#absolutely love the small detail between these two scenes

[alovethatkilledme]

—Brides need mothers.

[wh0reforcoriolanussnow]

Red Carpet || Tom Blyth x gf!reader

Summary: Tom takes you to your very first movie premiere and it happens to be the movie that he is the protagonist in. A sweet moment happens between the two of you which leaves fans further fangirling over your relationship.

A/n: I have been constantly asked If I will ever do a Tom Blyth x reader imagine and the answer is yes :). Btw I absolutely love @yzzart’s Tom Blyth x actress!reader imagines and you should totally go check them out!

Warnings: none :)

Wc:

Divider by @pommecita

You were beyond nervous and excited to attend the red carpet Premiere for The Hunger Games The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Especially since you would be attending as your boyfriend’s plus one who happens to play Coriolanus Snow in said movie.

The two of you kept your relationship as private as you could, but at some point along the way of him filming, everyone knew the two of you were together. Your public affection towards each other during the behind the scenes did not go unnoticed by fans who recorded it and took pictures.

It was bound to happen someday. "You look absolutely gorgeous, darling," Tom hugs you from behind, your exposed back flush against his outfit, as he admires your reflection in the mirror. You hold his arms that were protectively on your waist.

"Thank you, Tom. You look as handsome as ever," You giggle, turning around to place your hands on either side of his face, admiring every little detail on his face that you have already noticed about a thousand times, before placing a gentle kiss on his lips.

You two were on your way to the event, his hand never left your thigh as you lean your head against his shoulder. Your phone suddenly buzzed as you look at the caller id. It was Rachel. You immediately answered it as it went through to face time.

"Where are you guys!" She yells in the speaker, loud chatter in the background. She was already at the event. "We are literally around the corner," You say taking a look around your surroundings as Tom chuckles. "Let me see your outfits!" Rachel stares at you with a wide grin.

You laugh at her energy as you pass Tom the phone as he holds it up so that the both of you were on screen. Rachel gasps as she covers her mouth, "You guys look fucking amazing!" She squeals as you chuckle.

"Wait until you see the back of Y/n's dress," Tom lets out a whistle as you nudge him with a smile. "I can't wait to see! Oh wait, I think I see your car pulling up right now. See you soon!" She quickly says before hanging up.

Tom squeezes your thigh, his way of asking if you were alright without any words. You nod with a small smile. You arrived at the premiere and the flashlights coming from the cameras shone through the windows.

Tom steps out first before lending you his hand, aiding you as you get out of the car. He gives you an encouraging smile as you smile back at him. Everyone started screaming when they saw the two of you, causing you to smile even more.

His hand rested on the small of your back as the two of you were whisked into interviews. "Tom! It's so great to see you, we'd like to ask you a few questions if that is alright?" The woman smiles as she passes Tom a microphone.

"Of course!" Tom offers the man a smile. "What was your favourite things about filming this movie?" You stayed quiet as you look at Tom, giving him a smile. "Well, I was super grateful to be able to work with such incredible actors and actresses, Peter and Viola just to name a few, I really enjoyed the atmosphere on set, we were all like family," Your boyfriend answers.

You saw a lot of cameras pointed your directions so you wave and smile, "Would you like to explain to us and your fans who this beautiful girl is beside you Tom?" You snap your attention back to Tom and the woman. Tom smiles as you as you look at the woman. "I think you and everyone already have a pretty clear idea on who she is," Tom laughs as does the woman.

"This beautiful girl is my girlfriend. She's stuck with me during the whole filming of the movie and I'm so grateful that she's mine," He answers, his eyes not leaving yours as he pulls you closer to him. "He's just too sweet isn't he?" You chuckle at the camera making them laugh.

Tom presses a kiss on your cheek as you could feel your face heating up slightly. "You two are just too adorable! Thank you for your time, the woman smiles as Tom hands her back the microphone. "My pleasure," Tom gives her a final smile before the two of you are once again whisked into other interviews, where you would sometimes be included.

Then it was time to take pictures. Tom's hand never left yours as you both stood where they were taking the photos. Tom protectively places his hand on your waist as you both pose for the cameras. You were almost blinded by all the flashing and deaf from the shouting.

The string on the back of your dress suddenly became loose as you curse under your breath. Tom looks down at you before moving to stand in front of you in a protective manner to cover you from the cameras. "You okay?" He asks concerned. I look at him with a smile from his sweet gesture.

"The back of my dress came undone," He looks over your shoulder. He then pulls you into a hug as you were slightly taken back. You then feels his hands working on tying your dress back. You let out a chuckle as you rub his back.

The cameras directly in front of you were confused but the cameras by the side all awed at his actions. "There you go, darling," He kisses your cheek as he pulls back. You give him a grateful smile, "Thank you."

"Y/n! Tom!" You hear a feminine voice call out as Rachel and Josh make their way towards the two of you. "Hi!" You smiled, pulling Josh into a hug and then Rachel. "Oh you look stunning," Rachel holds your forearms as you couln't keep the smile of your face.

"Have you looked in a mirror? You look gorgeous Rach!" You pull her in for a second hug as you all laugh at something funny Josh had said as the four of you pose for a picture.

After the premiere, Rachel sent you so many links to nearly every single social media platform. There were a bunch of posts and tiktoks about what happened with your dress and how Tom helped you by hugging you.

You chuckle as you show Tom the posts and hundreds of tiktoks that had already been posted. "They love you," Tom chuckles, kissing your forehead as the two of you lay in each others embrace.

[sillyandquiteawkward]

sillys (not so) lil info dump about how to be a human being. smiles

htbahb is an album from glass animals, of which notably, all the songs align with different people's lives, perspectives, and feelings, also of which are shown on the (various) album covers. so the easiest way to go thru the story is song by song. but i will show you the album art so you can get a gist of things before we go into details.

these are just some of the various album covers for htbahb, theres a bunch of them, but we dont need to see all of them to see the different lives of our characters.

1, Life Itself

this is our main character for life itself. you can call him a bit of a nerd if youd like. apparently his name is chuck rogers. they dont all have names.

hes an inventor, loves ray guns and strange technology, but as noted in his song, feels like he was raised with expectations hell never be able to achieve. his father as a child said he would be a superstar, but nowadays, he cant get a job and he lives with his mom. hes struggling with finding himself and his place in society and hes doing drugs and feeling like hes absolute rock bottom with everyone being against him. he feels alone and attacked and retreats back into his car or grandmothers basement and keeps folding back into himself.

in the music video for life itself, hes only seen in a few scenes, leading the charge against [popular st] with a smoke bomb as [mamas gun] watches knowingly from the sidelines as perhaps the real leader behind the assault. they seems to be accomplices with each other, as they ride in the car together and seem to be specifically looking for [youth].

2. Youth

now the main character for youth is tricky, it seems like we have two characters for youth, the small child, and assumedly, his mother the waitress. i think i like the interpretation that the mother is the main character for this song, and the child represents the album as a whole. alternatively i also like the idea that the child is youth, and his mother represents [premade sandwiches]. but for the most part, they are just both the characters for youth.

youth is a mother talking about her child, and to her child, almost in a detached sort of way as if they arent able to see each other. a mother speaking her hopes and dreams to her child. somehow these two have been separated when the child was young, perhaps through giving up to adoption, or hinted in the music video, abduction. she wishes best for the child, urges them to feel their mother at their side, and notes that theyve got her eyes. she lists off her wishes for them to be happy and have friends, and be silly. this perhaps is for the best, that they can be happy even without her. i particularly like in this song, the wordplay makes it sound like the singer is counting one, two, three, four, five, when they are singing other words like boy, to, free, funny, and fly respectively.

in the music video for youth, the child is seen almost haunting the mother as she works as a waiter, appearing in several locations playing and running around as she remains dutiful to her job. they briefly sit looking at each other in the same hotel room he had been taken to in life itself's music video.

3. Season 2 Episode 3

this is the main character for season 2 ep 3 and i think one of the cool changes between album covers, as we see a fully done up girl all put together with her make up on, and in the other, someone a bit more silly with her makeup removed. this might be the way she sees herself vs how other people see her.

the song is the lament of a boyfriend to his girlfriend, who seems to be glued to the couch, watching shows, getting high, not changing her clothes, and eating day old leftover food and most notably, mayonnaise straight from the jar. at the beginning of the song, the two of them are high together, however he soon sobers and realizes she refuses to get sober along with him. he tries to convince her that their relationship wont work if she keeps being like this and doesnt try, but she wants him back the way he was (high as well) and views him as a nag. she still makes him happy, but sometimes she makes him sad to see how she lives. even after an acceptance from the boyfriend that she wont change and will never be vertical and golden like he wants and that the relationship will never work out, the song ends hinting that hes picked up getting high with her again due to her calling him a killjoy and wearing him down.

in the music video we watch the girl splay out on the sofa, surrounded by her mess watching tv and doing nothing. halfway into the video, we are brought into the game she plays, as she battles [life itself] [cane shuga] and [the other side of paradise], all of which are men who could possibly be the boyfriend figure.

4. Pork Soda

this is our main character for everyones favorite pork soda. hes an older man, who for the most part seems pretty happy. wonder if hes harboring some long lost feelings or something.

the song opens with a street performance unintelligible to a normal listener, its like passing by a conversation, you are only able to hear bits and pieces of the spoken words. once the song starts you hear a story about this guy's girl who used to be fun and adventurous and would take him along with her. in the same breathe hes begging to go back to the days they were happy together. it seems like they fell out of love, or are in a struggling relationship bereft of communication or the passion it once had. shes only happy when theyre having sex together, and just looking at each other causes him heartache. the song talks about pineapples in my head, and being brain dead, as well as other references to diminishing mental facilities, that perhaps in their age, theyd forgotten about each other.

the music video gives us probably the most clear story line, as we see the wife prepare a meal before sending it through a dumbwaiter into the basement for the husband. there he sits alone, watching tv. up above the wife plays with their dog, imagining the dog is the younger version of her husband. all of her time is dedicated to the dog, and all of his time is dedicated to the tv. they have forgotten they love each other and live in the same house, but live in separate worlds. only after the dog destroys his tv and the husband destroys the floor above him and under her feet, do they finally get back together as he catches her as she falls, surprised and exhilarated for the first time in forever. and things seem to be better as they finally occupy the same room together again.

5. Mama's Gun

This is the main character for mamas gun. shes a victim of the perception of her mental illness. i think this is my fav song of the album.

during the song, the woman initially admits that she took her gun and made her husband go to neverland. however she also says she loved him a lot and he was perfect. through bits and pieces of the lyrics you can come to the conclusion that she has some sort of psychosis, or perhaps schizophrenia in particular as she notes many different voices and figures talking to her. the song references dr swango, a doctor who killed his patients, however he insists to her that him and all the other voices in her head are too from neverland, and that she was a murderer just like him. is she really guilty of murder? what really happened? the flute played during various instrumental parts of the song is a sample from the carpenter's mr. guder, a song about a man who does what hes supposed to in society and his job and gets nothing from it. karen carpenter herself was a victim of her own mental illness and they say that theres a specific purpose for the sample chosen. once the lyrics pick back up, the voices again pipe up and tell her she was a murderer, even the voice who had never spoken says so, so he must be telling the truth right? during the final bit of the song, it seems like her husbands voice joins into her collection of voices, as he bears a cheshire smile and asks her to lay with him once again, and that hes waiting for her. in the end, its unclear what happened with her and her husband, as she goes back and forth saying she was violent, she was doing nothing. this song was inspired by a story they heard of a woman going into a drug induced black out for a month and reappearing in another state with no memory, and the lingering fear that shes done something terrible wrong, and never being able to have the closure of knowing what happened.

theres no music video for this song, but we see her appear in life itself. she and [life itself] drive to the hotel where [poplar st] is holding [youth] captive and attempt to break into the room hes in.

6. Cane Shuga

this is our main character for cane shuga. hes exactly how he seems, a rich white guy who is, of course, using that cane shuga all day everyday.

cane shuga presents a dialogue from two parties, two people in a relationship. the singer promises he wont do coke anymore, that he wont be a john doe in the hospital. the chorus however is the high he rides on, where he thinks hes hot shit, hes 007 james bond, hes as powerful as kim jong, with a popped collar as he looks into the glare of the mirror and hypes himself up after using in the bathroom at work. hes untouchable. the second chorus is his partner, giving up on him, their love has burned up, just like his drugs. theres a humorous line of putting their foot down saying ive had quite enough, but corrects themself and sarcastically says or lack there of, that they arent being given anything anymore by him. regardless, their verses and conversation is short. the chorus of his high is the main focus of the song, and repeat over and over as the days continue.

[cane shuga] appears in season 2 ep 3's music video as [season 2 episode 3]'s potential lover. their stories do seem to entangle, they both are drug users dealing with partners who want to stop using. some people say that he is her partner, that he stops using for her, but falls back into the habit. however this doesnt exactly line up with her song, as she doesnt want him to stop. i think its part of that unreliable narrator theme weve seen in previous songs. people have different experiences with each other and get different messages due to the issue of communication. im not exactly on board with these two being together, but i do understand where people are coming from with this take.

7. [Premade Sandwiches]

this is a spoken word interlude, sped up and pitched down. there doesnt seem to be a character paired with this song, and on cd this song is simply a bonus track hidden behind cane shuga. on first listening its very difficult to catch what is being said, but over and over the speaker is talking about standing in line for various things. this song discusses mindless over consumption of drugs, of buzz words, of natural foods for your dog, watches, new clothes made to look old, the junk drawer filled with phones you dont use, with pens that dont work, with random shit you never needed just piling up. people stand in line and they dont even know why.

8. The Other Side Of Paradise

this is our main character for the other side. hes gonna be a basketball player and make it big babyeee.

so its a bit unclear and vague in the lyrics, but it seems our narrator and the basketball player used to be close friends. he even seems to be in love with the basketball player, calling him my love. but the basketball player leaves their home in new orleans to go chase his dreams out west and make it big, leaving our narrator's side. he told the narrator not to worry but after phone calls, it seems like basketball boy got a girlfriend. hes gloating to the narrator, hes got a girlfriend now, hes got a gold camaro, hes made it big, meanwhile our narrator is at the payphone hearing all this and his world turns in slow motion. no longer is the basketball player his baby blue anymore. hes moved on, hell never have another chance to love his friend. hes so angry and hurt, but he balls up his fist almost in a fight or flight reaction, and settles for the ghost of his love. hed always hoped for a paradise where they could be together but it seems like fate had other plans. he laments the basketball player for ditching them, saying here in new orleans people dont leave and ditch their lady (him). he wants to be loved and pampered by him, not her. heres where the vagueness comes back, the narrator seems to be so distraught that he rather kills himself, or finds that his body looks wrong, perhaps that hes not a girl that couldve been loved by the basketball player.

he only ever appears in the music video for season 2 ep 3 as one of the bosses [season 2 episode 3] defeats, claiming ball is life. there is a music video that was recently released for this song, however it does not depict the basketball player.

9. Take a Slice

this is our main character for take a slice, hes a bit of a slut but he makes it work :) the spoken intro to this song is the real recording the band took while talking to a male fortune teller, so the sausage candle is rather real or a lie from the fortune teller.

take a slice regales the story of a young man who finds pleasures in the sultry sexual aspects of life. hes sucking on cigarettes in a way freud would roll in his grave, hes painted his nails dark, has piercings, hes asking for another slice of cherry pie, cherries being a symbol for all things sex and lust. hes smitten with the idea of being a prize to be sought after, and after trying sex work for the first time, realizes this is the job for him. hes going to fuck his way through college, and sleep during class dreaming of you. wink. hes rolling in the dough, hes got a gold car, hes maybe dabbling in drugs too, and hes filthy and he loves it.

