#and he's gonna have to force himself not to get pissed at his future husband for retraumatizing their son

[makorragal-312]

I have mixed feelings on the EddieKim kiss being cut

On the one hand, keeping the kiss in would've definitely cemented Eddiesol bones for the finale since Marisol walking in on Eddie and Kim just hugging could leave any possibility of a break-up ambiguous.

But on the other hand, I feel like Chris seeing a woman he doesn't know look like a carbon copy of his mother is already traumatizing and distressing as it is. So him walking in on his dad actually kissing her would definitely make things worse.

[strideofpride]

Heyyy hear me out..a wonderful life hod au..or an au post series where something happens that causes the yeehaw six to have never fallen in love with their respective partners or remember each other except lemon

Okay, I wasn't entirely sure what you meant by this, but I'm choosing to interpret it as post series Lemon wakes up in 2011 Lemon's body:

I think the first thing she'd do, because she's not thinking about anyone else in this moment, is break things off with George so she can be with Lavon.

Lavon is thrilled of course, but George is a mess, and it causes a BIG capital M Mess. All of a sudden the Mayor and the Town Lawyer are basically in a blood feud, people take sides (Brick is on George's for sure), it's capital B Bad.

Pretending for a second that Wade and George being kind of at odds in the first few eps was purposeful and their lifelong friendship was not a retcon, Wade and George are not in a good place so Wade chooses Lavon which pisses George off since Lavon was the one who was the cheater and now things between Wade and George are a mess too.

And of course, Lemon's like "holy shit, what have I done. I didn't think this through and do it in a way to prevent all of this Mess."

And that's when Zoe Hart rolls into town.

George and Zoe get together almost immediately. Except it's also a mess because neither one of them are in a good place at all, not even a little bit.

And Wade and Zoe still have that attraction of course. But Wade's self esteem in 2011 is still so low, and to Wade even Complete Wreck George Tucker feels like a better option than himself. How could he ever compete with George? So, he doesn't. And becomes his asshole early s2 self.

And of course, AB is still married to Jake in all of this, who Lemon knows is gonna cheat, but how could you go to your bestest friend and be like "your husband is gonna cheat on you in six months, leave his ass now, also the ex-fiance I just publicly dumped is the man you're meant to be with" without sounding like a loon?

So, Lemon tells Lavon the truth. I'm from x years in the future and we're married and happy but none of this went down the way it was supposed to, please help me fix it.

Lavon is understandably skeptical but he does feel guilty about what he did to George and he hates seeing Wade like this and even his new tenant Zoe Hart seems like she's in a bad place so yeah, okay.

Together, they find a way to expose Jake before he even leaves AB, and then Lemon suggests George should be her divorce lawyer.

AB is just like..."what? You want me to use your mess of an ex-fiance, the corporate lawyer to be my divorce lawyer? Your ex fiance who I don't even like? "And Lemon's like "uh huh yeah you heard me bitch, George is the best man for the job".

And well, AB will admit that she was impressed by the big case George won against Fillmore last year, so okay yeah.

George is understandably confused. "We don't like each other and you took my ex's side in our very public break-up and cheered her on and also I'm not even a divorce lawyer???" But he never liked Jake Nass and he could use an easy win so okay fine. Why not?

While George and AB are forced to spend more time together by necessity, Lavon starts sabotaging shit back at the house, all in an effort to push Zoe and Wade closer (based off memories Wade had told Lemon over the years). He refuses to fix the fuse, claims both the carriage house and the gate house need to be fumigated at the same time so they're forced under one roof, etc. etc.

And since Lemon's hanging around more, by virtue of dating Lavon and all, she starts planting little bugs in Wade's ear. "You deserve better, you could be a great man, I know you secretly like Zoe but you're going about everything entirely the wrong way, etc. etc." Subtlety is not in Lemon's nature.

Lemon also makes an effort to befriend Zoe. There's no George between them now anyway. But of course, Lemon also takes advantage to place some doubts in Zoe's head about George. "And I dated the man for fifteen years, so I know what I'm talking about!" And of course, to not so subtly nudge her towards Wade.

It turns out, getting Wade & Zoe and George & AB together like this is not that hard. By being forced to spend all that time together (plus with Lemon's manipulations), they are able to have the space they need to fall for one another. Zoe and George have a very amicable, "yeah, this was really just a rebound break-up" and that's that.

Getting the bad blood dissolved between the guys is much harder. Specifically between George and Lavon even though Lavon has apologized a thousand times by now. It takes the entire town to be like "George you're so much happier now anyway with AB! You and Lemon never would've worked out! Also we're really really tired of only being able to go to certain places in town" because the entire town took sides like that episode in Gilmore Girls where certain businesses were Team Luke and some were Team Lorelai and you couldn't patronize businesses of the opposite team.

And so the hatchet is reluctantly buried for the sake of the town. Things aren't quite the same, but they're still good. The end.

[diary-of-deadweight]

Masterlist.

Fic Idea by @leximills666

“Anything new?” You asked, sitting yourself in the spare chair between Darcy and Jimmy, who handed you your cup of caffeine. “If you consider Pietro teaching the twins how to stream snacks from the kitchen then no.” Jimmy spoke up, his eyes glued intently to the television for any missable details that could play in your favour. “But Jimmy did almost spill coffee onto Director Hayward.” Darcy shoots the mortified male a amused look as you slapped a hand onto his shoulder, trying so hard not to burst out laughing at the mental image that gave you an good amount of serotonin, “I’d pay good money to see you actually do it, serves him right for calling my friend a terroist.”

It was common knowledge that you and the Maximoff twins were close friends after their introduction to the Avengers as you were gaining some semblance of understanding of your teleportation powers and it’s limitations before trauma bonding with the pair over being Hydras successful lab rats. So when Hayward slagged off Wanda it took Darcy, Monica and Jimmy to hold you back from ending his whole career John Wick style. The bastard got real lucky but you couldn’t promise that the next time was going to have him leave a briefing room without a few bruises and even bruised ego. Fuelled by the frustration of recent events that left you feeling helpless as you were forced to watch the sitcom shenanigans Wanda and her dead yet somehow not dead husband and her adorable twins get into that only made it feel like a horror after they end, leaving you with more questions then answers that weighed on your darkening eyebags and breaking every last ounce of paitience you once thought you had along with the sleepless nights of theorising that went nowhere without someone bringing up a flaw made keeping your powers in check a little more difficult that you’d scare Jimmy, Darcy and Monica on a plethora of occasions.

You just wanted to get them out and be done with Hayward’s suspicious ass. I mean it was clear as fuck that vision was in bits and pieces in the video servalence footage. What was he doing with him? Why did he wait this long to show everyone something that would’ve benefited the opertation from the beginning? THAT was suspicious behaviour and yet no one was gonna question it?! Gotta love corruption I guess. “Anything new Dr Lewis?” Speaking of corruption, here it was in human form standing behind you there with his ‘stick up his ass’ attitude; it really pissed you off that you’d love nothing more then to slam your fist into him punchable bitch face until it’s unreagnisable. Sensing your hatred and thirst for violence, Jimmy places a hand on your shoulder and gave you a stern look that read ‘no...not yet at least.’ Sighing you gave him a passable smile before talking a long sip of coffee, making sure to slurp annoyingly loud as possible when Hayward looked at you unamused that you couldn’t help retaliating with a tight lipped smile and the middle finger. Darcy had to cover her mouth from bursting out in hysterics while Jimmy sighed like a disappointed parent but you knew he was trying to hold it together internally as Darcy was. “Nothing worth reporting back on sir.”

Hayward didn’t say anything other then let out a grunt then making his way out of the room not without a snarky comment from you of course, “don’t let the door hit you on the way out directior” to which he replied with as swiftly “appreciate the concern (l/n).” Making sure he was out of sight Darcy burst out laughing so hard she had to lean against you for support while Jimmy allowed himself to chuckle a little had your chest warming up, erasing any forms of pent up frustration like magic. Spending time with these beautiful bastards were what made the sleepless nights worth it in your opinion, knowing that you weren’t alone in wanting to help Wanda instead of harm. “What’re they laughing at?” Monica asked, a dazzling smile adorned her face as she nursed her own coffee between her hands; You shrugged nonchalantly looking back at her with fake innocence that told her more then she needed to know. “The sleep deprivation must’ve caught up to them.”

“Shut up!” The dark haired woman nudged you in the side, almost spilling your coffee in the process, “(y/n) threw some serious sass at Hayward earlier, should’ve been there Monica it was hysterical.” Monica only laughed in response as she patted you on the back, proud that she wasn’t the only one sick of Hayward’s shit, “I guess I should’ve. Would make a great memeory to share in the future” she sat in the chair next to Darcy turning her attention to the screen where Pietro was attempting to be slick and nab a snack while Wanda was cutting onions unflinchingly, only to slip and land flat on his back scaring Wanda as the unseen audicene laughed. Stupid and as cheesy as it was it didn’t fail to make you crack a smile while reminiscing of a similar memory that stuck out like a sore thumb. You and Pietro thought it be a great idea to compete against one another in order to see who’d get to the kitchen first, spoiler: he won by a narrow margin, that still had you calling him a cheat to this day, and decided to hide from you behind the counter like the little shit that he was. Long story short you entered the kitchen thinking you won, he jumps out scaring you so badly that you end up teleporting ontop of him.

“Hey (y/n).” Darcy’s voice brought you back from your thoughts and to reality. The thought of teleporting in there and getting your friends out has been a recurring one though your required to feel someone’s energy signature and with how well getting inside visuals went the likelihood of you sensing Pietro or Wanda for that case wasn’t going to be a piece of cake if it was you’d already have done it by now. “Yes Dr Lewis?” “Think you could-“ teleport inside? Trust me I’ve thought the same thing but the barrier is a major issue standing in my way of actually getting inside and out without trouble.” Despite all odds that didn’t stop you from wanting to give it a try if it meant trapping yourself also you wouldn’t hesitate to do it in a heartbeat. So it took your friends aback when you abruptly stood up from your chair, shoving your coffee into Jimmy’s hands and made a mad dash out of the room and down the corridor unapologetically shoving everyone aside with Monica and Darcy in hot pursuit while poor Jimmy placed your coffee down by your chair and bolted in hopes of catching up but when he did you were already teleported into the barrier that was dragging you into Westview before their eyes.

“(Y/n)!!!!” Monica yelled as she ran towards you, hand outstretched to pull you back but only grasped air when you disappeared form sight, she was so close to saving you but was too late non the less. Darcy and Jimmy shared a look as they came to her side as the feeling of helplessness became more evident within them. “Come on Monica, we can probably catch them on the television.” She said solemnly as they walked back to base.

-meanwhile in Westview-

Scared and confused you found yourself wandering aimlessly down the streets in your new attire of plaid shirt, leather jacket, high waisted trousers, converse and a locket that help a picture of you, Pietro and Wanda inside before finding yourself on your ass looking up at a silver haired male in a black leather jacket, Hawaiian shirt, jeans and worn down sneakers.

“What the-,” his chocolate eyes widened as they landed on your face, “(y/n)?! Is that you?!” His voice was just as you remembered it you smirked, outstreching a hand in a silent jesture to be helped up, “you think I’d let you wander too far?” He chuckled, hauling you off the floor and into his arms, face buried into his neck savouring the brunt sugar smell you’ve missed so much. “I should’ve guessed you’d be several steps behind.” He whispered into your hair, placing a kiss there, immediately comforting you before pulling away to drag you down the street without explanation towards a familiar house that belonged to the auburn haired female who was currently cleaning up after her kids when she saw Pietro, giving him that parental stare. “You’re a bad influence on my kids Pietro, you’re lucky to be my brother or I would’ve blasted across town by now.”

‘Well that ain’t foreboding at all.’ You thought to yourself as you took in the fact that you were finally reunited with the people who meant the most to you, you couldn’t remember when you got here nor how other then the fact that you wanted to visit Pietro and Wanda and that you could teleport. “If it’s any constellation, look who finally decided to pay us a visit.” The silver haired male stepped aside to reveal you in all your unsure glory as Wanda’s eyes widened like they did with Pietro but she didn’t any waste time in running towards you and holding your face in her hands, tears lining her eyes and you couldn’t help but lean into her warmth. “(Y/n)?” She whispered softly. “Hi Wanda, sorry I’m late.” You said as Pietro held both of you close to his chest protectively while Wanda laughed weakly her hand dropping you grasp yours tightly, “all is forgiven now that we’re together...as we should be.” Her eyes flashed red for a split second.

“Yeah, together at last.”

[papers4me]

Fruits Basket,Se03, Ep 9 (part 1)

“ppl & feelings can’t be bound down”~

What an ep for my girl tohru! She completed her growth thanks to kyo’s rejection. really, It was so hard, cruel, understandable but above all so necessary for her to reach a logical realistic conclusion that “I can love/want things from the bottom of my heart, but at the end I can’t force or bound them to me, I won’t regret loving/wanting them, but I’ll move forward regardless, no more standing still”.

-The fear of being alone:

Aren’t we all? We’re scared to face the word after breaking bonds, changing, not getting what we want, having to start over. Such feelings run deeper into us all. Both tohru & akito were scared to face the word without the old comfortable bond that they got used to:

Tohru realized today, that she cant keep talking to a cold photo, can’t live according to her mom’s expectations, to fulfill her mom’s wishes, can’t narrate her daily life to her mom & fill her life with other ppl’s own issues to distract her self from facing her own loneliness & from looking deeper into what should she do with her life. As she fell in love with kyo, tohru started talking to him! forgetting to inform her mom abt her life’s details, thinking abt what will she do “after graduation?”. As kyo asked in se02, ep2. Graduating highschool is ur mom’s wish, What would u wanna do after?” Tohru didnt have a response of “an after”cuz her mom wasnt there to tell her! Tohru has to choose “the after” herself!!!! “The after” was being with kyo & starting life together! figuring what to do next together! She no longer alone! she found her most precious person!

Except: he cant be with her. Again tohru is scared. What to do now! she wanted a bond but is forced to leave it. Loving kyo was stage 1 to be free from her grief. Moving forward without kyo is stage 2 to learn not to repeat the painful journey again! She didnt let go of her mom & kyo easily. It was hard, scary but she must do it. You must respect their wishes & move on. As scared as she is, there will be sadness & happiness ahead.

Akito realized she cant keep an empty box, cant keep fulfilling her dad’s wishes to “be loved & special” cant bound the zodiacs to her for good. They may love her or not, it doesn't matter, if they wish to leave for whatever reason, she cant force them to stay.

Except now that the zodiacs are leaving, what does she have to live for? who will be with her? she isnt good with strangers? she never met anyone who wasnt forced to obey her & be grateful for her. Strangers cant be forced to love her! what will she do now? stretch you hand for a greeting. Tohru told her, make a friend, they might refuse you, but hey might accept u too, I’ll make it easy, Hi, I;m tohru, whats ur name?

The power of true love: ( reality vs fiction)

In fairy tales, the princess fix the prince. the prince save the princess. The prince kiss the princess, she wakes up & they be happy ever after. Except real life has no prince & princess, You cant always be saved, you cant always save others, pure intense true love cant always be the answer!

Yuki was first when tohru needed physical saving. he saved her twice! Yuki’s nickname in school ”the prince”. Yuki is always cool, thoughtful & kind. Yuki always knew what to say & do! he deserves tohru’s romantic love more than kyo, right? But “ppl & feelings can’t be bound down”~ . Yuki didn't feel this way towards tohru, granted no one (excepts kakeru) knows the reason why he loves her fondly (she’s his mom figure). The official” prince isnt the one for her. Real life isn’t a fairy tale. Yuki has someone who sees he isn’t cool, perfect or a prince “ granted no one knows abt machi, yet! ) XD

In tohru monologue: she didnt think abt saving, that's not why she loves kyo. She stated normal, silly, mundane things! a shy smile, awkward kindness & the likes. Stuff ppl love abt each other in real life. You dont say, I love my husband cuz he saved me from a burning building in the 7th floor! lol. But fiction is so full of this. Princes saving princesses.

Tohru didnt fix kyo, too! as much as her love helped him greatly to find hope, the best writing choice is that tohru’s love also brought despair to kyo! To him, she’s the symbol of hope, peace & comfort! she’s also, the symbol of despair, torment & unease! EPIC! The kyo who’s stuck in the past cant be with her, the kyo who will move beyond trauma, abuse & broken soul will be with her. The duality is all on kyo’s shoulder: what will he choose? Can he choose in his state now?

In fairy tales the princess wakes up after the kiss. In real life, we don't. Tohru didn’t. Regardless if she fainted during or after the kiss. The kiss fixed nothing. Kyo’s despair in seeing near-dead tohru in a not-so-subtle mimic to his nightmare, has manifested itself into the sweetest kiss upon seeing her conscious & talking. Kyo isnt good with words, his actions are his words. When he’s scared, sad, in trauma: running away. when he’s  fond of her, grateful for her existence: head knock, head pats, hand holding & a kiss. Still the kiss fixed nothing. Kyo is still traumatized more than ever now. Tohru still feels rejected “even if I’m not with you, plz live”.

Talking fixes everything. It didn’t here, kyo & tohru talked & showed their most vulnerable side to the other, but still didn’t meet half ways, regardless of all the love. That’s cuz they keep missing each other’s best timing. Kyo is stuck in the past while tohru has moved forward. even if in her mind she’s the one who stood & he moved. this shows they aren’t on the same wave yet. Before meeting each other again, kyo must learn from his mistake like tohru did. He must face his ultimate demon: his dad. The one who created the current broken kyo.

Rebelling against parents: ( sign of growth & freedom of choice):

Rebelling against parents  is a sign of a desire to choose one’s path, decide one’s own future. Away to express an oppressed desire.

Yuki rebelled against his mom in se02. he told her I’m not going to the college you chose. I’ll chose my path. I’m not staying away from Ayame. My bro is good in my book. I chose who I want to be with. He told her what he needed, turned his back & moved forward.

Tohru rebelled against her mom today. told her I’m not wasting myself doing only what you I think you’ll approve off. You might bot forhet kyo, thats ur choice, But I DO. I love him even if you might not approve of him, Even if he rejected me, my feelings wont change, but I’ll move forward from the grief & pain. mother. She told her what he needed, turned his back & moved forward.

Kyo WILL rebelled against his disgusting dad. He MUST. It is his turn now. He’ll tell him I’m not wasting myself being locked in a cage. I have a future! I’m not a monster. I am LOVED! I might not 100% sure why I’m loved, but the truth cant be hidden. I have ppl who love me! cheer for me! I want to live! enough of death! mom & kyoko died, tohru nearly did, but I’m not gonna die! I’m not killing ME! I’‘ll do what MOM didnt do! I’ll do what YOU couldn't do! I’ll live! He’ll tell him what he needed, turned his back & moved forward.  I cant wait! I’m in tears just thinking abt it! Kyo was punished enough! time for happiness!

Side Notes:

While I’m impressed with tohru’s growth, as they did her justice in this ep, this doesn’t erase that the buildup for tohru’s own journey & trauma was mediocre. There is a reason ppl commented ” omg tohru, you can love your mom AND kyo!. ” Grief is illogical, long process & it sucks that we weren’t allowed to experience tohru’s grief & her mom’s role in tohru’s abandonment issues. Huge lost opportunity that a good conclusion ep cant erase! but like tohru, I’m moving on ~

The path of growth for kyo will start by rejecting the demon: his dad. No. other. option. Hold abusers accountable for their crimes. Stop their madness. Tell them off.

