#and if he REALLY wanted to use the unpredictable seasons

[ace-and-ranty]

Listen, I just feel like having one (1) incoming ice age would have been conflict enough for Game of Thrones. You can have all the mounting time pressure, the survival challenges, the snow imagery, the incredulous masses, yadda yadda yadda, and you don't have to address the EXTREMELY WILD biological and societal implications of having unpredictably sized seasons.

I mean. Not that he did address the wild implications. As far as I know. Which again, begs the question of why put it in the text, if it's never gonna influence anything?

[happy74827]

A Smile From Hell

[Homelander x Female!Reader]

Synopsis: Despite the amount of unpredictability The Homelander has, he still catches you off guard with something as small as a smile.

WC: 3576

Category: Angst, Supe!Reader {TW — Homelander for obvi reasons}

In honor of Season 4’s weekly releases, this one is for the Antony Starr girlies (and you @summerrivera777777)

『••✎••』

John fucking terrified you.

He terrified everyone, really.

He had the power to level an entire city block with a glance. He was strong enough to crush a man's skull with one hand and fast enough to catch a bullet. He was an unstoppable force of nature. He was The Homelander, and he was a threat to anyone who stood in his way.

But, the thing was...

You knew everything about him. Everything.

And he absolutely despised that, but there was nothing he could do to change it. You had seen him at his most vulnerable and pathetic. You had seen his humanity, it’s amazing he still has any after the way Vought has abused him, and you had seen his inhumanity.

Jessica, or Sister Sage, had confronted you on several occasions, trying to get you to tell her your secrets. She wanted the upper hand on her arch nemesis, the only one in the world who was a threat to her. It was her mission to end the reign of the superhero she hated most, and she was willing to do anything for it.

You could see right through her, and you didn’t need magnificent amounts of intelligence to do so. You could see the fear in her eyes. You could see the doubt in her face, hear the strain in her voice, feel her uneasiness when she was near him.

John knew it, too. He just simply chose to ignore it. He had grown used to being the scariest man in the room. It’s been that way his whole life, and it seemed it was going to stay that way.

But, despite all that fear, she came to you for answers. Again.

And this time, the question was a simple one. It was so simple, yet completely understandably complicated.

How are you allowed to live?

That was a question that stumped you. It took you a long time to grasp the meaning of it, the specific answer she was looking for.

After a few clarifications, you finally understood what she meant.

She wanted to know why John allowed you to live. She wanted to know why he hadn’t killed you. She wanted to understand why you were the only person alive after calling him by his name.

Not his stage name, his real name.

For being the most intelligent person on the planet, you’d think that she’d be able to understand it. I mean, the answer was right there, in front of her face. She didn't need to be a genius to figure it out; all she needed was a little more insight.

A little bit of understanding.

"Respect," you said, your voice soft. Your words were clear, though, and she heard them perfectly.

The confusion on her face was evident, as was her disbelief.

"What?"

"It's respect. Anyone I respect is someone that deserves my respect."

She snorted.

"Right," she said. "Like he could actually respect anything other than himself."

"He's capable of it if that's what you're thinking," you told her. "And this isn’t about him respecting me; it's about me respecting him."

She narrowed her eyes at you, her suspicion rising.

"Why would you respect him?" she questioned. "You're not blind; you know exactly who he is."

Yes, you did. You knew more than most, and compared to The Seven now, you probably knew the most. His actions? Completely unredeemable. He was, in fact, a monster; there was no arguing that. He was a horrible, twisted, monstrous individual; no one would deny it.

His actions weren’t excusable, but he had an explanation. A reason for why he was the way he was.

He wasn’t born a monster; he was turned into one. That… that was the respect part. You respected him because you respected his story. You respected his pain. You respected his anger.

You respected his past; anything after that was on him.

"I don’t like using stage names to those I respect enough, so I call him John. He allows it because he knows I don’t mean it the way others would if they used his name; it doesn't hold the same power with me."

She rolled her eyes at you.

"Same goes for you, Jessica; I have no desire to call you Sister Sage."

Her flinch was barely visible, but you still caught it. Again, what is intelligence if not knowing the chances of a particular outcome?

"I’ve noticed you don’t call Deep or that fire chick by their real names."

You just smiled, leaving her to solve that answer for herself, and it didn’t take long at all. You knew the exact moment she came up with a conclusion. She was quite predictable, in that regard. Maybe you should’ve been the big-brained hero instead.

And now, you really should’ve been because when you turned down the hall, catching wind of the elevator doors opening, you knew he had listened to it all.

But you didn’t say anything, and you really didn’t say anything after a simple glance at him.

He was completely drenched in blood, a look that would terrify even the toughest of men. But not you, oh no, you were very used to that. He’s done a lot worse.

Besides, you were too distracted by the fact that the blood wasn't his. Too distracted by noticing how this time was different. He was smiling, but it wasn’t his usual cruel smile. This time, it was genuinely happy.

Relief, almost.

It reminded you of the night you two bonded. No, not that type of bond. The bond that told you both that you weren’t alone.

He had a friend, but he wasn’t really your friend. You don’t believe you could ever consider him one. Not really, not with the things he has done.

But, still, you were the closest thing he had to a friend. You were the closest he had to an equal, a person he could relate to. Jessica carried the same intelligence (obviously a lot more), but the similarities between the two of them stopped there.

You had a similar history but different outcomes.

And that reveal between the two of you happened that night. This was way back, even before Starlight joined. Back when The Seven was in its prime.

Stillwell threw a party, something she always loved to do before Teddy became her focus. It was the usual: people in fancy dresses and suits, lots of champagne and liquor.

The difference, however, was the main focal point. Usually, given Vought’s status, all of The Seven members were the main event. Everyone was mandated to wear their hero outfits. It was a great way to advertise and get people to buy more of the products.

The theme this time, however, wasn’t about the group. It wasn’t about any of you. For the first time in a long while, John wasn’t in the spotlight.

Due to this, Stillwell banned everyone from wearing their costumes. No capes, no spandex, no leather, no masks. Just suits and dresses.

It was nice, actually. A little break from the norm. It felt good to go a night without the tight leather on your skin. You were actually surprised at how well it was received.

The rest of the members of the group seemed to be having a wonderful time as well.

Except for one.

He was standing in the corner, glaring at everyone. Madelyn had an entire argument with him about the suit. You weren’t there, but you knew exactly how it went.

His costume was a part of him. It was a symbol. It was a mask. A representation. An embodiment of who he was. Without it, he was a naked target.

Madelyn clearly did not give a single shit. In the end, the argument resulted in the two of them getting into a screaming match, causing him to storm off in a fit of rage.

So, there he was, standing alone, seething at anyone who passed him. Madelyn won; of course, she did, and she didn't even bother trying to apologize. She wasn't sorry.

She was just mad that he refused to listen in the first place.

But, hey, that wasn’t your problem. You were enjoying yourself. The night was going pretty well; the alcohol was flowing nicely, and the music was just right. You were dancing and laughing and having a great time.

But, of course, things weren't always easy for you.

You weren’t expecting it to last long; you weren’t one to have good luck. You knew, deep down, that the night was going to come crashing down on you. You were just waiting for the ball to drop.

The ball dropped the moment you decided to go cheer up the sourpuss.

It was obvious the way his shoulders tensed, and his head tilted ever so slightly. He knew you were approaching. He was aware.

"Don't," he said.

He was clearly angry, and you weren’t smart enough not to push. This is where Jessica’s powers would have benefited you greatly.

You ignored his warning, walking up beside him, mocking his stance.

"You okay?" you asked, your tone soft and light, a hint of playfulness.

His eyes flicked over to you, and the glare he gave was terrifying. His eyes were so intense, and his teeth were clenched. You could see his jaw tensing.

He was a volcano, ready to erupt.

You could practically see the steam coming out of his ears.

"I'm fine." Humorously enough, it sounded like the opposite.

"Really?"

He turned his head to look at you, his anger increasing by the second.

"Don’t you have anything better to do?"

You shrugged. "Yeah, but I'm choosing to talk to you."

He looked away from you, grumbling, "And why's that?"

"Because you’re ruining the party," you answered. "Miserable face and all."

He rolled his eyes. He actually does this a lot, believe it or not. It's the only expression he has besides anger that isn’t fake.

"And why do you care?"

You shrugged again. "I care about enjoying myself, and I can't do that when you're moping."

He turned his head towards you. He was not amused.

"Go find someone else to entertain yourself with.” He pointed behind him. "I’m sure Deep will be glad to show off his fish facts."

That one caused you to make the same face he had moments ago. The absolute look of disgust on your face was enough to bring a smug grin to his own.

He knew exactly what he was doing.

"Don't make me throw up, John."

The name.

It was a simple slip-up, nothing more. But, of course, it meant so much more. This was before everything, so it doesn’t seem likely that a slip-up like that wouldn’t result in consequences, but it secretly was a turning point.

He could've killed you.

He could've easily grabbed you and thrown you across the room, and no one would be able to comprehend what had happened until after you were unrecognizable.

He didn't, though.

No, instead, he stared at you, his face blank, and his mind processing. You were nervous, of course. You had no idea what was going on in his head.

After a minute, a look of realization came upon him, and you could see the exact moment the gears started turning.

Then, a simple hum fell from his lips. One said he wasn’t expecting it but was deciding whether to accept it.

Then, after a few seconds, his face relaxed. His jaw was unclenched, his eyes softened, and his eyebrows relaxed.

"Let’s have a chat."

Uh oh. That’s a code red—a sign of danger.

You were so done.

