#What did you expect from this series? Something genuinely serious? Think again

[cinnamonsakura666]

So I bought the book

It has fairly good reviews from Yellow and Red:

And the back has me hooked:

So I open it:

That's honestly adorable. He dedicated this book to the two most important things in his life: Red and his shredder!🥰🥰🥰

And then:

I mean- Red did say what the book is about but anyway-

10/10 would recommend the 15$ purchase!😋👍 Perfect and a fascinating story to read!

[iamnmbr3]

Just wanted to say that I like your Drarry meta posts. They have really given me a new appreciation for HBP and Draco and Harry's dynamic.

I just have a genuine question about your feelings on Harry.

Part of why Drarry began to leave a bad taste in my mouth was that I found book canon Harry to be very distasteful. He just seemed like a vindictive and unempathetic person. Even his remorse for almost killing Draco in book 6 was short lived and I think that same chapter ended with that awful Hinny kiss.

However, your posts seem to indicate a certain care for Draco. So where did this start? What made Harry transform from the guy who participated in group assaulting Draco end of book 4 & 5 to the guy who is trying to cover up Draco's tracks in book 6?

Thank you so much! Glad you've been enjoying my posts. That's so nice of you to say. I have enjoyed your meta as well btw!

This is a great question. I have a lot of thoughts. They are, of course, my personal interpretation and everyone is ultimately free to read things however they like.

The Context:

So first of all I think it's important to consider the larger context of this scene. Harry and Draco are in a fantastical and heightened setting. They are not simply classmates who don't like each other who got into a fight. They are at this point both soldiers on opposite sides of a war.

Draco is a Death Eater. His father has watched and jeered as Harry was tortured and nearly killed in a graveyard. Harry faced Lucius again in fifth year and fought him and is in fact to blame for Lucius's fall from grace and Draco's resultant punishment. Harry has been tasked with defeating Voldemort. Draco has been tasked with killing Dumbledore (though as a punishment not with the expectation that he will truly succeed). Harry knows that Draco is a Death Eater and believes he is tasked with doing something nefarious on behalf of Voldemort and is intent on stopping him.

This is the context of their fight. These are two people involved in a serious conflict on opposite sides actively striving against each other. This is not a simple spat between two classmates who don't like each other so we can't simply reduce it to that or we miss a lot of vital context. We can't judge it the way we would a fight between two people in a regular school who just don't like each other.

The Fight:

Now. As to the actual fight. Harry doesn't initiate it. He walks in on Draco crying and saying some incredibly incriminating stuff. Draco reacts in anger and humiliation and fear and attacks him. Harry responds in self defense and they use an escalating series of spells. Harry attempts Levicorpus for example which would stop Draco from continuing to attack him but certainly wouldn't hurt him even as much as a stunning spell would. And would, also, have allowed them to speak. Draco does quite a good job of holding his own against Harry and foils Harry's attempts to stop the fight. He then attempts in a moment of pain and anger to use an Unforgivable on Harry which Harry counters with Sectumsempra.

Harry has no idea what the Sectumsempra spell does when he uses it. It pops into his mind in a serious and potentially dangerous duel. Nothing in his education has really strongly impressed on him the risks of using untested spells. And none of the other Prince spells have been dangerous. Remember that originally he was planning to test the Sectumsempra spell on McLaggen. And he originally tested Leivcorpus on Ron. So he didn't know what the spell would do before he used it or view at something with the potential to be seriously hazardous.

He didn't do it out of vindictiveness. In fact, it's rather notable that while Harry can be vengeful he seems to have a particular aversion to hurting Draco even when you'd expect otherwise. Like in the beginning, despite the fact that Draco attacks him and breaks his nose and the fact that he already suspects him of being a Death Eater, Harry's anger towards him is surprisingly short lived and he never even thinks of doing anything to him to get even.

Harry's Reaction:

In my opinion, Harry actually has an extremely strong emotional reaction to nearly killing Draco. He is horrified by what he has done. To the point of a near panic attack. He is so upset that he freezes and just kind of collapses next to Draco.

And this is extremely atypical of Harry. Even in dire circumstances Harry is usually able to compartmentalize and keep a cool head and react well under pressure. Even in cases where he is to blame for the situation. When Ron starts dying from poison right in front of his eyes he is able to spring into action. When he realizes he's led his friends into a trap in book 5 he keeps calm and organizes a defense. When Hermione is being tortured in the Manor because they got captured due to Harry saying Voldemort's name he's able to keep calm and come up with a plan.

Also. Harry doesn't like to hurt people unnecessarily but he's still very formidable in combat and is actually quite willing to hurt people when he has to. He kills Quirrel without much regret and says later that he deserved what he got for helping Voldemort. He refuses to stun Stan Shunpike in book 7 because he is Imperiused but he stuns other Death Eaters even knowing they will likely fall to their deaths. Draco is a Death Eater working for Voldemort who has just attacked Harry.

Given his generally cool head under pressure and the fact that Draco is now an enemy on the other side of a war you might expect Harry to react calmly or even coldly to Draco's injury. But he doesn't at all. He can't think what to do. It's the only time we see him freeze up like that. His initial reaction is one of absolute horror. So much so that for once he can't even think of what to do:

Even after he sees that Draco has been healed and is no longer dying in front of him he can't tear his eyes away and is barely aware of his surroundings:

He's so upset he's literally shaking. And Harry has seen and suffered a lot of bad stuff. So that's saying a lot:

Harry is not someone who is good at expressing or even understanding his emotions. And especially with Draco it's difficult since he probably feels he should see Draco as more of an enemy than he actually does.

But I think his actions after this incident are very notable. Harry continues to believe that Draco is a Death Eater on a nefarious mission from Voldemort. And what he overheard Draco saying in the bathroom only further confirms this.

But after seeing Draco so scared and vulnerable and realizing that pursuing him brought them into a confrontation with each other where Harry ended up nearly killing him, Harry backs off completely.

He stops trying to discover and foil Draco's plan. He stops following him. Even though he is still convinced that Draco is involved in something dangerous he doesn't want to be the one to stop him. He doesn't want to be the cause of more fear or pain. Part of him probably also doesn't want to be the reason Draco is killed for failing.

Instead he distracts himself with other things. And it is in that context that he gets together with Ginny. After ditching her several times throughout the first part of the book to go chase after Draco instead, he gets together with her when he's trying to forget about Draco. Which uh. Sure was a choice on JKR's part.

So yeah I do think Harry actually was extremely affected by nearly killing Draco and regretted it a lot.

Book 4 & 5 fights:

As for the book 4 and 5 fights. Those are less serious but once again occur against the backdrop of being on opposite sides of the brewing war. In book 4 Harry is raw from the horrors of the graveyard and when Draco seeks him out and brings up Cedric he loses his temper as do the people he's with.

In book 5 Draco and co attempt to attack Harry to get revenge for Lucius's defeat and capture and Harry and some of his friends respond. (Draco eventually gets his revenge with the nose breaking incident in book 6).

Also we should remember these attacks occur in a world with magic where most injuries can be fixed instantaneously so they aren't as serious as they would be for one of us. These are, without a doubt, nasty incidents, but they are not one sided nor are they that surprising given the context.

Conclusion:

Drarry is, to me, a fascinating and deeply compelling ship because of how Draco and Harry are so compatible and drawn to each other despite their rivalry which evolves into them literally being on opposite sides of a war. And because of the themes of redemption and forgiveness that are implicit in the ship. With all the reasons they have to hate each other they never can, and when it counts, they always come through to protect each other.

[thecoolerliauditore]

I remember last year finally watching Pearl and Scott's last life and. I think I experienced... the same thing that people who dislike FH did in 3L but with Pearl? I was encouraged to watch it by a friend because they said that gaslight gatekeep girlboss was super wholesome and loyal to each other, and that Scott even turned red rather than hurt either of them. But when I watched it, idk it wasn't as bad as I've seen some people describe FH but I was just struck by how often Scott calls Pearl insane or crazy or unhinged just for... existing? Playing the game? Being just a little bit silly sometimes no more than anyone else? He acted like she was a wild animal he had to reign in even though she didn't do anything crazier than what he did. Sometimes he would just randomly call her insane it felt like. It made me finally understand what people meant by those words being ableist with how often he threw them around! It got really uncomfortable!

I got sold GGG as a very cute wholesome winners POV, and I guess compared to everyone else in LL it was, but only if you compare it to other LL teams. People said he was suddenly mean to Pearl in DL, but he mostly repeated a lot of the things he already said about her in LL! I was expecting there to be some shift in how he treated her. Makes me scared to watch Jimmy and Scott's 3L POV if this is what people consider Scott being wholesome!

FASCINATING. this might be my cue to go rewatch GGG Last Life.

I'll be very open and say it's been a fair amount of time since I've sat down to rewatch LL, so I might be looking back at Scott and Pearls relationship with rose tinted glasses -- I spoke a little bit on the soft manipulation that existed between them still, like when Scott yelled at Pearl to kill Joel, but my impression of them is fairly wholesome. Then again I watched LL first and didn't have the context from 3L so the first time I watched their POV it was just. Haha funny blue man cute accent.

So take the rest of this with a grain of salt, at this point I'm fully prepared to say something like "Scott never hit Pearl" and someone will link me their equivalent of the sugar cane scene from 3L lmao.

So I can offer up some semblance of an explanation, if that helps at all to explain the perception gap. One thing is like you said, they were wholesome in comparison to the rest of the teams in LL, which I'd argue were the most disastrous in the series with the damage the "reds can't team with non-reds" rule did to them.

3L teams were also pretty bad, but when you went to compare FH to other teams you had other duos like DD and Renchantyn that had their own issues but served as a very solid point of reference for how they seemed to genuinely respect their partners. Thinking about the clip where Grian and Scott leave Scar and Jimmy to pull the lever on exploding Monopoly Mountain and Grian is trying his best to say he's worried for Scar through gritted teeth because he's Grian and Scotts just like. Well Jimmys probably gonna screw this one up 🙄 A very one to one comparison point presented directly for the viewer.

Scott and Pearl, on the other hand, were the only duo in LL amongst a bunch of massive teams that were falling apart all around them. It gave them this "us against the world" feeling, so to speak.

Maybe if Team BEST was more honest about being Teams BE and ST then we would've had a better comparison point and Scott and Pearl would've seemed way more insane, but then again I've had people vague to me that LL Ethubs is their 3L FH so I'm biting my tongue on this one.

Another thing that I think is more poignant is the factor of hindsight. Scott calling Pearl insane Now is horrifying because of what he did in DL and his calling her that being very much more serious.

In LL Pearl really didn't have any baggage attached to the word "insane" afaik? Unless she got upset at him and I've just forgotten cus it's been too long which is a very likely possibility.

So at the time it just seemed like. Pearl being Pearl and Scott gripping his head in stress and going aughhhhhhhhh ahhhhhh. Which is like. Fine at least to me. Her antics made his blood pressure go but he still went along with them more often than not and stuck by her side.

"She didn't do anything crazier than he did" is SUPER true btw LL Scott is a menace but I also must point out this is a point in hypocrisy but also a point in Pearls personality rubbing off on Scott that season. He was always a crazy arsonist but now he's a crazy arsonist without the angst.

Like the POV is haunting to me now that I have the context of DL and beyond and Scott being serious about the "insane" thing but before I got that context it really did just look like. Pearl being some sort of animal that has wandered into Scott's base and started gnawing at the curtains and Scott trying to scare her away with a broom yelling at the top of his lungs YOURE INSANE. YOURE INSANE. But also the creature if it leaves will Take All of His Lives Away so he has to learn to live with her and through her learn to be a little more chill. Which is the main appeal of that POV, to me at least.

compare say. The part in LL where Pearl steals one of Scars crystals and is genuinely being silly and antagonistic by running around giggling. And Scott's thrown his hands up and going "I DONT APPROVE THIS BUT IM NOT HER BOSS DONT LOOK AT ME". To Episode 2 of WL where Pearl is like? A little bit cheeky to Gem and Gem literally scolds Scott for not "controlling" her well enough and Scott apologises and promises he'll do better. <- ?????? Everything I type out this interaction I have to remind myself it's real btw like what.

and I must say they do have a lot of really genuinely cute moments that season that might be blinding me shoujo sparkle style to the horrors. Like their staring into each others eyes ritual thing for boogeyman assignments, for example. Compare that to the um. Axe crits.

ANYWAY. fascinating insight. To rewatch Pearls POV I go (<- clown makeup is locked and loaded)

[ewanmitchellcrumbs]

Ange I was thinking about your latest Ettore drabble, maybe, canon Ettore would’ve turned out differently if he had met the right person. If he had met someone who is as depraved, desperate for some escape, maybe just as unknowingly craving that genuine human touch, he wouldn’t have hurt someone else, he would’ve had something warm to hold onto in that hellhole he lived.

Hopefully I don’t sound like I’m defending canon Ettore’s action, he is a scumbag. But maybe had two scumbags who are just as desperate to comfort each other through canal pleasure been left alone, they might have had something beautiful, something genuine blooming between them.

Im not joking when I said you’re singlehandedly making Ettore one of my favorite characters, Ewan played a scumbag, and a lot of Ettore fics hammered his predator side through and through, I like your approach to the character in fanon writing exploring the other possibility if he met someone and started connecting with them in the end. I would love to read the “I love you” drabble you teased if you have time and ofc feel like writing it one day.

Sorry this has taken me so long!

Warnings: Implied smut, mild violence, heavy angst, character death, mentions of grief, trauma. Word count: ~2k

Main series masterlist

Author's note: No gods, no masters, no tag lists. Only scabs community label fics. If you find yourself tempted to slap a label on this, please block me instead.

Ettore stares after Boyse’s retreating form, a feeling of unease settling into his gut. It’s not a feeling he is accustomed to and he hates it. This would end badly. The sudden spike in adrenaline directly opposes the post-sex haze he was expecting to bask in for a moment, and his jaw clenches in anger, simmering hot and unforgiving beneath his skin.

He considers going after Boyse, silencing her, making sure she doesn’t ruin the only good thing he has to look forward to on this miserable ship. But then he looks down at her, the woman he is currently buried inside of, her eyes large and reflecting the same anxiety he currently feels. His fury slowly dissipates as he is brought back into the moment; her warmth enveloping him, how soft she feels against his body.