We know kyo is baka! that’s his trade mark, the endearing baka! a lot of characters in the show think so! I love it, but I’m craving baka-yuki! XD! really, yuki is cool, level-headed & smart, but let him be baka too! this only shows up in tiny microscopic doses, but they’re my fave doses of yuki! it humanizes the “perfect prince”, the “gifted high status rat”! Thus him not seeing kyo running the other side, is my fave look on him! XD.

I appreciate that kyo & yuki put their differences aside when they’re with tohru. You cant tell yuki is hella pissed off with kyo, but he restrained himself. His gaze while full of anger is also full of sympathy as he heard/saw kyo’s panic upon the thought of loosing tohru. He understand they both only mean the best for each other, but also tried they both keep missing each other & not meeting half way! Also, yuki being the only one in the hospital is realistic & endearing. No need for them all to be there & yuki lives with her & is so close to her.

kyo not being the hospital is fantastic! thank you writer-San! why would kyo go to the hospital after thinking his nightmare came true? kyoko /his mom warned him, you’ll hurt another person.. he did.. he didn't cause her fall... but caused her sadness & hurt.

Momiji’s reprimanding gaze is my fave look on him! Also, the best response to what akito did. Akito isnt used to such judgemental gaze. Kureno grabbed her cheeks, gently told her you shouldn't do that, the old maid told her you are right, Dr. Hatori erased her mistakes from ppl heads & bodies, shigure being either cold or kissing her ass, coxing her to yet torment another zodiac in his grand scheme to break the curse as happened in the beach arc.

You bet hana & arisa will be there next ep! Arisa will meet kureno & akito for sure. To path the way for their romance as seen in the ED.

Shigure’s “remorse” is a whole can of worms. Playing with ppl’s hearts & feelings to gain someone’s affection is no laughing matter. Each time blood is shed, he contributed somehow. he didnt force anyone to hurt the other, but he played with matches & never got hurt.

Shigure must be glad akito stabbed kureno. Not cuz he’s sadistic or bad person. He isn’t, but cuz akito stabbing kureno is akito cutting her bond with him. Go shigure, your girl removed her lover with blood. Kureno is punished for sleeping with ur girl by blood! so, when is ur punishment for sleeping with ur lover’s mom? none? ok.

The animation is good. They didnt villinize akito by drawing extra manic features like se02. Kyo’s broken & tormented face once again epicly drawn. However, akito’s slaps on tohru’s face were comedic, unnecessary & such bad taste! Stop using violence for extra drama, furuba!

Also, tohru, I love you, I understand you are broken but charging at a person, who has a history of violence & physical abuse & holding a knife, is stupid. No other description. I’m glad she didnt accidentally kill you in her initial rage.

Everything akito’s redemption, kureno & shigure are part 2 in my review.

[lunawritingspaceoxoxxx]

You Right I

WARNINGS: RAPE, SEX TRAFFICKING, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, FORCED PREGNANCY, MISCARRIAGE. I WILL HAVE TRIGGERING SCENES MARKED. NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART AND MINORS, GO READ SOMETHING ELSE.

2018

“Ethan….you know this isn’t right...Ryan is waiting for me at home...it’s our…” She whimpered as his hands traveled along her curves as he teased her, kissing down her neck. “Tesoro, we both know, what you want is not him.” He nipped at her ear as he slid his hand underneath her shirt as he pulled at her lace straps. Ethan pulled off her shirt, biting his lip as marveled at her lace covered breasts. He knew that boy wasn’t treating she wanted, she wanted to be treated like a princess, worshipped and loved, but in private, Ethan made sure that Y/N was his submissive, only here for his pleasure only and she loved that, he can just say hello and she’ll come crawling to him.

Y/N let her head fall back as she watched their bodies through the mirror on the ceiling, shuddering to the sight above them. Ethan’s tongue roamed her body as he slipped his hands in the matching thong. “Pay attention to me, tesoro.” With that, he tore the flimsy material from her body, dropping the shreds as he dropped her onto the bed, “Ethan, those were expensive!” He scoffed, tossing his shirt to the side as he climbed between her legs, which she quickly tried to close them. “Ethan..” “You want me, we’ve done this multiple times already, what’s stopping you now?” “Ryan proposed to me!” Ethan stopped in his tracks, thoroughly confused as he sat back. “What do you mean by that? You’re going to marry that coglione!?” She gawked at him, hitting his leg. “He’s not a fucker! He’s kind and he’s going to treat me right!” He pinched the bridge of his nose, cursing before he climbed out, grabbing his shirt.

“...Y/N, I’ll back off, go live your little fantasy life with Ryan. I’m more so pissed off that you weren’t going to stop this, were you?” He asked, looking down at her, absolutely disgusted. “You know that I love you and I would do anything for you, but this is a slap on the face.” Y/N rolled her eyes as she grabbed her clothes, shaking her head. “Why are you making this about you? You’ve been coming onto me and-” “And you haven’t stopped me, you’ve pushed me into closets, begging me to gag you on my cock,” He hovered over her as his dark eyes locked onto hers,”screaming me for me to fuck you with an audience. You seek me out more than I do, so tell me, what are you going to do when he can’t scratch that itch you have? Finger yourself at the thought of me, using you like a cheap whore. Am I wrong?”

Y/N looked the other way, knowing the truth as she was going to speak up, her phone rang. Future Hubby. ‘Babe, where are you? We have reservations tonight at that really fancy place…’ She began to dress herself, mindlessly agreeing with whatever he was saying. “Baby, I’m sorry, I’ve just been busy with work and you know my boss is trying to promote me…” Ethan rolled his eyes as he leaned on his bed, looking through his messages as he was determined to get laid tonight. He brushed back his long, luscious locks before looking back up at Y/N, narrowing his eyes at her. “Why are you still here? Unless you want to watch me fuck some random girl.” She quickly made her exit as she rubbed her eyes, not wanting to cry for a man.

Why am I crying over a man? I should be happy that I’m getting married to someone who I could trust with all my heart. She also felt extremely guilty, her hands weren’t clean as well, but she honestly thought that this was just going to be fling between her and Ryan. He wasn’t looking for anything serious, that's what she thought too until her parents gave her an ultimatum, find a decent boy and I’ll pay for your studies abroad and 4 years later, still with Ryan, he wasn’t a bad, just little bland and vanilla for her liking. She liked men like Ethan, who wasn’t afraid of pushing boundaries and trying new things and her father obviously didn’t care for Ethan.

To him, Ethan was a manwhore and had no redeemable qualities, he was just drummer in a band who loved to fuck and he didn’t his daughter failing prey to that. She quickly took a cab to their shared apartment, sighing as she set her things down. “Love? I’m home…” She trailed off, seeing him in the living room, sipping on a glass of wine. “Why aren’t you ready yet? I thought we had reservations-” “I cancelled them, I didn’t feel like going out anymore, not after what I know.” He tossed a thick envelope onto the coffee table as he carefully watched her. “Do you want to explain this...affair that you’ve been having behind my back for sometime now.” She swallowed nervously as she shuffled on her feet. “You can’t, can you? You’re just some slutty whore, who opens their legs out for anyone, don’t you? Maybe I can use that to my advantage, pimp you out and profit off you.” She rapidly shook her head no, slowly backing up as he stood. “No, I think I will, if not, I’ll send your precious daddy, every photo and video of you being a slut.”

“You wouldn’t dare, you simultaneously fuck yourself over too! M-My father-” Ryan backhanded her, rolling his eyes as he looked down at her. He watched as she started to cry, holding herself. “Don’t feel sorry for yourself, sweetheart. You caused this, you couldn’t be satisfied with what I gave you. Now, you’re going to be daddy’s good little girl and you're going to do everything I say. Y/N’s stomach fell in horror as she could only think of the possibilities that he was going to do to her, she tried scrambling to her feet, but Ryan was faster as he grabbed her hair, yanking her up. “You’re going to do what I say and you’re going to do it with no complaints.”

Ethan sighed as he pushed some random girl off of him, climbing out of bed as he walked to the bathroom. He tied his long hair in a bun, washing his face. He was serious about not contacting her, he wanted her to choose who she wanted and not play around his feelings. “I had fun last night, we should do it again.” He narrowed his eyes at the woman, shrugging off her hands as he faced her. “I don’t even know your name and I really don’t give a fuck.” She gasped as he pushed past her, getting ready for rehearsals. Once he stepped into the studio, he sighed as Y/N wasn’t there, she hasn’t been here in the past three months. “So we’re close to releasing our first album and we need to start really focusing in and producing like it’s our last thing. We’re gonna have to be in the studio more often than not, probably pulling all nighters. That goes for you Ethan, just slow down on the groupies, I know you and Y/N are going through a rough patch, but I’m going to need you to focus.”

Ethan just nodded as he stepped into the booth, grabbing his practice drumsticks. It was obvious that he was bothered by Damiano’s comment, he knew that Damiano picked up on his feelings for her and watched him do nothing about it, loving to throw it up in his face, every single time. “Dude, why do you do that?” Thomas questioned, giving him a side look. “You always comment on Y/N, maybe he doesn’t want to hear about her. Her snobby husband always has her on his arm, anywhere they go. Why remind him that he lost a good thing?” Damiano sputtered as he tried to deny his dickish attitude towards him. “Look, I know he’s still missing Y/N, but it’s been like six weeks, almost 2 months. Is the pussy that good?” “Damiano, please stop watching American TV, let’s just start recording, before we get too distracted.” Vic pushed everyone else in, closing the door behind them.

------------------------BAD STUFF, NO READ IF UPSETTING-------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Y/N, suck harder and stop using your teeth.” She flinched as she was abused by her “client” as Ryan watched, stroking himself. Ryan chuckled as he watched, licking his lips. He thought he was a genius, he preyed on her vulnerabilities and used her to where no one would believe her. “How much for her pussy?” The sleazy man croaked, reaching for her thong. “I have a suitcase for about ten thousand as a downpayment.” Ryan’s eyebrow arched up as he glanced over at the suitcase. “And if you allow me to cum in her, I’ll add another 30 thousand onto it.” Y/N looked between the two, growing nervous as she wiggled her way to the door. “...Add 20 thousand and you can do anything you want with her, just don’t kill her.” Ryan smirked as Y/N was pulled onto her face as the man forced his way inside of her. “God, her pussy feels so fucking good.” Y/N sobbed as she tried kicking him, just trying to stop this torture and the stranger shoved her face in the pillows.

Ryan sighed as his phone ranged, groaning as he answered it. “Ryan McGower, this has better be important.” “Hi, Mr. McGower, I saw your wife’s….interesting ad and I was wondering if she could handle..more extreme intercourse.” Ryan watched as she thrashed about, sobbing as she looked into his eyes. He could end this with one word, but she damaged him, what did Ethan Torchio have that he didn’t have? “Darling? Did you ever love that bastard?” Y/N gave him a confused look, shaking her head. “Who are you even talking about?” “Of course she can, I’m the one who’s training her. She can and will take everything you give her.”

She whimpered, cringing at her drenched panties, crying as she felt the man finally come inside of her. “Holy fuck, that’s some good pussy right there, I may have to come by later.” He smirked as he pulled apart her lower lips as they watched the cum slowly flow and drip out onto the floor. “She’s not on contraceptives or has that implant?” “No, I got them removed awhile back,” Y/N wanted to throw up, she quickly rushed to the bathroom, regurgitating the small breakfast that she had. She held the toilet as she silently cried, wanting this nightmare to end.

--------------------------BAD STUFF OVER-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ethan wanted to go home, this large crowd wasn’t helping his mood and he just wanted to go home and drink in the privacy of his own home. darling.y/n - last online 4 months ago Shutting his phone off as he tried to ignore that gnawing feeling that was eating at his stomach. “Dude, are you okay? You keep scaring off girls.” Thomas asked, shouted as he slipped in next to him. “Is it about Y/N?” Ethan finally had enough, wanting to scream this at the top of his lungs. “Yeah, it is, I’m in love with her and I just miss her so fucking much, she hasn’t kept in touch with me, so I don’t know if she’s doing okay. I’m just concerned because something doesn’t feel right and I can’t put it together.” Thomas blankly stared at him, shaking his head. “Dude, just go to her house, fuck her husband. What’s the worst could he do? Move halfway around the globe?”

Ethan jumped out of the taxi as he rushed to Y/N’s front door, quickly knocking on it. He started ringing the doorbell impatiently before a strange woman poked her head out the door, shaking her head no before handing him an elegant note.

For those who are wondering, the missus and I are going to our second home to celebrate our first pregnancy and we would like for any inquiries to go through our assistant before you attempt to personally contact us. If you would like to send us any baby needs, you can do so to this address.

-From the McGowers

The mysterious lady snatched it from his hands before shutting the door unlocking it, Ethan sighed as he kicked a pole, frustrated with himself. ‘A baby? Is that what she wanted, a family, we could’ve….’ He stopped as he realized that it wouldn’t have worked out, he would be traveling too much and he couldn’t ask his bandmates to accommodate a screaming baby. “Fuck that, I want to hear this out of her own words, if she’s happy, then i’m happy and i’ll call it a day.” He headed back to his apartment, dialing Damiano as he fast walked, ignoring the strange looks thrown at him. “Damiano, you have a bigger social circle than me and you probably rub elbows with rich people on a daily basis. I need you to find where Y/N’s second home is. I have a bad feeling about this.”

Damiano looked at his phone on the other line, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Mio caro amico(My dear friend), you need to let her go, she’s married now, has a husband now and she’s probably going to have a child soon. Why are you going to stop her happiness?” “Damiano, she wasn’t happy when she got married, you saw those wedding photos, she looked miserable as fuck in them.” Damiano sighed, pushing his partner off of him as he sat up. “If I help you and we find an answer, any answer whether you like it or not, we’re going to stop searching for her, okay?” “....Okay.”

[fruitymimi]

Free Bird 2 - keigo takami x reader

free bird masterlist

keigo’s behavior is becoming  unhealthy & endeavor finally notices

pairing: keigo takami x gn!reader

warnings: mentions of murder, YANDERE HAWKS, cursing, mentions of trauma & abuse

a/n: pls im hesitant on posting this chapter i feel like its so badddd & corny lmao. but next chapter will be present time! i decided this is enough of the flashbacks for now >:)

To say the least, Endeavor was pissed. Throughout Keigo’s entire life, he’d never developed any feelings towards people his age due to Endeavor and his parents, and that’s the way he wanted it to stay. Enji didn’t want anything or anyone to distract him, that’s why Keigo no longer went to public school, Keigo wasn’t allowed to consume any alternative media, this included TV shows, movies, the poor thing wasn’t even allowed to explore literature, only things Endeavor and the hero commission approved of. 

Not all heroes were in on this, either. This was something that was kept a confidential secret. Had heroes like Eraserhead, Present Mic, Ms. Joke, or Fatgum just name a few, heard about the exploitation within the hero community, they surely would have left without hesitation. As silly as it sounds, Keigo hoped that he would be saved by one of them. That is until he turned 15 and realized that there really was no getting out of his situation.

Keigo even remembers one time when Endeavor was scolding him in the hallway, his eyes were trained to the ground, his hands were shaky and he was picking at his nails, a bad habit he’d developed while with Enji. He didn’t even do anything! He just forgot that their training session started earlier than usual and he accidentally slept in! He didn’t expect Endeavor to be so angry, but apparently, Enji missed an important meeting while waiting for Keigo.

Keigo didn’t know what to say. He just kept his eyes on the ground until he saw a pair of yellow shoes walk past and stop behind Endeavor. Keigo looked up at the tall person behind Enji, his eyes brightening when he saw who it was. It was All Might! Maybe he’d at least get Endeavor to stop yelling at him, he looked so fragile and hurt by his words, it’d take a fool to not notice.

Toshinori made eye contact with Keigo, turning away immediately when he’d realized Keigo’s attention was on him. He clenched his fists, walking away slowly. Keigo’s mouth fell open, his brows furrowing, bottom lip quivering. 

Even the Symbol Of Peace didn’t care…?

Keigo carried this with him for years. He never liked the man, but this was just the icing on the cake. Now he knew, he really only had himself. No one was going to save him. No one was his friend.

** 

It’d been about two weeks since Keigo met Y/N. Keigo never felt happier, he was friends with someone he had feelings for. He could actually consider someone a friend, something he hasn’t had for a long time. Of course, Endeavor always looked at him with a scowl whenever he’d be out with them, but he didn’t care. He was actually living somewhat like a teenage boy, even if he was 19.

Keigo could explain what he was feeling now. He knew that he was in love with Y/N. He knew that he had feelings for them, he wanted to see them as more than a friend. But he didn’t know how to process it. 

He’d find himself watching what they were doing throughout the day, learning their routines and how they were after each training activity. He could almost sense when something was off, he’d instantly be at their side, asking how he could help.

When Y/N would ask him how he knew something was wrong, he’d just shrug and reply with something along the lines of, “Maybe it’s just something special birds can sense” and it would make them smile, Keigo wanted nothing more than to see that look on their face forever.

When in reality, Keigo knew almost everything about them. He learned it all in the short few weeks, all by watching and listening to what they said. He knew what their favorite color was, what time they’d usually fall asleep, what time they’d usually wake up, what their favorite food was. Keigo kept mental notes about everything they did, everything they said. After all, that’s the least he could do as their future husband, right?

Endeavor did notice Keigo’s behavior becoming worse and worse. Keigo would purposefully hurt himself during training to get Y/N’s attention. They’d always run to his side to give him a bandaid or to help him up, Keigo would just be beaming the entire time they unwrapped the bandaid and placed it on his broken skin. 

That wasn’t even the worst part. As time went on, Keigo would become aggressive when other people would flirt with Y/N. Of course Keigo wouldn’t do it in front of anyone else, but Endeavor wasn’t a damn fool. Some random student would flirt with Y/N while they were training in Endeavor’s building, Keigo would notice and his face would get all red, fists would clench, and then somehow the student would end up slipping over a puddle in the hallways, or they would trip over something in the middle of the running track, or worse.

But of course, at the end of the day, Keigo was the one walking Y/N back to her dorm room, putting on a pretty smile to make it seem like he wasn’t planning something terrible. He was so good at covering his tracks as well, Endeavor had to admit. He knew Keigo was using his feathers to harm people who even so much as looked at Y/N in a way he didn’t like.

The day Endeavor knew it had gone too far was when a group of students were following Y/N around the halls, giggling and making jokes about them. It was comments about how their uniform fit their build, obviously making Y/N uncomfortable. 

It didn’t take long for Keigo to notice, and obviously he’d remembered and made mental notes about who it was harassing what was his. Keigo waited until late, late night, running into one of them on his way to the kitchen. The student was holding a glass of water, glancing up at Keigo when he walked in.

“Hey, you know Y/N, right?” Keigo asked, grabbing a glass from the cabinet. He turned on the tap, waiting for their response. 

He heard the student’s glass clink against the table as they put it down. “Mm, yeah. I know them. Why?” The student was oblivious to what the man was planning in front of him.

Keigo hummed, placing his cup on the table. “What do you think about them?” Keigo sat on the barstool at the table, his face blank as he stared at them. 

The student clicked their tongue as they thought. “Well… I think they’re pretty cute. They seem a little easy, don’t you agree? I think I could get with them.” The student giggled, looking down at their glass.

That is until they felt a sharp object at their neck. One of Keigo’s fucking feathers. Their eyes widened as they looked up at him. “Woah… chill out, man. It was a fucking joke.”