And yet, for some odd reason, you followed him. You don’t know why. It was a stupid move, in your opinion. You should've run while you had the chance. You should’ve listened and just punched fishlips or something.

You didn’t, though.

You followed him, allowed him to fly you somewhere private, and just waited. You waited for your imminent doom. You were going to die; you were sure of it.

But, for some reason, your death never came.

Instead, the two of you landed on the tower’s roof, the cold New York air hitting you hard. He had set you down on your feet and went all the way to the railing.

You stood awkwardly, waiting for him to turn around with those beams in his eyes, but they never came.

He was just looking out into the city, his back turned to you, his hands on the railing.

After a few minutes of silence, he turned his head, looking at you through the corner of his eye.

"Aren't you going to ask?"

Ask what? What was there to ask?

There were plenty of things to ask, actually, and yet you had no idea what the right thing to ask was. Because, again, even here, he was unpredictable and unreadable.

You didn't want to anger him; you knew that for sure. But you were also tired of his mind games. It was a constant battle of wit, and you were sick and tired of being left in the dust.

So, you chose something simple to say. Something easy, yet not so simple to answer.

"Are you going to kill me?"

You wouldn’t be surprised if he turned around with a smile and answered yes.

He didn’t, though. Oh no, he stayed turned, staring into the city, his eyes searching. Searching for what you didn't know.

"No."

Simple and clear.

You didn't respond, and he didn't elaborate. It was silent, and it was cold, and it was a tense moment.

But you didn't leave. You just watched him, watched his movements. The way his shoulders hunched over, his head tilting down, the grips on the railing, the way his hair slowly became unstuck due to the wind.

You always thought his hair looked better when it wasn't slicked back, but this is the first time you've ever seen it that way. It was… it was nice.

Then, his shoulders relaxed, and his head straightened. He didn’t turn around, and he didn’t speak. He just looked over his shoulder at you, his eyes piercing yours.

Even with a few strands of hair on his face, his eyes were so sharp and clear. So blue. So cold.

It felt like they were reaching deep into your soul.

It was terrifying. He was terrifying.

"Do you remember your parents?"

The question took you by surprise. It wasn’t what you were expecting, but then again, this whole encounter was the definition of unexpected.

"Yes. Why?"

His eyes scanned yours as if looking for a lie. Then, he turned back around, leaning on the railing.

"I can't remember mine," he said. "Sometimes I wonder if I even had them."

Oh. Oh. This was huge. This was a big one. You had to search deeply even to find out his actual name. Now, here he was, telling you of his past.

Of all people, he chose to tell you.

You didn’t know how to feel about that.

You were honored, yes. You were excited, definitely. But, most importantly, you were worried. Is this him letting you in? Or is it him preparing you for your demise?

It was an unknown territory, a field of landmines. You knew a lot about his past already, but now he was aware of the fact that you knew. He knows, and yet he is still giving you the information.

Why?

"I mean, it doesn't make sense. Everyone has parents, right? And I couldn't have been born out of nowhere. So, I must have had parents. A mom, a dad, some form of guardians."

His face was scrunched, and his eyebrows were furrowed. You could see the way his brain was working. He was really thinking about it, wondering how the pieces fit together.

He was struggling to make a connection, and he was mad at himself for not having it.

"I'm assuming your childhood wasn't the best," you said. You knew it was a risky move, joking about his past, but so far, he seemed to like the boldness and humor.

And he did, in fact, let out a snort.

"Understatement of the year."

You smiled but quickly stopped. It was a serious conversation, and smiling probably wasn’t the appropriate reaction.

Silence filled the space again, and he was back to thinking. He was trying; he was really trying. But he just couldn't.

It wasn't the fact that his parents were a mystery; he's come to terms with that. It was the fact that he couldn’t remember anything.

All he remembered was the torture, the pain, the experiments… nothing about how he got there. Nothing about the people before the scientists. Nothing about a home. And the fact that they were currently building a fake one for him made him so angry.

It was a mockery—a complete joke.

He felt all of these emotions and yet couldn't express them.

And he was frustrated. He was pissed off and tired and angry and sad and empty and-

"Did you rip off your tie?" Your eyes had caught sight of his bare neck, the black fabric missing.

It was the only way to pull him out of his head, and, to your surprise, it worked. You could see the moment he snapped back to reality, the moment he was pulled away from his mind.

"Yeah," he answered. "It was suffocating me."

You could tell.

His hair became more unkempt due to the wind. The strands of hair on his forehead were getting in the way, and it was getting annoying. Not for you, no, but for him.

For you, it was… humanizing. It made him seem a little less like a god.

He lifted his hand, his fingers gently combing through the locks. It was a struggle, a normal struggle that you've had with your own hair.

Plenty struggle with deviating the locks away from their desired location. You've had your own fair share of moments.

But this was the first time you'd seen him experience it. The first time witnessing him do something so simple and basic.

Such a human thing. It had you wondering what else he was capable of.

He sighed, his hand dropping back to the railing. Again, it is a normal thing to happen. But, it had you smiling, the corners of your mouth curving ever so slightly.

The action did not go unnoticed.

"What?" he asked, not even bothering to turn around.

You shrugged. "I've just never…"

Your mind kept changing images. His hair, his eyes, his shoulders, his jaw, his nose, his ears, his neck, his hand, his lips, his chin, his cheekbones, his eyebrows, his skin…

Everything is listed in your mind, including the little imperfections and details that make him, well, him. This was the first time you saw him anything other than perfect.

The perfect monster he was, the god of all men. The man of the century, the one to take the world by storm. The strongest, the smartest, the best.

The symbol, the image, the mask.

The facade.

This was the first time you saw him as just a person. A human being. Just a regular guy.

"Sometimes I wonder how different life would be if you were…"

Normal.

The word was at the tip of your tongue. You could've said it; you should've said it. It was the truth. It was obvious.

But you couldn't.

He knew where your sentence was going, though. Of course, he did.

"If I was… what?" He still wanted to hear it. He was looking for validation, and he wanted it from you. His eyes were on you, his body turned, but there was this one odd thing.

A smile.

It wasn't his usual one. The one you were used to. The one that made everyone scared and uneasy. No, this was a real smile.

A soft, small one, but still a real smile.

A true smile. As if he knew the words you were going to say, as if he knew your thoughts, and he found them amusing.

You found him amusing.

And just because of that, you didn’t give him the validation.

"It’s fucking freezing out here," You coughed in hopes of successfully changing the subject. "I’m gonna get a jacket."

He was going to argue, but you were already walking off, telling him you’d take the emergency ladder down.

Nothing was spoken about that night. No words were exchanged.

But something had changed. Something had shifted. You weren’t quite sure what it was, but it was something.

So, seeing that genuine smile again in that elevator was a shock.

He had the same face as he did on that roof. It was that smile. That one specific smile.

Capable.

That's what it was.

He was capable.

He was capable of feeling and being human. He was capable of being something other than a monster.

He was capable.

All he said to you when you walked by was a simple goodnight. Something so small, yet so big. This time, those words seemed to have a little more meaning.

So, just to raise his unsettling mood, you winked and said, "Goodnight, John."

Again, a smile.

The smile.

It was hard to continue walking, and it was even harder not to turn around. But you did.

You did it knowing you were going to have a hard time sleeping. Knowing that, no matter what, you weren’t going to forget that smile.

The demon that still had a little bit of humanity in him.

A demon that was capable.

[kitkat13001]

☆⋆｡𖦹° 𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚍𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎!𝙻 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚌𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚗𝚜

>> l lawliet x reader

i feel like he’d thrive with a pet. he’s never had any exposure to animals so it’s definitely a new experience for him. i think the unpredictability of a cat would suit him. its irregular behavior keeps him on his toes, given his tendency to analyze patterns. he’d be very affectionate with a cuddly cat 

i think he would also like the loyalty of a dog. he needs stability in his life 🫶 and a cute little puppy that’ll grow w him is just perfect for him. plus, im sure it’d force him to exercise a little more (couldn’t hurt him tbh) w all the running after it he’d be doing

he watches true crime for background noise—if he actually sits down to watch it, he’ll figure it out in the first five minutes (if he didn’t already know the case outcome himself). he needs to multitask in order to genuinely enjoy it, so he usually puts it on while he cooks or cleans so he’s not dedicating his full focus to it and proceed to act like a mom watching a telenovela 

*gasp* “they found the body in the lake!”

“hmm…that was anticlimactic.”

“‘breaking news’? i had already figured that out three episodes ago.”

“oh, i worked this case!”

his cooking is shit at the beginning. you have to be patient with him. he goes in thinking bc he’s so smart it’ll come out good no matter what. (this is the case with a lot of activities he’s now discovering due to the new lifestyle). he is wrong. 

HOWEVER…he does improve with time. he’ll follow a recipe to perfection and study it until he gets it right. the only downside is his food tends to be on the more plain/bland side, so if you like strong flavors i’d keep seasonings handy. he grew up in england, what do you expect? he does excel at making sweets and baked goods though, those tend to come out more flavorful.

for all his previously normal ‘secrecy’ he’s actually a chronic oversharer. because you’re bonded for life now, he feels the need to tell you everything, all of the time. his brain runs a mile a minute and he voices pretty much every thought he has. 

“does the fan seem louder to you?”

”no, ryuzaki. go to bed.”

“but we’re not doing anything tomorrow, so we can sleep in. there’s no need to go to bed right this instant.”

“…”

“that won’t be the case next week, though, we’ve got that birthday dinner to attend.”

“…”

“dinner sounds nice enough, but i loathe the thought of shopping for a present. maybe—“

“ryuzaki. go. to. sleep.”

