#It was something like ‘what book is Claudia reading when she is first introduced in the first season’

[spikeisawesome456]

Oooh, I finally got contacted by the Avatar: the Last Airbender people about the figurine I won from the Braving the Elements podcast Live! panel I went to at Comic Con! Apparently, I won a Diamond Select Toys Uncle Iroh figurine that they’ll be shipping out to me soon! The whole panel was about Iroh, since his voice actor was one of the guests on the panel (as was Toph’s), so it makes sense.

Ha, I was so worried that I was going to be ghosted by these people, especially since my last name is commonly misspelled and my email address is just my first and last name, so it’s nice to have gotten contacted at least.

(Also, since I don’t know if I made a public post about this on this blog, when I was at Comic Con a couple weeks ago I attended a panel for the live recording of the Braving the Elements podcast that Janet Varney and Dante Basco (Korra and Zuko’s voice actors respectively) host. Since my mom is physically disabled, we were able to enter the room first and I got front row seats to the panel, and was able to book it to the line where they were doing trivia for ATLA. Now, I’m usually awful at trivia, but I am a fairly big ATLA fan, so I had some hope that I could get it. Luckily, the question I got was one I knew (at what stage of the siege on Ba Sing Se did Lu Ten die), and while I kinda didn’t get the question fully right, since I had no idea what they meant by stage, I answered that he died right as they broke through the wall and they were about to invade Ba Sing Se. Which Janet Varney accepted, ha. They told us to give our email addresses to a staff member to the side and they’d contact us about shipping out our prizes later, since they’re supposed to be a nice, more deluxe prize. After a week passed I was a bit skeptical about getting contacted, especially with the previously mentioned concern over my last name, but I finally got contacted which is a relief. ^-^)

(Oh! Also, I took video of them doing live script reads from the show, even though I don’t technically think I was supposed to?? No one has requested I take it down yet, though, so if you’re curious you can click on this link to see the YT video I made of it. They did three scenes, the one where Toph meets Iroh in season two, the scene where Iroh and Zuko reunite in the White Lotus Camp in season three, and the “father lord” scene also from season three. They also did a read of a comic book page with Iroh and June, but since I was on line for trivia at that point, the view is very obscured, and you can overhear the lady who was getting our signatures to acknowledge that we were going to be featured on a recording for a podcast. I also missed a bit of the beginning of the scene, but it was still cute, so I decided to add it to my video, ha. The actual podcast episode will be coming out at a later date?? From what I’ve seen of past live recordings, it can take months before they’re released, but if anyone does watch that podcast, you’ll hear/maybe see (if they post on YT) me answering trivia correctly for once, ha.)

[bikananjarrus]

for the ask game, top ten book recommendations?? (can be sw or non-sw since ik you’ve gotten a lot of sw asks already 🫶🏻)

thank you for this question! 💙 (meant to answer this sooner but then i really had to think about some book recs). i will split it 50/50 and do 5 sw books and 5 non-sw books!

five sw books:

light of the jedi by charles soule. life-changing, showstopping, spectacular, will never be the same etc etc. (best place to start if you want to get into the high republic books!)

lost stars by claudia gray. my first sw book i ever read back when it was published in *pauses to look up* 2015. imo it is an EXCELLENT book to begin with if you're looking to get into sw books and are overwhelmed with where to start.

a new dawn by john jackson miller. for the rebels fans out there, and especially the kanera fans, this one's for you <3

not a traditional novel, but going off the last one, the kanan: the last padawan comic run. two volumes, 12 issues total. so so SO good! a must-read (imo) for rebels fans!

revenge of the sith novelization by matthew stover. if you're a prequels fan, or an anakin fan, or an obiwan fan, this book WILL hurt you. in the best way possible lol.

(quick honorable mention for the ahsoka book, but specifically the audiobook bc it's narrated by ashley eckstein and it felt like watching a clone wars arc)

five non-sw books:

i mean who would i be if i didn't mention the percy jackson books. i recognize i am biased bc they've been part of my life for so long now, so i have the nostalgia factor. but also that's my number one guy percy jackson!

what you're looking for is in the library by michiko aoyama. this book felt like a hug, and i definitely recommend for anyone who is feeling a bit lost or unsure of what they want to do with their life, where they are in life right now. it was a really great reminder that you can keep growing and change your mind and do something different with your life no matter what age you are.

a study in drowning by ava reid. a more recent read of mine, so maybe a bit of recency bias here, but it's about an architecture student who gets tasked with redesigning her favorite author's estate. she ends up working with her academic rival, and they discover secrets about the late author's life along the way. i remember (personally) having a few minor gripes with how the end all came together, but overall it was really atmospheric with lots of seaside imagery (which i love), and the setting and certain mystery elements made it enjoyable for me!

giovanni's room by james baldwin. read this for the first time when it was assigned to me in high school, and while i don't think i appreciated it much then, i reread it later on my own and really enjoyed it, so i'm grateful for my 12th grade english teacher for introducing it to me!

hani and ishu's guide to fake dating by adiba jaigirdar. this is just a really cute ya wlw romance! i listened to the audiobook for this and there were two separate narrators for hani and ishu, and i thought they both did a fantastic job! i read it last year and still think about it from time to time, so for anyone looking for an easy romance read, it's a good one!

still up for doing more of these, so feel free to ask me my top 5/top 10 anything!

[blaqueswanzaghouliishiilikeda]

iwtv ep 4 rewatch thoughts

ep 4 starting with a sunrise bc the baby trap—the vampire Claudia—is the start of a new dawn in hell. only just like paul, she’s dead too…

ive shared some thoughts on this opening scene here

it breaks my heart that the first time we see the library with all it’s threads to Louis’ humanity/past (the books, the bench, the rocks etc. etc.) is when we’re properly introduced to Claudia given all she represented in Louis’ undead life. He brought her home to make up for what he was losing in the natural world/humanity (his sister/family etc. etc.) and to make up for his sins. but neither could ever truly live under his expectations or be what he needs (to no fault of theirs. tbc i don’t believe Claudia should have had to be what he needed). Claudia expected to play the role of their eternal child could not survive in their castle of lies in her own truth. a real magnolia tree could not survive within the confines of his penthouse coffin of self imposed (and maybe also imposed/enabled by Armand) delusions.

a magnolia tree is said to symbolize luck and stability (according to my quick google search) it’s first introduction in the show is being juxtaposed against the introduction of a character who suffered terrible luck and whose outcome contributes to Louis’ emotional instability. truly dreadful times.

the pink flowers symbolize: grace and femininity as well as joy, youth and innocence which reflects how Louis wants to remember Claudia i think. also the fact that it symbolizes Grace makes me want to be shot into the stratosphere. like please 😭. This is the pain with the vampire show.

i like the joyful and hopeful tone of the soundtrack as we dive in and get to know who she was. it really doesn’t give away what’s to come. it really speaks to the positive shift her addition to the rue royal townhouse brought, even though there was something much more grim happening beneath it. it also juxtaposes Daniel reading out a passage from her journal that is also bitter against the sweet feel of the soundtrack.

i also like that when Daniel picks up the journal that describes Claudia feeding from POWs there’s a wide shot that includes a blurred branch of the tree. which makes me think about that innocence symbolism in regards to how Claudia and her fate is viewed. Every decision that was made for this scene is encouraging/seducing the viewer to have a nuanced approach in how to we perceive Claudia before we get to the grit of it. Just like Louis/Rashmand encouraging Danny to start from the left—the sympathetic beginning—like i spoke about in the link above.

we see a quick shot of a drawn image of a bell in the journal Daniel picks up to read. bells are usually rung at the beginning and/or the end of something. in this case it is both the beginning and the end as we are introduced to Claudia when she is already dead.

and as we transition into Claudia’s pov Daniel takes the journal closer to the magnolia tree in a shot where the branch is once again blurred in the foreground.

[ace-for-eddie]

Part 4

Eddie and Hopper sat on the porch waiting for Wayne to arrive. 

“Listen Munson. I know we haven’t always been on the best of terms.” Hopper started.

Eddie hummed, feeling himself tense up.

Although Hopper had been instrumental in getting his name cleared of the murder charges, they hadn’t really had many conversations since. And any before usually involved Hopper reciting the Miranda rights and Eddie being shoved into the back of the police car. 

“But uh… while I won’t hesitate to arrest you again.” Hopper pointed his finger in Eddie’s face. The front door swung open as Joyce walked out onto the porch.

Hopper cleared his throat and continued. “I can tell that you’ve grown up a lot, kid. And the shit this town has dumped on you isn’t right. I will do everything I can to help you in this. And if you aren’t sure what to do with this little girl… your little girl, you can… you can always come to me one Dad to another.”

Hopper placed a strong hand on Eddie’s shoulder, sniffed then nodded before walking back inside.

Eddie was stunned and simply nodded in shock. 

Today was getting weirder and weirder, and given Eddie’s standard, this was next level intense. 

Joyce smiled warmly and took Hopper’s place pacing a soft hand on his shoulder. “It’s going to be okay.”

He took a deep breath, “...okay.”

Wayne arrived in his beat up pickup concerned that Eddie was sick, hurt or had gotten into trouble somehow. He was not expecting the news that he was basically a grandfather.

He teared up a little, then started laughing. Loud. 

“Shit Eds, I didn’t think you…” he stopped realizing Joyce Byers was beside them. “I didn’t think that girl… was your type,” giving Eddie a knowing look.

Eddie huffed a laugh. “She wasn’t. But I was still figuring things out 3 years ago. And it’s okay Ms… I mean Joyce already knows I’m gay. She’s safe.” 

Wayne smiled at Joyce. “Thank you for being here for my boy Ms. Joyce.”

“Of course! It takes a village right?” She smiled. 

“Speaking of which. When can I meet my grandbaby?” He asked. “Is it okay if…if I call her my grandbaby?”

“Wayne, I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Eddie smiled and hugged his uncle. “You’re gonna love her. She’s amazing…” Eddie led the way to introduce Evelyn to her Grand-deddie Wayne. 

Of course, Wayne instantly fell in love with the sweet child, reading her another book as she nuzzled against his side on the couch.

Eddie found El and Will at the table in the small kitchen and pulled up a chair.

“Hey guys, uh thanks for helping so much. Wow, this is so weird.” He ran his fingers through his hair. 

“She is very sweet. And she likes you a lot. You are a good Dad Eddie.” El smiled. 

He just smiled and stared at the table. “Thanks Supergirl.”

“Have you told anyone else?” Will asked curiously.

“Uh…no not yet. Please don’t tell anyone though okay? I want it to come from me.”

“Of course. It’s not our story to tell.” Will smiled at Eddie using the same phrase Eddie had used when Will came out to him in recent months. Eddie offered to be there to talk if he ever needed anything. He knew how hard it could be to be gay in such a close minded town. 

“I should probably tell Henderson soon though, so he doesn’t shit himself if everyone else knows first.” Eddie sighed. “Can I use your phone?” 

“Of course.” Will stated.

“Are you going to tell him on the phone?” El asked.

“Yeah, why not?”

“It seems like something to tell friends in person.” She replied. 

“Uh… yeah I guess so. I’ll see if he can come over.” Eddie didn’t know if he’d have the energy to deal with Dustin Henderson and a toddler today, but figured it would be worse to wait.

The phone rang a few times before Claudia answered and brought Dustin to the phone. Eddie invited him to come over to the Hopper-Byers house and waited on the porch with Will.

While Eleven and Joyce took to washing Evelyn’s clothing which reeked of smoke and something like cat urine. Joyce threw some of the pieces away immediately and decided she’d be making a trip to the children’s section at Goodwill the following day. 

Dustin Henderson was dropped off at the cabin and took the steps two at a time.

“So what is so important you need to meet me at Hopper’s cabin?” Dustin rolled his eyes.

“Well, Henderson. I just wanted to congratulate you on becoming an uncle.” Eddie smiled his snarky grin while Will tried not to laugh and choke on the soda he was drinking.

���Eddie, what the hell are you talking about? I’m an only child.”

“Ouch man, didn’t know you thought so low of me. Wow. Okay nevermind.” Eddie put his hands up in defense.

“Oh, well, yeah you’re like my brother. But what do you mean… uncle? Did you get a dog or something?”

“Ew, no. That’s too much responsibility.” Eddie grimaced. “I got a kid.”

“You got a kid?”

“I got a kid.”

“Where did you get a kid Eddie?” Dustin was starting to get tired of this bullshit.

“Well DustyBun, when a guy and a girl…” Eddie started and Will just about fell off his chair.

“Shut up. What the hell did you drag me out here for?” Dustin stomped.

“No, I wanted to tell you I have a kid. A daughter actually. Her name is Evelyn.” Eddie beamed. 

“You’re… you’re serious.” Dustin started to smile. Eddie nodded.

“How? When?”

“That’s a longer story…” Will stated from behind Eddie. “Sit down.” 

Dustin peeked through the cabin window to see Eddie’s uncle Wayne sitting on the couch napping with a toddler and his eyes grew incredibly wide along with his smile.

“You want me to be… her uncle?” He teared up.“Yeah, man. Just feels right.”