Keigo stood up, walking behind them. “Don’t fucking move. I won’t hesitate to do it. Don’t ever speak about Y/N like that again. They’re mine. If you want to live long enough to become a hero, you’d better leave them alone. They’re mine.”

The student swallowed. “Dude, I’m sorry. Just don’t hurt me.” Their voice grew shaky.

“You’ll fucking leave them alone then?”

“Yeah, dude. Just let me go… I promise I won’t talk to them again.” The student said, clenching their eyes shut.

Keigo took in a deep breath, opening his mouth to speak until he heard someone calling his name.

“Keigo! Stop!” Endeavor yelled at him, yanking at the boy’s shoulder. “What the fuck are you doing?! Call off your feathers.” Endeavor cursed. Surprisingly, Endeavor couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He knew Keigo was going a bit crazy, but he didn’t expect to walk in on him threatening someone’s life. 

Keigo looked up at Endeavor, then back down at the student. He let them go, watching the student almost fall out of their chair trying to get away from him. Keigo turned to Endeavor, crossing his arms.

“I knew what I was do-”

“No. I’ve ignored all of this longer than I should have. You need to take yourself to your dorm, don’t fucking come out until I say you can. This was completely unacceptable. You could have killed that student!”

Keigo blinked. “I wasn’t gonna do it. I just wanted them to leave Y/N alone.” He responded.

Endeavor’s nostrils flared. “Y/N? Are you fucking serious? What you’re doing is crazy. This is not how you show someone that you like them! You need to stop.”

“Marrying someone to breed your children isn’t how you show someone that you like them either.”

Endeavor’s brows raised as he stared at Keigo. “Get out of my face. Do not leave your room until I send for you. Go!” Endeavor pointed down the hall.Endeavor watched him walk away, pressing his lips together. He knew he needed to put an end to this now. He couldn’t just ignore Keigo’s rapidly declining sanity any longer. 

So what did he do? He called All Might and told him that he was sending Y/N somewhere else if he didn’t come and get them. Of course Endeavor wasn’t going to finally sit down and have a talk with Keigo and explain why his behavior was wrong, Endeavor wasn’t his father. Even though the hero commission robed the poor boy of countless life lessons, Endeavor would be damned if he sat down and had a talk with Keigo about his behavior.

**

“His feather? Like it was a knife?” Toshinori stared at Endeavor in disbelief, walking through the hallways with him. It was the next morning, Endeavor wanted to tell Toshinori the full story before he took Y/N.

Endeavor nodded his head. “Yes. I told you, he’s obsessed with them. I don’t know why, it’s like as time went on, he became more and more possessive. I don’t know why he’s acting like this, either.” Endeavor said, taking a sip of the coffee in front of him.

Toshinori looked up from his cup, brows furrowed. “What do you mean ‘you don’t know why he’s acting like this’? You act like you didn’t take his childhood from him, he was forced into hero work, what did you expect? He doesn’t know how to process his feelings because you’re too prideful to sit down and have a conversation with him or teach him about anything.”

Endeavor scoffed. “I’ve already got kids I have to worry about. I can’t go and act like I’m his father, too.” Endeavor told him, sitting back in his chair.

“You don’t even act as a dad towards them. All I’m saying is, if you don’t get that boy in check, you’re just training a villain. Anything that he does will be pinned on you. Not the hero commission, they’ll snitch faster than you can react.” Toshinori stood up from his seat, “I have somewhere to be in a few hours, I’m going to take Y/N back and let them get settled in before we have to leave.” he said, walking to the door of the conference room.

And with that, Toshinori led Y/N to the car he came in, deciding it was best if they didn’t say anything to Keigo.

But Keigo knew. Keigo knew it was Endeavor’s fault they were getting taken away. Keigo knew that Endeavor had something to do with it. He just got the love of his life taken away from him, all because of Endeavor. Keigo wasn’t going to take any of the blame, either. What he did wasn’t even that serious in his mind!

For the next few days, Keigo barely left his room and Endeavor didn’t bother him about it. Endeavor had to admit, he wouldn’t have taken Y/N away so quickly and coldly had Keigo not made that comment about him breeding his children. It was true, but Endeavor couldn’t handle the truth.

And like that, Endeavor watched Keigo shut himself off again. Everyday he woke up with that same dead expression, going back to how he was before. Going back to the ‘normal’ Keigo. Endeavor was just glad he could finish training him how he’d intended, there was no more distraction.

Still, he never seemed like he was the exact same. Like something sparked inside of him. Endeavor just didn’t know this was only the beginning.

[everyhowlmarksthedead]

✨ Seven days of:

Day #5.

✨ REQUEST: hermanikiii, imagine pa bishop....hmmm todo lo que se me ocurre es muy classico o ya lo has escrito... okay, i got it. what do you think about an imagine with bishop in which you two are spending some kind of vacation together, like a romàntic get away and then so suddnley he proposés to you, like you werent expecting it. súper flufffff

✨ MADE BY: moonsofangel

WORDS: about 1k.

Notes: this is the way I would like to be proposed. Not sorry.

❚❙ A/N: this writing hasn’t been edited, you may find some grammar mistakes, I’m sorry about that. If you find a description about body or a word out of place, or something that it makes you feel uncomfortable / unrepresented, let me know by a private message and I will change it delighted ❤

❚❙ OBISPO ‘BISHOP’ LOSA MASTERLIST.

❚❙ MASTERLIST.

❚❙ JOIN MY TAG LIST.

Leaving your tray on the picnic table, starving and questioning yourself why he hasn't asked you for that before, you turn around to come back to the food truck. There are two people ahead of you and that only makes you feel angrier. You have been walking around Tijuana the whole morning and all you wanted to do was to stop and have some good mexican food, and not the one you are used to in California. The recipes change a lot on the other side of the border.

“Querida, can you ask for some spicy sauce?”

Impatiently waiting with your arms crossed and imagining the hundred ways you could kill these two guys who can't decide about their orders, it's finally your turn. The friendly old man looks at you, understanding your feelings, offering you some extra sauce. Taking the small sauce packets, you go straight to your table, tossing them over it with a dissimulated bad mood. Your boyfriend raises his eyes towards you. His gesture is weird, and you notice it when you make eye contact. Something is happening. But he is mostly like a closed book, so you don't give it much more importance.

When you're able to eat a bunch of friend chips, filling up your stomach, you can't help but sigh of happiness. Swinging your waist over your seat from one side to another, you start to dance briefly unconsciously. Your bitchiness starts to disappear, taking a sip from your bear, about to unwrap the big burrito al pastor you have ordered. But Bishop laughs interrupts your task. Frowning at him with your lips pressed in a confused smile, he shakes his head as if nothing random is happening in front of him.

“What?”

“You always do that”.

“Do what?”

“Dance. When you're hungry and I give you food; you dance”.

Mocking him, containing a giggle, you continue opening your delicious food. The pineapple smell floods your nostril, so the roast beef does. But something catches your whole attention. Something is wrong. The burrito isn't like the one the man did. Okay, actually, the point is it's what he did, but… looks like someone has touched it.

“The fuck you did?”

Bishop has his nose wrinkled, focused on his taco, shaking his head in a negative as he shrugs his shoulders. Squinting at him and grabbing your food, you have a mistrusted bite, leaving it again over the paper. Chewing it, but not tasting it, the mexican is forcing a fake grin on his lips. You're missing something, but, what?

“I swear I'm gonna punch you el pinche hocico, Obispo”.

“Why?” He can't help but complain in laughs.

“Because you did som—”.

“Really you haven't seen it yet?”

“See what?!”

You're starting to lose your chill, bowing down your head to your trail, until you see it. That was the reason why your burrito looked strange. Under it there is a small golden ring. But it's not just any ring. It's an engagement one. Your mind travels to that night two years ago, where you were drunk talking with Taza. You told him that you never would want to get married, but if you did one day, your future husband should use a burrito to propose. You weren't even dating Bishop.

Your eyes are filled with tears. Your lips are shaking. Your blurred gaze is on your boyfriend, getting up from his seat in front of you, taking the ring to clean it with a napkin. And then, he suddenly kneels down close to you.

“Since the first second you put a foot in the club, I knew one day I would be happily married to you. Living the life I thought that I wouldn't ever have. So, I bought it the next day and I've been keeping it for more than two years, until finding the perfect moment. Every morning since that day, when I've woken up, I've taken it and I've thought that one day you would carry it in your finger”. Cleaning your tears with the back of your hands, you're feeling at the edge of a heart attack, hearing his speech full of love. “You have given me everything without having to ask for anything. You have taken care of me, when I was lonely. You have given me your advice, when I needed it the most. When the only thing I could see was darkness, you showed me the light. You showed me the correct road to success, to happiness. And the only thing I want in my life, for now till forever, is to love you. To be by your side. To return you every single day what you have done for me. Because, querida, I can't imagine my existence without yours… So, what 'you say? Do you want to marry this outlaw biker? I promise it will be worth it”.

Of course it will be worth it. Every night he's out of home is made up with breakfast in bed. Every time he misses a date is made up with a day off. Every day he comes back pissed off and angry is made up with a session of cuddles and kisses. And every extra hour of working is made up with a trip. He has turned himself in your reason to live, in your reason to wake up in the mornings, in your reason to continue through the shit you face every day.

Nodding in tears, you almost jump onto him, falling to the ground hearing his cheerful laughs. You kiss his face all around, every inch of it until pecking his lips.

[zoryany]

(Of Loyalty and Royalty) "You know, Captain Solo," the Empress said, delicately putting her wineglass down. Han tried not to stare at the motion, or at her, or anywhere. Things were always awkward around her. "I had my doubts, but I am beginning to see what Luke sees in you. I am glad he has you." Han breathed a sigh of relief. Then the Empress *had* to add, "Of course, my husband does not share this response."

Royal Imperial Skywalker AU (parts 1-6)

Send me things!!(always accepting, for this or any other verse, just… slow)

It had taken several minutes of insisting, and some creative thinking on his part, but Han had finally gotten Goldenrod out of his and Chewie’s collective hairs, having sent him off on some convoluted mission to find a very vital component for modifying the Falcon. It was weird enough being in the Palace, even with Luke, so being here without him was absolutely surreal. The night before had not been a restful one, that’s for sure.

At least now he had Chewie with him. Something about that big, walking fuzzball made everyone feel more at ease, it seemed – aside from the moments it was clear he was about to lose his temper. Then? It was best to steer clear, unless you wanted to lose an arm. But… even in the early days, Luke seemed to be comforted by his presence.

Han would argue until the day he died that he was not out of his mind for missing the fact that Luke was, indeed, the Imperial Prince, given just how fumbling the kid was right off the bat. Too earnest for his own good and stumbling over his words, you’d think he’d never spoken to another human being before. Which… well, clearly wasn’t the case, but perhaps he just didn’t have as much experience with the sorts of conversations regular folk might have. And for that, he always seemed so nervous when he tried to talk to Han. It was endearing, of course, and played a large part in winning the scoundrel over, but it absolutely screamed “Outer Rim Crop-Duster” without giving a hint at any form of nobility. And yet, when he was around Chewie, he seemed to just… relax. Words flowed much more naturally, whether he addressed the Wookiee or the captain, and a good portion of the tension he carried in his shoulders would just evaporate.

The ease of interaction between him and Luke had grown over the weeks, of course, but Chewie had always been an effective buffer in any situation. He was also effective when it came to negotiations for that very reason, and it was why Han almost wished his first mate had been around for the previous night’s dinner. True, all parties agreed it was for the best that he’d stayed behind, but still; it would have saved Han a lot of discomfort.

“Well, pal,” Han sighed, flopping down on his overly luxurious bed and sprawling out, “how’s it feel, living the high life?”

Perched awkwardly on the foot of the bed, Chewie gave Han a look absolutely brimming with irony. Given his history, as well as that of his people, Chewbacca had never really been in favour of an Imperial Regime in and of itself, but there was a certain level of respect he’d always held for the newfound freedom the Wookiees experienced under the current system. He would speak ill of the life of his people under the Republic, and the galaxy headed under Palpatine, but he carefully maintained an air of neutrality towards the current Royal Family. Through it all, though, Chewie had never sought a life of luxury. He’d always been content to live day to day, repaying the life-debt he was convinced he still owed Han and doing whatever he could to find his place in the galaxy.

Han supposed that over two centuries was plenty of life lived, and sometimes you just had to find your thrills no matter their source.

“Yeah, yeah, I getcha,” Han conceded, sitting back up and running a hand through his hair. “Can’t say I’m feeling all that at home here, either.”

Chewie took a few moments to glance around the room, taking in the décor and the pure extravagance everything seemed to exude, before he finally rumbled out his opinion on the matter.

As he pushed himself off the bed and wandered over to the balcony door, Han shook his head and sighed again. “Yeah, I agree, buddy. It really is… A lot, isn’t it? No wonder the kid felt restless here. I never woulda pinned him to live in a place like this, either.” He spent a brief moment looking out at the sprawling city below him, wondering just how Luke felt every time he took in the same view, before a wry grin spread across his face. “Wanna see a little more of where your new favourite cub grew up?”

Chewie rolled his eyes. On occasion, Han would complain about how much more Chewie liked Luke than him, a joke which seemed to have worn a little thin, but the fuzzball ultimately nodded, and the two breezed out of the room to get a closer look at the wing in which they were to reside for the foreseeable future.

***

“I know, pal.”

It turned out the Imperial Palace – or, at least the sections of it they had proper access to – was not as interesting as they would have liked it to be. They were in the guest wing, of course, and had encountered far too many droids restricting access to other, more interesting sections of the building. The two could make it past if they so chose, but decidedly chose not to, if only to avoid landing on the Empress and her husband’s bad side, and to not to piss off Luke or land him in any more hot water than he might already be in. So instead, they’d settled onto an elevated veranda, sprawling and luxurious and attended by a number of other droids who sought to meet their every need, feeling every bit as though they had landed themselves in a gilded cage of their own.

“I’m not sure what the next move is either.” Chewie draped a warm, hairy arm around his shoulders, and Han was grateful for it. “I can’t live here any more than you can. It just ain’t gonna happen. Luke knows that too.”

He left the next bit unsaid, and as Chewie finished his thought for him, Han found himself wishing he didn’t understand Shyriiwook nearly as well as he did.

For a moment, he tried ignoring his first mate, but another, more insistent rumble, accompanied by a not-quite-painful squeeze to his shoulder had him groaning. “You’re right, of course. As usual. I can’t stay here, and I can’t just drag Luke away from this place. I’m not sure we get to be happy, yanno? In a perfect world, I’d just take the kid with us, travelling the galaxy, adventurin’ from place to place, non-stop.” He paused and allowed the wry smile to twist at his lips. “Pretty sure Luke wouldn’t be strictly opposed to that, either. But…”

Silence rang heavy between them, even with the bustle of the city-planet below them. On another occasion, Chewie might have chimed in with the missing thought, again, but right now, it was clear there was no need. Han wasn’t avoiding it because he didn’t want to acknowledge it; he was avoiding it because it brought a level of pain he never wanted to confront when he was only just getting closer to Luke.

At the end of the day, it was duty that came into play, before anything else.

“Ah! Captain Solo!” Han nearly jumped out of his skin at the crisp tone of the droid as it interrupted his thoughts. “Here you are. And Chewbacca! I nearly thought I had lost you.”

He had to suppress a groan as he forced a grin and faced the gleaming golden droid. “Nope. Still here. Can’t get rid of us that easily.”

“Well, that is indeed excellent,” Threepio continued, completely missing the irony. “I do believe I have found the component you were looking for. I have placed it with your ship until such a time that you may require it.”

“Well,” Han drawled, genuinely surprised the droid had found anything, given his description, “I guess I’ll just have to take a look at it next time I’m fixin’ up the Falcon, and I’ll let ya know how you did, yeah?”

Chewie chuckled softly from behind him, but the droid carried on. “Her Majesty has requested your presence, Captain Solo. I must request that you follow me.” Request was more than likely putting it mildly.

Chewie raised a brow at the droid, rumbling a soft inquiry in Shyriiwook, but Goldenrod seemed unfazed. “I apologize, Mr. Chewbacca. While I recognize your desire to accompany the Captain, the Empress has asked to speak with him alone. However, if you so choose, I may wait with you outside her chamber while they carry out their business.”

The Wookiee was losing patience with the droid almost as quickly as Han was, but Chewie had always been better at maintaining his composure. Despite his own frustrations, he growled an agreement. Both Han and Chewie followed the protocol droid to the hallway leading to the Empress’ chambers, Han being ushered in while Chewie was pointed to a position just to the side of the doorway.

“Mistress Padmé awaits you inside, Captain Solo. I advise you do not keep her waiting.”

“Yeah?” Han felt his lips contort into a wry, contrary sort of smirk. “Well, I’ll make sure I don’t. I know better than to keep a woman like that waiting.”

“Indeed, you do have some wisdom in you after all, Captain Solo.” Threepio’s voice was chipper and polite as ever, but if he didn’t know better, Han would almost think the droid was mocking him.

“Right,” he replied, face darkening slightly, before turning to his friend. “See ya later, Chewie,” he said with a nod. “Try not to tear off Goldenrod’s arms while I’m in there.” He’d lowered his voice, but not enough to go undetected by a droid’s auditory sensors, and Han took more pleasure than he probably should have in the way Threepio seemed to jump at the comment.

Striding forward, the assured steps he took into the chamber worked to conceal the anxiety that truly roiled beneath Han’s composed exterior. Something about the Empress caused his legs to turn liquid and his wits to escape him. Luke was able to disarm him with his charm and catch him off guard enough to force him into idealism; the Empress disarmed him completely with her ability to read right into the core of his being.

Actually, every member of the family seemed to share that ability. His thoughts hadn’t felt private since he’d landed on Coruscant. The Empress could see right through him, the Princess shared her mother’s eerie personal precision, the father had his own brand of intimidation, and Luke…

Luke had always been able to sense Han’s vulnerabilities. Even when it wasn’t obvious that was what he was doing, it was present enough that the kid seemingly maintained a solid connection with him no matter what. Now that Han knew just what Luke’s connections and abilities were, he couldn’t help but feel just a touch more wary of him. He’d never much believed in the Force, nor did he really know what it did, and he didn’t quite trust it.

But… he did trust Luke.

He knew just how gentle the kid could be. Despite the insecurities they both felt, despite knowing what seemed to eat at him the most… Han held faith in Luke. It made him uncertain. Han was unaccustomed to uncertainty like this. But even though he was entirely unsure what the future held, he knew he had faith. A faith he hadn’t come close to holding for years before this, but faith nonetheless. He was not about to abandon that just because he was about to face the Empress, the most powerful woman in the galaxy, and someone who could very well dismiss his existence on a whim.

“Captain.”

The door closed behind him, and Han found himself in another room that seemed overly lavish and luxurious compared to what any being actually needed. He hadn’t really noticed, but they’d moved beyond the guest wing of the Palace. The droid’s escort had been so seamless that he didn’t even realize the route they were taking was unfamiliar and led past paths that had previously been obstructed. He’d been purposely misled to this chamber, and would be escorted back to his own private room so he could not find this one again, he was sure. It instilled a growing sense of unease within him, but Han would not back down. Holding his own against the Empress was all he could do. It even seemed liable to become his greatest achievement ever.