“hmph.”

similarly, he has a tendency to notice your patterns (he calls it a “detective’s habit”). he’s freakishly accurate with it too. sometimes it’s useful, like when he stops at the store to pick up your favorite snacks and hygiene products when he knows your time of the month is approaching. however, sometimes it’s…just weird

“darling, do you need to use the restroom?”

“um…no?”

“really? interesting. your diet hasn’t changed the last couple days, and you usually use the restroom at approximately this time for about 10 to 12 minutes every day.”

“…what the fuck?”

even though you’ve both changed your names in order to secure your identities and safety, he still calls you by your real name when it’s just the two of you. in public he prefers to call you pet names instead of your newfound aliases

he has no issues switching back n forth and he’d never slip up for fear of exposing you both, but he just tries to avoid calling you by your cover name. he feels a little guilty because if he was a ‘normal person’ you wouldn’t have had to undergo all these procedures just to be with him. he’s used to using different names for himself, but it makes him a little sour that you now have to do that too :(

speaking of sour, he’s a veeeryy jealous man. he’s not obnoxious or even outright about it, but he doesn’t like when other people get too close to you (physically and emotionally). part of it is him being paranoid that they “know something” about you, but part of it is just bc he’s just a clingy lil guy 🥺 and he just wants to be your only special guy

he’s like a territorial cat

he gets nightmares about the kira case and all of his other past cases. he doesn’t make a scene when he wakes up from them, but if you notice he’s awake don’t ask him about them. it’s unlikely he’ll answer you, and he’ll feel bad thinking he woke you up. just pretend to still be asleep and subtly cuddle closer

it coaxes him right back to sleep knowing you’re safe and sound beside him. if you’re brave you can ask in the morning, but it’s likely he’ll have forgotten the dream by then

pleeeeassee take up yoga with him. since he doesn’t need to be crouched in his heightened-deductive-skill position 24/7 anymore, it’s a worthwhile investment to fix his posture and his numerous back problems. he might enjoy the calmness and flexibility yoga provides

he might be open to the idea of children. according to canon, he only interacted with the wammy kids once very briefly, but i like to think he was fairly involved with the orphanages considering they were raising his successor. it only makes sense they’d need to get to know him at least a little—and it would explain why near’s mannerisms are so similar to his. 

i think contrary to popular opinion he would be good with kids—in his own special way. he’s not exceptionally cuddly, but he won’t reject affection either. and his intuition and reflexes are so keen that it’s not like the kid would ever be in danger. 

he’s such a homebody. i mean, we already knew that—but him being able to go out in public now has not changed his desire to want to be alone (w/ you)

he has mixed feelings about crowded places. on the one hand, the anonymity of it is kind of nice and it sets his mind at ease that no one will be able to recognize you two in such a swarm. but on the other, someone is touching him and all the noise n stuff sorta overstimulates his nervous system

the next best alternative? take him to places that are still public and out-and-about but a little more secluded. a corner booth in the back of a little restaurant, a sprawling botanical garden, an independent cafe that’s not overcrowded, etc 

HE CANT DRIVE LMAOOO. a helicopter is one thing but cars??? on the road??? with other cars?????!!! he cannot. he’s a MENACE. hopefully you can drive, but if not then it comes to public transportation 🤷‍♀️ 

[ceratedfish24]

There are SO many negative nancys this season. Y’all need to cut it out. You’ve gotten so entitled.

“This was a bad wildcard” I don’t know how old you are, but I was in 3rd grade when I was taught how to give constructive criticism, and I was way younger when I learned that most people don’t like receiving unsolicited criticism. All of the players have loved the challenge of each of the wild cards. They have loved staying on their toes. If they genuinely hated it, they would have said something. Changes would be made. If it’s not interesting to you, then you can stay quiet and leave. You’ve gotten way too comfortable disrespecting people from behind a screen.

“The teams are unoriginal” Making sure that the players are having a good time is among the top priorities of this series. They are naturally going to link up with people they’re comfortable with. If you have a problem with that, then maybe you need to be put in a room with your best friends and some people you kind of know and be criticized when you gravitate towards your best friends. I don’t understand why you all are having such a problem with the concept of seeking comfort in a scary and unpredictable environment.

“Pearl shouldn’t be on a team with Cleo and Scott” well, she made her choice, didn’t she. That’s not up to you. She is an adult. She can choose who she hangs out with. Cleo and Pearl have not had significantly more of a rivalry than any other two players on the server. It seems like you’re just paying more attention to them because they’re women. Don’t try to take away from Pearl’s autonomy. Don’t try to conduct who she hangs out with. It’s really fucked up, what happened to Grian and Scar. Don’t let it happen again. Additionally, Pearl doesn’t care if you don’t think her character should be getting along with Cleo and Scott. The lore is made to fit the events of the server, and never the other way around. If you’re not creative enough to come up with a lore-reason for Pearl, Cleo, and Scott to be getting along, then I really don’t know how you’re still alive.

“Scott’s going to kill Pearl” why. Why would he do that. What record do you have of Scott betraying Pearl for no reason. The only reason he didn’t want to accept her as his ally in Double Life was because he just teamed with her in Last Life, and you all have proven just how much you’re gonna whine about a repetitive team. What history does Scott have of killing his own teammates. The biggest concern on that team is Impulse, who is notorious for holding grudges and betraying alliances. And yet your focus is on the catty two who are loyal to the core. Does that not sound like stereotyping to you? Do you even watch their perspectives? Cause you don’t act like you do.

It is a legitimate miracle that Grian is giving us another season. Be grateful, or we’re not getting another. You try coming up with balanced ideas that will last 6-8 episodes with ~15 people. See how many you come up with.

[tibby-art]

what is the convexian hitman au?

To sum it up, Cub and Scar are hitmen that work for the local government, the NHO. Once human, the two made a pact with a mischievous fae entity called the Vex in exchange for power. They were once the most dangerous criminal duo in the city, until they were finally caught. They were given two options: work for the government as hitmen, or life in prison. The vex can make pacts that cannot be broken, so they have to do what the NHO says (but they find loopholes at every given opportunity).

The NHO was a group from hermitcraft season 5 and consists of Bdubs, Doc, Etho and Beef. It stands for the New hermit order and they manage city affairs and try to maintain peace (emphasis on try to).

Grian (who uses he/she pronouns in this au) is a university student studying architecture, and has a pretty normal life. That is until one day, when he comes in contact with an ancient artifact while out studying ancient architecture ruins. He gains the powers of a Watcher - eldritch beings so mysterious they were long considered to be a myth. She gains new sixth-sense abilities that are incredibly overwhelming. The NHO swoops in before Grian can hurt anyone or herself with her new powers, and takes Grian to their base, where he is studied by their best doctors and scientists for months.

The NHO deems Grian’s new abilities too powerful and unpredictable to allow him to return to society as a normal citizen, so Grian is also brought into hitmen work. Her new abilities- once she gains better control over them- can be used to help keep the city safe. Grian is handed off to the ConVex hitmen duo to be trained as a hitman abd to aid them on their missions.

There are more minor characters I’d like to introduce to the au as well! For example, Martyn is a youtuber and internet sleuth convinced that Watchers are real. No one really believes him, until Grian comes in contact with him, asking for any information about the Watchers…

I think my main inspiration behind the au was that Watcher!Grian is often depicted as this omniscient, all-knowing powerful demigod, and I thought it would be interesting to explore a Grian who has Watcher powers, but they’re brand new to him and he has no idea how to use them. Also I just like convexian as a trio lol

I want to make an organized masterpost eventually when I have time, but for now I try to keep everything in the #convexian hitman au tag! You can read a lot more about it there, there’s plenty of doodles, writing snippets and general yapping. Feel free to send asks about it :P

[honeygrahambitch]

When Will gives that lecture on Hobbs' copycat, he says the copycat will never kill like that again. And what Hannibal does next after listening to the lecture, is killing Marissa exactly the same way he killed Cassie Boyle. I find it funny that he might have been like "Are you sure about that?" Because in fact Will was right. And Hannibal knew of course that Will was right, he wasn't going to use the same design but after Will specifically said that he won't kill like that again, he felt the need to contradict him, maybe in a teasing way, like "looks like I just killed like that again, what are you going to do about it?"

Anyway I wanted in fact to parallel this scene with the one from season 2 where Hannibal is like "With all my knowledge and intrusion I could never entirely predict you." Cause he couldn't correctly predict Will's actions all the time either.

This is exactly what happened in season one. Will could not predict Hannibal's next step. And they indeed were never able to tell "oh he will 100% do this now" about the other. There was always room for the unexpected. For example when Hannibal sent Will to Tobias. Or when Will sent Matthew to Hannibal. Or Mizumono itself is the most unpredictable occurrence cause neither of them had any idea about what the other would do. Even more so in twotl.

So I find it really beautiful that they could see each other for what they really were but they had a hard time predicting each other's actions.