“Shit.” She breathes out shakily, pushing him away and straightening up.

A hollowness expands within Ettore’s chest at the sudden loss of contact as he slips out of her. There is something about it that feels so final, it has him longing to press her back up against the wall and keep her there forever.

Slowly, he adjusts his clothing as she does the same to hers. His eyes move between her and the door, unsure of how to handle the situation.

“Fuckfuckfuck.” She murmurs, raking her hands through her hair and starting to pace. “That was so stupid of us.”

“You think she’ll say anything?” He asks, standing perfectly still in spite of the nervousness that rolls in his gut.

“I dunno.” She says with a shrug, chewing absentmindedly at her thumbnail. “Hard to tell.”

“We could stop her…”

She ceases her pacing and looks him in the eye, her tone serious. “You’ll do nothing, not after what you did to Monte. I’ll talk to Boyse. Just go back to work, okay?”

He nods. She has a point, but he hates the lack of control he has over the situation.

As she turns to leave the laundry room, he is struck once more by the overwhelming sensation of finality. He reaches desperately for her, pulling her to him and kissing her fiercely, as though he is trying to breathe the very air from her lungs. He feels her relax into it, moving her lips against his for a few seconds and his grip on her tightens.

She pulls away eventually, breathless and eyebrows raised in surprise. “You trying to get us caught again?”

“No, I just…” The words die in his throat, unable to articulate the fact that he wants nothing more than to live in this moment forever, and he shakes his head. “...doesn’t matter.”

She slips out of his grasp and walks off. He doesn’t turn away until she rounds the corner and is out of sight

He spends the rest of the day on edge. His ears prick up at every sound, his shoulders never fully pulling away from his neck. The ship doesn’t make for the most relaxing environment in the first place, but he’s feeling especially tense. The impending sense that something is going to happen refuses to leave him, but he’s unsure of what to expect.

Perhaps Monte will seek him out, intent on getting him back for his attack earlier? Maybe Dibs will formulate some sort of punishment, having been informed that he’s involved sexually with another member of the crew when it’s strictly forbidden?

When sleep mode is activated later that evening, he anticipates relief washing over him as there is seemingly no fallout to the events earlier that day, instead his mind continues to race.

He passes her in the hallway on the way back to his cell, and raises his eyebrows at her in question. She shakes her head and he sighs in frustration, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her around a corner.

“You’ve not sorted it?” He asks in a whisper.

She sighs. “I couldn’t. Haven’t been able to find Boyse most of the day and whenever I see her she’s not on her own. I’ll try again tomorrow.”

“Fuck.” He tuts, pulling back from her.

“I think it’s best if you don’t come to my bunk tonight.” She tells him. “Can’t risk it.”

He knows it’s for the best, that what she’s saying makes total sense and yet he can’t help the crushing disappointment that settles heavy and unyielding in his chest. When his mind won’t quiet there is nothing that soothes him more than to sink inside of her, and feel the way she shudders and falls apart against him. He needs that now more than ever, yet the riskiness of their current predicament will not allow it.

He quirks his lip, looking away from her and stalks back towards his cell.

Sleep does not come for Ettore that night; he lays flat on his back, eyes fixed on the door to the cell, waiting. For what, he is unsure, but his gut feeling tells him something is wrong and he is powerless to stop it. He is always the hunter, never the hunted, and yet the tables have turned and there is nothing he can do about it. His grip on the blankets beside him turns his knuckles white as he lays there, trapped and frustrated.

He has no idea how long he lays there for, just watching, but at some point the lights on board brighten, signaling the start of another day. He climbs from the bed, raising his arms above his head to lean on the doorframe as he peers out.

The first few members of the crew begin to exit their cells, sullen faced as they head towards the showers. Ettore looks at them impassively as they pass, not really seeing them. His gaze focuses, zeroing in when he sees a familiar head of long, dark hair heading in the opposite direction; Dibs. He suspects where she is headed, and waits a few moments before following.

Lurking around the corner, his suspicions are confirmed as she goes into her cell. He wishes he could hear what they are saying, it’s not common for Dibs to visit any of the crew in their sleeping quarters and seeing this makes his chest feel tight. There’s no way this isn’t related to them being caught together.

He flattens against the wall, as he sees Dibs leave, striding purposefully back towards her lab. He can’t see the expression on her face, but there’s something about the way she carries herself that leaves him longing to punch her. He flexes his fingers to suppress the urge and then heads into the cell that she’s just exited.

She’s pulling on her top when he enters and is clearly startled by the sight of him as her head appears through the neckhole.

“Christ! When did you appear there?” She asks, smoothing the material of the scrubs over her midriff. 

He ignores the questioning, jutting his jin towards the doorway. “What was all that about?”

She sighs, her gaze downcast. “Dibs says I missed my last check up. Wants to see me this morning.”

Bile rises in his throat, his eyes narrow. “You know that’s bullshit, right? Boyse has dropped us in it.”

She nods, looking up at him in resignation. “Yeah. Yeah, I know. But what choice do I have? Gotta take my punishment.”

“Don’t go!” He tells her angrily, his heart feeling as though it will thunder straight out of his chest. “You don’t have to go!”

“The longer I leave it, the worse it’ll be.” She shrugs. “I’ve lashed out at her before and all she did was up my sedatives. Can’t imagine this will be any worse.”

“But what if it is?!” He shouts, feeling his face grow hot as he surges forward to grab her by the upper arms. “What if she hurts you?”

“Then she hurts me.” She fires back, scowling. “You’ve hurt me before, it heals.”

He lets her go, stepping back, but never shifting his focus from her face. “I’m not letting you do this.”

She scoffs. “She’ll drug me up, I’ll come back, I’ll sleep it off. Why are you being so fucking weird about this?”

He speaks before he has time to think, the words leaving him in a burst of exasperation. “Because I love you!”

Freezing when he realises what he’s said, the air hangs heavy between them as she stares at him in shock. Why isn’t she saying anything?!

His fists clench as he feels rejection begin to pierce at him, eager to lash out, until her face softens and she speaks, barely a whisper.

“What did you just say?”

He exhales, not realising he’d been holding his breath and looks away from her. “I just…I don’t want anything to happen to you, alright?”

She cups his face, urging him downward so that she can rest her forehead against his. “I know. I know. I’ll be okay, promise.”

He relaxes in her embrace, eager to keep her with him. He leans in, pressing his lips to hers, disappointed when she pulls back with a playful smile.

“Let me owe you that one.” She says softly. “My guarantee to you that I’ll come back.”

He watches silently as she walks away, in the direction of the lab, dread gnawing at his insides.

Ettore is slamming closed the lid of a washer when Tchemy enters the laundry room. “We’ve been summoned.” He calls out to him.

“What d’you mean?” He asks, turning to face him.

“Dibs needs something put out of the airlock.” Tchemy says with a casual shrug. “It’s me and Mink on maintenance today, but she asked for you specifically. Must be heavy if Mink can’t help me.”

Ettore feels as though all the air has left room, his heart lurches painfully in his chest. He pushes past Tchemy, ignoring the other man’s joking pleas for him to slow down as he storms quickly towards the airlock.

Time draws to a standstill, the blood rushing in his ears when he sees the gurney and the sheet covering the figure that lays upon it. His knees feel like they’ll buckle beneath him, everything sounds far away.

“This is a body…” Tchemy says apprehensively.

Dibs nods solemnly, her expression grim as her mouth presses into a tight line. “She bled out during a routine procedure. Tragic, but unavoidable, these things happen. We have to dispose of her”

Ettore barely comprehends the exchange, his eyes drift downwards to the hand that’s hanging from beneath the sheet. Her hand. The same hand that had cupped his face earlier that day as she’d told him she owed him a kiss. A kiss he’d never get to have, because she’d been taken from him. She was his and they’d taken her away.

His hands tremble, his eyes sting painfully and he swallows thickly, he won’t give Dibs the satisfaction of a reaction. She’d taken enough from him already. He’d been right, why hadn’t he done more to stop her? He’d let her go and now she was being discarded like rubbish.

He bristles with anger as Tchemy claps him on the shoulder, pulling him out of his painful reverie. “Need your help, man.” He says.

Dibs had done this on purpose, she’d wanted him to know, to see, to punish him by having him help dispose of her. His heart shatters when he lifts her, how cold and void of her usual softness she is against him is too much to bear. His mood shifts, becoming darker, angrier, more predatory as they seal the airlock back up. His resolve hardens. Something inside of him has died alongside of her, and he wants to make them pay for what they’ve stolen from him. They’ll all feel every bit of the pain he’s enduring, he’ll make sure of it. And he’ll start with the person who ratted them out in the first place; Boyse.

Post script author's note: I have set the ending of this up for events that lead directly into canon, and we all know how that ends, so this is the end of the road for our star crossed lovers. I am currently accepting requests for Ettore, but no further requests which relate to this series. This instalment is its final part.

[upslapmeal]

Rogue

Hey did you know this episode is going to be a bit Bridgerton? Not sure if the trailers ever mentioned it

gotta love an ep that starts with a bit of murder

just realised this is only the second non-RTD ep

I guess a shorter series means fewer eps for other writers :/

Fifteen and Ruby looking excellent!

‘try not to get engaged’ yeah you’d know about that wouldn’t you Doc. don't go giving anyone cocoa

‘does not-a-lord have a name?’ getting the Ken accent out

lmao they’re even doing the Bridgeton thing of playing covers of pop songs

surely going to send the Doctor Who Is A TV Show theorists wild

as well as Susan Twist being ‘just an actor playing several roles’

(RTD you absolute liar)

I haven't really been following the theory other than being vaguely aware of its existence but can you imagine if 'it's the only actor we could get' ended up as the in-universe explanation for her

‘you travel in a shed? why isn’t it cloaked’ get rekt

getting sad Captain Jack vibes

‘my name’s bond. molecular bond’

‘was that a wee smile from the most serious man in history?’ och aye

all the doctors!!!

shalka doctor???

‘come with me and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination’ Ncuti said he wanted to be Wonka or the Doctor!!

Fifteen: we've both lost everyone we've loved. hot.

Doctor bit of advice. your sad comments about losing everyone are slightly undercut by going :DD that's my best friend!! when asked about the person you're with lol

('I lost everyone. everyone I travelled with. ok the last one I just kinda told to go away because I was changing my face but yeah)

you know given that the jukebox is literally the only bit of furniture Fifteen has it would be nice if it was used like……ever

‘we can’t kill it so we’ll send it to a random barren dimension to die a slow isolated death!’ good old Doctor logic

‘tv signals beam out across the stars’ ok I genuinely have only come across the tv theory in passing but 👀

it is…interesting that they’ve gone for a kinda Bridgerton-style casting after last week’s ep…

if the chuldur had been wearing the duchess longer I’d have imagined it was engineered to look like Bridgerton but that’s not the case

Cameca in the distance like oh no not again

‘start wars with anyone who doesn’t look British!’ tbh I think they were managing that without the chuldur

oh no… Emily is going to be one of them isn’t she

that explains her just explaining social rules to Ruby earlier instead of being surprised she was even asking! that struck me as odd but I thought it was just the writing being a bit clunky

RUBY NO!!!

oh Doctor :( jinxed when you made that promise to keep her safe

‘your…birdiness’

wait wait oh no

ruby’s going to be pretending isn’t she

it’s why she’s the only one who still looks human

it'll have been interference from the earrings or something

yesss it was the earrings!

oh Ruby so willing to go :(

Doctor now is not the time for smooching!!!

well. that was a simpler fix than I expected

Fifteen: I’m fine!!!! ((((:

gotta love a big ol' hug

Fun! Silly! What other tv show could have serious thread villains with bird faces talking about cosplaying the world to death. Excellent. (In honesty not as good as the last few eps but enjoyably ridiculous with a decent dollop of heart)

[mikuni14]

The Sign - Ep 4

*sexy sound*: hooya! This series keeps on giving ✨

Let me start by saying that this whole police-investigative part is extremely silly, funny and not reflecting reality (apart from the moment when captain inspector team leader Akk says "that a victim is a victim no matter the gender"), but who am I kidding! I'm not here to analyze police work! So I completely ignore this part. Although I must admit that the police part provides incredible entertainment in the form of Captain Inspector Team Leader Akk (always), the introduction of a new, cool character accompanied by the dramatic sounds of classical music, or the interruption of an intense scene between MLs with important information about the discovery of severed genitalia 👌👌

Apart from that, as always, I like everything. I love how Tharn is shown as just a regular horny gay dude who just thinks about dicks lol How many other BLs, where b stands for BOY, show this? I also like that his fantasies are of him letting Phaya do things to him, being vulnerable by exposing his neck, being pinned down, covered by his lover's body. I also liked that Tharn relives these fantasies in the light of day and indulges in them 🤩 Oh, "sleep wherever you like" was an invitation and that's a fact you will have to pry from my cold, dead hands 😤

I love how this show keeps creating "their things", constantly building them into a couple that has their own behaviors and traits in common, before they even become a real couple. Now it's a shirt grabbing. I love it, I love it when something like this appears and I know 100% that I and the rest of the fans are in these moments like 👀👀 *di Caprio pointing at tv meme*. For me, it's a very important part of a romance when the couple has their "things". "Don't let me hear you talking about you being dead ever again" is such a powerful phrase. Raw. Just as Phaya likes.