Han was not an Imperial Loyalist. He never had been. He wasn’t a rebel, by any means, just went where the credits were, but most Imperials were fairly stingy with their credits. It was the outlaws who paid the best, and for so long, he’d pledged himself where the fortune laid. But now… well. Was it fortune that drew him to Luke? Or something else? So many could look at his history, look at Luke’s identity, and draw their own conclusions. Han Solo, smuggler, scoundrel, and Imperial Leech.

Luke had never seen that in him, though. And, well, if Luke believed in him…

“I can sense your discomfort.” The Empress’ voice was somehow both cool and warm. She had an inviting air about her, something that begged you to share your every last secret, but she never shed her nobility. Calm, collected, and in control… that was the Empress, and Han wasn’t sure he would ever stand a chance against her in any sort of battle, of the wits or otherwise. And yet, he wasn’t sure that mattered. He would hold his own against her for Luke’s sake. That much felt so certain, no matter what.

“Discomfort, Your Majesty?” Yeah, playing it off seemed like his best bet. What else was he supposed to do? Just admit to the fact that he felt uncomfortable around her? No, that was a weakness he wasn’t about to show off just yet.

It seemed, though, he couldn’t fool her. The Empress wore an expression that seemed far too similar to a predator capturing its prey, though it did not contain the same level of cruelty as one who was about to devour. No, she seemed ready to play with her food before deciding if it should be consumed immediately, or if it was worthy of keeping around for a bit longer.

“You have not shown any signs of comfort since arriving at the Palace, Captain.” Her smile grew, but as it spread, it only became more inscrutable. Han really had no idea whether it carried more welcome or intimidation with it, but he could certainly tell that it carried more. “It is my sincerest hope that you may find some level of ease within our walls. I do not wish you to be on edge for the entire duration of your stay. After all, what kind of hosts would we be if you could find no trust in us whatsoever?”

Han quirked a brow. “I really gotta say, Majesty, it ain’t nothin’ personal. Promise. Your family’s done nothing wrong to me. Got no reason to stand against ya. Plus with Luke around, I’m really not about to do anything stupid like that. But you can’t blame me for being a bit nervous. I ain’t used to dealing with big shots like your family. And I’ve got no interest in kriffin’ things up. Especially not for Luke. Kid’s been through enough. He don’t need me comin’ in to make things even worse. It was his choice to have me here, and if I didn’t think he actually wanted me anywhere near the rest of your family, you better believe I wouldn’t have agreed. Sorry to say it, but my interest in politics is almost negative, so it would take either a huge stack of credits or the word of someone I trust to get me at the Palace at all.”

Did he actually just say all that? In his head it hadn’t sounded that bad. It just sounded like his usual ramblings. But actually saying it out loud…

The Empress clutched a delicate goblet in her gloved hand. It was filled with wine, and she took a long drink out of it before setting it down and smiling at Han. “You know, Captain Solo,” she said as the glass delicately took its place atop a coaster on the end table. Han tried not to stare at the motion, or at her, or anywhere. Things were always awkward around her. "I had my doubts, but I am beginning to see what Luke sees in you. I am glad he has you." Han breathed a sigh of relief. Then the Empress had to add, "Of course, my husband does not share this response."

“Well, Majesty, can’t say I expected him to.” Han hadn’t noticed, but a droid had placed a full tumbler of Correllian Whisky next to him, and he was quick to take a swig of it before he continued. “Can’t say I expected any of you to like me at all, to be honest. Still not sure if that daughter of yours is all that sold on me, either.”

Bright peals of laughter echoed through the chamber. There was genuine joy and amusement in the Empress’ expression, and it was enough to make her seem purely human. It was likely a side of her that only the closest and most intimate of associates would see from someone so regal. He’d seen the holos. The whole galaxy had. She was gentle yet stoic, kind yet solemn, genuine yet guarded… She was what you would expect a beloved Empress to be. But this – this seemed to be who she really was, and an unexpected warmth bloomed in Han’s chest at experiencing it. Maybe… maybe he wasn’t so doomed here, after all, if he’d won over the most powerful woman in the galaxy.

Maybe he’d have a chance at winning over the old man…

“My dear captain, you do understand my children well, I must say.” The light remained in her eyes, and Han could practically feel the tension in his shoulders unwind – though, that could very well be the whisky’s work. “Winning over Leia is no easy feat, but I think you have a better chance than most. She worries for her brother. And I assure you, it isn’t personal.” Clever woman, using his own defense against him. “You took her brother’s attention and caused him to be away from her. She was worried sick and missed her twin. It is not your fault – my son has always been reckless and acts of his own accord – but she resented you before she even knew who you were. Please be patient. Luke adores you. She will come to accept you no matter what. Even if she does not choose to show it.”

Han finished the last of his whisky, grimacing a bit at the thought of the princess. She resembled her mother a fair bit and had been seen in public with the Empress more often than Luke ever had been. The twins didn’t look all that much alike, really, especially when seen separately. While together, though, the similarities shone through. Similar mannerisms, expressions, body language… and they definitely interacted like siblings. Seeing them in this capacity left no doubt in his mind that the twins were, well, twins. But the princess always seemed far more like The Princess than Luke ever did The Prince.

The Empress took another sip from her goblet and her eyes settled on the dark liquid within. “My son has always been more trusting than his sister. He has a gentle heart. I know the dangers he faces because of it. That gentle heart is far too fragile for his own good, and while I know that Luke is strong… well. We all know that Luke is strong. He is not some delicate, withering flower that will crumble to pieces with a strong gust of wind. He is trusting, though, and will offer up that most vulnerable and breakable part of himself far more readily than any of us would prefer.” She paused, emptying the contents of her glass before setting it down and meeting Han’s eyes with a piercing, imperious gaze.

“The unease my family feels around you isn’t personal, Captain Solo. Neither we nor you have any reason for it to be, correct? But our concern stems largely from Luke himself. We know his nature, and when he left Coruscant for such a prolonged period of time, we all worked ourselves into a frenzy of worry about just what harm he might bring upon himself. Physical danger concerns us, of course, our family has guards for a reason, even given our own martial prowess. But Luke’s emotional state, especially when he’d fled searching for freedom… you understand why we would be concerned, yes?”

Han just nodded, wishing he had another glass of whisky.

“My husband may not be swayed just yet. Your status as a smuggler certainly does not help, either.” She really knew how to reassure him when it came to tall, dark and terrifying… “The best way to win him over, however, is to continue as you are. Make Luke happy. That is all we desire for him, first and foremost, and the finer points of status can be discussed at a later date.”

Han met her gaze with gritted determination and nodded sharply. “I will, Your Majesty. Swear on the Falcon. I will not let the kid down.”

“Good,” she replied, humour in her voice while intensity remained in her gaze. “See that you don’t. Farewell, Captain Solo. Until next time.”

[365days365movies]

March 12, 2021: Jason and the Argonauts (1963) (Part One)

I am so goddamn excited for this one.

Back to Greek mythology, my first mythological love! And not just Greek mythology, because this...THIS...this is the first true Avengers story. Oh, yeah, like The Avengers.

After all, mythology produced the first equivalent of our modern superheroes, with demigods and legends that wield fantastic abilities and powerful items to fight the forces of evil. I mean, it’s the most superhero thing I can think of, and it’s literally a story as old as time. Fact of the matter is, I love superheroes, and I love mythology. Which is why I’m excited to finally see an adaptation of one of the biggest superhero team-up stories ever: Jason and the Argonauts!

See, it all starts with Hera, queen of the Olympians and petty as FUCK.

See, the newly (and wrongfully) ascended king of Iolcus, Pelias, honored the gods after stealing the throne from his brother. Well, all of the gods except Hera. So, Hera, rightfully pissed off, decides to fuck Pelias over by recruiting his nephew, Jason. Jason’s a naturally hot blonde kid who was raised by the centaur Chiron, also making him wise...theoretically.

Hera tests this kid, and he passes, so she gives him her favor, and tells him to fuck up his uncle. Jason arrives in Iolcus, and demands the throne from Pelias. His uncle agrees, IF he can bring back the Golden Fleece, a legendary treasure that is guarded by a vicious monster and a zealous king. Pelias didn’t think Jason had any chance, but Jason had the gods on his side. They sent their best subjects to his aid, and Jason procured an awesome ship, the Argo. So, who’s coming to help? Oh, you ready for this? ARGONAUTS ASSEMBLE

Now there are anywhere between 46-85 heroes that are assembled in the Argonauts, with different members in different iterations of the myth. But the big members are:

Heracles, son of Zeus, with the strength of a thousand men

Orpheus, son of the muse Calliope, and master musician

Calais and Zetes, sons of the North Wind, with the ability to fly upon it

Atalanta, the swift-footed huntress, and only female member

Castor and Pollux, twin half-brothers (yeah, really) and horse-riders

Theseus, son of Poseidon, and slayer of the Minotaur

Tip of the iceberg there, but you get the point: we’ve got a superhero team on our hands! And these heroes would perform MANY great deeds on their journey to the Fleece. They fought the Harpies to defend an oracle, they passed the dangerous Clashing Rocks, they battled the Stymphalian Birds, with feathers of metal. Sirens, fire-breathing bulls, and a giant bronze man named Talos.

Different one. Eventually, they procured the Golden Fleece on the island of Colchis, where they fought a dragon with a help of the young sorceress (and niece of Circe), Medea. She fell in love with Jason, and the two fled the island, married, and had twins. Only for Medea to reveal herself as a stone-cold sociopath, and only for Jason to ditch her for another woman. That goes...VERY badly for Jason. Breaking off his marriage pisses off Hera, THE GODDESS OF MARRIAGE, and he dies sad and alone after Medea does...Medea does a lot, I’ll just leave it at that. Jason, completely fucked at that point, takes a nap at the foot of the now rotting Argo, which collapses on top of him and kills him.

For the record, I truncated that story A LOT. There’s a lot to it, but I have a movie to watch, goddamit! And I’m really excited because this is my first Harryhausen movie! You know, Ray Harryhausen, one of the early greats of practical special effects in film? A specialist in stop-motion from its earliest days, he revolutionizes the art throughout films in the 1950s and 1960s, with this one being one of the most successful. You’ve definitely seen his influence, from stuff that he’s done directly...

...to those inspired by him and his methodology...

...to the arts that were descended indirectly from his groundbreaking effects.

Oh yeah, I’m fucking GOING THERE. Fun fact: Ray Winston Studios, a stop-motion group active during the ‘80s and ‘90s, and a descendant of Harryhausen’s works, were originally going to do the animation for the dinosaurs in this movie, in Claymation. However, the recent advent of advanced animatronics, alongside ILM’s founding, caused them to take some of those principles, and apply them to CGI and animatronics. So, yeah, I’m claiming an indirect connection here!

Anyway, enough being a nerd, LET’S WATCH THE GODDAMN MOVIE! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap (1/2)

As the bombastic and epic score plays, the credits role of a Greek-style fresco, detailing the various adventures of the Argonauts. And before the movie starts, I come to a realization: there is a high chance that I’m going to hate this movie’s inaccuracies to Greek mythology. It’s not impossible. I’m real persnickety about my mythology adaptations, just warning you all now. I’ll probably get into it in this Recap, too. Full goddamn warning.

We begin with a seer, reading the future for the treacherous Pelias (Douglas Witmer). He sees first a Golden Fleece at the end of the world, but Pelias ignores this, and asks of his upcoming conquest of the kingdom of...Thessaly. Not, uh...not Iolcus. Mmmkay.

The seer fortells that Pelias will seize the throne, by force, from his brother and the king of Thessaly...Aristo...not Aeson. OK then. The seer says that he will be successful, but will eventually fall to one of Aristo’s kids, who will take his throne. He has two daughters, Philomena and Briseis, and one son, Jason. Looks like they’re gonna die, too.

The invasion begins! Amongst the chaos, Briseis (Davina Taylor) takes her baby sister, Philomena, into the temple of Hera, and pleads to her for her protection. However, they’re found by Pelias, who asks who she is. He’s interrupted by a priestess of Hera, who claims that the Queen Goddess has answered the girl’s prayer for protection.

Pelias responds in kind.

Well...I’m sure that’s gonna piss off Hera. He claims it to be the will of Zeus, but she states that it is his will, not Zeus’. The gods have abandoned him, and he will one day fall to a one-sandaled man, Jason. And as the woman reveals this...she disappears. Nice. FUCKIN’ NICE.

This “priestess” is Hera (Honor Blackman), of course. She goes to her husband, Zeus (Niall MacGinnis), and asks if he ordered Pelias to destroy and profane her temple. He says no, as that was Pelias’ attempt to stave off his inevitable fall by Jason. However, Jason has escaped Pelias’ wrath, as has his sister Philomena. Hera decided, however, that she wants to take down Pelias, and Jason is the best was for that to happen. Hence, she wishes to sponsor Jason.

However, Zeus, being the classic misogynist, says that he will allow it, but she may only help Jason 5 times, once for each time that the fallen Briseis prayed to her. She agrees, and waits 20 years to start fuckin’ with Pelias. Pelias, meanwhile, is growing more paranoid over the one-sandaled man prophecy that Hera gave him.

One day, on the bank of a river, Hera appears to make Pelias fall off of his horse into the river. He’s saved from drowning by a young man, who loses his sandal in the process. This is, of course, Jason (Todd Armstrong), who was already on his way to see Pelias for some reason.

For the record, this is an adaptation of the original story, in which Hera disguises herself as an old beggar-woman, and Jason proves himself to her by helping her across the river, after which she gives him her favor. To be honest, I like this a bit more, or at least as much.

Pelias brings Jason back to a camp for a celebration, with him as an honored guest. Jason reveals exactly who he is, and that he was raised outside of the city by one of his father’s loyal soldiers. He has come to reclaim his right place as king of Thessaly, and to restore it to it’s rightful glory. However, Pelias hasn’t revealed himself as king, and asks Jason how he plans to accomplish these feats. Jason replies with his ultimate plan: obtain the Golden Fleece.

Here’s the deal about the Golden Fleece. One of the most legendary items in Greek mythology, the fleece is essentially a symbol of royalty, and is the coat of a ram with wings found on the island of Colchis. Now, the meaning of the fleece has long been debated, with the main consensus stating that it’s a symbol of royalty. However, some claim that it’s a symbol of prosperous farming (golden grains of wheat), the forgiveness of the gods for some unknown deed, Zeus in the form of a ram, or simply the promise of the unknown at the edge of the world.

What it DEFINITELY ISN’T is a magical healing garment, as Jason claims it to be. But OK, whatever, we need a good reason to get the Fleece, sure. Pelias, not revealing himself, says that Jason should try to get the Fleece, with a boat and a crew, and bring it back to Thessaly, returning and killing Pelias in order to take the throne. Of course, Pelias thinks that this is impossible, which he says to his son Acastus (Gary Raymond). He also knows that if he kills Jason, he it will mean his own destruction, as Hera told him.

Jason goes to ponder this journey, only to encounter the seer. The seer asks if he has come to pray to the gods, to which Jason states that he doesn’t believe in them, nor does he have cause to. The seer offers to give him that cause, and reveals himself as Hermes (Michael Gwynn), the swift-footed messenger god, god of medicine, and trickster god of the Olympians.

Hermes isn’t usually directly involved in the myths of Jason, but that’s OK. He also does something particularly unusual, and brings Jason TO Olympus to meet the Gods themselves. Which, uh...yeah, hot damn. Zeus and the rest arranged for Hermes to bring Jason to them. They ask how they can help him on his quest. Zeus offers him a ship and crew, but Jason refuses, much to the gall of EVERYBODY.

Hera helps him by telling him where to find the Golden Fleece: the island of Colchis, at the other end of the world. To get there, though, Jason’ll DEFINITELY need a ship. He decides to go to the shipbuilders of Greece, and tell them that great treasure lies on Colchis, and they may receive some for their aid. As for the crew, he’s got a similar tactic. Offer the reward to the athletes and heroes of Greece, who will compete in games to determine their eligibility.

Not from the original myths...but it actually makes a lot of sense. Goddamn, is this going to be a good adaptation? I’m excited! The games are held, and many athletes win their place on the journey. They include: Castor and Pollux (Ferdinando Poggi and John Crawford), Acastus, and of course, Heracles (Nigel Green). And yeah, he’s called Hercules here, but I don’t care.

When Hercules arrives, this grabs the attention of the young Hylas (John Caimey), who arrived to late to compete in the games. He challenges Heracles to something, believing that beating Heracles in something will guarantee him a place on the ship. 

While everyone mocks this, Heracles agrees to go up against him in a discus-throwing contest. They must hit or pass a rock in the ocean by throwing their discus. Heracles hits it easily, of course. And the frail Hylas...

...Nice. Did not see that coming, and that’s actually very smart. Also takes a lot of skill, because I could NOT do that. Hylas wins his place in the ship, to the delight of both the crowd and the Olympians. And yes, Hylas actually is a companion of Heracles in the original stories, so that’s neat!

Now for the boat, being built by master builder Argus (Laurence Naismith), who is coming on the ship with them. He notes that something appears to have guided his hand during the ship’s construction. In the original myth, that would be Athena. However, here, it’s probably Hera, as the figurehead is specifically carved in her image. And is also...alive?

Well...to be fair, in many myths, the ship contains wood built from a magical tree that could speak, and see the future. So, OK, magic ship, fair enough. Well, hopefully, that ship’s guidance will happen soon, as the voyage immediately proves difficult. No water, no rest, and frustrated men.

Jason asks the figurehead for help (which would be help #3) and Hera speaks through it to tell Jason to head to the Isle of Bronze, where Hephaestus once had his forge. However, the island is lorded over by a powerful something called Talos. I know what Talos is, but the movie hasn’t revealed him yet.

The Argo makes its way to the island, and the men head ashore to get food and water. They see goats there, which will provide them both food and drink, and Heracles and Hylas chase after them for just that aim. And that’s when they blunder into a giant bronze statuary, lorded over by the statue of Talos.

The two enter a chamber in the statue’s base, which is filled to the brim with gold and treasure. However, Jason warned the men of the Argo not to take anything from the island but food and water. Hylas remembers this, but Heracles doesn’t care, and takes a golden staff from the chamber. And Talos...Talos doesn’t appreciate that.

Oh, that’s a great place to take a break! See you in Part Two!

[elexica]

Second Chance Christmas {{ December 26 }}  - Last Chapter -

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27832405/chapters/69446895

"I can promise that I am not giving up on us.”

Full chapter under the read more!

Joey had awoken either alone or to the sounds of needy children almost every morning for the last three years.  At first, waking up without Seto there was a relief—he didn’t have to deal with him or any of the intensity that came with Seto Kaiba.

Eventually, he did miss him in that bleary moment.  It was frustrating that the first few minutes of his morning, every morning, were dedicated to a feeling of loss.

Even that had faded away. For a while now, waking up in his own bed didn’t inspire any thoughts of Seto.  Joey had returned to a state where his mornings were not tarnished by Kaiba’s absence.

But his taste of Christmas with the man—the kind one who had so graciously been a part of his family, not the cold one, who left into the snow without a second thought—was enough to leave Joey tormented.

Waking up alone had never seemed as empty than the morning of that day after Christmas.  He opened his phone screen, tapped the world clock app, and saw that it was already late in the evening in Domino.  Kaiba had no doubt already landed and returned to his life, as if nothing had happened.

The entire good experience melted right off of Kaiba.  Back to his old life, his old ways.  Unchanged, unaffected.

It felt like there was broken glass inside Joey's chest.  It was almost nauseating to feel so disconnected after everything that had happened.