“Holy shit…tell me everything.” Dustin plopped down to hear about Eddie’s news.

[luckyshotwrites]

Ch. 73 // I won't leave you // Day 52

Contents (Warnings): To the Present (Angst, very light blood/death mention, slight hard vore, character and monster info as always). Read full chapter on - A03

Wordcount: 3,142

Song I listened to on repeat for this chapter: Attention (Violin) - Joel Sunny

Side note: This will contain experimental writing; first person (Lynette's view) will be implemented alongside third person for the two other essential characters, (mostly) Alexander and (occasionally) Drake. All their text will be italicized for those third-person moments, with the characters' names in Bold at the start and their thoughts in Bold. There may be other characters I write for using this.

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Claudia

Urtsi found out she got to Earth by "Rift" variation of space magic. A process that requires either a "link," which binds them to the world that they were born, or a "tether," someone or something of importance that they can use to drag themselves to another world. 

Urtsi used a "tether" to bring herself to the one who requested her to live, Tila. How? It seemed to be something deep down that her mother passed to her...or a type of magic, Anubis knew. 

It had been a week since Urtsi's arrival. Slowly, Tila introduced her to the foreign concepts of their country and assisted Urtsi in giving herself a new name, Claudia. Though Tila fought with her on it, Urtsi didn't want to change the meaning of her previous one. 

Luckily, the seal of Understanding Claudia wore on the back of her neck from Anubis remained. It didn't help with trying to type with her new phone, so she had to put everything with words through text to speech. She found herself enjoying pictures and emojis more.

"I can't undo it," Tila said, lowering the book she held and her hand from Claudia's chest. 

"Aw," Claudia sighed. She put her phone down, and her hand grazed over the cracked clock, visible to the few with strong enough magic to see it. 

"Bind variations are terribly complicated," the curly green-haired girl said. "Especially because this one works relatively similar to an interlock."

"Interlock?"

"It's a slang term." Tila folded her hands into one another to demonstrate the lock. "Humans here have this culture of marriage, "death do us part. Interlocks are the same, between two or more partners, generally a bond for life. Breaking them would require a partner to kill you or you to kill your partner(s)."

Tila pulled her hands apart, "the only difference between Hendra's and a normal interlock is that Hendra doesn't have the condition of where you die to someone outside the interlock; she dies too. However, much like...that king," A scrunch of distaste flashed on her face before she continued, "Hendra has the same on you. If she dies, you do as well. A now forbidden spell by the C.P.P.A."

Tila closed her book and placed it on the coffee table behind her, on top of a few notes and drawings of monsters. 

"Another reason why they'd hate me?"

Tila looked back at the broken clock hands as they continued to twitch. "I've ordered you a registration and I.D. from another source...somewhat linked with the C.P.P.A." 

Claudia had been told the mark she bore was also on the list of wanted assailants wreaking havoc on Earth. Not that she was innocent, she understood that now. 

"To join your job?" Claudia had tried to smile; it was hard because even with Tila there, she felt so alone.

"Yes. It'll allow you to earn an income and slowly learn the cultures here." The girl with dead fish-like eyes rested her hand on Claudia's shoulder. "Escora or...fairies are sent out to explore the world on our own in these human cases. I think it's something you should warm up to doing too." She raised her hands before Claudia, "To clarify, I do not mean go off on your own adventure now. Stay alongside me for however long you need; I will teach you what I can. You are free to set off when you deem it necessary."

Claudia agreed. However, in her mind, Claudia didn't want to lose another "coven" to her curse.

...

Claudia had started working at the pizzeria with little experience besides what Tila had shown her. She found the others interesting too. There weren't any threats, grunts, or harm that she was used to. June, she found bubbly. Claudia thought Elliot had a pretty scary face, Beatrice liked talking about herself, and Zane spoke highly of his sister. 

She learned quickly during the first two weeks by taking orders alongside Tila. 

However, as Tila put it, Claudia's communication skills were "too honest with her...observations". Apparently, pointing out characteristics, trying to grab the customers' attention with facts, or saying the first things that came to her mind wasn't "needed" for the service.

Today, Tila went to speak to Sandra about a private matter, so Claudia would be waiting for her near the time clock. And this was the first time Claudia met someone on the night crew.  

He had black hair with bangs that covered his eyes. Uh-oh! Never trust someone you can't see the eyes of, She thought; it made her giggle. I was like that, too, Anubis. Claudia turned her every which way in an attempt to see his irises. 

"You've got funny hair." She said bluntly. 

His shoulders lowered, he touched his bangs and sighed, "Thanks...?" His lips pursed, then released with his soft voice. "You're the new monster my dad hired, right?" He said her name even quieter afraid of being wrong, "Claudia?"

She nodded, and he exhaled with relief, "It's my second week." She pushed off the wall near the time clock and walked to him, "What are you?"

She caught him off-guard again. His chuckle came out with trembles of nervousness, "Me-uh, well, a plain vampire beast." 

"Vampire...BEAST?" Claudia's different colored eyes combed over his body, "That sounds like such an oddity." Claudia popped up inches from his face, "can you show me?"

He didn't say anything at first. He stared. 

It let Claudia see past his hair and to the red wine shade of his hue. An odd color for a vampire. Is that special with vampire beasts? "It's nothing special," he said, pulling at the hair behind his head. He took a few steps away and then pointed to the breakroom. "I guess I can show you real quick." He could feel her glee. 

When they got inside, she watched him change. Unlike all other monsters she had met, there was no case to be broken. Instead, the structure of his body changed, bones, flesh, and all. Soon he was an 18 feet tall, fuzzy, vampire-like lion beast. He lurched over her in her human case. 

Her eyes widened, and she gasped. "Whoa! You don't have a case?! Your normal form is like a human." She said a giddiness exploded with her jib. She broke her case and stood in front of him at sixteen feet. 

"I'm a Suntouched Fae, so I don't have that same luxury." The hands at her back touched her hands and shoulders, "I have to keep my monster form inside one. I can't look human without it."

He locked onto one word. "Fae...?" They exchanged looks. "I've studied Whisper!"

The faceplate covering her eyes didn't let her reaction escape. She heard her language's tune and felt Anubis's magic in her. Her smile came up. Claudia had only met two others, Tila and Anubis, who knew whisper.

He didn't sound fluent, yet his sound reminded her of him.

Drake, the name of the vampire beast, admitted he found languages and cultures tied to them so interesting. So, he studied them. That's why he studied it even though he had never been to Yexodele. 

This drew Claudia in because when Drake spoke about what he liked, the excitement in his gaze warmed her. It's what she wanted to feel and keep seeing. 

...

Claudia joined the night crew the following week. That was when she met Drake's best friend, Alexander.

"You don't smell appetizing at all." Her bluntness knew no bounds. To monsters, hybrids like Alexander smelled particularly disgusting or unappetizing. The splice of genes told other monsters that the "meat" was wrong. 

He barely said his name to her. 

Drake ducked his mouth into his collar to hide his laughter, and Alexander's smile twitched. 

"I'm not meant to smell appetizing, half-pint."

Claudia giggled; she figured this was a nickname since he didn't call her by her name. It was her first one. Lucky for her, the human movies she had been watching on "culture" were teaching her well. 

...

She didn't tell Tila what happened after her first month. While Claudia explored outside the apartment, she was attacked by her family. Faces she didn't recognize, but the clocks she forced her eyes to see were indistinguishable. 

So, she ran. She hadn't returned to Tila's that night. She simply messaged her that she found a new place to stay. She had created a space far away from Tila's home and linked it to the same city as their job. 

She started to feel too warm to leave it.

...

She lived alone and, out of habit, started to make potions again. It might have been the fact that it was instilled in her since birth, but it had some sense of comfort for her. 

At that point, Claudia watched more movies and shows...this time, where people would prank one another. She became obsessed with this ultimate form to make herself and others laugh. 

So she started to create potions that wouldn't hurt people. It took her some time before she got them all just right. 

Claudia tested them extensively and infused part of her "victims" in the potions for extra security. In other words, she'd take a few hairs from them to mix into the brew so they would be tailored better to them. 

Alexander and Lev had drank one of her first. It turned their hair a different color and dyed their scalp. Since then, Alexander gave her a new nickname, "little demon." She liked that one better.

And then there was Zilla, who had duped her instead! Zilla somehow convinced Claudia her potion wasn't made properly. It prompted Claudia to drink it herself. 

Overall, she liked them. They didn't always have to be willing to talk to her or listen to her shenanigans. They all were, in their own ways, fun. Better than where Claudia was raised and where the vast majority of her life was spent. 

No matter how often her family forced her to move, she didn't want to leave. 

"I don't want to die," Claudia's desperation finally came out and latched onto Lynette. 

...

Pete's (Present Day: Nov. 14th, Monday)

"This is the place, huh?" He looked over the yellow carnations surrounding the stump, flowers of rejection and disappointment. 

Edgar had crouched down next to him, "Mhm."

"It's linked to a specific area." His eyes glowed their bright baby blue. This is encrypted with curse magic too. I can break it, but damn, they wanted to make it difficult to find. "how good are you on energy, Eddie?"

Edgar turned his head. Pete's stifled a laugh. I can't take you seriously in that uniform.

"Enough; why do you need a conduit?" 

Pete's wiggled his eyebrows jokingly, trying to disperse his thoughts, "Maybe later.~" 

Edgar gave a loud, audible sigh. Pete's wanted to break the tension. Edgar's body was full of it. 

The vampire rolled his shoulders, "depending on how well this goes, I'd need one too."

Pete's nudged him with an elbow as he stood up, "Uh-huh, is that your weird way of asking, Eddie? You don't have to be so shy.~"

Edgar finally caved in, a slight smirk, "You know I'm not one to ask nicely first, Pete's."

"OH, I know." Pete's kept up his grin but spoke with seriousness, "You know you have a gaggle of powerful monsters at your pizzeria, right?" 

"It's a nice way for different species to get along," Edgar said with a partial smile.

It makes your job easier when things like this happen. Pete's thought. He checked over their surroundings. Surveying over each tree, in case there was a mark he missed. His eyes stopped their glow. "Do you have a "tether" instilled with them?" 

Edgar offered his hand to Pete's, "Is the seal too hard to break?"

"It'd take some time," Pete's took the chill hand in his warm one, "and who knows whether or not they left the location. So, why not go to them directly?" 

"It's more dangerous," Edgar said.

Pete's closed his eyes and squeezed the hand tighter. "when has that ever been an issue..." He could feel the "tether" finally tug from Edgar to one of them. "Got em'."

...

Wicks

His phone started to buzz. He barely got a grip on it and lifted it to his ear. He couldn't raise his voice that loud, "H-hello..."

"You sound exhausted!" It was the first thing he heard Charletta yell about. "I thought you said you were off today." 

Wicks exhaled. He glanced down at the knocked-out, heavily restrained monster three times his size. I was SUPPOSED to be. He grumbled and moved his hair out of his face. His hair tie was lost during the fight. "Someone attacked me."

Charletta's gasped, "Again? Are you okay? Was Lyn with-"

"She's-" he looked off in the distance at her building and wiped away the sweat-like tears running down his face, "at work."

"No wonder she didn't answer her damn phone!" Charletta stopped, and Wicks heard another voice say something to her. She apologized to them, then continued at a normal volume, "I need to talk to her about that thingie."

"Thingie, you mean my birthday?" Wicks gave a soft smile, activated simply by reflex. There wasn't much light behind it.

"No, Shush." Charletta said, "Just tell her to call me when she gets home."

Wicks didn't respond. She won't come home, will she? She doesn't want anything to do with me. 

His lip quivered, and his voice softly said, "I told her."

"Told her, what did you tell her? Everything with-?"

"That I erased her memory."

Charletta's voice raised again, "WICKS!!!" He almost felt her grabbing him from all those miles away. "I told you not to until-" Charletta groaned aloud on the other end of the receiver. 

Wicks' weakened, tired tone came out, "She asked about it! I'm not going to lie to her anymore! If we're deciding to be honest with her..." Wicks put his palm to his head, "I need to be honest with her."

The desperate shakes from his end made her settle down. She spoke gentler. "I'm sorry. She's not happy, is she? Did you tell her why?"

"I did or tried." He hated to imagine it. "She looked-" he could feel his throat choking up; gathering himself took him a few more seconds. "She looked hurt."

"If only we told her everything earlier, like Dad and I wanted," Charletta muttered.

Wicks argued, "I didn't. I still don't. I-don't want to leave her."

"AND YOU-" She composed herself. "you think I do?!" Wicks could hear the tears whelming in her eyes, "I'm glad you went with her. You can't blame yourself for what happened when you did."

Wicks held his hair, "I wasn't there for her. I try to be-I should have pried more. I keep getting so caught up in everything else."

"Mom told us we would. She told us we could have..."

"AND as we both told her, we'd never. I don't care how many people come,"

"how many hate us."

"We love them." They said in unison.

Charletta let a loose chuckle leave her lips, "I know Lyn would say the same if she knew."