[varilien]

ive been wanting to do some redraws of the gravity falls art i made as a kid n since it's seasonally appropriate, here's some magician au doodles ^^

and just in case i don't come back to draw it again any time soon here's my thoughts so far on the topic and the original art circa smn like. idk maybe 2015 or 2016?? i wish i'd put the date on anything from back then lol

Palestine: Funds | Action | eSims | Info

Sudan Resources | Congo Resource | Lebanese Red Cross

i might change the designs later on but at this point i thought it'd be most fun to just kinda leave it really close to the originals :3

anyways!!

okay so gravity falls magician au. plotwise it's all actually about the same, the twins might be a little older actually, like 15 or 16 (maybe they've visited gravity falls in the past?), but whatever. they get sent to a sleepy little village in the woods to stay w their great uncle. magic runs in the pines family, although no currently living pines is thought to have any notable capability. healing a scratch or finding something u lost under ur bed, basically. magic is actually probably a lot more common and mundane in this world than canon, so gravity falls' weirdness as a region comes more from the intensity and unpredictable nature of the magic found there

anyways the BIGGEST plot difference is that i like the idea of the kids meeting bill pretty early on. he introduces himself as a seasoned familiar looking to get back in touch with his old partner. now, bill is a breath of fresh air for dipper in particular, who finally has someone he can speak frankly with about the weird experiences he's been having, but even tho bill loves nothing more than spilling secrets and arcane knowledge, he's not really able to do so as he'd like to. he's got TONS of spells placed on him for the express purpose of keeping him quiet, but there's a few things bill has been able to elude to if nothing else: 1, he knows who the author of the grimoire dipper found in the woods is. 2, he knows stan pines' great secret. and 3, he knows how to access magical power beyond comprehension

hehe idk i just like the idea of bill spending possibly months mentoring and making friends w the kids fully planning on just using them for his own gain the entire time but. well. maybe it's nice not being alone anymore too. tho he'd never admit it

[nhlclover]

𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐂𝐊 𝐊𝐈𝐃

madeleine chase x will smith

will goes on a podcast and reveals to the world his gushing crush on pop star, madeleine chase (wc; 1.11k)

༉‧₊˚. ꒰ notes! ꒱ this is lowkey inspired by how tate mcrae and cole sillinger first got together + what will said in a podcast about tate mcrae (literally every man is obsessed with her and so am i)

au masterlist

It had been about a week since Will had moved to San Jose and he was… settling. California was very different from Massachusetts and everything was new. From the weather to the people, everything was unfamiliar to Will. His teammates — another new thing Will was getting used to — had been nothing but welcoming. They had been showing him around the area and making sure he was settling in well—especially the Marleau family who were taking him in for his first year in San Jose.

He appreciated their efforts, even though the move was still overwhelming at times. The sunny, warm weather of California was a stark contrast to the often chilly and unpredictable climate of Massachusetts, and it was both a blessing and a challenge to adapt to. The culture here was more laid-back, and people seemed to carry an air of casualness that Will wasn’t entirely accustomed to.

In the midst of all these changes, he was dealing with the start of the hockey season, which brought on a lot of commitments. Despite today being a rest day from all of the beginning of the season media, Will was sitting in the Empty Netters podcast studio. Will had met Dan and Chris, the two hosts, a while back, promising them he’d come on when he got signed by the Sharks. Months later, Will was fulfilling his promise.

“Alright, Will, welcome to the Empty Netters pod! Glad to have you here,” said Chris.

“Thank you for having me,” Will said, smiling politely.

“So, you've been in San Jose for what—about two weeks? How’s the transition going? It’s gotta be a change from Massachusetts." Dan asked.

Will nodded, leaning into the mic a bit. “Yeah, about that but it feels like longer with everything going on. It’s been go, go, go since I got here but California’s great. And everyone’s been super welcoming, especially the Marleau family. They’ve really helped me get settled.”

Dan grinned. “Yeah, you got blessed with your living situation for your first year. I mean Patrick Marleau is a legend.”

“Not bad at all,” Will chuckled, relaxing a little. “They’ve been great. Showing me around, and introducing me to some good spots to eat. I’m trying to figure out the whole California lifestyle.”

The conversation flowed easily as they touched on his early career, what he was looking forward to with the Sharks and a few lighter topics.

“Okay, Will, to end this interview we just want to do some rapid-fire questions, alright? So these are just random.” Chris asked.

“Yeah, ok, sounds good,” Will replied.

“Great, first question,” Chris said, glancing at his notes. “What's your favorite movie?”

Will thought for a moment, debating between the movies he loved. “I'd have to say 'Good Will Hunting'. It's a classic and, well, it's set in Boston. Reminds me of home.”

Both Dan and Chris nodded appreciatively. “Nice choice,” Dan answered. “Alright, next up: what's your go-to comfort food?”

“Probably a good lobster roll,” Will replied instantly. “It's practically a staple back home.”

“A lobster roll from Cape Cod sounds fucking delicious.” Chris agreed.

“Alright, final question,” Dan says. “Who is your celebrity crush?”

“Madeleine Chase,” Will says without hesitation.

Both Dan and Chris burst into laughter at Will’s quick answer, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink as he realizes his eagerness. “Damn, you were ready for that question,” Chris says through laughter. “Can you expand on why she is your celebrity crush?”

Will chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to gather his thoughts. “I mean, first of all, she’s gorgeous. I keep seeing photos of her performing for Taylor Swift in Europe and… whew.” Will answers, getting another chorus of laughter from the podcast hosts. “But also there’s something about her vibe. She seems really down-to-earth and genuine. I’ve seen her in interviews and she’s got a great sense of humor.”

Dan grinned. “Sounds like you’ve thought about this a lot.”

“Yeah, maybe a bit,” Will admitted, laughing. “But, you know, it’s hard not to admire someone like that. She’s got the whole package.”

“Quick, favorite song of hers?” Chris asked.

Will didn’t have to think much before answering. “Close To You. It’s just such a fun song to listen to.”

“If you have a message for Madeleine that we might be able to get to her at some point, what would it be?” Dan asked.

Will chuckled, questioning if he really wanted to it all out bare on this podcast. “Answer my DM,” he said, confidence lacing his tone.

“No way you’ve DM’ed her.” Chris laughed.

Will simply shrugged, laughing along with the two brothers. Dan leaned in with mock seriousness. "Alright, Sharks fans, you heard it here first—Will Smith’s got game both on and off the ice."

As the podcast wrapped up, Will thanked Chris and Dan, and they walked him out. His agent was waiting, jumping straight into talking about his schedule, but Will wasn't really listening. He was still stuck replaying the last part of the interview in his head.

Did I really just say that? His mind replayed the last part of the interview—talking about Madeleine Chase with no filter, like some lovestruck kid. He cringed inwardly, imagining how it must have sounded to anyone listening. He could already hear the ribbing from his teammates once this went live, and he cringed. His agent's voice was just white noise now as Will’s thoughts spiraled, imagining the potential fallout.

Answer my DM. The words bounced around his head like an unwelcome reminder of how he’d opened himself up for a joke. What if she actually did hear it? He wasn’t sure what compelled him to be so bold, especially considering they didn’t know each other. Will had always been reserved, especially in public settings, and now he felt like he'd let his guard down too much.

“Will? You listening?” his agent said, snapping him out of his daze.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m here,” Will replied quickly, though he wasn’t. He pulled out his phone, hovering over the podcast's social media page. Maybe I can ask them to cut that part out… no, that’s ridiculous. It’s too late. He forced himself to put his phone away, trying to focus on anything else but the possibility of his comment blowing up online.

Will sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to shake off the doubt. Maybe it wasn’t that bad. They laughed, so it couldn’t have been too cringey… right?

Still, the uncertainty weighed on him. California was supposed to be a fresh start, but at that moment, Will couldn’t help but feel like he’d already stumbled out of the gate.

[laughhardrunfastbekindsblog]

One thing I adore about Bad Batch is how well it balances presenting two (or more) perspectives while allowing us to understand why each side has that perspective.

Take, for example, one of the most tragic scenes in season 1, where my heart just breaks for Crosshair...

Come on, Bad Batch, Crosshair has just saved Omega. Even if it might have appeared at first that he was pointing his rifle in Hunter's face, it's now clear that wasn't his intention! Can y'all stop pointing your weapons at him??!? 💔💔💔

And yet... I can still understand and sympathize with where the rest of the squad is coming from.

Months prior, Crosshair had started acting a little bit... off, rambling on about being good soldiers and criticizing Hunter's every move (including the decision to not shoot civilians). Then, the squad was imprisoned; then, Crosshair was singled out; then, as the squad was going to get him, he found them and shot Wrecker and threatened the rest of them. And they had to flee.

Oh, there was talk about inhibitor chips influencing clone behavior, maybe even controlling it; but the squad had precious little information to go on.

And then Rex gives them more information and dire warnings, and they see firsthand the dangers of the chips when Wrecker (of all people) goes all murder rampage, and it's abundantly clear that this must be why Crosshair is acting the way he is.

And immediately thereafter, Crosshair finds them... and when Hunter attempts to talk him down (because now they really understand what's going on), Crosshair "aims for the kid" and then keeps them trapped in an ion engine with the intent of incinerating them.

... Well, Wrecker had just tried to kill them all too, so it's understandable why Crosshair is acting this way. Not exactly ideal - especially since he doesn't want to listen to them and he has Imperial backing - but understandable.

And eventually Crosshair succeeds in actually capturing them. And he goes on and on about being better than everyone else and the value of serving an Empire whose definition of "order" involves terror and subjugation. But hey, apparently he's not trying to kill them this time... Until Hunter says no to joining the Empire and Crosshair makes it clear he considers this to be traitor talk... But then Crosshair helps them defeat the droids, so Hunter tries again to talk to him about the inhibitor chip.

"Wrong," Crosshair says. "I had my chip removed. A long time ago."

Just look at the confusion on Hunter's face as he grapples with the implications:

And then we are granted Tech's and Wrecker's reactions, with Tech's being more apparent since we can see his eyes - the shocked surprise followed by the eyebrow furrowing that reads to me as Tech trying to fit this revelation into his understanding of Crosshair's behavior:

(Remembering, of course, that Tech was the first to bring up the possibility of the chip influencing Crosshair's actions.)