I REALLY LIKED THIS WHOLE SCENE WITH THE FURIOUS PHAYA. Everything was perfect here. I really like that Phaya got the opportunity to show this side of him. That he is shown as an angry man, that he is not an ideal man who can control his - also negative - emotions in every situation. Normally, I don't like or tolerate such situations, because the reasons for such outbursts are usually stupid. In this case, I absolve Phaya of his aggressive behavior and his outburst of anger towards Tharn, pushing him away. It wasn't ignoring his calls, which Phaya immediately confronted and resolved. It wasn't an outburst out of jealousy or something like that. This is a completely different, serious situation that only partially concerns his relationship with Tharn. I'm absolutely sure that Phaya has often wondered whether he is mentally ill and that it is a source of a serious fear for him. Mental illness is a taboo in all cultures around the world, as Tharn himself says at the beginning of the series regarding his visions. A physically ill person will be perceived differently than a mentally ill person and Tharn knows this, PHAYA KNOWS THIS and Dr. Poison knows this. The second thing is that Phaya genuinely cares for and trusts Tharn. So at this point Phaya is in agony because not only has his most personal fears been brought to light, it was done by a stranger, a person he can't stand, who is his rival, who finishes him off with the final blow in a calm way when everything inside him is falling apart, but what's more, the blow came from a direction that Phaya DIDN'T expect at all. Phaya asks Tharn several times: "Why did you do that?" because he feels BETRAYED. Phaya is also a proud man who wants his beloved to see only "good and cool" qualities in him, which is completely normal in any relationship, hence his heartbreaking question "DO YOU THINK I'M NUTS?" Really, this scene is great: - Phaya angry, humiliated, hurt, betrayed, barely able to control himself (but even then he doesn't hurt Tharn, the scene is full of aggression and screaming, but Phaya never once crosses the impassable (for me) boundary, he doesn't beat Tharn, it's not even a fight, only two adult, trained men, one of whom pins the other) -Tharn, who is shocked because for the first time Phaya ignores him, does not look at him, it is clear that he is truly angry with him. You can see how Tharn is lost in this new situation, as he stands uncertainly and asks "I'm talking to you. Can you hear me?". And even then, he immediately shows concern for Phaya and his wound on his forehead

I'm grateful for showing this version of Phaya, and also for showing him as a silly, goofy guy throughout the episode in various funny scenes. 👌👌

My theory is that Tharn didn't tell the doctor about Phaya's dreams, I feel like the doctor KNOWS about everything and is a figure who simply has knowledge of what's going on as a deity. He knows when Tharn is especially close to Phaya, as seen in the temple scene, the kiss scene, in breaking of the photo frame, also when he tells Phaya that they will see each often other from now on, when he invites him to dinner with the clear intention of destroying him. I feel like the doc just KNOWS about Phaya's dreams.

Wild theory time! To expand on my original theory, this old woman/girl has helped Wansarat in the past and is helping him now. Wansarat is reborn and in each incarnation dies in childhood as punishment for what he did while saving his lover, Garuda. But this time he survived because he was placed under the care of the abbot of the temple, which is,in a way, his temple. And now, for a first time, Wansarat as Tharn is all grown up and delicious and the one for whom Wansart was originally intended - Dr. Bitch - he finally has a chance to get him. If it weren't for that Pesky Bird 😀

[novamariestark]

Hacked Hearts

Summary: When a series of hacks originate from your laptop, the FBI take you into questioning. Little did you know that this whole ordeal would lead you to the man of your dreams.

Warnings: age gap, kidnapping, mention of handcuffs (not detailed) lmk if i missed any, don't think I have.

Word count: 4095 (This one is longer than I expected)

Fandom: NCIS

Pairing: Alden Parker x fornell!reader

The way you met wasn’t something you’d want to happen again. The cybercrime investigation had led Parker and Fornell to an unexpected and delicate situation. Hacks originating from a particular IP address had pointed them directly to a dorm room at Georgetown University.

Fornell knocked on the door. Beside him, FBI Agent Alden Parker stood ready, their badges in hand, prepared to reveal their official credentials to the person on the other side of the door.

After a moment, the door swung open, and there you stood, a smile on your face. "Hey, Uncle Toby," you greeted warmly, the smile fading as you notice the badges in their hands, "Who's your friend?"

“Y/N? W-what?”

You raised an eyebrow in response to his reaction. "I live here," you replied, your tone filled with confusion, "What's going on?"

Parker took charge of the situation and spoke with a firm but gentle voice. "We need you to come with us, Y/N," he explained. Your smile fell as you realized your uncle wasn’t there for a social visit, "We also need to confiscate your laptop," he added.

Your expression shifted from confusion to concern, your gaze flickering toward your uncle. Fear and worry etched across your features as you nodded "Okay," you replied, your voice slightly tremulous. "It's on the desk." you gestured toward your friend's desk, where your laptop rested.

Alden nodded, appreciating your cooperation, "Thank you," you stepped aside to let them in. The agent, Parker, you think his ID said, walked over to the desk and picked up your laptop. It was then placed into a see-through bag. An evidence bag. What the hell is going on?

The car ride was quiet. All you could think about was what was going to happen. What is happening. Your fingers danced restlessly in your lap as you gazed out the window, the passing scenery a blur of buildings and people.

As soon as you arrived at the building, Parker escorted you to the interrogation room. He then left for a moment, presumably to talk to your uncle. You took a look around the small, square space as your fingers absentmindedly skated over the smooth metal table. Under the table, your leg was bouncing nervously. Was this because you hadn’t taken the 2 cents back to the coffee shop when they gave you the incorrect change? You had been meaning to take it back, but you hadn’t had the chance.

You jumped when the door suddenly opened, and Parker came back in. You looked behind him, but saw no one. You slumped back into your seat. You supposed it made sense, can’t interrogate family.

So, Parker took the lead. Your uncle stood on the opposite side of the one-way glass, watching on and hoping to God you didn’t have anything to do with this.

You looked at him as he sat across from you, his expression serious as he began his questioning. "Y/N," he started, his voice firm but composed, "we traced a series of hacks back to your IP address. Can you explain this?"

You met Alden's gaze, your eyes showing genuine surprise, "Hacks?" you repeated, a hint of disbelief in your voice. "That doesn't make any sense. I would never..."

The interrogation continued, as Alden delved into the details of your digital footprint and the cyberattacks in question. You answered his questions as best as you could, explaining your activities and the security measures you had taken to protect your laptop. Each piece of evidence that Alden presented seemed to cast a darker shadow over you, intensifying the feeling of entrapment. Your head buried itself in your hands as the situation became increasingly worse for you.

As the questioning continued, your frustration was palpable as you defended your innocence. "I don't understand how my laptop could have been used for these attacks. It's always with me, I have a password, and it's secure, and I've never lent it to any—"

You paused, a sudden realization dawning upon you. "Anyone," you finished, your eyebrows furrowing with confusion. Your mind raced back to your dorm room. "It was on her desk."

Alden leaned forward, his elbows resting further on the table, "Her desk?" he questioned.

You nodded, your eyes focused on his hazel ones, "My roommate," you started, "I let her borrow it. She asked me a couple of weeks ago if she could use it for a school project. I didn't think much of it at the time."

Alden nodded, his gaze shifting toward the one-way glass. After a moment, he turned his attention back to you, "We need to speak with her. Do you know where she is?"

You quickly checked the time on your watch, then looked back at Alden. "Yeah," you confirmed. "She's in class for the next 9 minutes, and then she's free. You'll most likely find her at the coffee shop around the corner."

"We're going to have to keep you here, Y/N, for the time being," he said, his tone apologetic. "It's a precaution."

You offered a small nod. "It's okay," you replied with a shrug, "You're doing your job."

With that, you settled into the seat. Accepting the idea of being temporarily detained as part of the ongoing investigation, hopeful that they’d be able to clear your name of any wrongdoing.

***

As the investigation into the cyberattacks progressed, you were eventually cleared of any involvement, as security footage from the bank and various other places confirmed your presence during the time of the cyberattacks. This evidence had exonerated you.

Their focus shifted to your roommate, Ciara, who had been tipped off about the FBI's interest in you. Now she’s on the run.

Now knowing for sure that you were innocent, they enlisted your help to track her down and counteract her new and current attacks. Each of you play a critical role. Your skills as a computer tech became an invaluable asset in the hunt for your roommate. Alden and your uncle, on the other hand, were busy uncovering who Ciara might have been working for and the motives behind her actions.

As the hours stretched on and the screen before you displayed the ongoing digital battle, your attention remained laser focused. You couldn't afford to look away for even a moment.

At around 2am, Alden brought you some food and coffee. He placed it on the desk beside you, “Thank you,” sending him a quick smile before turning your attention back to the screen.

Suddenly, the barrage of cyberattacks ceased, and you let out a sigh of relief. You leaned back in your chair, exhausted, wanting nothing more than to curl up and go to sleep. You looked around and noticed your uncle slumped in his chair, fast asleep, while Agent Parker still pored over old case files. The sound of the pages turning is a constant hum in the background in an otherwise empty office.

Whilst you had a moment to yourself, you take the time to look at Parker. You begin to notice the small things that he does, the way he concentrates on the papers in front of him, furrowing his brow in deep thought. You watch as he sips his coffee, noticing the way he licks his lips after each sip.

His soft grey hair was practically inviting you to run your fingers through it and a dance between an autumn forest, where the warm, earthy browns collided with the vibrant, sunlit greens eyes that made the most beautiful set of hazel eyes that you’d get lost gazing into. Every time he spoke, you found yourself lost in his voice, which was deep and smooth, like butter melting over hot toast.

As the night wore on, he moved over to sit next to you. You talked and got to know each other, sharing stories and laughing at each other's jokes. You found yourself opening up to Alden in a way that you never had with anyone else. Then it happened. Alden leaned in and kissed you.

For a moment, everything else faded away. It was just the two of you and nothing else mattered. It was a kiss so gentle you thought he was afraid of breaking you. Every other kiss you’ve had with a guy was never this gentle or patient. Every guy seemed to be in a rush to shove their tongues down your throat. But then, just as you were about to move to deepen the kiss, Alden pulled away, looking apologetic.

"I'm sorry. That shouldn't have happened," he said, backing away. "We should get some rest."

You would be lying if you said you weren’t disappointed. All you knew was that it was a good thing the attacks had stopped because right now, all you could think about was the softness of his coffee flavoured lips and the way his darkened moustache tickled your nose.

He left to go home but you opted to stay, to see if you could find a trail your ex-friend/roommate had left. You continued working through the night or what was left of it. It didn’t seem long before people were filing in, practically on auto pilot as all of them headed for the coffee machine in the corner break room that apparently had the “best coffee,”

You had managed to track her down. You thought that since she didn’t have access to your laptop anymore, she’d need to get one somewhere. So, you checked internet café’s and sure enough there she was. She had been smart enough to use cash whilst paying for things but not smart enough to avoid security cameras.

You told your uncle and Parker where she was, and they went to arrest her. When they brought her back to the office for interrogation, you had to fight the urge to go and smack the shit out of her.

You sat back down at your temporary desk, awaiting to hear about her excuse. Soon, Fornell came over, planting himself on the desk with his arms crossed. You looked up at him and smiled.

“You did good kid,” he said, you looked down, smiling at the compliment, “You ever think about joining us?” he asked, you opened your mouth to respond but before the words came out, he continued, “As a computer expert, not in the field, I won’t allow that,”

You rolled your eyes at his protectiveness, “I’m sure I’d do a better job than you, old man,” you retorted playfully.

“Who’s an old man?” came a voice from behind you. You turned to look at Alden and smiled.

“Uncle Toby here says that I should come work with you guys, just not in the field,”

“We’d be lucky to have you,” he smiled back, god that smile is beautiful, what you’d give to see that smile every day.

You nodded towards where the interrogation rooms were, “So, what did she have to say?”

It turned out, your roommate was hired to hack into the FBI to find out details of an upcoming court case. She didn’t know which one they were specifically after, they just told her that she’d “know it when she saw it,”

“So, I can go back to uni now?” you asked, looking between the two of them, “Not that I haven’t enjoyed almost being arrested for cyber crime and then fighting said cyber-crime,” you quickly added when your uncle gave you his best hurt impression, “I just missed a few classes, is all. I suppose you’ll need to keep my laptop for now,”

“You can use mine,” Alden immediately offered. Your head snapped towards him. Alden's immediate offer to use his laptop caught you by surprise. You use his laptop? The one lucky enough to feel his fingertips dance along it? You appreciated the gesture, but it felt like an intrusion on his personal space.

He walked over to his desk, picked up a sleek, plain silver laptop, and extended it towards you, "You sure?"

He smiled, "Well, I trust you will take good care of it,"

"I will, I promise," you said, your tone expressing your gratitude. As you took the laptop from him, your fingers gently grazed his. You looked down, wishing you could just hold that hand in his, but he made his feelings clear last night. You obviously weren’t his type. Sure, he was older than you, but you didn’t care about age. You hadn’t trusted someone so easily before, one day together and you were already telling him things that your best friends don’t even know about.

You looked at your watch, 7:14, “I gotta go,” you announced, hoping to get back quick enough to have a shower before heading to your first class, “I’ll get this back to you as soon as possible,” you told Alden before turning to your uncle. You placed a kiss to his cheek and began heading towards the exit, “See you soon, Uncle T,”

***

Sleep was very inviting, and you thought as soon as you saw your bed, you would be compelled to sleep. That however didn’t happen when you saw the state your room was in.

What the fuck?!

Both mattresses were flung of the frames of the beds. Drawers hung half-open, their contents spilled across the room, evidence of frantic rummaging. Their search for something had left no stone unturned. Desks were turned upside down, their contents scattered haphazardly, and chairs lay toppled on their sides.

You searched for some answers - but little did you know that two men had quietly slipped into the room behind you and were now watching your every move.

Suddenly, the men pounced, easily overpowering you and pushing you up against a wall. You screamed as loud as you could, but it was too late. They grabbed you and tied your hands with rope before covering your mouth with tape. Someone would see this right? They can’t get you off campus without someone noticing. Surely. The men barked orders at you, telling you to shut up and cooperate or else.

Someone did notice. A security guard. He tried to intervene but got shot. You screamed as best you could, but the tape muffled your attempts. The strong odors of musty fabric and stale air filled her nostrils as you looked around the dark space.

After god knows how long of nonstop driving, the van finally stopped and the backdoors flung open. You heard a sharp voice ordering you out. You carefully jumped out, your legs shaking. Before you could even register your surroundings, you felt a strong grip around your arms dragging you away.

You were led to a room, a small room with no windows, no furniture. Nothing but a desk, a chair and a laptop.

Soon, you found out why you’d been taken. A man who you assumed was the leader of the group stepped forward.