10. Poplar St

ms moore is the main character of poplar st, and shes a cougar, and not the good kind.

a young boy lives a typical suburban life. hes got bandaids on his knees and hes climbing trees. but one day, he sees mrs moore and mr keats have sex. immediately this drags him out of his childhood, hes such a man now that he knows what sex is. this is the first step of her grasp around him. as he gets a bit older, his mother calls her prosti-tits and looks down upon her. but the boy looks up to ms moore, despite his mothers words. mrs moore sees his desperation and pulls him into her clutches. theres a very specific voice crack when her teeth sink in deep and the note hes singing falls flat. this bit of pain expressed is highly contrasted with the chorus coming back in, the boy once again considers himself a real man, a true romantic, this is what all men dream of, isnt it? but there are dead flowers in the sand, hinting that these roses arent just romantic. the next bridge plays and interesting word switch up. it starts out with her begging him for more as she sits in her underwear, and then switches to him begging her for more in his underwear. theyve both wasted their days, but when it comes to his youth and her age, the only one wasting their childhood is him. the song concludes with mrs moore calling him up collect (so he has to pay for the phone call, not her) one day and breaking up with him. and then it all gets pulled out from under him and hes just a boy again. this tells the sad tale of how men and boys' sexual assault and grooming often is pushed to the side because they think this is how things are supposed to go, that they are supposed to have sex and to be used and abused from a woman is supposed to be an achievement. but really all it is, is abuse that leaves him feeling terrible.

11. Agnes

this is agnes :) i think it was mentioned at some point that he takes pictures of people when they arent looking, so to me, i like to think hes the one capturing everyone pictured in this album. bear witness to other humans.

the song starts out where the singer is appearing to try and comfort agnes. how did it get this bad, agnes used to just take pills and smoke a little, somethings changed perhaps. the singer notes agnes is just going through the motions every day, numb, and nervous, but hes swelling with emotion all the same. here the singer laments he wants to hold agnes like hes mine. theres a longing sadness in the lyrics. the next verse confirms the worst, while agnes was perhaps a genius when it came to the romantic, he was a deeply depressed and lonely person. he started to rely on the drugs and the alcohol he used to use recreationally, just to live a normal life. and he ultimately commited suicide. the singer wonders where the agnes he used to know went. however the singer reconsiders, and accepts that agnes did his best, life must feel so unbearably long when its soaked in sadness, living a false life filled with depression. so it goes, the singer thinks, but cant help but to feel lost. the only thing he can think of is agnes, perhaps considering all the art agnes made, all the photos he took of other people, perhaps just thinking about his friend in any aspect. grief is funny like that. on the vinyl record, this song's last seconds repeat over and over until you stop the machine from playing, like a lingering memory you cant stop thinking about.

the agnes music video is much different than the others, as it focuses on the singer, dave bayley as he sits in a centrifuge and attempts to sing the song. this causes a very physical reaction and he struggles to even lift his hand, by the end of it hes sweating profusely and unable to catch his breath, but he persists and continues singing. he mentions this was a mere fraction of what someone going through depression could feel like. during the music video as well, he appears to be looking across from a mannequin, perhaps the stand in for himself once hes put himself in agnes' shoes.

thanks for reading if you did i love being insane. all of these are my personal thoughts on the album, and might not exactly match up with your interpretation, but i have tried to keep to what we believe is what glass animals had in mind for the album and these characters.

[great-and-small]

I know you're a fan of animal husbandry and the human animal connection so i have a recommendation for you if you haven't seen it, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. The horse movements, including the correct ear movements when they're scared or calm/happy are so perfect. The story of the different ways you can tame a horse, through love or fear, the parallels of the destruction of Native land and culture between Little Creek and Spirit. The landscape paintings! It makes me yearn for the desert and I think you'd like it

Oh man I love love love that movie. When I was a kid I watched it over and over and the opening transition scene as Spirit grows up always made me cry. To this day seeing any old Buckskin horse makes my heart flutter a bit ❤️

As you said, it’s one of the best Children’s movies to explore the human animal bond, and I am always more interested in stories that examine animal exploitation alongside human exploitation. The two are so often linked that it’s hard to faithfully talk about one without the other. The nature of Little Creek and Spirit’s bond is the emotional centerpiece of the movie and a superb way to start talking to kids about how the way we connect to animals matter immensely.

This is going to sound like a weird aspect of this but I am also really really into the way horses run. Seeing a horse that loves to run just absolutely fly and let loose running in an open area literally gives me goosebumps. If there are horses in a movie Im watching and I don’t get to see them running full speed I will be grouchy (possibly relevant info: I learned to ride on a retired racing thoroughbred).

Running is what horses have evolved to do over millions of years and the result is an astonishing feat of biomechanics. My equine anatomy classes were so fucking hard for me due to the painstaking detail in understanding the structures that allow horses to stand and run in the way they do; it’s unbelievably complex (look into the stay apparatus for just a small taste). To see all of those tendons, ligaments, vessels, nerves, and muscles come together with such fluidity and grace is just one of the coolest products of evolution that we see today. It will never become mundane to me!

For an animated movie from the early 2000’s , it just blows me away how beautifully they render the horses running. You can tell they watched a lot of real animals to get it right. Something about those horses running across beautiful landscapes is just uniquely moving. I don’t know why but I am very much with you, in that this film fills me with yearning.

[overlysour]

＃VARIOUS GENSHIN CHARACTERS♡ — THEM WHEN THEY’RE JEALOUS

VARIOUS GENSHIN MEN & WOMEN X READER ♡

Wanderer

He can’t help but want to savour your touches and smiles for himself but he knows he can’t keep you to himself.

You made an effort to interact with him, even with his big ego and judgemental comments. So why would you cheat on him?? What would you even get from that?

Also, his newly received anemo vision represented his freedom, so why would he take yours?

He would still be annoyed, probably rolling his eyes, glaring and overall being grumpy if he’s jealous, he’s not just gonna act like nothing is happening!

Might make a scene out of it… overall pretty petty even if you don’t get what you did wrong.

Probably ends up yelling at the person he’s jealous of after telling you someone needed help (did he throw an arrow at some stupid guy that stalks your neighbour? Yes! Was it just because he needed to distract you? Yes! (also partly because the neighbour wouldn’t shut up about how they have an admirer to you and he wanted attention)).

Aether

It really depends on the situation but he won’t act on what he deems to be unreasonable jealously. He thinks it’s unfair to act in that way when he’s been flirted with by many in front of you, though you still try not to react.

If he thinks it’s reasonable then he will act, just briefly though.

Would probably ask for help with a commission, muttering a sorry and making sure to give you a loving hug.

Understands the feeling of loosing someone very well so he’d want to still make it slightly obvious that you’re his and he’s yours.

Rosaria

Would likely threaten anyone making you uncomfortable in anyway.

If she’s just feeling jealous due to you speaking with someone closely then she absolutely won’t make a scene, though most likely asking who they were and what their relationship is with you.

Might make an excuse to walk off with you..

Overall chill but quick to threaten or drag you off.

Dottore

Doesn’t really come out of his lab much unless going to other nations for fatui missions so he wouldn’t really get the chance to watch you converse with others.

Though If he does get jealous then he’d be slightly colder to you then usual.

Petty as heck (much like many other characters but way more in a ‘I’m-gonna-kill-whoever-that-was’ type of way).

If you were his lover then he’d think high of you, meaning he’d think of stuff like ‘that measly brat doesn’t deserve someone like [Name]’

Wouldn’t make contact with the cause of his jealously, instead gaining small details about them just in case.

Quickly pulls you off, glaring at the probably already scared person.

Acts normal once away, might be the tiniest bit more affectionate.

Xiao

Understanding yet one to quickly go take out anger on any unsuspecting enemies he can find at that moment.

If it’s someone he trusts then he wouldn’t go let his anger out, instead opting to give you more affection then usual.

He doesn’t want to loose you, since he’s lost so many people over the years.

Though it wouldn’t to be death, he wonders if it’d make him feel worse knowing that he’d lost you to emotions.

Overprotective but watches from afar I guess??

Albedo

He’s well aware of human emotions but I think he’d be a little confused at first, like why was he jealous so easily? Also how is he feeling such intense feelings?

Treats it as an experiment on himself, though still making sure he’s keeping any more-than-friendly remarks off anyones tongues (he’d like to hope that you wouldn’t do that but he’s prepared to be a barrier between you two anyways)

Trusts you but won’t hesitate to send a cheeky smile at the person as he plants a kiss on your hand and you become increasingly flustered.

Ayaka

Absolutely makes no scene, she’d just feel a bit self-conscious.

If you give her lots of love then she’ll easily forget about it (though it may linger in her mind for a while no matter what).

Kind and collective, openly stating her worries with you if given encouragement or if you’re worried about her.

Venti

Honestly quite chill depending on what’s happening.

Though no matter the situation, he’ll butt in your conversation by kissing you and hugging your waist with an innocent smile.

Can be intimidating but would only ever act that way when no others can see him act like that, therefore nobody would believe the person and he’d be known as a cheerful and carefree bard!

Childe

Absolute child about it (pun not intended 😗).

He will hang onto your waist whilst he hugs your back as he glares at his source of jealously.

Acts like nothing happened afterwards, dragging you wherever suits him that he thinks you’d like.

Won’t really think about it again, only feeling the need to protect you from harm or people with the wrong intentions.

Diluc

Calm as long as it’s not much of a big deal, extremely understanding and not afraid to let people know that you two belong to each other only and any objections will be ignored.

If it’s a bigger deal then that, then he’ll keep his calm facade and act relatively normal and understanding but with a small loss of patience.

Worst case scenario, he’ll threaten them without a smile in sight.

Won’t pay much mind to what happened, only focused on perhaps kissing you on the cheek or hand a bit more.

Zhongli

A man that is genuinely not that easy to make jealous, seemingly always calm and knowledgeable.

If in a situation that he becomes jealous, he’ll kindly ask to speak with you and then express his feelings.

Would easily sort out any misunderstandings between you two.

To be continued. I will take requests on what characters people want included!

[writingquestionsanswered]

Do you have any advice for writing with adhd? I can craft these elaborate storyline in my head, but the minute I try to write any of them down I get bored. (Or is that just regular writer block?) It's really discouraging, because I feel like my mind is moving faster then my head, and any time I try to bring any of my ideas to life it just disipates.

Writing with ADHD: 5 Game Changers for Me

Here are some things that have been game changers for me as a writer with ADHD: [Edit: everyone's ADHD is different. This is just what works for me. It may not work for you...]

Planning: It's different for everyone with ADHD, but for me it's essential to spend time planning my story before I start writing. I like to flesh out as much as possible concerning plot, timeline, setting, world, characters and arcs, subplots, and themes.

Summary, Outline, and Scene List: Three items that are critical for me to have in hand before I sit down to write are a beginning to end summary of the story detailing all plot events as far as I know, an outline loosely based on the story structure template/s that feel right for the story (for example, I may use elements of Save the Cat! and some elements of of the Six-Stage Plot Structure), which helps me navigate my plot and hit the relevant plot points. And finally, I need a detailed scene list/timeline combo which lists chapter, scene, date/time, POV character, location, and a one to two sentence summary of what happens in the scene, including the character's goal in the scene, the scene's conflict, and the scene's resolution or how it carries into a later scene.

Gamifying: When I'm struggling with a particular time period or project, it can help me to gamify things. You can do this using a game board strategy, the Yahtzee Method, making a list of bench marks that serve as "levels," race against yourself by trying to bet the previous day's goal, etc. The key to gamifying is to set reasonable benchmarks and give yourself periodic rewards. Rewards can be anything from buying yourself a boba, watching a favorite TV show episode, an hour of playing your favorite game, or going to a movie. Some people like to go to the dollar store and buy a lot of small fun things and use those as rewards. Whatever works for you! Sometimes, turning it into a game with tangible progress and rewards can keep you motivated.

Setting Up a Routine: Although I have my general daily routine, I am without a doubt more productive when I can stick to a more specific routine that includes writing time. For me that works out to writing early in the day before other distractions start ramping up. When I put on my music, sit down with some coffee and a snack, and pull up my manuscript, my brain knows it's time to get to work. That doesn't always mean the work happens, but it's much more likely I'll get something done.

Minimizing Distractions: Anything that can be a distraction when I write is problematic. For that reason, I only listen to music without words and advertising. I turn off my phone or leave it in the other room. If possible, I try to use placeholders for things I need to look up. If I absolutely have to look something up and I get distracted by headlines, interesting articles or videos, or other things, I bookmark them in a special folder and immediately close the window. That way, I know I can go back to them later (I almost never do...) And, for me, as much as I love Scrivener and the ability to organize by chapter, have quick access to character profiles and photos, toggle between scene cards and my story... it's just too distracting for me. I'll sit down to write a chapter, then decide I need to re-do my scene cards, or cast characters, or do mood boards for every location in my story.

For that reason, writing in Word works best [for me] It's simple and there's nothing to distract me. Any story references I might need while writing, such as character profiles and photos, mood boards and aesthetics, setting inspiration photos, etc. are all organized in a special folder, categorized into sub-folders, so I can go straight to the required reference.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[lulu2992]

Greg Bryk was in episode 25 of Podcast141, co-hosted by Marwen Heni, Mars Lipowski, and Jim Boeven, to talk about his acting career in general, but also and mostly his role as Joseph Seed in Far Cry 5.

Since he’s already shared a lot of anecdotes in interviews and live videos on Instagram, I thought I wouldn’t learn anything new... but I did, so here’s a summary of what he said about his experience playing the Father.

We knew that the dev team (he specifically mentioned Dan Hay and Drew Holmes) had struggled to find the “right” actor for the role, but what I don’t remember ever hearing before is that, after two years of unsuccessful search, the project was almost cancelled for this reason!

Thankfully, that was when Greg Bryk auditioned. He had already said the script they gave him (and that he thought was “amazing”) was what became Joseph’s monologue in the mission “We Must Be Strong”, but he gave more details about what was originally in it. In this early version of his backstory, Joseph was 23 years old and working two jobs to support his family. One night, exhausted, he fell asleep on the couch as his pregnant wife went out to get ice cream. He was then awoken by a knock on the door, told she had been in an accident, and taken to the hospital. The rest of the story is what he says in Far Cry 5: when he arrives, his wife is dead, their premature daughter is “stuffed with tubes”, he hears God’s calling, and understands he has to make this sacrifice.

So he got the role, and when they called him again to record a sermon (my guess is it was this one, but I’m just speculating), he saw what the game looked like and thought everything and everyone was “incredible”. Over time, as they got to know him, they even changed the character and partly rewrote the Father specifically for him.

The team was also very accommodating. For example, the scenes are usually shot in the huge performance capture studio, but for the Heralds’ eulogies, which are much more intimate, they built a small room so he felt like he actually had something around him instead of a big, empty space.

A day before the game came out, the cutscenes were already available online and he watched some of them. He was very impressed by the last eulogy (or, as he calls it, “snot monologue”) in particular because of how “vivid” and “human” it felt. It brought tears to his eyes and he recalls his wife was “blown away”; it was “special”.

As for the fans, he thinks they’ve been very supportive and welcoming. Some have told him they felt heard and seen by Joseph, and he believes it’s because he’s a character who loves people for who they are. At this point, he and the co-hosts agreed that being an actor was a gift because it gives an opportunity to make people’s lives better, especially in video games because there’s a unique connection that doesn’t really exist in movies or TV series.

Marwen Heni mentioned that, while most villains want you to hate them, Joseph, on the contrary, wanted you to reflect and think that he might be right. Greg Bryk admitted that he believed everything he said, especially about family and technology. Sometimes, people are isolated or only have online connections, so having someone tell them, “I see you and I love you for what you are” is powerful. In his opinion, this message resonated with a lot of players because it’s a simple truth and we all want to be part of a family.

Joseph doesn’t control his followers with fear, Marwen Heni commented, but with devotion, and that too makes him compelling. As he was playing Far Cry 5, he started questioning whether or not he (as the Deputy) was right for opposing the Father, which is something Greg Bryk says he saw a lot in comments. He believes there’s “an intimacy to the relationship” between Joseph and the player, a “seduction” in the sense that we all want to belong. He’s humbled by the impact his work had on people.

When asked if he would be open to reprising the role, this time, he answered, “Absolutely”. In fact, and this is news to me, he revealed there were discussions about turning Far Cry into a TV show, and the different games would have been standalone seasons. That said, he added that, at a certain point, it’s necessary to let characters go and that he was grateful for what he had already experienced playing the Father.

