#and!!! Oscar joining that would be neat i think!!!

[hellfireloserclub]

Oscar the grouch

Written for June's @steddiemicrofic

Prompt:stuff.Word count 483.Rating G

“Look at this stuff. Isn't it neat? Wouldn't you think my collection's complete?” Eddie sang as he danced around the living room, Oscar crying his eyes out in his arms.

Steve wasn't sure what it was he had walked into, or why his son was currently wailing at the top of his voice. But he was truly living up to his nickname of grouch.

Eddie looked frazzled and three seconds away from joining the frizzy haired tot in his breakdown. It was easy to forget that this was Eddie’s first time doing this whole parenting thing, he got on so well with Layla it was easy to forget that it was his first rodeo. Mostly Steve's husband ( it still sounded weird to say that) was taking it in his stride, one dirty diaper at a time.

But Oscar was every bit Eddie’s son, and the last few weeks of teething had shown that the kid had well and truly found his lungs.

Steve was still unnoticed as he watched from the doorway, take out bag still in hand.

Picking up the stuffed octopus from the sofa where it lay, Eddie waved it around pointing out all the accumulated nik naks lining the shelves of their busy and cluttered living space .

“Look at this trove. Treasures untold. How many wonders can one cavern hold?” Eddie sang, nearly knocking the Grammy off the mantle in his enthusiasm.

Not that it would matter if it broke. the other Grammy, one they shared, was currently being used as a doorstop in the recording studio, since Rincewind the cat had decided to start locking himself in there when they weren't looking. Stupid feline had almost written off Steve's stratocaster, and it had killed at least two of the fancy laptops.

Eddie was finally winning in his war with his mini self. Oscar had simmered to gulping air, bottom lip wobbling but no tears now fell down his freckled face. One chubby fist had twisted itself in Eddie's curls and the other was reaching for the shiny metal in his dad’s bottom lip.

Oscar really liked shiny things.

Eddie's wedding ring had been dropped down the toilet only the other week, it took Steve and Wayne ages to get it back out the pipe.

It now sat on a chain around Eddie's neck, safe from little fingers wanting to recreate Gollum's fate.

Sensing that he was on to a winner, Eddie got louder with his singing.

“I want to be where the people are-”

“That's a lie, you hate people.” Steve said as he made his presence known.

Both man and child's heads turned in unison. A smile cracking both faces.

“I like you.” Eddie said, walking over Oscar grabbing onto Steve as soon as he got near.

Eddie pressed a kiss into Steve's temple as he passed off their son.

“I'm not people, I'm your husband.”

[ravioliet]

alright so i don't have any drawings to post for this yet, but as promised here's my explanation for that Odd Squad Glitch Techs au i mentioned the other day!!!

lots of yapping under the cut, i am very bad at summarizing things but. i tried

ok so basically. i realized that both shows involve kids solving weird problems and anomalies and whatnot and i thought it would be fun to turn the odd squad kids into techs! and it's really silly how well a lot of this stuff translates over lol. it's just odd problems but video game themed

so basically to start off the season one gang is pretty much the same but the roles have shifted around slightly, i have a whole rewrite plotted out for GT episode one where Otto is basically both Five and Miko (mostly Five though tbh) and there's the whole contest and everything. Mitch is Oren but like if he was worse at his job. i guess. less of a hard worker at least. Olive is also there despite already being a tech but y'know. but basically she and Otto pull the thing where they sorta team up or at least help each other out a bit because neither of them like Oren but like in the actual episode the game glitches and Olive gets pulled out of the game to fight the glitch, and while everyone is distracted Oren just resets Otto because he's a sore loser and doesn't want to admit he was losing to someone who's not even a tech. a little bit of time goes by and at some point Olive runs into Otto again while catching a glitch and he helps her defeat it, and afterwards she's like "oh hey you're that kid from the competition!" and Otto, who doesn't remember any of that, is like "lol what competition? :)" and Olive is suspicious now so she pretty much just drags him back to hq with her and then things happen and he gets the job and stuff hooray!

also some other notes

Oscar is like the support guy! he probably knows how to hack some stuff but mainly he just invents things and fixes people's gauntlets and such. hinobi tech support's tech support. if you will

glitch modder Todd!!!!!! he's literally a glitch modder you gotta believe me. same as in canon he got too bored with his job and started causing problems on purpose but specifically, he started modding glitches to raise their difficulty level to make them more entertaining, which then turned into just modding them in general and then into causing glitches on purpose. the pienado was a modded glitch of his, he took the original glitch which came from some sort of like. candy crush type mobile game i imagine. and made it more powerful than it should have been. so yeah Olive is also scared of pies here

Todd is also immune to resets Miko style because it makes him a bigger threat

the pirate-itis episode was a possessor glitch that was slowly taking over Olive. because i think that would be neat idk

the season two kids are here too!!! Olympia is still a big fan of the glitch techs and also Olive, despite the fact that she's. not really supposed to know they exist. she saw Olive take down a glitch one time and somehow avoided being reset afterwards. she's not interested in like exposing their existence or anything though she just really really wants to join and eventually she gets recruited and is absolutely overjoyed

as for Otis, he is still a former villain but in this case he's specifically a former hacker. Brother Quack is his actual human older brother who raised him and was also the leader of a hacking/modding group that was very against the Hinobi techs. at some point they start messing around with creating actual harmful glitches that could cause some serious harm and Otis decides that things have officially crossed the line and like in canon he runs to Ms. O for help. his brother doesn't remember the betrayal anymore but Otis avoids him anyway because guilt and also because he's afraid that he might remember at some point. tragic siblings moment

Drop Gadget Repeat still happens but it's not a literal time loop, it's a mapper glitch of some sort of puzzle game that Oona gets trapped in, and she can't get out until she beats the whole game but she's stuck on the last level so she calls in Olympia and Otis to help. it's one of those timed puzzles where the level gets reset when the timer runs out and they're all struggling. eventually they figure it out with teamwork though so yippee!

6:00 to 6:05 is something similar to that as well i think

Ocean is the pet guy kinda. because it's silly :)

anyways yea! silly secret agents show moments i love both of these shows so of course i had to put them in the blender together lol. i'll design the characters eventually, i have some ideas in mind already :3

[loquarocoeur]

Thank you for tagging me @kichona-s <33

Who is your favourite driver?

Considering my digital footprint and the state of my F1 pinterest board which is nothing but his face, I probably have to admit that I'm basic and it is in fact my cunty little bitch Max Verstappen

Do you have other favourite drivers?

I'd say Charles and Oscar are tied for second favourite, then it's Lando and I quite liked Logan. There's also just something about K Mag and his warcrimes ngl and I'd say Zhou, but actually I think I just like sweetcorn and his sauber tiktoks

Who is your least favourite driver?

I wouldn't say I hate any of the drivers

Do you pull for drivers or do you like teams as well?

Just drivers, teams are just so capitalist megacorporation-esque that I feel the socio-economic rift widening just thinking about them and the principals all seem sketchy

Also, I'm already embarrassed enough to be obsessed with these young men with too much money in a sorely lacking women, most of which aren't even seasoned, they're so white they're see through.

If you like teams what teams do you pull for?

I'm going to avert my gaze now

How long have you been into F1?

I got into it with the first race this year (2024) in January I think

What got you into F1?

My friend would not shut up about the fast cars, so then I thought, alright let me try it. And of course I can't get into anything there isn't fanfic for so I just looked up the most popular ship, discovered lestappen, and sorted by kudos, started with top max, had a fic idea, thinking I'd just write one, because it's funny, and then continue to lurk, as is my standard practice...

So I wrote one top max fic, thought it was neat, had another idea (En Francais), was totally also going to do top max, but then it was just not working

So it turned into bottom Max...

And then I wrote another bottom Max...

And then another one and another one and another one and now I might need psychiatric help

Do you enjoy fic/rpf?

It would be a bit weird if I didn't. But actually I haven't been reading much recently, just writing

How do you view new fans?

I'm still a baby fan myself, but nobody should ever make fun of or be rude to someone who's new to something I think, why would you want to discourage people from joining the community? It makes no sense and you never know if they could have written the next classic fic for the fandom or been an otherwise amazing creator

If you could take over as team principal for any team, who would it be and why?

Ferrari, because with this season even I could do better than whatever they're doing. I think they also just need the common sense of a woman sometimes, I think it could do wonders

Are your friends and family into F1?

My family no, I have three (and sort of a half) irl friends into F1. No, they are not on tumblr, and if they ever found me here I would die

Are you open to talking to other fans/making friends?

I suppose I am, but I'm still new to tumblr culture, I'm still figuring out all the social rules and things, so idk what's going on here, and I'm also very picky and choosy with friends/mutuals, I quite like having just my two or three of them

I don't have anyone to tag unless you want to have a go @zettychez , but you seem more of a lurker. I don't have anyone else because I have the social skills of a pebble

[calamitaswrath]

Cal Lucia plays Fire Emblem Path of Radiance: Chapter 10

Ranulf's back! Does he join us now?

Ohh, catboy's got money for us! That's a start.

Guess he doesn't join us yet. But Lethe and Mordecai do! That's pretty nice. Though I suppose it won't be long now before I have to pick and chose who to deploy for each battle, which is always a bit of a tough one in older FEs. Definitely leaning towards using Lethe in my "main party", though.

Base conversation with a generic soldier that has Ike experience racism. Nothing too noteworthy, but a nice little worldbuilding detail

Marcia continues to flirt with Ike, and he doesn't care. There's no way that this man is straight. Interesting note about Marcia's brother though - I suppose he's encountered later on?

Now that I'm aware that this game also has the five support maximum, I have to admit that I am a bit more hesitant to just do supports as they become available. For example, I have unlocked the C support between Ike and Titania, but I'd really rather not do that one for fear of missing out on others

Mist and Rolf on the other hand, I think I can do. I want to save Mist's A support for another character that joins later and I know about, but she doesn't have any others yet, so I guess I can do this. And it's a pretty cute support - who would've thunk that sending children onto a battlefield could be bad for their mental health, though?

. . .Damn, Begnion takes up a lot of space on the map. Kinda surprised that they only really come up now, but I guess that's sort of to be expected

Ohh, we're actually shown on the map where our route takes us! That's cool.

. . .Wait, so Ranulf's travelling with us, but he's not playable yet? Am I understanding this correctly?

Ah. So, this chapter is basically a new recruit shopping trip? And a stealth mission?

New character, Volker! Goodness, that's a German name if ever I saw one

. . .I better not have to pay those 50.000 in terms of gameplay, or so help me

. . .Okay, that's definitely a unique way to do this. Hiring Volker to open cells. . . well, I haven't really used my funds that much yet, so let's do it

And now we are at the chapters where I have to pick and chose who to bring. . . that's gonna be a tough one, like I said. I'd love to just keep all of Greil's original mercenaries in my active party, but that's probably not very feasible

Now, let's see who I can get on this map. Sephiran - definitely heard of his name before, but I couldn't really put a design to it. Kevin - unfortunate name (and apparently also just a part of the German localization?? Huh??), but I suppose he's Oscar's counterpart. Brom - ohoho, that's peak character design. Nephenee - HER! I've seen her a lot in fanart already. Definitely a cute design.

