupt Hugo and Nuru’s screaming match before taking Yong with him to talk to the announcer. “Excuse me!”

The man turned, smiling widely as words Varian didn’t understand fell past his lips. Varian rubbed his arm sheepishly. Right, he forgot that they were only speaking in their native tongue today. He hoped Hugo knew enough to understand. “Uh, sorry. Just- one second.”

Yong seemed to be two steps ahead, already making his way back to them with Hugo in tow, Nuru taking up the rear looking more irritated than when he’d left them. Great, just fucking great, another problem to add to his list of things to solve. Hugo at least had the decency to put on a fake smile as he talked to the man, the tips of Hugo’s ears turning red as he tried his best to speak to the man. It would almost be cute if Hugo wasn’t so fucking annoying all the time. Varian brought his thumb to his mouth, biting at his fingernail as he waited with baited breath for Hugo to tell them what he discovered.

“What did he say?” Varian asked the second Hugo rejoined the group.

“He can take us to the Capital to get this all sorted out.” Hugo said, his eyes briefly darting to Nuru and Yong.

“But~” Varian said, twirling his hands for Hugo to continue.

“It’s going to be a bit of a journey, so it’s probably best these two get settled into the inn.” Hugo explained, his tone odd to Varian, it held none of its usual bossiness, just very flat and almost hollow like he was trying very hard to hide something.

“I’m okay with that.” Nuru said, looking relieved to not have to go on another journey.

“Yes please! My feet are aching.” Yong said, rocking back on his feet as if to prove the point.

“Okay. Yeah, I suppose that’s fine.” Varian said, giving a small nod and a wave as Nuru and Yong headed towards the inn. He jogged slightly to catch up with Hugo. “So, how far is the Capital?”

Varian blinked in confusion as Hugo opened a nearby door, the announcer heading inside as Hugo held it open for Varian gesturing for him to follow. “Right here.”

“Wait- what? But- I- you said- Hugo what’s going on?” Varian stuttered, hesitating at the entrance to the building. They were in a much better place than when Hugo had first joined the group, but he definitely wouldn’t call them friends. And he definitely wouldn’t put it past Hugo to try and take the totems again.

“For all this bullshit you keep spewing about trust you're not very trusting are you?” Hugo said, one hand resting on his hip, an eyebrow raised, daring Varian to challenge him. Varian pursed his lips, biting down on his tongue to prevent himself from saying something he’d regret. He held his head high as he brushed past Hugo, pulling his bag tighter around himself. The room was small, too intimate for Varian’s liking, candles lining the walls, a desk on the far side with a pen and paper, a certificate if he had to guess.

“What do we have to do? Just sign the paper?” Varian asked, walking further into the room as Hugo shut the door, all light except from the candles.

“Uh, yes.” Hugo answered, moving into the room so he was standing next to Varian. Their shoulders brushed together, Varian feeling the tips of his ears heat up. What the fuck was wrong with him? He took a small step away, Hugo raising an eyebrow at the action but he didn’t comment.

“So-“

“We need to kiss.” Hugo said, cutting Varian off, looking ahead instead of at the dark haired boy.

“I’m sorry?!” Varian said, this time taking a large step away from Hugo, his bag hitting the wall, the candles wobbling dangerously. There was no way in hell he was ever going to kiss Hugo. “But why a kiss? Isn’t the paper enough?”

“Look, Goggles, I don’t want to kiss you either.” Varian crossed his arms over his chest, fixing Hugo with a glare, pretending those words didn’t sting a little bit. “But this is how they do things here. Today was a celebration of love. It needs to be undone with love, at least according to him. Unless you want to stay married.”

“No I really don’t.” Varian said.

“Good.”

“Good.” Varian repeated, sticking his tongue out at Hugo when he rolled his eyes.

“Great. So we just sign the paper, he says a few words, kiss, and we’re done, like this never even happened.” Hugo explained, moving to stand in front of the desk, and quickly signing the paper. Varian followed suit, scribbling his name on the parchment as the man said a few words, none of which he understood. And then Hugo turned to face him, Varian’s stomach turning because he knew what was coming next. “I know this is probably your first kiss, so if it sucks I’ll try not to hold it against you.”