Marwen Heni then asked if Joseph, who is very complex, was entirely fictional or if it was Greg talking through him. He answered his characters are always him, to a degree, because he wants to connect with the material so he never lies and can work from things that matter to him. He never judges them and tries to think about what he wants to express through them. He’s interested in their humanity and what motivates them. “We’re all broken,” he said. “Some are much more broken than others, and sometimes those broken pieces are very sharp and jagged, and they lash out.”

He also revealed he had “very specific rituals” to help him become a character and then let them go. He mentioned a few prayers that one of his friends, who is a Wiccan, taught him. In fact, and all the co-hosts agreed, it can be very hard to “disconnect” from a character sometimes because actors aren’t just pretending; they’re using real emotions.

He had already said his son Dempsey had done the mocap for John and Jacob in the Collapse DLC and that he felt carrying Ethan’s body in New Dawn was a way for him to honor his “boy”, his dead dog Lucky, since he deeply regretted that he couldn’t be there to take him to the veterinarian the day he passed. What I didn’t know, however, is that it was Greg himself who had asked if Joseph could carry Ethan, and the team made it happen. He also explained that, when it was time to play this scene, he tried to imagine what it would be like to actually lose his son.

But who is Greg Bryk’s favorite Far Cry villain? Well, when he auditioned and started researching the franchise, he was interested in Vaas because of Michael Mando’s performance. He still doesn’t know him personally but has a friend who worked with him and who spoke about “how electrifying his talent was”. There’s something “unhinged” and “primal” to him as a performer; he’s a “wild” and “special” actor.

Finally, when told he was born to play Joseph, he confessed he felt he was indeed “called” to play this part but wants to give credit to Dan Hay, Drew Holmes, and Jean-Sébastien Décant for creating such a “terrifyingly human” antagonist in the first place.

[riddley-art]

"It's nearly dawn. I've been up for an hour."

I absolutely love the morning-after scene between Emmrich and Rook—it’s not just cute and charming, but it’s also a perfect example of character-driven storytelling. What stands out is how it feels like a genuine, everyday moment. They talk like a normal couple, learning little details about each other’s sleep cycles and morning routines. These small, intimate exchanges add a layer of authenticity to their relationship, making it feel real and relatable.

What I particularly love about this scene is how it shifts the tone from the intensity of the night before to something quieter and more reflective. It emphasizes the emotional connection between Emmrich and Rook rather than just the physical. This balance shows us that their bond is more than just fleeting passion—it’s built on vulnerability and the kind of trust that grows from these everyday moments.

I know most players probably pick the option to go for another round with Emmrich (and, to be fair, it’s a fun choice!), but I secretly prefer the alternative. There’s something deeply romantic and heartfelt about the subtlety of just sharing a quiet, tender moment. The way they exchange a long kiss, full of unspoken emotions, speaks volumes. It’s not rushed or overly dramatic; it’s a moment that feels earned, like they’re savoring the connection they’ve built.

What makes this choice stand out even more is how it leaves room for interpretation. The kiss might naturally lead to something more, or it could simply be a way for them to express their love in that quiet moment. It’s understated, but that’s what makes it so powerful—it feels less like a scripted romance and more like a real, unscripted interaction between two people figuring each other out.

[slaytheusurper]

https://www.tumblr.com/blossomingmoonlight/766228680624242688/do-you-have-any-rules-regarding-requests-i-dont?source=share

alright. can you please write an one shot with aemond x reader with angst + miscommunication? reader is rhaenyra's eldest daughter, she is betrothed to aemond and neither of them are particularly happy even tho they were good friend when they were little (she was his only friend lol). after the marriage reader understands that aemond lacked of affection during his childhood (and now too), she is committed to giving him all the love possible; she is always sweet with him and acts almost like a mother (helping him bathe in the tub as young Alicent did to viserys, dressing him, braiding his hair, etc.). Even though Aemond returns her love, he never shows it, always remaining stoic and distant. Reader has never made an issue of it, partly because she was surrounded by marriages that were hardly filled with love (like Alicent and Viserys, or Aegon and Helaena). The day of the Driftmark petition arrives; Vaemond gives his speech, and Reader feels understandably humiliated. She wishes Aemond would comfort her, even with a small gesture like holding her hand. But when she turns to look at him, she sees he's smiling at the scene. She feels incredibly hurt and disappointed and, though she doesn’t speak about it openly, she becomes cold toward him. Aemond notices, though he doesn’t understand why, and tries to reach out to her during dinner by brushing her hand or touching her thigh but Reader is lost in her thoughts (after dinner, she feels even sadder, having seen how close the couples on the side of the Blacks are and how fiercely Jace defended Baela from Aegon). i will love for this to end with an agument between the two when they return to their rooms. Reader says she want to go to Dragonstone to spend some time with their family, and Aemond asks her to explain why she is actually upset. Once Reader tells him, he defends himself (even though he knows he’s wrong), saying that she expect too much from him. Thank you in advance if you decide to write it.

https://x.com/theblacks_/status/1724458693532496317?t=4Z8m5-51tzaqkgNWloWF-w&s=19 this is the link of the aemond's scene

I would absolutely love to write this, I laughed so hard and am at the same time so grateful for the amount of detail, I'm soon done with my exams and will write this!! Also love addition of the scene, I had never noticed it before😦

[jiggy-manda]

calex headcanons

of course i had to add my favorite svu ship 😩😩 my two favorite characters and they’re both IN LOVE!!!!!

casey’s favorite pet name to call alex is honey

alex’s favorite pet name to call casey is baby

alex is more likely to alternate between different pet names. she’s much more romantic behind the scenes and out of the courthouse

alex loves to plan their dates!!! she makes the reservations and keeps casey up to date on the details :)

she also always drives. partly because casey is her passenger princess but also partly because she has a need to be absolutely punctual and she becomes a bit of a back seat driver when she’s not in the driver’s seat

casey wouldn’t call herself a passenger princess though. she would just say alex likes driving, which could be true in some senses. probably both.

they make each other coffee in the morning!! casey makes alex’s favorite alex make’s casey’s 🥺

alex always takes casey out for a drink after a case is closed

oftentimes after a long day at work too

alex tries to pick up the tab every time but casey found a new loophole of stealing alex’s card when she isn’t paying attention so casey gets to pay in the end

casey always stays with alex when alex is having trouble beating her insomnia. even if casey is tired, she always prioritizes alex’s sleep health— sometimes to the point where she becomes exhausted beyond her means

if they ever went out to a karaoke bar, casey would be the one getting alex onstage

any time one of them is present while the other is prosecuting, all they can do is stare

alex, of course, will put on a show

casey will too if she’s feeling bold

they both show off to each other in the court room

they always consider themselves lucky that they’re both prosecutors; they’ve thought of way too many dirty scenarios about them duking it out in the courtroom as prosecutor and defender

they both get into heated arguments with the squad sometimes, but it’s easier for them to keep calm towards the others when they’re working on a case together

they argue with each other over cases too. usually they’re just small back-and-forths, but when they do fight during cases, it’s bad. never physical, but sometimes they get so loud that the squad gets nervous

outside of their offices and the courtroom, their arguments are much more respectful/ considerate. it’s hard for them to be completely reasonable when they’re fighting about a case because they’re both equally as passionate.

THEY CUDDLE EVERY NIGHT!!!!!!!!

[ajbullet]

My thoughts on episode 4 of PJO: spoilers (chaotic edition because I JUST watched it and the thoughts are so fresh)

-First off: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

-Ok, good. Had to get that out. Second: best 30 minutes of my life

-I don’t think you guys will ever be able to fully comprehend how much I love Annabeth Chase and seeing Leah as her has only heightened that love. So imagine how elated I was to watch an episode full of my girl. She slayed, owned, and ate this episode. Whatever you want to call it. She did it

-“Are you awake?” The long-ass pause before Annabeth answered. As soon as Percy spoke, I was so hoping he was talking to her and not Grover (sorry I love him but). And then she answered

-She finally opened up to him!! We got some of her backstory!! She’s finally feeling comfortable!!!

-Percy’s face when she said she was seven. He was so surprised. I think he realized instantly how long this girl has been going through so much. They are only twelves years old. But she was a child when this began for her. Like you could tell he couldn’t believe it

-Grover mocking Annabeth was probably my favorite line from him yet. He’s so unserious I love him. Also, the food part was too relatable

-Small detail but the sky was so freaking pretty in the background. Such a unique thing to add and I loved it

-“Can I ask a dumb question?” As soon as he said it I knew Annabeth was gonna be the one to respond and she did not disappoint.

-“little girl” Annabeth’s reaction. I got chills. Leah deserves an Oscar/Emmy (whatever the actor award is) for that scene alone

-Loved Enchilada (don’t know how to spell her name and don’t feel like going back to check) but she talked too damn much. I was like get back to my kids please. Oh and back the hell up

-My BOY GOT STABBED NOOOOO. Oh he’s fine (plot twist: no he’s not)

-Annabeth took that mf DOWN for a second

-The monument!!! It was so cool!! Interesting that it’s a monument to Athena. I think I remember that from the book but either way that’s cool

-The. Entire. Conversation. Between. Percy. And. Annabeth. Oh. My. Gods.

-The fake accent??? Where did that come from?? I had to rewind twice just to make sure I heard right. Like what in Percy’s mind told him to do that? What wires crossed or came undone? How far had that poison reached? Because that was so unserious and I fell even more in love with his character

-He likeeeeeeeeeeees her

-Annabeth’s smile!! I’ve been waiting to see her smile like that and it was so cool to see! My girl is finally happy! for a second

-“You’ve done more for me in the past two days…” “If I had to pick someone, I’d…”

That required my BRAIN

-Plot twist: (again) Percy is not fine

-The splashing water was so funny. Like I get why but come on that was something else.

-Percy seeing what Annabeth has already sacrificed for him and his quest: her relationship with her mother. He sees what he has already cost her and what helping him means to her and omg it was heartbreaking

-One thing I absolutely adore about the books is that Annabeth’s intelligence is never in doubt by the reader. It’s not Percy or other characters saying she’s smart again and again with no proof. It’s not the narrative shoving the fact that she is smart in your face over and over. She proves she is smart. She proves she is inventive and strategic and intelligent by her actions and thought process and it’s almost never mentioned verbally. That whole idea of show vs tell? It’s perfectly shown through Annabeth acting intelligent instead of people talking about how intelligent she is.

Like how she splashed Percy with water or pulled the fire alarm. The viewers are shown she is smart, not just told.

-Annabeth’s willingness to sacrifice herself for her friends. Her only caring about Percy being poisoned, bot the monsters, and helping him. She knew she would die going up against the Chimera, even calls it the “demigod killer”, yet she does it anyway so her friends can succeed. She opened up to these boys and now she was giving her life for them

-Percy doing the same. Exact. Thing. The trick with the sword. The whispered words against the door, even as they shouted at him to open it. He knew for sure he would die and wanted it to be for a good cause. He didn’t even know if he could fight the chimera, but it was better him than Annabeth

-That boy looked so sick someone please help him

-oh, someone did.

-Dude I told my dad about the whole “Rick not knowing the River wasn’t right under the arc” thing and I was so excited to see how they did that and honestly it worked. Poseidon’s first way of helping Percy was by pulling him into the water, showing him to “just breathe”. My dad laughed when we watched it.

-oh I forgot! I love the first scene with Sally. Had some ptsd from swimming lessons but got to see young Percy so it was worth it

-Also the fall was shot so cool. I felt like I was falling with him

-He can breathe underwater! We knew this! But it’s still awesome!

I can’t even wrap my head around next episode. We are going to be fed so well after this short-ass episode and I am so ready. This episode already gave more Percabeth than I was expecting all season and I wanted to cry it was so adorable. This show is the only thing getting me through each week.

(Also, if you couldn’t tell, I finally figured out how to do italics instead of just capitalizing everything. Go me!)

[asvterias]

𝖢𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝟩: 𝖲𝖼𝗋𝖾𝗐 𝖸𝗈𝗎, 𝖵𝖾𝗋𝗒 𝖬𝗎𝖼𝗁

the cast // series masterlist

chap. 1 || chap. 2 || chap. 3 || chap. 4 || chap. 5 || chap. 6 || chap. 7 || chap. 8

‼️  DISCLAIMERS FOR THIS CHAPTER  ‼️ 

#ScrewYouVeryMuch, #NoTalkAllTongue, #MuscularGirlsCanGetIt, #NoThoughtProcessJustWords!

Flirty!Reader, Clueless!Energetic!Reader x Pussyblocker!Adrianna x Annoyed!Clarisse, Reassuring!Sympathetic!Reader x Angry!Flustered!Clarisse, Kinda Player!Clarisse, Protective!Reader x Defensive!Clarisse, Iconic!Reader x Hidden!Impressed!Clarisse

Detailed Making Out Scene, Slight Intimate Wandering Hands, Slight Innocent Hand Touching, Clarisse is kinda a bitch to reader, Our Fav Couple First Fight 😔, Words can really REALLY hurt 😢

Bashing of Parents, Mentions of Dead Parents, Coping with Grief and Losses, Calling out on mindless behaviors, Future Gf who’s quick to call you out on your shit and still loves you regardless of the situation (Absolutely Reader), Both Reader and Clarisse are in the wrong in some way, A LOT Angst At The End

Italics Alone are Reader’s Thoughts

Bold Italics are Other Various Character’s POV

word count: 5.4k+

tag list: @starless-nightz @starvviss @lov3rgiiirl @random-girls-loves @coolgirl458 @kjisbae17 @s0r0ws @a-fucking-sappho @lvc-lv @watchesstuff

author’s note: anyways, i hope you liked this chapter! please don’t be a silent reader and interact within the chapter. uh oh 😕, reader’s and clarisse’s first fight, not going great for the future couple so far, let’s hope they’ll make up soon.

🌊 🐚 ✘ 🔥🗡️

CHAPTER 7, EPISODE TWO

“Unless you never had a first kiss.” You feign clueless, hiding back a smirk. “Oh my god, that’s so hilarious.” You laugh, wiping a single tear from your eye. Her fingers remain around your upper thighs, barely moving, too scared to overstep any boundaries you might have personally established.

“Shut up.” She seethes, gripping the clothed flesh around your thighs tightly. The La Rue girl ignored the fuzzy feeling in her chest, causing tiny goosebumps as your fingers lightly brushed against her bare skin.

“Oh yeah, Ms. Confident, why don’t you prove it then?” You challenged her, closing the gap between your faces. Just like that, the heat rushes back to Clarisse’s face, leaving her a stammering fool for you to witness and tease again.

A small whimper left her mouth, and although she tried to play it off, it was too late as you already heard it.

Why couldn’t she control herself around you? What made you so special that her heart was fluttering like never before? Is it bad if she doesn’t want this abnormal feeling to stop? This feeling is new and thrilling for her, and she wants you to continue whatever you do.

“Don’t tell me that you’re getting shy all of a sudden.” You tease her, a smirk adorning your lips.

All of a sudden she quickly regains her senses, shoving you to the ground as you scramble to make it back on your feet, and your confidence shimmers down immensely.

“What’s the matter, pretty girl?” She stalks closer to you as a predator does to its prey. The Ares girl chuckles, watching you back away.

You stumbled backward until your back hit against a rough surface, one of the many trees surrounding the camp.

“I’m not going to lie but seeing you stumble away makes me want to just pounce on you.”

“What are you, a damn cougar?”

“I could if you want me to be.” The demigod replied nonchalantly.

Keeping your eyes locked onto Clarisse’s, you noticed that her eyes were shifty and she was agile with her movements, keeping up with your pace. Soon enough, she stormed up closer and you flinched, turning your head sideways, avoiding it, missing the way, her face dropped at the sight of you scared of her.

“I’m not gonna hurt you, pretty girl.” She gently reassures, performing the triangle trick on you, “Wouldn’t want to scar you in any way, you’re too gorgeous for that.”

You seemed to miss the action of her eyes lingering on your face, especially your lips.

“Then, what do you want?” You questioned her.

Clarisse was being weird, one minute she was dedicated to kicking your ass, courtesy of your brother, and the next minute, she was being flirty with you.