But something had happened. Something had changed, Joey was sure of it.  And things could be different.  

He had gone to sleep so troubled with these conflicting thoughts, but sitting in his quiet bed, watching the snow sprinkle down, he had a new sense of clarity.

When he closed his eyes, he could see their future stretch in front of him, days and weeks and years sprawling across the room.

Joey would never get rid of all of those things that Kaiba had left behind.  He was a sentimental bastard, and at least he knew who he was.  Joey’s eyes hit the wedding photo lingering in his room.  If Joey couldn’t even toss out the extra turtlenecks after three years, Joey was not optimistic he’d ever fully clean out the house and wipe all the traces of Kaiba from the home.

And goddamn it, he knew Kaiba too.

That man wasn’t going to move on either.

So, Joey supposed, they might just keep doing this.  Every time they exchanged the kids, would Kaiba tag along for some ill-advised tryst?  Like an addiction, circling back for another self-destructive hit, knowing nothing could really change.

Or would he avoid Joey like the plague, and instead every few years fall into some act of God that would leave them to another excruciatingly loving experience.

How many times would his life be uprooted by falling back in love with that asshole?  How many longing touches would they scatter across decades?  

Playing enemies while secretly pining for each other?  Damn it, hadn’t they already gotten that out of their system?

Joey was so fucking sick of missing him.

Kaiba was too stubborn, and maybe too hurt, to make the move.  Joey hated the emotional responsibility that fell on his shoulders.

But, Joey wondered, had he actually laid it all on the line?  He never once asked Kaiba not to return to Japan.  He blocked the door, but he didn’t actually say it.  He showed up at the airport, but he didn’t actually say it.

His ex-husband had the emotional intelligence of a brick on a good day.  Joey wasn’t just as bad as Kaiba for not just saying it.  But Joey sat in bed, the cold covers pooling around him, and considered that he could be part of the problem.

And maybe, if he wanted them to be back together, he had to do it.  If he didn’t want to live this way forever—he was in a position to change it.  He wasn’t corporation stock, he wasn’t an asset, something without any control over what Kaiba did.

So Joey got up.  He made himself some coffee.  It was seven in the morning, but he was sitting at the kitchen counter, dated laptop jammed open, on the speakerphone with Serenity before the hour was over.

Everyone always admired Kaiba’s force of will.  A personality that could overcome every adversity, defy reality itself, control space and time.  Master the global marketplace, dominate the NASDAQ, and change the fabric of society.

But Joey’s force of will was something else too.  And he wasn’t going to wait for however many years it took for Kaiba to admit that he wanted to stay there, in their home, raising their children together.

If he had to, he’d drag the bastard straight from Japan.  His dumb husband was just waiting there, getting old and sad in some fancy condo.

And so he spent the entire plane ride to Domino city trying to figure out exactly what it was that he wanted to say to set his stupid, stupid man straight.

. . .

“Mokuba?” Joey hoped it was still the right phone number.  The Kaiba brothers were always updating things, changing software, making their communication methods that much trickier to obtain.  It was a real possibility that this phone number now only went to a stranger.

“Jounouchi!  What’s up?  How are you doing?  The kids are growing up so freakin’ cute!”

Joey was disarmed by how warm Mokuba always was.  And it laid bare just how little he’d really thought through the plan.  “Um, well, I’m in Domino.  I’m here to see…” Joey almost said Kaiba. But it was off-putting to refer to their shared last name.  It never bothered him as a teen, but as an adult it sometimes hit Joey that Mokuba probably didn’t love the traces of language that made it clear that he was the secondary Kaiba when it came to these affairs.  Still, Joey wasn’t sure he was allowed to call him Seto anymore.

“Ah, I see.  Nii-sama just got back yesterday.  Seto didn’t tell me any of the details, but…” Mokuba’s tone shifted.  “Everything okay?”

The question was stingingly sincere.

Joey sighed on the other end of the line.  “Yeah, you know your brother.  I mean.  Look.  I’m in Domino and I guess I just need to see him.  It’s dumb—”

“It’s not dumb,” Mokuba interrupted, sounding more adult than Joey had ever heard.  It was like he really was getting an edict from the esteemed Vice President of Kaiba Corporation.

“Yeah.  Can you get me a badge or whatever to visit his office.  We need to talk and…”

“I see.  He can’t be allowed to dodge it, huh?”

Joey laughed, despite himself.  It was a bit mournful, but it wasn’t totally devoid of life.  “Nope.”

“Yeah, I can hook you up.  I’ll get the pass sent to your phone.”

Joey nodded, even though his phone was conventional, and Mokuba couldn’t see him.  “Thanks.  And congrats on getting married.  From what I’ve heard, she sounds like a keeper.”

Joey could hear the glowing smile on the other end of the phone.  “Yeah, I think so too.”

. . .

The lobby of Kaiba Corp. HQ was mostly unchanged since the last time Joey had seen it, though it looked somewhat creepy in the dark.   It was lightly, tastefully, decorated for the season.  Twinkle lights on some of the pillars, echoing in the dark like suspended lightening bugs.

So close to his goal, Joey stalled.  He paced in the empty cavern of the lobby.  Maybe he shouldn’t bother.  Maybe this whole adventure was some twisted flight of fancy, brought on by watching one holiday film too many.  Did he look too closely at the snowflakes trapped in Kaiba’s eyelashes and see something that wasn’t really there?

In the middle of his troubled, nervous walking, Isono appeared.  Put together and just like Joey had seen him when last trading off the kids.  Sunglasses on—even though it was the dead of night in the deepest part of winter.  Stern and silent, Isono directed him to the elevator.

Isono never had much of a relationship with Joey.  The man had watched him at most major life events outside of his house for the fifteen years preceding the divorce.  Joey realized that his presence was somewhat more comfortable than all of the anonymous faces Joey had passed by in the once-familiar city.

The floor indicator increased quickly as the two men rocketed toward the top floor, where Kaiba could properly brood over the entirety of Domino.

In the stilted silence, they arrived at the top floor, and Isono put his arm out to stop the elevator doors.

“It is good you are here,” Isono said.  Something about his voice sounded reflective, and it gave Joey the confidence he wished he did not need.

The city glowed in the background, pulsing like magma.  Kaiba sat at his broad desk, illuminated by the blue light laptop in front of him and the ethereal glow of the city at his back.   Joey was pissed that when he walked in, Kaiba didn’t bat an eye.  It felt as if Kaiba had set the appointment.

Joey wondered to himself whether Mokuba had messaged him, or inadvertently triggered some alarm in procuring the pass.  Even so, Kaiba was where he was supposed to be, sitting in his dark office, typing away at whatever it was he did all day.

Since the grand entrance did not have the desired effect, Joey proceeded to stomp over to Kaiba’s desk, push down the screen of the laptop, and kiss him.

This succeeded in starling Kaiba, his blue eyes wide in surprise.  Almost too shocked to kiss back.  Almost.  Kaiba still reached a hand across, thumb skimming over Joey’s cheek.

“Y’know why I did that?” Joey asked, breaking the kiss.

Kaiba shook his head, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.  “No, I—what are you doing here?”

Joey propped himself up on Kaiba’s desk, sweatpants-clad butt shifting a stack of papers.

“I kissed you because I wanted to.  And I’m here because I want to be.  And I didn’t buy a return ticket, Kaiba.  Because I want to fly back with you.”

Kaiba opened his mouth to speak, but Joey silenced him with a hand.

“I’m gonna make it really simple for you, cause apparently this is hard for you.” Joey announced.  “Here’s the situation: I broke up with you because you refused to be part of the family in the way that I needed.  You were acting like a bad partner, and I did not deserve that.  But…  You… you proved that you could be a good partner.  So here’s the deal.”

Joey walked forward, completely enveloped by Kaiba’s heated stare.  “I want you.  I want you to be at the house.  I want to raise our kids together.  I want to go to sleep in the same bed with you, I want to wake up in your arms, I want a lot of other things.”

Kaiba wisely kept his mouth shut, opting to watch Joey with soft, sad eyes.  Joey wasn’t going to let it get to him.

“And I think you want that too.  You were happy this week.  A lot.  And this is sappy but I’m gonna lay it out.”

Kaiba gestured with one hand that Joey should continue.  The darkness didn’t leave much for Joey to see, but the way that the glare of the city glinted off of his eyes… it looked a little like water was pooling.  Joey took that to mean that his evaluation was correct, enough—Kaiba did love to correct people.

“I don’t know how many special moments, or special people we get.  And I don’t know how many days I’ll get to look over and see you.  And what a mess you are and how strangely you hide that and… and you know what?!”

Kaiba opened his lips a little, but didn’t have anything to say.  So Joey dismounted from the desk and continued.

“I came here, cause I’m done wasting my time.  You talk so much about your precious time, how busy you are.  But my time is mine, and I’m sick of watching the kids grow up without you. I’m sick of not seeing the magic parts of you, and the genius and the… we fit together, damn it!  We’re both fucked up, we’ve got no idea how to do any of this.  But I want to figure it out with you.”

Joey realized he hadn’t been breathing as he let it out.  He took a breather, trying to collect his thoughts, wiping at his own face.

“So. Yeah.  I have a proposal for you.  Fly with me back to New York.  Let’s try again.  Like, really try.  You actually be part of this—like my partner.  We’re too old for the on-again off-again bullshit.  I don’t want to have to get over you.  And honestly, I’m worried you’ll never get over me.”  Joey shrugged, “You’re not really the moving on kinda guy.”

Finally, Kaiba stood up behind the desk.  His shadow was so imposing, a terrifying mixture of height and darkness.  “So what?  You want me to be on vacation forever?”

Joey hadn’t anticipated that much vitriol in his voice.  He had been pretty proud of his speech.

“No.  But... you are just as free as you want to be.”

Joey wanted to run, felt the fight or flight instinct lighting up in his gut.  But he was finally done retreating.  Joey walked towards the silhouette.

“I’m going to ask you—just once more—do you want to do this?  Not my way, and definitely not your way.  But some new way that we can find together.”

“I am not a man of compromises, Jounouchi.”  Kaiba turned away.

“When you want something, really want something, nothing can stop you.  That’s what I’m counting on.”  

“When have you known me to do anything by halves, Jounouchi?”

“The last year of our marriage.” The answer had been given almost instantaneously, but it hung in the air for a full minute.  “But you’re right, I don’t think that’s really who you are.  So, come back to New York.  And prove it to me.”

Joey took one more step forward.  He could feel Kaiba’s tense breath, they were so close.  “You can be emotionally constipated on your own time.  I’ll go first: I’m sorry for not being more honest and just telling you what was going on.  Now it’s your turn to apologize.”

“What do you want me to apologize for?”  Kaiba demanded.

“You’re the genius.  Whatever you think will be enough to convince me to let you come back to the house so that we can live our lives together.  The way we were meant to.”

“I don’t—”  Kaiba started.

“Do not call my bluff, Kaiba.  You really don’t feel sorry about any of this?”  Joey waved his arms, gesturing at everything.

“… I…” Kaiba looked out at the vast city below, glowing electric with holograms and New Year’s decorations.

“You don’t have to say it.  The best apology is shaping up.  And I know you get it.  I’ve seen you get it.  So please.  Just… was it that bad?  Just being my husband for a few days?”

“No.”  Kaiba refocused, look drilling into Joey.  “I regret allowing you to labor under the assumption that our relationship was not important to me.  That you were not the brightest light in my life.”

Finally, achingly slow and gentle, Kaiba tilted his head down and pressed a kiss to Joey’s forehead.

“I cannot promise that it will never happen again.  But I can promise that I am not giving up on us.”

Fin.

[omisbreakfast]

tell me about your fav a3! boys. give me your top three. tell me why they’re you’re favorite & if you’re able to, gimme one thing about them that pisses you off to no end <3 muah

this ended up kinda long

1. kazunari. honestly, i never knew why i love kazunari so much, but i do. he’s always been from the moment i met him and that’s just how it is. i guess i can somewhat relate to him ? not really. i’m not nearly as nice as him, but forcing yourself to change because people used to cast you out because of your nerdy ways? yeah. i like that he’s interested in so many things, he’s a curious soul and never seem to stop wanting to learn. (well, art-subjects at least). i like that instead of getting discouraged of the future, he looked at himself, and just found something for him and him only. i respect that a lot. also, i’m never gonna say it enough, but, basic respect is common sense, but being kind is a choice. and he is kind. maybe a little too much, i don’t know, but you gotta give him props. yes, he’s a people pleaser so that’s what he does, but at least he’s fucking dedicated to it. and as far as i’m concerned, he’s doing a damn good job.

one thing i say that pisses me off about him ? i guess the fact he probably use social media as a form of validation. i mean, i get it, i used to have some really cringe moments, but yeah. babe you shouldn’t need to have 600 likes on every pictures to feel accomplished. :( but do i really blame him ? nah. it’s the insecurity.

2. omi. listen. LISTEN. i’m in love with soft gentle giants and there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it. i know some people find him boring because he’s “too perfect” (kinda like sakuya. also if you think that, fuck off.), but you guys realize he probably had to work on himself a shit lot to get where he is ? he used to be in a gang, alright. i don’t think he used to be as nice as we know him. and i respect that amount of work he probably spend to improve himself. also, this is just me, but i like that he got revenge for his best friend. i like that he just didn’t leave it at that and said “if i do like them, i’m no better.” (this is the most bullshit thing). he went out of his way to accomplish his revenge. and then he turned his life for the better. and that’s respectable of him. besides, mad respect to the guy, because he’s the oldest of many brothers and he had to learn how to take of them before taking care of himself at a young age. it sucks, ok. probably why he had some wild years to release the pressure. and now he’s taking care of the youngest of mankai like they’re family. that’s.. so sweet ? also, i’m obligated to mention that he’s absolute husband material now. i’m proposing right now.

one thing that piss me off about him... i guess it’s how he probably convinced himself that negatives emotions are EVIL and he doesn’t allow himself to be sad. or angry. at all. so he just repress his feelings and hope it’ll pass. but it is okay. i just him to express himself without being scared people are gonna hate him for it.

3. juza. oh my god. ok. so. if you’ve been following me for a bit you know i’m lowkey obsess with the guy. if you saw it, no you didn’t. i guess it’s because of the soft gentle giant trope as well, like omi. did you notice that my favs are very nice persons ? yeah. i just. mad respect to them. i guess the gap moe also plays a part? scary looking guy who turns out to be a total softie ? yeah, that’s pretty neat. listen. physically i am here, mentally i am on date with juza hyodo. he’s just <333. i’m trying to find words. i just woke up. i love that, like kaz, he’s working hard on himself to change. wanting to affirm himself, being to talk to people more easily. also, i like that he stood up for that one kid. also, his quote “even one person believing you can make a difference”. (or something like that). LISTEN. i dont where this is going. i just love juza hyodo (a normal amount, of course). and a big respect for not going mental when your roommate is a 6ft asshole who thinks everything is super easy and have everything going on for him. because lords know i would have become violent.

one thing that piss me off about him... his lack of self confidence. i mean, i guess i get it, but still. he’s canonically handsome, he’s kind, hardworking, loves sweets and just want to be left alone. unproblematic. and literally is no worst than others. baby, why do you lack confidence ?? i have this hc that if he smiled more he would have people fawn over him all over, instead of being scared. so please, some self confidence for juza hyodo 2k20. let’s start a petition.

[justjessame]

The Deal Chapter 34

I was locked in the bathroom, where I’d retreated and redressed, when Negan finally had enough of my shit. I heard the lock tumblers roll and then he had the door open and was looming in the frame. Damn it. Why was he so adamant that I NOT lock the damn door if he had a fucking way to unlock it?

“Are you through with your tantrum, Jessi?” His eyes were flashing, but he didn’t sound pissed. Weird.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “What if I’d been naked in here? What if I’d been using the facilities?” I glanced at the toilet. “What if I’d been in the shower? What if-”

He rolled his eyes. “Dramatic, aren’t you?” He huffed out a breath. “It ain’t like I haven’t seen what you’re packing, sweetheart. You’ve met my fucking wives.”

“Yeah, I like to think that we women aren’t ALL THE FUCKING SAME!” I glared at him. “And speaking of ‘dramatic’, what’s the point of telling me not to lock the fucking door if you could just fucking get in anyway?”

He shrugged. “It’s fucking easier to get in, if I don’t have to fucking pick the damn thing.” He gestured for me to get my ass out of the bathroom. “Come on, we’ve got shit to do.”

I brushed past him and grabbed my boots. Once I was ready, he tossed on his jacket and grabbed his best friend, the bat, and whistling led the way outside. The shit we had to do, apparently was oversee the supplies coming in on trucks.

I’m standing beside Negan, fulfilling my duty as his shadow when I hear the shot ring out. Gunfire? Looking up and keeping pace with Negan, we find my little brother holding a machine gun and demanding Negan’s head.  Well, I didn’t see that coming.

Carl killed two Saviors before D tackled him. I’d stood by Negan, his shadow. I could have sworn that I felt a bullet ripple the air next to my head. Did my brother nearly kill me in his quest to take out Negan? I’d felt pretty damn lucky when the target himself used a Savior as a human shield instead of me, but to die at the hands of Carl, well that would have just been pretty much keeping with my life so far.

Did I hear Negan right? Did he say Carl was ‘adorable’? I was going to end up dead. Definitely dead simply because I seem to surround myself with men who find the violence we’d been forced to learn to treat as a normal part of life"cute" or "fun". And then, Carl was given the grand tour, with me Negan's shadow along for the ride.

I should have been bored, or irritated, but I hadn’t really been there when he’d given me my own. I could have done without watching him play king on high on the catwalk addressing his subjects. Seriously, I could live to be a thousand years old and pray that the image is erased from my memory by some magical means and not miss it. Fresh veggies for everyone, without points deduction. Negan doesn’t want his people to get scurvy. Let us all give praise, “Amen.”

Respect. He thinks that the people cheering because he’s granted them free carrots is respect. Yeah, I'm pretty confident that I’ll be regaining full access to the lovely nothingness of my inner sanctum.

We end up back with the harem. They look like dolls, which I hadn't noticed before. Dressed almost the same, just sitting there waiting to serve their master. I gag internally. Carl looks pretty interested. Great. Wonderful. Now that I’m paying attention, I notice one of the wives takes Negan aside, Sherry the one who'd introduced herself to me. And then I watch him approach another one, and give her a talking to for, wait, she cheated on him? Jesus, am I in Melrose Place?

And then I watch as the wife that stepped out on him assures her 'husband', that she loves him. OK then. This isn’t fucking surreal at all. Then he basically makes out with Sherry. Did I trade my life to watch soap operas play out constantly? Please God don’t let it descend into porn.  Why couldn't he just have put me out of my fucking misery?  

Negan leads the way into his bedroom. And he glances at me to be sure I’m right on his fucking heels. Of course I am, I think, did you assume I’d stay with your concubines and mingle?

Negan sits and gestures for Carl to take my seat. Well, the seat I’m usually grilled in. I go to take the chair next to my brother, but Negan stops me and pats the empty space beside him on the sofa. Really? I have to slip past his legs and share personal space to get to the open spot. Too close for me. I keep my eyes on the ceiling, but he takes my hips in hand and shifts me over, forcing me to glance down at him and his casual touch. Ugh.

I sit and wait to see what punishment Carl is going to get for the deaths of two of Negan’s men. Wasn’t that what had caused Abraham’s death? My dad and the others killing his men? I wish for the numbness, because right now I’m afraid. Afraid I’ll have to watch something horrible happen to Carl.