"She would. She's stubborn like that." Wicks smiled. He perked up and got off the monster as the others he called in arrived. "Shoot, they're here, I have to go."

"Agents?"

"Agents."

"Okay, I love you, Wicks,"

"I love you too, Charletta." 

He was about to hit the button. She spoke up quickly, "And Wicks!"

"...Yeah?"

 "It'll all be okay." Her tone brought comfort to his ears, "you and Lyn are inseparable. She'll be back soon." 

Wicks felt another drop go down his face, and it wasn't sweat this time. 

"Thank you."

...

Lynette

I stared up, having listened to her words. Every single one held a weight I didn't fully understand. I never could. 

That's why... There was something on her that I couldn't see. A clock that no longer ticked is what kept her linked to them. 

I couldn't move my eyes from her faceplate. "Why did you stop us here then? Shouldn't we have run?"

"I usually feel them; this is the first time I didn't." Claudia said, "and this time they trapped me before I could leave..." Claudia's head flicked to the partially opened cube's top. She clearly heard something I didn't. "I'll make a way for you to go."

Her other "wing," which wasn't discolored, pushed my back toward one of the cube's walls. 

After you told me all that, Claudia!!! I pulled away, "We're going together!" 

"You don't have to be scared; they want me more!" Claudia said.

"It's not-" Her hand went to push at me again. I turned around and grabbed it. I could feel its claws at my stomach, she could stab me if she wanted. I refused to let go, "WE are going together."

"I can't. I can't lose anyone else to them-" Claudia said with more urgency; she tried to shake me from it. 

"WELL, I don't want to lose a friend to them either!" I declared. Though, I knew so little about her. She could have lied to me. I could be falling for her made-up story. 

I'm gullible. I'm not very smart either, but- "I WON'T leave someone to die."

Claudia shouted back, "You're useless here. You'll die so quick."

"And what about you, your name-"

This time I heard what she tuned in too, "URTSI?"

It was Kalin. The male with pink hair.

Claudia frantically forced the cube to close; she tried to get him snagged between it. He anticipated it and blew the roof off.

The walls were illuminated with purple, brightly calling out to us that their was a foreign entity. He landed before us. The cube itself was about sixty feet wide in all directions and tall. Claudia stood near me, not over me, so his vision fell to her.

"You didn't try to leave this time. You sensed the barrier, didn't you? You know you'd be like a bird trapped in a spider's web. Not that it isn't like that already."

His form glowed as Claudia got ready to hurt him.

"URTSI."

Her shoulders tensed up, and she couldn't move. Kalin threw himself at her.

I now knew the importance of that name. What it did to her. What he'd do to her. 

She was right, I was useless. I couldn't fight against any of them. They all still scared me, yet this was a fear that overwhelmed me more. 

I went forward to protect her as if she was as defenseless as me. 

He slammed into my chest, I wheezed and kept my balance enough not to fall. I attempted to pin his arms down in a hug and squeeze as hard as I could.

He didn't try to break my grip. Instead, I felt him lurch forward toward my neck.

"Fine then, human. I guess I'll eat you first." 

...

Hey, you, thank you so much for reading. It means a lot that I put out a story that people can enjoy! So, I hope you continue to enjoy it as WE have a LOT more to go! YOU BETTER KEEP PROSPERING! (Nonnegotiable).

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What I’d do for a Livable Income (Synopsis/Chapter - List)

[sapphireginger]

Title: Two Cups of Coffee & a Tattered Book

Summary:

Both of them reached for the same book at the same time and got flustered.

"Sorry," Stiles said and held the book out. "You can have it."

Isaac shook his head. "No it's okay. You go ahead. I-I can wait."

"Are you sure?"

"Mhm."

Stiles tilted his head, glanced down at the book, glanced back at the other man and smiled. "What if we read it together? Over coffee perhaps?"

Square Filled: Emissary Stiles Stilinski

Fandom: Teen Wolf

Warnings: None

Rating: Teen & Up

Pairing: Stisaac [Stiles Stilinski + Isaac Lahey]

@thebo3bingo

“Stiles? Honey, what are you doing up?”

Stiles glanced over at his foster mom, Meredith. “Just watching the stars,” he said quietly before looking out the window again, his fingers idly brushing back and forth across his forearm.

“I know you love the stars, sweetie. Five more minutes and then it’s time for bed.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he whispered. He heard her sigh and only felt slightly guilty for the reaction. He knew how much Meredith wished for him to call her mom, but Stiles just couldn’t. His mom died and there was no changing that. There was no replacing her and calling Meredith mom would be a dishonor to his own mother, at least that was how Stiles saw it. So, there was no way he'd ever call anyone else mom. The term, the meaning, the title, the importance of the word would never fit anyone else for him like it had his mama.

Stiles heard Meredith’s footsteps retreat as she headed back to her bedroom and shut the door. He was able to hear her settle in her bed for the night and heard his foster dad, Damien’s voice. They weren’t bad people. In fact, they were the best foster parents, foster family he’d ever had but they weren’t Claudia and Noah Stilinski.

Amber eyes burned with unshed tears as Stiles hugged his knees to his chest. He remained sitting on the window seat and traced his thumb absentmindedly over the ink black paw prints that paced up and down his forearm. His eyes remained fixed on the night sky, as he stared out the window, admiring the twinkling stars. He was almost eighteen and he was ready to get out on his own. If only the stupid age thing didn’t matter, he would have gone off on his own years ago. 

At first, at the age of ten, he’d been okay, even though losing his dad was extremely painful. He at least still had his mom but then when Stiles was twelve, he lost his mom to cancer. It nearly tore him apart. He didn’t really remember much after that. It was like he blinked and found himself being introduced to the first of many foster homes. 

Now at his fifth foster home he was even more lonely, despite Meredith and Damien doing everything in their power to show him how much they cared. He logically knew they loved him but knowing it in his head was one thing. Believing it in his heart was another thing entirely. He only knew of one love that would never change and his soul mark, each little paw print, was that much more precious because of that. 

🐾 ✦ ☕︎ 📗 ☕︎ ✦ 🐾

Isaac Lahey was the middle child with an older brother named Jordan and two younger siblings named Erica and Heather. Jordan was formidable and fierce while the twins were rambunctious and adorable. You always knew when any one of the three of them was nearby. They were an intense trio of people. 

Isaac, however? Isaac was quiet but very observant. It was one of the reasons he immediately noticed the moment his mark showed up—that and because he had been eagerly awaiting its arrival—when he was sixteen. It was the most precious thing he possessed. It was something that belonged to him and to him alone. Now, at twenty-one years old, the turquoise sparks that danced up and down his forearm were the only connection he had to his soulmate. His soulmate was someone that he desperately wanted to meet. 

He didn’t go out of his way to find his soulmate though. He was firm in the belief that it would happen when it was meant to. So he continued his studies at Amethyst Amherst Academy, majoring in English Literature with a minor in Creative Writing. Jordan teased him about it, but it was all in good fun and Isaac loved what he was studying which was what mattered most. He hated being so far from home, but it was worth it in the long run. He just wasn’t sure why yet.

🐾 ✦ ☕︎ 📗 ☕︎ ✦ 🐾

The day Stiles got out of the foster home, he felt like he could finally breathe. He had graduated high school two years early and had taken a couple online courses at a local community college. He had only been waiting to be of age so he could attend his college of choice in person. He had been offered scholarships to several universities but as he was looking through them, he felt a tug towards one called Amethyst Amherst Academy. It was made even better by the fact that AAA was his mother’s alma mater. So, with the tug on top of that he knew where he was going to attend. 

Now, Stiles didn’t know if he believed in the whole fate thing, but this pull that he felt was something he didn’t think he could ignore. More importantly, he didn’t want to ignore it. So, he packed up what little he had and moved across the country. 

Because of the life insurance money, and an inheritance from both of his parents, he was able to get an off campus apartment, tune up his jeep and pay for school. Amethyst Amherst Academy was amazing, and they worked with him to make sure they could transfer all his credits which put him in the first semester of his junior year of college. He had chosen to double major in Creative Writing and Music with emphasis in Composition and Production.

When he settled into his apartment, which had a window seat, he couldn’t help but notice the way his soul mark seemed warmer, and it made him smile. For the first time since his mom died, he felt free, and everything felt almost perfect.

🐾 ✦ ☕︎ 📗 ☕︎ ✦ 🐾

Stiles found that he spent a lot of time in the campus library despite having his own place. He just had a feeling that he needed to be there and just like the pull he felt to come to the university, he didn’t ignore the need to be at the library.

He didn’t know what he expected to happen, but nothing wasn’t it. He shrugged it off for the first couple of weeks but three months in, despite the pull never waning, he found himself doubting. It wasn’t a fun feeling to have.

Halfway through the semester, Stiles had once again showed up at the library, just like he had every other day and once again the tug was still ambiguous in its origin. So, with a soft sigh, Stiles grabbed his usual table on the second floor in the back corner, put his headphones in and got to work on his essay.

🐾 ✦ ☕︎ 📗 ☕︎ ✦ 🐾

Isaac was thriving at Amethyst Amherst Academy, and it was such an amazing feeling. He was making a name for himself with his professors who were impressed with not only his work ethic but his grasp on the subjects he was learning.

Today Isaac found himself in the campus library. He had felt a pull to come to the library for a while now, but it hadn’t seemed important. Today however, three months after that first pull, he felt an insistent tug that said he had to go today. So here he was wondering what reason he was brought here for.

He looked around the first floor and winced. For a library it was way too loud. So, he escaped to the second floor and instantly felt calmer. There must have been some kind of magic keeping the noise contained, only audible on the first floor. Thus, magic was preventing disruptions to the upper floors. Then again, he shouldn’t have been surprised considering the librarian was a witch. At least she was the good kind of witch. He shuddered, remembering the witch his brother Jordan had dated for a time that was not a good witch. It had been pretty satisfying to see their mother deal with her though.

Isaac snorted at that and sighed as he glanced around the second floor. He loved the quiet and maybe he could get some work done here. He started looking for the perfect table to settle at for a night of serene studying.

🐾 ✦ ☕︎ 📗 ☕︎ ✦ 🐾

Stiles was finding it harder and harder to concentrate. His mark was getting hotter, but it didn't hurt; it was just annoying. So, he rubbed at it subconsciously as he moved onto his next assignment. He adjusted his glasses and huffed distractedly when the mark grew even hotter. Suddenly, his arm jerked to the left and he winced as his elbow smacked the table. “Shit,” he cursed under his breath.

He rolled his eyes and tried to go back to his homework, but the tug refused to let him. He threw up his hands in defeat and finally followed the direction of the tug with his eyes. He came face to face with the section of books on soulmates and soul marks. Huh. He hadn't noticed that section before. The only logical thing to do was get up and look at them. So, that was what he did.

🐾 ✦ ☕︎ 📗 ☕︎ ✦ 🐾

Isaac finally found a table that seemed perfect. The only downside was that it’s already partially occupied by someone. He walked closer and carefully set his things down. Hopefully the other person wouldn’t mind. Speaking of—He turned and saw only one other person nearby. That probably meant that this was his stuff. So naturally, Isaac went over to ask if the other guy minded company. As he was about to speak up, he noticed a book that he had heard of but had never gotten to read. He reached for it.

🐾 ✦ ☕︎ 📗 ☕︎ ✦ 🐾

Both of them reached for the same book at the same time and got flustered.

“Sorry,” Stiles said and held the book out. “You can have it.”

Isaac shook his head. “No, it’s okay. You go ahead. I-I can wait.”

“Are you sure?”

“Mhm.”

Stiles tilted his head, glanced down at the book, glanced back at the other man and smiled. “What if we read it together? Over coffee perhaps?” 

Isaac gaped for a moment. He studied the other guy’s face, from the chestnut brown hair to the golden honey eyes, to the pink cupid’s bow lips, to the Orion constellation across his face and agreed wholeheartedly. “Yeah. Yes. That’s uh–Sure.”

“I’m Stiles,” Stiles said, offering his hand to shake, nearly dropping the book in the process.

Isaac caught the book and chuckled as he shook Stiles’s hand. “I’m Isaac.”

🐾 ✦ ☕︎ 📗 ☕︎ ✦ 🐾

The first time they had coffee, they both felt like there was something there, knew down to their souls that they were soulmates. So, one coffee became two which became three.

“Hey Isaac?”

Isaac looked over at Stiles who was standing next to him in line. “Hm?”

Stiles kept his gaze fixed ahead, chewing his lip as he surveyed the menu even though Isaac knew he always got the same thing. “Are we dating?”

“Uh—I mean I kinda thought so. Is that okay?”

Stiles turned and kissed his cheek. “It’s perfect.”

They grew closer through coffee dates and shared books. They spent time at Stiles’s apartment studying, watching movies, playing video games, cooking and of course reading. Their relationship foundation was settling nicely. Isaac was the first to place a major piece.

🐾 ✦ ☕︎ 📗 ☕︎ ✦ 🐾

Stiles was the first person Isaac that told about his full shift.

“I already knew you were a wolf but Izzy this is…” he trailed off, sucking in a deep breath. “I mean you’re just…” He smiled. “You’re beautiful and breathtaking.”