Which one is it? Is she mad at you or flirting with you? Does she want to have a hot angry makeout session with you or not? Regardless of what her final decision is, she needs to confess it so you won’t be all desperate in anticipation.

To be honest, you were loving the attention, partially skeptical of the recipient but regardless, her flirty remarks made you swoon. You stared at the girl, waiting for an answer but her face remained neutral, restricting any sort of hint.

Her face hardened, still a glimpse of sincerity, tone indicating boldness. Clarisse wanted you to break first, “I want you.” The small smile crept upon her lips as she analyzed your body language.

Did you hear that correctly? Clarisse La Rue wanted you?! Don’t fall for it, Y/N– oh fuck it, you already did, eh, who’s it gonna hurt? Besides you got her exactly where you wanted, distracted and with all of her attention directed at you.

Suddenly butterflies in your stomach appear as you flutter your eyelashes at her. Your balance falters and your body heated up as your shocked gaze meets her fierce gaze. You gulped, avoiding her stare as you awkwardly rocked onto your feet.

Were you dreaming? You certainly have to be dreaming.

There was no way Clarisse wanted you, figuratively or literally, simply refusing to believe that possibility. This whole thing is weird. Clarisse is being extremely weird. Why would she want you anyway? You just met her, and she’s attracted to you already? There was something wrong, and you were determined to figure it out before it was too late, ending up with you hurt in the process.

“From the moment we met, I felt something for you, and I just didn’t know what it was. That was until Aphrodite’s daughter told me…”

You’re the first to call bullshit but decided to play along, wanting to see the outcome.

This piqued your curiosity even further, “What’d she tell you?”

“I don’t know, I refused to accept it.”

She has no absolute reason to lie to you.

“What do you–“ You were simultaneously confused and flustered, sufficing that you were so dangerously indecisive for your following words, “Well, you can’t have me.”

“Hmmm…..” She peers, closing the gap, your noses are now touching as you feel the warmth overtake your cheeks. You swore you saw her lips curl up into a knowing smirk as it disappeared just as it appeared. “And why’s that?” She inquired with an eyebrow raised, the jealousy bubbling beneath her veins, “You have a little boyfriend back home? Sorry to break it to you, doll, but you’re not returning back to the real world, not unless you were chosen for a quest.”

“Whatever.” You scoff, lightly shoving her and she cautiously stepped a few feet back. “My love life isn’t any of your business. You don’t see me asking you about your love life, now do you?”

She cockily smirks, tilting her head which makes your knees weak, “I wouldn’t mind it.”

All she heard was a wicked laugh erupt from you.

By your reaction, Clarisse’s frustration and annoyance replaced her confidence. “What’s so fucking funny?” Her eyebrows bunch up together in irritation, squinting her eyes at her.

“You…” Your laugh dies down, “When I arrived at this camp, I didn’t expect the big bad bully to be this flustered over me.”

“Get over yourself, water girl.” She groans, crossing her arms as she shakes her head in disbelief. “I don’t get flustered by anyone, especially over some random girl who just arrived at this camp in the span of two days.”

Yeah like, because she’s been extremely convincing so far. How truly delusional is she? Not that you’re one to judge, coming from another delusional girl. Come on, you’re self-aware, not hypocritical, and have some dignity.

You clicked your tongue, totally unconvinced by her, “Whatever helps you sleep at night, La Rue.”

If she was gonna lie to you, it wasn’t your problem anyway. She wasn’t your responsibility, she wasn’t your girlfriend…not yet anyway.

“A good sparring session helps me.” She managed to inform you of that.

“Oh, I can tell,”

“Wanna do a 1 on 1 sometime?”

“With you?”

“No shit Sherlock,” She bites back a smile, “Would you rather spar with somebody else?”

“No, no, no, if it’s with you I’m great,”

“Don’t expect me to go easy on you either, Matthews.”

“Why not?”

“C’mon, you singlehandedly took down a Minotaur, that was pretty badass if I do say so myself. You must have some skills in fighting, right?”

“I don’t!”

“You don’t?”

“Yes, I don’t,”

“So how’d you beat and mercilessly killed a freaking Minotaur?”

“With a sword and shit ton of adrenaline…perhaps a bit of vengeance too.”

“Yeah, okay, I guess that makes sense,”

“Done with the questions?”

“For now, Matthews,”

“Great,”

She rolls her eyes, getting back onto the current topic, “So do you?”

“Do I what?”

“Don’t act dumb right now, Matthews.” The curly-haired girl snapped, a scowl resting upon her lips.

“I’m not acting dumb, you didn’t give me enough context for me to understand.”

“Do you actually have a boyfriend back home?”

“Why are you so curious? I thought you don’t get flustered by anyone, especially me. What’s with the sudden switch up?”

“Okay,” She ignored your questions, knowing you wanted a reaction, “How about a girlfriend?”

“Still not any of your business.” You retorted back. Clarisse scoffed, folding her arms and glaring at you. Figuring out she was getting madder at the minute and it only urged you to further push her to the edge.

Are you wrong to think every emotion Clarisse expresses is kinda attractive, certainly excluding her sadness? Probably not, but you kept that to yourself.

“Would you stop being such a smartass, and just answer the question?”

Hmmm…no! Where’s the fun in that? Lead her on, stray away from the topic, and just do whatever to keep Clarisse on her toes. It’s definitely more entertaining than fighting with her.

“Enough about me, let’s talk about you.”

Clarisse became shell-shocked, “What!” She stared at you in disbelief, “This isn’t about me, this is about you. I wanna talk about you.”

“So you admit you care for me?” You grin slowly at her.

“Those words never left my lips.” The Ares girl was quick to defend herself, “Y’know what just forget it, it’s obvious you’re single.”

She began to saunter off, annoyed by your tactics, and proceeded with the camp game. You were quick to follow behind, still wanting to converse with the hot-tempered girl.

You didn’t expect Clarisse to be an amusing conversationalist, but she was, further entertaining your attention, and increasing your chances of winning Capture The Flag.

“C’mon ask me again, I promise I’ll be completely honest.”

A faint smile tugs at Clarisse’s lips and she stops any further movement, turning around to face you once again.

“Now let’s start our conversation again.”

“Of course,”

“Are you or are you not in a relationship?”

You shake your head at her question, this time being honest like you promised.

“I prefer words over gestures, pretty girl.”

“No,” You grumble, folding your arms, “I'm not dating anyone.”

“That’s more like it.” She hummed appreciatively.

“Is that all you have to sa–“

She grabbed the front of your shirt, balling it into her fist, any ounce of hesitancy soon hindering. With a swift tug, she crashed her lips onto yours, kissing you with the utmost passion you have ever experienced.

Too stunned to react, you reciprocated the kiss as your eyes fluttered closed, melting into it. The kiss became more ferocious as her hands moved downwards, pulling you by the waist closer.

Clarisse might be a cold, ruthless girl but her lips, and her kisses tell a different story. How could someone be so cold but her lips be so soft and alluring?

Your hands caress her face, gently rubbing on her smooth skin and her hands wrap around your waist as the kiss deepens. As her hands linger on your jeans, trailing slowly directly onto your hips, and settles her hands there, gently squeezing it.

“Is this okay?” She whispers breathlessly against your lips, disconnecting the kiss. Her eyes were hooded and her lips were already swollen as she stared at you.

“It’s fine…” You nodded.

“Good,” Was all she breathed out, maintaining her grip on your hips and her eyes locked onto yours. Her lips were magnetic, immediately finding her way back onto yours again, reconnecting the passionate makeout.

Squeezing the clothed-covered piece of flesh frequently, Clarisse’s calloused hands enjoyed the fabric as you inhaled and shuffled during the kiss. You both breathed in slowly, not slowing down the kiss but keeping it consistent.

Soon enough, the kiss started to become more intimate, hands wandering across the other with light touches grazing over the exposed skin. It was too much to handle, too hot to handle for either of you, but that was a stupid thought disappearing at the back of your mind as the makeout intensified, too engrossed with the warmth provided. Your lips pressed firmly against her lips, molding perfectly together, but the intense passion didn’t stop the makeout, it was the lack of air that was desperately needed.

Clarisse bites down on your lower lip, hard enough to draw blood, causing a small whimper to escape your mouth. The Ares girl grinned at the reaction, kneading her lips with yours, pressing harsher to produce more blood.

Pulling away from the kiss, you stared at her, “Promise me that you won’t bully my brother anymore.”

For a moment, it looked like Clarisse was desperate to feel your lips again, that hunger and pleading look in her eyes. It made your heart swoon and almost gave in to her needs, but you knew better. You weren’t gonna make it easy for her, she’d have to earn it.

“Yeah, whatever.” Clarisse easily agrees, shocking you to the core. For a girl who was defined as fiercely stubborn, her compliance caught you off guard.

“You’d actually listen to me?” You inquired.

“Yeah, as long as you promise to keep on kissing me.” She indulged, eyes still hooded and lips swollen.

“Pinky promise me.”

“What?”

“Pinky promise me that you won’t hurt my brother anymore.” You urged her to interlock her pinky finger with yours.

“Are you serious?”

“Deadass,” You blinked, wiggling your free pinky finger in her face, “Now pinky promise!” You whined at her reluctance.

The Ares girl sighs in amusement, a genuine smile overtaking her features as she interlocks her pinky with yours, sealing the simple promise she can try to maintain.

“Yay!” You grinned happily, keeping your fingers locked a little longer than usual before dropping her pinky from your grip.

“Is that all?” Clarisse quirked an eyebrow.

“Hmmm…for now, but of course!”

“You’re a piece of work, Matthews.” She chuckles.

“For your sake, that’d better be a compliment,”

“It definitely is, pretty girl. Now, can we resume our makeout?”

“That can be arranged.” You smirked at her, pulling her in for another kiss but froze at the sudden scream of someone.

“Just so you know this game is called Capture the Flag and not capture each other’s tongues. My eyes are officially scarred because of that.” Adrianna piques, surprising the two of you.

You stared over at your best friend, giddiness overtaking your features, “Oh hey, Adri, this is…” You gestured to the girl in front of you, “Clarisse…”

“We’ve met before.” Adrianna rolls her eyes. “Can’t say I have the energy to befriend a hot-tempered girl such as Clarisse.”

Clarisse distanced herself away from you as she turned to face Adrianna.

“Adrianna.” Clarisse disdains.

“Can you stop making out with my best friend? We have a game to continue.”

“What does it look like we were doing, blondie?” Clarisse snarks, irritated by the girl’s intrusion.

“Something my blessed eyes weren’t supposed to set sight upon,”

Clarisse scoffs, taking her spear out of your hand gently and storming off, to finish the game.

“Can’t believe that you’re so easily distracted,” Adrianna frowns, crossing her arms with a disapproving look, “That kiss might have meant something to you, but it’d probably meant something totally strategically with Clarisse. For all we know, she might have used you as a decoy for her plan.”

“Well, I am a very pretty decoy, thanks for the compliment,”

“That you are, but try not to get too carried away at the moment, especially with Clarisse.”

“Why’s that?”

“Haven’t you heard, Ares kids don’t do love at all, just because their dad had a fling for Aphrodite, they see no use for love and I don’t want you to get hurt,”

“Trust me, I can handle myself.” You reassure your best friend.

“I believe that, but I still worry for you,”

“What do you have against Clarisse?”

“It’s nothing, personal Y/N, our dads have bad blood between them, which is supposedly genetic. According to other Ares and Hephaestus children, they manage to get along well, just not me and Clarisse.”

“That’s just a bunch of bullshit.” You commented.

“My intuition tells me that she’s not done messing with you,”

Shit. Shit. Shit. Y/N, why are you such a dumbass? Of course, Clarisse didn’t actually like you, she just used you to her advantage and had some fun with it too. That’s it, you’re never falling for her traps ever again– no matter how alluring her lips are– snap out of it Y/N! She tricked you and she’s currently going after your brother to plummet him into an early grave!

Huh, that makes more sense.

“Oh no!” Your eyes widened in realization for your brother’s safety, “Percy, she’s going after Percy! We have to get to him before she does!”

Adrianna winces at your panicking state, “It might be too late for him, Clarisse is known to be pretty vengeful,”

“Not helping, Adri! I’m not being down one less brother! Already down two mothers, not losing any more family anytime soon! Let’s go!” You grabbed her wrist, tugging her along with you as you sprinted in the same direction Clarisse did.

Why does life just happen the way you hate?! Why couldn’t things work in your favor for once? And she promised you. Who breaks pinky promises?

Finally stumbling onto the scene, spotting an array of trees and an outlook of the lake. You spotted two girls lying on the ground, hopelessly defeated, as the aftermath of Percy’s and Clarisse’s fight settled down.

Witnessing Clarisse’s enraged face, looking down at her spear, crouching down on the ground. You gulped as she slowly came to the realization of her now broken spear. Her hands shakily held onto the bottom half of her spear as you anxiously waited for her next actions.

You heard a deafening scream break through the silence of the woods, escaping from Clarisse’s mouth.

Shit, that’s certainly not good!

The Ares girl quickly arose to her feet and stalked menacingly towards the blonde boy, ignoring his flinch. She gripped Percy’s breastplate and pulled him closer to her, glaring down at the boy in hatred.

“Clarisse!” You shouted, running up to the two.

She glanced at you, her eyes softening slightly and her terrifying grip on Percy loosened at your presence. Instantly, she switched back on her mean facade, bringing him closer to her, and scaring him even further.

Despite being a cold girl who fought for everything, you saw her for who she truly was…a sad girl, clinging to the validation from her father, who often despised that. You couldn’t really blame her either. Parents have a big reflection on their children’s lives, mostly shaping out to be a mirror-like version of them.

No wonder, she’s a glorified daughter of Ares himself.

She liked the fear that she held over other people. She liked being in control, knowing everything; including people’s fears so she could manipulate them to her advantage. It kept her balanced and calm from being a constant raging ruckus of a demigod teenager.

Walking up to them, standing between them and you looked at Clarisse. “Let him go,” You calmly commanded, your tone firm and assertive.

She huffed, contemplating whether to listen or not.

“I don’t like repeating myself at all. Let go of my brother and deal with me instead,”

Percy breathed out a sigh of relief, feeling her grip on him loosened and was no longer met with her flushed angered gaze.

“Thank your sister for saving your ass.” She shoves Percy away from her, causing him to fall to the ground. Adrianna helped him up off the ground, distancing him from the infuriated girl, waiting for your control of the situation.

Clarisse avoided your gaze, rendered speechless to say anything as you stared at the girl.

All of a sudden, campers came running and screaming in victory, gaining the four demigods’ attention. With Luke leading the victorious team, the red flag clasped in his hand and sticking the item in the dirt, reclaiming their win.

You grabbed the top half of her spear from Percy’s hand and hesitantly rested it in Clarisse’s palm. Gently you closed her hand, letting the broken weapon linger there as you held onto her hand, a form of reassurance.

You didn’t know what you were reassuring her about but you felt the need to be the one to reassure her. Not anyone else, just you, and just you alone. Pretty sure, Clarisse wouldn’t allow anyone else but you attempt to comfort her anyway.

You felt her shudder slightly under your movements, her breathing shaky as her mean facade broke down.

“I’m so sorry, Clarisse…”

Just like that, her mean facade instantly countered again, like a mask.

“Yeah, whatever, sorry isn’t going to fix my spear, now is it, Matthews?!” She shoved your comforting hand off of hers.

Oh, so she was pissed, pissed, pissed. This might also be extremely difficult to subside her raging fuel of fire for your brother at the moment.

“You’re right, it’s not,”

“I know I am,”

“But you can’t just blame my brother for all of this!” Stop while you’re ahead, Y/N. You’ll only make it worse for yourself and others. As a matter of fact, fuck it, can’t get any worse than it is. “You are at fault for some of this too!”

There we go, it’s all out in the open now, and there’s no way going back! God, you didn’t hope it’d come back to bite you in the ass.

“Blame him?! I’m not blaming him if it’s the truth. This is all his fault!” She protested, glimpsing at the young blonde boy, standing a few feet behind you.

Ohhhh, so she wants to play the blame game around here?! Checkmate, then, you got something for her ass, alright.