“We need you to help us with something, Y/N. You see, your roommate was working for us, and she was helping us hack into the FBI. But then she was arrested. I assume you had something to do with that,” he said, his hand reaching to grab your face to make you look at him, “She said you are top of your class,”

You scoffed and tore your face from his hand. It hurt but you weren’t going to give him the satisfaction, “I’m not going to do a damn thing for you,”

He chuckled, causing a domino effect as the rest of the group laughed. He the pulled out a knife and pressed it just below your eye, “You think we’re messing?” he then pulled out a picture. A picture of a young girl with ginger hair. You immediately recognised her, “You see, Ciara told us every little detail about you.” He said putting the photo on the desk beside you, “You help us, or,” he paused, only to stab the picture, pinning it to the table. He moved his lips beside your ear, “Or we kill your cousin,”

You nodded, tears flowing down your cheeks as you turn to look at the computer. Your heart was racing as you began to type furiously. You couldn't believe you were actually hacking into the FBI. It was something you never thought you would do in a million years. But you had no other choice. You would do whatever it takes to keep Emily safe.

You felt like you were betraying your uncle by hacking into the agency he worked for. Would he be disappointed? He would, wouldn’t he?

“What happens to me after I do this?”

He chuckled again. He placed his hand on the back of your neck, his thumb stroking the side, “I’m afraid we’ll have to kill you,” his hand creeped lower down your back, his touch made your skin crawl, “Shame, beauty and brains. Such a waste,”

You gulped as you continued tapping away on the keys.  Once you got in, you started to search for the files that they wanted and download the necessary information. As you navigated through the intricate system, you encountered various firewalls and security, but you managed to bypass them all. After hours of searching, you finally found what they were after and quickly extracted it from the system. You knew its was no use, they wouldn’t get there in time, but you left clues along the way for the FBI computer experts to pick up and your uncle especially. You purposely used the wrong password few times, knowing it would show up on their system what was inputted. Diane and Emily’s birthday. To the men in the room with you, it’d look like random numbers, but to your uncle, you hoped he’d notice.

While you were at it, you disabled the security they had on the laptop that was bouncing the signal around the world, so instead they knew exactly where to look. You expect to be dead by the time they got there though. But maybe, just maybe, your last action was to take them down.

The leader went over to the printer, grabbing the information you had just stolen. He read through it, then looked up to his men and nodded to the door. They left the room, leaving you and the leader alone.

“I’ll make it quick and painless,” he smiled. He then grabbed his gun and pointed it at you. You closed your eyes and started counting to yourself. Then, there were sudden gunshots from the next room. Your breath caught in your throat, and you felt relief wash over you. You heard footsteps, voices, and the sound of a door opening, but you didn’t dare open your eyes.

You felt yourself being yanked up from your seat by his strong grip on your hair. He quickly placed you in front of him as a shield, pressing the cold metal barrel of his gun against your temple. Your breathing was heavy, and your heart was pounding against your chest, beating uncontrollably in fear.

You opened your eyes to see your uncle and Parker stood in front of you, their weapons pointed at the man.

Your uncle’s voice cracked as he sternly spoke, "We won't hesitate to fire if you don't surrender."

“You can’t kill me without killing her!” he yelled. “You’ll miss!” you squeezed your eyes shut, feeling as though your fate was sealed.

Then it came, the sound of a gunshot. You let out a scream and waited for the pain, but it never came. You opened your eyes to see the man on the ground, a bullet hole in his head and blood pooling around him.

You immediately ran across the dark room and into the arms of your uncle. He enveloped you with a tight hug and began stroking your hair. “Shh, you're okay,” he said, his hand gently stroking your hair. You cried into his chest and listened to his soothing words.

He led you outside, taking you to the ambulance to get checked out, ignoring your protests. You were still trembling as you stepped outside, the cold breeze dancing along your sweat painted skin.

Your uncle left you with a paramedic to call Emily and let her know you were okay.  

"How are you feeling?" a voice suddenly asked. You jumped and quickly looked in that direction. Parker mentally slapped himself, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,”

You smiled faintly, “It’s okay,” you closed your eyes. “It's been a crazy day,” you said, your voice soft and fragile. “But I'm glad to be alive. I don't know what I would have done without you here.”

He gently squeezed your hand, and tears began to run down your face. “It's alright,” he said, bringing you into a hug. Your head resting on his chest as his arms wrapped around you and at that point you knew you were safe.

It’s just a friendly hug, you told yourself. You wished it was more, but you knew it was unlikely to happen. But then he placed a gentle kiss on your forehead.

You lifted your head from his chest to look up at him, only to find him already looking at you. He looked down into your eyes once more and moved in closer, until your lips were almost touching. Your heart raced as his lips brushed against yours. You saw him hesitate, not letting his lips fully touch yours. You don’t know where your surge of confidence came from but your hand moved to interlock around his neck as you closed the gap between you. Everything else faded away.

You felt as though you were floating, every anxiety and worry evaporating from your body with this one kiss.

His fingers traced the paths those tears had taken, tears that glistened like crystal drops on your skin. You leaned into his touch, your head resting against his chest, his heartbeat a steady, reassuring rhythm beneath your ear. His arms encircled you, providing a sense of security that had been sorely lacking.

The sound of your uncle's voice shattered the fragile bubble of your moment together, "Am I interrupting something?" he asked, a mixture of surprise and discomfort in his tone as he approached the two of you.

Your heart raced as you reluctantly disentangled yourself from Alden's embrace. You met your uncle's gaze, struggling to find the right words to explain, but none came willingly.

You cast a quick glance at Alden, trying to read his expression. His eyes held a mixture of concern and something more profound, but it was difficult to figure out his true feelings. You couldn't help but wonder if he felt the same way, if the sparks that had ignited between you reflected a mutual attraction, or if it had been heat of the moment.

Needless to say, the attraction was mutual. He took you everywhere and anywhere. But you didn’t care as long as he was there. You loved how he would go out of his way finding new pastries for you to try and the childlike smile he has on his face as he awaits your reaction. You love how he plays piano. Sometimes he plays a soothing melody to help you relax after a long day and other times, you’ll wake up to a gentle melody, dancing through the air from the other room. Every day he’d do a million small things for you, no matter what, and it made you fall for him.

Now six months into your relationship, much to your uncle’s dissatisfaction, and you still couldn’t believe that all it took to find the man of your dreams was to be accused of cybercrime. Sometimes you’d joke that if he ever got bored of you then you’d know how to get his attention back. He never finds this funny but this time you replied with something that shocked both of you.

“Don’t tell me that you haven’t thought about putting them handcuffs on me,” you whisper into his ear before placing a soft kiss to his cheek.

Alden raised his eyebrows and looks at you, “I’m sorry, I think I misheard you,” he laughed, no way his sweet innocent girlfriend just said that to him. Sure, you two have slept together but you had never been kinky.

“I’ve thought about it,” you said, your fingers unbuttoning his shirt as your lips attached themselves to his neck. Soon your actions were stopped, and Alden took over. Before you knew it, you were handcuffed to the bed and about to get the best sex you’ve ever had in your entire life.

[A/N] Been working on this for over a week. I wasn't going to post it because I don't feel too confident about it but I just thought post it anyway

[broodybuck]

A Lending Hand | Series Part 4

Series Summary: When Steve finds out what Bucky's been doing behind closed doors, he's happy to lend a hand. He's willing to do whatever it takes to find how much of the Bucky he knew is still left.

Series Tags: Steve Rogers x Bucky Barnes | Rated E | Tags: 18+ explicit smut, recovering Bucky, post cacw, denial of feelings, handjobs, first time, Avengers tower, no refractory period, power bottom Steve, top Bucky

[Masterpost] // [ao3 link]

[PART 1] [PART 2] [PART 3]

The moment Steve opens his eyes, it registers — the warmth, the weight against him, the subtle sound of Bucky breathing. Because Bucky stayed, right in his arms.

Steve smiles to himself, thrilled, and even presses his lips to the back of Bucky's neck.

He assumes Bucky is sleeping but once he shifts, he catches the sight of the brunet's eyes open.

"Oh, good morning," Steve hums, settling back down behind him, arms still wound around him.

Bucky remains quiet, not answering, but Steve doesn't mind. He stays as he is, taking advantage of getting to hold him longer.

"How'd you sleep?" Steve asks after some time.

"I didn't."

Steve stiffens. "Oh."

"Not you," Bucky notes, which is kind of him to say but doesn't make Steve feel much better about it.

"How did you like the cuddling?" Steve inquires.

"Good. I think."

"Don't overthink it," Steve advises. "It's only meant to be comforting."

They lie for a little while longer before Bucky starts to shift. Steve unlatches his hold and backs away, allowing Bucky to turn over and lie on his back. He looks up at Steve.

"Do you want more?" Bucky asks.

"More of what?"

Bucky searches for the word. "Physical."

"This is more than I can ask for already," Steve smiles genuinely.

Bucky looks perplexed by this, almost like he doesn't understand it.

"Don't you want something... in return?" Bucky says.

"Buck, I'm fine. Don't worry about that."

"That's not normal," Bucky objects. "Everyone wants things."

"Well, I do want things. I just don't always ask for them," Steve admits.

"Ask."

He looks dead serious.

"Ask what?" Steve laughs uncomfortably.

"For what you want."

Steve's face turns hot, he's nervous all of a sudden because he can't actually tell Bucky what he wants. Bucky's not ready and he may never be.

"Buck, come on—"

"Ask," Bucky dares again.

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Because I can't," Steve stresses a little too intensely. Bucky tenses from it. Instead of apologizing, Steve's mouth takes off on its own accord.

"I can't possibly ask for what I want when that's everything. Everything, Buck. It's too much to ask for. And I know I can't ask that of you. I'm not expecting anything from you, honest. But yes, I want everything physical and not. I just want you."

Bucky hasn't moved, his eyes don't leave Steve's. He's staring right at him probably in shock.

Slowly, Bucky sits up so Steve does too.

"I'm remembering more," Bucky shares.

"Oh... that's great," Steve says, trying to recover from the word vomit he just embarrassingly spilled. Especially now that Bucky is seemingly changing the topic.

"About us," Bucky clarifies.

"Oh, okay."

"About why we didn't do this back then."

"Oh," Steve frowns.

"It was because of me," Bucky states.

"No, I understood why. It wasn't your fault."

Bucky stares at him and then shakes his head.

"I can make up for it now. Cause I want you too."

Steve's almost speechless at that but eventually he manages the words, "You do?"

Bucky nods.

"I don't know how long it'll take me or if I'll be any good at them," Bucky says softer.

"Hey, don't worry about any of that. I'll wait as long as you need."

"I want you to kiss me again," Bucky tells him.

"Okay," Steve smiles.

Steve starts to lean in but right before their lips touch, Bucky says, "And I'm gonna try to kiss you back and touch you... if that's okay"

"Both of those are very okay," Steve assures him, trying to hide his giddiness.

He leans in and presses their mouths together. He feels Bucky move slightly, his fingertips gently graze Steve's shoulder and begin to trail down his chest.

Then Bucky opens his mouth and kisses Steve more earnestly at the same time his hand glides down Steve's thigh. And it's a lot, so close to the things Steve has been imagining that he moans without meaning to.

Bucky pulls back, looking at him.

"Good?" Bucky checks.

"Very good, but we should keep practicing," Steve coaxes and pulls Bucky back to his lips before he can even respond.

Steve kisses him more urgently now and surprisingly, Bucky falls into sync. He kisses him back just as deeply and Steve's melting under the onslaught on Bucky's lips. He swears it's better than he dreamed.

Making out now becomes a part of their routine and Steve is dying from it. His boners were bad enough as it was but now, his whole body is on fire when he gets to make out with Bucky before and after getting him off.

Bucky doesn't touch Steve typically, although he allows Steve to put his hands anywhere he wants. But one evening, they're making out as per usual and it's after Bucky's handjob. So only Steve is suffocating from his arousal.

On this night, he feels the lightest fingertips touch his thigh and linger. He stops without meaning to and looks down. Bucky draws his hand away.

"No, it's okay," Steve says. "I like being touched."

Bucky makes a complicated face.

"Do you wanna stop now?" Steve offers.

"No."

But neither of them moves to start again. Bucky's hand shifts closer to Steve on the bed but he doesn't touch him yet.

"I want to," Bucky says.

"Touch me? You can," Steve encourages.

Bucky shakes his head. "Return the favor."

Steve looks down at the obscene bulge in his pants and gulps, wanting that more than anything.

"You sure?" Steve asks but his voice has become very breathy since he's already picturing it. Bucky's hands on him — what he's dreamed of too many times to count.

"Yeah."

"Okay," Steve says.

Bucky doesn't move so Steve takes the liberty of opening the fly of his jeans himself. He feels a little shy when he pulls himself out but even the small contact of holding himself makes him sigh with his eyes closed.

He feels Bucky touch his wrist and opens his eyes again.

Bucky looks nervous but determined as his hand gently pulls Steve's off and replaces it with his own hand. Steve swallows, hoping he can last at all for this — for the very thing he'd been waiting for.

Steve's already leaking from sitting so long and Bucky copies Steve's usual habit of swiping the precum with his fingers and spreading it down the shaft. Steve bites his lip, trying not to howl with how good it already feels.

Bucky continues slow and just as gentle. Which makes Steve all the more impatient.

Bucky wraps his whole hand around him now and begins experimenting with sliding his fist up and down the shaft. Steve finally lets out a moan. Bucky looks at him, pausing his hand.

"That's good. You can go faster," Steve nearly pleads.

Bucky's hand moves again and little by little he picks up the pace. He doesn't need to do any fancy tricks, he doesn't need to do much of anything before Steve is shooting his load a minute later.

Steve could be embarrassed but he's on cloud nine, feeling so damn good, he could care less how fast he busted. When he opens his eyes, Bucky is watching him.

"Good, right?" Bucky asks.

"Fucking perfect," Steve pants.

Bucky's eyes widen and Steve's brows knit quickly.

"What?" Steve asks.

"You never curse," Bucky notes.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, I don't usually."

A smile blooms on Bucky's face and abruptly, Steve wonders if Bucky likes cursing. If he should adopt a sailor's mouth to earn that beautiful smile more often.

Oddly, even though they both return the favor now, they don't do it at the same time. That's what Steve learns the next time. Bucky doesn't touch him while Steve's getting him off. Well, except for his lips since they still make out. And all the while, Steve's telling himself it's okay if it was a one-time thing. He'd never ask Bucky to do it again.