"Since when?" Hunter continues in shock.

"Does it matter?" Crosshair shrugs.

"YES," Hunter insists.

"This is who I am," Crosshair responds.

And then Crosshair pulls his rifle (which we know isn't set to stun) on Hunter.

For months, Crosshair's brothers had been giving him the benefit of the doubt even as he repeatedly and deliberately endangered them; but now, he leaves them to wonder - Was Crosshair acting of his own volition when he shot Wrecker and tried to lure the others out that fateful night on Kamino? Was it his own choice to try to roast them to ash on Bracca? Was the chip involved or not when he chased them down as they were trying to leave Bracca?

He apparently doesn't have the chip now, and yet he's gone from holding them hostage to fighting alongside them against the droids to threatening Hunter again, all in the space of about 5 minutes.

And he insists that "This is who I am."

Crosshair is behaving dangerously, violently, and unpredictably, and he's said that he considers them to be his enemies since they won't join the Empire. And he keeps arguing with them every step of the way as they set out to escape an orbital bombardment.

Is it any wonder, then, that his brothers don't trust him holding a weapon, even when he's saved Omega's life?

[hannieehaee]

THE BOY IS MINE (kofi/patreon exclusive)

18+ / mdi

summary: what happens when two pretty tennis players you'd been keeping your eye on both beg for a bit of your attention?

content: softdom!reader, sub!chan, subish(?)!vernon, reimagined version of the hotel room scene, not rlly following the movie plot, afab reader, pwp, smut, making out, a tiny bit of mxm (only kissing), three-way kiss, dry humping, boob worship, oral (m receiving), handjob, penetrative sex, etc.

wc: 3674 (full fic)

a/n: since i havent written any extra content for my kofi nor patreon even though thats one of the benefits i decided to wip up this short challengers inspired fic!! i hope those of u who read it enjoy c:

masterlist

find full version on kofi or patreon!

"Are you on facebook?", Vernon stopped you before you could take your leave.

"What?"

"He's asking for your number. And so am I," interrupted Chan.

"You both want my number?," you tilted your head in amusement.

"Seems so," said Vernon, taking a drag from his cigarette.

"I'm not a homewrecker," you rebutted.

Chan chuckled, "We don't live together."

"It's an open relationship," added Vernon, "You're at the hotel in Flushing, right? We're in room 102. Come hang out with us later."

"What, want me to tuck you in?", you challenged.

Vernon smirked at this, but did not fall for your bait, "We can just keep talking – about tennis, of course."

You nodded with a chuckle, continuing to walk away from them and back to your family, ignoring any rebuttals coming from them as you left, knowing that you'd likely find yourself at their hotel room in a few hours.

That was the last exchange you had with the two boys during in the aftermath of an after party that was meant to celebrate your latest win. It was also repurposed to commemorate the future opening of your upcoming foundation.

When you had first arrived at the party, you had obviously expected a bit of attention from the attendees, – specially considering you were the guest and of honor – but you had not predicted that you'd end up bumping into two fellow players who you just happened to have taken an interest in a while back.

Their names were Vernon Chwe and Lee Chan, two pretty boys who had clearly reciprocated your interest immediately upon meeting you. You knew Vernon to be a beast when it came to tennis, something which made you develop a special type of respect for him. Chan was a little less confident in his abilities, but as a seasoned tennis player you knew that there was immense talent hidden in there.

Upon taking a break from dancing, both boys had approached you, falling into conversation with you very quickly. It didn't take a genius to realize the clear attraction they felt towards you, nor could you deny that their demeanor towards you drew you in. Before you were pulled away to sign some autographs, they had insisted you meet them by the beach once you were free from your duties, an offer which you decided to accept.

After about an hour of hanging out by the beach, you had figured out their dynamic a bit.

Vernon was the more confident of the two, clearly the leader of the duo. Chan was a little more awkward than Vernon, but he still carried an air of confidence to his person that you enjoyed. It was also easy to tell that both these men wanted the night to go in a less than friendly way – at least based off the way they stared at you all night.

You knew you'd likely have to end up making a choice when it came down to it, but did you really have to? They seemed close enough for you to enjoy them both at once, you just had to play your cards right.

~

Standing outside their door, you knocked, gluing your ear to the wood in order to take in the commotion going on inside.

The sound of scrambling and hushed rambles as they readied themselves for you was entertaining to say the least. They were clearly not actually expecting you to come see them, but you couldn't blame them – you liked to make your presence unpredictable.

Suddenly, their steps got closer to the door, causing you to unglue yourself from it as they opened it. Their breathless states matched one another as they greeted you with an awkward 'hi' and 'hey,' leading you in.

After drinking for a bit whilst lounging around on the floor of the hotel room, you began asking each other questions to get to know each other. You'd come to find that they'd known each other since they were tweens, attending the same private school together and even sharing a few intimate memories together – the retelling of Chan's first time jerking off while Vernon guided him was nothing less than adorable to you.

Your interest was peeked. Despite being in adamant denial about not being interested in each other in any way that went further than platonic, a twisted part of your brain could not help but want to test out how far they'd be willing to go with you whilst together.

"We're out of beer," you said after a slight lull in conversation, getting up as they both gazed at your legs shamelessly.

With enticing eyes, you went to take a seat on the bed, smirking as you spoke again, "C'mere."

"W-which one?", asked Chan with wide eyes as Vernon took the lead and went to sit next to you. Chan quickly followed after him, taking a seat on the other side of you.

...

find full version on kofi or patreon!

note: this is just an extra fic for the ppl who subscribed to my kofi or patreon! ill still be posting as i usually do on here c: (a full vernon fic is coming soon<3)

[sharksandjays]

Once again rambling about Jay and his awesome power. One thing I've noticed about him, especially with his power, is that it seems to tax him a lot more than the others' does. Probably because of the power and intensity of lightning. I've seen so many posts about how Jay uses a very small voltage when he fights because he doesn't want to hurt people, but what seems to be supported by the canon is that it also hurts him. Every time he deals with pure lightning bolts (rather than just shocks), he seems to hurt himself in the process. This is proven in season 14 when he is literally sparking after recharging the ship.

And judging by his expressions, it's affecting him. It hurts and exhausts him.

And in season 6 and season 8 we see how dealing with direct bolts of lightning affects him. In season 6, he screams when it hits him.

And in season 8, he gets physically exhausted for a moment after redirecting.

At least from what I have seen, this is very different from the other ninja, who seem to be able to control their elements-for the most part-at different intensities without it affecting them. (Aside from Lloyd.)

Which just brings me to the point that I personally believe that Jay's power is the most powerful of the creation elements. He doesn't use it to its full potential (and KO enemies, like he could) because, while he can handle like 900 million volts (in season 6 he's struck by like 3 direct bolts of lightning, and survives), that doesn't mean he will be combat ready after that.

This might also be why Wu brought him into the team early (with Cole). He probably needed a lot more training on pain tolerance, keeping the mind and body calm, and probably lots of other endurance training. (Which is indirectly canon with how well he was able to handle Nadakhan's mental and physical torture vs the other ninja.) His power is so unpredictable, and so his training must have been very rough when he first got his powers, which is once again supported by the canon as both Nya and Lloyd talk about how he destroyed the South(?) Wing of the Monastery with an electrical fire while practicing his powers. Wu probably had to focus on his control a lot more than with the other ninja (probably like how he had to with Nya, if you think about it. Lightning and Water are both hard to control, so concentration would be key to learn for both of them, which is ironic with Jay's fanon ADHD).

Point is, Jay is super cool and so underrated sometimes. I really think it'd be cool if the show went more into how their powers affected them! Though speculation is also fun.

Anyways. Jay with the lightning chicken because they would be (are) besties.

[criticallyacclaimedstranger]

August Rain [Frankie x reader]

My Frankie Morales masterlist

Read on Ao3

Fandom: Triple Frontier

Ship: Francisco “Catfish” Morales x you (f!reader in that Frankie calls them ma'am, but otherwise no descriptors)

Warnings: Sugary cuteness, kissing, allusions to sex. Frankie mentions getting fat.

Summary: You and Frankie have tea and cake and cuddles on the porch swing. That's it, that's the plot.

Words: 1,200

A/N: @rambling-in-purple sent me a bunch of gifs (see below) to inspire me to write something starring Frankie. It took me a couple of days, but here's my lil cutesy comfort piece. I hope you like it, Lila!

It starts to rain as you’re finishing up dinner. You glance out the kichen window, sigh deeply, and grimace across the table at Frankie.

”There goes my gardening time.”

”Good,” he replies sternly. ”You’re sniffling, you should be taking it easy.”

He’s right, of course, but gardening after a long, rough day at work soothes and grounds you. You had hoped that the forecast had been wrong, that the late summer weather would be unpredictable enough to evade meteorologist analysis, but no such luck. Then again, you’ve been feeling under the weather for two days now, sniffling in the morning and beat at night. You really should be relaxing to avoid a full blown cold, or worse.

”Whatever,” you mutter, putting down the cutlery. ”Thanks for dinner.”

Frankie had been home before you, and prepared the food, for which you were grateful. To have to think about dinner on top of everything at work was a little too much for you at the moment.

”You’re welcome,” he replies softly. ”I’ll clean up, you go lay down for a bit.”

”I’m too wired.”

”You’re exhausted.”

”That, too. I’ll clean up, it’s okay.”