“For starters, you bullied my brother and attempted to shove his head in a toilet,” You stepped closer, pushing her back, jabbing her chest with your fingers as you continued to go off. “Let’s not forget that you planned an unsuspecting and unfair fight against him with your sisters! I admire the determination to defend yourself after embarrassment but still…! You can’t pin all the blame on Percy, take responsibility for your own fucking actions, Clarisse! Did you really think you were going to walk away unharmed?!” You exclaimed, “You’re many things, dangerously hot being one of them, but you’re not stupid, we both know that.”

She got up close, her nose flaring in anger, smacking your hand away from her chest, “Fuck you, Matthews! Just because we interacted twice doesn’t mean I like you, I barely tolerated you.”

They had to be lies. Yes, they certainly were lies. But were they actually just lies or was Clarisse just holding back the truth from you?

You didn’t know why you felt your heart clench in sadness at her statement or why your stomach churned in uneasiness.

“Then why’d you kiss me like that?”

God, you hoped that didn’t sound pathetic or embarrassing.

She blankly stared at you, “Oh, please, you think that kiss meant something to me then you must be extremely delusional. For me, it was strictly strategic for my team to win.”

Although she was acting entirely different during your makeout sessions, purely dominating it, and now it’s official that it was all decoy, probably pretending to enjoy that too.

You didn’t know what to believe anymore. Whether she liked you or pretended to like you for her benefit. Either way, you know one thing. You weren’t going to fall for her tricks anymore, no matter how convincing they were.

“And yet you still lost, what did you truly win? Cause I can guarantee, it wasn’t Capture The Flag that you won!”

“Come off it, Matthews, it’s not like you didn’t have a plan of your own and we both got what we wanted out of it. So stop taking everything to heart and move on. I don’t like you and probably never will.”

“Fuck you too, La Rue! It’s not my fault you won’t admit you’re also wrong in this situation.” You yelled, fury overwhelming your mind, “Besides, it’s not like I claimed that I had a crush on you, so you need to get the fuck off your high horse and stop blocking or pushing down your emotions because it’s only gonna hurt yourself in the long run. I’d hate for you to feel it when it’s too late. Still, I hope when you feel it, you should feel it, hard, like your whole world is collapsing and there’s nobody to support you.”

She swung her spear head lunging at you, missing barely by your quick instinct to dodge the incoming hit. Still, she managed to scrape across your lower arm, wincing slightly at the forming gash.

“Why didn’t you dodge my spear?!” She furiously asked, glancing at the injury she caused. “Why did you just stand there? Did you want to get hurt?”

“Because I didn’t expect you to use your spear against me?!”

“Whatever,” She rolled her eyes, venturing forward, observing your bleeding wound, “Is it bad? How deep is it? Go get it checked out at the infirmary.”

You pushed her away from you, “What’s wrong with your emotions? This is exactly what I’m talking about! One minute, you’re furious with me then you’re so concerned about a stupid gash that you caused?! Get your emotions in check, La Rue!”

“Shut up,” She murmurs, avoiding eye contact, “Feelings are very confusing.”

“Trust me, I know,”

“Stay off my ass for one second, can you?!”

“No, I don’t think I will! Did you really hurt me just because I’m being honest with you?! Real classic, La Rue, always ready to fight and avoid confrontations. Is it a genetic thing, a trait you inherited from your father?”

“You don’t know anything about my father!” She snarled.

Looks like you hit a fatal nerve within her, and instantly regretted it, swallowing down your guilt, “Fuck, Clarisse, I didn’t mean that–“

“But you did mean that! At least, my father has the decency to claim me! You’re just a lousy nobody with a lying little brother, so stop bitching to your friends about being a demigod and get used to it! It’s your life now and it’s Percy’s life now. What just happened with Percy, was only a preview, to show you for the real world because those monsters are ruthless and bloodthirsty. If you aren’t careful, you’ll die out there, just like your moms did, all weak and alone, all because they were humans.”

She scoffed, brushing past your shoulders harshly and storming off, probably back to her cabin for some privacy.

How did she know about your moms’ deaths? You didn’t tell her, and she doesn’t seem to be the observant type.

Percy saunters over to you. “Are you okay?” You held back tears, staring at your younger brother.

“Of course, I’m okay, but are you okay?” You clicked your tongue at his question. For once, you couldn’t give him an honest reply.

“I’m always okay, why would you ask that?” You shrugged off, struggling to keep the tears from falling.

“What happened in the woods with Clarisse?” Percy pressed on, “Did you give up your first kiss to Clarisse?”

“It doesn’t matter anyway!” You snapped, “She doesn’t matter!”

Well…that was a fucking lie!

Yet, in the back of your mind, you hated how she still did matter to you, even though she completely disrespected your moms’ deaths. God, you hated feelings but loathed your feelings regarding a certain La Rue girl. Why couldn’t your dating life just be simple for once? Why did it have to come crashing down before it even started?

Why did you say what you said? Why did Clarisse respond the way she did? Everything was so confusing and annoying to you at the moment, overwhelming you with a whirlwind of emotions.

Forget about Clarisse La Rue, you can always find someone else. She’s not the only girl in the world. But that’s the problem….you don’t want any other girl. Why is liking Clarisse La Rue so goddamn hard?! Whatever, it’s clear she doesn’t like you, so accept the rejection and move forward, that’s all you can do at this point.

“Not bad, heroes.” A familiar voice rang out.

“Bad timing, Annabeth.” You rubbed your temples as Adrianna gave you a comforting hand.

Annabeth appears from her invisibility cloak, lifting the cap above her head, and stalking closer.

Percy breathes out, “Were you here the whole time?”

She looked bored, coming closer, “Yes?”

“You were here the whole time and you didn’t help me? Before Y/N came to my rescue, you couldn’t help me?!”

“Yes.” She replied monotonously.

“Why?”

“Listen…Percy…” She seems sorrowful for a second but it quickly diminishes. “I’m sorry, both of you.” She was apologetic, yet determined to follow through with her plan.

Eyebrows furrowed together in confusion when Annabeth pushed you two by the chest with the uttermost amount of strength, sending you back into the lake.

The two siblings landed in the lake with a loud splash, immediately getting soaked.

“What is wrong with you?!” That gained everyone’s attention.

“Are you crazy, Annabeth? This is not how you apologize to people you just abandoned! A decent dessert would be nice for an apology treat, not a freaking soak in the lake!” You exclaimed, appalled for words, “We have got to work on your apologies later on!”

Drenched and weighed down by your clothes, you weakly stood up as Percy followed in pursuit. You turned to your brother in shock, rendered speechless as you watched the phenomenon unfold.

“What’s happening to your cut?” You questioned, gesturing to the disappearing cut from his left cheek.

He touched his cut cheek, seemingly disappearing as it did on his arms.

“More like what’s happening to that deep gash on your arm,”

You looked down at the gash on your arm that Clarisse gave you, watching it fade away in nothing like the wound never existed.

“I don’t understand.” You whispered, glancing at Annabeth.

The young girl stared at the two siblings, more like something above your head. Tilting your head upward, you gasped in astonishment at the glowing turquoise trident, lingering above you and Percy’s heads.

“Your dad’s calling.” She smirks.

“You two have been claimed by Poseidon, Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Y/N Matthews, and Percy Jackson, children of Poseidon,”

Huh, guess you were right about being forbidden children, kinda regretting saying that now. Damn it, you hate it when you prove yourself right!

“Oh, fuck me.” You groaned. If single-handedly killing a Minotaur didn’t give you enough attention, then being a forbidden child of Poseidon would definitely bring all unwanted attention, especially from bloodthirsty monsters.

Why couldn’t you be normal? Why couldn’t your life just be normal and boring? Why did your dad have to be a powerful god? Why did your mom meet your dad and willingly sleep with him? More importantly, why were you born a half-blood forbidden kid?

likes, comments, and reblogs are highly appreciated!

© asvterias, 2024. please do not copy, repost, or translate any of my works onto any other platforms without my permission.

[goldenshrikecomic]

Hello, this is gonna be a long one and I hope I don't bother you too much with it but you have something great going and and I think maybe some advice for someone like me who wants to do a longer comic and I took heart in that one ask you recently answered were you said you are plenty of pages ahead of the readers to not get paralysed by a deadline which seems like a no-brainer now that I read that with my own two eyes black on white but I had not thought to maybe go about it that way and I needed to have someone spell it out for me apparently. So to my question.. see, I have a skeleton of a story I have key scenes that need to happen and that I want to happen and I am sure in between things will shift and change and grow and a part of me can't wait for it to happen but- How do you start. How do you get going. It is in my head I have some written notes but most is in my head and I do not want it to remain there and rot I want to draw and tell the story I had in mind but I feel.. paralysed on the starting line of this journey and I am unsure how to go from there because my mind gets caught up in estimates of if I post one page a week that is "only" 52 pages. That seems so little. How many years would it take. Can I do this. And then my mind fires up in passion because I am willing to commit I want to do this I need to do this and I have a good idea of how to pace myself and how to go about it. I have the beginning of it on the back of my tongue and the tip of my fingers I can imagine it so vividly I wish I could animate it (if that wouldn't take up even more time and be insane I would) But somehow I still feel stumped on how to start. How to get over this first hurdle. It might be the executional dysfunction playing a huge part in it, maybe I am overthinking to much and stand in my way because of it, but like... How did you start your comic. How did your journey on GS begin? I know this was a bit of word vomit I am sorry but you are an inspiration and you seem to go about things (from what I could gleam from the asks) in a way that feels like it could work for me too and the way my brain functions but I do not know how to start? I dunno if it makes sense I am no english native and my thoughts are hard to put into words.

This ask has been sitting in my inbox for a while because it's such a loaded question. I have plenty of asks in this tag about my comicing process, so check them out maybe. This reply got lengthy! The more I wrote the more I noticed I feel very inadequate trying to give people tips on making comics. It's such a trial and error process.

I've seen plenty of advice for people wanting to start out comics to just start small, come up with a smaller story to get a feel of it before you go big. And I absolutely understand it in hindsight because I would've done many things differently if I had just tried it out first, but it's not what I did. I wanted to make a big comic, and a big comic I made, as my first project.

I don't think about the years these things take, but it'd absolutely ease your worries if you could come up with a simple style and be able to make pages faster. I've stripped my comic of shading and gotten more lenient with myself when it comes to backgrounds. You absolutely need to cut some corners if you want to make more than one story during your lifetime. It's a limited time afterall! Being able to turn your sketch into a lineart without having to redo everything with a careful hand would help a lot already. And colors, they take a lot of time.

This is not how I went about it in the beginning, but I'd love to tell you to write those things in your head down before you start. Leave holes, just write in what you know because you will forget some cool details if you keep them in. Write the starting point, middle and the end, even with just couple of words. Add things that interest you in the middle of those points. Do you want a sad arc for your character at some point? Write it in. Come up with what makes it happen. Weave it into the other scenes. If you know what's to come, you can add foreshadowing to the earlier scenes. Even if you didn't know what would come, you can take something from earlier scenes and make it foreshadowing. Writing is a fluid process. You can jump around and add things, you don't have to approach it by putting one block next to the other. Once you have the elements you want, you just have to tie those things together. It's the hard part. And you will change your mind about many things when you get to draw your characters and see them doing the things you've written.

The start! I always say it's the worst part, but I've started to think it might be the second worst. I think the worst part comes after you've started and worked for several ten pages on fumes and you finally run out of juice. Picking up after that is hard, for me at least. But if you can manage, it should get easier. You know your characters better by now, and they carry some of their own weight.

Make a canvas. Think about the scene you want to start your comic with. Night or day? Calm or busy? Just doodle, BIG and loose. Add some frames by just drawing lines, move things around, resize. What do you want to portray with the first page of your comic? I like to establish some of the world or atmosphere, and only then move on to the characters.

Don't try to be perfect, in fact leave that first canvas completely unpolished and move on to the next one. What should this page tell? Will you show the character? I'd leave the establishing shot of them as the last big panel. The rest of the page should build up to it. The last panel is important, it's a hook to turn the page.

Come back to polish those pages more only after you have a few of them done. The most important thing is to get yourself away from that first page, because the first page is scary. After five pages you can move things around and start adding ears to your spheres. You've started a comic now. You can go back to the first page and make it nice, because you already have opened the path to continue.

IT'S HARD. But it's rewarding. It's not for everyone but it's awesome if you can make it yours.

[roeroe-world]

her.

starring: ryan destiny as juno, method man as himself

set in the memorable summer of ‘95 in Atlanta.

warning: detailed smut warning , use of profanity and drugs, very long scene ahead

Sweat beads drips amongst his caramel coated skin as he tosses a close by dry towel on top of his slightly nappy braids. Exhaustion yet adrenaline pouring over his 6 foot 3 frame, returning backstage. Mef had just finished a show and more than ready to return to his hotel room, hearing the bed calling—screaming his name. Although the crowd still going wild knocked the calling out of the park by a long shot.

“Yo! We killed that shit!” His friend and fellow artist, Redman, shouts while breathing intensely before the two would dap one another up.

Not only did Mef perform but a few artists performed beside him as well. Wu-Tang Clan members joined to perform a couple tracks together. Redman wasn’t exactly scheduled to perform though Mef decided to bring him out anyway. As a result, the fans loved it.

Mef was sweating bullets, breathing as heavy as ever, and physically tired. He desired to give his fans a great show— no fuck ‘great’ — he wanted his set to be amazing. Mef crowd surfed, brought out his group members and Redman whom was making a ton of noise on the streets, gave the audience his 110 percent of energy… now he needed to chill.

“Tryna hit up a club?” Redman’s inquiry earns a chuckle from the rapper as he takes a hit of the blunt he’s passed. “Nigga, I ain’t tryna hit nothin’.” Seriousness within his raspy, deep tone while observing his crowded surroundings with a head shake. Backstage was heavily crowded tonight.

“Shit…” The fellow rapper kisses his teeth, the two walking alongside each other. “I don’t know ‘bout you but I’m definitely tryna hit something before I leave tomorrow morning. I saw some fly ass bitches in the crowd.” He caught himself staring at a plethora of women passing by. Atlanta was filled with beautiful women. Not only were they gorgeous but their bodies were out of this world.

Maybe it was the Southern meals. However, whatever, they were stacked. Ranging from big to small, nonetheless, the women were captivating.

The women flocked at Mef’s every direction. It was no secret that he’s a chick magnet. Women loved him and he loved them too. Though he’s surrounded by a fish of captivating beauties with perfect bodies. The only chick on his mind is his current on and off girlfriend, Tamika. No matter how many women threw themselves at him, she’s all he ever thinks about often.

His love life was no-one’s business so therefore he hardly ever spoke about her publicly. She isn’t involved in his lifestyle, doesn’t want a damn thing to do with it. Currently, they’re having issues and not exactly on speaking terms at the moment. But as far as he’s concerned that’s still his.

Self-medicating himself with drugs and alcohol kept him afloat as he did his shows, although it didn’t help much. He didn’t really want to express his girl problems to his homies because their issues were absolutely none of their business. But he knows bottling his emotions weren’t healthy.

Between the pressure of maintaining his booming rap career and remaining in a committed relationship, it was growing a bit overwhelming. He has a lot of pent up frustration built that he possesses no clue of what to do with it so until then… he would continue to self-medicate.

After turning down yet another girl, an unopened bottle of Cristal found its way into his masculine large right hand— the moment it’s open he engulfs the alcoholic beverage as he welcomed himself near a table which was seated backstage.

“Damn, you good?” A sultry feminine southern accent meets his eardrums though he continues to drink not ready to meet eyes with the random voice just yet. “The only time a person drinks like that is when they going through somethin’.”

Suddenly, he drops the bottle from his lips and averts his low gaze into the woman’s direction before being immediately taken off guard by her beauty; Her skin coated a beautiful clear shade of brown. Dark irises shaped like an almond, similar to a siren. Her round face fit her perfectly as well as the short pixie cut she’s sporting.

The woman’s lips began moving though he wasn’t exactly paying attention to what was exiting them. He just knew the pair appeared very plump and juicy, adorned by red lipstick with a little gloss coat. It wasn’t long before he snaps out of his daze, catching, “The name’s Juno. I noticed you over here by yourself and decided to bless you with my company.” Redman had left awhile ago to tend to his needs for the night.