“It is n-“ Hugo captured Varian’s lips, cutting off his reply, Varian’s hands instinctively wrapping around Hugo’s neck like they’d done this a hundred times before, Hugo’s hands settling on Varian’s hips as their lips moved against each other. It was oddly pleasant, and for a second Varian lost himself in the kiss, his eyes slipping closed as the kiss deepened. Hugo seemed to lose himself in it too, pulling Varian closer to him, their bodies flush against each other. It almost felt right. And the longer it went the more Varian found himself not wanting it to end, but eventually he needed to breathe. He broke the kiss, resting his forehead against Hugo’s, lost in the afterglow of it, his blue eyes clashing with green.

Hugo smiled softly, bringing his hand up to cup Varian’s face. “Not bad, Goggles.”

Varian leaned into the touch, a small smile on his lips as well. It was such a soft and intimate moment, one he never thought he’d be having with Hugo of all people, but here they were, not arguing, not fighting, just the two of them and- the man cleared his throat, waving the certificate through the air. Reality crashed down around Varian. His face flushed red as he remembered the situation that had led them to this moment, as he remembered this was fucking Hugo of all people. Varian pushed away from Hugo, grabbing the certificate and heading out the door before Hugo could say anything. His stomach doing flips, his heart skipping a beat as he thought about the kiss, about how he missed the feeling of Hugo’s body against his, about how unbelievably perfect it had been.

He ignored Nuru and Yong’s questioning glances as he grabbed a key from them and stormed into his room without so much as a word, without so much as a glance, slamming the door shut and sinking to the floor. Holy fuck. What was going on with him today? It was just the emotional stress of it all, that’s all it was. He definitely did not have a crush on Hugo, he didn’t. He held the certificate close to his chest, the proof that this was all just a misunderstanding, that nothing would come of this, that tomorrow when he woke up things would go right back to normal. It was over now, everything was fine, everything would be fine, and he would not fall for Hugo.

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

In hindsight he should’ve probably told the group that he knew exactly what the townspeople were saying, his father was originally from here, but per the usual whenever he tried to speak he was pushed to the side, so Yong let them struggle through their day. It was kind of funny too, to watch Hugo stumble through a conversation, to watch Varian try to order food, to watch Nuru try to make a purchase. It was probably just a little cruel but no one got hurt so it was fine and they all had fun in the end. Until the “wedding”. He knew the ins and outs of the festival and he knew without a doubt that the dance that Hugo and Varian had participated in was not a wedding, it was simply a proclamation of love, although the words were similar enough that he could see how Hugo had mixed them up. As long as they didn’t go to the courthouse there was nothing to worry about.

And of course they went to the courthouse. He knew he really, really, should’ve spoken up then, but he was too far into this and he didn’t want to get in trouble, especially when everyone had been so on edge recently, so he stayed quiet. He spent the whole time hoping that Hugo knew enough to realize that what they were walking into was the actual wedding, but he didn’t.

He really was going to say something when Varian and Hugo came back, but Varian had gone straight to his room and so had Hugo. It left him tossing and turning all night, spending half the night contemplating on if he should get up and tell one of them. He didn’t. He couldn’t. They’d be so angry with him. They might send him home. So he kept his secret, he kept his mouth shut, and when morning came things were better, Varian looked relieved, Hugo was back to his annoying self, and even Nuru seemed to be in a better mood. It was great to be a functioning team again, so that night when they set up camp, Yong slipped the certificate out of Varian’s bag and burned it in the fire when no one was looking. He smiled at a job well done. Things were back to normal now, no one had to know that Varian and Hugo were married, it wouldn’t be a problem unless they wanted to get married in that town, which he was sure they wouldn’t, and within the next week Yong too had forgotten all about it. Until four years later when Varian and Hugo showed up on his doorstep announcing their engagement and he knew it was time to fess up.

“What do you mean we’re already married?”

Yong laughed at the couple in front of him, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. “That- that’s a funny story actually.”

[bisexual-maelstrom12]

Ranking the Lovelink Matches (a completely subjective list by moi)

22. Clementine Hill / Grace Kim

I already wasn’t into her because she’s a privileged rich girl who uses literary quotes to seem smart (but really it’s just obnoxious). But then she tells us she’s thinking about dumping us for her creepy old professor?? Girl needs an actual job so she can stop relying on her parents and a therapist for her daddy issues. 

21. Dominic Wright / Adam Johnson

I’m still pretty early on in the storyline here but so far I’m just bored. A “love” photography theme? Big yawn.

20. Liam Park / Min-Jae Lee

How Is Dating A K-Pop Star This BORING

19. Jake Gonzales / Zayn Kassab

The sexting is fun but honestly his film project sounds terrible and he needs to cool his feelings down like 200%. 