At Stiles’s words, Isaac woofed and jumped on the couch. The end result was a happy Stiles cuddling with a huge dark brown wolf. 

🐾 ✦ ☕︎ 📗 ☕︎ ✦ 🐾

When the second piece of their relationship foundation was placed, it wasn't intentional but instinctual. Stiles threw himself in front of Isaac as a dragon—because those totally exist apparently—breathed fire at them. Isaac was the first person to see Stiles’s spark in action.

There was a burst of white light and then ash floated down to the ground. “Man am I glad we weren’t like on campus for this. I’d rather not out myself to the world.” Stiles flicked his hand and the ash dissipated as if it was never there to begin with along with the smell. “Now what to do about these scorch marks. Damn dragon got my t-shirt. It was my favorite t-shirt too!” he said with an annoyed huff and looked at Isaac.

Isaac was struck silent in awe of the turquoise eyes that matched the color of the sparks on his arm, the very same sparks dancing along Stiles’s fingertips. “That was badass. You’re a wonder, Stiles Stilinski,” he whispered in awe before stalking forward and pulling his boyfriend close, bringing them chest to chest. “And you’re all mine.”

Stiles grinned, his cheeks twinging pink and leaned forward. It was the first time they kissed. Literal fireworks burst above their heads thanks to Stiles’s spark. Isaac would never get enough of those turquoise eyes. He loved trailing his fingers up Stiles’s arms and watching as the sparks followed his ministrations. Their marks matched up perfectly: bright turquoise sparks and charcoal paw prints.

🐾 ✦ ☕︎ 📗 ☕︎ ✦ 🐾

Of course, they could never get a moment of peace now it seemed. A rogue alpha decided to attack them while they were on a picnic date at the lake near campus. Luckily, it wasn’t too close to campus, or they would have ended up on the national news.

Stiles cried out and threw his hand up, but the alpha caught them by surprise. “Isaac!”

Isaac turned and lunged while the alpha had its eyes set on Stiles. Faster than Stiles could blink, the alpha’s throat had been ripped out and his boyfriend was doubled over as the alpha spark consumed him. Stiles ignored the pain in his arm and hurried over. “Izzy?” he whispered.

Isaac let out a whine and Stiles looked at the other alpha’s body. How dare that alpha hurt his Izzy. How dare that fucking alpha hurt Stiles’s mate. Stiles felt his spark burning white hot inside him in righteous indignation and fury. He placed his hand on the scratch marks and pushed that power into Isaac to help heal him. Isaac never expected to become an alpha and Stiles knew it would be hard, but he was there, and he wasn’t going anywhere. They would face this new reality together.

That confrontation resulted in an alpha that could fully shift and was bonded to a spark whose power was like a raging inferno. No one really knew just how powerful he was. Not to mention how powerful his mate was. Together, they were unstoppable.

Hopefully, they could finally have some peace and quiet to finish out their junior year and not have any issues their senior year.

🐾 ✦ ☕︎ 📗 ☕︎ ✦ 🐾

One Year & Two Months Later:

Stiles grinned as he hung the final certificate on the wall. He stepped back into waiting arms that wrapped around him and smiled. “It’s perfect,” he said. 

“Just like you,” Isaac said, placing a soft kiss on his mate’s neck. 

Stiles hummed at the feeling, baring his neck to let Isaac have free reign. The alpha rumbled happily as he nipped the pale column. “Oh, you sappy wolf,” Stiles teased, laughing at the playful growl he got. “Mieczyslaw Genim Stilinski-Hale. Bachelor of Music and Bachelors of Creative Writing.” He beamed and looked up at his now fiancé. “Isaac Spencer Stilinski-Hale. Bachelor of English Literature with a minor in Creative Writing.”

Isaac pecked his fiancé’s lips and smiled. “Look at us. Brains and brawn.”

Stiles snorted. “Yeah right. You’re brains and brawn. I’m just brains.”

“Lies. You’re just as powerful as I am and even more courageous.”

“Oh, stop being so sappy. We’ve got a meeting to get to.”

Isaac quirked a brow. “We do? I don’t think it starts until two and it’s a little before noon right now.”

Stiles gently tweaked a frame to make sure that it was perfectly straight, only half paying attention. “Uh huh. So, we gotta—” He let out a squeak as Isaac yanked him closer. Stiles was pulled tightly back into his mate’s embrace and held firmly.

Isaac lowered his voice and breathed against the shell of his mate’s ear. “But I have such great plans for you. We have time for me to take you apart and put you back together again. I’ll even do that one thing that you’ve been asking for, for a while now. You know the—” He got cut off when he was pushed onto the bed. “What did we say about teleporting?” Isaac teased as he ended up with a lapful of spark.

“That we would only do it in extreme circumstances and this totally qualifies because I want that, and you’ve been saying you wouldn’t do it and now you will. So, get your pants off, get mine off and let’s do this. Please?”

“All right. All right, little sparkling,” Isaac cooed as he stripped. He was still too slow it seemed because the sight that greeted him when he was finally naked made him groan. Yeah, they would probably be late for the meeting.

🐾 ✦ ☕︎ 📗 ☕︎ ✦ 🐾

“You’re late,” Allison said with a judgmental but teasing brow raised.

Stiles turned red and coughed. “Yeah. Well, it’s all Isaac’s fault. He’s all ‘I’m the alpha’ but then he wanted to do a thing and I said that we’d be late, but I can’t defy my alpha.”

Isaac rolled his eyes and swatted Stiles’s ass. “Like it was such a great hardship, and you defy me all the time.”

“I love you too, Boo,” Stiles said with pouty lips only smiling when he got a kiss. He turned towards the table. “All righty then. Who are we looking at?”

🐾 ✦ ☕︎ 📗 ☕︎ ✦ 🐾

The Alpha and The Spark had taken up the mantles that were their birthrights. Stiles had become not just a Spark but an Emissary and an Alpha Mate. After they both graduated, they began to form a pack. The first to join them was a surprise as they might not have even considered her otherwise, but Allison Argent had approached them after graduation and even requested a formal meeting. 

So, she made three and then came Liam who Stiles called pup because he was just so adorable. Liam said he didn’t like it, but he totally did. Liam made four, which then became five when Liam’s mate Hayden joined them after they were assigned a class project together. Five became six when a beta wolf named Brett joined them after he and Allison took down a pair of rogue omegas together.

Slowly but surely, they built up a strong pack. They bought land in the Mohonk Preserve in New York and built a pack house with room for everyone. So far, it had been amazing. Liam and Hayden were soulmates and Brett and Allison were soulmates. Stiles couldn’t help but coo over his betas and their adorableness. It made Isaac fondly roll his eyes even as he rumbled in his chest, pleased with his pack and his mate.

🐾 ✦ ☕︎ 📗 ☕︎ ✦ 🐾

Three Years Post Graduation:

Stiles had now written and produced two albums and was working on his third album. He and Isaac wrote a book together called “The Alpha and The Spark” about their pasts, their present and their future. They might make it into a series because of how much love it’s gotten from readers all over the world. Isaac had started writing children’s books and Stiles helped with the art for them. They could often be found in their study with Stiles’s music playing in the background as they each typed away on their laptops.

They now had a pack twenty strong and it was still growing. 

Stiles leaned back into the v of Isaac’s legs, smiling at the arms that wrapped around him and the lips that kissed his neck. “Are you happy, My Spark?” his husband asked in a whisper.

“Beyond happy, My Wolf,” Stiles replied. “Are you happy?”

Isaac peppered soft kisses on his husband’s neck as he spoke. “I am completely, and perfectly, and incandescently happy.”

They both let out sighs of contentment as they watched their pack. Surrounded by the people they loved and had sworn to protect, there wasn’t a care in the world. It was something they both knew was out there for them and that one day they’d have it, but they would never quite get over just how much they loved each other. It was quite infinite and immeasurable.

And to think, it all started with a tattered book and two cups of coffee.

[javitrulovesims]

Im so glad i saw u in the mayfair witches tag bc that ting abt harry hamlin not being "able" to get through an AUDIOBOOK was...

And then michael being gone is just. What the fuck? Whats the point?? Im gonna watch it to see when it comes out but like what are they thinking? I love the iwtv so much rn but that doesnt mean the mayfair witches show is gonna automatically be good. Maybe they just dont care about the actual fans?

LOL.. what it's so funny to me is that Harry Hamlin Character is Cortland Mayfair. Like, he only appear here and there on the first book and on the last. Not a character worth reading / hearing the entire book. My expectation for the Mayfair Witches series is like so low. Scratching Main characters, making Daddario reprise others characters (We can see her as Stella in the trailer), not respecting basic details like the Mayfair necklace design or Rowan being Ash Blonde. All those details looks more budget details or something IDK. I'm annoyed AF because i dare to say that i love the Witches more than i love the Vampires

Also, i'm still a bit let down and a bit salty for the IWTV show, my main issue being the timeline like, Everything will be so rushed, they already introduced us to "Antoinette" a gender flipped Antoine? how are they going to address Claudia's "Woman brain in a child body" situation... is she going to die on the 60's? Can you imagine the Theather des Vampires set on the 60's or so? IDK so messy..., On the 3rd episode they actually went there. Daniel deletes and then burns the tapes from the original interview aka Anne Rice Original source material, the writers saying "Stop comparing this to the books... this is not that anymore"

[hinerdsitscat]

So Let's Talk About Star Wars: Into the Dark

I yelled a bit about The Light of the Jedi so now I guess it’s time to unleash all of my thoughts about the next book in the High Republic series.

I liked Into the Dark more than I liked LotJ, partially because I just really like Claudia Gray’s writing (writer of the most iconic scene in the new canon novels, in which Leia shows up to a party in her most Obviously Sinister outfit after the big public scandal about Vader being her father in Bloodline), but also because Charles Soule had to put a lot of energy into introducing the entire High Republic universe over the course of the first book, whereas CG could just get down to business. I also think the slightly pared-down number of characters and plotlines in ItD helped a lot: I spent a lot of LotJ not knowing which characters I should get invested in, because the first third of the book kept introducing characters and then immediately killing them off.

So let’s talk characters because DAMN they are delightful:

Reath Silas, You Fucking Nerd

No, really, the number of times I yelled “oh my god Reath you FUCKING NERD” out loud while reading this book was well into the double digits.

This precious city boy who just wants to read a book and be left alone, to the extent that they unofficially gave him his own desk in the Archives. Bless.

Also, just the sheer innocence of this child thinking that all the adults around him have everything figured out

But also: “I understand prosthetic arms are more advanced than prosthetic legs. More comfortable too.” and then CUTS OFF SOMEONE’S ARM (I had to edit this post like a week after the fact because I can’t believe I forgot about this scene)

The absolute lack of danger sense on this child, I stg... Meeting the scary genocidal plants? "OH MY GOD YOU'RE SENTIENT PLANTS CAN I ASK A FEW QUESTIONS?" Face to face with a Nihil soldier holding a blaster? "I REALLY WANT TO TALK PHILOSOPHY WITH YOU!" Having Cohmac dump a Massively Worrying Bit Of Heresy in his lap? "OH HELL YES, WE'RE GONNA TALK PHILOSOPHY, BEST DAY EVER!"

Speaking of Cohmac...

Cohmac Vitus, A Parade's Worth of Red Flags

Hoo boy...

This guy is the walking embodiment of Every Problem That Is Going To Bite The Jedi Order In The Ass When Anakin Skywalker Comes Along: trauma, repressed emotions, questions that Jedi dogma can't sufficiently answer, got an unexpected Padawan but can barely take care of himself... like, the only thing he's missing is a forbidden romance (Avar and Elzar seem to have that plotline covered, I think/hope...)

None of that is a criticism, by the way: I'm 100% over here with popcorn screaming "YES, FUCK THIS GUY UP"

Everything's going to hell and people are about to attack one another? FLOAT IN MIDAIR BECAUSE WHO'S GONNA MESS WITH THE GUY WHO CAN FUCKING FLY

Orla Jareni, Heading Off to the Jedi Order's Version of Hampshire College

Her plotline felt very much like something from SWTOR, but that might just be because I started playing the Jedi Consular storyline, like, yesterday?

I really liked her flashback plotline because, like with Cohmac, this was another example of "I really wish the Order had addressed this issue before Anakin came along..." Namely, that she spent the flashback mission trying to ignore her instincts in favor of what she was told, and it naturally led to a catastrophe. I got a lot of shades of "I keep having dreams about my mother dying! Eh, it's probably nothing..." so anyway, I spent a lot of Orla's plotline silently yelling.

Also THANK YOU CLAUDIA GRAY for this amazing new addition to canon: "Orla had recently declared herself a Wayseeker--a Jedi who would operate independently of the dictates of the Jedi Council. Some Jedi, from time to time, found themselves drawn to a period of solitary action, whether that meant meditation on a mountaintop, helping revolutionaries on a tyrant-ruled world, or even, in one legendary instance, becoming a minor singing sensation on Alderaan." I HAVE ABOUT HALF A DOZEN FIC IDEAS NOW, MOSTLY AROUND OBI-WAN BECOMING A TEEN HEARTTHROB POP IDOL.