She wasn’t nervous, afraid, nor inappropriate. Her almond shaped eyes peered into his as she spoke clear enough for him to hear.

Confidence. He loved that shit.

A friendly grin forms across his lips, sneaking a quick glance of her outfit. Which happened to be a lace choker surrounding her neck, a crop top showcasing her belly button ring, a pair of short denim shorts as well as a pair of Air Max ‘95’s. She had a few tattoos too.

“I’m straight. ‘Preciate you for your concern.” Not to be cocky but he didn’t really feel the need to introduce himself if she came out to his show.

“If you don’t mind me asking… how you get back here?”

Chuckling to herself, “Backstage pass.” She motions to the pass in her hand and he nods, lifting the bottle near his lips. This time his eyes closely but slowly eyeing her frame. He definitely liked what he saw. “I don’t mean to talk your ear off but I really enjoyed your show tonight. You did your thing especially with your album.”

“Preciate it, shorty. What’s your favorite joint on the album?” More than likely, he was expecting it be the All I Need Remix with Mary J. Blige. The track was a huge success.

“Tical. That’s my shit.” Genuine smiles etched across both of their lips, finding themselves staring at each other.

“You smoke?” His inquiry earns a playful scoff, giving him a look, “Nigga, I’m the blazing queen. I bet my rolling skills better than yours.”

“Yo, what? Hell nah…” Mef laughs aloud, “You know what? We just might have to see ‘cause that ain’t possible. What you finna get into?”

————

A limousine ride and several drinks later, the two arrived to the Four Seasons. Mef would be residing there for the night. Underneath his long eyelashes, his squinted dark irises analyzes the rolled blunt closely. As much as he wanted to find a flaw… he couldn’t. Damn. He thought to himself, slightly impressed.

“Shit, you cool with me.” He places the perfectly rolled blunt between his lips, throwing his hands up in defense. “Told you.” The woman sticks out her tongue teasingly, grabbing her lighter out of her purse and sparking up the blunt for him.

Juno watches as the smoke blows smoothly between his lips, his gaze low and slightly dead. The side of his canvas showcasing red lipstick stains due to her kissing him on the cheek multiple times during the limo ride. She couldn’t help but to run her hair over his nappy cornrows, a slight grin etched upon her mouth as the smell of marijuana engulfed the spacious hotel room.

Her exposed left leg rests on top of his thigh while he caresses her soft skin gently. The pair sat on the edge of the bed, enjoying the peacefulness of the atmosphere and one another’s company.

“You should let me rebraid your hair.”

“Unh, unh, I’m tender headed, shorty.” He passes the blunt to the young woman, eyeing her once more. “You can massage my head though.” Neither of the two broke eye contact as she took a hit, exhaling slowly, blowing out o’s.

“Which head?” She quizzes boldly and Mef immediately catches on to her sexual innuendo.

“Which ever you feel comfortable with.” Mef’s low intense gaze immediately makes her nervous so she glances away, very intoxicated though shocked herself that she’s in Method Man’s hotel room with Method Man.

Juno loved the fact that he didn’t push himself on her or made any sexual advances. She’d heard a lot of rumors about rappers but Mef doesn’t appear to be that way. He was chill, nonchalant, hilarious and quite charismatic. And to mention… very fine. She always believed he was handsome from the moment she laid eyes on him upon seeing a photograph of him in the Source Magazine.

His roughneck look fit him perfectly. Now that she’s up close and personal, she could definitely see why the women went crazy. He was a pretty boy with a raspy, deep New York accent that could make you melt.

The moment Juno breaks their eye contact to avert her gaze downward, he finds himself looking away as well. Silence falling between the pair. Tamika’s face racing through his brain yet again. It was an ongoing thing the entire night though he’s in the company of a striking beauty.

“You hungry?” Her inquiry began to remind him, he’s starving. Not only that but he had the munchies. Of course, he’s hungry. He hadn’t ate much after the show and that was hours ago. Now it’s peeking on two in the morning. “Yeah, room service doesn’t sound too bad, huh?”

“Yeah, no…” She stops him from reaching for the phone with a laugh. “I know a place way better.” His eyeballs fell upon her plump backside as she crawls across the bed, sitting on her knees while the satisfying sound of her mid-length French tip acrylics meets the dialing pad. Her vanilla scent danced in and out of his nostrils the entire night, though, he couldn’t lie; a woman with good hygiene turns him on.

Mef finds himself traveling from the edge of the bed to plop his head on a nearby pillow, continuing to smoke the blunt Juno rolled moments before. Feeling a dip on the bed as she places their order, she turns to see him lying on his back comfortably. More importantly, in the bed wearing shoes.

Raising a brow at the sight, the call ended and the young woman sends a light smack to his bottom leg. “Boy, if you don’t take them damn shoes off.” Laying closely beside his being, snatching the blunt from between his lips and planting between hers instead.

He kisses his teeth playfully, “This my fuckin’ bed but since you told me to take my shoes off, I will.” The rapper sits up to do as told. “Happy?”

“You had a show tonight too so don’t take this wrong… you should freshen up— I’m not saying that you stink ‘cause you don’t. I’m just saying.” She shrugs, blowing the smoke through her nostrils.

The slight annoyance of her demands quickly subsided due to her looks.

“Coming in my hotel room and telling me what to do… you lucky you fine.” He speaks truthfully with a head shake, heading for the bathroom for a much needed shower.

————

“Taste this.” She scoops a good amount of sweet potato pie onto the plastic spoon, bringing it to Mef’s lips. He hums as the sweetness enters his taste buds. “Good ain’t it?” A wide grin falls upon her captivating face as he sends her a nod as a response.

Awhile after Mef’s shower, their food arrived. It was a nearby Soul Food restaurant. The food was delicious and he couldn’t deny it. The next time he would come to the A, he would definitely be eating there again.

“I got a question.”

Putting their plastic containers to the side, she retorts, “Ask away.”

“You ain’t got a man?” A chuckle passes her lips at the question. “As good as you look I know some nigga wanna lock you down or got you locked down.”

His statement made her mentally scoff. “If a nigga had me locked down, I wouldn’t be in this hotel room with you.” Her love life isn’t a topic she’s too enthralled in discussing. She didn’t completely answer the question because she doesn’t feel obligated to.

“Word.” He nods.

“You got a girl?” Almost in an instant, he stops nodding but tries to play it off. Juno is really good at reading body language so she knew instantly. “You love her?” Mef doesn’t bother to meet eye contact, telling the young woman everything she needs to know.

Silence falls amongst the pair until the rapper breaks it, “…just some issues going on right now.” He doesn’t want to talk about it. Juno could hear it in his tone.

“We don’t gotta talk about it. I ain’t tryna pressure you.”

There was sudden mood shift. Both of them could feel it. Juno instantly regretted asking the question because it seemed as if he was still in his feelings over the woman.

“If that’s a dealbreaker for you then… you can leave if you want. I’ll be aight. I enjoyed your company.” With a sigh, he stands to his feet and prepares to walk off to another direction of the hotel room.

Silently, the young woman mentally contemplated whether to leave or not. He had a whole woman at home which whom he’s in love with. Sure, they were having their problems, but what relationship didn’t? She just knew that if she was in the other woman’s shoes, she would be crushed to find out her man is in a hotel room with an another woman being fed.

Though, if she would leave then Mef would still be upset, drinking away his sorrows like how she saw him prior. Deep inside, something made her want to help him feel better. She wasn’t sure how it felt to date him and doesn’t want to know. She couldn’t make him forget about her.

But just for the night, she wanted to make him feel something. She wanted to make him feel good.

She doesn’t owe his girlfriend or whatever she is to him any absolute loyalty. Juno had one of her man crushes in the same room as her so she’s going to take her chance.

Standing to her feet, Juno struts behind his chair, her hips swaying side to side seductively. Mef feels a presence behind him but stays put, thinking nothing of it. Her dainty hands meets the top of both of his shoulders, caressing the pair softly before sliding them along his clothed chest and between his legs.

His attire consisted of a plain baggy white beater and a pair of basketball shorts. Juno didn’t understand why he didn’t settle with the hotel bathrobe because it would’ve been easier access.

Removing her touch, her smooth glowing legs leads her in front of his frame. Mef’s legs were stretched wide, his arms resting on the arms of the chair while his low seductive gaze peered upward in her direction before traveling downward with her sudden movements. Juno was on her knees, pulling his shorts to his ankles to reveal what she’d been aching to lay eyes on for so long.

Mef remained silent, observing her actions closely. It was crystal clear what she wanted and he was going to give it to her.

It was exactly what she imagined. Long, thick, veiny, very well-endowed. He was ecstatic to see her just as much as she was. Without a hesitation, Juno devours him into her mouth and the minute she does, his head tosses backward with a low groan.

His groans would transition into small moans and the moans eventually grew louder. Juno was ravishing him like he was her last meal. Sucking, licking, finding herself kissing it as if it was a trophy. Her right hand wrapped around his phallus, stroking him to perfection. The other down her shorts, playing with herself.

The strapless crop top slid below her perky breasts, revealing the pair due to her hard work. Mef averts his attention onto the beauty giving him the best head he’s ever received. Though, he couldn’t help to notice a name tatted on her left breast that read ‘Dante’ in cursive. He ignores the observation and focuses on her Oscar-winning mouth instead. His hand found itself onto her head, not giving a single fuck about her hair or the fact that she has another man’s name tatted on her.

Her head bobbed up and down, creating beautiful music to their ears. Juno’s mouth reminded him of a vacuum, a beautiful and very skilled vacuum as she sucked like no tomorrow. This wasn’t her first time. She was much too skilled and he had no absolute complaints. He was in bliss. So deep in bliss that he grew close, an orgasm he isn’t ready for just yet. Too quick.

He found himself slightly trying to push her head back, lifting his waist off the chair a bit. She notices before saying, “Don’t run, papa.” Upon quickly going back to work, his toes began curling at the intense pleasure. A plethora of curse words exiting his mouth, “Fuck…”

Moments later after attempting to hold back, he finally let go while she sucked him dry, swallowing every drop. His body shook slightly, a low groan passing his throat. Pools of brown peering into one another’s as Juno took her time to undress, peeling off every piece of clothing one by one teasingly. Initially she was planning to leave after giving him the best head of his life but he was still up at attention, intensely staring in her direction hungrily. Apparently, there was still a job needed to be completed. Who was she to back out of a challenge?

Mef was growing impatient.

No longer seated in the chair, he towers the young woman before lifting her small frame into his arms by her legs while forcing himself inside. His lips crashing into hers. “Oh, fuck…” Her jaw drops at the sudden sensation of him inside her love. Not giving her much time to adjust. Her back was pressed against the wall as he sent the woman powerhouse strokes, arms pinned above her head. His hips circling round and round much to her pleasure.

Her constant wetness and tightness around his phallus kept his top row of pearly whites embedded into his bottom lip. Juno’s eyebrows furrowing together from the pleasure and the pain. The more he had his way with her, the louder she would become. The pair found themselves all over the room, making their mark as well as pushing a few things out of their path, items in which broke. They couldn’t care less about the complaints.

Bent over on the edge of the bed, Juno glances backward at the rapper behind her frame underneath her low gaze. Loud moans exiting her throat. “F-Fuck me like that..” Mef’s head was thrown back, gripping her waist while he gave her his all. He was fucking her so good that she was speechless and she’s usually vocal during sex.

“Mef, oh Mef, oh papa…” Her juices coating his phallus was a hell of a sight. He loved the fact that she was making such a mess because of him. He had her screaming, scratching his back, cursing him out, squirting everywhere, fucking up the sheets, legs wide open as if it wasn’t almost four o’clock. Mef had a flight in three hours yet that hadn’t seem to cross his mind.

Nothing seemed to cross his mind when he had a beautiful woman screaming his name and squeezing around him.

“What, baby?” He quizzes, dragging his tongue across his lips for the millionth time. “Fuck…” Mef couldn’t get over how incredibly wet she was. The sounds were driving him insane. “This pussy so fuckin’ wet for me, mama.” Sending a smack to her backside, she began to throw it back.

His mouth falls agape slightly as he watches her, “Juno, shit.” He couldn’t let her get the best of him again so he flips her over onto her back, pressing her wide legs upon her shoulders, pounding into the woman mercilessly. At this point, she was screaming to the top of her lungs. “Just like that, papa!” Her dainty manicured hands resting on the bottom of her thighs, no matter the pain, she loved it. Not once did she tap out nor push him back. She loved that rough shit.

Juno liked to be fucked like a slut and she was sure that Mef had a lot of pent up anger which she desired for him to take out on her.

Dark brown irises peering down in her direction and suddenly he decided to deepen his strokes before leaning in closer to her face. Both of them admiring one another’s canvas. Her top row of pearly whites embedded into her bottom lip, their eyes meeting instantly. They made a lot of eye contact during their activities but not like this… not in this position.

“You so fuckin’ beautiful, baby.” He compliments the young woman below his being before bringing their lips into a passionate union. “You so perfect.” His dick continuously jabbing at her spot and it wasn’t as rough anymore, it was long and passionate strokes.

Juno wanted to fuck. Not make love nor fall in love.

The dick already had her willing to die for it. The consistent compliments, the dirty talk, the choking, his skillful strokes. Mef knew exactly what he was doing in bed. They were going at it for sometime now and his energy amazed her.

The way he stared at her as if he wanted to do any and everything for her as if he actually loved her. But she knows he doesn’t. He’d only met her a few hours prior. She could never be the woman he was drowning himself in sorrows about. She could never be her. This feeling of his love is temporary. She knew she would never see him again after tonight.

The thought hurt.

Mef’s love brought her to tears, caressing his shoulders and beautiful face to pretend as if she was his girl. As if he was hers. He belonged to someone else. But for right now, Mef belonged to her and she was going to fuck him like no tomorrow.

Regaining her strength, Juno flips the two over to gain control. Bouncing on top of the rapper energetically earning a plethora of groans as he sends several smacks to her backside. Suddenly, his firm right hand grips her neck, thumb sliding between her lips and she sucks on it. “Tell me you love this dick.” He demands, scanning her bare frame and the sight of their bodies colliding together for the millionth time.

“I love this dick.” She does as demanded and though it was a demand, it was the absolute truth. His dick fit her perfectly. “Papa… are you gonna cum for me?” Sucking his thumb seductively, her hips moved in a circular motion, desiring to feel him breed her again. No, she isn’t having his baby. She didn’t want to have his baby. There was no absolute use of protection but she does happen to be on the pill.

Without another word, he nods, completely speechless. She was really putting it on him from her mouth to her everything. For her final move, she leans forward to plant a few sensual kisses along his neck before whispering, “Come inside your pussy,” into his ear. It drove him wild when she called her pussy his. Over the years, she learned that men loved that.

Mef began to fuck her back from underneath the woman, palming her plump backside as his orgasm approaches. His mouth slightly agape in amazement, watching her breasts bounce in his face.

The moment the tip of his dick started to jab at her spot, her orgasm was quickly approaching as well. “Fuck, papa, I’m gonna cum!” His thrusts grew rougher and moreover, the pair found themselves releasing in unison. Their eyes meeting while riding their high, mouths wide open.

For some reason, Mef made sure she felt every drop of his semen. She guessed that it was because he knows it intensifies her orgasms.

“Damn.” Breathing heavily, Mef eyes the woman hopping off of his frame as slow as she could due to her body being sore and slightly limping to the bathroom. A light proud smirk creeps amongst his lips, eyelids shutting to get some sleep.

Light footsteps meets his eardrums yet again so his low tired gaze falls upon a naked Juno whom is getting dressed to his dismay. He wasn’t ready for her to go.

“Leaving me already?”

A giggle passing her throat, she slides on her underwear then came her denim shorts. “You and I both know what this was, Mef.” Her statement results in the rapper’s head to tilt backward in offense, immediately getting out of bed to throw on a pair of the basketball shorts that was laying sloppily on the floor to make his way towards the woman.

“Yeah…” He began. “It was two people who got together and enjoyed each other’s company.”