18. Angel Reed / Emmalyn Roberts

Look she’s amazing and gorgeous and the animals are ADORABLE but honestly I find her pretty boring compared to the other matches SORRY DON’T HATE ME

17. Antoine Dawson / Noah Cruz

He comes on too strong a lot but I dig the puppies and the sexual tension. I would absolutely enter a FWB relationship with him but nothing more. 

16. Albert Bishop / Jonathan Hayes

This ranking is subject to change bc tbh I swiped left on these boys at first (#fuckamericanimperialism). But then other matches finished up and I needed more content and y’know what? Albert’s pretty okay. I like his backstory so far and he’s sweet and sexy. Should def get out of the military tho. 

15. Stefan Silver / Oliver Black

I appreciate that he’s a more consent-friendly version of Christian Gray and I like the “defrosting ice king” trope. But I would much rather be using the riding crop on him than vice versa. >:)

14. Jamie Grant / Seth Evans

Jamie is kind of a weird match in that I LOVE his storyline but also the flirting is pretty weak?? Like, I literally would have had to pay gems for the first “date”. I’m not feeling much of a sexual connection here, but I’m all aboard the hacker kidnapping storyline. 

13. Austin Russo / Damien Jones

He’s rough around the edges but the character growth is pretty spectacular. Gotta save my boo from death row. 

12. Sam Knight / Michael Evans

Never thought I’d be into a jock frat boy but here we are. I like how I snarked at him constantly for a week and he still fell for me. Ghosting us after we call him out on his daddy issues is pretty weak tho. 

11. Samantha Clark / Aesha Nora

Okay she isn’t the greatest person or partner but cute gamer gf?? Yes please. And she can cook and bench press me too! *swoon* Also Fiction needs to be real asap. 

10. Sage Foster / Vitoria Voznesenky

Sage was one of my first matches and was my favorite for a while. Who doesn’t want a hot goth gf? But then she PUNCTURED MY LIP (does that even heal??) and almost ate me and I’m just not about that. Hopefully she can go give Baba Yaga a talking to and get that curse removed.

9. Skylar Quinn / Jaden Bower

So making us commit a crime and then ditching us on the first date wasn’t cool, and I’m not much for a “rebel without a cause,” but then Skylar hit me with his tragic backstory and, well, I’m weak y’all. Also he’s so smart and snarky and sexy and I want him to achieve his dreams.

8. Eve Rockwood / Alice Martin

Look I’m still pissed at Eve for ditching us in Ibiza. But also I would absolutely drop everything to follow a hot girl to Japan. 

7. William Crome / Julien Alexandre

I was never really into the whole dating a vampire thing but William just does it for me. I think it’s the hair and the old timey fashion. And he told off his mom for me, which is more than I can say about SOME of these matches.

6. Hugo Hornsby / Marco Bottazzi

Hugo is lowkey a garbage human who absolutely emotionally cheated on his long-term fiance with us. So why do I love him so much?? Idk, could be my trash taste in men, could be my love of geeks, could be the delicious drama of his plotline. Hugo pls come back from ur convo with ur fiance and d*ck us down already. 

5. Kayla Summers / Jasmin Medina

Kayla/Jasmin is objectively the most badass match in Lovelink. She’s hot, ambitious, and didn’t ghost me for a dumb reason. She can kill it in heels AND kill actual killers! Get you a girl who can do both!

4. Raphael Becker / Wyatt Moore

The creepy cult plot is fascinating and Raph is the perfect combination of sweet/romantic and hott. That dream date was amazing. Pls Lovelink, when will my husband* come back from the war**?

* musician boyfriend

** creepy cult village

3. Ryan Byrne

Ryan is lowkey my perfect guy--sweet, nerdy, and SO SEXY OMG. I need his sex scene so bad pls. Also he might have caused the zombie apocalypse and that’s very interesting of him. I’m hooked on his story and I want his **** hooked in my *****. 

2. Milena Sarafian / Ana Samarine (also maybe the same route as Ruby Thomas and Julia Greene?? Idk I’m pretty confused by this whole situation)

Apparently my ideal type is an adorable yet sexy computer who discovers love and how to be human through interacting with me. I should probably go watch that Her movie.

1. Cpt. Muffin

CAT. SHY BOY. <3.

[indigosandviolets]

Hey could you do headcanons on what the basterds were like when their S/O was going through labor? Love your writing aaa!

here you go! fair thing i should mention, these are from the perspective of a person who has never given birth(hi, hello, that’s me!) , but have heard many a gory tale.