You end up doing it together, Frankie accepting your help only because you know that he likes doing everyday chores with you. When the kitchen is spotless and the dishwasher humming, he grabs the tea kettle.

”Cup of tea?”

”Please.”

”You wanna thaw those pieces of chocolate cake we’ve been saving?” he suggests as he fills the kettle. The mention of chocolate sends a small starter rush of dopamine to your brain.

”Hell to the yeah.”

You take out the box containing two pieces of cake from the freezer, and put it out on the counter to thaw.

”That’s gonna take a while,” Frankie points out. ”Come on, let’s go sit down.”

”Can we go out?” you suggest. ”We haven’t used the porch swing much this summer.”

Frankie accepts, and that’s how you end up on the porch swing, your head on Frankie’s shoulder, his arm slung around your shoulders, a blanket over your laps. The rain is soothing, and even if it’s not cold, there’s a melancholic hint of fall in the air. You look at your overgrown garden where everything seems to be in a hurry to grow and bloom before the season is over, and there’s something both sad and beautiful in it.

”This is nice,” Frankie murmurs, his low voice sending a warm, titillating vibration through you. ”Why haven’t we done this more often?”

”Too hot,” you remind him, and he hums as he remembers how hot indeed the porch gets in the summer afternoons and evenings.

”We still have time in the fall,” you add. ”Just have to bundle up properly.”

”I like that.”

”Me too.”

He kisses your forehead and pulls you in snugly against him.

”It’s even nicer when it rains.”

”Cosy.”

He kisses your head again.

“You think those cake pieces are good to eat now?”

“Oh, right. Yeah, they should be.”

“You sit here, I’ll them them, and the tea.”

You sit up straight and hold onto him to prevent him from rising.

“Love you,” you tell him with a grateful smile, and kiss him.

“Love you,” he hums against your lips, kissing you back until you’re done. You give him a little shove.

“I want cake.”

He chuckles, and gets up with a Yes ma’am before disappearing into the house. You pull up the blanket and redirect your gaze to the garden, looking at the sunflowers, brilliantly yellow and dramatically red in the rain. There’s still crops to be picked, the corn stands straight and proud in their patch, and you remind yourself that there is still time. Summer will linger during the days, even if the evenings and nights are getting cooler and darker.

Frankie returns carrying a tray with two steaming mugs of tea, and the cake slices on two plates. You pull up the sidetable to the swing, and soon you’re enjoying tea and a perfectly moist and soft chocolate cake.

“God, this is good,” Frankie sighs. “Why don’t you bake chocolate cake?”

“Because the bakery does it so much better,” you shake your head. “You know I can barely bake cookies. Why don’t you bake?”

“Because I’d do it constantly, and get really fat.”

“It doesn’t matter, I’d still love you.”

He looks at you with those soft brown eyes that still make you weak at the knees, even after all these years.

“That’s a relief. Maybe I will learn to bake.”

You grin, then see the smudge of chocolate on his lower lip.

“You got some chocolate there.”

“Here?” He points at his lips, and you shake your head.

“A little to the right, no, not there, hold on…”

You lean forward and kiss the spot on his lip, suck it into your mouth gently, tasting the chocolate on him, his scent surrounding you in the best way possible. Frankie’s arm comes around you and he pulls you in close, his lips claim your with that slow security that he possesses and that is so familiar and safe to you, and you kiss and kiss, unhurriedly, lovingly, comfortably.

When you finally have to stop and take a breather, your cheeks feel warm.

“Anywhere else you wanna check for chocolate?” Frankie jokes in a low hum, making you laugh.

“Not before I’ve finished my piece.”

“Oh, that’s right, we still got cake left…” He sounds almost disappointed, but accepts your final little kiss, and sits facing forward with you, both of you eating the rest of your cake. Mug in hand, you cuddle up to him after, sipping the hot beverage.

“We really should do this more often. Light candles and stuff.”

“We’ll see to it that we do,” Frankie promises.

The subsequent silence between you is comfortable, the only sounds the rain and the faraway din of a car passing by on the road further away. Your mind is calm even if your body still feels like it might be fighting a budding infection, yet you still feel better than you have in days.

“Frankie?” you speak quietly.

“M-hm?” he hums in the middle of a sip of tea.

“You think we could fuck on the swing?”

He coughs, then swallows the tea audibly before looking at you. You look back innocently.

“You need to be careful, I could’ve choked to death.”

“You’re fine.”

“I’m an old man who could die from anything.”

“That doesn’t answer my question,” you remind him sweetly. He purses his lips and furrows his forehead, and you can practically see the cogs moving.

“Not right now we can’t,” he eventually tells you.

“Why not?”

“Because you’re not getting undressed outside in this weather, you’ll catch your death.”

“It’s not even cold!” you protest with a smile, and now he’s grinning back.

“I’m not taking any chances. If you wanna have sex, we’re going in.”

“Fine.” You stand up, the blanket gliding off your lap on onto the floor. “Then let’s go in.”

You pick up the tray with the now empty plates, and walk ahead. Frankie stands up as well, folds the blanket, and grabs the mugs.

“Yes, ma’am…”

[lnfours]

haunted w conrad GO

okay so you’re trying to fucking kill me. i’m convinced. warnings: language, mentions of drinking, a little bit of fluff, angst and just pure heartbreak idk.

inbox 💌 | listen

if there was one thing you knew about conrad fisher, it was that he was unpredictable.

you had always been friends with the fisher and conklin siblings, living next door to them every summer for as long as you could remember. it wasn't a secret that you and conrad were the closest out of the group. but, as the two of you got older, you had realized that it was because you had fallen for the brunette boy with floppy hair that always seems to end up in his eyes no matter how short he cuts it.

you thought back to the moment on the dock, the two of you laughing as you sat with your feet in his lap. he was looking down at his phone, trying to figure out which song to play next on the speaker. belly, jere, and steven were all back by the pool, laughing loudly and carrying on.

you looked over at him as you caught his glance, you smiled, "what?"

she shook his head, "nothing,"

you raised an eyebrow, "sure it's not just nothing, con?" you could tell when he was trying his best to keep a secret, but it never worked. not around you, anyway.

"i just... you have a crush on me?" he asked, his lips turned up in a smile. your eyes widened as you sat up.

"uhm," you trailed off, looking at his expression. he didn't seem grossed out and if anything, he looked relieved? "uhm, yeah. how do you know?"

he smiled, "belly."

you rolled your eyes, "that girl is going to be the death of me."

he laughed, "it's okay. i mean, i guess i kind of have a thing for you, too."

you looked over at him, "you have a crush... on me?"

he smiled, nodding as he moved closer to you. you smiled as he brushed a loose strand of hair behind your ear, "i do,"

your heart pounded against your ribs as you smiled, "cool."

"cool." he echoed back.

you made the mistake of looking down at his lips. he smiled softly, doing the same. you had always wanted this exact moment to happen, every wish on a candle, every penny in a fountain, you had wished for him. for this moment.

and now it was finally happening.

"can i kiss you?" he asked. you nodded your head.

"please."

he smiled before connecting your lips with his. every thing about the kiss was all you'd been waiting for. it was finally happening.

and the two of you had been together ever since. even during the spring, fall and winter, he was yours during every season.

now it was the next summer, and everything had changed from when you'd last seen him. he was quieter, kept to himself more. spending his days daydrinking, and smoking more. something was off, and it was like he was forcing himself to act happy around you.

you had tried asking him about it, but he always just shut you out, insisting he was fine when he really wasn't.

you sat in your bed, putting down your book as your phone buzzed on the mattress next to you.

connie can we talk?

your heart dropped, things like this never ended well.

y/n beach in 5?

connie sounds good

you tugged on a hoodie and slipped on your flip flops before making your way out the back door. you walked onto the beach, spotting conrad sitting down in the sand.

"you wanted to talk?" you asked, hugging your knees to your chest. he looked down at the sand by his feet, not making eye contact with you.

red flag number one.

"i uhm," he started, brining a hand up to run through his hair, "i think that we should put us on pause, for a minute.."

his voice trailed off as looked over at him, "are you serious?"

he finally decided to look over at you, his eyes red. had he been crying?

"yeah," he said, "i just... i don't think we should do this, not right now, anyway."

he knew that look on your face, you weren't listening to what he was saying, instead your eyes studied his facial features, "what's wrong, conrad? what aren't you telling me?"

he groaned, "for fucks sake, are you even listening?"

you repeated your question, "are you listening to me? i'm trying to help you!"

"i don't need your fucking help, y/n!" he was yelling now, standing up as he rubbed his face with his hands, "jesus."

you looked at him, standing up to face him again, "why're you pushing me out? what's going on, just talk to me. please."

the please came out quieter than you had meant for it to, and he knew it was because you were on the brink of tears. he looked over at you, "this was a mistake."

you looked at him confused, "what was?"

"us," he didn't mean it, he just was doing what he knew how to do best, push people out and hurt the ones you love the most.

you scoffed, looking away from him and looking out towards the ocean. the moon was hitting the water at just the right angle for it to reflect onto the waves. it would've been a pretty sight, a nice moment if he hadn't ruined it.

ruined you. with that one word. mistake.

you thought you had conrad all figured out up until now. up until this summer, he was different.

"don't leave it like this," you whispered, looking back at him with tears in your eyes. he desperately wanted to reach out to you, tell you he didn't mean any of it. tell you the truth about his mom's cancer, and his dad's affair.

but he couldn't. he didn't know how to.