Okay, after reading up on the recommended strategies for this chapter - which I did precisely due to the supposed stealth elements. . . yeah, screw stealth. Sounds like more of hassle than it is worth. Shame about the bonus experience, but I get a master seal out of it, so that's good.

. . .I did not expect the reinforcements that can move on the same turn as they spawn, and got Mist killed. At least I'm starting over from the first turn, urgh. . .

Okay, Kieran's definitely more out there in terms of personality than I would have expected. Quite the surprise, but a welcome one!

Hah, Soren's retreat quote telling Ike to watch out. . .

. . .Hold on, in order to clear the map I don't actually need to have everyone escape. Just Ike works! That means I can at least get the bonus experience for the turn count, so that's neat.

Due to the strategy aid pointing out that freeing Sephiran is completely optional, I didn't free him. So, his appearance after the chapter is the first thing I'm actually really seeing of him. . . and he is just being ominous for buggering off. Okay.

Oh, we actually get a choice whether Volker (side note, I think this may be another instance of the German localization at work? I think the Wiki calls him Volke) stays with us? I'll let him stay with me, then.

[howlingday]

About the Blake as Batwoman AU;

What do you think about Jaune as the Flash, Ren as Green Lantern(Hal), Ruby as Green Lantern(Jessica Cruz), Sun as Green Arrow, Oscar as Kid Flash, and Ozpin/Ozma as Dr Fate?

Jaune got struck by lightning, but his aura awakened and saved his life by granting him a Speedforce connection. He then took the young Oscar Pines under his wing when something similar happened when his Aunt Ruby(secretly a Green Lantern) brought him along to meet her boyfriend.

Ren was chosen to join the Green Lantern Corp and patrols Remnant as an Emerald Knight, working with Flash and fellow Green Lantern, Ruby Rose, often and becoming friends with them, while dealing with Nora flirting with him as Star Sapphire.

Sun learned how to survive by growing up on the streets of Vacuo and became someone else, something else…He became Vacuo’s Green Arrow, the Emerald Archer.

When Dr. Ozpin dons the Helm of Fate, his soul becomes one with the spirit of Ozma, granting him powers akin to the twin gods themselves!

It sounds like an interesting team, for sure.

I like the Jaune/Oscar team-up. Especially if Oscar is the head of "The Flash Fan-Club." Or was that Eobard Thawne?

Ruby and Ren as Green Lanterns is also a neat concept, since Green Lanturn is powered by will, which fits perfectly with Ruby, and is harmed by emotions, such as fear and anger, which fits Ren. Also, just so I'm clear, Ruby is Oscar's aunt, and she's dating Jaune. That right? And yes, yes, yes to Star Sapphire Nora.

Sun as a survivor in the brutal streets to become Emerald Archer is an interesting idea, and I'd like to see more of it. However, my only critique is him using a bow. I think if it stayed the bow, and the parts of the bow staff could be swapped out to fulfill a different purpose. And yes, I am thinking of the boxing glove staff piece.

Ozpin as a researcher who stumbles on the Helm of Fate would be a great idea, especially if he can consul with the previous members of Ozma, as Dr. Fate can do himself.

[happy--prince]

Oscar HCs part...three!

— Oscar and Agatha met when they were teenagers ; they met while they were being trained to join the Order which led to them having a mixture of fondness and friendly competition against each other. They sometimes also meet for tea when not so busy to chat.

— Oscar is extremely claustrophobic due to certain punishments by Byron while he was a teenager, he also doesn't handle being in dark places well either for that reason.

— I mentioned Oscar covers up a lot here ; I can see him also really not liking going to the beach due to that. He is the type who would spend the entire time sipping some drink and stay in the shadows n fully covered up.

— Oscar is somewhat fluent in japanese ; though it would sound rather business-like when he is speaking and can sound extremely formal too.

— He was recruited by Byron after he met him in an social event he was invited to, Byron immediately took an interest in him due to his ability and thinking it would be extremely useful for information gathering.

— Oscar definitely has insane pain tolerance. He went through some stuff, to put it mildly.

— He can't stand to listen to most modern music. He probably has playlists filled with songs from the 1900s and also classical music.

— As he is essentially both a handler and an informant, he has a code to send the Order if he is ever in danger.

— Extremely skittish and easily startled, he is also constantly vigilant too even if he may seem so relaxed.

— He wears gloves to cover up scars on his hands from another injury during a mission. He'd be embarrassed of them.

— He rarely feels fully comfortable around people despite how charming he can be, you wouldn't ever know it though.

— Nobody knows his birthday; you might know it is in October but good luck figuring out the date because he won't tell you and you'd probably find out by accident but he'd remember everyone's birthdays.

— The only thing he has from his mom is an opal brooch she left him — he keeps it in his jewelry box.

— Constantly travels around; he rarely is home so his staff lives in his house and watches over it though, a lot of the house staff are from the time his parents were alive so they are familiar with him and are used to his behavior.

— Oscar has very neat handwriting and while he wouldn't mind a regular pen or pencil, he would prefer a fountain pen.

[ryuto12]

RWBY Headcanon's Maybe Part Thirteen?

I'm still not sure what part it is, but here we go. Literacy headcanon's cause I've seen like five of those so here are my thoughts.

Also no hate for any of these, I have really messy handwriting and despite being forced to learn cursive in elementary have a lot of difficulty with it and it makes my writing almost unreadable.

All of RWBY can read but Ruby is dyslexic. Weiss writes in perfect cursive, Yang and Ruby's is average for kids their age, and Blake has that nine-year-old messy handwriting, but Blake is the only one to know sign language.

JP can read and write fine. NR? Not so much. Ren's handwriting is super messy, and Nora struggles with reading.

Oscar writes super fast so it looks messy, but if he slows down you'd think he was addressing a letter to a king.

CVY are all fine with reading and writing. Fox learned some brail while at Beacon so he'd figure out the correct restroom. Not a lot of learning in Vacuo tho, so he knows only the bare minimum.

Tai was taught to read and write at school, Raven taught herself as a kid, Summer faked her way through Beacon unable to write with minimal reading, and Qrow forced himself to learn after the Teams split so he could go on his own missions. They're all dyslexic.

Ivori is the only member of FNKI who can do cursive. Neon and Kobalt can't read or write but Ivori's a good teacher. Flynt is alright.

May learned to write in super neat cursive but spites her family with messy four-year-old handwriting. Fiona learned as a kid in the mines, but Joanna and Robyn had to get a crash course at the Academy.

Sun can't read or write, but SSN is helping him learn, which he thinks is entirely unessecary for his career choice, but he knows Blake loves to read so it's all for the pretty lady.

Neo can't drop the old habit of writing in beautiful cursive. Roman learned to read from Neo.

Emerald learned to read when she was little before she ended up on the streets and still loves to read. Despises cursive, can't do it.

Mercury was forced by his dad to be ambidextrous with his writing so he'd more "unpredictable", but he couldn't learn much with his dad smacking him over the head and calling him an idiot despite never actually teaching him the letters. To spite the bastard he has Em teach him in return for hand-to-hand lessons after their V6 argument.

Rhodes couldn't read so teaching Cinder was out of the question. Salem taught the young Cinder in a surprisingly quick and efficient way, with a kindness you shouldn't think an immortal witch conquering the world would be capable of.

Watts' cursive could replace the dictionary definition of neat.

Tyrian can't read, but if you ask him how to spell something he pops off with perfect spelling. Physically can't write with how many times he's broken his fingers.

Hazel the kinda guy to start his morning with a cup of warm coffee and a newspaper. Excellent reader, amazing cursive.

Salem has practiced her writing for thousands of years, it's beyond perfect. Knows so many languages, and secretly has been collecting literature for a few hundred years.

Adam didn't like reading, and quite honestly saw it as a waste of time. Couldn't read or write.

Ilia learned cause she wanted to connect better with Blake.

Ozma has the same collection hidden away somewhere, and just as elegant handwriting as Salem.

Goodwitch writes like she's sending a letter to her grandmother, with perfect grammar in the most amazing cursive.

Winter, the highly dyslexic child who didn't get diagnosed until she joined the military. Struggles with spelling, but was forced to seem perfect as a kid, a habit that stays with her even now. Only Penny knows the truth, and it dies with her.

Whitley can write in perfect cursive, he prefers the writing of elegantly turning every letter into a perfectly drawn dick to piss his dad off.

Penny can hypothetically write perfect cursive, but she gets really excited while writing and it ends up so messy. Re-written multiple times before being sent.

Alright this is enough for now, my wrists are starting to hurt. Carpal tunnel go brrrrrrrrr.

[unofficialadamtaurus]

First of all CONGRATS for finishing! It could not have been easy (I say as I remember all the times you were sore, bruised, and/or sick while trying to write a chapter LIKE BRUH), especially when each and every chapter is god tier. Seriously homie, you’re amazing!!

But FOR REAL WTF?? these dudes keep working after having infiltrated a massive fucking whale, stopped a Grimm invasion, got exploded to bits, and fought an immortal milf? Babes pls get some. Idk. SLEEP.

Naw but i really do love to see it. Also especially love to see how much they support each other through it 🥹 honestly the highlight of the chapter for me.

GOD like this moment when all of RWBY hug is HNNNNGSOZHBEHAOXH

Blake and Weiss joined the hug by some unspoken signal. Ruby melted into their embrace like so many petals and Blake's heart melted with her. "I missed you guys."

THEY ARE FAMILY OKAY AND I JUST GXHWIYZBXOYWNJ

Ruby is being particularly adorable too (the carrots line killed me 💀) but also like GURL YOU ARE LITERALLY BLIND RN STAY IN BED??

Yang nodded. "We'll get through it. Speaking of getting through things…can we talk?"

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Yang shuddered at her touch. Their lips brushed when Blake continued: "Let's skip that part this time."

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

THOSE TWO ARE SO *frantic arm gestures* YKNOW??? Im happy they got a happy ending because yeah I doubted it for sec okay 😩

LMAO at the reoccurring Oscar interruption but wait FUCK THE KID IS FUCKING DYING?? UGH god I didn’t expect the Oscar and Ozpin thing to hurt as much as it did. Ozpin deserves good things too dammit whyyy 😭😭

GODDAMN Adam and Blake conversations are always so top tier is2g. There’s something I love so much about this conversation brooo. Blake’s resolve and care towards him just 🥹 UGH. her unwavering stares? Easily expressed gratitude? Instant forgiveness (nothing to really forgive cuz like corruption feels like shit and pretty violating and traumatizing tbh fr but she does it anyway to help him feel better ANDANDAND—)? THE LETTER???

OWHXISOWHXNIWOEUDNCKEIHWKFIW I JUST LOVE IT WHEN SOMEONE CARES ABOUT HIM AND HE FEELS IT OKAY

And FUCK I love this part

He swallowed and looked away, unsure how to respond to that. He didn't want to say "You're welcome," because they weren't, and this was never going to happen again. Even if, in some small corner of his heart, the knowledge that he'd helped to save the world like some kind of fantasy hero radiated a gentle heat that would warm him for a long time to come.