Negan orders my baby brother to remove Dad’s hat, and the bandage that covers the horrible crater that Ron had created with that damn bullet. I watch as Carl tries to argue against it, but as I suspected, this is part of his punishment. Negan reminds him of the two men he killed, this is the price he has to pay. Carl flashes me a look, is he pleading for me to intervene? Or is he begging me not to look? He takes off Dad’s hat, and then unravels the bandage and my heart lurches. My poor baby brother. And Negan? Far from the compassion he’d shown me at first, taunts him. Telling him how disgusting it looks. And I close my eyes so I can’t see Carl’s pain or his tears.

Negan must notice that I’m taking it as hard as Carl, because I feel his fingers brush my hands clasped in my lap, and then he apologizes to my brother.

A knock comes to the door and I open my eyes. No one ever comes to Negan’s room. At least no one had since I’ve been here. It’s a rotund man whom Negan addresses as ‘Fat Joseph’. Charming, I think, fat shaming as a nickname. He was carrying the bat, which apparently has a name. Lucille. And I have to listen to the weirdest exchange over a weapon that I’ve ever had the misfortune to witness. Negan is speaking about this piece of barbed wire wrapped wood as though it was a woman. And again I feel pretty damn certain that with him leading me through ‘recovery’, I’ll be back to my numb self soon.

The Savior is dismissed. Negan returns to Carl. He tells him that his eye is badass and he wouldn’t cover it. That seeing my brother’s scar would make sure no one fucked with him. My eyes fall closed again, when Negan demands that Carl sing him something. Again, Carl tries to object, and again he’s overruled. When Carl starts singing ‘You Are My Sunshine’ I cannot stop my tears. Dear God, another crack to what was left of my mask. I feel his fingers brush my hands again, but I keep my eyes shut.

Lori. She used to sing that song to us when we were little. And Carl held on to that memory. Even after- They’re talking about her, about what happened. I can feel my heart clench. Feel my fear ratchet up at the thought of Judith. Carl tells Negan that he’d put her down, and my throat is burning from the pain of it. The memory. Negan offers that he understands why Carl’s gonna end up a future serial killer and I bend my upper half, folding in on myself.

I feel a hand on my back. It’s huge so I know it’s Negan’s. I’m fighting a building sob, and I try to focus on the fact that he’s trying to comfort me, and not on the fact that he created the situation he has to comfort me through. I fight to regain my composure, and he tells Carl and I that the ‘iron is ready’ and we leave the suite. My arms are wrapped around myself, and I’m desperate to find it. My darkness. The comfort of nothing.

Downstairs, a man is tied to a chair with the fire of a furnace burning before him. Negan gives a speech about rules. Their importance. And I look around at the gathered people. The wives are lined up in front. D is reaching for an iron tucked into the flames, and then before it happens, understanding flows through me in a shock of horror. It’s how his face was scarred. It’s the punishment. And then it happens. The man tied to the chair, the iron, and the scent of burning flesh.

My chest is heaving as I pant for breath. I can’t seem to get any air. Why can’t I breathe? I hear the buzzing of Negan’s mocking voice. I hear a buzz mentioning forgiveness. I hear a buzz, but nothing clear. And I’m still fighting for air. Negan returns to Carl and I. I’d forgotten my little brother had seen it too. Then Negan’s hand is tilting my face up, and he’s saying something because I can see his lips moving, but I can’t hear them, the words.

“Breathe, Jessi, breathe.” It’s Carl’s voice, breaking through the static. I focus on his words, and I work to calm myself.  Focus on drawing air in and letting it out. Until finally, I can hear the sounds of someone mopping. Of the scraping of a chair across the concrete floor.

When I’m breathing normally, we return to Negan’s rooms. And somewhere, downstairs, my brother’s gotten his confidence back. He taunts Negan for not killing him. Or Dad. Or Daryl. And I can feel his eyes on me, silently adding me to the list. Instead of proving Carl wrong, Negan invites my baby brother to take a ride with him.

I almost believe that I’ll get to stay behind. Alone to fall to pieces or to find my way back to the numbness, but I’m not that lucky. I’m included in the invitation. We take a cargo truck. And I’m put between Negan and Carl. I have a flicker of fear that this is going to be the last ride I’ll have, that Carl’s brash action has doomed us both.

[blackcatkita]

The Consequence of Secrets- Chapter 26

The Things That Never Change, and The One That Changes Everything

Liam x Jennifer (MC), Drake x Olivia

Let’s skip the part where I apologize for taking so long and promise to get the next chapter out more quickly, shall we? At this point I feel like I’m just jinxing myself when I say that. Word count is 4972 and I hope you like it! I know I do, but if YOU do, please like, comment, or reblog. I appreciate every single note!

Groaning into his pillow, Drake blindly swipes toward the ungodly sound coming from the nightstand. The clumsy gesture does nothing to stop the noise but knocks the phone to the floor where the alarm he set only a few hours before continues to torment him out of reach.

Shifting a quarter turn, he hangs off the side of the bed to reach the damn thing and turns it off. Chin resting on the side of the mattress and his hands on the floor, he closes his eyes to enjoy the silence, knowing another alarm will go off in five minutes. He hasn’t even sat up yet and he already can’t wait to take a nap. But that will have to wait. He has shit to do, a pissed off girlfriend’s ass to kiss and a King and Queen in need of toiletries and a change of clothes. It’s gonna be a day. Again.

After a quick shower, a cup of stale coffee from the kitchenette alcove in his quarters and a call to check on Olivia’s ETA, he feels slightly more human and less like the walking dead. He grabs his old denim shirt from the closet for old time’s sake and slips it on, recalling what Olivia said as he fastens the buttons. ‘I’ll get there when I get there, don’t worry about when it is. Go do what you’re supposed to be doing and take care of Liam and Jennifer.’ So warm and fuzzy his woman is. A regular wallflower. But though her tone was laced with snark, as usual, she didn’t sound as pissed off as she had been so… here’s hoping he was wrong and whatever she wanted to talk to him about before he left for the capital wasn’t a big deal after all.

Down one hall, a right turn and down another, Drake reaches the double doors of the Royal Chambers, having had to endure several double-takes and apprehensive stares from palace staff along the way. It’s to be expected after what went down but a damn ‘hello’ would be nice. Though he could also say ‘hello’ to them first, if he wanted to be sucked into a conversation that is. Which he doesn’t.

Using the key Liam gave him not long after the area was renovated, he lets himself into the large, open space, bright from the morning sun shining through the floor to ceiling windows. The memory of the last time he stood here flashes in his mind; he and Liam rolling around the floor kicking the shit out of each other, then being unceremoniously dragged out by guards. He forces the thought away and focuses on another time they stood in this space; back when Liam trusted him and considered him his brother.

It was the day before they were due in Fydelia to begin Liam and Madeleine’s engagement tour and they hadn’t seen or spoken to Jennifer in weeks. All they knew was she was safe with the Beaumont’s but they didn’t know who was behind the plot, who they could trust or what the future would hold. Despite it all, every detail of the three-bedroom renovation Liam was showing him was designed with Jennifer in mind; from the Brazilian walnut floors and concrete countertops to the damn light fixtures. He had spared no expense and it really had turned out perfectly. Classy, but not pretentious. Elegant, but not stuffy. He built them a home they could be themselves in, within the confines of the Royal Palace. Ever the cynic, Drake had asked what he would do with it if he ended up married to Madeleine and Liam had answered, “Then should she want it, it will be Jennifer’s alone. Though every day I pray we will live here together and raise our family as husband and wife.”

Grinning at the memory, Drake crosses the living room to the stairs and a glint of gold on one of the bookshelves flanking the fireplace catches his eye. He sucks in a breath, stopping in his tracks when he recognizes the item responsible. The next moment has him standing in front of the shelves, with no recollection of walking over or picking up the antique compass he gave Liam as a wedding gift. The breath he’d been holding slowly releases from his lungs as he looks down at it, both shocked and not at all surprised Liam kept it on display. Or maybe he didn’t. Maybe he kept putting it away and Jennifer kept putting it back. Maybe he only recently…  Ah, hell, he’s putting a lot of thought into something that had probably been sitting there forgotten the whole time.

Setting it back on the shelf, he scrubs his hand down his face and turns around. He screams, throwing himself back into the wooden edges of the bookcase. Books fall around him as from the couch, Maxwell screams back at him, bolting up to a sitting position and dumping poor Chance onto the floor from where he’d been sleeping tucked against Maxwell’s chest. The dog runs around and around an armchair, barking his little head off as Liam and Jennifer’s second corgi darts behind the other chair, nails skittering across the floor as her paws try to find purchase on the wood.

As he stands there trying to catch his breath, Drake’s heart thumps against the palm he has pressed to his chest. “Jesus Christ, Maxwell! You trying to give me a heart attack?!”

“Me?!” Maxwell stares back with wild eyes, clutching the blanket tightly against his baby hippo tattoo. His hair is plastered to one side of his head and the rest is sticking up every which way. He looks like a madman. “You’re the intruder! I was just sleeping here, man!”

“I didn’t think anyone would be here.” Crouching down to the floor, Drake holds out his hand and makes a clicking sound with his tongue. Chance closes the few feet of distance between them, sniffing the proffered hand before nudging it with his nose to accept pets. “I just came to pack a bag for Liam and Jennifer.”

Maxwell releases his hold on the blanket and places his hands on the couch to either side of him as he leans forward. “Is she okay? Did you talk to her?”

“A little bit,” Drake replies, giving Chance belly rubs as he rolls over. “She was pretty out of it.”

“Is she okay though? All I know is she had surgery but what was wrong with her?” The manic look is back in his eyes and his words are coming out in a rush. “Liam is freaking out, isn’t he? Is Little Maxwell okay? Nobody tells me anything!”

Pressing his lips together, Drake lets out a slow breath through his nose as he stands. “Ok, one, even if it is a boy they’re not naming their baby Maxwell and two, I texted you like seven times.”

“You did?” Maxwell grabs his phone from the coffee table and smiles as he looks down at it. “Ha. I guess you did.”

Eyebrow quirked, Drake nods. “Yeah.”

“Shh! I’m reading…”

Drake rolls his eyes. “Alright, well, while you get caught up I’m gonna grab their stuff.” As Maxwell starts to get up from the couch, Drake holds up his hand and shakes his head. “No, I don’t need your help. It will go much quicker without you. You’ve got ten minutes to get dressed if you want to go back to the hospital with me.” Picking up the empty duffel bag, he walks away and makes it halfway up the stairs before adding, “And for God’s sake, do something with your hair.”

A half an hour later, Drake stands in the foyer with a more presentable Maxwell, both of them armed with a packed duffel bag slung over their shoulders. In Drake’s, Jennifer’s purse and phone, chargers, toiletries and a change of clothes for both of them. In Maxwell’s, a deck of cards, seven different novels, a stack of magazines, a corgi plushie, a teddy bear, and Jennifer’s pillow.

“Ok.” Drake turns to Maxwell and pins him with a stern expression. “Those vultures are going to be looking for info and until Liam or Jennifer decides otherwise, it’s none of their damn business. So, when we get out there, we move quickly and quietly. Do not talk to, smile at, laugh, wink or even so much as look at anyone. We do not engage. Understand?”

Maxwell nods once, firmly. “Act like Drake. Got it.”

Resisting the urge to go over the rules again, Drake opens the door just far enough to stick his head through, checking to make sure the hallway is empty before he steps into it. “Alright, let’s go.”

“So…” Maxwell says as he shuts the door behind him and falls in step beside Drake. “I know we’re not supposed to talk to anyone but, what if it’s like, Olivia or something?”

“Olivia isn’t here.”

“She didn’t come with you?”

“No.”

“How come?”    

Exasperated, Drake stops at the juncture of two hallways. “What part of quietly did you not understand?” Before Maxwell even has a chance to open his mouth, it feels like the air around them is sucked out of existence and a chill runs down Drake’s spine. He turns to the right, gazing down the long hallway to the door separating the residential wing from the rest of the palace and there she is, the one person he dreaded seeing most. Madeleine. Her cold, dead eyes narrow as their eyes lock and the chill turns into a full shudder like his body knows it’s in the presence of pure evil.

“We’ve been made!” Maxwell yelps, shocking Drake out of the spell the witch put on him.

Instinct kicks in and it only takes a split second for him to assess the situation. A mere twenty feet stands between them and the door to the garage. And while they are laden with the bags, Madeleine has three times the distance and a right turn to cover; and she’s wearing heels. “Run for it!” Drake shouts, grabbing onto Maxwell’s shoulder and giving him a shove as Madeleine steps forward. Hearing her shoes clacking against the marble floor as she chases after them, they sprint for the door like the devil is on their heels, because she is. He reaches it, heart racing and breathless as he pulls his keys from the front pocket of his jeans. With Maxwell bouncing nervously beside him, he fumbles with the ring, hands shaking as he finds the right key and slams it home. He flings the door open and rushes into the garage, only to be stopped by a strangled cry behind him. Whirling back around, he finds Maxwell, straining against the strap on his shoulder with panic in his eyes.

“Forget about me!” he shouts. “Save yourself!”

A deep, hearty laugh bursts from Drake’s lips, the first in a long time and damn if it doesn’t feel good. He rushes back to save his friend, checking behind him to see what the problem is. “You’re stuck on the doorknob. Quit pulling.”

“Help me!”

“I’m trying!” Drake laughs, finally getting Maxwell free as Madeleine rounds the corner. “Go! Go! Go!” Dragging Maxwell through the door, he slams it behind them and locks it, cutting off Madeleine as she yells something about acting like children.

Maxwell drops his bag and bends forward, breathing heavily with his hands on his knees. “That… was close.”

“Yeah, no shit. Of all the people to find us.”

“Right?” Maxwell agrees. “Does she have a key?”

“I doubt it,” Drake shrugs. “I don’t think she’s driven herself anywhere in her life. Probably shouldn’t wait around for her to find one though.” Or for anyone else to stop them. All he has to do is stop to grab Liam some food, check-in with him and Jennifer when they drop off the bags and make it back to the palace with enough time to take a much-needed nap before Olivia arrives. The trick will be reigning Maxwell in, but Drake is not above leaving his ass there should he not know when it’s time to leave.

“Agreed,” Maxwell nods and picks up his bag. “Let’s roll, partner.”

From the palace to Seraphim’s diner, Maxwell was his usual self, but as they left with Liam’s lunch, his demeanor changed and it only got worse the closer they got to the hospital. By the time they were cleared through the secured side entrance and wound their way through the halls, he wasn’t talking at all and his steps were slow and deliberate like he was physically forcing himself to move forward.

Stepping onto the lift and hitting the button for the fifth floor, Drake tries once again to engage in conversation as the doors slide shut. “I wonder how long it will take the press to catch wind of this. I can’t believe they aren’t swarming the place already.”

Maxwell only nods in response, staring straight ahead with his jaw clenched. His breathing is ragged and coming too fast and he’s got the bag strap in a white-knuckled grip. The guy is not doing well at all, and Drake is afraid he’s either going to pass out or throw up; maybe both.

Drake grips Maxwell’s shoulder tightly, speaking in what he hopes is a soothing voice. “Hey, she’s okay.”

Sucking in a sharp breath, Maxwell looks away and down at the floor, but not before Drake sees his lower lip tremble.

The lift comes to a stop and as the doors open, Drake gives Maxwell’s shoulder one more squeeze. “Come on. It’s gonna be fine. I promise.”

“I’m umm…” Maxwell swallows hard, gesturing at the sitting area in front of them as they step out into the foyer. “I’m just going to wait out here.”

“She’s going to want to see you. You know that, right?”

Maxwell shrugs dejectedly and starts to head to one of the chairs.

Ah, hell. Maxwell may be the goofy, fun-loving optimist everyone knew, but those close to him know he’s one of the most caring, compassionate and empathetic people you’d ever have the pleasure of meeting. He’s the one who found Jennifer; sat with her before Liam got there when nobody knew what was happening and considering how much she means to him, it’s no wonder he’s having a hard time with seeing her again. Drake should have seen it coming and if he hadn’t isolated himself in Lythikos for so long, maybe he would have. “Give me the bag,” Drake tells him, holding out his hand. Maxwell hands it over, then turns away again without a word. “Room 505. Come in when you’re ready.”

One duffel slung over his shoulder and another with a white bag of greasy diner food balanced on top in his hand, Drake rounds the corner to Jennifer’s room. Halfway down the hall, he hears laughter coming from inside her room and relief washes over him, bringing with it a sense of peace he hasn’t felt in he doesn’t know how long. He nods to the two guards posted outside, thinking he should have brought them food as well as he lets himself into the room.

Jennifer is sitting up in bed, fresh-faced and her long brown hair pulled up into a ponytail with Liam perched at her side, their focus only on each other as they laugh. Hearing the doctor say the surgery went well, talking to her in her doped-up state, even Liam telling him the palace was still his home; none of those things compared to the sight of them together. Uninhibited, happy and carefree; like they’re supposed to be.

“Stop… stop… stop…” Jennifer pants, leaning over to place her hand on Liam’s forearm. “I just had surgery, you know!”

“Oh, yes, that’s right,” Liam chuckles. “I had almost forgotten why we were here.”

Smiling, she shakes her head and rolls her eyes as Liam kisses the back of her hand. She glances over and seeing Drake, her smile widens. “Drake! You’re here! And you’re… moving in?”

“Ha-Ha.” Drake slips off the bag and places them both against the wall. He turns around, rolling his shoulder to ease the ache Maxwell’s heavy ass bag caused. “Half the hospital can hear you two cackling in here. What’s so funny?”

“Oh, Liam was telling me about what I did while I was coming off anesthesia. Apparently, I told the nurse I married good, not to get any ideas and that I was watching her.”

Liam nods, grinning like a fool. “Then she said, and I quote, ‘Just give it here. It’s cute and tight and I wanna touch it’ before grabbing my backside. And when I took her hand to stop the assault, she blew a raspberry at me, called me a ‘mean man’ and shouted, ‘I let you touch my butt whenever you want’.”

Drake raises his eyebrows. “Wow.”

“Whatever,” Jennifer shrugs, looking not the least bit embarrassed as she grabs a jello cup and spoon off the over-bed tray. “I feel like I’d do all those things without being under the influence of propofol. Oh! Check this out!” She holds out her arm, showing him a plastic contraption with two dangly bits taped to her skin. “It’s called a PICC line and it goes in here then snakes through my vein alllll the way up and stops near my heart. That way they don’t have to keep poking me for my antibiotics and stuff. Pretty cool, huh?”

“Fascinating.” Drake turns away, bending down to grab Liam’s food off the top of the duffel bag. “Here. Figured you’d be hungry.”

“What is that?” Jennifer licks her lips, her eyes following the bag as Drake passes it over her bed to Liam.

“Seraphim’s?” Liam asks.

“Of course, Seraphim’s,” Drake scoffs. “Like I’d get you a burger and fries from anywhere else.”

“Why…” Jennifer looks up at Drake, brow furrowed and her lips parted as she shakes her head, like she can’t comprehend what is happening. “Why would you bring yummy and delicious food from my favorite diner when I can’t eat anything?! I thought you were my friend!”

“Sorry,” Drake shrugs. A smile tugs at the corners of his lips, one which he quickly covers with his palm so as not to anger the queen further. She can be scary when she wants to be.