Aldo Raine

you and Aldo have three children. you are also an incredibly strong woman.

Aldo, being the Southern gentleman that he is, stayed with you the entire time and held your hand

you broke his hand, every single time

after the first time he kinda stopped caring about it

and when people would ask about it he would say, “My wife did that.”

then you would give him the look and he’d say, “Not in an abusive way, she’s in labor.” and you’d want to fucking die every time more than you currently did

but he’s already on top of shit when you’ve finished and i’m talking ON TOP OF SHIT

he’s got an order for your favorite food ready and on the way and he may or may not have snuck in a cooler that has your favorite drinks in it, as well as the first alcoholic beverages you’ve had in nine months

trust me, he’s on top of shit

Donny Donowitz

Donny isn’t...terrible, he just wasn’t...great

turns out, an ex-blood-thirsty-nazi-killer hates seeing people in pain when the people is you whose in pain

and it’s not like he can do anything about it and that pisses him off, so in the end he’s more frustrated than you are and that’s some fucking news to you

that pisses you off ‘cause he’s not allowed to be the one freaking out but whatever

he’s got his hand on your shoulder the whole time and you’re holding onto his wrist

Donny seriously hates you being in pain and he almost wants to fight the doctors for not giving you enough pain killer but you held him tight so he couldn’t

he’s better with you when Anja is born because when Art was born he was an absolute wreck

though he does climb into the hospital bed after and holds you and Art, and then when Anja is born you somehow fit art in there too

Hugo Stiglitz

so he was freaking out way more than he let on during the birth of your daughter Margret

like usual he didn’t say much, as he is a man of few words around people he doesn’t know, but when he heard Margret cry he tilted his head back and said “thank the fucking lord”

seriously, he’s a man of steel about his emotions until he gets to hold her

and you see a single tear slide down his cheek

“Hugo?”

“Shut up.”

“The hell did you just say?”

“Sorry.”

he was a lot calmer for Leon and Benjamin because that was a C-Section

he was waiting with water and some soup when you woke up (home made soup, might i add)

Wilhelm Wicki

so you and Wicki were totally prepped for when Stefan was born

until Stefan was born a week late

nothing to worry about, but you were just so sick of being pregnant that eventually you two just went to the hospital and said “Fucking really?”

Wicki was calm the entire time and it helped you out a lot

he’s calmer than the fucking doctors and that’s the worst part

especially when Stefan doesn’t cry when he’s born and he has to tell the doctors that he can literally see his son breathing and that there’s nothing to worry about

he cuts Stefan’s cord and when he’s handed over, that’s when he starts crying and Wicki has to look at the doctors with the “i fucking told you so” look

“How the hell do you know so much, Wil?”

“I think I read more than our doctors do.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.”

Smithson Utivich

everything Smithson Utivich has learned from being an uncle to his sister’s kids and her telling him what it was like went out the fucking window when you went into labor

yeah, his sister was accurate on some shit, but not with him calming down while his wife is having fucking twins

it’s fine, though, but not really, but he stopped hyperventilating and now just has to worry about you hyperventilating but you’re both fine

once they’ve hooked you up on an epidural it’s a little bit better but you’re still in a lot of pain

he’s there the entire time. this man does not move from beside you and he has one arm around your shoulders and one hand in yours and he’s constantly saying reassuring words

the only time that changes is when he’s holding your first son Dov while Eli is busy being born but he’s still telling you as many reassuring things he can

once Eli was born you practically passed out but when you woke up you saw Smitty in the chair next to you holding both of your children, passed out

Gerold Hirschberg

i actually wrote this for the fight/make-up headcanons i wrote, so you can check those out here! (you’re gonna have to scroll down to Hirschberg, but it’s there, I promise!)

Omar Ulmer

Omar’s on top of fucking everything when your daughter Elizabeth is born

thing is, he didn’t need to be because they accidentally gave you the wrong epidural and you end up getting way more killer than you were supposed to

you were so drugged out that when anything happened you would laugh

so he’s there trying to get you to calm down, meanwhile you seeing him do to just makes you laugh even harder

everyone’s freaking out that you’re gonna laugh this baby out, which you find absolutely hilarious

so he decides ‘fuck it’ and just starts talking about stupid stuff to make you laugh

an expected eight hour ordeal turns into a four hour one

you did have to stay in the hospital until the drugs wore out of your system, but Omar did still tell you dumb stories that made you laugh a fun smile while you two held your newly born daughter

[masterofmaagnetism]

"You couldn't handle me even if i came with instructions" for that rockstar robot crocodile you like!