YOU DIDNT HAVE TO GO THAT HARD HOMIE IM ALREADY CRYIN 😭

Also LIVING for Neo and Adam team up. Neo’s expressive mannerisms are genuinely so fun to read UGH it’s PERFECT. And the “Don’t stay too long” for Qrow OAISBXOIENWOWIDN

He clipped Blush to his belt and let the spark flare unhindered.

Homie when I tell that IM FUCKING LIVING FOR THISS

"'Part of starting over is saying goodbye. You were first; now it's my turn. If you want to, you'll see me again.

"'Goodbye, Blake.'"

OWJDNEOWHNDDIJENEIDNXIEUWNDIFUENEIDIXJNWO IM EMOTIONAL

wait omfg I think I forgot to mention to Jaune 💀 I don’t hate him I swear The way his semblance and aura are practically working against each other is a REALLY interesting and nice touch, and i don’t think ive ever seen it applied like this. And I love his “i went from nothing to nothing line” and how he’s just so glad he was able to save somebody. 🥹 it captured that part of his character so well and tbh the same goes for all the others (me @ ruby rn is going “bitch is you BLIND”). It’s a really neat touch to the chapter!!

I can't tell if you've read the epilogue yet, but either way I am injecting every keysmash in this message directly into my veins. Your reviews were one of the things I most looked forward to when writing a new chapter - I was excited to see which lines you'd specifically comment on. You're probably at least 20% of the reason this story got finished at all lol.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for never failing to bring a smile to my face when commenting 😊

[faerie-stole-my-url]

Doing these with my OCs because I have no motivation to write and I'm trying to get into gear rn.

Advisor Thomas would ask Emperor Oscar if he would still love him if he was a worm. Oscar would say, "No," and walk away, leaving a devastated Thomas behind. Thomas would be over it within the hour.

Thomas comes up with the best date night ideas, 100%. He's the only one who can get Oscar to spend time on himself, so he delights in getting the chance to spoil his lover.

Thomas and Oscar would be pretty evenly matched. Thomas would be better at darts and Oscar would be better at strength games.

They don't have rollercoasters, but if they did, Thomas would drag Oscar onto a rollercoaster. Oscar would vomit his guts out. Thomas would then suggest avoiding rollercoasters, only for Oscar to insist that he must best this new challenge he's been presented with. For the rest of the day, Oscar would be dragging Thomas onto larger and larger rollercoasters.

Neither of them have to do chores in their position, but if it came to it, Oscar would do more chores. He likes things to be neat. Thomas would probably be the only person he doesn't mind picking up after.

Oscar gets drunk the quickest. He only drinks socially, and frequently isn't actually drinking, just carrying a drink around to avoid shaking hands.

If they had access to reality TV, Thomas would watch the most. He would make a game of trying to predict what happens next.

I think Thomas and Oscar would be equally guilty of this. They're both very headstrong. I think Oscar would be the first to give and let Thomas do things his way, if only for the potential of the "I told you so" moment when the plan falls apart.

This is a fascinating one. I don't think either Thomas or Oscar would actively believe in the paranormal, but if faced with undeniable evidence of a ghost, Oscar would be the quickest to roll with it.

If they had texting, Thomas would 100% be the meme texter. Oscar would pretend not to get them just to get on Thomas's nerves.

Thomas would make the most mistakes, too. If Oscar wanted to really mess with him, he would screenshot Thomas's texts and send it back to him marked up with red corrections.

Oscar would be the more nervous flyer. He would insist that planes didn't bother him, but he would prefer an aisle seat, and he would hold Thomas's hand during takeoff and landing.

They'd have a subtle matching pic. For example, Oscar might set his profile picture to the moon rising over a body of water, while Thomas had his set to the sun rising over the same body of water.

Oscar would be better. He wouldn't dare send a missive to someone with unclear intent or grammatical errors!

Oscar steals Thomas's food, sometimes. Oscar is terrible about forgetting to eat and wondering why he's hungry later.

Thomas has done it before, and he plans to do it again.

Thomas joins in the chant. Oscar buys a single black coffee and leaves. Both Thomas and the child are devastated.

Thomas, as a result of his job. He has to network with a lot of different groups, and adopts a different dialect for each one just to make talks go smoother.

Surprisingly, Oscar is the one using emoticons. He would use them excessively, in fact.

Oh, definitely Oscar. For the garden party theme, Oscar would wear a forest green variation of his uniform, replacing his usual regal cloak with a meadow of flowers. Thomas would cheekily dress in a denim suit with tin cufflinks, all sharp angles, and declare himself to be the gardener.

Ship ask game bc I think they’re fun and I had a few ideas

---

Who would ask “would you still love me if I was a worm?” and how would the other(s) respond?

Who comes up with the best date night ideas?

Who’s better at carnival games?

Who drags the other(s) onto a rollercoaster?

Who does the most chores?

Who gets drunk the quickest?

Who watches the most reality tv?

Who insists their way is better even though it’s objectively the worst way?

Who believes in ghosts?

Who texts the most memes to the other(s)?

Who makes the most typos/autocorrect mistakes?

Who’s a more nervous flyer?

If they have matching pfps, are they cute, funny, weird, etc?

Who’s better at writing professional emails?

Who steals the other(s)’ food?

Who’s more willing to commit murder for the other(s)?

Their child is chanting “McDonalds! McDonalds! McDonalds!”, who says they have food at home, joins the chant, or buys a single black coffee and leaves?

Who uses more slang?

Who uses emoticons?

Who would absolutely slay at the met gala?

[ryo-hirakawa]

pros of oscar going to hypercars: i love wec, hypercars are sexy, oscar vs 24h lemans would be hilarious

cons of oscar going to hypercars: i'll have to actually start rooting for the alpine as a toyota stannie

[deep-space-atomic-clock]

i hope the Oscar gets a dream-related semblance  theory is true because i can add more to my collection of dream associated lads..!

[seasonofthewicth]

nobody does it like you do - act 2

Thank you so much for all your reactions to part 1! I hope you enjoy part two just as much :)

CW: mentions of past minor character death (incl. a pregnant woman)

7.3k - masterlist - ao3

--

Her first day of shooting isn’t great. It’s not bad by a long way, but it could have easily been better. They’re on location in a forest somewhere in the outskirts of Rifthold and she didn’t even know there were places in the city like this, she’d assumed it was all the sprawling metropolis of skyscrapers and crowded streets, but apparently not.

She’s cold. There’s a machine beating down torrents of fake rain on her and Fenrys where they stand opposite each other on the muddy path through the trees, they’re filming the scene where their characters first meet. Her feet are soggy inside the canvas trainers she’s wearing and they keep spraying water on her hair to keep the wet look running throughout all of the takes and she hates it. She’s uncomfortable and stiff but she comforts herself with the knowledge that Fenrys is the same if the frown he wears whenever the camera isn’t on him is anything to go by.

It helps, barely.

She keeps having to spit water out of her mouth between lines, she swears it never rains this heavily in real life but who is she to comment, and she watches Rowan’s lips twist in displeasure where he sits behind the camera every time she does it. Aelin’s not sure what else she’s supposed to do, he can sit there out of the line of the water all fine, but she can’t speak with her mouth full.

It can take time to fall into the natural rhythm of shooting a new project, even the shitty ones she’s done in the past have shown her that, but there’s something about the way Rowan watches her that prickles the back of her neck, his stare intense and heavy as he watches, that adds the pressure. She wants to show him that she can do this. She wants his approval.

She ignores the reasons why.

After they finish and Rowan has called cut she sulks back to her trailer, she’s only just managed to change out of her sodden clothes when there’s a knock at the door. It’s Fenrys, warm and dry now in his own change of clothes.

They’ve sort of become friends recently, after swapping numbers after the table read he had texted her first. The studio has put him in the same complex as her and they’ve shared a car back there a couple of times after some of their meetings. She likes him a lot actually, and while she knows his reputation of infamy with the ladies follows him around like a bad smell, she feels comfortable with him.

“That could have gone better,” he tells her as he flops down onto the two-seater sofa at the end of her trailer, the other half has a mound of clothes dumped on it that she hasn’t bothered to sort through yet.

She just shoots him a look that she hopes says tell me about it.

“Tomorrow will be better,” he tells her, reassuringly. He would know she supposes, he has far more experience than her.

“I hope so.”

“How’re you finding it so far, working with Rowan?” he asks, and she frowns, bristling at the fact that he somehow knows the worst question to ask already. Aelin doesn’t think she’s behaved weirdly around Rowan since the day at the table read, in fact she’s tried to avoid him where possible. Maybe that’s it.

“Fine,” she says, but that’s not quite true. It messes with her in a dangerous way every time she knows he’s watching her. She should be able to turn that part of her brain off during a scene, she trained for years to learn how to do that, but he gets to her. She’s working on it.

Fenrys laughs, seeing right through her.

“He’s not bad once you get to know him, the first time we worked together I thought he was a total dick.” She gives him the same look as before as she clears the clothes and sits down next to him.

“I swear he’s not that bad. He’s just-” Fenrys pauses, weighing her up with a look, and something that he takes in from the way she stands, gnawing on her lower lip with her hair still wet, has him saying; “He’s got a lot riding on this.”

“Why?”

It doesn’t feel like he has a lot riding on this, his last piece was nominated for the Oscars, how much higher than that can you get? It’s not like he’s in the same position as her, desperately clawing herself back to a place where she can be cast in a role and it not be followed by a stunned, oh?

She knows there were articles written when her casting was announced that were doubtful of her ability to do this movie, that questioned whether she’s up to the task and whether she’s good enough to be standing next to names like Fenrys and Rowan. Some of the articles were straight up mean, and she only knows that because she searched them up like a masochist when all the ones Elide sent over were far too nice.

A dark part of herself can’t help but fall prey to some of the headlines. The ones that throw around words like nepotism, the ones that question whether Aelin is talented enough to be where she is cut deeper than any knife, and only half of it is because she sometimes wonders the same. She should be better than that, but the reminder catches in her throat that she really does have a lot riding on this.

“It’s not really my place to say.”

That’s a load of shit, and she tells him so. He only shrugs, not willing to so openly gossip about their boss.

“How well do you know him exactly?” She’s fishing for any details, but it definitely could be passed off as casual curiosity.

“He directed my debut, we keep in touch every so often.” He’s nonchalant. “He asked me to audition for this.”

“Nice humble brag.”

Fenrys only flashes her his movie star grin, in combination with the wink he throws at her it’s almost an effort not to blush.

“He wanted you cast, you know?” That she didn’t know, but it’s nice to hear.

“Why? He doesn’t know me.”

“You’re hard work, you know?” He’s joking but it doesn’t sit quite right. She knows it’s true. “Come with us tonight. There's a group of us getting dinner, and you can ask him yourself.”

It’s an olive branch. She knows it’s obvious to everyone that she’s uncomfortable, still hasn’t quite found her feet on set after taking such a break, and it’s one that she’s grateful for. No matter how closed off she knows she still seems to them.