“I can see you smiling!” She looks to Liam for support but the insulted look on her face changes to a scowl when she sees the fry halfway to his mouth.

“What?” Liam has the good sense to look guilty, but he still eats the fry. “I haven’t eaten since early yesterday.”

“Neither have I! Before that even!” she retorts, watching him chew. “Give me one.” She reaches for the bag and Liam pulls it away.

“No. You’re on a clear liquid diet for twenty-four hours. No exceptions.”

“Remember when I said you were a mean man? I stand by it.”

“I’m sorry, love,” Liam laughs. “But I won’t take the chance of you making yourself sick for a french fry. Follow the rules today and if all goes well, tomorrow we will get you whatever you want. Though I am glad to see you seem to be getting your appetite back.”

She lets out a whiny groan and slumps back against her pillow, pouting as she rips the top off her container of lime jello and throws it aggressively onto the tray. “It’s not even a good flavor.” The jello makes an unpleasant squelch as she digs the spoon in.

“Which flavor do you like better?” Liam asks. “I’ll get it for you.”

“Red.” Swallowing a spoonful, she shivers in disgust. “Blech.”

“Red is a color, not a flavor,” Drake points out. The look he receives from her in response is unpleasant, to say the least, and he holds up his hands in surrender. “Never mind.”

“Ok, how about this,” Jennifer looks at Liam with a hopeful expression. “Let me smell the bag while I eat, and that way, it will taste like real food.”

Drake grimaces. “I feel like that may be going too far and it’s very weird.”

“Says the guy who can eat whatever he wants,” she grumbles at the jello.

“You are adorable,” Liam smiles fondly at her. “While you’re free to… sniff my food anytime you wish, I’m not sure that’s going to work. I also don’t trust you not to snatch it as soon as my guard is down.” That gets a laugh out of her and when Liam catches Drake’s eye across the bed, he smiles.

“You know what? That is a completely valid point,” she sighs dramatically, digging back into her ‘meal’. “At least this is better than the so-called chicken broth you made me finish. Saltwater was more like it.”

There’s a tentative knock on the door and Jennifer sets the cup down as they all look to see who it is. Maxwell enters, looking more disheveled than when they arrived but less than when Drake woke him up. Like he had run his hand through his hair a few too many times while psyching himself up to come in. He lingers by the door, wringing his hands together as his eyes move to Drake, then Liam, and finally Jennifer. Drawing in a shuddering breath, he wraps his arms around himself as tears fill his eyes and Drake follows his line of sight to see Jennifer’s reaction.

The greeting she was undoubtedly about to give dies on her lips and her face crumbles, eyes glistening with tears of her own as she holds out her arms. Without a word, Liam stands from the bed and Drake steps back as Maxwell closes the distance between him and Jennifer to burrow himself into her embrace.

She cradles him in her arms, one hand cupping the back of his head and the other rubbing his shoulders as they shake with sobs. “I’m okay, Maxwell,” she whispers. “I’m okay.”

“I was so scared,” Maxwell hiccups into her hair. “I thought you were going to die.”

“I know.” She blinks and tears roll down her cheeks. “But you found us. You saved our lives, Maxwell. You don’t have to worry anymore. Everything’s going to be fine.”

Liam swallows hard, trying and failing to hold in his emotions as he watches the exchange. “We’ll give you two some privacy.”

Jennifer looks up at him with a shaky smile, nodding her head and mouthing the words ‘Thank you’.

Liam gives her thigh a gentle squeeze, then looks at Drake and tips his head towards the door.

“Might want to grab that bag,” Drake tells him, gesturing at the food Liam set down when he stood. Behind Maxwell’s head, Jennifer gives him the finger.

Picking it up, Liam follows Drake to the door, speaking low enough only he can hear as they exit into the hallway. “I believe you are correct. For the sake of my marriage, I think it’s best I eat elsewhere.”

Drake laughs in agreement but as the seconds tick by, an awkward silence falls between them. He wants to know what the doctors have said; is she really going to be okay, is the medication working, but it isn’t his place to ask anymore. No, he’ll just stand here with his hands in his pockets, not knowing how to mend the bridge that’s been burnt between him and his brother.

“They said her white blood cell count continues to decrease.” Now that Liam’s away from Jennifer, the lines of stress and anxiety he had before have returned to his face. “It’s too soon to tell, but so far they’ve been able to stop the infection.”

Relieved, Drake sighs. “That’s good. And she’s obviously feeling better.”

“How much of that is the medication, though?” Liam asks, walking a few feet down the hall. “She’s on anti-nausea meds, morphine for the pain… they’re pumping antibiotics straight into her bloodstream three times a day. She’s worried about how it will all affect the baby but without it…” He shakes his head, unable to finish the thought and scrubs his hand down his face. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t burden you with this.”

“Come on, Liam, we’re brothers. There’s no apology needed.”

Liam huffs out a humorless laugh, one corner of his mouth twitching. “I have much to apologize for, Drake.”

“Yeah, me too.” Looking down at the floor, Drake shoves his hands in his pockets and rocks back on his heels as the silence stretches between them again. “You better go eat. It’s probably ice cold by now.”

“There’s a microwave down the hall.”

“Oh,” Drake nods. He takes his hands out of his pockets, starts to put them back in and rubs the back of his neck instead. Say something. Do something. Anything. Just stop fidgeting. “I’m gonna go get some coffee. Want me to bring you some?”

“Sure. Thank you.” The grin on Liam’s face quickly melts away as his eyes narrow slightly and the hint of a furrow forms between his brows. It’s a look Drake has seen on his face countless times. He’s contemplating something and isn’t sure how to proceed; or if he should. To save him the trouble, Drake turns away, only making it a couple of steps when Liam speaks again. “Drake?”

He turns back around to look at Liam. “Yeah?”

Liam swallows nervously and glances to the side then takes a deep breath and looks Drake in the eye. “There are things I need to say but with everything going on… maybe once she’s back home and settled you and I can sit down and have the discussion we should have had months ago. If you’re agreeable to it, of course.”

Drake nods. “I’d like that.”

“Good.” Flashing a relieved grin, Liam lifts the bag of food. “I’m going to…”

“Yeah, go eat. I’ll see you in a few.” Drake watches as Liam walks back towards Jennifer’s room, his gait somewhat easier and the set of his shoulders lighter as he stops to talk to Bastien and the other guards. The captain catches Drake’s eye and they give each other a firm nod before Drake turns to leave, both excited and nervous as all hell for the conversation that’s been a long time coming.

Two hours later, after watching Maxwell catalog everything he brought, listening to him complain about Drake not letting him pack Monopoly and a chess set, and saying goodbye to Liam and Jennifer, Drake finally returns to his quarters. Opening the door, he finds Olivia, sitting straight-backed in one of his armchairs with her hands in her lap and her legs pressed together. “Hey,” he greets her, closing the door behind him. “Why didn’t you call me when you got here?”

“You’d be back eventually,” Olivia shrugs. “How is she?”

“Much better than she was.” He tosses his keys onto the small table beside the door and walks over to the couch, sinking into it with a groan. “Liam said she’s on a bunch of meds but so far they’ve stopped the infection. Nothing to do but wait I suppose, but she looks good. A little whiny and dramatic but for the most part, she was acting like herself.”

“Good.” Olivia pauses, running her hands down her thighs to smooth non-existent wrinkles from her black leggings. “We need to talk.”

“Yeah, I figured.” He leans forward, sighing as he threads his fingers through his hair. “Look, I know you’re pissed about the way I’ve been handling things with Liam and with us but…”

She holds up her hand, palm facing forward as she squeezes her eyes shut. “Drake, stop.”

“Let me finish.” Scooting closer to her, he takes her hand, cradling it in both of his. “I should have come to the picnic with you, shouldn’t have shut you down every time you tried to convince me of what an ass I was being. All you were trying to do was get me to fix things with Liam and I should have listened to you. Because you were right, I was scared. I was scared of facing him and I was scared of opening myself up again and that’s why I held myself back with you. But I’m done with all of it.” He takes a deep breath to calm his racing heart and squeezes her hand until her gorgeous green eyes meet his. “You’re beautiful and capable, sweeter than you pretend to be and you scare the shit out of me. You drive me crazy but damn it, I love you. I love you, Olivia. I’ve loved you for a long time and I’m sorry it took me so long to say it.”

She gasps, staring at him with wide eyes and her lips parted as she slowly shakes her head. “That’s not what I wanted to…”

“Not what you wanted to hear?”

“No! No, I…” She releases a shuddering breath, and her gaze falls to where her hand is trembling in his. “I have something to tell you.”

Cold dread sweeps across the back of his neck and instinctively, he pulls away. “What is it?” he asks, not wanting to hear the answer but needing to all the same. She opens her mouth to speak, three, four times before closing it again and when their eyes lock, he sees a vulnerability he hasn’t seen from her since they were kids. Whatever it is, she’s afraid to tell him and that fact alone makes him snap, “For God’s sake, spit it out, woman!”

Anger flashes in her eyes and she purses her lips, looking like if she had a knife in her hand he’d be bleeding on the floor. “Congratulations. You’re going to be a father.”

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

[lavenderek]

I love when you fix twilight. It's obviously not fix-able completely, but you make it way better. What do you think about how she calls her parents by their first names?.

i think bella’s relationships with her parents are super weird and sometimes even unhealthy. 

some of the things i’m gonna say, i’ve already said before, and they are VERY VERY LONG, but i’m gonna say them again anyway and i’ve watched jenny nicholson videos for like three days straight, so i’m gonna do it in.... a numbered list!!!! 

seriously it’s super long don’t open the readmore unless you want to look at a super long post

1. bella calls them by their first names, but only in internal narration. 

most teenagers don’t call their parents by their first names, so this is odd and distances the reader from her. i’m not sure if it’s supposed to humanize her parents?

her parents would be humanized if they were acknowledged by the role they’re supposed to be playing in bella’s life; most of her readers would be seeing her as The Typical Teenage Girl, so having her parents be seen as entities separate from her who operate as peers instead of parents is bizarre. 

furthermore, she never does this in dialogue. she only does it in internal narration. 

so is this supposed to make her seem more mature and independent? bella isn’t independent; she’s provided with all her needs by her father, including emotional needs. when edward leaves her in the second book, her father takes care of her and ultimately considers having her go back to live with her mother again, because clearly bella is in need of some parental support. put a pin in maturity, i’ll get back to that in a second. 

if it’s not to make her seem more mature, then it’s just a weird stylistic choice so that the reader knows her parents’ names, which - why? i’m sure when chief swan is talking to his friend and his friend calls him charlie, we will understand through context clues that his name is charlie. also, us knowing her parents’ names doesn’t add anything to the story. bella treats every side character as an obstacle in her life, so we gain nothing from knowing her dad’s name. 

it makes sense for her to call her stepfather phil, but she should call her parents mom and dad. 

2. bella is “super mature” 

ouch! i pricked my finger on the pin i put in maturity. yowie!

we hear a lot about how mature bella is. she condescendingly tells us that her mother is stupid and describes her father’s inability to feed himself. is this true? 

her mother got married and has begun a life with her new husband. her father is a grown-ass man who has kept himself alive for what, forty years? they never do anything particularly immature except one time stephenie meyer has her dad accidentally microwave a can of soup at some point (has he never had soup? in the whole decade since he and renee got divorced, has he been soupless the entire time?). i don’t know that fucking up a can of soup is immature so much as a mistake, but go off i guess. 

so maybe she’s not more mature than her parents, but surely she is just mature in her own right. let’s see all the mature decisions bella makes just in the two years we are present for. 

bella gets a head injury in a car accident. she resists the advice she receives from a medical professional to rest, and plans on not telling her mother about it. she’s even pissed at her dad when he tells her mom. 

bella meets edward and senses from the jump that he’s lying to her. he gives her mixed signals that make her uncomfortable. he and many people in his life talk often about how he could kill her, how much he wants to kill her, but that he is holding back. she decides that she is safe based on her own feelings (she is objectively incorrect about this, by the way, regardless of how her story ends) and chooses to date him anyway.

bella catches the attention of a man who wants to kill her specifically. she does not tell her father. instead, she insults him and runs away from home. she then runs away from the people who are assigned to protect her, because she believes she knows better than they do. 

edward breaks up with bella. i think most people after the ending of a relationship would go to their room and cry and process those feelings of sadness and abandonment. but bella’s not like other girls. she’s mature and has deep emotions. she refuses to accept the breakup and spends hours wandering around in the woods, forcing everyone in her town to go around in the night looking for her. okay. 

she gets a part-time job at some point. but so does her classmate mike, and also 55% of teenagers in her age range (when the book is set, which is in the mid-to-late 90′s). 

oh, but wait, then she withdraws all her savings and uses them to purchase and fix up a motorcycle - a thing she is specifically not allowed to do - in order to spite her ex boyfriend. at this point she has abandoned her plans to become a vampire, so there’s no reason to assume she won’t be going to college in a couple years. with what savings will she be paying the tuition? i’m sure her school counselor will understand when she explains that she spent it all on a motorcycle. 

we are told bella is very mature and stephenie meyer clearly expects us to draw this conclusion based on how bella does her chores without being asked; but when it comes to major decisions about her safety, her future, and the effect she has on others, she repeatedly makes selfish and childish decisions. she hurts her parents, her friends, and herself, a lot. she does all of this based on her own intuition.

and actually, a lot of it tracks with her being a teenager. teenagers are not adults. they biologically do not yet have the full capacity for decision-making. that’s why they’re not adults. bella is not more mature than her parents and her belief that she is is demonstrably dangerous. she really needs more discipline in her life. 

3. bella and her mom

bella is very sad in the beginning of the book. she loves her mom and sees her mom as her best friend. 

she demonstrates her closeness by: 

lying to her mom that she wants to live with her dad, because she believes renee will be happier without bella, her supposed best friend. renee does not notice that bella has lied or question this decision. 

putting off emailing or calling her mom for several days, which makes renee angry. when she finally does, she basically just lists the things she’s done and logs off. 

refusing to share information with her, including that she was injured in a car accident, because she believes renee will be upset. her dad calls renee anyway, and bella is angry and is incredibly reluctant to call her back and talk to her. 

ignoring her emails for months when she’s sad over her breakup. 

visiting her exactly one time in the whole two years spanned in the books. her mom is also never invited to come visit bella in forks. 

renee’s absence from bella’s life actually works for the plot, as she can’t interfere with bella’s duplicity, while leaving the option to add an element of guilt from afar. but it doesn’t make sense as a character decision. 

i think it would make way more sense if bella and her mother aren’t close. bella wants her mom to show interest in her life. she suggested moving in with her dad in the hopes that her mom would be like, “no, honey, stay, i’ll miss you if you go,” but renee doesn’t even question it, she just books her a ticket. 

bella checks her email immediately when she arrives, and hasn’t heard from her mom, so she sends her an email herself, to which she gets a response like, two days later. 

bella calls her mom and gets her answering machine. renee is on her honeymoon and she and her new husband are in the process of moving to another state, so bella reasons that her mom is just busy; but she is also dealing with the knowledge that she’s just not a priority for her mom. 

yeah, this is very sad and makes renee seem like an asshole, but maybe she is an asshole in this version. it would neatly remove renee from the plot, it would explain why bella is so bummed about living with her dad, and it would lay the groundwork for why bella is so gutted when she perceives edward breaking up with her as being abandoned. bella believes she is not worth staying for. 

4. bella and her dad

i don’t even know where to start with bella and her dad. he seems great to me. 

he is the chief of police.

he knows and is respected by everyone in town.

he has friends and hobbies. 

as i said before, he has fed and clothed himself his whole life - at the very least in the decade since his divorce.

...so he seems like a reasonable person and member of the community. 

he treats bella with respect and offers her privacy, but he is always available when she needs help.

he notices and tries to intervene when she’s struggling. 

he has an amicable relationship with his ex-wife and they communicate about their daughter regularly. 

he bought bella a truck and put chains on the tires so that it would be safe for her even when it’s cold and wet out. 

...so he’s clearly an involved and caring father. 

bella goes through a serious depressive episode in new moon after her breakup with edward, and her dad responds to every bit of it. 

he wants to find out why she is upset. 

he is aware of how she’s doing in school and whether or not she’s seeing her friends. 

when bella has night terrors, he jumps out of bed to comfort her. 

when jacob deliberately lashes out at her and triggers another depressive episode, he immediately steps in and calls jake’s dad. 

he is told bella is at fault, but he takes bella’s side and chooses to believe her side of the story. 

throughout her depression, he never once judges her for it. 

after what he perceives to be edward hurting bella and being a bad boyfriend (which - he is observably not wrong about that), bella’s dad is openly against bella dating him again. 

...so he cares for and advocates for bella’s emotional state. 

if bella expresses gratitude or appreciation for any of these things, it’s sort of bitter and backhanded, like “at least charlie leaves me alone.” he fucked up trying to make dinner one time, to which she responds by refusing to let him cook ever again. bella dates edward twice before eclipse, and both times she went missing and then came back injured; so chief swan tells her he doesn’t think she should be dating edward again, at which point she puts down ultimatums and threatens to leave. bella ignores his rules and requests, keeps secrets from him, and runs away from home a few times because she believes she knows better than he does. 

no matter how many times charlie proves himself, it never changes bella’s opinion of him. there’s no arc there. bella arrives thinking her father is incompetent, and she leaves thinking her father is incompetent. 

making bella disrespect her father does benefit the narrative by enabling her to be secretive and makes her feel even more isolated in her experiences. it also makes stephanie have to write about less characters. but bella being secretive and isolated just results in her being stuck in the same situation for like 75% of each book. i think it would make sense for her to want to fix things, even just a little bit. 

there’s no reason for her to disrespect charlie, so her unfounded feelings of disdain toward him are confusing and just make her look like a dick; and furthermore, not giving him a character arc just makes him a boring obstacle. he might as well just be a door that gets stuck shut whenever it rains. 

i think it would be a better idea, for character development, for bella to grow closer to her father over the course of her stay with him. i would like, at least two of the times bella disobeys him, for her to ultimately conclude that he was right and she shouldn’t have done the thing. i would like her to eventually open up to him about some things. 

she doesn’t have to share that the cullens are vampires, but of all the people in her life, who has experience with having a romantic partner with whom he envisioned a future break up with and leave them? it would make sense for her to confide in him - or at the very least, seek comfort from him. 

bella trusting her father’s judgment and showing caution dating edward again after the events of new moon would also be better for the story, and i have more thoughts about that but that’s for another post. 

and probably biggest of all, your only tenuous link to emotional acceptance and fulfillment should not be your romantic partner. that’s so weird and unhealthy. bella is a teenager who, in general throughout the books, feels unmoored and stressed out. she needs someone sturdy and reliable who she can trust to protect her, even if it’s only emotionally. this would also give bella someone to bounce her thoughts and feelings off of and reduce the monotony of the narration a little bit. 

her father is an excellent choice for that. he repeatedly demonstrates that he is in her corner, and her corner alone. (i also think vampires should be just a little bit easier to kill, so that chief swan can protect her just a tiny bit.) 