Dez Rydan, the Cool Kid?

This guy gave me serious Ganner Rhysode vibes and so I was not in any way surprised when he got the absolute shit kicked out of him, because he basically had Doom written all over him. I was, however, surprised that he survived?

The Barash Vow was really interesting, and I was actually relieved that the Jedi Order had something close to rehabilitation, even if it was just "meditate a lot."

Leox Gyasi, aka "Master Yoda on (Medicinal) Spice"

There's a canonically asexual character in the GFFA!!!

Which would make him...

...wait for it...

...

...

...an ACE PILOT

(ducks)

Anyway, Leox is played by Tim Rozon-as-Doc-Holliday-in-Wynonna-Earp and you cannot take that mental casting away from me.

Affie Hollow, You Sweet Summer Child

Yeah, that about sums it up, though I love that she really did think she could change her Bird Mafia Mom.

I also really hope that this isn't the last we'll see of her.

She suffers through Reath's explanation of what Jedi are and then asks what is quickly becoming The Question of the High Republic series: "So do Jedi have sex or not?"

Geode: Stone Groot

I just want to say how ELATED I am that there was NO EXPLANATION for what Geode's deal was other than: he's a Vintian, from Vint rock person. That's it.

[remedymoods]

Who is your favorite Babysitter Club Member? What do you want to see in Season 2?

If we are only discussing the books and not the movies or TV shows, it was Dawn, Claudia, and Jessi.  After the Netflix series, I have fallen in love with MaryAnne.  

If BSC does have the 2nd Season, I hope they continue with the same format with the books and episode being character basis.  I believe this is what made the Netflix Series a hit.  Using the already story and modifying in some places that do not take away from the story.  If you have not read the books spoilers below:

Kristy and the Snobs #11- This concludes from S1 and shows how Kristy handles her new neighbors. From the book and title, you may relate to Kristy, but IMO, it's the other way around. But it's a great way to introduce Shannon Kilbourne, who becomes apart of BSC and replaces Dawn when she moves to the West Coast. 

Jessi's Secret Language #16- I love this story. With bringing this story to life, it would be nice to see the episode as Matt Braddock, who cannot hear. Something like Switch at Birth or the Quiet Place.  

Keep Out, Claudia #56-  The book discusses when a client doesn't want Claudia or Jessi to sit for them. Back in the book, only Jessi and Claudia were the only minorities. Now with Dawn and Mary Anne being recast, the story can actually tell more than one side of racism and prejudice, especially in Stoneybrook. I hope they go that route instead of having the black character carry the weight of the story only. In the book, they choose to not have the Kishi’s discuss their experience, which I believe was a bad move.  I do not want a savior ending either because the truth of the matter is that doesn’t happen.  

Logan likes MaryAnne #10- MaryAnne is actually the first BSC to have a boyfriend, and Logan is a significant part of the BSC. We were teased within S1, so it makes sense to see this in S2. Besides, he actually becomes a member of the crew so let’s make this happen.   

Little Miss Stoneybrook .. and Dawn #15- I believe the writers could have fun with Dawn's activism and modifying the story to modern days.  

Stacey’s Emergency #43 - We were actually teased about Stacey’s condition in S1, and I think we should continue with a foreshadow of her story.  Showing her parents moving for divorce, her relationships with BSC starting to strain and dropping nuggets that Stacey leaves Stoneybrooke.

Kristy’s Krushers #20 - A two-part season finale would be great especially to introduce Abby Stevensons who joins the BSC later down the road. Kristy’s crush and a great way to end the S2.  

As you notice, I did not pick a story for Mallory I only can remember her leaving for boarding school, and IMO she had a hard time fitting with BSC.

I also did not add Dawn and MaryAnne's parents getting married in S2. I think that should be S3 if it moves forward.  I think we should not see the saddest story of BSC Claudia’s Sad Goodbye until Season 3.  

[aion-rsa]

The Nevers Star Laura Donnelly Answers Burning Finale Questions

https://ift.tt/3uSp933

The following contains major spoilers for The Nevers episode 6.

The star of HBO sci-fi series The Nevers has never shied away from the fact that the show’s sixth episode would be a big one.

“Six is an extraordinary episode,” Donnelly (who plays Amalia True) told Den of Geek prior to the series premiere. “It provides a lot of the answers to the questions that the audience might have. It seemed like a very natural cut-off point.”

Whether episode 6, titled “True”, is a natural cut-off point remains to be seen. Due to the coronavirus pandemic suspending production, the show’s initial 10-episode first season order was shortened to six and “Part 2” (containing six more episodes for a total of 12) is set to arrive at a later date. It’s hard to argue though that episode 6 is anything but extraordinary. 

Read more

TV

How HBO’s The Nevers Explores a Very Different Vision of Victorian Girl Power

By Lacy Baugher

“True” doesn’t merely provide some answers to long-running Nevers questions – it basically upends the premise of the entire show. It turns out that creator Joss Whedon’s initial vision for The Nevers wasn’t merely Victorian ladies with supernatural powers, but that of a much larger story about the human race on the edge of collapse and a dimension-hopping alien species intent on helping us.

Whedon departed the project during the production delay so when the show returns it will be up to new showrunner Philippa Goslett to shepherd this bold new vision. To get ready for that, Den of Geek spoke with Donnelly about the many revelations of episode 6 and what the future of The Nevers entails. 

For those looking for a more complete rundown of just what happened in this truly wild episode, check out our explainer over here. But here Donnelly does an admirable job of unwinding “True’s” many twists. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Den of Geek: I participated in the press day interviews before the season premiered. Now I’m wondering what was that press day experience like on your end? People ask you “So what’s your show about? What’s going on?” And then you just kind of have to sit back and lie!

Laura Donnelly: It’s the most frustrating thing ever. I wanted to go into some details but honestly it felt like I could say nothing without unraveling an entire six-episode arc. People would ask me “How did you research to get into the role?” I can’t say that I researched what it might be like to train in the army, what combat would be like with PTSD, things like that. So I’m left going, “Oh, I just read some books on what it’s like in Victorian times.” It made me sound like a really lame researcher. 

You mentioned back in those pre-air interviews that when you first had the meeting for this show, Joss gave you kind of the “whole picture.” Was this episode what that meeting was referring to? And what was your reaction like when you first heard it all?

Well, it was obviously then that I realized I was not dealing with Victorian X-Men. (That meeting) introduced the idea of having an entire backstory of somebody who has been through so much and then gets thrown into this situation and has to deal with it. I just knew that that was going to be such a deep dive into this character and that there was going to be so much to be able to explore with it. Then it was bringing in the elements of how the show is relevant to today, not just in an allegorical sense, but literally – how they are trying to go back in time to make sure that humans do better.

I couldn’t believe that a mind or a show could hold that much. And I knew that I had to be a part of it. What blew me away about (episode) six was that I didn’t know the details, how the story would be told and everything. Now I just can’t believe that with this single hour of television, they managed to tell all of these separate stories with such beauty and nuance. And not just with a ton of exposition, but instead, showing these things in the most clear way possible and that you find out so much in such a short period of time. 

Definitely. The first chapter in this episode is really filled with futuristic sci-fi jargon and there is very, very little expository dialogue. Maybe this is a non-sequitur, but have you ever seen the movie Primer? It kind of reminded me of that in that sense.

No.

It’s a time travel movie made by Shane Carruth a while back (Editor’s Note: 2004). And all of the dialogue is just complete jargon that only an expert in theoretical physics would understand for basically the whole runtime, but the audience is still able to pick up what’s happening for the most part. This episode just reminded me of that.

Yeah. I love it for that. I love it for the fact that it rewards intensive viewing. It’s not the show that you can watch while you’re scrolling on your phone. If you are willing to just buy into that, you realize that on first watch you get the important information: the Galanthi are an alien race that are here to help humanity from itself, and that Stripe is Amalia. Then everything after that the more passion you bring to watching it, the more you get out of it.

I finished my first re-watch right before this interview and I think I finally understand just now how and why Stripe got sent back in time by the Galanthi. Because things are too far gone now. The Galanthi are finally going to really help and their version of really helping is just “We’ve got to go back. Humanity needs a fresh start.”

Yeah! I loved that there were things that I realized from watching it that I hadn’t picked up in the reading of the script. When they suddenly realize that the portal is an exit one and not an entrance one, that makes Knitter (Ellora Torchia) in that moment lose all hope. But what you come to realize is that that is not a moment of despair actually. You realize that the reason that they had an exit portal was because they had a plan and they weren’t coming back. You see that with the Victorian artifacts in the room. In fact, this plan was brought together with the scientists. They were working on that together. That was only something that I caught from watching it.

What was it like watching Claudia Black play your character?

I thought she did a really, really beautiful job. It was strange for me because I wanted them to shoot that before I shot my Stripe stuff, so that I would have a lot more to go on to replicate when I first land in the asylum. But it just couldn’t work out that way and they had to shoot all of Claudia and the future stuff after I’d already shot in the asylum. I went in and watched a lot of their rehearsals and got some video footage of their rehearsals and stuff so I had a good idea of what it was that she was doing with that, but it was just amazing to watch the whole thing put together. It’s like the final piece of a puzzle that I didn’t even have any say in. I was just kind of glad really that it matched up to what I had in my head, because I’d been having to make a lot of guesses when it came to playing Stripe in the asylum. 

It occurs to me now that for five episodes you’ve been playing a woman with a North American accent doing an old-timey Victorian British accent. What was that process like?

It allowed a little freedom actually because, on her part, it’s a learned accent. I didn’t have to be hugely strict about the rules of what would be particularly Victorian. I allowed myself to bring a little more modernity to how she would phrase something. I kind of hoped that people would pick up on the idea that Amalia seemed, in some indistinguishable way, slightly anachronistic. I also then kind of hoped that there would even be the odd person going, “Oh, well her accent’s slipped there, she got it wrong there” or whatever, because I kind of felt once you then see episode six, they’d see why. 

When you think of the character in your head, what name comes to mind first: Molly, Zephyr, Amalia, or Stripe?

Amalia, actually, but the second one that would come would be Stripe. It’s funny, “Zephyr” is the last one I think of and I think that that is probably true of Amalia as well in that it is so far pushed down. It is so far into her past for so many different reasons. It would be too painful to have all of the implications that the Zephyr name carries in the forefront of her mind. In her soldier way of being, she just needs to constantly move forward. 

Again, back before the season premiered when I spoke to you and Ann (Skelly), my first question was about characters’ names and how they were a little odd. Perhaps that was a bit prescient because in the far flung future names are sacred. What was your impression of that concept and why do you think names have become sacred?

I wonder if it’s just the idea that it’s the only little bit of recognizable humanity left for them. I think that people will always find a way of making something sacred. You need what is sacred to you at times when things are most difficult. You’re looking at a human race that doesn’t even have real food. Everything is engineered and they can’t even breathe the air outside. The sacred can be very important in moments of deep, deep despair like that. A name is something that everybody can have, and a name is something that everybody can therefore keep for themselves.

At the same time, it also speaks to the idea that everybody then is involved in that war on one side or the other. It doesn’t seem to me that you’ve got the army and then you’ve got citizens. It seems to me like everybody at that point in humanity as they’re coming towards the end is on one side or the other and is fighting. That means that everybody is being called by their rank, and so Stripe is known as Stripe That also makes a name more sacred because it’s the part of you that isn’t involved in this war. It’s the last vestige of true humanity that you might have left.

Any updates on the production process for part 2? I believe last time you had yet to see any scripts. 

I’ve had lots of conversations with (new showrunner) Philippa Goslett and with Ilene (Landress), our producer but I have as yet not read a script. I’m just waiting, but I’m in prep. I know enough about the next couple of episodes to know what fights I need to learn and things like that.

I cannot imagine being in Philippa’s shoes right now. Showrunner changes happen all the time but this is one of the more unusual narrative circumstances to fall into, I think.

Absolutely. I mean, the show is wild, but I think that, whatever else happened, we were so fortunate that episode six became this very natural break point in the story for obvious reasons. So much has been wrapped up. I feel like the world is built and the characters are established, you know. It really could go pretty much anywhere from here and it just needs somebody’s brilliant imagination to do that.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Now that the real plot behind the curtain was revealed, does the name “The Nevers” have any more added significance?

Not that I’m aware of, no. I think the only thing that I have to go on about the name is something that Joss said several years back about the idea that these people never should have existed. They’re anomalies or even the more pejorative term – abominations.

Do you think future seasons and storylines of the show will take things past Victorian England and inch closer to that dystopian present?

I mean, I would love for it to. It makes sense to me that it started in Victorian times because that was a key moment of change in so many different ways in how the world communicates. There are kind of several revolutions going on at once, technological being one of the main ones. But it would be really interesting then to see how that progresses, and the issues at hand get dealt with, depending on the social aspects of different countries or different decades. The key to all of that is can you find a really cool way of doing it? Because my head isn’t able to come up with that. Whatever keeps the storyline the most interesting, keeps the characters true to themselves, and doesn’t jump the shark, I’m well up for.