[ Monty!!! he's not a crocodile though he's a alligator wjehfwbwehj ]

[ See above ]

[ Characters: Montgomery Gator, me <3 i'm gonna use Hugo for this one ]

[ Warnings: just Monty being a lil arrogant kjfnwfewbjh. also it got away from me and ended up longer than intended lmao ]

Taking the nightguard position really wasn't Hugo's best idea.

It had seemed good when he'd seen the original job posting, because he loved animatronics and he was a definite nightowl, but he didn't realize how alone he'd be in the giant pizzaplex.

The building looked so much smaller on the outside, but seemed enormous one he was inside. There was no other human being, and all he had was his flashlight and phone. If someone broke in, he really had no way of checking outside of walking, or running, over to the area.

Which was fucking horrifying, by the way. This was probably karma for being a horror fan.

He did, however, feel a little better when he made his way through the hallway that housed all the animatronics' rooms. He peeked into Roxanne's room, surprised when the wolf waved at him. After a small pause, he smiled and waved back.

"I didn't know they were on at night," he muttered to himself as he checked Chica's room next. The chicken was sitting on her couch and tuning her guitar. She looked up at Hugo when he paused in the doorway, giving him a short wave. He waved back again, and moved on to Freddy's room.

At first he thought Freddy was missing when his room was empty, beginning to panic, and even letting out a short shriek when the bear's paw(?) landed on his shoulder.

"Oh, sorry," Freddy apologized quickly, "I didn't mean to spook you. You're the new nightguard, right?" he asked, and Hugo could only nod yes. "It's good to meet you!"

"You too.." Hugo finally replied, clearing his throat quickly. "Why were you out of your room? I didn't think you could do that after hours..?"

"I was just taking a walk," Freddy answered, moving past Hugo and into the room that he had left vacant. "Need to keep these joints moving so they don't lock up."

Well, that was an easy explanation. "Well- uh- sounds good, I guess," Hugo accepted the answer without question because he really didn't want to be questioning the bear animatronic with literal fangs. "Please just try to stay in this area, so I know where you are. It's a big place, easy to lose you in."

"Of course," Freddy agreed, and while Hugo was almost positive that he absolutely would not listen to that, but he wanted to keep moving so he just accepted that too.

Moving on, Hugo now stood in front of the green room that belonged to Montgomery Gator, his personal favourite of the Glamrock animatronics. Partially because southerner representation, but mostly because he was hot. For an animatronic.

He wasn't surprised to find Monty also tuning his own guitar, since they'd had several shows during the day and Hugo knew damn well how often strings instruments needed to be tuned (orchestra life is a constant hell).

Without thinking, he lightly knocked on the doorframe (since there were no doors, just open walls) to announce his presence. He almost froze when Monty looked up at him.

See, Hugo had seen animatronics close up, and he had no problem with it. He'd just never seen the Glamrocks close up, and he really didn't expect Monty to have that many teeth.

"Just checking in," Hugo said when he had the animatronic's attention, suddenly feeling like he was in a spotlight. "Part of the job and all."

Monty stared for a second longer, before scoffing and looking back at his guitar. "New guy, huh? Ya just gonna stand there? Come on in."

Ah. He wasn't expecting to be invited in. He stood there for a couple more seconds, before carefully making his way into the room. "Uh, yeah, this is my first night. Though I've been here plenty of other times in the day."

"So that's why you look familiar!" Monty replied with a sharp laugh, grabbing Hugo once he was close enough and pulling him down next to him on the couch. Which really just resulted in Hugo just... awkwardly sitting there. At least Monty was warm- he could feel the heat practically radiating off of the animatronic gator.

"I have to ask how you recognize me." Hugo didn't really show up enough to be recognized by the animatronics, and the other three had seemed surprised that he was there, or at least didn't see him as familiar.

Monty paused after that, before letting out another laugh. "Well, ya know, I got a better memory than the others, I can remember someone better than them."

...

That was a terrible excuse. Hugo accepted it anyway.

".... Right," Hugo replied, clipping his flashlight onto his belt when he realized that he wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon. "I'm Hugo," he said after a moment, upon realizing none of them knew his name.

Monty just tapped the badge on his chest. "I'm not illiterate, ya know. We learn our music, it's not programmed."

Hugo felt his face heat up briefly, and he quickly looked away to avoid the teasing he felt would be inevitable. "I forgot about the badge," he admitted in a mutter, letting out a soft huff.