“Okay,” she says and Fenrys’ smile is genuine and a part of her lifts, it’s a start.

They share a car to the restaurant and he fills the journey with easy chatter. She appreciates it because she feels really fucking rusty. It’s been a while since she spoke to anyone outside of her immediate circle of friends and family, and it’s always been easy with them. This is different, but not unwelcome.

Sometimes she worries that, as much as they love her, Aedion, Lysandra and Elide are inclined to tread lightly around her. She’d like to think that she’s not that fragile, that she could take the full front of their humour and teasing like she used to, but then remembers when Fenrys’ joke fell flat for her in the trailer and she thinks again.

Either way, the cast and crew here don’t treat her like she’s broken, or even breakable, and it’s refreshing.

Fenrys leads the way into the restaurant, and there’s definitely paparazzi down the street snapping away at them as they cross the short distance from the car to the door. She tries to ignore it, she’ll text Elide once they’re done here, even though Elide will probably be overjoyed. It’s probably (definitely) easier to publicise your talent when she’s out there doing things with other famous people compared to staying inside her home alone.

Fenrys greets the staff on the door and they lead them through the restaurant to a staircase at the back of the room and it leads up to a private space with only one table. Right, privacy. Some of these guys are proper celebrities.

They’re the last ones there, and there’s two seats left at the table. Manon is here, so is Rowan and one of the executive producers who she thinks is called Gavriel.

“Alright guys, you all know Aelin,” Fenrys says and she smiles as they greet her.

Fenrys holds a chair out for her, the one next to Rowan, and she slides into it as he takes the one on her other side.

Rowan offers her a quirk of his lips, one she returns as she takes him in. He’s wearing short sleeves this time and she gets a good look at the tattoo snaking the whole way down his left arm. It’s in the Old Language and she can’t read it, even though her father had spent hours trying to teach her when she was a kid, but the lettering is beautiful and neat. She wants to reach out and touch, to trace the lines that roll down his golden skin.

She doesn’t. Obviously.

A waiter comes over to take their drink orders, Fenrys gets a beer, Manon and Gavriel opt for wine, but Rowan asks for an orange juice. He’s not drinking either and she wonders if it’s related to the reason he needs this movie to go well. So she’s nosy? So what?

She sits back and observes as the conversation flows, laughing along at the easy banter that flows between the three men and the sarcastic quips Manon throws in. Fenrys clearly understated his relationship with Rowan, they seem tight and have a clear fondness for one another. It’s easy to slot herself in as the night progresses, snarking with Manon and joining in with the general light-hearted mockery of Fenrys.

She thinks maybe so far she’s got Rowan wrong.

Tonight he’s quick-witted and charming, and he makes his best effort to include her in the conversation which she appreciates. It’s a contrast to the dark and teasing side of him she’s seen so far in the hallway and the table read. Maybe he’s decided to just start again, pretend they never met before she was cast, and she can do that too.

“So, Aelin.” Manon turns the spotlight to her after a while. “Tell us the scoop. I’ve not seen you in anything for a while.”

It’s not a nasty question, Aelin can just tell from the way she asks it, nothing more than genuine curiosity lies in her tone even if the phrasing is somewhat harsh. Manon might not be the bubbliest of characters, she’s blunt and doesn’t beat around the bush, but she’s not unkind, and Aelin doubts if she knew the truth she’d ask that question in such a way.

Elide managed to keep the worst of her… career break? One could phrase it more like breakdown, out of the limelight. She somehow managed to keep the worst of it hidden, and Aelin will owe her that for the rest of her life.

All the world knows is that Sam was murdered when they were both still newbies to their respective industries, neither of them had had their big break yet, and after that she took a break. For three years.

She remembers the headlines from the time, most were in smaller magazines, Sam wasn’t famous enough to make the front pages. Her mouth tastes like bile.

Singer-Songwriter Sam Cortland, 20, murdered in random street attack in Orynth, girlfriend Aelin Ashryver unharmed and working with police to identify suspect.

No one knows she knelt there in his blood begging for him to open his eyes, not even Aedion, or Lysandra or Elide, and she blinks back the image now. Her hands are curled into fists below the table and she forces herself to uncurl them and lay them flat against her jeans.

“Yeah,” she says after clearing her throat. “I took a break from it all for a few years, but I’m back now obviously and really excited for it.”

Manon nods and Gavriel raises a glass. He’s been nothing but kind to her all night. He kind of reminds her of her father, though he’s not that old, probably not even forty yet. He’s softly spoken and counters each snarky comment from Fenrys or Manon with something softer but no less amusing.

“Good to hear,” Fenrys says with a grin, clinking his glass against Gavriel’s.

The way Rowan watches her as he raises his own glass in a toast to her, careful and without speaking, tells her he knows. At least the basics about Sam, and it seems like maybe he did google her just like she joked back at the table read.

Their meals arrive then, mercifully taking the attention away from her. She needs to find a better way to deal with the attention than shutting down, especially if this film is going to be as big as everyone thinks it will be. She should call her therapist.

She will.

Eventually.

They leave the restaurant not long after, Fenrys covering the bill, emphasising that this was a celebration and an initiation for Aelin. She almost blushes for some unknown reason at his words, but she likes it. It sounds good. Like she really is back, or at least will be.

They each give her their numbers, and she likes the way he’s in her phone now as Rowan rather than Rowan Whitethorn, it feels like he’s not just someone from work. Not just her boss.

They each say goodbye and share a series of embraces, ignoring the small group of paparazzi that follow, desperate for any kind of incriminating image of any of the five of them. It’s clear that most of them are here for Fenrys, but she still makes sure to keep her expression clear and guarded as Rowan wraps her into a one-armed hug when they leave. It’s not just for the paparazzi.

Back in her apartment, when she’s tucked up in bed knowing she should be asleep, she can’t stop herself from googling him. She’s honestly surprised she’s lasted this long.

The first few news articles to come up are all about the movie and she scrolls past them, instead pulling up his Wikipedia page and scrolling straight to the personal life section. Maybe this is the weirdest way anyone’s ever got to know a friend, but she’s intrigued and still slightly flustered by him so it will do.

The section on his personal life is relatively bare, and it doesn’t surprise her. His Instagram account alone told her pretty explicitly that he’s a private kind of guy. She almost scrolls away after the first few lines, they don’t give her much information other than the college he went to and the languages he speaks, but she reads the final few lines of the section anyway.

In March 2018 Whitethorn’s fiance, Lyria Woods, passed away as the result of a road traffic accident. The driver of the other vehicle was found to be under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident and was later sentenced to 6 years in prison for death by dangerous driving. Woods was 12 weeks pregnant with their child at the time of the accident.

Only a couple of weeks after the Oscars that she and Lysandra watched. She does the maths and realises this is his first film since then and thinks she knows what Fenrys meant.

Fucking shit.

Her second day of shooting goes better than the first, just as Fenrys said it would.

She’s more relaxed when she crosses the set from her trailer with a coffee in hand and she thinks she knows her place a little better now, even after only one night spent with the others.

She lies back while her make up is done, chatting to the make-up artist instead of sitting silently like the day before, and she’s almost ready for the discomfort that her wet hair will bring. The weather adds to the atmosphere of the film, dark and dreary and moody, and she gets why they’re doing it, but it still sucks.

Fenrys is ready when she gets there, and while she’s not avoiding Rowan today after finding out about his… past, she just finds it difficult to look him in the eye knowing what she does. He probably wouldn’t be surprised that she knew, if it’s on Wikipedia it’s public knowledge and they have made jokes about googling each other, but she feels weird in a way that she didn’t learn it from him. It feels intrusive, or invasive, to find out about something like that through Wikipedia.

But even though they bonded somewhat last night, and he greeted her this morning with an easy hey, they’re still not close. No matter that she thinks she might want them to be. She’s trying again to ignore the way she feels drawn to him, the way her eyes seek him out without her permission.

She knows she kills the take. Knows it from the high five Fenrys slaps against her palm once Rowan’s called cut and from the swift nod he offers her when she glances towards him.

There seem to be two Rowan’s too, there’s the award winning director Rowan Whitethorn, and then just Rowan.

Rowan Whitethorn is cool and calculating and distant, quiet while he watches their scene from his place behind the camera, the big black headphones he uses pushed down around his neck. His eyes are as sharp as a hawk’s while he watches for all the minute details of their expressions and any improvements they could make. He doesn’t give her that many she’s pleased to note.

The way he instructs them is impressive, with clear directions and thoughtful analyses. She’s been here two days and she knows how he got the Oscar nomination, he’s scarily intelligent and seems to know exactly what’s off about a performance before she figures it out herself.

The other side to him, the side that is just Rowan is…

Just Rowan is the one she likes more.

She suspects the smile he gives her later, after they’ve nailed the bulk of the scene in one take and she’s being twirled around by Fenrys, comes from him.

She has two full days off in a row, and she decides the best use of her time is to go and stay with Aedion and Lysandra. Fenrys isn’t free, and the reason she is is that he has a load of solo scenes to shoot, and she doesn’t envy him at all.

Lysandra is ecstatic when she announces via a group text to her and Aedion that she’ll be at their house for lunchtime, and she loves it, but it makes her feel a little guilty. That she’s let it get to the point when her friend reacts like that at her promise of a visit is quite frankly appalling, but she finally feels as if she’s taken the first step. She’s on the bottom rung of the ladder, and it’s taken her a while, but she’s there now.

Aedion and Lysandra live in a disgustingly big house in a gated part of the suburbs, and she knows the house isn’t exactly what they would have chosen in an ideal world, it’s too big and garish and grey, but there are gates by the entrance and 24 hour security.

It still messes with her head that Aedion is that famous. Aedion. Her gangly cousin, always too tall for his own good, who used to pull her hair when they were kids and sneak her extra helpings of cake at family parties before her parents divorced. She doesn’t know that much about football, so little in fact that her dad and Aedion teased her relentlessly for years, but everyone tells her he’s good.

Like really good.

The salary he gets from the Ravens is more than enough proof.

She rings their front door bell and she can hear Lysandra’s quick steps before the big wooden door is pulled open.

Her friend is glowing. Her dark hair falls into waves near the end and her staggeringly beautiful face is free of any make-up and unblemished and dewy. She’s had time to get over the insecurities that come from being friends with Lysandra so it barely phases her as she wraps her arms around her friend.

“I’ve missed you,” she whispers into Lysandra’s hair. It smells like coconut and citrus and just Lysandra.

“I missed you too. So much,” Lysandra sighs as she pulls back, dragging Aelin into the house and shutting the door.

Their hallway is grand and open but there’s a pile of their shoes by the wall and a rack of coats that make it feel more homely. There are framed photos carefully arranged on the sideboard in the entry way that show the two of them with their whole family and all of their friends.

There’s one on there of Aelin and Lysandra at eighteen, their arms thrown tightly around each other while they grin massive, excited smiles at the camera, or more likely Elide behind it. She remembers the day it was taken, Lysandra had signed to her first agency and arranged to move to Rifthold, and they had taken her out to celebrate.