The Nevers season 1 part 2 is awaiting a release date at HBO.

The post The Nevers Star Laura Donnelly Answers Burning Finale Questions appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3uUOxF8

[imaginesforjohnnydepp]

Violette pt 2

spring 2016

He dreamed about her again, just like last night and the night before. Johnny hadn’t seen Violette in eighteen years, and he thought it was very odd but was still very curious. Is she remarried with kids of her own? Is she still in the medical field? Johnny still had the note she left him along with her rings; they were tucked away in a box somewhere in a storage unit, he didn’t want to throw them away, so he took out a storage unit some years ago.

Why was he thinking about her now, of all times? He loved Violette once, of course he did, it was impossible when she made it so easy. She was gorgeous and funny and sweet and smart, a southern girl with a cute accent, and was a wonderful cook who loved him and supported him every early in his career. He thought back to their marriage, how wonderful it was for ten years before he fucked it up. He loves his kids and is grateful for Vanessa for giving him two kids who adore him, but Johnny hated what he did to Violette in the process.

He thought that if he ever had kids, Violette would be the mother. They tried for their own, and when that didn’t work, they considered adoption until his career took off and he was always away filming one movie or another, and then he met Vanessa at that party. Johnny remembered the look on Violette’s face when he told her that Vanessa was pregnant, he never forgot it. She tried to shrug it off, but as weeks passed and Vanessa’s stomach got bigger and bigger, he saw the toll it took on her, no matter how she tried to hide it: Violette began losing weight, she stopped eating (at least around him), she always looked tired no matter how early she went to bed. And the first time she met Vanessa.

The women were friendly with each other in the way that kids would be when introduced to each other in a play group by their parents for the first time. He thought everything was going well, Violette was talking about turning one of the spare rooms into a nursery, she bought stuffed animals and clothes and supplies, helped assemble the crib. Johnny saw her reaction in the marriage counselor’s office when the counselor said he had to cut off Vanessa and his child if they wanted the marriage to work; Violette never had a good poker face, and in another setting, he thought she would make a good actress with her ability to display her emotions on her face, how she always made him feel something, something he told her plenty of times. He didn’t think she’d actually leave.

Of course it was a possibility, but he couldn’t bear the thought of Violette leaving, but one day Johnny came home, all of her stuff was gone, and there were divorce papers, rings, and a letter in a manila envelope on the bed. It was a no-fault divorce, and all she asked for was a court order to take back her maiden name, and nothing more, even though she was entitled, and the judge told her she had to take it. The divorce took six months, and she would always transfer the money back every month since she already had a job waiting on her in Louisiana, and that was the last time he’d see or hear from her. It was seven in the morning, and he had a meeting with his lawyer Laura at ten so he decided to get ready, grabbing his phone off the charger and heading into the kitchen for breakfast. As he poured the milk into his bowl of Cheerios, his phone rang; who could be calling at this hour? “Good morning Laura.”

And Laura jumped right into it: “I did a Google search for your ex wife Violette Becnel and fortunately, I didn’t have to do too much digging. She is a pediatrician in New Orleans and she went on Facebook to defend you. I’m on her Facebook page right now if you want to hear what she said.” Johnny almost dropped the milk at the news. Why didn’t he think to do a Google search before? “Yeah, sure.” The thought of Violette out there rooting for him filled him with joy.

“The statement is pretty long so prepare yourself” My heart breaks at the news of the death of my former mother-in-law Betty Sue. She was a wonderful, kind, amazing woman, and I will miss her dearly, and I send my thoughts and condolences to the Depp family, and since I’m on the topic of Depp, I would like to make one thing clear. Johnny Depp and I were married for 10 wonderful years, and while no marriage is perfect, not once was he ever abusive towards me. I don’t believe he is capable of such a thing, and this version of him that is being portrayed in the media is not the Johnny I know. I wish him and his family the best in this trying and difficult time. His mom loved Violette, his entire family loved Violette, and they were just as upset about their divorce as he was. “Do you think she’d be willing to testify?” Johnny didn’t think she would come to defend him after he publicly humiliated her, but she was never the one to hold grudges.

“I can send her a message, but I don’t know how long it will take for her to respond.” He swallowed a bit of cereal before responding, “that’s fine. Thanks Laura-- wait! Do you think you can leave my number for her too? So she knows it’s legit?” And also because he wanted an excuse to talk to her. “Sure, if that’s what you want. See you later Johnny.” Johnny hoped that Violette answered Laura’s message, there was still a lot of things he wanted to tell her, things he had to tell her.

Violette

“Do you think you’ll have to testify?” Violette’s mother Claudia asked, cutting into her omelette. “If it comes that, then yeah, but I have a hard time believing Johnny could hurt someone like that.” After Violette wrote the post, she instantly had a barrage of comments, some calling her an abuse apologist, others saying she was bribed by Johnny with money, and others siding with her, and her messages were a mess. “None of this makes sense, there has to be somethin’ deeper going on,” her sister Angela. She woke up early this morning to do a little research; from what she saw, Amber was leaving him (after the death of Betty Sue), and if Johnny didn’t do what she wanted, she would publicly lie about him according to Doug’s article.

Violette then read an article that contained a statement by the police department, which completely contradicted the statement made by Amber’s team. Then Amber filed for divorce with no mention of spousal abuse; Violette knew Doug and she knew he wouldn’t lie about anything like this, and this was all she needed to know to see that Johnny was innocent. “I still can’t believe your fool ass stickin’ your neck out for him,” Angela grumbled. “Lawyers re probably gonna call on me anyway, so I might as well get it over with. Ain’t no way he touched her.” She saw the new set of pictures, “evidence” of the abuse but Violette didn’t see anything out of the ordinary except for a red mark on her lip, with no visible swelling or bruising. 

“Johnny is innocent, and I know you know that.” Her mom and Angela both loved Johnny; her mom treated her like a son, always letting him sneak a piece of food during the holidays, and Angela just loved having a brother. “Please, I know you’re not happy about how our marriage ended, but none of that matters right now, that was years ago. What matters now is that he’s being accused of something he didn’t do,” Violette pleaded with her mom and sister. Surely they had to know that he was innocent, even if they weren’t exactly his biggest fans. “Well... it does sound out of character for him. And I read that woman was arrested for hitting her ex wife,” Angelea came to her decision.” 

“If Johnny was really out here beatin’ up on women, I’m sure Betty Sue would smack him back to Kentucky,” Violette’s mother agreed. The family of three finished their meal, with Angela picking up the bill before going their own ways; Violette did her errands, going to the sore and doing laundry. It was a little after two when she finished, and she wanted to take a nap before she went to the hospital to check on the new baby tonight. Violette always loved seeing the new babies after they were born, loved seeing them grow into little beings with each check-up, and they always looked happy to see her. She was always a natural with kids and they seemed to gravitate towards her no matter where she was; Violette sometimes babysat the kids who lived in her building.

It was closest she got to motherhood. That and being aunt to Angela’s kids, her niece and nephew, but they were all grown up with lives of their own. Violette ironed her scrubs while she waited for her Facebook page to load; she wanted to leave a message on her book club’s wall about suggestions for their next read. Her last post had gone viral, and was still attracting attention and comments, all of them gone unanswered, and she was glad she never downloaded the app. Her messages were full, and at the top of the old messages, was a new one highlighted in blue by a woman named Laura Wasser; she clicked on it.

The message read: My name is Laura Wasser, I’m a lawyer representing Johnny Depp, and I was wondering if it would be okay to speak to you about a possible written testimony to be given to the court. Below are my cellphone number and email address, and Johnny’s phone number in case you have any questions. Feel free to reach me at any time.

There was an email address and two phone numbers, both with Los Angeles area codes. The name sounded familiar, so Violette clicked on Laura’s page; she really is a lawyer who lives in Los Angeles. She dialed one of the numbers, and the line rang three times before someone answered, a man’s voice. “Hello?” A voice she hadn’t heard in years. 

“Johnny? Johnny is that you?” So maybe Laura is the real deal. “Violette? How are you?” To say she was freaking out would be an understatement. Eighteen years without speaking to her the ex husband who cheated on her, and how here she is, talking to him. “I should be the one asking you that. Are you okay? How are you holding up? How’s your family?” Words kept falling from her mouth and she couldn’t make herself shut up. 

“Violette, Violette, calm down. Not everything’s fine but we’re managing. Let’s not talk about that right now. I... I had to talk to you.” He wanted to talk to her? “About what?” “Just to apologize... for everything.” “Really, that was a long time ago and... I’m past that now. There’s no need to apologize.” 

This had to be some kind of dream, maybe she fell asleep at her desk in her office while doing paperwork, because there’s absolutely no way she’s speaking to her ex husband. Violette had to change the subject, and fast. “I got a message from your lawyer. She gave me your number, but I didn’t think it would actually be your number but I had to check.” “Listen, you don’t have to testify if you don’t feel comfortable with it--” “No, Johnny, I want to. I know you’re innocent and I’m so sorry you’re going through this.” 

She really did feel bad for him, and to be going through this after his mom dies with the entire world thinking he’s some violent drunk who beats women. “None of this is your fault, it’s mine. I was so fucking stupid to think of starting something with her.” “It’s not your fault, and it’s not my fault. You were in love, and we’ve all done stupid things when we’re in love.” Violette winced as she automatically though of her former ex fiance Anthony. He had three kids with three different women, but she didn’t care because she was sure he was the one.

Her mom and Angela didn’t like him, and she turned into a different person completely, watching movies and shows she never liked, neglecting her collection of 19th century novels and changed her personality, all for a man who came up with excuses to get out of wedding planning. “Do you need testimonies from my mom and sister as well?” She knew her mother wouldn’t hesitate to defend him, even if they were mad at him. “I’ll check with Laura first but I want to ask you something.” “Sure, go ahead.”

“If it’s not too much trouble... I was wondering if you would... like to meet up?” This wasn’t something she was expecting. What would they even say to each other after all this time? Violette always wondered what she would do in the very unlikely case she’d run into Johnny, and after their divorce, she moved back home so there wouldn’t even be a chance of that ever happening. “I don’t even live in California, but sure, we could do that. If you want, you could come to New Orleans. I have an extra room in my apartment, and I don’t think anyone would bother you.” What in the fuck is she thinking?

What is she going to do, being in the same room with her ex husband? “Are you sure? I can get a hotel room or something. I don’t wanna put you out or anything.” “It’s no problem, really. I’ll be at work the whole day anyway.” Violette hadn’t lived with a man in years, and it would be quite an adjustment to live a man who saw her naked almost every day. “I’d like that. Thank you Violette.” 

“No problem. Just let me know when you’re comin’ down.” “I will. Talk to you later?” She smiled as she unplugged her iron. “Talk to you later Johnny.” She hung up the phone and grabbed a hanger to hang up her clothes; she had an extra shirt in her car for when she got off. It was now fifteen minutes after and she wasn’t due until six, so she had enough time for a long nap.

Once in her room, Violette changed into a tank top and shorts and slipped under the covers. It was only as she drifted off that she remembered that she opened up her two-bedroom apartment to Johnny and that they’d be sharing the bathroom that was connected to her room.

@takemepedropascal

[revisitingstoneybrook]

#6 Kristy’s Big Day: Chapter 7

Kristy has her first of many panic attacks over whether she can handle a sitting job.

Five days until the wedding! The BSC arrives at Kristy's house bright and early at 8:30 on a Monday during summer vacation. I'm sure Claudia wants to clock Kristy over the head with her bedazzled Kid-Kit. And the BSC never comes empty-handed! Stacey brought her Kid-Kit, and we're thankfully spared lines and lines of exposition explaining what Kid-Kits are and how wonderful they are for babysitting jobs and how amazing Kristy is for inventing them. All we get is an aside saying they each have one and they're full of toys and games.

So yeah, Stacey has her Kid-Kit, Mary Anne has the club record book (why? To copy down information for out-of-state clients in case they need to sit for them again?) and notebook, Claudia brought the nametags and some art supplies and Dawn has a children's activity book with songs and activity ideas in it. And Kristy has the brainwashing supplies! The girls go to work setting up the backyard for the kids. Sam's probably peering through binoculars from his window, watching Stacey.

At 9, the Millers arrive and Aunt Colleen pulls Kristy aside so she can go over some last-minute instructions with her. Kristy takes notes as Aunt Colleen gives her the run-down. Peter goes down for a nap, if Grace is cranky, put her down for one too, here's Berk's allergy pills he's allergic to his name, here's Ashley's painkillers for her leg. You know, usual stuff that parents let babysitters know about. 

Kristy instead panics over what happens if one of the kids gets sick on their watch. Well, your own family will tell everyone in Stoneybrook (even though they don't live there) that the BSC got their kids sick and they're AWFUL babysitters! And the series would end right there. Calm down, Kristy. You have five babysitters on-hand and the parents will be a phone call away.

To make matters worse, they now have bottles of medicine in their possession! Well, geez girls, of course you'd put it somewhere safe, Kristy should only be panicking if she decides to let the babies play with the pill bottles like they're rattles. But hey, as long as they're not watching TV. I'd think Kristy would know, as the Queen of Babysitting, to keep medications away from little kids.