But thankfully, when Bucky comes down from his high, he reaches over and takes a hold of Steve to return the favor. So, it's just a thing they do. They take turns and Steve's okay with that. He's grown to love it actually because this way, he can focus on Bucky. Watch him all he wants, really see what he's doing to him, and then he gets his turn after.

Even better, they sometimes cuddle. Steve really loves those nights. And that's when the fantasies of more return. Steve questions if he can hope for more. He's already gotten so much more than he expected but he's not just dreaming of sex, he's envisioning a whole future with Bucky.

That sounds like a lot to ask. Even with Bucky's words 'I want you too' replaying in Steve's mind like a broken record, he's scared Bucky doesn't really know what they mean. At least, to Steve those words mean something very different.

Steve's been waiting his whole life for this, he's not about to mess it up by rushing things.

[bugtransport]

I've seen this one person who, on account of knowing a fair bit of Japanese, has actually seen old-timey serial toku from the late 50's-early 60's like Gekko Kamen, & not only always praises them, but holds more conventional showa toku like Rider & Zubat against them! & I think that's genuinely really fascinating & thought provoking! Makes you wonder how much perspective is lost on us because of the language barrier stopping us from watching those shows, it also brings to mind how when we measure stuff like art, we only do so relative to what WE know!

sorry it was incredibly funny receiving this ask because i feel like this is the experience that anyone who tries to talk to me about western media has when they inevitably run into the brick fucking wall that is the fact that i just apparently did not go through US Kids to Adolescents Media Bootcamp and have the world's spottiest baseline of what you're supposed to know. i mean like yeah sure i've never seen shit like titanic that's an easy one to miss but i just learned who king arthur was last year. i've been boycotting disney since i had a concept of what a company was. i just straight up didn't watch live tv after 2nd grade. my friend had to explain what danny phantom was to me this past weekend. all the shakespeare i know (2) was taught to me against my will.

anyway where was i. i typed up something first but it got way too long. i do think it is interesting to think about how we're only able to comprehend and analyze media through the lens of our experiences in life up to that point but [gesturing above] i am Dumb Ass Rocks and i think that's why whenever i make certain statements about media i feel the need to put in a disclaimer that gives at least some idea of where i'm coming from so people don't expect me to know things i simply don't? it's something that i've had to become very aware of through the years and i think a lot a lot a lot of miscommunication is due to the fact that people are assuming that other people around them have the same understanding or background information or reading of something. i think if you want to talk language barriers there's a point to be brought up too about how translation is an artform and a really beautiful one; you're essentially being a middleman for understanding between the author and the reader but because they're relying on the translator to decode and recode the meaning in their own words, we've now got an additional person in the mix having to balance THEIR knowledge base, so i am wrENCHING MYSELF AWAY FROM THE KEYBOARD I'M GOING OFF TRACK AGAIN-

i think it's good enough to just find enjoyment in the things that you find enjoyment in! unless you're looking to do serious (i.e. academic style) analysis i'm anti-completionist and think everyone should simply leave if they're not enjoying something. doesn't matter how late in the game. i'll watch a whole show and not the final episode if it sucks. i watched bojack horseman thrice but there's one episode i simply won't watch because i started it and hated it. i just watched as much of the show as i cared to and enjoyed it! and in that same vein if you aren't able to access a part of a series/genre/what have you due to time/language/cost/bald/other constraints in my Humble Onion you can just take the enjoyment out of the parts you're able to access. no use dreaming about the things that could be when you have perfectly good shows right there!

[skzfanf1cs]

Stray Kids Academy - Chapter 2 : I Don't Forgive You

Series Masterlist

Main Pairing [This Chapter] : Bang Chan / Original Female Character

Warnings : general misunderstandings

Word Count : 3,149

Bang Chan

I watched on as Jisung was bombarded with questions about his date with Zeke. They might have been excited for him, but I was more wary of Zeke. I actually have known Zeke for a while - we would hang out at the gym with Changbin sometimes - so, I knew about his behaviors and flirty nature. Needless to say, I was worried for Jisung. I didn’t want him to get hurt, no again.

I needed to talk to Zeke. Just to touch base on his expectations if he wanted to be in a relationship with my friend. No threats, just talking. I’d talk to him Monday.

But, once Monday came, plans just happened to change.

I was walking through the school building, hoping to find Zeke before classes started. I did find him. He was leaned up against the wall, his hand gripping another girl’s hand as he smiled sweetly at her and winked before letting the girl’s hand go as she walked away.

My blood started to boil. How dare he flirt with someone else after he had a date with Jisung. I knew he was a flirt, but that was low.

I marched over to him, the time for ‘Just Talking’ was over.

“Oh, hey Hot Stuff.” Zeke greeted me with a wave. I cringed slightly at the nickname he’d chosen for me.

“What was that?” I gestured over to the girl who was currently gossiping with her friends down the hall.

“Oh, that was just Brittney.” Zeke explained. What a half-assed explanation.

“I thought you were taking Jisung out.” I bit out. “What happened to that?”

“Oh.” Zeke’s smile faltered. “I do want to take him out. I was being genuine on our date.”

“Were you being genuine with Brittney too?” My face was heating up because I was so angry.

“What’s your problem?” Zeke started to frown as well. Which pissed me off more.

“My problem is you.” I couldn’t stop myself from saying what was on my mind anymore. “You’re gonna stay away from Jisung, and I’m not gonna beat you up because of it. I won’t let you hurt him.”

Zeke’s face paled at my words. “You know me. Do you really think I’d hurt him?”

“Well, you’ve been flirting with every other girl around here pretty effortlessly.” My words were dripping with venom. “So, yes. I do think that would hurt him.”

Zeke averted his eyes from me. “Alright.” Then, he walked off.

Levi Mitchell

Classes were over for the day. I was sitting down on the couch, working on an art project. I looked up slightly when Zeke entered the apartment and quickly went to his room. He then left his room, went to the kitchen to grab a snack, then went back to his room. He didn’t even make a back-handed comment to me. Something was wrong.

I put my project aside and went to knock on his door. He opened the door, a half eaten pop tart in his hand. “What’s up?”

“You’re acting weird.” I stated as I walked into his messy room. “You usually sit out there with me. You always wanna be where the people are. And you didn’t insult me when you walked in the door.”

“I just wanted to be in my room today.” Zeke said, but I didn’t believe him. He never wanted to be in his room alone.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, more concerned.

Zeke sighed. “I guess something happened today.”

“Well, I could tell you that.” I joked. “What happened?”

Zeke looked at me, a sad look in his eyes. “Do you think I flirt too much? Or that I’d cheat on someone?”

“Who told you that? Who even put that in your head?” My blood boiled at the thought of someone talking to my little brother like that.

“Well…” Zeke mumbled slightly before laying it all out. “It was Chan. He caught me flirting with Brittney. I wasn’t really flirting with her, she just came onto me and I did it to appease her. And Chan caught me and accused me of not being serious with Jisung and that I would hurt him.” He brought his head down. “I thought we were friends…”

I took a deep breath. “I’ll be right back.” Then, I walked out of the room, out of the apartment, got into my car, and started driving.

It was a short drive, but I was fuming the whole way. I pulled up to the house that was shared by Chan and his musical frat boys. Then, I walked up to the door and knocked with all my strength.

Minho opened the door with a smirk once he saw the look on my face. “Who fucked up?”

“Is Jisung here?” I asked. I didn’t want to confront Chan about Zeke when Jisung was here. That would just stress him out more.

“No, he’s at work.”

“Perfect.” I pushed past Minho. “Where’s Christopher?”

Minho’s smirk widened when I pulled out his full name. He lived for the drama. “He’s in his room. I’ll show you-”

“No need.” I walked up the stairs and to the right door before banging my fist against it. He opened the door, shirtless. “We need to talk.” I pushed past him, into his space, before closing the door behind us.

“What are you doing here?” He asked, a little flustered with the fact I just waltzed into his room.

“Zeke came home very upset today.” I glared over at him. “I wonder why.”

He stuttered a bit. “I-I uh…I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” I raised my eyebrow. “Cause that’s not what I heard.”

“Okay, I may have talked to him.” He confessed. But, that wasn’t good enough.

“You may have talked to him?”

“Okay, I did talk to him.”

“Was that talking?” I questioned, trying not to lose my cool. “Cause, from what I heard, that wasn’t talking. How dare you say that to someone you consider a friend.”

“You didn’t see what I saw.” He started to say. “He was flirting with another girl-”

“He doesn’t even like girls!” I yelled, interrupting him.

Bang Chan

Oh.

Oh fuck.

My face was most likely pale from the shock of my realization as Levi glared up at me. I felt like such an asshole. “I…uh…I didn’t realize.”

“Oh, you didn’t realize? Then that makes things okay now, right?” She laughed bitterly. “Apologize.” “I-I’m sorry.” I blurted out before realizing my mistake.

“Not to me, stupid!” She yelled, making me flinch. “And, for god’s sake, put on a shirt!” Her eyes flicked down to my chest before she looked away again.

I couldn’t help but smirk when she looked down at my chest. “You want me to cover up?” I motioned to my exposed chest. Her face gained some color, but she looked into my eyes.

“You have twenty-four hours, Christopher.” She warned. “You better apologize.”

Then she turned on her heels, opened my bedroom door, and walked out. She completely ignored the several grown men I had as roommates, who were outside the door, probably listening in.

I was too shocked to even glare at the men, who slowly filtered back downstairs to the living room since the drama had passed. I pulled on a shirt before going downstairs too.

“So, I might’ve fucked up.” I stated as I got downstairs. “And, I might need to apologize.”

“We heard.” Hyunjin smirked while he scrolled on his phone. “I can help. I know how to formulate the perfect apology.”

Hyunjin started rattling off a bunch of tips, but my mind was elsewhere. It was on Levi. I’ve known her for a while, her being Zeke’s sister and all. And I knew she was upset with me. But, I wanted to see her again.

~~~~~

It was after classes the next day. So, I was cutting it a bit close on my twenty-four hour deadline. I went over to the Mitchell’s apartment and knocked on the door. Levi and her twin opened the door. The two of them glared over at me as Levi crossed her arms over her chest. My heart annoyingly skipped a beat when I saw her.

“What are you doing here?” Levi glared up at me.

I cleared my throat. “I came here to apologize.”

The sisters looked between each other. “It’s been twenty-four hours.” Levi said as she checked her watch. “Why should we let you in?”

“Look, I know I messed up.” I started to say. “I was just worried about Jisung. I didn’t want him to get hurt and I took things too far.”

“Yeah, you took things way too far.” Luna chimed in, glaring as well. “I’ve never seen Zeke so upset. Poor guy.”

And it just made me feel worse. “Can I please just talk to him?”

“I don’t even think he wants to see you.” Levi said.

“What was the point of giving me a timeline if he doesn't even want to see me?”

“That’s not our problem.” Luna states.

Levi Mitchell

I saw movement in the corner of my eye, and quickly looked over to see Zeke in his room’s doorway, listening in with a small smirk on his face. I knew that look, he wanted us to keep going.

I looked back at Chan and smirked. “Maybe if you apologize really loudly, maybe he’ll come out.”

Chan looked exhausted, which made me smirk a little wider. But, he took a deep breath and started in a loud voice. “I’m so sorry. I was wrong. I assumed things I shouldn’t have assumed. I wasn’t thinking clearly, I was just being overprotective of Jisung. In my defense, which isn’t a very good defense cause I was wrong, but I honestly didn’t know you didn’t like girls like that-”

“Whoa, you outed me?” Zeke stepped forward more till he was in the doorway with the two of us.

I rolled my eyes. “Zeke, you’ve been out. Peaches here is just stupid and didn’t see how obvious it was.” I smirked, pulling out my nickname for Chan, who finally looked a little relieved.

“It’s not obvious!” Zeke tried to argue.

“Zeke, honey. You are wearing a skirt right now.”

He looked down at his bottom half, which was in fact adorned with a long skirt. Then, he threw his hands up. “Sue me, I wanted to feel pretty today!”

“So…” Chan cut in. “Are we cool? Or do I need to keep apologizing?”

“I mean…” Zeke got a smirk on his face. “You could get on your knees and beg?”

I quickly elbowed him. “Zeke!”

“I’m joking, obviously!” He rubbed his stomach where I elbowed him. Then, he looked over to Chan. “But, yeah. We’re cool.”

Then there was an awkward silence.

“And I should apologize to you too, Levi.” Chan started as he looked me in the eyes. “I know I’m protective over Jisung, but I understand that you are protective over Zeke.” Then, he smirked. “How about a coffee as an apology?”

My eyes widened. “No.” And I quickly closed the door in his face.

“Oh?” Luna looked over at me. “A date? That you refused?”

“It’s not a date! Cause, it’s not happening!” I started walking away.

“I got insulted and I didn't get a coffee date.” Zeke mumbled.

Bang Chan

As I was going back home, I couldn’t get Levi out of my mind. Honestly, I haven’t been able to get her out of my mind since yesterday. I had to get her to forgive me. I needed her to forgive me.

Once I got home, I started making a list with Felix, Seungmin, and Jeongin’s help. Her favorite drinks, snacks, flowers. Anything I could think of. I got teased a lot, but I didn’t care.

“What are you doing?” Jisung walked in. He seemed tired from his shift.

“Chan has a girlfriend.” Felix teased.

“It’s actually disgusting.” Seungmin rested his head on the table.

“I do not.” I stated as I looked down at my list. It was a good start. “You tired, Jisung?”

“Yeah, sort of.” Oh. He seemed more than tired. “Zeke hasn’t talked to me recently. Maybe I'm being paranoid.” He looked down.

I slightly cringed. I just apologized so maybe there was a grace period before things went back to normal? “He must be busy. I’m sure he’ll talk to you soon.” I never told Jisung I talked to Zeke, so I just hope everything blows over soon.

“Yeah, I hope so.” Jisung then went to this room.

~~~~~

A few days later, I went to the cafe where she worked early in the morning before classes. “Good morning.” I greeted her even though she scowled. “I’ll take a large Caramel Latte.”

Her eyebrows shot up for a brief second before she told me the total. I paid and watched as she expertly made the drink. Once she finished, she went over to hand me the drink.