"please, don't," you whispered, "i love you."

he let a tear fall from his eyes as he shook his head, turning to walk away, "i'm sorry."

he ignored you calling back for him as you stood on the beach. you were frozen in the sand, watching the love of your life walk away from you. he let the tears roll off his cheeks and disintegrate into the sand as he walked away from the one form of true love he had ever felt.

you.

[bittrlys]

The Dragon Prince season 6 is like watching people write themselves into a corner in real time. Exciting! Massive spoilers ahead, of course.

THE GOOD

Opening on Aaravos crying was a very strong choice, this is the actual 'Mystery of Aaravos' type content I've been waiting for

Terry picking up Viren while they're excited about him being alive is very cute

As ever, Terry being extremely ride or die is 👍

Terry taking care of Claudia was very sweet; Terry cutting Claudia's hair and Claudia's new haircut in general. Cute.

Viren and Claudia on the beach, "No parent wants their child to suffer for them." Oof.

In general, I was quite happy with everything Viren, Claudia, and even Soren, and I actually wrote a note of "i hate soren" at the start because I thought we were gearing up for another season of him just being a bad joke machine with no real character or feelings to speak of. But then they gave him, like, actual pathos! They let him interact with people in a way that feels human! They let him be resentful and complicated! Wow! Magefam is so back baby!

Viren trying to reconcile with Soren and be a better example for Claudia really got to me. His final sacrifice (OMG CRIMINAL BY FIONA APPLE JUST CAME ON SHUFFLE.......WHAT I NEED IS A GOOD DEFENSE CUS I'M FEELING LIKE A CRIMINAL.......AND I NEED TO BE REDEEMED TO THE ONE I'VE SINNED AGAINST.....) is tied so strongly to his children and that feels like a natural place to leave his character. Now, I've been saying forever that he was going to get a redemption via death, and figured Aaravos would be the one pulling the trigger, so none of that surprised me, but I thought the actual execution was generally good. I do have some more negative thoughts but I'll save those for later.

Viren is very good at justifying himself, and I like that you see him falling back into that, at times struggling with it, at times not even catching himself doing it. It feels very real. At the same time, I don't think he's ever seen himself as a hero, so it was interesting to let him go out on such a heroic note.

Viren's kind of abuse-coded (not actually abusive, IMO, but I understand if this makes people uncomfortable in a similar way) act of forcing Lissa to cry into the vial is interesting. It echoes him taking Sarai's last breath.

Him writing out his whole confession on this subject and then burning it because he realized it was only going to do him good was also very nice.

Though I wish Claudia had stuck by her 'I'm going solo' guns a little longer, I still think there's something to how she is so incapable of being alone, of thinking for herself, and desperately seeks direction. She is literally just like her dad, and it makes them both easy targets for Aaravos.

Like, Viren being such a force that Claudia easily followed him, then Claudia being such a force that Soren and Terry both easily followed her, and Aaravos being a supreme force Viren and Claudia both easily follow because at heart, they're more followers than leaders despite the force of their personalities and ambitions -- it's interesting.

Aaravos using Sol Regem to casually destroy a kingdom and kill Viren just as a small step in his plan is pretty fun. We love a grandiose villain!

Looking forward to Claudia and Aaravos. She's in some ways even more unequipped than Viren to handle Aaravos's manipulations, but at the same time, she's a lot more unpredictable than Viren. If this leads up to a confrontation between them, I think that could be really cool.

Aaravos tragic backstory with deleted child was really not on my bingo card at all -- I never thought 'noble revenge' would be his motivation. I like how this parallels him to Viren.

Aaravos crying enough to fill a sea is great imagery

The lore of the startouch elves being actual stars that descend is SO COOL. This is like, the first bit of worldbuilding in this show that's actually seriously impressed me. I love it.

Actual lore as to why humans don't have magic. Well. Not entirely. But it's better than what we had.

I liked Amaya and Janai's wedding looks. Cute.

Janai like Ehe I'll bring out my armies after I get married 😜 is funny. She isn't a very good queen but she is the moment! The gossip blogs would love her.

Ezran eating shit and not having his """diplomacy""" work out. LMAO.

SOL REGEM DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Kinda getting a y'know vibe from Soren and Corvus. I wouldn't mind that. I like that Corvus feels a little more tolerant of Soren than everyone else. It's funny Soren is like finally I'm away from my shit family but his new friends don't seem to care about him at all. Go and be totally free of all this, dude, or get a boyfriend.

Runaan back just when I was starting to think this show really hates gay males.

Rayla correcting her assumption about the sex of the diary's author was cute with the voice over changing. (cont...)

THE BAD

(... cont.) Did unfortunately then make it feel like "Had to be a woman because the author will be pining for a man."

Why is Zym STILL just a dog. Bro. It's like if all through Avatar you had to be aware Appa was going to be king someday. STOP BARKING.

Waiting for the whole cast to become vegetarians and somehow I suspect that will not be happening

When Claudia is listing the spell ingredients she could harvest from that cat thing I was just desperate to have Terry go, "Well, some of those could be ethically harvested, right?"

I find prophecies fairly corny as a writing tool and I get why they're going there -- predicted futures are the source of the anti-human oppression -- but still, I sighed.

Luna Tenebris putting a collar on her pet feels like, weird, right? Right? Right? She's not human and dragons otherwise seem so Respect all magical creatures. (Allegedly.) What is the uneven treatment of animals in this universe.

Naming your episode Red Wedding and I don't see a bloodbath ... oh, come on.

That ramble about ships from Caleb. Shudder.

Jeez, who is Rayla going to save? Her uncle who is an actual character or her backstory parents who are obviously happy and at peace? God forbid one of our main heroes has an actual hard choice to make.

Related: Caleb's 5 second rehab from dark magic.

Making his inner truth being about one other person is ... well ....

Cutting from Viren's rapidly cooling corpse to Lujanne receiving a sensual back massage was certainly a Choice.

Viren missing his wife THIS MUCH when he's barely mentioned her up to now was a little weird. I honestly think they saw the homoerotic interpretations of the very intense dynamics he had with Harrow and Aaravos and have been steadily backpedalling from that. Don't get me wrong, I can believe he loved her and he misses her, but the degree of it feels totally unearned.

I get children's media will have mascots for the children, normally I don't mind them, but dear god this show is hitting critical mass on annoying sidekicks (Zym counts as a very big one and he's already nigh unbearable.)

THE UGLY

I can imagine that the descendants of the human children Leola granted magic to are now able to do magic naturally and this could be the lore behind either Caleb or Ezran's abilities. I actually don't mind this as finally being in-universe explanation for this disparity that isn't just 'they want it more' or whatever, but it doesn't help this show's "Better People Are Born Better" messaging. Now, in that vein ...

King Ezran is a KING. Have we mentioned this? He's a king. He's divinely ordained to be above everyone else. You must show him respect because he's KING. Even Rayla emphasizes what a KING he is. BOW BEFORE HIM.

Ezran's idea of """diplomacy""" is just going "Be nice, please." (Followed by a threat LMAO.) "Go live somewhere else." WHERE. What if they try to occupy territory that isn't theirs? Xadian society seems quite separated and territorial. Ezran doesn't consider this. He doesn't consider anything. He has no actual diplomatic skills because he never offers anything, he just expects people to listen to him because he's KING.

You know in Parasite when they're like Of course the rich people are nice, they can afford to be? When Ezran was going I'm a king and I can choose kindness I was like, You're king because of an accident of your birth, and all your privilege and people looking out for you allows you to operate the way you do.

(Janai having an evil brother who is Not The True Heir To The Throne and Trying To Steal It is just part of the show's overall obsession with this narrative -- see also Viren coming from a less privileged background.)

Of course it's still funny to see Ezran be continuously characterized as So Compassionate, So Loving but when it comes to say, Not burning his own people alive or Extending the hand of kindness to one of his oldest childhood friends or her father, he just turns that shit off. This could be interesting hypocrisy if I thought the show was trying to intentionally paint him this way, instead of just wanting him to not be a total pushover because he's THE KING!!! ALL BOW BEFORE THE KING!!!!

The unbelievable frustration caused by a scene where Claudia is begging to not have to use dark magic -- Terry coming in and saving the day with natural magic -- Claudia staring at the peaceful solution and realizing she needs to change -- BUT IT'S STILL A FUNDAMENTAL DISPARITY IN HOW HUMANS CAN EXIST IN THIS WORLD? Is Claudia supposed to die because dark magic is too wrong to use? Now we have the reveal that humans are being actively denied magic I'm hesitantly hopeful they may get some justice in this regard, but it doesn't change the reality of humans right now. What are humans supposed to do? Rely on others for help? Oh, sure, most of the elves and dragons we meet now are just so nice and helpful to humans, because of the show's 'bad apple' approach to prejudice I've mentioned before, but we know that wasn't always the case.

Like, this actual reminder that the difference in power between a single dragon and a human settlement, and unlike the last time we're on the side of humans this time so you can better appreciate the horror of it ... it's depressing to feel like "Only by grace of your betters do you survive." It's echoes of Janai's 'forgiveness' of the human who put out the fire of that elf who assaulted her. "Aren't you lucky we're so NICE?"