Finally, Kristy regrets not going through and childproofing her house. What a far cry from #92, when she remarks how she'll bring plastic plug covers to the nursing home when they do the babysitting at the holiday boutique! I'm sure the Thomases aren't the type that leave bottles of Drano and Pine-Sol in the middle of the kitchen floor, but I can see her worrying about electrical sockets. However, why didn't they think of this earlier, when they found out they'd be watching toddlers and young children? When my cousins were younger and came over, my mom always made sure those things were taken care of! I can still picture the baby lock she'd stick on the cabinet under the kitchen sink.

Then Kristy's Aunt Theo shows up with a “Yoo-hoo!” because she's your stereotypical aunt like the ones on the GEICO commercial. Kristy tries introducing the other BSCers but Aunt Theo ignores her and gets right to business with the “here's a bazillion things you need to do when taking care of the baby” spiel, all while carrying an armload of baby equipment. Someone doesn't want to meet the BSC? *gasp* Blasphemy!

This time, Mary Anne joins in with the note-taking. Here's Beth's walker (this totally dates the book), here's her stroller, push her around in the stroller because I guarantee she'll cry when I leave, she takes two naps, and oh yeah, she's allergic to cow's milk, here's some soy, she takes a bottle to bed with her. Oh lord, prelude to bottle rot! My younger brother had four baby teeth pulled because he took a bottle to bed with him too.

Mary Anne and Kristy are completely frazzled with all the instructions. Girls, you have notes in front of you! And, yeah, it's a ton of info at once, but keep in mind, you're watching 14 kids! This is all basic stuff that parents tell the babysitter before they go out. Kristy and Stacey then realize...they have no idea where all the nappers are going to sleep. Whoops.

Isn't it refreshing to see the girls getting this “Whoa what did we get ourselves into?” look on their faces like normal 12-year-olds, instead of the Super Sitters Who Do Everything Perfectly in later books?

Aunt Theo shuts up, leaving the BSC to meet Watson the Millionaire's friends, the Fieldings. Since this is a BSC book, Kristy tells herself to be like the Cowardly Lion from the Wizard of Oz and think courageous. Claudia would be the Scarecrow, since she has no brain and her head's full of straw.

So Karen and Andrew run off, with Karen saying she's going to draw a big, ugly picture of Morbidda Destiny. Oh lovely, we get to deal with Morbidda Destiny crap in this book, in addition to Ben Brewer. The Fieldings, however, are very quiet and stand there, with Tony huddled in his mom's arms and the other kids terrified and clinging to their parents.

Watson the Millionaire, Captain Obvious that he is, whispers to Kristy that the whole family's very shy. Well, duh! Kristy mentally rolls her eyes at him, and everyone stands there in silence. WILL SOMEONE BREAK THE ICE, PLEASE?!

Kristy finally takes the initiative and talks to the kids, showing them what fun everyone's having. Katherine grips her mom's hand tighter and Patrick whimpers “A dog, Daddy?” when Kristy tries getting them excited about playing with Louie. The BSC definitely has their work cut out for them here.

Mrs. Fielding drops Tony off in the playpen and the second she sets him down, he starts crying. They introduce the other children, who make no move away from their parents. So, why are all these kids here again if they're this clingy? Kristy looks to Elizabeth and Watson the Millionaire for help. But instead, Watson the Millionaire leads the parents away so they can head to the mansion. The Fieldings pry their other kids off them and join them, reminding their kids they’ll be back later.

Well, you know how little kids are. Six of the kids start to cry. All at exactly the same time? Impressive. Why are they crying? Did Claudia's outfit frighten them? Did they realize they have to spend the whole day with Karen? That batch of BSC Kool-Aid must have been a very weak one. That's the last time they let Claudia mix it! And since Andrew always has to go along with everyone else, he starts to cry too.

Seven crying children! Have fun, BSC. Stacey and Dawn luck out because they have the older groups but Kristy's got two criers, and every kid in Mary Anne's and Claudia's groups are crying. Mary Anne plunks Tony in the walker and puts Beth in the stroller and starts pushing her around the yard. Kristy talks to Andrew and he shuts up. Then she pulls her group to one side of the yard and reads Green Eggs and Ham to them. She's got such magical powers as a babysitter, she pulled the book out of thin air, apparently.

Claudia sits her group down and reads to them from Where the Sidewalk Ends. Yes, Claudia reading a book to bunch of kids. I'll pause for a moment so you can all laugh. Are we sure she isn't hiding a pop-up book in there? And I guess she made the book magically appear too, like Kristy did. So the BSC works their special babysitting magic with the help of a fresh batch of BSC Kool-Aid and the kids are all happy. Whew.

At lunch, the kids all eat together. The parents packed lunch for the kids, so that spares us any picky eater drama. After lunch, the little kids and babies go down for naps (on a big blanket in the middle of the living room) and Kristy and Karen leave to go pick out flowers with Nannie.

Picking out flowers without Elizabeth? Is she just putting her faith in them to pick out something she'd like? And what about the bride's bouquet? Wouldn't she have some input? Or did she go pick that out with Nannie already? Why am I fretting so much about this? Anyway, Karen doesn't want white flowers, Kristy doesn't want salmon flowers (with yellow dresses?) and they finally decide on yellow and white.

Karen and Kristy come home, and the older kids put on a play for the younger kids and the babysitters. Knowing Ann Martin and her m.o., it was probably Wizard of Oz. First day of the BSC's day care - a success!

[wildselkie]

Top 10 Scenes in TDP Season 1 (pt. 1/3)

Top 10 Scenes in TDP Season 1 (pt. 1/3)

*not ordered in which is better or worse, but it will be in chronological order*

Also some things are worded weirdly. I have a pain in the ass time trying to get my thoughts across in words so... I thank you for your patience :))

_________________________________________

1) The scene where Callum, Ezran, and Rayla find the dragon prince. Ep. 2

I think this is one of the more pivotal moments in the show. I mean it is literally the scene that sets the story in motion after all! Two human princes, an elf assassin, and the lost dragon prince (who was thought to be dead/gone/egg destroyed(?)).. this is just IT.

*also i’m aware that Ez probably found the egg first cos he already knew about this secret area but still

2) Viren (attempts to) proposes the idea to trade his life in for Harrow. Ep. 3

Now there are other well thought and well written posts on this scene with Viren and Harrow, so I won't waste your time with all the gushy stuff. I find this scene important because it shows the lengths that Viren would go for his friend. Whether he's doing out of the goodness of his heart or some other selfish reason... maybe both(?)..

!WARNING! MINI VIREN POST ALERT EVEN THO I SAID I WOULDN'T GET INTO IT

In the book Moon, it dives deeper into the plot along with expressing the characters' thoughts and feelings. As for Viren, it's stated in the book that he wanted to:

"offer his life for Harrow's, but he wanted him to understand that this was more than just a sacrifice of a subject to his king. This was personal"

"... he would need to be straightforward. He wanted to say simply I love you and I will die for you" (Ehasz 80).

I have no doubts that Viren didn't not love Harrow or anything of the sorts, but at the same time it feels like there was another motive. Maybe there was, who knows.

All we know about Viren is that he's a father of two (Claudia & Soren), divorced/ separated from his wife, and he's a dark mage. Of course there's some more (like he's taller than Harrow according to the character line up)... also his staff... like if you look at it, it's the same one as the mage who faced Sol Regem all those centuries (?) ago. Maybe he's related to him, or possibly descended from one of the followers. I'd imagine that teaching dark magic may be a thing within his family and ancestors... he taught Claudia dark magic. That doesn't prove anything but it's a small thought.

ANYWAY-- this scene is one of many scenes that show Viren in a vulnerable state. The book gives a look into how he felt when he decided to sacrifice himself and everything. It's just interesting and I'm here for it. 

3) Amaya and her weapons grade baguette Ep. 4

On a less serious and more fun note, the fact that Amaya is a breakfast connoisseur is just perfect. Amazing. Fantabulous.

"As a breakfast connoisseur, she was offended that Ezran would neglect a hearty morning meal" (Ehasz 120).

I only emboldened and italicized "offended" because in the show YOU CAN LITERALLY SEE HER FACE WHEN EZ TELLS HER.

Bruh she was so offended lmaooo

It's right at 13:36 time in the show... the slow zoom in and all 😂

4) Amaya and Gren meeting Viren at the statue Ep. 5

I’m trying to see if I should have paired this with the first scene where Amaya arrives first. That scene is pretty calm but has a somber feeling. It introduces the relationship of Amaya and Sarai without having to directly say it. 

But this scene here is... interesting. Not in a good way or bad way, but we see they’re reminiscing of the past. At some point, they all got along nicely. Callum even noted in his spellbook that Viren’s family became like a second family to him when he moved to the castle. 

This interaction was cute tho. It started out positive (sort of) with them joking about Viren eating the last jelly tart which pissed Sarai off lol. But then Viren went on to apologize to Amaya and reassured her that what he does is out of the goodness of his heart and love for Katolis. But...

“Aaaaand, he’s back, Amaya thought” (Ehasz 150). 

And then went on to sign that he’s on a bunch of bs. See? Even Amaya knows he’s full of shit lol. But really tho... it makes me wonder how much of bs Viren goes on even before the events of the current story line. 

5) Rayla saves Bait from the sea monster Ep. 5

Let us give a round of applause for Rayla going against her fear of water to save Bait, the grumpy frog who hates her. I think this just goes to show how compassionate Rayla really is. This would include the time when she goes back to grab bait back in the banther lodge in episode 4. 

6) Viren giving his kids their *secret* missions Ep. 6

Okay this isn’t just one scene. I cheated yeah yeah whatever >:3

When Viren is telling Soren what he must do when he finds the princes, at first he doesn’t fully get it, but then.. OH n0

Viren’s intentions are starting to unfold and come together as one. Like, this man just told his own SON that should he find the princes, he should kill them. This 18 yr old bby 

bruh

And Viren didn’t say it aloud, but he heavily implied it. Only to then gaslight him later on when Claudia confronts him in prison. 

As for Claudia, Viren tells her that she must retrieve the egg. And do everything in her power to bring it back, even if it means that she’ll have to sacrifice Soren... her own damn brother ;-;

7) When Callum finally lets Rayla hold the egg Ep. 6

This scene is pretty big. Rayla knows that Harrow is long gone and is trying to find a way to tell them. Obviously she doesn’t choose the best time to try it.

They were in a dire situation that could potentially kill them (even tho they had plenty of those moments already). The reason why this scene is so big is because it shows her struggle to break the bad news (ever since the right binding fell) as she continues to grow closer to them. Here you can see Callum passing the egg to her, despite her hand being in the terrible state that it is in. It is also the scene where right before passing it, he finally tells Rayla that he trusts her. 

8) Human Rayla!! Ep. 7

Human Rayla is so corny but it’s the good kind of corny. One of the best comedic jokes in the series! 

That is all cos human Rayla needs an AU of being a nighttime tv host or smthg

9) Viren and Runaan Ep. 8

yo this is alot okay. The scenes with these two introduced some Moonshadow philosophy and such (ie. not being scared of death). Runaan being the stoic and serious assassin that he is. And Viren not having any of this shit. 

There are three major things here:

 Runaan knows about the mirror and is most likely aware of who Aaravos is. He literally says, “That mirror? You have found something worse than death.” Goddamn...

And then Viren just... trapped his soul.. his essence into a goddamn coin. Just like that? wow. And hold it, almost admiring it in front of Gren. 

Also this is the first time we officially see Viren in that form. In the beginning of episode 5 we are given a darkened silhouette of Viren and the butterflies. But here we see the damage resulted from years of having done dark magic, and it’s horrifying. He is the high mage and all but goddamn. I mean with every action there are consequences so- 

10) Callum destroying the primal stone Ep. 9

I feel like this is one of the “of course it’s this one!” scenes but it really is! Callum realizes that only a sky dragon can be hatched in the eye of storm and there he is with a literal storm in his hand. By now, Callum has come to understanding what feels right and that being a mage is his destiny. But he also understands that he needs to sacrifice some things for new beginnings. This whole journey was to get the lost dragon prince home and restore balance and peace and with the egg starting to die... well you can’t really do that without the egg. 

It’s at 18:50 where he realizes all of this. It’s one of the big boy moments in the show. Seriously, it’s a big moment and the suspension helped get the feels in. And we got a cute baby dragon!! 

End, begin. it’s all the same. (pls someone get that reference ;-;;;)

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Some honorable mentions:

- Episode 7: Claudia and Soren interacting. I love their sibling bond; it’s so silly and sweet and I love it. It makes me wish I had an older brother of some sort. 

Ellis and Ava,, I like the flashback story given when they meet the dragang. I just like it, okay? Smol chiald w/ smol wolf pup and a hippie Lujaane seeing the beauty & strength in Ava. 

CGI Coran. That all I have to say about that guy lmao

- Episode 8: When the group is going up the cursed caldera and they encounter that giant leech. Like can we just appreciate Callum’s funny way of making out a plan? Fat respect for that. 