It was around the same time she signed for her first movie, a tiny role with two lines and twenty seconds of screen time but it got the ball rolling with her first proper acting credit, and she’ll never forget it.

A head of golden hair pokes around the kitchen doorway at the end of the hall and she lets her cousin sweep her up into a hug, swinging her up and around so her feet dangle above the floor.

“Alien, we’ve missed you.”

A stupid nickname from when they were young, the kind of young where he thought it was hilarious to replace her name with an extraterrestrial, but it only makes her smile now, squeezing her cousin tight before he puts her back down.

“Yeah, I bet you’ve been lost without me.” She beams at them, taking a moment to soak in how it feels to be with them even as Aedion rolls his eyes. “I’ve missed you both too.”

“Lunch is ready, come on,” Aedion tells her as he takes her case and drags it through the house, leaving it by the bottom of the stairs. It’s then that she spots the frilly pink apron tied around his waist.

“Alright,” she laughs. “I can’t wait to try what the domestic goddess has in store for us.”

Peals of laughter burst out of Lysandra and she grins back at her, forever grateful that they managed to keep their relationship with each other from ever impacting on their relationship with Aelin. At first she had been worried that Aedion and Lysandra would become AedionAndLysandra and that she wouldn’t have a place left with them, but she needn’t have worried, and they worked too well together for Aelin to have ever wished for anything different.

“Gods, shut up,” he mutters, slinging an arm around her shoulders and leading her to the kitchen. “So annoying, both of you.”

She grins as she hears Lysandra smack an overly dramatic kiss to his cheek.

Aedion’s a surprisingly good cook, the lunch he’s made is tasty despite being carefully planned to fit into both his and Lysandra’s strict meal plans. If they’re the cost needed to be able to live in a house like this, Aelin doesn’t want it.

“So,” Aedion says after he’s finished chewing a mouthful. “How are things going?”

He asks it with a gentle kind of sensitivity that she understands what he’s really asking. She knows it’s code for are you still sober? but she also knows he hasn’t asked it because he doubts her. Aedion and Lysandra have always been in her corner, even in her darkest moments they were there.

She never wants to put them through anything like that ever again. Never wants them to experience anything as terrifying as the last night she ever touched a drug. That night, almost a year ago now, will forever be the bottom of her pit. She doesn’t remember much of it, other than the devastation on Aedion’s face as he carried her out of the men’s toilets of a seedy nightclub in Perranth. The way he’d bitten his lip as he picked her up off the sticky floor, pulling the hem of her dress down to cover her underwear where it had ridden up.

The thought makes her sick.

He’d had to skip a game, leading to a bollocking from his coach, but he’d done it for her. Had carried her out of the club and into a car, waiting to take them back to his house. Lysandra had stroked her hair where she lay on the cool tiles of the bathroom floor while Aedion called a doctor to the house. Even through his panic he had thought of her and how little she would want it publicised that she’d been pulled out of a club, off her fucking rocker on whatever substance she’d been given by the lowlives she had fallen in with. She’s really, really lucky that for once Aedion hadn’t been followed by paparazzi.

She takes a sip of her sparkling water before she answers, it feels like all she ever drinks these days and it tastes like shit but it’s worth it if she never reverts back to where she was.

“I’m good.” She’s almost surprised to find that it’s true. “I’m feeling much better.”

She can barely look at them, can barely take the level of subdued joy on their faces.

“We’re glad Aelin, really glad.” Lysandra’s voice is sincere.

“So, how’s the new project going?” Aedion asks her, sensing her discomfort almost immediately.

“That’s good too actually.” It is. It feels good to have something positive to focus on, something that she feels is productive and worth doing. “It’s nice to be back and be busy even if the morning shoots begin disgustingly early. It’s good to be on set, surrounded by it all again and to remember that I can actually do this.”

She stabs her fork through a piece of tomato a little aggressively as she finishes and the look Lysandra shoots her tells her she’s not impressed with the self-deprecation but that she’ll let it slide for now.

“And Fenrys Moonbeam, is he really that good looking in real life?”

Aelin laughs. “More actually, sometimes it's too much.”

“Nice,” Lysandra nods appreciatively.

“Is he alright though?” Ever the overprotective older brother figure, she expected some version of this question from Aedion.

“He’s great. He’s hilarious and it really helps on the long days,” she says before taking her next bite.

“And Rowan Whitethorn’s directing isn’t he? What’s he like?”

Aelin blinks and finishes chewing slowly. “He’s… fine.”

She knows she’s fucked it when Aedion and Lysandra share a look, matching smirks beginning on each of their faces.

“Fine,” Lysandra repeats. “What exactly does fine mean Aelin?”

She purses her lips. “He’s a great director.”

Lysandra rolls her eyes. “And?”

She could probably lie here, they’d probably let it slide if she said some bullshit about how they’ve not spoken much and how she barely knows him, but she honestly needs to talk to someone about this. You know, to set her straight.

“And he’s really hot.”

She’s blushing as Lysandra laughs and Aedion chuckles.

“You’ve got a crush,” Lysandra sing-songs, and when she doesn't respond she says, “Have you got a picture of him? I don’t think I actually know what he looks like.”

She can’t blame Lysandra for that, she’s still kicking herself for not recognising him that day in the hallway, but he was only on screen for a few seconds at the Oscars and it wasn’t long after Sam so it wasn’t like she was paying attention in that way. She still thinks she should have noticed.

She pulls her phone out to find the only picture she has on there with Rowan. She had only taken it this week when they were eating breakfast with Fenrys one morning, in one of the tents that had been set up for them to sit in between takes, and Fenrys had pulled his phone out to snap a photo of her for his Instagram story.

She’d been wrapped up in one of the huge parkas they’re given for the times in between scenes holding her croissant high up in the air when he’d taken it. He’d captioned it she could have dropped her croissant and tagged her, and she’d gained a good few thousand followers. She’s almost at a million and they’re only a couple of weeks into shooting.

She had taken one of him in response and then spun around to force Rowan into a selfie with her, he’d protested but she’d pouted until he relented, grumbling something about actors that she knew he didn’t mean. She didn’t post it anywhere, she kept it to herself and she can’t lie, she’s looked at it way too many times since.

She’s smiling a wide smile, cheeks stuffed full of her croissant and it’s really kind of gross, but the small smile on Rowan’s face makes it bearable. More than bearable, she has to resist the temptation to make it her lock screen because that would be weird.

She remembers the heat of his chest where he had stood behind her to lean down so their faces were level, the hand he rested on her shoulder to steady himself and the way his fingers had brushed against her neck in the lightest caress.

She hands the phone over to Lysandra and wants to pull it back almost immediately.

It’s not that she’s embarrassed or whatever, even if they think it’s a bad idea they’d let her down gently, it's just that their opinion matters to her a lot. And while they haven’t exactly approved of her string of random hookups in the years since Sam, they’ve never tried to comment on it other than to check she’s in a good place with it, but she knows they’re waiting for the next person she sees seriously.

There’s a fairly large part of her that thinks her first relationship since Sam shouldn’t be with her boss. And that fucks her up a bit, because since when was she considering a relationship with him?

“Oh yeah,” Lysandra says, scaring away the intrusive thought and raising one perfectly arched eyebrow. “He’s hot alright.”

Aedion nods along, peering over Lysandra’s shoulder. Lysandra’s eyes are far too knowing when she looks back up at Aelin and passes the phone over. She doesn’t say a word before locking the phone and sliding it back into her pocket.

“You’ll have to invite us to set sometime.” Lysandra is sneaky but not subtle.

“I will,” she agrees.

The next week flies by, she shoots every single day but one, and she’s far too exhausted each night to do anything other than scrounge up a measly meal that can be pulled together from her cupboard basics and the limited vegetables in her fridge before falling straight asleep. They’ve made good progress so far, and she knows it's going to be good, but she’s tired.

She’s seen a lot more of the process outside of her own character by now too, and she’s amazed, but not surprised, when she persuades one of the crew to let her watch back one of Fenrys’ solo scenes from the previous week. He’s a phenomenal actor, that much is clear, but she had allowed herself to get caught up in Fenrys as her friend, the happy and funny guy she spends her time with, forgetting the talented and driven lead actor of their movie.

Not that she can forget it in the scenes they share, but she’s mostly concentrating on the emotions her character is going through, and responding to what Fenrys gives her. It almost feels too natural for him, and she forgets that it takes work.

His text meets her at lunchtime on the Sunday they both have off, when she’s still in her pyjamas on the couch, debating whether to start a new series or watch the latest cheesy rom-com that Netflix has released.

She auditioned for one of them a couple of years ago, and she’s far enough past the bitterness that comes with not getting the role that she could enjoy it. Maybe a little, cynical part of herself thinks she’s glad she didn’t get it. What she has now is far better. She’s being a snob, but she straight up doesn’t care. It’s not like anyone else is here to judge her.

Fancy coming to Rowan’s to watch the game? I’m leaving in 20 his text reads.

She didn’t plan on doing anything today, but the invitation sparks something in her, and she’s never been to Rowan’s place before. The studio put him in a house about thirty minutes from set, and she’s curious. How much luxury does the big name director get compared to what she and Fenrys have got? She’s lucky really, that Dorian managed to negotiate the same for her as they offered Fenrys.

rowan’s??? She replies, followed by what game????

She gets up off the couch, putting the lid on the tub of yoghurt she was tucking into with a spoon and walking through to the kitchen to throw it back into the fridge.

Tall, grumpy guy that bosses us around all the time comes through a minute later and she grins at her phone at the description. It’s followed up by Ravens v Panthers.

She taps out, getting changed will be ready in 15 and he replies with three smiling emojis.

She doesn’t think it will be anything fancy if her impromptu invitation is anything to go by so she only swaps her pyjama bottoms with tiny cartoon sheep down the legs for a pair of black leggings and throws a sweatshirt over her oversized t-shirt.

Manon is there when they get there, sprawled across the two seater sofa at the far side of Rowan’s living room, and she gives them both a wave when they enter the room. The house is a pretty modest, two-up two-down in a sweet neighbourhood and it’s cosy inside with relatively modern decor. She doesn’t know for sure whether or not that fits Rowan, but she feels like it does.

He doesn’t let them in, Fenrys swings the door open and marches in like it’s his own place and she wonders how much he and Rowan have hung out, or whether that’s just him. Rowan appears in the doorway about a minute after they come in, a bowl of snacks in his hand that she thinks could be popcorn and he puts it down before coming over to wrap Fenrys in a hug. They slap each other on the back in the way that guys do before pulling back.

Aelin stands at Fenrys’ side watching the exchange, unsure whether to greet Rowan or just take a seat, and once they’re done he seems to regard her with the same sort of uncertainty. Fenrys darts around Rowan to throw himself onto the other sofa and she doesn’t give herself long enough to doubt her decision before she opens her arms and steps towards him.

“Hey,” he says simply as he wraps her into a brief hug. “Thanks for coming.”

She wraps her arms around his own broad shoulders, and it feels nice. He’s warm and strong beneath her hands and the way his arms loop around her waist, so far his hands reach back around to her stomach, gets her in a way that she really doesn’t need to think about. It feels really good pressed up against him like that.