5. why

stephenie meyer has children herself and it’s so weird to me that she would write a teenager deliberately disobeying and lying to her parents and consequently placing herself and many other people in grave danger, and framing it as a good thing. she makes it clear that bella was correct in doing this. 

bella’s not the only one, either. edward allegedly sees carlisle as his father figure, but A. this was not consensual, and he is frequently unhappy that carlisle bit him and made him a vampire; and B. he often disregards or gets angry about carlisle’s advice. 

wouldn’t stephenie meyer want to know if her son was hurting, or in danger? wouldn’t she want her son to respect her? wouldn’t she want to be able to share her wisdom and help her son make safe choices?

she does make it clear in interviews that this is pretend and she doesn’t believe readers should be seeing her characters as role models; but she made her characters teenagers on purpose, and it strikes me as kind of irresponsible to act as if she assumes her young readers won’t try to identify with them. 

bella’s relationships with her parents are boring and unusual, and the older i get the more frustrating they are. they stifle the characters and make the plot repetitive and tiresome. these are relatively small changes that i think would benefit the story overall. and that’s my opinion, thanks guys

[kewltie]

NOVEMBER BITESIZE BKDK CHALLENGE

01.

Izuku meets the Lord of Mountain, his new husband, for the first time in a cave. The large wolf pulls at his pants as Izuku struggles to fight it off, squeaking, "I'm sorry, sorry, I'm just not into bestiality!"

Then his husband, the direwolf, snarls, "I'm not a fucking wolf!"

 02.

Katsuki and his relationship have always been bound by a long unbroken chain since their childhood; they'd never been truly apart for long.

"I'll be leaving Japan to see the world with All Might after our graduation," Izuku says with a melancholic smile. "Don't wait up for me."

 03.

The full force of Izuku's kick knocks the LoV's deadliest assassin into a wall. In the impact, his muzzle falls to the ground, revealing a startlingly familiar face underneath it.

"Kacchan?!" Izuku says, stunned.

Jackal glares at him and growls. "Who the fuck is Kacchan?"

 04.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Bakugou says gruffly on their marriage bed.

"That's a lie," Izuku murmurs, tired but not defeated. Every word that had passed Bakugou's lips had been used to cut him into pieces. "But that's okay, one day I'll have you mean every word of it."

 05.

"You weren't in bed," Katsuki says pointedly.

Izuku winces. "Sorry, I went out on a run." He pauses. "But I wouldn't leave without telling you."

"Last time we fucked you ran half way across the world for two years, so yea I'm not holding my breath here," Katsuki says dryly.

06.

"S-sorry, Kacchan, but I can't—" he sobs, but his aim is true as he holds the gun up between himself and the man he loved. Loves. And meet the ferocious hunger in those familiar red eyes.

One bullet. Two souls. One living and the other dead. Shot fire. A body falls—but whose?

 07.

"—they only wish for you to continue your bloodline, my lord," Izuku insists.

"You stupid human." Katsuki glowers at him as he lowers his massive reptilian head to Izuku's level. "How do you think babies are made?" he demands, staring at him pointedly.

Izuku blinks, and oh.

 08.

“You lost brat?" Katsuki grunts. "Where's your parent?"

She makes an offended huff. "I'm not lost! I'm hunting."

His eyes narrow. "Hunting what?"

"I'm Midoriya Kasumi and I'm looking for a rich, single and capable alpha for my papa. You're lucky candidate no. 3, Zero-san."

 09.

"Your shirt," Ochako says. The eyes of his friends haven't left him since he'd walked in to get breakfast.

"My shirt?" He looks down and there it is, black and loose on him with a skull on fire print and the word 'die, die, die' repeated under it. "Oh," he says. "I can explain?"

 10.

"Six years," Katsuki seethes, pressing the dagger against his throat. "You ran."

"No, I left," Izuku corrects, steadfast even in the face of danger, "to protect our future. I'm tired of your wars."

He frowns. "Wha—?"

"Papa?" a soft, anxious voice calls out from the bedroom.

 11.

He blows out a plume of smoke as Izuku makes a face. "I hate it when you do that."

Katsuki gives a coy smirk. "Yea?" he says, and takes another drag of the cigarette before pulling him in by the neck for a hungry, rough kiss and breathes the fume into his parted gasping lips.

 12.

Izuku clenches tight around his waist, palms pressing against a hard chisel stomach as they soar through the skyline.

"Try not to cop a feel, yea?" Zero teases.

"I'm married," he hisses, face red at the idea of flirting with another man. Oh god, Kacchan is going to kill Zero.

 13.

"You did well today," he says, watching the deep rivets that his cruel words once left on Izuku's skin softens ever so slightly. One day, Katsuki will convince him that he means it, rewriting the old scars till they mirror the sunflower that had bloomed over Katsuki's heart.

 14.

"Kid, forget about it," Bullwhip warns as a group of omegas is herd through the citadel by armed guards. "Those O's are Overhaul's prize breeders."

"It's not them I want," Katsuki says, watching one of them abruptly stop and look back. Familiar green eyes meet his. "Found you."

 15.

"You shot me," he accuses, clutching at his bleeding left side.

Izuku winces. "I was aiming for the ar'it behind you."

"And missed." Katsuki glowers. "'gonna get me kill one day and after I'd saved your ass that first time!"

He gives him a look. "You won me in a card game."

 16.

"Will she be ok?" he asks.

Katsuki looks up from the injured dog. "You know this isn't a fucking rescue," he grumbles.

Izuku bites down on his lips anxiously and Katsuki sighs. "She'll be fine." Dumb. Ass, Beast says, digging her talons into his shoulder. Woo mate good ok.

 17.

“Little demon," he greets.

Izuku elbows him in the side and scolds, "Be nice! She's in shock right now because she'd just found out you're her sire."

Katsuki snorts and meets Kasumi's frigid gaze of indifference. "Sperm donor," she retorts, her smile sharp and full of bite.

 18.

The day after his mom got remarried to the woman of her dream, Mitsuki pulls them aside. "You two are brothers now," she says. "Be good to each other."

Katsuki looks beyond pissed, but it is Izuku who feels the sinking dread of the word, 'brothers', as he smiles weakly at her.

 19.

Izuku's heart was brutally murdered over the azure sky, died at the hand of a callous raider, and he's sharing the same space with that very man now. "You'd killed my Kacchan," he hisses.

The Dread Pirate Zero's lips twist in a crude veneer of a smile. "I sure did, Deku."

 20.

"—I just wanna squeeze him tight in my arms and never let go."

"Ohmygod," Kirishima wheezes, "you like-like Midoriya."

"Yea, I do," Katsuki agrees easily, palms warmth as he gets up from his seat, "and that's why he has to die. Now." He marches over to Izuku with intent.

 21.

"Who is the best boy in the world?" Izuku coos. "That's right it's Kacchan!"

"Stop calling the dumb mutt that," Katsuki snaps, beside him. "Why the fuck do I have to share my name with it?!" As though understanding the insult, Kacchan turns in Izuku's arms to snarl at Katsuki.

 22.

"Found you," he says, gripping Izuku's wrist tightly. "No more running."

"Bakugou-san, please let our teahouse's shinzo go," the Madame interrupts. "Izuku-chan is still a trainee. His body and time isn't for sell yet."

Izuku smiles thinly. "I can't run even if I want to now."

 23.

To Izuku’s right is Tatsuya and his left, Katsuki. They are a trio. Izuku and the Bakugou twins.

"I like you, Izuku," Tatsuya confesses with a shy smile.

His breath hitches as he looks over Tatsuya's shoulder to see Katsuki watching them with a darken expression on his face.

 24.

"Ah, you're Izuku-kun!" Ashido says, face lighting up. "He never said anything about having a sweetheart back home."

"So how did he woo you?" Kaminari presses.

"Sixty million yen," Izuku says with a depreciating smile. "That was how much he bought my hand in marriage for."

 25.

"—I never thought you of all people would become a homewrecker, Deku! Zero is married to the lovely Izuku-san!" she wails.

Izuku tries to protest, but the fan stomps off in an angry huff.

"What the fuck," Katsuki hisses beside him. "She thinks I'm cheating on you with you."

 26.

A weighted pause, and then, "Why now?" he presses.

Izuku shrugs. "Maybe it's my omegan instinct finally waking up. Or I'm just lonely, but I thought a baby would be nice. So," he approaches Katsuki like a shark scenting blood in water, "please gimme your sperm, Kacchan."

 27.

"—all you've given me is the bottom of the barrel," he snarls.

"Sorry," the caseworker says as he guides him into another private room, "but this next match is the best surrogate omega at our agency."

Familiar green eyes and freckles looks up from his seat. "Hi, Kacchan."

 28.

"Are you okay?!" he says, racing toward Katsuki but abruptly he is grab by the arm. He looks back to see the unnerving angry glare of Shouto pinning him in place. His gaze flickers back to the Katsuki in front whose face is set in cool placidity.

His eyes widen. "Shouto-kun?"

 29.

"—sugoi!"

"Midoriya," the professor turns around to give him a pained look, "this is a debate and not a sporting event."

He smiles apologetically and refocuses to the front where Katsuki is verbally tearing into his opponent. "Go, Kacchan!" he whispers aggressively instead.

 30.

He stares in terror as his sneaker sails across the air and into the packed crowd. It lands right on top of a bright blond head and then, "Who fucking threw this?!" an angry roar breaks through.

"Ohmygod, Izuku," Ochako says, half in horror and awe, "that's the Crown Prince."

[agent-barnes40]

Watching The Empire Strikes back

The old sounding theme

Didn’t Mark Hamill get into an accident before filming this one?

What is up with the Dalek looking probes?

Mark Hamill looks so young.

He sounds so young.

Bruh, Luke wtf?

Y’all I fucking see it! I paused it at 4:27 and for a moment thought that Han was being played by Adam Driver. I definitely see the resemblance now.

Rip Chewie’s original actor

Wheretf is Leia?

There she is.

SPACE MOM LOOKS SO YOUNG

Rip Carrie Fisher while we’re here

Damn, Carrie talks so quietly during this scene.

Damn, Leia’s sass is amazing.

Leia hiding her feelings. Are we positive that Leia wouldn’t be an awesome Gen-Z?

Everyone walking in-between Leia and Han as they fight, iconic!

The angry “YOU COULD USE A GOOD KISS!” Sounds so much like Ben/Kylo. It’s nuts.

Above scene is at 6:27.

3P0! R2!

“OH SWITCH OFF!”

Han looks feral, that’s all I’m saying.

Han’s concern for Luke and Leia warms my heart.

“Between ourselves, I think Master Luke is in conciderable danger.”

“That’s right. My friends right out in it.”

Han, admit it, you’re attached to Luke.

“Then I’ll see you in hell.”

Damn Han.

Ya’ll I forgot that most of the “cgi” was stop motion in these first three.

The old force theme.

Rancor? Thingy is cool.

R2 willing to freeze for his Skywalker master makes me want to cry.

R2 DONT SOUND SAD!

Are we close to shoving Luke into a tauntaun yet?

The rebellion people being concerned for Leia’s worry over Luke and Han while C3P0 just walks up.

Leia closing the doors to the base and Chewie looks so sad.

I’m legit about to cry. They mimicked Chewies cry from this to put into TROS when they tell Poe, Finn and Chewie that Leia’s dead.

Shelby is joining me in my watch of Star Wars.

We’re shoving Luke into a tauntaun now!

Obi-Wan absolutely dissing Qui-Gon.

Glad to know the Tauntaun died of the cold,

Han wielding the lightsaber!

They’re so happy to have found Luke and Han

The bacta tank

Luke is like, WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED WHILE I WAS ABOUT TO GET EATEN!?

The iconic Laserbrain scene.

Chewie laughing and Han looks so betrayed.

NERF HERDER!

Have I mentioned I love Leia?

The sad look on Han’s face when Leia calls him scruffy.

Luke’s like PLEASE DONT GET ME IN THIS!

I forgot Luke and Leia kiss!

3P0 casually mentioning that it isn’t a rebellion signal

Oop, here comes Anakin “So, do you like my plan?” Vader Skywalker.

The Falcon absolutely wreaking Han.

Han and Luke silently communicating.

Vader’s egg.

Vader casually killing someone while talking.

Have I mentioned I love Leia?

The stop motion is amazing.

THE AT-AT!

3P0 casually reminding R2 to be safe.

Luke trying to save his friend

Han running back for Leia.

Han catching 3P0.

Anthony Daniel’s autotune.

The very old sounding theme.

Luke gets his dumbass traits from Anakin.

Carries scream.

Where in the hell is the scene where 3P0 rips the warning on a door?

R2 being worried about Luke.

“Take Evasive action!” Almost dies.

The scene where Han is on the pole and his ass is on display, thank god Harrison Ford got paid for that.

Leia trying to fly falcon shows that she’s a Skywalker and has that natural ability to fly.

Had to switch over to my computer.

“Never tell me the odds!”

Oof, Dagobah.

Here comes the green dwarf who drinks coke every day.

Luke’s X-wing.

R2 falling into the water

R2 scream

Yoda should show up soon.

Vader’s egg.

Anakin’s crusty head.

Han catching Leia

Leia getting pissed

Han flirting

Here comes Yoda, the coke drinker.

Yoda’s so damn high. I’m meaning weed type of high

R2 getting beat by Yoda.

You know for a fact Yoda was beating R2 because he remembers Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker’s way too damn modified Astromech.

How the fuck is Frank Oz still alive?

3P0 wants his husband.

Oop, here comes the kiss scene with Han and Leia.

Han calling Leia by her first name for the first time.

“Scoundrel?”

“I happen to like nice men.”

Finally!

Fucking 3P0!

Han looks so vulnerable.

Oop Palpatine.

Vader’s egg.

Ian McDiarmid has been playing Palpatine since 1980.

Anakin learning that Luke Skywalker is his son and having to pick between killing him and wanting to finish raising Luke. It’s quite sad actually.

R2 getting drenched scares me.

Luke hiding his distaste for Yoda’s food.

Yoda and Obi-Wan talking.

I’m gonna be honest, I hate Yoda. He’s an old man who is doesn’t want change until literally episode 8. He may have taught Luke something but Luke had to learn the way of the force by himself.

Also, Yoda scares me.

Have I mentioned that I love Leia?

“I have a bad feeling about this.”

C3P0 yelling at the Mynock.

Leia faceplanting into the Falcon.

“I am not a committee!”

I don’t like the Luke/Yoda training scene.

The only thing that I believe that Yoda taught look was to absolutely fear his connection with the force.

The whole under the tree Luke/Vader “fight” was to allude to “hey, Vader is this Anakin guy we keep talking about.”

Is that Boba I see?

The light speed fail x2.

“Shut up!”

I don’t like this Luke/Yoda training scene either.

“No! Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.”

Unpopular opinion: Palpatine should’ve killed Yoda.

The soft flute force theme.

Bruh, I forgot Han landed the Falcon on Vader’s ship.

Leia turning 3P0 off.

“He’s a card player, gambler, scoundrel. You’d like him.

“Thanks.”

You can see Anthony Daniels or his stand in breathing in the 3P0 outfit.

Boba following them.

Again, I hate each and every single Yoda/Luke training scene.

“Han. Leia!”

Yoda constantly belittling Luke’s compassion for his friends that he sees as his family. This is why I don’t like Yoda.

The landing on cloud city.

I forgot how much Cloud city looks like Corucant.

Lando Calrissian

Han pointing to himself, *me?*

Lando Calrissian.

“What have you done to my ship?”

“Your ship? Hey, remember, you lost her to me fair and square.”

They are literal children and I love it.

Lando immediately flirting.

Also, what the fuck was George Lucas thinking on letting 5ft something men get chest to chest with Carrie and try to intimidate her with their height whilst trying to flirt with her?

Wtf was he thinking! Carrie Fisher is 4ft something and I feel bad for her.

“She’s the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy.”

Chewie going to look for C3P0.

The soft force theme.

The force theme turning to the imperial march.

Obi-Wan Kenobi, you let 12-year old Ahsoka Tano on a battlefield with Anakin fucking Skywalker, the man who stared General Grevious in the face and basically told him to fuck off, and you’re not letting Anakin’s literal son go save his sister and future brother in law! So shut the fuck up dead guy and let Luke save his friends.

Yoda can go die for all I care. I forgot how much of an asshole he is.

God, I fucking hate Yoda.

Leia’s Bespin outfit.

Leia worried over 3P0 is the sweetest thing. This shows just how great of a mom she’ll be.

“I don’t trust Lando.”

Have I said that I appreciate how pretty Harrison Ford is?

Yo! Mandalorian!

Also, chewie finding C3P0!

Leia covering her body when she realizes Lando is watching her is something I thought I’d never relate to but whelp, here we are.

Lando Calrissian is very creepy actually in how he treats Leia every chance he can get.

Han’s ready to punch him.

“Would you join me for a refreshment?”

“No!” I never realized how protective Chewie is of Leia until this scene. Chewbacca immediately is ready to rip Lando apart.

“Having a problem with your droid?”

Han immediately realizes how vulnerable Leia can get when C3P0 is involved and when people she’s intimidated by. Han drew away Lando’s attention on 3P0 to him.

Han drank his appreciating women juice.

Is Boba wearing a death watch thingy on his shoulder?

Leia looks so damn scared.

Han grabbing Leia’s hand tighter to protect her.

Chewie trying to work on C3P0.

The imperial march.

Han’s super pale. “I feel terrible.”

Leia’s vulnerable and even though Han’s hurting he jumps in to protect her and how angry Leia gets, that’s when everyone knows that Leia’s feeling and anger is her protection emotion.

Honestly, I’m ready to skip the rest of Lando’s scenes.

Carbonite.

Okay so when Vader tells the Troopers to put Han into the carbon freezer, Chewbacca attacks, if you notice, Vader just lets him. It’s not because, “hey let’s not anger the Wookiee more.” It’s because according to a scene in The Clone Wars animated TV show, Chewbacca saved Anakin’s padawan, Ahsoka. I like to think Vader was finally paying his debt to the Shriwook for saving Ahsoka.

Han calming down Chewie by telling him to look after Leia.

Han and Leia’s second kiss

“I love you.”

“I know.”

Leia looks so damn sad and scared.

Chewie literally pulling Leia into his body to try and lessen the pain she was in.

The fact that Luke doesn’t realize that it’s Han.

Luke slowly realizing that he didn’t see Han with Leia and Chewie.

The only lightsaber fight between Luke and a Vader that I remember.

I’m not gonna comment on Chewie chocking Lando.

That force jump.

The biggest plot twist in cinematic history, according to the Internet, is about to happen.

R2 getting electrocuted

R2 going to fix his husband.

Oop, Luke’s hands about to get cut off.

Mark Hamill’s scream.

“Luke, there is no escape. Don’t make me destroy you. Luke, you do not yet realize your importance. You have only begun to discover your power. Join me, and I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy.”

“I’ll never join you!”

“If you only knew the power of the dark side. Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father.”

“He told me enough. He told me you killed him.”

“No. I am your father.”

“No, no, that’s not true. That’s impossible!”

“Search your feelings. You know it to be true.”

The iconic “Noooo.”

“Luke. You can destroy the emperor. He has foreseen this. It is your destiny. Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son. Come with me. It is the only way.”

Skywalker men are such idiots and always are so dramatic.

The poor film editor, having to make it look like Luke is falling and is just playing with the footage they got of Mark Hamill writhing around.

And here we see just how powerful Leia and Luke are.

“Leia. Hear me. Leia”

“Luke.”

Luke’s just swinging his legs.

Light speed fail x3

“Luke.”

“Father.”

“Come with me.”

“Ben. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Luke, it’s your destiny.”

Mark Hamill is such a talented actor

Welp, Anakin’s gonna kill everyone.

“May the Force be with you.”

Luke’s fake hand.

The chills I get during the ending music.

And that was The Empire Strikes Back. All in all a good classic.