Another is when the group split up and waited for the leech to leave. The conversation between Ellis and Callum were sweet as was the one between Rayla and Ez. I loved Ellis’s admiration for Callum being a mage. And her expectations of what a mage was is pretty hilarious. So wholesome. The same goes for Ez when he gave Rayla that daily fill of positivity. 

Like... Ellis is telling Callum how smart and confident and cool he is. And meanwhile Callum is like... it’s not me, it’s this. *whips out primal stone* And she goes on to tell him that she believe he’ll be amazing with or without the stone. 

And Rayla is telling Ez how she failed in her job of killing the enemy. And Ez is telling her how she’s awesome at everything she does.

this is the positive wholesome shit I come for like... this is parallels but GODDAMNIT it’s so.. ;;;;-;;

Yo this is long ENOUGH! Thank you so damn much if you read to the end. You’re the real beauties. Anywho... uh parts 2 and 3 will be up soon. 

 It’s 11 now so I need some sleep. goodnight kids

[darksideofparis]

WIP Game

Tagged by @noble-crescent. Thanks for thinking of me!

“You can count me in,” Elsie said. She had taken The Stranger from Alex and was studying the cover intently. “I didn’t really like Fifty Shades, but this definitely sounds interesting.”

“I dunno, Erin,” Amy said slowly. “Not to deride Claudia’s taste, but. . . Well, if it’s romance we’re doing, why not something more well-known? Something that can be discussed more?”

Alex nodded eagerly. “Yeah, what about a classic like Pride and Prejudice? Or Sense and Sensibility?”

“Of if you want something more modern, maybe Outlander?” Amy suggested. “Alex read that and liked it. Or The Time Traveler’s Wife?”

Unseen by Amy, Alex grimaced. She’d read The Time Traveler’s Wife not too long ago and while it was a great book, it had the unfortunate side effect of reminding her of the Doctor and River. Namely, River showing up unexpectedly and dropping hints about her and the Doctor’s relationship that may or may not be true. At least, Alex hoped they weren’t true.

But Erin just shook her head. “Those are good suggestions, guys, but I think I’ll stick with this.” She gave them a smile. “Maybe we can alternate though? A contemporary romance one month, a classic one the next?”

“It sounds lovely,” Elsie said as she got to her feet. “When’s the first meeting?”

“This Saturday at four. Just an introductory thing, explain how it all works, and introduce the book. I’ve got a bunch of copies already ordered. Should be here tomorrow.” She turned to Amy and Alex. “And you girls will be there, right?”

Unable to reply in the negative, Amy nodded. “Yep!” she exclaimed with no small amount of forced cheer. “Looking forward to it!”

Erin and Elsie looked expectantly at Alex.

“Yep,” Alex said calmly, popping the ‘p’. She fell back on her acting skills to give them a very convincing grin. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

We’re getting into my use of The Stranger! 😁

Tagging @loulouflowerpower @ladyinpink221 @ocfairygodmother and whoever else wants to join!

[twothumbsandnostakeincanon]

Gather ‘round, fuckos, and read my incoherent word lasagne about Papa Bear Stilinski, Mama Bear Stilinski, and Baby Bear Stiles. 

Let’s say John and Claudia are alone, living their private werebear life, until they have Stiles. Suddenly it’s much more imperative that they live in a safe town. A small town. A small safe town with a large, supportive, supernatural presence. 

Turns out the Beacon Hill’s sheriff’s department is hiring, and the Hale pack seems pretty legit. 

They arrive, introduce themselves, and everyone is lowkey freaking out. They didn’t even know werebears were like, a thing? Talia wants to know why Deaton didn’t tell her about werebears, Deaton wants to know why werebears aren’t in any of his books, and the books want to know why they’re being blamed. 

Anyway, eventually they settle into town, and it quickly becomes apparent that the Hale house and the Stilinski house are the only two places fully childproofed for both wolf cubs and bear cubs. Babysitting agreements are made. You can’t really watch kids sneeze themselves into their first shift, or go through a teething phase that takes out nearly all of the porch railing, without falling a little bit in familial love, and before too long the families are BFFs. 

Stiles in particular clearly loves Peter. He’s latched on with a combination of hero worship and a childhood crush, and when Stiles latches on to someone he doesn’t let go. 

What’s surprising is that Peter doesn’t even try to shake the kid off. He seems delighted that an adorable fluff ball is following him around. It might have something to do with the fact that the fluff ball is destined to grow up into a 500 pound killing machine, but it might also have something to do with what an adorable little shit Stiles is. In any case Peter gracefully accepts the sunflowers that Stiles brings to him, ignoring the teeth marks with a thank you. 

When Kate Argent rolls into town, she sniffs around and finds out that there are werebears in Beacon Hills as well as the Hale pack. She’s viciously thrilled. After all, there are so few werebears left due only to the diligence of her family. She’s going to have the opportunity to partake in a proud Argent tradition. 

So she goes to play Goldilocks. She intends to leave poison in the porridge, to booby-trap the chairs, to set fire to the beds- but only two of the werebears are actually out for a walk that day. It’s date night. 

Baby Bear and Peter Wolf are home. 

They both always thought Goldilocks got off too easy for a home invasion. When you throw conspiracy to commit murder into the mix too, well- 

Kate doesn’t get away with anything. She doesn’t get away at all. 

When John and Claudia come home from date night, there’s an unconscious hunter tied up in the kitchen, and Peter is telling Stiles a new version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears that they’ve never heard before. They’re not sure about the story that apparently includes enhanced interrogation methods used by the bear family, but they are grateful that Peter refrained from committing murder in their kitchen without asking first.  

[highfivecalum]

Dark In Your Heart {CEO!CH} 1

a/n: hi hello everyone here is ceo!cal and i’m super excited about it but the chapters are gonna be short, but there are going to be multiple parts, so don’t expect like super long parts! but anyway hope y’all enjoy and happy reading :)))

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Maddie woke up in an unfamiliar bed with what she considered a hangover from hell. She looked at the familiar man next to her and squeezed her eyes shut. One night stands weren’t really her thing, but the man who bought her a drink and shamelessly flirted with her the night before was too gorgeous to turn down. So, there she was; naked in a stranger's bed with no memory of his name. She wasn’t even sure if they had exchanged names at all, but that didn’t matter now.

Before he had the chance to wake up, Maddie was dressed in her outfit from the night before, heels in hand as to not make any noise against the wooden floors, and quickly ordered and Uber before she slipped out of his way too large and expensive Penthouse. Letting out a tired sigh, Maddie rested her head against the headrest in her Uber’s car and closed her eyes, remembering the events of last night.

Getting home was quick, thank God, and no matter how badly she she wanted to crawl into her bed and go back to sleep, she was starting a new job in two hours, and she desperately needed a shower. She washed her body of the remains of last night and shampooed the cigarette smoke smell out of her hair.

Maddie nearly choked when she wiped the steam off of the mirror and saw her reflection through it. The hickeys lining her jaw, neck, and collarbones looked like she had fucked a leech. She remembered how good they felt, how skilled he was with his mouth, but she was not expecting the deep purple bruises to be so noticable against her tanned skin.

No amount of cover up, foundation, powder, or concealer- Stevie tried all of them- could cover the marks on her neck and she cursed herself for being so careless. She went out with her friends to celebrate her best friend’s job promotion and celebrated her getting a new job. Part of her also was drinking the memories of her ex-boyfriend away, who had just broken up with her three days before.

Maddie was never that careless and reckless when she had responsibilities the next day. She had only planned to stay for a few drinks, get a nice buzz, and then go home and crash, but when the most handsome man she had ever seen offered to buy her and her friends a round of drinks, and a few more just for her, she found herself letting loose and forgetting about all responsibilities. Not a good idea on her part.

“God. What an idiot.” Maddie cursed at herself as she tried to find a dress or shirt that would cover her neck. With no such luck, she prayed that her hair would stay in place over both of her shoulders and cover her collarbones. The hickeys were on the side of her neck, which she was thankful for, but the ones on her collarbones were hard to miss, and the ones on her jaw looked like she burned herself with her curling iron.

She couldn’t spend any more time on trying to cover the love bites covering her, instead choosing to finish getting ready and leave for her first day. She was nervous, to say the least, considering she had never worked for a rich and successful CEO before, but part of her was excited. Maddie knew her new boss, Calum Hood, was New York's most eligible bachelor, and even though she had never seen a picture of him or met him before, the thought of potentially having an attractive boss nerved her.

Pressing the elevator button leading to the top floor, Maddie nervously chewed on her lip. She wasn’t sure what to expect with her new job. The lady who hired her, Claudia, Mr. Hood’s old assistant who had gotten a promotion, informed Maddie that Mr. Hood was very professional and a bit of a hard ass, and had gone through almost ten assistants in the past four months, so not to take it personally if he came off cold, and even though Maddie was warned, her nerves were still getting the best of her.

The elevator doors opened and Maddie stepped out, the same heels she wore last night clicking against the floor under her, and she looked around. The place was white, with huge windows covering the walls, and the first thing she noticed were two large white glass doors with a small desk right outside of them. Maddie instantly knew that behind the two closed doors was her new boss.

“Ms. Thompson?” Maddie spun around and smiled at the lady in front of her. Much shorter than Maddie herself, round glasses on her face, and her red hair pinned in a tight bun; she looked the classic office woman.

“Oh, uh, hi,” Maddie adjusted her coat that was hanging over her arm and shook her outstretched hand. She recognized her voice from over the phone so she could only guess the woman standing in front of her was Claudia. “You can just call me Maddie.”

“Okay, Maddie. I’m Claudia.” A woman came up behind Maddie and took her coat from her, informing her that she would be hanging it in the closet just right next to the elevator that was designated for employee and clients coats if they didn’t want to hold onto them. “Nice to meet you. Come with me.”

Maddie followed in suit and listened and watched as Claudia pointed to and told her where and what everything was. The break room was down the hall, the bathrooms on the opposite end, and as they walked around, Claudia introduced her to a few of the other employees sitting at their desks or walking around the huge office.

“This,” Claudia slammed down a bunch of papers and huffed. “Is your desk. Decorate it how you want you, but don’t overdo it, Mr. Hood doesn’t like clutter, even if it isn’t his desk.” Claudia then went on to tell Maddie that she would need to bring her own laptop and Maddie patted herself on the back for shoving it into her purse last minute before she left, and carried on to explain how to work the phones and transfer calls. “When you answer you’ll say ‘Calum Hood’s office how can I help?’ or something of the sort.”

Maddie nodded her head, taking everything in quickly and easily since she was a fast learner. Naturally, she was a bit overwhelmed with everything, but she knew she would be able to handle it. “Got it.”

“Okay,” Claudia smiled happily. Unlike Calum Hood’s old assistants, classic blondes who only wanted the job to get closer to him and into his pants that had absolutely no clue what they were doing even when they said they did, and that’s why they only lasted two weeks, Maddie was smart and didn’t even know what her boss looked like. She wasn’t working there solely because of him. “You ready to meet him?”

Now, Maddie’s nerves were in full force. “I uh-” Maddie cleared her throat, suddenly nauseous from nerves and from the abundance of alcohol she drank the night before suddenly creeping up on her. “Yeah. I’m ready.”

Claudia knocked twice before cracking the door open and peeking her head in. “Mr. Hood?” His head shot up at the sound of her  voice at he cocked an eyebrow at her. “Your new assistant is starting today and she’s here. Are you busy?”

“No, come in.” He returned his attention to the paper in front of him and furrowed his eyebrows in thought. He was working on something had been trying to complete for weeks now and he was stumped. He simply couldn’t figure out what to do next.

“This is Maddie Thompson.”

Maddie finally looked at Calum after admiring all of the artwork that was hanging on his office walls and she swore her heart stopped beating for a split second. This can not be happening, Maddie wanted to scream. There sat the man who bought her drinks and wooed her into his bed the night before. The man who she swore was the most handsome man she had ever seen.

Calum looked up again, his eyes widening and the pen in between his fingers falling to the floor next to his feet, completely forgetting about the book in front of him that he was trying to edit. All his attention now on the ravishing woman in front of him. There stood the woman he couldn’t keep his eyes off of all night, the woman he bought drinks for and took back to his house for a good time. For a one night stand.

Maddie looked at her boss in shock as he stared back at her with the same expression. Calum Hood never liked to mix business with pleasure. He had done it a few times before and it never turned out well, so he swore he would never come close to even thinking about his employees sexually. But there stood his assistant, the woman he tasted and felt for hours the night before, right in front of him.

She was fucked. They were absolutely fucked.

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Taglist: @novacanecalum @cosmocalum @roselukes @kinglyhood @cantbehandled-ever @hereforlukescruff @astroashtonio @monsteramongmikey @gosh-im-short @emma070900 @youmaycallmemrshemmings @grittyisathot @cakesunflower @asht0ns-world @singt0mecalum @lockthisheartinchains @cheyenne-in-wonderland @babyurart @blahehblah @inlovehoodx @softboycal @hopelessxcynic @ashtoniwir

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