“You seemed surprised earlier.” I pointed out, reaching up and stopping short from grabbing the drink.

She rolled her eyes. “You actually ordered my favorite drink.” She said, “And I never see you in here. So, I guess I’m a little confused.”

“I know.” I said as I pushed the drink closer to her. “I actually ordered this for you.”

Her eyes widened slightly as she kept the drink in her hand. Then, she glared over at me. “I still don’t forgive you, even if Zeke does.”

My smile faltered a tiny bit before I smiled wider. “I know. But, I won’t stop till you do.” I wrapped my knuckles against the counter before turning on my heels and walking out.

The next day, I caught her after she left her art class. I brought a grocery bag with her favorite snacks and drinks.

“You don’t need to do this.” She said as she tried to hand the bag back.

“I do.” I said as I pushed the bag of snacks further into her arms. “And I’ll keep doing it till you forgive me.”

“Then, get used to giving me things every single day.” She averted her eyes from me. “Or, you can just give up now.”

The next few days, I alternated between favorite snacks or buying her lunches for her in the school store.

The beginning of the next week, I brought her a bouquet of her favorite flowers. Lilies. I could tell she was getting tired of me.

“Zeke might forgive you easily, but I won’t.” She walked away without taking the flowers.

I ended up passing the flowers off to Zeke to give to Levi, which he enthusiastically agreed to.

~~~~~

Jisung was even more upset when I got home today. I instantly thought someone was making fun of him or hurt him, so I immediately asked what was wrong.

“Zeke still hasn’t talked to me.” He looked hurt. “He ignored my texts and I tried waving to him today and he walked the other way. Did I do something wrong?”

I immediately felt a pang of shame in my chest. “Well…actually, no.” I decided to elaborate once I saw his confused expression. “I did something wrong. I uh…” I started to explain everything and felt worse when I saw the anger slowly make its way to Jisung’s face.

“So, he won’t talk to me cause you ‘talked’ to him…because you were scared of him hurting me?” Jisung pinched the bridge of his nose. “Chan, I appreciate the concern, but I’m not a kid anymore.”

“I know, I just worry about you.”

“I’m an adult and I can take care of myself now.” He snapped before covering his mouth. “Sorry, I shouldn’t snap. I just…I thought he liked me.”

I was about to suggest I talk to Zeke again, but he stormed out and went to his room. Minho came into the living room and shook his head. “You better fix this.”

Levi Mitchell

I was a little upset when I went home that day to see the bouquet of flowers on the kitchen table. I was upset because I thought it was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. But, I had to tell myself to stay strong. I couldn’t break and forgive him easily.

I was even more upset when I actually saw him on my doorstep again. “Hey.” He help up a pen. “I brought another peace offering…plus, I need to talk to your brother again.”

“Are you going to insult him again?” I snapped and he flinched.

“No, not at all.” he brought his hand up. “I’m still kind of repairing my mistake.”

“Let me guess.” Jisung did look upset today. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why. “Zeke still won’t talk to him. He might’ve forgiven you, but your words still ring through his head. He may not seem like it, but he’s really insecure. He might actually think he’ll hurt Jisung now because you said it.” I punctuated the last few words of my sentence my jabbing my pointer finger into his chest.

“I’m trying to fix it.” He rubbed his chest where I poked him. “So…here.” He held out the nice looking pen.

“Why a pen?”

“To be honest.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m running out of ideas.” “Feel free to stop trying to win my forgiveness then.”

“Never.” He grabbed my hand and placed the pen into it. “But, seriously, can I come in?”

I sighed. “Look, he’s not home right now. But…” I took a deep breath. “I can pass on a message for you.”

My heart skipped a beat when I saw his bright smile. “Really?

“Yes.” Then, I pointed the pen at his face. “But, that doesn’t mean I forgive you.”

~~~~~

I explained everything to Zeke when he got home from his shift at the record store. He seemed relieved and explained everything I already knew. He was scared Jisung hated him and was scared to reach out even when Jisung did. He was scared of messing up. And that fact made me a little more upset with Chan that he put those doubts into Zeke’s head.

But, I also was happy he tried to fix it.

So, when he came into the cafe the next morning, I was prepared to forgive him. “What do you want? I’ll buy you anything for breakfast.” He said.

Well, I could forgive him after breakfast.

I quickly placed the order and clocked out once my shift ended. We sat at the table near the front doors of the cafe. I took a bite of my pastry and a drink of my coffee before taking a breath. “I forgive you.”

My heart skipped a beat when I saw him smile. He looked ecstatic. “Really?”

“Don’t push your luck.” I tried to push the feeling aside. “But, we can start over.”

He smiled wider. “I’d like that.”

[spicebiter]

So at the recommendation of @21ate I finished the EverymanHYBRID series and, if I'm being completely honest, my impression was a little soured by it. And, again if I'm being honest, it's mostly because this series didn't really need to have anything to do with Slenderman or any other pre-existing creepypasta. I genuinely think I would've liked this series as a whole and especially the ending more if it had been a wholly original story. Even the crossovers, I find, kind of detracted from what it has on its own merit.

The whole thing kinda reminds me of when I watched through every Hellraiser movie and just how many of them were originally other scripts that then cut and pasted Hellraiser elements in order to make another film for the series. While I do understand A: how something begins as a fanwork type piece and then gradually becomes bigger than that genre can hold, and B: how someone might feel the need to attach something with recognition to their work for it to find its audience and succeed, I personally find it difficult to move past that feeling of 'it should've been something else' for most things, and shows or movies of any kind are especially no exception.

All that said while I say I would've liked it more as an original story, I wouldn't assume I'd love it. I think the ending was maybe a little... rushed? compared to other parts. That may not be the right word but something about the second to last episode felt off from the rest of the series. Really from the moment Vincent began to work with Habit I wasn't certain what direction things were going in but I'm not sure it fits with what was laid out prior to that point. Habit's motivations and personality seem to be a little Off based on what was seen previously and the creation of the weapons to kill powerful things... It was a little lackluster to me. I don't want to trash on the series at all because it is clear that 8 years of a lot of passion went into it but something about that penultimate episode just didn't hit the mark like I expected it would. Maybe I misread the vibe or the direction of the story in a very big way or maybe it's one of those things where they did their best to make a satisfying ending and it inherently wasn't going to hit the same for everyone. Either way, I didn't feel anything was necessarily *wrong* with the last parts but it's neither what I was expecting nor is it the direction I personally would've taken the series, and that's neither here nor there.

On a more praising note, I didn't mention this in my other post but I wanted to say something about the way the series uses music because I think that alone sets EverymanHYBRID apart. Habit's penchant for Sinatra was a treat and the way there's almost always music playing while characters are in the car felt very nice, as I feel both with TV and other web series there's too much worry about copyright and how well you can hear the characters over the music and it removes from how natural a scene can feel. It's something you don't necessarily notice when it's not there, but when it is it brings a facet to a scene that elevates it in a specific way that I really enjoy. I think it's also an interesting creative choice to often overlay montages with some kind of music throughout the series. In the beginning it was obviously more of a nod to documentary/informative type videos but later it was an odd choice given how much normal scenes would feel natural, because that synthetic overlay usually isn't there for a series of this type. I especially liked the use of music in 'The drive west.', specifically the montage scene split by that moment at the gas station. It's the type of thing you'd see more often in a movie or TV show but not in a slenderverse web series and for videos with a more serious tone it's kind of hilarious? The idea of them editing this video where people are going through hell on earth and then adding a fun little montage with a music track is... lmao I don't even know what to say it's just really funny to me.

Anyway even tho I'm not a huge fan of the way it turned out I do wanna thank 21ate for recommending that I continue because there were definitely parts worth seeing and it gave me a much better idea of the series as a whole than reading about it on the wiki would have and I think that alone was worth my time

[slade-neko]

I debated on making this post, but somehow here I am...

Apparently some folks got upset over my post saying how I disliked the Fallout TV show... seriously? Can't even have an opinion on the internet anymore, but I then again when could you?

Look, I'm not upset or anything and am most definitely not here to tell people what you can or can't like. I was merely posting my opinion on something that's part of a series that I've loved for years. I took the time to watch something, gave it a chance, and I genuinely didn't like it. Simple as that. If you loved it, good for you, but maybe you shouldn't read a post talking about how someone else disliked it. Don't try to devalue someone else's opinion, a purely subjective matter, and tell them they're wrong. That's like if I stumbled upon someone venting how they hated the anime Dragon Ball Z... I'd just think to myself, "whatever" and move on with my day.

My post wasn't meant to sound hateful, just very cynical, as that's how I write. It was intended for my own followers, didn't expect someone who follows the tags to find it and flip. This wasn't even supposed to be a serious thing, just some thoughts. I don't cover the actual story writing on the show (which I was not a fan of either...) I said in the beginning I decided against making a full review because there are some great ones already on Youtube. I simply talked about how I disagreed with some of the nasty stuff in the show. Not just Fallout TV particularly, but crap that plagues Hollywood movies in general.

I'll admit I didn't take the greatest care in my writing and for that I received "some" very valid criticism, which I wanted to address in this post where I can hopefully clear up any confusion...

(Remember this is someone's OPINION that could very well differ from your own! If that bothers you, please do not read it. 😇)

1. The games are full of "bad stuff," so it makes sense to feel bad watching it!

I never argued that a rated-M role-playing game about a post-nuclear apocalyptic world didn't have dark and mature themes to it. I simply disliked the nasty crap thrown into the show for the sake of comedic/ shock value.

A.) The incest stuff with Lucy and Sweet Home Alabama (her cousin) was made out to be funny on a Rick & Morty level like "Hahaha wow, I can't believe they put that in there!" It wasn't taken as a serious issue, just a jab at idiot humor. If you want to see incest addressed as a real problem, the indie game "The Coffin of Andy and Leyla" portrays that way better.

B.) The weird freaky guy who bangs chickens is in the same boat. It was just stupid shock value of the BoS guy breaking up two idiots fighting in the wasteland only to have one of them be a "chicken banger..." Wow, so funny! And cherry on top, Maximus just let's him go. Personally, I'd have killed him or brought him back to the chicken's owner and let him do what needs to be done, but this is a show, not a game, so you just watch the wonderful writing play out.

C.) The genetic mutation vault. Vaults do have sick messed up crap in them, that's a fact and yes there is genetic mutation in a series all about radiation, but a human lady birthing out baby monsters (gulpers) that devoured her alive... Still, never seen a Vault in the games do that. Might be a poor excuse on my end, sure, but I could've gone without seeing something as disgusting as that in my life. Also the Vault's weird cult crap with people "exposing their chests..." The Fallout games are rated-M, yeah, but never feature full nudity... I don't wanna see naked people in Fallout, if I did, I'd install mods lol. But I digress, this is HOLLYWOOD's Fallout, so I suppose they can do whatever they want with it for the sake of their "artistic vision." Again, something I'm obviously not a fan of, if someone else is, well that's their thing.

2. Oh, but Fallout has tons of s*x jokes!!!

True, the games have jokes like that especially in New Vegas with things like Fisto, the reprogrammed Protectron. Fisto, to me, IS funny because its well-written. In my opinion, Obsidian's writing was leagues better than Bethesda's Fallout games. Thank Chris Avellone and the Obsidian team for that. Fallout 4's came off very bland, boring, and inoffensive. New Vegas in particular had wonderful writers and all their jokes and innuendos were good. The TV show's attempts were nothing more than miserable Hollywood "idiot humor." The whole "wanna have s*x?" scene will never be funny, at least to me anyways. It think it's just stupid.

3. Lore doesn't matter/ it can change!

I myself have never been one to get too invested in lore of anything, but I do appreciate it when creators of a series at least try to keep things in check. While it might "not matter" for some people, you can't take that away from those who enjoy it. Lore itself is an important building block to create a strong foundation of a fictional world that fans can invest in. When lore is subject to change on a whim whenever the creators desire then it makes it harder for fans to immerse into said world. Why bother getting invested if everything you learn will only be altered constantly? Unless someone only cared about the quick thrills and enjoy things only in the moment, which is fine, I suppose, but doesn't mean everyone does.

Sure there exists many crappy live-action video game adaptions, but typically the original video game creators don't ever mention them let alone acknowledge their existence as they're made simply for "cash grabs." Take the Resident Evil movies, dime a dozen, crap adaptations, nobody really cares about. Fallout's on the other hand, while maybe its purely speak on Todd Howard's behalf, but he insists that the Fallout TV show is "canon" to the universe and will be followed through in Fallout 5. Paired with the fact the show creator said in an interview that he wasn't out to make a show to please fans of the games, saying "It's a fool's errand." Rightfully so that can make fans very upset when said show tramples on years of lore built up from previous games. Especially from the ORIGINAL Fallout games that Bethesda had nothing to do with. Disney and Star Wars is another great scenario of this.

I can fully understand why Bethesda does that though, as they're just trying to make A.) a fun game and B.) make money (more-so on B. now-a-days...) Prioritize game first, lore later. Many games do that, The Legend of Zelda games are a big one that come to mind. Like I said, I'm not a huge lore guy, but Fallout is one of my favorite series, so I appreciated it when they tried to keep things somewhat cohesive and respect the lore that came before.

End/ Final Thoughts

I still think the show is mediocre at it's very best. This is just the opinion of some guy who's liked Fallout for 14 years starting with Fallout 3. Gave the show a shot, didn't like it, not a big deal. It's not the end of the world or anything.

The show obviously wasn't made for people like myself and that's okay. If someone else likes it, good on 'em. Keep having fun and don't let me or someone else stand in your way of enjoying the things you like, but at the same time don't disrespect someone's opinion simply because they don't feel the same way as you.

"Some people just plain don't respect others, and that's a no-no. If there's one thing I won't tolerate, it's lack of respect." - The King (Fallout: New Vegas, 2010)

With all that said... I'm very tired. I didn't come back to Tumblr to argue stupid opinions over a freakin' Amazon Prime series of all things. If anyone wants to watch a good full review, I recommend ItsAGundam or SyntheticMan's on YouTube. I found them to be very good honest reviews from long term fans.

Remember to be nice to each other, respect opinions, etc. etc. Now I'm gonna go back to doing something fun like playing Minecraft or Sims.