"Aww, don't tell me I'm pushin' buttons already," Monty jokingly whined, lightly jabbing Hugo in the side, which made him yelp. "You shouldn't be so easy to mess with if you don't wanna be, ya know, messed with."

Alright, Hugo could take teasing, but it was different when it was an animatronic, so he tried to shove the arm away, only to fail because he was human and Monty very much wasn't.

"Hah, nice try tiny," Monty teased, jabbing him one last time before letting up. "You couldn't handle me even if I came with instructions." That made Hugo glare at the gator, quickly standing up as if he was going to leave.

Only to not make it two steps away from the couch before metal arms were wrapped around his torso and pulling him back down onto the couch.

Well, technically his lap.

"Don't leave," Monty told him, resting his (admittedly bigger than Hugo thought) head on the human's shoulder. "I can be nicer. Swear it."

"I doubt that," Hugo grumbled, despite immediately relaxing in the gator's grasp to avoid getting hurt. He had to admit though, the warmth was nice.

Monty muttered something unintelligible, nuzzling Hugo gently. "I promise. I don't want'cha runnin' away from me. I've been wantin' to meet you up close too long for that."

So that's why he recognized him. Seemed like Hugo was his favourite animatronic's favourite human.

... He could live with that.

"Fine," Hugo accepted his new fate, resigning himself to hanging out with Monty for the rest of his shift. Not that he minded- not at all.

It did, however, become routine, which means Hugo didn't get a whole lot of work done.

[uservillanelle]

Killing Eve ― 3x01 (Review)

I didn’t rush to write this review right after the episode, as I sometimes need to rewatch the episode several times to actually appreciate it and spot a thing or two. I know, everybody’s writing these, their thoughts, so I’m sorry if some of them will be repetitive, but I do want to get my thoughts out! Soo shall we get to it?

Dasha

What is interesting to me is that they chose this flashback of Dasha being a gymnast in her early age as the very first scene of the episode. And let’s not forget, it is the first scene of the entire season, meaning it has to be very important one. I don’t think they brought her in just to play Villanelle’s next handler. She was her mentor before, which makes it a lot more personal to both of them. There’s more to her, I’m sure. So far I’m loving the dynamic between her and Villanelle. There’s this... old-friends reunited kind of vibe, but then again, they can be laughing one moment and trying to choke each other to death the next. In this aspect they are very similar. 

That brings me to Dasha’s killing style. It is unique, something we haven’t seen in the show before. It can only mean competition to Villanelle. And she’s so confident that her work is better than Dasha’s. Not only does she say it to Dasha, but later on copy her style during the spice kill ― which, by the way, I think is very underrated. 

Villanelle had to ask Dasha about her part of the deal, twice. Then she brought up the possibility of going back home ― back to Russia. It might be true, but I don’t think that’s everything she was promised. And it’s one more reason for us to keep watching to find out, hm?

The Wedding

All I can say about the wedding is ― WOW. I was looking forward to it and it didn’t disappoint. Actually, it’s the best part of the episode for me. Many people have said that it was ‘waste of potential’; ‘they only did it to set up a meeting with Dasha’; but really. I don’t think we would’ve gotten the Villanelle wedding in any other circumstance. Like, think about it. A wedding is not something Villanelle would normally do, right? She doesn’t care about such things, yet in this case she does it. Yes, she LOVES a good show and attention as well as being rich and have everything she ever wanted including having the power and control of it all. And since she’s getting over Eve, why not find another woman and marry her to prove to everyone and to herself, that she is totally over the Asian woman with amazing hair? She’s extra like that and I love it. And don’t get me started on the tuxedo blazer AND black tulle ruffle top. She wore THAT for her own wedding. Just thinking about it makes me want to go feral. 

Mooving on, the irony of Villanelle not only bringing up Eve during her wedding speech, but saying she is ‘so much happier now she’s dead’ while immedially afterwards glancing around the place almost as if she’s expecting to see Eve. She hopes she’s there... and it makes me wonder, what if Eve actually was there? What if she somehow made it to Villanelle’s wedding and just... can you imagine? What their interaction would look like? Plus having MARIA there the entire time and the guests? Damn. 

Then there’s casual Villanelle simply enjoying her wedding cake, because why the hell not? And on top of that ignoring her new wife during the dance. I mean... this is SUCH Villanelle thing to do. She couldn’t care any less. Then again we are reminded of how awkward/uncomfortable she could get around people when she’s being.. more or less herself. I haven’t seen her like that for a hot minute. She has always been brilliant in slipping into other groups of people, pretending to be a part of a conversation, it never really was an issue for her. Yet this time she’s not really pretending to be someone else. She is Villanelle and yes, she is awkward. I love that we got to see that bit. 