“Hey,” she breathes as he pulls back, and she knows he sees the blush on her cheeks. She’s not fifteen, she really needs to sort herself out. “Thanks for having us.”

“Of course, make yourself at home.” He gives her another half smile, offering a flash of his straight, white teeth, and again she’s struck by him. That his place is behind the camera is a crime. “I’ve got more snacks and drinks in the kitchen if you want.”

“Beer?” Fenrys asks her, already heading to a door that she assumes leads to the kitchen.

She shakes her head, “do you have sparkling water?” She directs the question to Rowan who nods.

He doesn’t have to speak before Fenrys says “on it,” and leaves the room.

She assesses the seating choices left in the room, there’s a cream two-seater sofa opposite where Manon lies, and that’s probably her best bet, but Rowan has already taken his seat on it, an ankle crossed over a knee as he settles into the cushions. There’s plenty of room to sit by him and not touch, and she weighs it up against having to ask Manon to move.

She’s friendly with the girl, but still feels slightly intimidated by the calculating and sarcastic blonde despite the fact that she’s a few years younger than Aelin herself, so maybe Rowan is the safer choice.

Fenrys comes back into the room just as she takes her seat.

“Move your feet, Blackbeak,” he demands as he hands her a glass of sparkling water, it’s chilled with a couple of cubes of ice and she appreciates it.

Manon lifts her legs for Fenrys to sit, but plops her legs back down across his lap immediately and sticks her tongue out at him as she does. Aelin feels herself smile at the display, and the fact that she’s included in this circle of friends. She hasn’t really made an effort with anyone new since Sam, the only people she’s really spoken to are Elide, Lysandra and Aedion, and they were all there for her before Sam. It feels really damn good.

She really, really, doesn’t understand the rules of football, but it’s easy enough to cheer along when the others do and laugh at their outrage when something doesn’t go their way. It’s the most animated she’s seen Rowan so far, and she’s not quite sure which way their allegiances lie, but it’s probably with the Ravens being in Rifthold and all, and she knows her own is.

Everytime Aedion gets the ball or is shown on screen she can’t hold back the cheers. She’s proud of him and she knows how hard he works to be as good as he is, and even knowing as little as she does, it's special to watch him excel.

Rowan and Fenrys both seem a little starstruck that he’s her cousin, to her he’s just Aedion and they’re the real, scary celebrities, but they gush about him like starstruck little boys.

“And you were at his house last weekend?” Fenrys cries, almost outraged that this is the first he’s ever heard of it, but honestly? They’re both Ashryvers; it’s not like it's a secret.

“Yes,” she laughs. “He’s basically like my brother.”

“Gods, Aelin.” He sounds almost pained that she hasn’t brought this up before. “You've been holding out on us! Please give me his number or introduce me or something.”

“Sorry.” She laughs again and throws a smile to Rowan that he returns with another quirk of his lips. “Invite me earlier next time and I’ll ask him to sort a box for us at the stadium.”

“Seriously?” Even Rowan sounds awed now.

“Yeah, just let me know,” she says. “It’s no big deal.”

It really wouldn't be, Aedion has been telling her for years to invite any friends she wants to games, she would just need some friends outside of him, Lysandra and Elide first.

“It’s definitely a big deal,” he says, watching her with a smirk still playing on his lips.

She shrugs. “Just make sure you text me early next time.”

“Oh, I will,” he says, and she has to look away from him. The way his voice curves around the words, all low and intense, is definitely about more than just the game.

She tries to pass it off as just looking to where Fenrys is cheering loudly at the next play, but Manon is there again, looking at her with such a knowing expression that she immediately focuses back on the TV.

At half time she needs to use the bathroom and Rowan gives her a quick rundown of the layout of the house. She’s quick to do her thing and runs by the kitchen afterwards to grab a refill of her drink and find something to eat.

Rowan had told them all to help themselves, explaining that he felt they had as much right as he to poke through the cupboards in the only just filled rental property and she gets it. The places the studio rent out for them are nice enough, and she’s more than grateful that they do, but it’s never quite home. Even if her home is somewhat impersonal, it’s still home.

She’s on her tiptoes, scanning through the relatively well stocked cupboards on the hunt for anything chocolate, when someone enters the kitchen behind her.

“I know I said help yourselves, but you’re going to eat me out of house and home at this rate.”

It’s Rowan, and he leans against the doorframe as he watches her startle and spin to face him, his legs are crossed at the ankles and his arms are folded over his chest. The pose highlights his powerful arms that she wants to be wrapped up in again and he looks really good in the dim lighting of the kitchen. It bounces off the lines of his tattoo, shining and highlighting the swirls that she can barely look away. She wants to ask what it means.

Aelin scoffs and pushes the cupboard door shut gently, they’re not eating that much and if they are it’s definitely not her, Fenrys and Manon are another story.

“There’s nothing stopping you from kicking us all out,” she says and he laughs, shaking his head.

He tilts his head to the side, his gaze picking her apart by the second before he says “maybe not all of you.”

His words and the way he shifts in the doorway as his eyes run her up and down gives her the confidence to bite her lip and look up at him through her lashes. He pushes off the door frame and comes to lean against the counter by her side.

He opens a cupboard door on her other side and rummages through a shelf before handing her a foil packet.

“I have a feeling this is what you were after.”

She accepts the chocolate and tucks it onto the counter at her side as she mirrors him and leans against it too.

“Unsurprisingly, you’d be correct.”

He presses his lips together before his lips twist again, it’s the same expression from before that she knows means he wants to smile but he can’t quite commit, and she feels her body loosen like she wants to lean forward to press into him. She doesn’t though.

What she does instead is take a sharp breath and a step back. “Thanks.” She waves the bar of chocolate in the air before stepping around him and making her way back into the living room, forcing her steps to seem calm and collected as she feels his gaze heavy on her back.

“Anytime.” His words follow her out of the room, they’re a promise.

Luckily, Fenrys and Manon both ignore it when Rowan follows her and retakes his place next to her.

[christinesficrecs]

Law enforcement Sterek 💜

Unmapped by Jerakeen | 11.3K | Explicit

Stiles can never leave a good mystery alone.

Uncover the Endless Hours by BarlowGirl | 15K | Mature

The one where Stiles is a cop and Derek doesn't sleep.

The Road to Self-Actualization Is Littered with F-Bombs by blue_fjords | 24.8K | Mature

It's Stiles’s final Spring Break of his college career, and he's got plans to do a whole lot of nothing. But Derek has other plans for him, and before he knows it, Stiles is joining Derek to go undercover at a couples' retreat in a bid to catch a ring of thieves. It's the world's most perfect plan! Nothing could possibly go wrong!

Pack Up; Don't Stray by the_deep_magic | 55.2K | Explicit 

Werewolves are an enslaved underclass, collared and tagged by human masters. Detective Stilinski’s on duty the night they bring in an untagged stray.

Noteworthy by DLanaDHZ | 12.3K

Stiles and Derek share a desk at the station but work different shifts. Stiles is messy and Derek is very neat, which seems to work out fine... until the day the first passive aggressive sticky note is left on the desk telling Stiles to clean up. One note turns into two turns into two hundred as both officers become increasingly interested in their desk partner.

Murder, He Wrote by mklutz | 31.6K | Explicit

And that was how Stiles accidentally became a New York Times bestselling author.

Just Act Normal by zosofi | 78.6K | Explicit 

If someone had told Stiles back in high school that he would be an Oscar winning actor by the time he turned 25, he would’ve probably told Scott to punch them. The thing is, though…they would’ve been right.

Which makes returning to Beacon Hills, center of all that is supernatural and better left avoided, all the more awkward.

Howlin' For You by Lenore | 33K | Explicit

A college AU with strippers, crime bosses, and a mystery to solve.

Hostage in Love by allyarra | 6K

The one where Derek is a SWAT officer and Stiles is the newest hostage negotiator.

Glazed and Confused by wishingonalightningbolt | 13.7K | Explicit

Stiles is a forensic tech with the San Diego FBI. He thinks he's been fairly lucky, since he's never had his life threatened, sustained few injuries, and only has to work with his least favorite agent every once in a while.

And then all of that changes.

gave your smile to me by Sarageek16 | 4.7K

In which Stiles is a hooker (but not really), Derek wants to feed his skinny little body, and there is soup. Not necessarily in that order.

Fucked Up People (Cling Together) by linksofmemories_archive | 15K

“Can we stop at a non-fast food restaurant?” Stiles asked. “Like a place where we sit down and they take our order and then bring us the food?”

“Sounds like a date.”

“It’s not a date.”

“I know,” Derek said. “I was kidding.”

flint & tinder by grimm | 43.5K | Explicit

Casting spells, chasing monsters, wooing your coworkers and fucking them in their offices - it's all in a day's work for Stiles Stilinski.

Five Times Detective Stilinski and Fire Captain Hale Had Sex In Public, and One Time They Did It In A Bed by bleepobleep | 32.8K | Explicit

"Did you say--" Stiles starts.

"What?" Derek growls.

"We're not a couple!" they both retort in unison.

"We're not together," Stiles insists.

Lydia coughs pointedly. "An incident report filed by 87th Precinct Captain Erica Reyes. March twenty-fifth, eight p.m. Came back to the precinct to grab my coat, only to hear Stilinski banging his new boyfriend in the holding cell."

Deputy Derek Hale, Alpha by eldee | 12.6K | Explicit

Deputy Derek Hale has recently become an alpha, and that changes things for him. Now that he's back after a leave of absence, he's hoping to get what he and Stiles had almost-started back on track. The thing is, it seems Stiles is going through some changes of his own and Derek's not sure how he fits.

Darling It Is No Joke by thehoyden | 13.2K | Explicit

The first thing Stiles thinks when he opens the door is that it’s not his birthday, but someone has sent him some kind of cop stripper.

CSI: Beacon Hills by Jerakeen | 8.2K

Back when Stiles was in high school Beacon Hills didn't have a crime lab, because they simply didn't need one. Those were the days.

Cherrybomb by the_deep_magic | 13.1K | Explicit

Stiles is yanked up to his feet so fast that his world spins and his shoulder aches and he’s a second from screaming police brutality! when he gets a good look at the cop’s face.

Holy shit. Stiles was just tackled to the ground by a fucking underwear model with a badge.

Ain't Nothing so Good as the Cake and Eating it by sofonisba_found | 51K | Mature

Derek thinks he's doing alright in life, with his family at his side and a job he loves. Despite his family's concerns he remains adamant that he doesn't need a mate, afraid to take the risk of letting anyone close enough to try to hurt his family again. That is until he realizes that his true mate has been right under his nose for years, and that now through his inaction he may lose him.