Peace ✌️

[yours-the-author]

The Worst Thing I've Ever Drawn

I had the pleasure of watching the 1985 live action movie adaptation of Clue a week ago for the first time in a while. It's easily one of my favorite movies, combing over the top slapstick with genuinely fun wordplay and a touch of improve. The setting is great, the characters are fun, and it's just a fun old time when I get to sit down and watch it with the fam.

You're probably wondering what the movie Clue has to do with the title of this post (especially considering the generally abysmal quality of the "drawings" I post). Well, there's a particular character in the movie, Wadsworth the Butler, who is absolutely the star of the show (in a show fully of characters with their shining moments). He's clever, funny, but most importantly, he's very physically distinct, which is to be expected from the actor who portrays him: Tim Curry.

I, personally, put this acting gig way up on my reasons for liking him as an actor, as well as the fact that he did the audio books for most of Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" books (the few exceptions were always to let the author himself do some reading, which I also appreciated).

So yeah, I think Tim Curry is pretty cool. But as I was watching the movie the other week, I realized something that I couldn't get out of my head, and I had to act on it.

When I imagined these images in my head, I was thinking more of screenshots of certain scenes that I'd then draw over a little bit, like drawing a mustache on a character's face, for example. Unfortunately, I don't have access to technology like that (or if I do, I don't know how to use it), so I had to go about a different way: by taking pictures of the scenes with my phone, then tracing over them and adding the mustache-type details as I went. This is very inefficient and, again, I'm not the best artist in the world, but I worked hard on these, and I think they're pretty funny, so I'll share them with you now.

In the event of The Henry Stickmin Collection by Puffballs United becoming a live action movie (entirely theoretical), I present my personal choice of casting:

Tim Curry starring as Reginald Copperbottom:

You're welcome.

More under the line!

Another angle of the man of the hour, featuring fewer face wrinkles.

That Feeling When you spent so much money on that.

(please ignore how small RHM is, I can't understand portions evening when I'm cheating/tracing)

The (Toppat Recruits) gang's all here! (Henry is Not Okay)

Uh-oh! The leaders are fighting! (Featuring Sven looking on tearfully at an awful angle)

I don't think the gun was supposed to go off just then...

Look out, Charles! He has a gun!

(again, please ignore the weird proportions on Charles, he's Not Okay)

Give us a big, evil smile! He's committing daylight robbery!

Time to get serious! No more messing around! It's time to-

BRITISH DOWN! Spoilers for the end of the movie?!?!

[lily-orchard-gossip-blog]

You know, in theory I can understand not liking a show switching from plot to no plot. I love Digimon, but I find the tonal change in Digimon Tamers really rough upon rewatch, the way we go from "kids and their monsters and friendships" to "mankind has created something that may end the world as we know it and our fate is in the hands of the next generation to undo our mistakes". And although I love Digimon Tamers, I know tons of people who don't like it, precisely because the genre shifted hard and the tone along with it.

But people who don't like it don't act like it's evil, or problematic, or the worst thing that could ever happen to the franchise. People in the Digimon fandom who dislike Digimon Tamers just don't engage with it. They don't tear it down and say no series should get that serious or have that plot or have any plot at all. Instead, fandom consensus is that it was flawed but ultimately deserves respect for trying something distinct and different from the franchise's previous formula. I have had people who say they hate Digimon Tamers also say to me that they think it was a net positive because it let the creators of the franchise explore themes they hadn't gotten the chance to before. I've had people who loathe the main character say they liked that the series didn't keep rehashing the same personality type the leads had prior. And lots of people who dislike it simply never talk about it at all, because they prefer to focus on parts of the franchise they like. Also, even Digimon fans who think it's the worst entry in the franchise don't tear into the creators of it - if anything, an ongoing joke among Tamers fans and haters is that this is exactly what you get when you hire writers used to writing for dark visual novels and hand them this series. There's no blaming or assuming the writers are bad people, it's just, "Well, what did we expect?"

And I guess why Lily's garbage is so tiring is that she doesn't do that. She doesn't go, "It had some good points, but ultimately I didn't care for it. I dislike it but I'm sure the staff did their best." Instead she builds things up to be the end of all that is good artistically and morally in the world and caps it off with unveiled, open contempt for everyone involved in the production.

Yes, her anger is just as often performance as it is real. But it's still ridiculous either way, it doesn't stop being illogical, over the top, toxic and utterly unnecessary just because it's fake.

I get that she may genuinely dislike shows having a plot or having a tone shift. I do not understand going, "So I'm going to keep watching things I hate, act hysterical, and lose my shit on camera again and again like a howler monkey at the zoo yelling for treats." I understand even less than that the idea that disliking a piece of media makes it bad or means anything about the people who worked on the show.

If I try butterscotch ice cream and hate it, that means I don't like butterscotch. It doesn't mean the ice cream man is a monster and that butterscotch existing at all is a mistake.

.

[dragontamer05]

Thoughts / sort of rating of the Yugioh dubs;

DM- Look for all it's flaws, weird edits and censorship over all it's fairly decent. Most of the voices are good, generally speaking the tone and story are still relatively in tact. No episodes were skipped or out right cut, although changes were made.

Are somethings handles better/ make more sense in the orignal form for sure but during a time among a sea of very mixed dubs (and even compared to some of the other series 4kids/4K tried) It's honestly pretty good.

GX- Look while I admit to having some nostalgia for it's just.. not great. The joke meter got turned farther up and while some areas they did manage to keep the tone/ emotion- particularly there's a few good lines of Jaden/Judai from the dub when desperately going after Jesse/Johan

BUt oh boy is it sure just a product of its time with just some of the dialogue feeling very peak 2000s energy. And also a lot more questionable voice choices for characters (some is decent tho)

I'll sooner recommend someone watch the sub first if genuinely interested in the series. But if you've got a bit of nostalgia or just want to have some fun riffing on something it can be a fun watch.

Other majour problem is due to the desire of wanting to get on the next series fast as possible it never got completed and never got s4

5Ds- A mess.

Once again for a lot of the main cast voices are okay but definitely getting worse/more extreme in their attempts to try and hide death / censor or alter things. Whole chunks of it simply was not dubbed at all which I'm sure made pacing weird.

Never actually watched it all but oof. Even if everything else was great just the fact that there is a good chunk that got cut / not translated makes it hard to recommend watching it.

Might be a fun curious watch I guess but probably the dub series with some of the most issues (maybe)

Zexal- Well at least it got completed, like DM did so that's something. Personally kind eh about some of the voices. Astral's is great love it, Yuma is okay but I can understand how it may get annoying for some.

Another one with pretty bad censorship problems that I think even some who's only watched dub could probably figure seem off.

Probably could have ended up a lot worse truth be told but even looking at how DM was handled probably could have been better in places.

Still suggest subs over dub generally but if knowing of the changes doesn't bother you / okay with the voices I mean there's worse out there.

Arc V-

Decent. A clear sign of things to change and improvements. Complete series, still some expected censorship and changes here and there but otherwise fairly faithful to the source. No egregious changes even any allusions to death if altered it's in away that still makes sense / doesn't totally negate it just perhaps stated less overtly or something.

Serious moments often able to be kept serious (compared to some from what I recall just the usage of jokes didn't feel as egregious / bad)

Voicing pretty good over all with only a few characters that make me question the voice direction.

Overall, for sure worth watching it's fun (also there are just some great very quotable lines that got me laughing)

Likely helped in part by being owned by Konami thus I'd assume giving them some control/input on how things go

Vrains-

So good. Voice acting great and just everything was handled well I think.

Once again Complete series, some of the typical changes that are just usual stuff at this point but for a series that can get as dark and serious as it does they handled it pretty well. I think honestly they even have a few lines that just wow.

Like as much as it would be great to have them do a dub where nothing gets changed (say for anything that is typically might happen for any localization- i.e like changing a joke that doesn't work in translation or whatever) I'd say it's pretty darn close and over solid job.

I know some people we kinda eh on that ending/scene in the last episode and I get it, wasn't what was expected or hoped for maybe but I thought it was fine. Far from the worst thing they could have done and it still felt at least fitting/ pretty in character. And if your someone watching only dub I think they still manage to hit and keep the emotion of that scene just doing it in a different way.

Sevens-

As it is, Sevens is a pretty goofy show with big Saturday morning cartoons energy. From the get go it had the makings of what would be a fun dub and they nailed.

Voice choices are so good, continuing on the track of completing series and whatever changes might have been made be it dialogue or what have was nothing that I ever noticed or affected the plot/story in anyway.

Like obviously the script can't/won't be word for word exact but I'm pretty sure more often then not whatever was used or said was pretty close to/equivalent there of whatever was in the original anyway.

It's good, it's fun and silly and I can promise that despite what you may think I'd argue the vast majority of jokes come straight from the Sub itself or at the very least it keeps within the general tone /feeling of something the character would say. Never came across any moment where a joke was used that did feel quite right.

As said as it is Sevens is a pretty silly and fun show even in its original form and the Dub does a great job of keeping the spirit alive and story intact

Sub or dub I strongly recommend watching it anyway. Yes it's animated by a different group- no longer done by Studio Gallop. But honestly it fits and works. I have no idea how much was already planned out before the switch was made or any of the behind the scenes but regardless the art/animation style really fits well the tone of the series - and you can still look at it and go 'that's a yugioh'

Plus after the plot of Vrains ngl kinda nice n fun to have what Sevens brought.

Also look it's time to accept that for as much as it is a series that anyone can enjoy the target demographic IS technically kids / a younger audience (and trying to use this as a means to attract more of that younger audience get them interested)

Go Rush doesn't have a dub yet but I'm hyped and am sure it'll be a blast to.

[thewordworrier]

It Started With An Alright Scene - Part Five

Series Masterpost

Word Count: Just over 4k.

I’m not going to pretend that I know how contract signing and all of that actually goes, but like the masterpost says, it’s just fanfic, it doesn’t have to be so serious!