And of course... it wouldn’t be Villanelle’s wedding if there wasn’t a fight involved. Why not start a fight herself? It’s exactly what she did and having Dasha show up only highlighted the wedding scene even more. It wasn’t all about Dasha being there, it was about Villanelle trying to prove to herself that she’s finally moving on and I, personaly, needed that. It’s a shame the wedding scene ended so quickly, I mean we could’ve gotten a kiss or two, since it’s a damn wedding! Though I’m still really glad we got to see it. We actually got to steal a glance at Villanelle’s wedding. That sounds so surreal on itself. Are we sure they didn’t take this from any of the fanfics? 

Carolyn

(warning: possible spoilers/predictions ahead)

She’s still a very shady lady. Carolyn must be the most mysterious character on the show, based on how little we know about her, her work and her family. I’m glad that someone is finally confronting her about the previous operation in Rome. What’s even better ― Hugo sued MI6 and he has EVERY right to do so. The entire mission was a blood bath and someone has to answer for it. Yet, despite given circumstances, Carolyn remains completely still during all the accusations she has received and even refuses to apologize during her conversation with Kenny. None of the previous events that took place seem to be valuable and important enough for her. And that makes me wonder.. that maybe the Twelve ordered Kenny’s death to stop any further unofficial investigations AND to punish Carolyn, because Kenny’s all she has, right?

Well, now they will be bringing up Carolyns daughter ― Geraldine. Up to this point we knew that Kenny was Carolyn’s only child, but since he’s gone now, there has to be someone else related to Carolyn and we got Geraldine. From what we know now, they do not have a great relationship which makes me even more excited to see them interacting. 

Since the Twelve put a hit on Kenny... I’m starting to think that maybe Carolyn is next on their list, and possibly Konstantin. In S3 trailer we got a quick shot of Carolyn in a car with a driver. And there’s Villanelle, pretending to be a police officer, chasing someone down. If I’m correct, Villanelle will come after Carolyn and will try to assassinate her. Now why would Villanelle try to kill Carolyn? Either she will find out something related to Eve and Carolyn being involved, maybe wanting to take revenge? It’s not very likely is it? But the Twelve deiciding to take out Carolyn, and Villanelle doing the job sounds more like it. At least to me.

Eve

First off... the scene in the store is not only the first scene of Eve we see in this episode, but it shows exactly where she is right now. Where her mind is, how she’s dealing with everything around her. Cearly, she’s done with everything, running on auto-pilot for the most part of it. She’s one huge mood. Eve really must be the most relatable character for us as viewers. If something like this happened to us... we would basically be Eve. 

It’s been 6 months and that’s the Eve we see. She’s struggling. And she should be. She almost died and now everything seems to be reminding her of Villanelle. The song in the store, the cashier’s talking about spaghtetti and Rome?! Then the other cooks at the restaurant talking about one of their’s crush and how it started with infatuation and now it’s love. Everything about it screams Villanelle. We know it. Eve knows it. And most importantly... the SCAR itself. No matter where she goes, what she does... she won’t be able to erase Villanelle. She has been scarred for life and so was Villanelle and guys... that is just so brilliant. They are meant for one another and that’s a fact. Either they will end up together (hopefully) and somehow manage to create some kind of future together or they will die together. Either way.. they can’t hide from one another and that makes their next meeting so... so special and important and intense and all of the other things. I simply cannot wait.

Knowing how the episode ended, I didn’t think I’d appreciate Eve and Kenny’s scene together so much. It’s so deep and sincere and reveals a lot about what happened and where they are separately and together. I’m glad their first and last interaction this season was a light, positive one. They even talked about getting beers at the office during weekends. And knowing that.. Kenny was basically the only person who understood Eve and where she’s coming from, his death is exactly what can and WILL push Eve forward in investigating the Twelve and eventually reuniting with Villanelle. Back to S1, when Bill was killed, Eve was so determined to catch Villanelle and ‘kill her with her bare hands’ that no one seemed to be able to stop her. So this time... will be similar to it, if not even greater. 