[the-hate-keeps-me-warm]

I've had a bad few days at work so im gonna make a rwby so self indulgent it kills me so most if it will be oscar and team arson fluff and maybe some angst

Do I think any of these are or should be cannon probably not but they make my heart fuzzy

Cuddle piles all of arson take naps together a tradition originally started by Nora after she found Oscar napping after training and decided to join him eventually it evolved into the whole team cuddling while they nap at first emerald is super weirded out by the question but agreed anyway and Nora kinda doesn't want her to join in at first but she cant say no to oscars puppy dog eyes as soon as it started emerald melts and passes the fuck out and ever sense she gets grumpy(more than usual) if they don't nap in a few days

After atlas leadership falls on Oscar winter tries but the others don't trust her like they trust Oscar and winter honestly isn't opposed to not being in charge for fear of becoming like James

Speaking of winter she respects Oscar a lot and doesn't let him being a kid stop her from trusting him not as blind as she did James but trust none the less

They also do some training together as winter is the most experienced fighter besides ozpin with them she's a good teacher as we see with Weiss and Oscar likes her tough love teaching style

(This one's very specific shit and a little dumb)

After loosing jaune ren and nora start to get a little over protective Nora holds Oscars hand whenever there in crowds and ren always walks behind him if there's a chance of him slipping away I think that if its not addressed it gets worse to the point of almost paranoia because of how horrified of loosing another teammate they are some refugees get into a fight over sleeping spots and Oscar tries to break it up and gets shoved down and Nora overreact threading the assailant more than necessary and after Oscar and her have a long conversation about her fears and some of them are put to bed

Oscar doesn't give up on team rwbyj if the others belive they are dead hes not super vocal about still beliveing there alive but if hes asked he doesn't hide it

He keeps a journal of everything that happens while there gone for them and even writes letters to each of the fallen lots to ruby and jaune most of which he never gives either of them out of embarrassment

Oscar is more angry than he seems but is too scared to blow up or yell like he wants so i think he writes to take out his frustrations maybe some of its poetry or self indulgent revenge tales he feels guilty no matter what and hides them

Oscar and Whitely are friends its not instant i think Whitely is wary of anyone who isn't willow or winter at first but I think he warms up to Oscar the fastest it starts with awkward small talk but grows quickly

I think they play swords with sticks and winter find them and turns it into training but there both still having fun so it doesn't matter

I think winter starts training Whitely and asks Oscar to spare with him sense he's closest to his skill level Oscar takes it easy on Whitely till he gets his bearings and finds Whitely fun to fight so they spare often even with winter training him I don't think Whitely wins often as Oscar has real combat experience but there not overly competitive

Not a head cannon but just an idea since long memory is basically used like a blunt rapier it would be cool if Oscar adopted sword and pistol or sword and dagger like winter i just think it would be neat as well as Oscar to differentiate himself from oz (also if he does sword and dagger the knife is called either pine needle or roses thorn)

Oscar is a morning person on his team only jaune is also a morning person so this leads to his whole team groaning at his morning chipperness

Oscar and jaune are the only ones who drink coffee on team arson ren likes tea emerald prefers energy drinks and Nora hates the way caffeine makes her feel and can barely tolerate soda

Oscar drinks his coffee black and jaune likes lots of sugar so Oscar wakes up extra early to make jaune coffee so he doesn't have to and so he can spend more time with jaune

Southern Oscar

he says y'all and aint like a mother fucker and it pissed Whitely off to no end because of how much of a grammar Nazi Jacque probably was

He also loves country music and has a soft spot for the sad stuff he also likes to sing and is pretty good he even sometimes sings while jaune plays guitar he gets very shy tho and will only let team arson listen and maybe the others but he needs to be hyped up first

Oscar and ozpin sing duets in there head all the time it's very cute and even if oz can't sign he likes to hear Oscar sing and he's less embarrassed if someone sings along

Emerald finds Oscar needs to be hyped up pretty often and just decides that she's gonna take every opportunity to do so oh hes feeling insecure about his looks she tells him how handsome he is and how much she likes the way he dresses he doesnt like his height short king all the way of if he's doubling himself she reminds him that she trusts him tho usually not those exact words

(if y'all think this is me shipping them grody let friends gas up friends platonically)

Emerald is very nice but lived in a way where being nice hurt her so now she's catching up on all her kindness with Oscar shes instantly glued to his hip as I think she's an awkward person at heart when she's not scamming or lying and uses being mean and sassy to hide it and she knows Oscar the best so she sticks with him but she feel like she's being annoying so unnecessarily bribes him with food and stuff to hang out with her most of the time they plan on going to eat but do something completely different

Oscar can dance not waltz or tango or nothing fancy just simple things line dancing and stuff you learn in school

Oscars aunt is a big smocker and when he was 12 she got the nastiest brand of cigarette she could and left is somewhere gross so it would get all tar tasting and let him smoke it safe to say Oscar still gags if he smells tobacco smoke

Now these are some rosegarden ones so you can skip that if that's not your style

Oscar has never even kissed a girl before ruby not counting his aunt kissing he cheeks or forehead so he's really scared of messing it up but I head cannon ruby as maybe having kissed one other person but him so she's not any more experienced and there just so perfectly bad at it together

Ruby knows Oscar isn't a huge fan of pda so she tries to keep it to incocent hand holding and occasionally a kiss on the cheek or a goodbye kiss

Oscar is little spoon he likes to feel safe and ruby is a protector and likes to make Oscar feel safe rarely and usually only when she's had nightmares is she little spoon and Oscar doesn't mind

They both are confident people in many ways but are also deeply insecure about many other things oscar doesn't like his height or his scars and i think ruby doesn't like her hands (I actually have a wip I'll never finish about this exact thing )

Ruby definitely gets jealous more than Oscar especially before there officially dating and she hates it she knows its stupid to get jealous over him blushing at neon or holding noras hand or giggling at one of yangs dumb jokes and she tries not to let it get to her especially sense she knows for sure Nora and yang Arent doing it on purpose but she does politely ask neon to stop and she does instead now she teases ruby

I think they don't fight often its usually more tension than fighting them both knowing something is wrong but can't or wont talk about it but when they do fight its usually not for very long they both hate it however they argue constantly but its in good fun and usually about meaningless things like what comic is better or what to have for dinner

As we've seen in volume 8 if ruby gets upset she can yell and she hates doing it especially cause oscar hates it so much

And Oscar is stubborn as hell if he believes he's in the right until ruby yells then he folds and looses all his confidence and that's usually how there arguments end is them apologizing to each other and maybe crying a little

When ruby and Oscar first meet Oscar has never read a comic book before his local library didn't have any so ruby loves showing him the world of comic books which leads them to staying up late into the night discussing them and falling asleep on each other while reading yang and Nora take lots of pictures to tease them with later

I actually don't know if they ever get married I think neither would feel the need but say they do Weiss definitely plans it and is rubies brides maid along with the rest do wby

Jaune is Oscars best man and helps Weiss with the planning

Both of there stag parties are polar opposites Oscars is just him and the guys hanging out and chilling while having fun and rubies is a 9 hour journey where multiple felonies are committed and someone maybe dies ruby made all of them swear to secrecy cause oscar might have a heart attack otherwise

When they first get together yang decides to give them both the talk and its so awkward and yang is so bad at it so eventually blake and ren step in and explain things to them and ruby and Oscar are both still super embarrassed

Yang is very supportive of there relationship she wants ruby to be happy and trusts her to make her own decisions and trusts Oscar not to intentionally hurt her

Qrow on the other hand does not his reasoning being that Oscar might not be long for this world and that will only make ruby more unhappy in the long term but he doesn't stop them hes not her dad and he doesn't get to tell her what to do he knows that and he respects rubies decision to stick by Oscar very early on he decides to try to talk Oscar out of it and he in essence tells qrow to go fuck himself in the least insulting way possible and he respects Oscar for it

Tai and oscar hit it off when they meet they share in a loving of cooking and gardening they are both also huge softies tai of course does the shovel talk but doesn't even take himself seriously when he does and neither does Oscar

[itsclydebitches]

You know, bringing Penny back already had the risk of cheapening her death, but NO ONE having an emotional reaction whatsoever and Pietro being like “Yeah, I guess she did die lol :D” just DESTROYED the weight of her death. Just another reason I felt nothing when she died again.

The lack of reaction to Penny's resurrection will, forever and always, be a black mark on the series for me. I'm not at all surprised that she was brought back given her android status and popularity among the fandom, I can't even fault RT for restoring our original Penny perfectly given the latter (as opposed to getting a "Penny" without her personality and/or memories), but the sheer indifference to her cheating death? Not just that, but treating her return like a joke? Oh haha, silly Penny with her overenthusiastic hugs. I sure missed that bubbly girl back when our enemies manipulated our now murdered friend into killing her and that trauma kick-started the destruction of our school :)

And this trend in the fandom of going, "Just wait"? Penny suffered from it too. Massively. Like we were told to just wait to return to Oscar's mystery shopping trip, or for the reconciliation with Ozpin to start, or, now, for Emerald to undergo an actual redemption arc, the lack of reaction to Penny's return was explained away as shock (and haven't we heard that one before). Ruby will need to grapple with these emotions, it's just that she was so stunned by this turn of events! But, quite obviously, that never happened. Ruby and Penny's relationship fundamentally returned to where it had started, with Penny making comments about how she isn't allowed certain freedoms and Ruby reminding her that she's a real girl despite it all. A death and the trauma of losing a friend? Not a part of their Volume 7-8 dynamic, to the extent that the story throws them a party in the arena where Penny died — and where Yang was framed, and where the Battle of Beacon began — and not a single character has anything to say about that. The meaning that Penny's death carried in Volumes 3-5 was, in short, erased... and then Penny's entire journey of learning that she's always been real is erased too in an effort to kill her off for good. Her human body wasn't included because it was something she strove for (it wasn't), or something the group needed (it wasn't), or because it was a thematic culmination of her journey (quite the opposite), or even because it follows her inspiration (Ironwood's Tin Man would have something to say about that). It exists solely so that Penny could be murdered again, this time for good. The mad scramble to theorize that she's not really dead (again) is telling. Even the most complimentary fans, those who were quite happy with Penny becoming a human and took no issue with her story throughout 7 and 8, recognized that her death was a horrific, meaningless scene that served only to drum up shock value and give Jaune something to angst over.