“Don’t you got a flight to catch in like what two hours?” She found his reaction to her getting ready to leave quite comical. They didn’t really know one another from a can of paint.

“So. That don’t mean you gotta leave yet, shorty.”

Sighing heavily, a captivating smile gracing her lips, “It doesn’t. But after you leave… you have someone to go home to. Never take that for granted.” Sliding her crop top through her head and adjusting it onto her chest. “Not many people have that.” Soon came her socks and shoes.

Juno was unlike any other woman he’d been with sexually. Maybe he was blinded by lust or her looks or the fact that she’s the epitome of cool. He wanted to keep in contact with her, at least. He definitely wanted to link up again.

“Can I at least get your number?”

“Go home to your girlfriend, nigga.” She replies humorously, grabbing her purse and heading for the door. “I enjoyed you, Method Man.” Planting emphasis on his stage name, she pauses through the open door before waltzing in front of his tall frame. Her tattooed arms wrapping around his neck and he leans downward mindlessly, connecting their lips passionately.

One last taste.

Their tongues fight for dominance. Enjoying the taste of one another. Eventually, Mef wins. His hands falling just above her covered backside. Nibbling softly on her bottom lip as she pulls away, sliding her hand down his chest. His intense low gaze peering down at the young woman whom was admiring his half-naked silhouette.

His girl would be dumb to let him slip out of her hands.

Finally, she walks away and he watches her until she’s no longer in his peripheral. The moment she steps outside of the hotel room, her back presses against the wall before tossing her head backward in disbelief.

“Did I just do that?” She mouths to herself.

Moments after squealing softly to herself, Juno saunters for the elevator, feeling like a whole other woman.

[sticks-stones-sonic-insanity]

I JUST FINISHED SONK ADVENTURE 2 IM NOT OKAY OMG

The scene with Shadow falling to earth was funny at first and it all happened so fast i was still trying to wrap my head around it. Ppl talk about that scene a lot which theyre so right for, but i need to talk about the scenes after because oh my god they broke me!?!??!

Sonic, coming back onto the ark, completely silent. Everyone asking if Shadow made it back and he just slowly shakes his head without a word.

The scene where Sonic gives Rouge Shadow's inhibitior ring hold so much more weight to me after actually playing the game: In the short time they knew each other, Shadow saved Rouge's life. Twice. This is the only possession she has to remember him by. Knuckles asks her what shes going to do now and she actually stops to reflect and remarks how shes thinking of changing jobs, something else on her mind now(What exactly shes referring to in this moment isnt stated but theres a fair few connections to draw there). After almost getting killed during a heist and never getting a chance to thank the guy who saved her from it, that's a pretty good and strangely mature call to make from a writing standpoint. This whole scene has a similar feeling like that, like the jokes and the extravagance thats typical of the cutscenes have really been toned down with intention.

This one genuinely shocked me, and im really surprised i havent come across anything about it yet because the scene between Eggman and Tails was actually super deep?? There are a lot of different Sonic medias as far as I im aware that have touched on the paralells between Eggman and Tails: their small similarities and how well they work together when they have to, but the scene here really stuck out to me. Eggman is talking about how much he admired his grandfather as a child, how much his work inspired him to learn and create and strive to be great like him, drifting off to question whether or not he really wanted to see them all fall. Tail's response is very chipper and optimistic, but i really like the idea of Eggman having almost this turning point here, having to face something so saddening as watching someone you love curse the world and everyone on it(including you). After arguably some of the most dangerous and threatening feats have been accomplished by Eggman in this game as the story's primary antagonist, is this moment a nod to him maybe stopping to think about what he's done? Im amazed by how much meaning can be taken from these few seconds of dialogue!!

Finally, the last two moments. Amy, despite having had her own short heart to heart with Shadow before the final battle and ultimately being the one to spurr Shadow on to fight alongside Sonic and the others, doesn't seem as upset by Shadows death as Sonic is. This is genuinely, in my limited knowledge of Sonic media, one of the only instances i have seen Sonic be thoroughly shaken up by something and brushed it off when someone asks him whats wrong. In most cases, he's just relatively unfazed from an emotional standpoint like that, so theres nothing to brush off in the first place. But here, the ever-yapping blue blur remains silent for a while, just staring at Earth in a similar paralell to how Shadow used to. It isn't until Amy comes by that he looks away. Its the really subtle details here that get me: Sonic doesn't look or respond to her right away. There's a prominent pause of silence before he turns to her and says its nothing, switching the topic immediately to rush her along. Sonic, typically impatient and eager to move to the next adventure, slows down and is the last to leave the deck, delivers the farewell line to end the game. Again, the contrast in how slowly and soft he speaks here in comparison to literally anything else he says in the game is insane. The pause between "Shadow" and "the Hedgehog" is still very funny to me and im not lost on how the delivery does end up being chopped up quite goofy like that, but if that isnt an absolutely insane way to end off the game with such a somber, emotional moment...

Sonadow or no sonadow, take it as you will, its undeniable how impactful this adventure in particular is to Sonic. How much Shadow meant to him by the end of the game. How much his sacrifice meant. I really see his discussion with Rouge as both a way to comfort her, and to comfort himself. To say out loud how heroic and brave he'd seen Shadow to be, regardless of the intention that came from his creation. Sonic is big on freedom and giving people the opportunity to live how they want to, and Shadow's sacrifice in that regard means even more to him. He had just come to understand what he had truly promised Maria he'd do, joined Sonic whole-heartedly to help save the planet, and never got to experience anything beyond that. Given Eggmans continuous antangonistic streak at that point (I'm not fully aware of the other villain's Sonic had faced up until that point), it's rare that Sonic actually gets to see someone who opposed him change for the better!! And not only was Shadow one of the first to do so, but he was a speedy teen hedgehog!!! Just like Sonic himself!!! Its like Shadow said, there was so much more to them that they never got to find out about each other!! The fact that Shadow gave up all of that possibility, all of his own personal freedom to help Sonic save the planet and the freedom of all the people on it? That hits. HARD.

Im not familiar with the full canon of how Sonic actually managed to get one of Shadow's inhibitior rings to give to Rouge, as he's actually not shown in any scene taking them off during the final battle(i actually dont even think their mechanics are properly explained which is more confusing but yk), but getting into more headcanony, sonadow adjacent space for a second? I like to think Shadow actually took two of his rings off/had two break off before he fell. Sonic gave one to Rouge, and secretly kept the other for himself. He obviously didn't want his friends to ask him more questions about how he was feeling, so he hid it in his quills before he greeted them back on the ark. Shadow ended up meaning a lot to Sonic, and it's really interesting to think about what was running through Sonic's mind when all was said and done.

Uhhh anyways good game very very infuriating at times but very good game i have a true taste for the appeal of Sonic games now and i want to play them all. If you actually made it this far, thank you for reading my silly sonk rant! If you have any information you know of to patch the spaces where I'm lacking or just want to discuss your own thoughts on the ending feel free!! Have a good day or night wherever you are :]

[dreamwritesimagines]

Garden of Secrets [18] - Daisies

A.N: Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback and support my loves, it made my whole week, you’re amazing!❤ I hope you’ll like this chapter as well, and please don’t forget to tell me what you think, thank you! ❤

Thanks so much to @theskytraveler​ for helping me with the chapter!

Summary: Friends can have fun anywhere and anytime.

Warnings: Regency era society and social rules, some gender specific language and terms, mentions of sex, mentions of explicit scenes, mentions of violence, slow burn.

Word Count: 5300

Series Masterlist

Well, you had to admit.

You had no idea what the following night would bring when you woke up in the morning, but it was not this.

The dawn was breaking when you got back home from the party and though you hadn’t drunk that much, you felt nearly intoxicated with the sense of this freedom which was incredibly new for you. For once you didn’t have to follow any rules or worry about the etiquette the ton kept pressuring you with, and it felt absolutely wonderful.

Benedict had suggested you could sleep in his bed and you were still too taken by the excitement to come up with an excuse or pretend you didn’t like the idea. You convinced yourself that it would be just for tonight -or this morning for that matter- and when you woke up, warmth that was surrounding you was so comfortable that it made you heave a sigh, a small smile curling your lips. Benedict had his arm thrown over you, his other arm curled under his pillow while he laid on his stomach, still deep asleep. You carefully sat up in bed so as not to wake him up, running your eyes over his back, his muscles rippling as he murmured something and hugged the pillow. A spark of desire shot through you and you bit down on your lip, an exhale leaving your lips. You held out your hand to hold your fingertips over his back but before you could even run your fingertips over his smooth skin, you retrieved your hand and stole a look at the clock on the wall.

Oh.

Both of you had slept until the afternoon. Again.

Benedict had barely drunk two glasses throughout the night to make sure to keep an eye on you and you were very careful with not drinking too much in order to lose any control so this wasn’t even about the drinks, it was because of the fact that last night had been the most entertaining night of your life.

Most entertaining and shocking.

The picture of what you had seen in that room while you were exploring the rest of the party flashed before your eyes, making your heartbeat faster. You were still quite certain you were missing something because that was simply not…possible with what you were told about nightly activities.

Was one of them just there to simply observe?

Even the thought was enough to make your face burn and you scrunched up your nose, closing your eyes for a second but you opened them again when the thought hit you, a frown pulling your brows together.

Benedict had told you himself that he tended to attend these parties, and Lady Whistledown wrote over and over again how he would come home early in the morning, all disheveled. Not only that, now that you were rethinking about the conversation that took place between Sir Granville and Benedict and how he was so quick to dismiss even the suggestion of it—

You knew he was very experienced when it came to such acts, he had told you he hadn’t been celibate and the rumors about him -though they lacked details- only convinced you further that he knew much more than you.

You were so lost in your thoughts that you hadn’t even noticed him rising from his deep slumber until he moved a little in bed, then held his breath, freezing in his spot. He pulled the heavy covers to himself just a little, bunching them around his waist before propping his head up on his fist.

“Good morning.”

“How does one lie with two people at the same time?”

He blinked a couple of times. “…Did I—did I not wake up?”

“No you’re awake,” you said and turned your head to look at him better. “That’s not supposed to be possible, is it? I mean, physically speaking?”

He cleared his throat, rubbing at his eyes. “What brought this on?”

“I wanted to explore the rest of the party last night after you left with Sir Granville.”

“Uh oh.”

“And I saw something.”

“Of course you did.”

“Is that a thing that people like?” you asked and he shook his head slightly, sitting up in bed.

“Y/N.”

“It makes no sense though,” you mused. “Three people? That’s surely impossible, does one simply wait their turn?”

He looked nearly tormented by your questions. “I’m not having that conversation with you.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m not.”

“But that was what Sir Granville meant, was it not?”

“It wasn’t,” he said quickly. “He meant more in the lines of—well, his wife—it doesn’t matter. That’s not going to happen.”

You thought for a moment.

“Have you ever done that?”

He heaved a sigh and brushed a hand through his hair, messing it up even more. “Can we please have this conversation some other time? Because this is absolutely not helping the situation.”

You tilted your head. “What situation?”

He paused and looked down at the covers bunched around his waist, then turned his gaze to you. “Nothing.”

“But have you ever done that?” you insisted, making him furrow his brows as if he was trying to focus.

“I don’t—I—” he stammered. “Please don’t ask me that.”

Your jaw dropped. “You have?”

Benedict ran a hand over his face as if he was torn between lying to you or not and you sat up straighter, trying to ignore the way your stomach flipped. Perhaps you had been correct in thinking he was going off to those parties or keeping mistresses after your wedding. After all, you had told him he could, and it wasn’t as if this was a real marriage anyway.

He had married you because you had been caught together, no other reason.

That bitterness spread through your throat and burned it but you were sure that you managed to keep your expression completely calm.

“I mean obviously it was…” he motioned between you two. “It was before we married.”

“Sure!” your voice came out a little higher than you intended. “Obviously and—and it’s fine. It’s absolutely fine. I mean it would be fine either way. Obviously.”

His eyes flitted over your face and he took a deep breath but before he could say anything, someone knocked on the door.

“Mr. Bridgerton? Your brothers sent word with a footman.”

You took it as your cue to get up from the bed and cleared your throat.

“I should…” you motioned at your room. “Because um—Teddy is coming to visit today, so I should get ready.”

“Y/N—”

“Just don’t forget we’re having dinner with your family tonight,” you said hastily before you walked to your room and closed the door behind you, leaning back to it as soon as you did. You pressed your hands on your eyes, then shook your head and walked to your bed to ring the bell.

                                                   *

It made absolutely no sense that you still felt bitter over Benedict’s escapades. You and everyone in the ton knew he was quite adventurous and while you hadn’t known the details or apparently the amount of people his adventures included, you weren’t going to be in a sour mood all day because of it.

Especially now that Teddy and your aunt were visiting.

Teddy was a tiny hurricane as usual and after watching him run around for about an hour, you and your aunt had decided to go outside to sit in the gazebo. Teddy was having fun exploring the garden and it was such a lovely day that you simply couldn’t bring yourself to stay inside.

“You will get the hang of it,” your aunt assured you. “I had some difficulty with learning how things worked when I first married your uncle.”

“Yes but you at least had an idea.”

“So do you.”

“Barely,” you said and she tilted her head.

“I’ll help you,” she said. “Not to worry. Running a house is not that difficult once you understand the basics.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” you said with a sigh and she smiled at you.

“So now, are you going to show me the greenhouse?”

You looked over your shoulder to the huge greenhouse, the sunlight reflecting on the glass walls and your stomach did a flip.

“Oh I haven’t…” you trailed off and took a deep breath. “I haven’t had the chance to work on it I’m afraid.”

She raised her brows.

“You?” she said. “There’s a greenhouse here and you haven’t started working on it yet?”

Well no.

You hadn’t even stepped a foot there because you knew if you did, you would fall apart. All your life you had wanted a beautiful garden and a big greenhouse but now that you had it—

You knew you were going to want to spend your whole time there, and put so much effort and time into the plants but Benedict could take that away from you anytime he wanted so you refused to put yourself through that heartbreak.

So you were simply not even going to bother.

“I’ve been busy,” you ended up saying. “But um—I’m sure our gardener is doing a wonderful job there just like he is in the garden.”

“I must admit, I thought you’d have taken over the garden by now,” she admitted and let out a small chuckle. “But I suppose your days are busy just like your nights, hm?”

Oh great.

Always a lovely topic to lie about.

“Sort of,” you said and she shot you a look.

“There’s nothing wrong with having hobbies though,” she said. “Josie mentioned you fixed Bess’s roses?”

“I barely did anything,” you said. “Bess was watering those roses three times a day, can you believe that?”

She scoffed a laugh. “Oh wow.”

“And I told her—”

“Y/N!” Teddy’s cheerful voice rang through the garden and you looked around, then looked up at the window of Benedict’s studio where he was leaning out of. “Come here!”

“Teddy, don’t lean out the window like that!”

“Alright but come here!” he said, excitement laced in his tone and you got up from the bench.

“I’ll be right back,” you told your aunt and she waved a hand in the air.

“I’ll just ask your gardener to give me a tour of the greenhouse while you’re there,” she said and you nodded, then quickly made your way back into the house. You rushed up the stairs to the studio but as soon as you reached there, you froze by the door, staring inside.

Apparently, while you and your aunt were downstairs, Teddy had decided to try his hand in painting. The canvas Benedict had sketched on before he left was now full of colors because Teddy had decided to color inside the lines, and was now smiling at you proudly.

“Look, I made this!” Teddy said, pointing at the canvas. “Is it pretty? That’s a house, see?”

Oh God. Oh God.

The panic that crashed down on you was so sudden that it took your breath away, your heart leaping to your throat. Benedict was going to be absolutely furious when he saw this, and it was going to lead to an argument and that was going to lead to a—

Alright. You had to make sure that didn’t happen anywhere near Teddy and the only thing good about this mess was that Benedict wasn’t even at home right now.

You could take whatever he would unleash upon you.

You swallowed thickly and stepped closer to Teddy, then crouched down to get to his level, your skirts fanning around you.

“It is very beautiful Teddy, but…” you took a deep breath, clenching and unclenching your hand to get rid of the shaking, your wrist starting to hurt again. “Do you know whose room this is?”