Villanelle

Soo... Oksana wants to be a Keeper. Oksana the Keeper! It actually makes sense to some extent, that she will eventually want to get a ‘higher’ position in the industry and why not be the Keeper then. She has always wanted power and control and Keepers have that. They hold valuable information about the organisation that no one else knows. It’s a very important and dangerous position too. I can see why she’d want to be a Keeper, and not only that... she is still curious about who is in charge. How the whole system works. Though, at the same time.. knowing Villanelle, this might get tricky. She’s still very childish and impulsive and all other things.. she still needs to be handled by someone. That’s why I’m a bit concerned that if she ends up becoming a Keeper or having to handle other assassins (which she will, in next episode), things will go terribly wrong. I hope I’m wrong about this, because god, do I want to see Villanelle as a Keeper and continue being the top boss bitch in the industry.

Her confidence continues to fascinate me. Especially her confidence around Dasha. She knows she’s better than her and that’s all there is to it. Not only she says it but she proves that by her first kill this season. I honestly can’t wait to see her future kills, because so far it looks very promising.

Konstantin

Only a couple of scenes of the show’s dad this episode. Apparently he has several phones which he is struggling to deal with. He’s living several lives and that shows. In S2 he was all determined to get back to his family. But what we see in this episode is that he’s not with his family anymore. He’s working again. And based on Irina’s voice mail, he and his wife are separated. His wife has a boyfriend now and Irina is there with them. (I hope they will bring her back, what an iconic, hilarious yet annoying child) 

Konstantin receives several shady messages, one of which reads “time to go fishing”. It can mean literally anything. But for some reason I’m feeling that they want us to think he had something to do with Kenny’s death. It could be him, it could be an assassin Konstantin is handling right now. Or it’s not him at all, but we believe it’s him based of what we saw so far. Too many questions and not enough answers so far. 

He was the Twelve’s target back in S1 and had to stay low during S2 as a “dead man” so now.. I’m not really sure what his status is. Some of us saw the leaked photos of S3 finale and what might possibly happen... and that just brings me back to my previous point of Carolyn and Konstantin being the Twelve’s targets this season. Will they survive? And if they do... how? If they don’t... does that mean Villanelle and Eve will now be completely by their own and possibly on a run from the Twelve?!

Kenny

There’s not really much to say here. We ALL loved our dear Kenny. He’s probably the most innocent character on the show and he had to go. Now, I don’t believe his death was done for shock value. Not his character. A huge, meaningful character had to die in order for the rest of characters to get moving. For the entire story to move forward. They are setting up a serious plot here and I am excited, despite being really upset about Kenny’s death. 

I think Eve will be the mostly affected character in the show by his death. Carolyn doesn’t seem to be very affectonate towards her son, but hopefully it will make her realize just how big of a trouble she in. Eve, however, will be forced to get back to investigate the Twelve and she will not stop until she does so. She’s all by herself now. The determination, the anger as well as other feelings will drive her this season to get the much needed answers and get to the bottom of the whole thing. Meanwhile... Villanelle seeks information and control as well. She is trying to investigate the Twelve in her own way. So why not pair them up?

Overall thoughts

As many have said it, the episode felt different to me as well. I think that’s mostly because we have set our standards so high, that we immediately become disappointed if the episode doesn’t deliver as much murder, Eve/Villanelle scenes or something else we might be expecting in particular. 

I found myself wanting to compare the episode with other seasons and that is a mistake. We shouldn’t be comparing it because previous season had different plot, the overall feeling was different and the characters weren’t as developed as they are now. Furthermore, the show runner changes each season and that is what we need to look at. Phoebe and Emerald have done incedible job during those first two seasons but now it’s Suzanne’s time to shine. All three of them are different people and have different ideas and views as to how they see the characters and where they want to take them. So I think we might need to “forget” the previous two seasons and be way more open minded when it comes to third season. After all it’s the most personal one and it has a different feel to it. It’s more serious, and it is setting up an actual plot for the series. It’s a good thing. And as much as we hate changes like these... I think we should embrace them this time and let the show go in the direction it is going without the need to criticize it or control it. 

I’m beyond excited to see how everything will unfold and where this season will take us. Based on all the trailers and interviews I’ve seen so far... this will be a one helld of a ride and I am NOT prepared for it!

If any of you reached this point, you seriously deserve an applause! Hopeuflly you enjoyed reading my nonsense lol! Let me know if you’d like me to write a review for the next episode, because I do have plans for writing for the entire season, but it’s always better when I have an audience to write for! 

Now if you have any theories or thoughts don’t be shy to comment or message me so we could chat about it! I’d love nothing more than a good conversation about the show we have a common obsession for!