I'd even go so far as to say her time as the Maiden was meaningless too. Not just in terms of her not actually doing anything with the powers and Winter ending up with them as originally planned — those two points have both been covered extensively — but in regards to the fact that the group didn't react to that either. Our formerly dead friend came back and a short time later is one of the Maidens? Neat! And that's the extent of their emotional investment in Penny's change. Neat, we've got a stronger fighter now. I just answered that ask that referenced Yang and Ren's fight and that's literally Yang's entire thought on the matter: "We have the Maiden." The Maiden is positioned as a useful tool in this war; a checkmark in the "Victories" column when your friend thinks you haven't achieved enough. But doesn't anyone care that the Maiden is Penny? It's particularly strange to me given the six years of fandom discussion surrounding Pyrrha's almost-time as a Maiden too. As someone (quite obviously lol) interested in Ozpin's character, his desire to make Pyrrha the next Fall Maiden is often viewed as one of his worst acts, supposedly taking this poor, defenseless student and manipulating her into accepting a power that will ruin her life. So much of this is conjecture and even more is an erasure of Pyrrha's agency, and the hypocrisy here is on full display when we look to the reaction to Penny's acceptance of the powers instead. No one is worried about how this power is supposedly going to ruin her life. Or drive all her friends away. Or make her a target to be murdered (again) which is precisely what happens. Or turn her into a tool for the evil men around her to abuse — even though Penny is the one who actually has storylines revolving around her agency, from Pietro building her to be Atlas' obedient weapon to Ironwood ordering her back to his side. Yet the characters don't react to this change with any of the horror we might have expected, because these views don't derive solely from fan headcanoning — we've got moments in the text too. Like Jaune convincing himself that Qrow and the others forced Pyrrha into this. Or the knee-jerk reaction to "real" magic and the horrible things it must do to you. Yet Penny walks out of that lab brimming with a foreign magic, something that Ironwood had always planned to pass onto one of this allies, a power that they know has gotten numerous people killed, and our group is just like, "Cool. Penny upgrade." Everything about Penny's Volume 7-8 journey demonstrates a lack of forethought; the authors' inability to connect what they're currently writing to what came before and what will come later. The lack of reaction to her death, the framing plotline going nowhere, a total acceptance of her as the Maiden despite complicated feelings in the past (and we can toss Yang's assumed secret about Raven in here too), the ableist and contradictory message of giving her a human body, dying again just an episode later, doing so in a way that throws Jaune back into the same situation we've seen before... none of it is emotionally fulfilling when set against the rest of RWBY.

And Emerald, as you say, is a crucial part of all that. Emerald is the one who originally orchestrated Penny's murder. We see her love for Cinder pushing her to attack Penny again just hours before she joins the group. Emerald pretends to be Penny in order to get close to Ironwood... and the only thing we get from all this is a quip about how "weird" it feels to do good. Their stories are woven together and the fact that RT doesn't seem to realize that does a huge disservice to them both. The question of, "How does Penny grow after being resurrected post-murder?" and the question of, "What will it take to redeem Emerald?" are irrevocably linked to one another... and yet neither character was given the chance to answer those questions in a fulfilling manner.

[amara-scott]

Enjoy your dinner.

Movie: The Gentlemen Characters: Raymond Smith x Reader Categories: Teasing

you’re reading part one | part two

Takes place a few weeks before the movie timeline.

...

3rd Person P.O.V.:

Her father knew very well that she did not enjoy these kinds of events. Richlings bragging about their richness to other fat cats. Not to mention the young ones. The ones her age, who did not have to flip a coin to get any of the wealth their parents owned. Dirty or good money, does not matter. It is more dirty than anything else though. And she knew that also. Another reason for her to usually not stay longer than needed.

It has been a while since her father has last asked her to join him and her mother to a dinner party. It was way more just a synonym for let’s see who will embarrass themselves first by drinking too much of the way too expensive bottle of rum. Long translation - but a hundred percent correct. 

And even though she loathed going, she always used the opportunity to make the largest impact possible without trying to say a word. She loved the longing stares and the surprised ones every time she did indeed attend alongside her parents. Today it was just her father though. Her mother was out in Paris, probably spending all the pocket money her loving husband gave her. At least their love for each other seemed honest.

(Y/N) P.O.V.:

When I walk down the stairs to stop in front of a mirror in my hallway, I hear another honk of the limousine waiting outside. I sigh, grabbing a light coat and throwing that over my arm, holding a small clutch in my hand. After locking the door behind me, I greet Mitch with a smile.

“ ’Ello Miss (Y/L/N), hope you are doing well today.” I hold back a roll of my eyes, long forgotten how many times I made him call me by my first name. If I had to guess, probably around 64 times. He doesn’t work for me, he works for my father and my father alone. 

“Very well indeed, how about you, Mitch?” He smiles, about to answer, when a voice from inside the car calls out.

“-You can chat on the way there, we’re late as it is.” Now I do roll my eyes at my fathers words and send Mitch another small smile. He nods, closing the door when I’m in, going back to the drivers seat.

“Wow, darlin’, you look lovely tonight.” I greet him with a kiss to each cheek and buckle up.

“Thank you, is that a new suit? I’ve never seen you wear burgundy red.” He nods, smoothing out the fabric. 

“It is, it is. You’re a smart one. I despised the colour but your mother thinks it looks expensive and high-class. And you know her- there’s no telling her no.” I chuckle along and we get a few small-talk questions out the way before we finally arrive at the mansion. Some old business partner of my father’s. I can’t keep names in mind so I usually go the shy and long time no see route. It usually works.

My father helps me step outside and Mitch rides off, picking us up later again. Before walking after my father I take a deep breath and exhale, placing a smile onto my face. Fake- but no one seemed to notice the last few times. So no worries there. Walking up the stairs, an arm wraps around mine and I glance up to my right, frowning at the sudden physical contact. James. Yes, the one person I loathed the least. Or you could say - who I actually liked a bit. I grin and bump my shoulder with his as he guides me up to the entrance.

“Hello there gorgeous lady, haven’t seen you around a lot lately.” 

“Well, can you blame me? These types of gatherings do not amuse me much. They rather support my boredom and make me want to drown in expensive alcohol. I don’t want to turn into an alcoholic.” He smirks at my statement but shakes his head. 

“You’re a special one, you know that?” I nod, sighing dramatically. I look up front, where my father is already involved with other suit-wearing snobs.

“I know- I am.” I try sounding posh, but fail miserably, making us both laugh. I still have my arm wrapped around his’ as we get offered a drink and then he is off. Talking business, making connections. A life I would not want to live. That is why James and me could never be more than friends. Even though he might wants change my mind on that one day - I would never accept his advances.

“Well, well, well. If it is not little Miss (Y/L/N) Junior. How are things going?” I turn, taking another sip of champagne as I recognise the slimy man in front of me. His eyes wandering up and down my presence. 

“Oscar- what a nice surprise-” My fake smile widens and I let him kiss my knuckles briefly - even though some of the potatoes I had for lunch earlier wanted to revisit. He must be double my age - I never thought of that. 50 at least.

“Would not be that much of a surprise to you if you would join our parties more often.” So it is his housing we are inside of right now. Good to know...

“Oh, Oscar. You know I am a busy woman. Cannot have fun all the time.” My smile starts to hurt my cheeks but I keep it up. Having held it for longer. My record is 24 minutes and 37 seconds. Yes, I know. Very impressive.

“But you never fail to make a grand entrance, what a gown on you - just lovely. Perfectly fitting for you, an extraordinary woman.” His sickly, slimy words feel like nails scratching on a chalk board but I hold back a flinch, nodding once. Not quite sure how to reply. I glance down at my drink, assumingly and very unconsciously having drank it all.

“Oh, would you look at that- I think I need a refill, it was lovely chatting-” “-Let me get you a new one.”

“No need, Oscar. I will just go myself.” 

“Oh please, I insist-”

“-Here, take mine. I don’t drink Champagne.” I turn to my right, looking at the source of the new voice. A man I have not seen before stands there - a neat three piece in dark blue, adoring his well shaped physique. His dirty blonde hair combed back to perfection. He rearranges his glasses with his free hand before it disappears in the pocket of his trousers. The other one still holding out the glass to me. I realise I held a breath and nod at him, this time smiling genuinely. 

“Thank you-” I drift off, not taking my eyes off his. A little staring contest going on. I accept the drink and take a sip. Not having blinked once. Just like him.

“-Raymond. Raymond Smith.”

“Nice to meet you, Raymond Smith. I’m (Y/N) (Y/L/N).” 

“I know that.” I quirk an eyebrow at his answer, him staying silent though, a small smile grazing his lips. 

“Well, why don’t I give you a little tour? We have a whole new balcony on the east wing-”

“-no, thank you Oscar. I just found a way more interesting activity.” I cut him off, not taking my eyes off of Raymond Smith. I see his lips twitch but he is holding back a smirk. Which makes my smile grow. I only hear a huff and grumbling. 

I then break the eye contact, feeling rather lost now and walk past him, closely past him. My shoulder barely touching his jacket. I can feel his eyes on my back, making me sway my hips a tad more than usual. The things the right man can make you do.

I decide to sit down at an empty table and pick out some of the delicate canapés placed in the center. It looks like a mushroom tartlet and once inside my mouth I nod to myself. One thing that makes me come back to these parties is definitely the appetisers and the drinks. Lot’s of effort goes into them but no one seems to enjoy any. Either because they are busy laughing at jokes that are not funny or because they think others would judge them for eating. I learned to not care, ever, about what someone thought of me because I eat more than them. Their loss.

“Enjoying the food, I see.” I chew quickly and swallow thickly, holding a napkin to my lips as Raymond sits next to me at the round table, taking a tartlet himself. I hum.

“I do, cannot be mad about the food. I am a true gourmet, what can I say. But- you probably already knew that, did you not?” I grin at him, watching his chew and making eye contact with me once more. He chuckles, shaking his head.

“No, did not. I will note it down though.” His teasing tone sparks my interest and I wonder how far I could go. Or what he works as. Why I have never seen him before. 

“Tell me, Raymond Smith, who are you?” I turn toward him, leaning my arm on the table and tilting my head slightly, full attention on him. He wipes his hands at a napkin, eyes cast down as he seems deep in thought. Choosing his words carefully. One of the only men here who do.

“I don’t really exist. I just - like a good dinner party every now and then.” I bite my lip at his cheeky reply, trying to hold back all the things running through my mind. 

“Can I guess?” I lift my head and he nods, gesturing for me to go ahead. He leans back slightly, probably expecting the most cliché answers anyway. So I think again, observing his posture and the drifting of his eyes every now and then. Back over to the big table. A couple people sitting there. He must be here either with his wife or colleague. I shake my head at the wife, he wouldn’t be sitting here with me if he had one. 

“Well, seeing as you’re not here by yourself, you must be the right hand to someone or - maybe you are the kid of a big fish.” He smirks, nodding. One must be correct. I go with my first instinct. “-a right hand man it is.” I look back over to where he seemed to focus earlier. I do know a few of them. One being a partner to my father’s business. Another one the son of said partner. And then - no way. Micheal Pearson himself. The Micheal Pearson. Sticky bush Pearson. But Raymond would not be involved-

“-I see you figured it out.” My eyes snap back to Raymond and I close my mouth, licking my dry lips in the process. I tense up, not knowing if running would be an appropriate reaction. But then again - I never cared about appropriate behaviour that much.

“And I also see you’re taken aback.” It sounded more like a question really. But I only nod, sending him a small smile.

“It is not every day that I cross paths with true gangsters.” 

“I will take that as a compliment. And just for your information-” He leans in closer, elbows on his thighs. “-there are a few more gangsters here than you would like to care.” 

I gulp at his intense eyes, he leans back up and stands to his feet, smoothing out his suit and buttoning his jacket. 

“Well, if you would excuse me, my duties as a right hand man are needed. Have a good rest of your evening, Miss (Y/L/N). Enjoy your dinner.” 

“You too, Mister Smith.” He nods, walking off. I look after him, Mister and Misses Pearson walking off with him and exiting the building. I let out a breath I was holding and sink back into the chair. Not without being haunted by those icy blue orbs.

...

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