The band exchanged looks before Frank spoke. “I don’t think we’ve got anything else to ask either.” Shelly hummed and smoothed her skirt out. “Well, in that case, I should probably leave you to discuss it.” There were a few nods. “I can get Andrea to come and check on you at some point, if you want?” Shelly asked, picking up her organiser from by her side. “I think that would work,” Ray said as the others nodded. “As she said when she left me here, you’ve got the room for as long as you need it for,” she stood and brushed down her skirt, her organiser under her arm. “It was an absolute pleasure meeting all of you, and I promise we won’t be offended if you don’t think I’m suitable,” she glanced over at them and smiled. “Really, I promise.” “It was nice to meet you too,” Mikey said with a nod, the others making noises of agreement. “I’ll get Andrea to check in on you,” she flipped open her organiser and retrieved her pen. “But can I get you anything first?” True to her previous word, she wrote down their requests, read them back out and smiled when they confirmed that she’d gotten them right. “Alright, I’ll get those for you,” she said, making her way to the door, opening it. “It shouldn’t take too long, but, again, you’ve got the room for as long as you need.” “Thank you,” Gerard said quietly. She smiled, bowed ever so slightly and shut the door behind her when she left. After the door had clicked shut, they waited a few minutes, just to make sure she wasn’t going to come back too quickly - in case she forgot something. Once it looked like the coast was clear, Frank cleared his throat. “I like her.” “Of course you do,” Ray rolled his eyes. “You think she’s hot - you hit on her!” “Well, yeah,” Frank rolled his eyes in response. “She is hot. But she also seems really sweet and incredibly genuine.” “I agree with that actually,” Gerard said quietly. “The genuine bit. She definitely seems that.” “She seems honest too.” “And it seems like she works hard,” Ray added. “Do you think we should ask her boss about her at all?” Gerard seemed to think about this for a moment. “I don’t know if we need to do that. I mean, her boss put her name forward without Shelly even knowing, about the job or about us. Her boss must have absolute faith in her.” “Shelly did say that her boss didn’t want to hold her back, that her boss thought that this would be a good opportunity for her,” Frank added. “And, as you said, the fact that her name was put forward before Shelly even knew about the job… That’s pretty much a solid endorsement right there, isn’t it?” The others nodded. “Besides,” Mikey spoke up. “What could we really ask her boss that would be of any use to us? It seems like her boss does a lot of office admin stuff maybe? And even Shelly says she doesn’t expect us to know about that kinda thing.” “It’s more about a compatibility thing then really, isn’t it?” Frank said. “It’s clear that she can do her job, because she’s been with her current boss for so long and because her boss highly recommends her, so it’s now just about whether or not we think we can get on with her.” “Well, you wanna bone her, so that’s a yes from you,” Mikey rolled his eyes with a slight grin on his face. Frank snorted. “It’s just harmless flirting, you heard her - she says I’m polite about it!” “She did ‘snap back’ pretty well too,” Gerard tucked some hair behind his ear. “I think she could handle you, and give as good as she gets.” “She seems like she could be a bit feisty, not at all mouselike,” Ray agreed with a nod. “Which could be handy,” Gerard continued. “Plus, she seems like she actually likes what we do?” “Like she actually believes in us, that she’s going to support us and not just…” Frank paused. “She’ll be actively present instead of just… Present? Does that make sense?” “She’ll want us to do well, and be there because she wants to be - we’re not just a paycheck to her,” Mikey said. “Yeah!” Frank nodded eagerly. “Exactly that.” “Well, I think she seems nice,” Ray said, leaning back in his chair. “And, as Frank said, genuine.” “I do wonder if we really should just go for the first person they offer us though, is that wise?” Mikey wondered out loud. “Her boss said that she’s the best the London office has to offer.” “Yeah but,” Mikey tilted his head to look at Frank. “Her boss also said that she might be biased.” “I would imagine that there was a discussion about it, plus I think Shelly’s current boss might be like, a head of department kinda boss? So her opinions come with a bit more weight.” The others looked at Gerard. “What makes you think that?” Ray asked. Gerard shrugged. “I don’t know, instinct?” That seemed like a good enough answer for the rest of them, to be perfectly honest. “So,” Gerard said quietly a few minutes later. “Does anyone have any objections? Any more questions we can ask her?” “I don’t think having a woman around is going to hurt us in the slightest,” Frank shrugged a little. “I really think she’s more likely to help us than hinder us.” “I think she’ll be good with Frank too,” Mikey said softly. Frank was about to throw something at him, but a look from Ray made him stop and sigh. “Yeah,” Frank said. “I don’t think she’s going to judge us for anything.” “It might be nice for you not to have to feel like you have to look after yourself if you get sick too,” Gerard added, his tone as gentle as his brother’s had been. “I know you don’t like to let us help very much.” “Mm, no offence though.” “None taken.” “Thanks guys,” Frank smiled gently at his bandmates before  he cleared his throat. “So, um…” “Is she going to be a good fit?” Gerard asked, getting the feeling that Frank wanted to get back to the matter at hand. “Do we want her working for us?” “I clearly have no objections,” Frank said with a nod. Gerard looked at his brother and Ray, who both shook their heads. “What about you Gerard?” Ray asked. “What do you think?” He thought about it for a moment. “I feel like maybe there should be some more discussion, much like I feel like we should’ve had more questions.” The other three nodded. “But if we genuinely can’t think of anything else, and if we genuinely can’t think of any issues we might have, then I really don’t see why not?” There was a gentle tap at the door, preventing them from discussing anything else (not that they thought they had much to say anyway), and Frank got up to open it. Shelly was on the other side, looking a tiny bit annoyed. He stood aside to let her in and she entered the room, walking over to put the drinks and whatever else they’d asked for on the table. “Sorry that took a little longer,” she said, straightening up and brushing some flyaway hair off of her face. “First off, the queue was a little longer than I would’ve liked, and secondly, I had to get them to remake something.” They looked at her, a little inquisitively. “They thought I wasn’t watching them,” she said, resting her hands on her hips. “If I specify a particular thing, then I want that particular thing for reasons that’re none of their business.” The rest of the band glanced at Frank, all guessing that she’d had to have his drink re-made. “I get that they were busy but that’s no damn excuse to not follow a customer’s specifications,” Shelly huffed a little bit. “That behaviour can get people really sick. There’s no excuse for cutting corners. What’s the point in offering such customisations if you’re not going to honour them?” Frank was looking at her with a… Soft expression on his face. He picked up his drink and flipped the lid open with his thumb before taking a sniff. “Does that seem better?” She asked quietly. “I’m pretty certain that they made it right this time, and I’m only assuming that you can tell sooner rather than later.” “I can normally tell by the smell, yeah…” Frank nodded. “And it smells right.” He looked up at her and smiled. “Thank you.” The blonde seemed to relax, and she brushed the loose strands off of her face again. “I’m glad. I was a little worried that after I complained they might’ve retaliated, but I really was watching them like a hawk.” Gerard shared a look with his brother, and then with Ray, all nodding at each other, sharing the same thought - she didn’t even officially work for them and she still fought for Frank’s specifications like… It was natural? “It’s perfect, thank you.” Frank said quietly. “Good, good I’m glad,” she relaxed, her hands slipping from her hips to rest by her sides. “Can I get anyone anything else?” “No, thank you,” they chorused quietly. Shelly nodded. “Okay, right. I’ll leave you to it.” When she turned her back, Gerard managed to catch Frank’s eye before pointedly looking at the blonde. Gerard mouthed: “Now?” and Frank nodded. Gerard cleared his throat. “Shelly?” He paused. “Can we call you that?” She closed the door, only having opened it an inch or so before she turned on her heel. She tilted her head. “Of course,” she said gently. “Miss Sketcher is a bit formal, and as I told you, very few people call me by my full name.” Gerard nodded before glancing at his bandmates, getting more nods from them. He wasn’t aware of the fact that Shelly was watching this, her head tilted ever so slightly. Before he had the chance to speak, she gently cleared her throat. “It’s okay if you would rather work with someone else,” she said softly. “I’m honestly not offended.” “What?” Frank was the first to speak after they’d looked at each other (again). “That’s… That’s -” “That’s not it at all,” Gerard continued, speaking a little louder than he had over the course of the entire ‘interview.’ “We want to offer you the job.” Shelly had been in the middle of tucking loose strands of her hair behind her ear when he’d said that last bit. As soon as the words registered her eyes widened and she looked really surprised. “R- really?” They nodded and her face broke into a bright smile that Gerard thought was the prettiest thing. She bit her bottom lip to try and tone down that smile, while stopping herself from bouncing on the heels of her feet, while in her heeled shoes - she was trying so hard to remain professional but, oh god, she was really really pleased. “Okay!” Shelly said, quite cheerfully before she swallowed and toned her voice down a bit. “Um, well, there’s a contract that needs to be signed, so, um, I’ll go and get that and… If there’s anything you want to add or,” she waved her hand. “Those can be added and the contract tweaked until we’re all happy with it and…” She paused, nibbled her bottom lip and hummed. “I’m gonna go and get that…” The band watched her leave the room, closing the door behind her. “She’s so cute,” Frank said with a grin, once the door had clicked shut. “She was trying to contain herself, did you see it?” Ray’s smile matched Frank’s, Gerard nodded, even Mikey had a small smile on his face. Privately, Gerard agreed that her reaction had been cute - her reaction made him feel like they had definitely made the right choice. Of course, they could still be proven wrong but… He had a good feeling. Shelly, meanwhile, moved away from the closed door of the meeting room and ducked into the nearest empty one, closing the door behind her. She put her face in her hands and exhaled deeply, letting out little huffs while she tried to compose herself. If she wasn’t wearing her heels, she’d probably be doing little tippy-tap movements with her feet like an excited puppy. She was honestly surprised that she was containing the little squeal that she knew wanted to bubble up of her throat and pop out of her mouth. She exhaled deeply again, adjusted her posture and left the room, striding to Andrea’s office and knocking on the door. “Come in.” The blonde opened the door, stepped inside and closed it behind her, standing with her hands behind her back, her organiser under her arm. She kept her eyes on the floor for a moment, trying to recompose herself. “Shelly?” Andrea sounded… Concerned, almost. “Are you okay?” “I…” She swallowed and looked up at her boss, failing to stop the smile from breaking onto her face. “I need the contract Andi, they wanna give me the job.” Andrea beamed. “That’s my girl! See? I told you!” Shelly stayed by the door while Andrea started looking for the contract that had been created. She had already seen it and was happy with it, though she was curious to see if any of the guys would want to add anything. “Do you want to go and get them?” Andrea asked the quiet blonde. “It might be easier to do this bit here; they can check this contract and if nothing needs to be added I can run off additional copies here, in front of everyone.” “Sure thing Andi.” Shelly put her organiser on Andrea’s desk, knowing it would be safe there, before making her way back to the meeting room that the band was still in and knocking on the door. When she was granted permission to enter, she opened the door and remained in the doorway. “Gentlemen,” she said, and even her voice was smiling. “Would you care to follow me, please?” They looked at each other, amused, before gathering themselves and anything they had with them and following her down the corridor, waiting while she knocked on another door and was called inside. She held the door open for them from inside the room and they filed in. “Gentlemen,” Andrea greeted them before gesturing to the two chairs in front of her desk. “I apologise for not having as many chairs as we need, I don’t normally have this many people in my office, but please, take a seat.” Shelly giggled and shut the door behind them, moving to stand by the side of Andrea’s desk, by Andrea’s side, facing the band. She had her hands clasped in front of her - which wasn’t unusual, and today she was especially glad it was a habit because it would hide the fact that her hands were shaking. “First thing’s first,” Andrea said, sliding the contract across the desk to the two sitting in the chairs - Gerard and Frank. “We need you to read this and decide if there’s anything you want to add, take out or change in general. It’s in pretty basic language, but feel free to ask if you don’t understand something.” “It’ll cover the usual employment stuff; and stuff about respect and decent behaviour and all those kinda things,” Shelly said quietly. “But it’ll also have a clause or two in it that’s especially designed to protect you guys, the music and all your artistic rights and all that ownership stuff. It’s your music and everything, not mine; I don’t get anything just because I work for you. Your ideas and everything belong to you, not to me and definitely not to the label. It’s all yours.” “That was her idea,” Andrea said, noticing that Gerard had looked up at Shelly as she’d been talking about the rights. He looked… Impressed? Touched maybe? Andrea wasn’t sure but there was something in the way he was looking at Shelly. “We tried to tell her that it was one of those ‘goes without saying’ things, but she wanted it explicitly in writing.” “It protects you,” Shelly said, avoiding looking at the singer as he focused more on her as Andrea spoke. “And it also protects my career a little bit - people can’t accuse me of anything because I’ve signed a contract that negates almost anything that can be thrown at me.” “Does that make sense?” The older woman asked. The band nodded, still passing sheets of the contract around. “There’s also things about privacy; about not spilling band secrets or personal secrets or whatever,” Shelly said with a slight shake of her head. “Not that she would anyway, she’s very loyal,” Andrea interjected. “Well yes, privacy is important. Other people’s secrets are just that, other people’s. They’re not mine to talk about,” Shelly shrugged a little bit. Gerard blinked rapidly as he looked at the blonde. He couldn’t believe that he’d forgotten to ask about the privacy thing. It was almost like someone had read his mind, with her bringing it up like this. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that; the mind reading thought, to be honest, although he was glad that she mentioned it. “That’s pretty classy of you,” Frank looked up at her and nodded. These words earned him a smile. “Thank you.” Andrea caught Shelly’s eye and grinned. Shelly shook her head ever so slightly and rolled her eyes a bit. They went back to waiting for the band to look over the sheets of paper, and when they had, all the pieces made their way back to Gerard, who put them on the desk in front of him. Once he’d done that, he turned around to check with the rest of his band. Shelly shared a look with Andrea as the band had this silent conversation before Gerard turned back around in his seat. Both women seemed a little amused by this interaction really. “Is there anything you want to change? Add, subtract, whichever?” Andrea asked. “We don’t think so,” Gerard replied. “I’m sure we can add something in at a later date if needed?” Shelly glanced at Andrea, the question clear in her voice. “It would involve everyone re-signing, but -” “I’m sure that can be arranged,” the other woman nodded. “Even if you guys think of something while you’re on the road, Shelly knows how to write something down, how to word things, so they’re contract-like, and we can add it into the files.” “Oh! Yes, I remember that,” she nodded. “I can do that. In simple language though, but normally that’s best.” Andrea nodded before turning back to the band. “So, no one wants to change or add anything?” They shook their heads and Andrea smiled before turning to her computer and typing for a minute or two, Shelly watching her during this. After another minute, there was a whirring and a humming from behind the guys, making them turn around. On a counter behind them, was a fancy looking printer, which had been the culprit behind the noise. Shelly giggled softly at their reaction to the printer waking up and when it started printing, she laughed. “Yeah, he’s a bit noisy,” Andrea grinned. “He does good work though.” “Second most hard working man I’ve ever met,” Shelly said with a smile as she crossed the room to wait by the printer. “Who’s the first?” Frank asked, curiously. “My grandpapa,” Shelly tucked some hair behind her ear. “Pretty sure Alexander is where you get your worth ethic from Shell,” Andrea stood up from behind her desk and started looking for something. “Oh, I think so,” Shelly checked the printer as it spat out sheets. “But you know he’d be tickled to hear that.” “He’s a good man,” Andrea watched the blonde smile as she counted out the pages being printed. “Is it printing okay?” “I believe so.” “It shouldn’t take too much longer, it’s not a very long contract,” Andrea explained. “It’s between you,” she gestured to the band and to the blonde. “Shelly will have a different contract between herself and the company for her new role.” “Yeah, ‘cause reading that one was fun,” she muttered, re-counting more pages and starting to staple contracts together. “You get to sign that now though,” Andrea looked through a drawer for a few specific pens. “Are they nearly done?” “I think the last one is printing now.” “You all get a copy each,” the older woman said. “And then there’s one for this office, because it’s Shelly’s home base, and one for your side of the water, because that’s your home base.” “We could probably just send it digitally,” Shelly said, bringing the stack of contracts over and handing them to Andrea. “But we don’t really like doing it that way. Hard copies are best sometimes.” Andrea took the stacks of papers before putting them on her desk. “This bit might take a little while - you’ll each have to sign and date each individual one.” “That’s not hard, really, just a little time consuming,” Frank nodded and leant forward to take one of the pens. The others nodded in agreement, and member by member, signed and dated each copy of the contracts. Frank signed them all first, then Ray, then Mikey, then finally Gerard. While they were doing this, Andrea half watched the blonde girl by her side - Shelly was sort of watching them as they signed their names on each dotted line. That was a little unusual, really, Andrea thought, while Shelly was observant, she normally was more subtle about it. Andrea looked at the girl again, properly - she was nibbling her bottom lip as she watched Gerard signing a few of the contracts. But it was like she felt that she was being watched, because after watching him sign two, she glanced up to catch Andrea’s eye. Andrea grinned and chuckled as Shelly went pink - clearly having been caught. Completely oblivious to all this happening, Gerard signed the last contract and put the stack on the desk. “My turn,” Shelly said quietly, taking a few steps forward. “Of course,” Gerard offered her the pen and smiled when she took it gently from him. “Thank you,” she smiled back at him and moved the contracts around so she didn’t have to stand in front of him and Frank to sign them. She did have to lean over ever so slightly though, something that Frank noticed - and the others noticed that Frank noticed, because he hummed appreciatively. “I hope you’re not eyeing up my assistant, Mr Iero,” Andrea said with a slight grin. Frank blushed and stammered. “It’s okay Andi, it’s not the first time.” “One more chance to back out Shell,” Andrea said with a slight grin. Shelly looked up at her with a raised eyebrow before purposely signing the first contract and handing it to the older woman. Gerard stopped half glaring at Frank to watch her sign her name, a small smile on her face that grew every time she dated each contract. By the end of the last one, she was positively beaming and… Okay, that was so pretty. Silently, Shelly handed the rest of the contracts over to Andrea, who took them with a small smile of her own. “Last chance?” “Just witness the signing, Andi.” Andrea turned to the guys with a grin. “You guys sure you want her?” “Uh, yes, please.” Shelly giggled and Andrea went through and signed the contracts herself. Once she had finished, she handed the contracts out to the guys, put aside the ones for the offices but held onto Shelly’s one. Shelly watched this with an eyebrow raised before Andrea turned to her and offered out the paperwork. “All done Shell,” she said softly. “Now you’re My Chemical Romance’s assistant. Boys, she’s officially yours.”