He looked around and turned to you. “Benedict’s?”

“Yes,” you said. “Which means these all belong to him. And do you remember what we said about touching other people’s belongings?”

He nodded, his eyes still shiny with happiness. “Yes but I didn’t touch those,” he pointed at the painted canvases around the room. “Just this one, it didn’t have any paint on it.”

“Yes but it still—”

“Hello there,” Benedict’s voice cut through yours and you jumped on your feet, stepping in front of Teddy without even realizing it.

Oh damn it.

The fear roared through you, making your ears muffled and for a second you felt as if something was squeezing at your throat but you clenched your teeth. Benedict smiled at Teddy who leaned sideways to wave at him around your skirt.

“Hello Benedict!”

“It was an accident, it happens,” your voice came out as a demand and Benedict pulled his brows together.

“Hm?”

“Look!”

“Teddy…” you said through your teeth but he was completely oblivious to how tense you were, which you assumed was good, in a way.

Teddy, unlike you or Josie, had no idea what could happen when someone was angry, he just wasn’t raised like that.

“Benedict, I made this!” Teddy pointed at the canvas, making him turn his head to look at it. “Is it pretty? Can I be an artist too?”

You hadn’t even noticed yourself grabbing the palette knife on the tiny coffee table behind you as subtly as you could until you felt the cold handle of it. If anything happened, if Benedict so much as tried to shove him, you were going to—

“You painted it?” Benedict asked with a small smile and Teddy nodded fervently.

“Yes!”

“It was an accident,” you repeated, your eyes flitting to the door and Benedict let out a small chuckle.

“It looks very pretty,” he said as he stepped inside and Teddy rushed to the canvas, apparently very proud of himself.

“I made the door red, look!”

“Teddy,” you said. “Just go to the garden, alright?”

“Wait a moment,” Benedict told you and crouched down to look at Teddy. “You did it all by yourself?”

Teddy nodded and you gripped the handle of the palette knife tighter, but Benedict gave him a huge smile.

“I think you’re going to be a great artist.”

“Really?”

“Yes!” he said. “Absolutely, are you kidding? I couldn’t use the colors this well when I was your age.”

Teddy rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, and turned to look up at you with a huge smile.

“Y/N, did you hear that?”

“In fact, I have an idea,” Benedict said. “How about the next time you’re here, you have your own canvas and you can paint whatever it is you want to paint, hm?”

Teddy gasped. “Really?!”

“Absolutely!”

Teddy giggled and nodded with a huge smile.

“I’ll tell auntie I’ll be an artist!” he said and rushed out of the room, making you let out a breath. Benedict straightened his back and smiled at you.

“You didn’t tell me he wanted to be an artist.”

“He um…he makes figures from mud,” you managed to rasp out and he raised his brows.

“We could get him some stuff to make sculptures as well,” he told you. “The next time he visits—”

“There’s no way you’re as calm as you look right now,” you cut him off, your heart beating in your ears but by some miracle, your voice didn’t waver. Benedict shot you a confused look, then scoffed.

“Oh you mean what he did with the canvas?” he asked. “He’s six, Y/N. That’s what kids do, they snoop around.”

You blinked a couple of times. “That was supposed to be your painting.”

“Do you think Greg never painted over something I was working on?” he asked with a small laugh. “He—two summers ago I had just finished a painting and apparently he decided to paint over it at night because he liked brighter colors and wanted to fix it for me.”

You stared at him, your brows furrowed and he shrugged his shoulders.

“I grew up with seven siblings,” he said. “Remind me to tell you what Colin once did to my drawings back at Eton.”

You slowly put the palette knife back on the coffee table behind you without him noticing and licked your lips.

“I didn’t know you’d be back soon.”

“I forgot my sketchbook,” he said. “I figured on tonight’s dinner I wouldn’t have the time to go over the illustrations with Charlie so I’ll just give her these today. Mother invited her and Simon so it’ll definitely be chaotic.”

“Simon?”

“Duke Hastings.”

“Oh,” you said. “Daphne’s suitor.”

“And Anthony’s friend,” Benedict said and grabbed his sketch book. “Where is your aunt by the way? I should greet her before I leave.”

“In the—in the garden,” you stammered, trying to pull your thoughts together through the confusion. “She’d love to see you, I’m sure. You go ahead, I’ll be right there.”

Benedict looked like he wanted to say something, but then decided otherwise.

“Alright then,” he said and walked out of the room, leaving you there. You gawked at the spot he had just left and let out a breath, running a hand over your face.

“What on earth…” you murmured and pressed a hand over your chest, then threw your shoulders back and walked out of the room as well.

                                               *

Even though you were beginning to find it very easy if not relaxing to spend time with Benedict, this whole dinner was going to be quite chaotic, you were sure of it. Going there early to help with the preparations for the night had sounded like a good idea in your head but you had missed the part that Benedict and his brothers would be outside and there would be plenty of time for the women of the family to ask their many questions to you about how your marriage was going. Eloise particularly seemed to have many topics to cover and questions to ask, so after around an hour when Lady Bridgerton and Daphne got distracted with going over the last minute details of the dinner, leaving you alone with Eloise who was very interested in learning what exactly was taking place after one got married, but soon enough Lady Bridgerton sent her to change into her evening attire so you took it as your sign to leave the drawing room.

Dear God, you could still remember running into Benedict for the first time in this very hallway.

And what was it you had said?

“I doubt we will ever talk to each other again, Mr. Bridgerton.”

Fate just had a way of messing with you.

You slowly made your way through the hallway until you reached Benedict’s art room and looked around, then pushed at the door to open it. You peeked inside to see whether they had changed it after he moved out but it looked the same as you had last been there. You nibbled on your lip for a moment, then stepped inside and closed the door behind you.

It was almost funny how Benedict’s presence -even if he wasn’t actually there in the room- was beginning to make you feel relaxed instantly. The traces of him were all over the room, from the messy table beside the canvas to the painting palette full of colors, and you felt a smile warm your lips before pulling a book out of the shelf and going straight to the sofa by the window.

By the time you heard the knock on the door you had been so focused on the life of Da Vinci that the sound took you by surprise. The door cracked open and Benedict peeked his head in, making your heart skip a beat.

“Hello,” he said. “Do you mind if I come in?”

“It’s your room.”

“Well you’re in it so it makes it yours.”

You bit down a smile and motioned at the room. “Be my guest.”

Benedict shot you that lopsided grin and entered the room, then closed the door behind him.

“What are you doing here?”

“Admiring art?”

He furrowed his brows. “I only have one canvas in here and only the background is finished.”

“I’m admiring the background,” you deadpanned and he tilted his head.

“Are you hiding?”

“Maybe,” you said. “Eloise has a lot of well-grounded questions about why your mother said no when she asked if she could stay over at our house.”

A soft look appeared in his gaze and he repressed a smile, then sat beside you and leaned back to the sofa.

“Really?”

“Mm hm. Dodging the question about what our honeymoon has got to do with it was especially difficult.”

“What did you tell her?”

You shrugged your shoulders. “That she could ask you, not me.”

He gawked at you. “You threw me into the fire?”

“Well I had to throw someone!” you defended yourself. “Besides, you’re an artist. Suffering will be good for you, everyone knows that.”

“Uh huh, thank you traitor.”

You tried to hold back your laughter, feigning shock. “I’m merely trying to help you improve as an artist. A very selfless behavior, one would say.”

“Much appreciated,” he said while you bit down on your lip to stop the smile and he put his feet up on the table, making himself comfortable.

“Are you hiding as well?” you asked and he nodded.

“Mother is snapping at all of us about anything you could think of, she’s very nervous about this dinner.”

“Well, Daphne’s suitor is coming,” you said. “It is expected.”

“She managed to turn the conversation from Colin’s jacket to the fact that he hasn’t got married yet, quite literally no one in that room is safe.”

“You are!” you snapped your fingers. “You’re married.”

He grinned at you. “I am.”

“To me,” you felt the need to say and his gaze turned soft again.

“Mm hm, to you.”  

You found yourself smiling back and took a deep breath, trying to distract yourself from that spark of excitement rushing through you.

“Does she want all of you to marry in the same season?” you asked. “I mean you were the first, I’m sure Daphne will marry within the season, and Colin?”

“Well, Anthony is never going to get married, he keeps saying that.”

You pursed your lips together and raised your brows.

“Does he now?”

“Yes,” he said. “He’s very sure of it.”

You nodded. “And what time is Lottie getting here?”

Benedict thought for a second and checked his pocket watch. “She was going to get ready when we separated so I’d say in half an hour. Before Simon gets here, probably.”

Dear God, as much as you disliked Anthony and he disliked you, you had to give it to him; he had to have been very convincing with his family if even Benedict couldn’t see how he was looking at Charlotte. It was quite surprising because to you, it was clear as day but apparently no one around you could see that.

And to make it even more interesting, it was obvious that Charlotte had no idea either. She had vehemently insisted Anthony was the kindest and nicest man on earth when you had told her you didn’t like him, and you had seen how they always made sure to talk to each other whenever they were near each other but she either managed to keep her feelings hidden from anyone’s gaze or she didn’t know about them.

You made a mental note to at least fish for some information the next time you would go to the park with Lottie, then got distracted when Benedict cleared his throat.

“Can we talk?”

“About what?”

“Last night.”

You turned to him and tilted your head. “The party or what I saw?”

“Both,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck and licked his lips. “Y/N, I uh… You know, this morning I couldn’t really explain but I don’t want you to misunderstand it. I haven’t—I mean I did join the parties and did things there but after we got engaged I never…”

Your heart started beating even faster and a fire swept over your face.

“Oh you don’t have to explain—”

“I want to explain,” he said. “Nothing happened ever since that night.”

Ever since you two had kissed.

“No matter what you saw last night at the party.”

You had no idea why this new knowledge filled you with happiness or why imagining Benedict with anyone else had made that bitter taste climb up your throat earlier today.

“I just went to drink and paint and spend time with my friends, nothing more.”

You nodded, dragging the tip of your tongue over your lip. When the memory flashed through your mind, you felt a fire burning your cheeks but forced yourself to turn your gaze from him, leaning your head to the back of the sofa and fixing your eyes on the ceiling. Benedict turned a little to look at you better, putting his arm over the back of the sofa, resting his head on his fist.

“Ask.”

“Hm?”

“You have a question in mind that bothers you.”

You stole a look at him. “How did you-?”

“You always furrow your brows when you’re deep in thought and want to ask something.”

You relaxed your brows immediately, making him chuckle. Biting inside your cheek, you took a deep breath and turned your gaze to him, sitting up straighter.

“…Clearly love is made up,” you started, making him raise his brows. “And of course I don’t believe in it, it’s for fools. And artists.”

“Strong introduction there.”

You shot him a glare and clicked your tongue.

“That being said,” you muttered, “When you were actively uh—participating in such things at the parties…”

“Yes?”

“Were you in love with two people at the same time?” you asked. “Or did it make you fall in love?”

He looked rather taken aback by your question and you had to admit, you shared the sentiment. You had no idea why the idea of him falling in love with someone made your stomach drop and squeezed at your heart but you managed to keep your expression still.

He shook his head. “No.”

“No?” You tilted your head. “Ever?”

“That wasn’t about love,” he said, making a rush of relief spread through you for some reason. You pursed your lips together and cleared your throat before asking the next question that was almost echoing in your mind.

“Does it make people fall in love though?” you asked. “Doing…that?”

He thought for a moment. “Sometimes.”

Oh.

Well, that was…

That was an interesting thought there, albeit risky.

“And what, it’s better when you’re in love?” you asked and immediately corrected yourself. “Hypothetically speaking, that is. If love existed, which it does not.”

“Well, all poets say it’s perfection with the person you love.”

You scoffed a laugh and scrunched up your nose, turning a little in your spot to face him. “And what do the artists say?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “That it’s supposed to be divine.”

“Supposed to be?”

“That’s what I’ve heard.”

You pulled your brows into a frown again, trying to make sense of what he had just said before it dawned on you.

“What, then—” you stammered, turning to look at him better. “All this time, for you it was about lust? Nothing more?”

“It was about many things,” he admitted. “Lust, trying to find love, or simply just fun…”

Ah.

Well, you didn’t have the slightest clue as to why hearing that was making that bitter taste burn your throat.

“And then it was about forgetting.”

The sentence took you by surprise and you blinked a couple of times. “Forgetting?”

“Mm hm.”

You didn’t even need to ask what he had tried to forget. You knew that he was talking about after that night at the rooftop, that haunted, heartbroken look on his face when you had told him you would simply torment him or rip out his heart.

Remembering that moment right now felt like your own heart was being ripped out and you shifted your weight in your spot, digging your nails into your palms to focus.

“Did it work?”

A small smile graced his lips and that soft light started glimmering in his eyes again, his gaze locked in yours.

“Does it look like it worked?”

Your eyes shot up to his, your heartbeat getting faster so fast that it made your head spin and for a moment you both stayed like that in complete silence but before you could even say anything else, you were snapped out of your thoughts by the knock on the door.

“Ben?” Colin’s voice reached inside and you turned your head to look at the door. Benedict cleared his throat as if he was trying to pull himself together and you let out a breath, rolling your shoulders back.

“Is it alright if he…?” Benedict asked and you nodded fervently.

“Oh—yeah, absolutely.”

Benedict turned to look at the door. “Come in Colin!”

The door opened and Colin tilted his head when he saw you.

“Oh I didn’t know—you know what, it doesn’t matter. I’m aware you are newlyweds and everything but I refuse to be anywhere near mother’s sight until this dinner starts,” he said, stepping inside and closing the door, then made his way to the armchair to fling himself on it. “Dear God…”

“Yeah it’s not fun, is it?” you asked. “Now try to imagine the whole ton doing that to you and you’ll understand how life is for a debutante.”

Colin hummed, then grinned at you. “And what exactly were you two doing here, honeymoon couple?”

“Colin,” Benedict said, his tone almost a warning and you shrugged your shoulders.

“Nothing you don’t wish you were doing with Miss Marina,” you said with a smirk as his eyes widened. “Simply talking, of course.”

Colin’s jaw dropped and he held up his hands while Benedict chuckled beside you.

“I will stop talking now,” Colin said and Benedict snapped his fingers.

“No no, I’ve been wondering that myself,” he said. “What is it with you and Miss Marina?”

Colin waved his hands in the air as he searched for words.

“She’s—we—she’s…pleasant company.”

You scoffed a laugh and turned to Benedict. “Oh, pleasant company.”

“Sure,” Benedict nodded solemnly, “Nothing more.”

“Certainly. Has nothing to do with the fact that she’s very pretty.”

“Or the fact that he bolted to talk to her the moment he saw her the other day,” Benedict played along. “They probably talk about philosophy.”

“Or art,” you pointed out. “Truly an intellectual companionship.”

“You two are terrible,” Colin pointed between you. “A terrible couple, that’s what you are.”

You let out a laugh and Benedict opened his mouth to retort but before he could say anything, someone knocked on the door.

“Sir?” a maid said. “Lady Bridgerton wants everyone in the drawing room.”

Colin heaved a sigh and shot you two a look, the sound of footsteps getting distant.

“What if we just stayed here and didn’t attend this dinner?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about Colin, I’m absolutely fine with this dinner,” Benedict said with a grin. “I’m married after all.”

You nodded. “Yeah we will be very comfortable tonight.”

Benedict pointed at you with his thumb. “What my wife said.”

“Why thank you, husband,” you played along, making Benedict stifle a laugh as he looked at you. “Perhaps we should tell your mother how happy we are now that we’re married.”

“Y/N, don’t you dare.”

“That’s an amazing idea, we really should,” Benedict said, making Colin whine. “We should also tell her how happy Colin will be once he gets married.”

“I hate both of you.”

“We just want your happiness, brother.”

Colin groaned, rolling his eyes as he got on his feet.

“I liked it better when you were suffering with me,” he grumbled, pointing at Benedict before walking out of the room. You and Benedict grinned at each other, and he held out his arm.

“Shall we, dear wife?”

“Yes we shall,” you said with a giggle as you dropped an exaggerated curtsy, then you both left the room to make your way to the drawing room.

Chapter 19