This is all compounded by what I meant at the start of my review, that they've written themselves into a corner, especially wrt dark magic. In universe Soren sees no choice but to ask his father to do dark magic, something all the characters scold each other for constantly. Out of universe, the writers had a huge fuck off dragon come along to commit genocide against the humans and the only realistic solution is .... having Viren do dark magic, something the narrative constantly reinforces as bad. They ultimately frame this act as heroic, and according to a writer (I believe) on the discord, he speaks the spell forward to represent how this act of inherent good overcomes the "inherent evil" of dark magic (quotation marks theirs, interestingly.) I think the writers, for the most part, clearly like Viren and Claudia a lot, and like giving them 'big moments' with dark magic ... but this is part of the reason why the show has continuously reinforced a NEED for dark magic without giving any viable solution for the average human who doesn't have natural magical powers or is friends with dragons and elves like our main heroes. Ultimately, it feels hypocritical of the show to keep going on about the evil of dark magic (now very firmly an addiction metaphor) while having no solution for humans in tricky situations that aren't "magic you and only you can do, for some reason" or "queen dragon who somehow still isn't dead dear god coming to save you" or, y'know, "dark magic." Only one of these is really viable for the average person.

Like, you make it an addiction metaphor, but where's the alternative? Vampires need to drink blood to survive but vampire series often show vampires refusing to drink human blood as an addiction metaphor ... they drink animal blood instead, or something, and you get the metaphor. Right now, in TDP, it's either, do dark magic and suffer, or don't do dark magic and ... suffer more? Okay. I'm not saying life has to be fair or that there isn't value in accepting loss, but when Viren scolds Kpp'Ar for having all his fun with dark magic and then very callously dismissing Viren's fear for his son, I felt that. Viren isn't begging for a beer here. He's begging to save his son. Addiction metaphors need to match the scale and reality of what is being shown to you.

Sorry, I'm now going to harp on more about the Your Betters Are Born Better stuff now because I was actually enjoying (you know, tearfully so) Viren's death until his final lines. WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I GASPED!!!!!!!! HOLD ON!!!!!!!!!!! Like, let me get it out of the way, I get it echoes his last exchange to Harrow and his loyalty to Harrow is tied to his loyalty to Katolis, and they're saying "He was power hungry but now he is acting in a way that is purely, totally selfless for maybe the first time in his life," which is fine. The problem is, I have sat through six seasons of this show kissing royal ass. I have seen Aanya (shudder) mock him for not being a real noble-born ruler. I have seen Ezran's divine authority be reinforced time and again, and seen Viren throw himself submissively before his King to submit to his judgement as King, not as someone he once hurt. I have been reminded time and again that less privileged people who want the power necessary to succeed in a world biased against them are power-hungry lunatics unless they submit themselves enough to the Supreme Order of the world. So to have Viren's last words be him reinforcing that the most heroic thing he can ever be is A LOYAL SERVANT is just ... horrible. If they'd just kept the framing of Viren's death on his love for his family, it would have been way, way better.

Altogether I uh guess the season was mostly fine. They actually did a better job tying disparate narratives together with common themes which I appreciate. I liked the magefam stuff. I hope Soren eventually learns the stuff Viren chose not to tell him. I hope there's realistic forward growth on the attitude towards dark magic and why humans feel they need it, like some acknowledgement that Katolis was only saved because of Viren (make that two nations he has explicitly saved.) Maybe even Ezran can take a break from being unbearably sanctimonious to properly acknowledge his sacrifice. That would be nice!

I really hope humans get some justice for how they've been actively denied a valuable resource. It seems a self-fulfilling prophecy (they punished Leola for giving humans magic, this made Aaravos go darksided, Aaravos gave humans dark magic, humans are very set against the magical community for the way they've been treated so they're more callous about using dark magic) so I hope the ultimate lesson won't be "humans don't deserve this" but "humans only ended up here because they were treated like they don't deserve it, but they do, by right of existing as beings in this world." If Callum (+ Ezran) end the series as the only or some of the only humans with magic powers, I'm going to eat drywall.

[sarasade]

It's been pretty interesting to follow the

"Why Didn't Viren Get Redeemed vs Viren Got What Was Coming To Him"

discussion after The Dragon Prince's 6th season got released.

Hot Take

I think Viren got redeemed.

Because to me Viren humbling himself and acknowledging the hurt he has caused was redeeming. His conversation with Soren was the main event. His rather heroic death was only the cherry on top of the character development cake that has been baking since s4.

I think Viren dying wasn't as significant as what he did before that and how he tried to provide Soren with some kind of comfort and closure, you know, as a parent should, before going. Viren's redemption wasn't just him dying for Katolis but acknowledging his wrongdoings and trying to salvage what he could.

That was pretty redeeming for me at least. Viren did the right thing even when he knew there wouldn't be any reward for it. Even if he couldn't stop Aaravos from destroying Katolis or manipulating Claudia even after his death. Like, man, I kinda feel for the guy.

I think it has always pretty easy to feel sympathy for Viren. Viren wants to matter and wants to be important. However, his grandiosity, as psychologists would call it, keeps him from creating genuine connections with others. His friends, wife and children are only there to prop up his ego or get rejected if they fail to live up to his expectations. It's also pretty damn tragic that Viren opens up about his deep insecurities to Aaravos of all people. Someone who was the most likely person in the world to exploit these insecurities for his own gain.

Viren had to taste his own medicide but I don't think TDP says that's an objectively good thing per se or that we should enjoy this sort of revenge fantasy uncritically. Viren is still portrayed rather sympathetically and of course there is the part about his actions affecting others and the world in unpredictable ways. It's still a tragedy because Viren's actions and personal problems have caused so much collateral damage. The Why behind Aaravos exploiting Viren and Claudia is part of that tragedy, too. There are no winners here. In a way Viren is a victim of his own narcissistic tendencies, too.

This isn't just about the final episodes of Viren's arc. To me it's essential to ask What was Viren's biggest sin he should be redeemed or punished for? Depending on your answer you may have a relatively different reading of s6 story development compared to mine.

To me it's not a specific action he took but his whole worldview. Viren is a fictional character (duh!) so his story isn't exactly literal but metaphorical, a representation of certain values and morals real people and society holds. In s3 TDP draws a pretty straightforward, though brief, comparison between Viren and reactionary right-wing ideologues. It's not exactly subtle.

It's just one way TDP goes to show how toxic and abusive Viren's core values are. that gets reflected both in Viren's personal life aka how he treated Lissa, Soren and even Harrow and Claudia (last two more indirectly). Since he also had a ton of political power as a high mage and briefly as a king we see what he did with that power. It's a pretty clear take on people who dehumanise others, fetishise power and see all living things as something to exploit. TDP explores that both philosophically and psychologically through Viren. Dark magic encapsulates this philosophy well since using magical creatures like tools or objects is essential for it to work.

Also also- I don't really get why people see redemption or atonement as something black and white. It's not bad or anything but Redeeming Yourself For Your Sins is a very Christian concept and Christianity isn't the only way to understand villain story arcs. Like I wish there could be more discussion about WHY redemption is the main analytical framework we impose on villains when villainous characters have a ton of variety anyway.

I don't really have anything to complain about Viren's death itself and I'm not surprised that he ended up dying (for real this time). Aaravos seemed like someone who'd turn against Viren the moment he stopped being useful to him so Viren's life has been hanging by a thread since s4. Viren was the best part of TDP and every scene he's been in had been a delight, well expect the s5 dream sequence because it was too long-winded and obvious, anyway, I'm sorry to see him go and I look forward writing AU fix-it fics where he and Aaravos are married and run a hot brown morning potion shop with all their four totally not dead children. RIP Viren. You lived like a messy bitch and died like a messy bitch. Iconic.

[dark-frosted-heart]

Roger Barel Main Route - Blind Love Epilogue

As usual, can’t guarantee 100% accuracy on this. I’m doing this for archiving purposes and you can probably find a better translation out there.

nsfw, minors dni

A season had passed since I decided to continue being Roger’s exclusive Fairytale Keeper.

Kate: Lately, Roger’s been acting strange.

Victor: Roger’s always acting strange, so that's normal!

William: Yes, since he’s also Crown, he’s an eccentric who wears a mask of decency. Completely normal

While I told the two about my worries during a tea party, they just smiled gracefully as they sipped from their teacups.

When I raised my shoulders, William chuckled.

William: Heh, sorry. Victor and I are happy that we get to spend some time with you. 

Victor: Yes, since you’re always with Roger. This time we have is valuable, and we’re enjoying it.

Kate: Thank you, William, Victor. I’m enjoying my time with you two as well.

Victor: So…What do you mean by “strange”?

Kate: Roger’s always been very into his research, but recently, he’s been a little too into it…

~~ Flashback ~~

Kate: Roger, it’s almost midnight. Are you not heading to bed soon?

Roger: Hmm, nah. I’m fine, you go on ahead. Good night, Kate.

--

Kate: Roger, why not take a break since you’ve been working all day? How about some good beer…

Roger: I’m on a roll right now. Save me a beer.

~~ End flashback ~~

Kate: …Stuff like that.

Victor: It definitely is strange for him to refuse his favorite beer!

Kate: Right?!

After he and Victor exchanged glances and nodded at each other, William’s smile widened.

William: You’re feeling discontent that your lover’s paying more attention to his research than you, aren’t you? You’re so adorable.

Kate: That’s! That’s right… While I do want his attention, I’m more concerned about his health since he hasn’t taken a break…

Roger’s lifespan’s already been cut short because of his research.

That’s why I want him to live longer, even if it’s just for a second.

I want us to live together for as long as possible.

Victor: Kate’s right, he shouldn’t be reckless. However, sometimes working hard’s what makes you feel alive and brightens life up. From my perspective, Roger appears livelier than ever. Moreover…The reason why Roger’s been so into his research—I believe it’s to do with his relationship with you.

Kate: With me…?

Victor: I definitely don’t know for sure. That’s something you’ll have to ask Roger.

(...Victor and WIlliam are right)

Roger and I had gone through a lot before we became lovers, and we’re here now because we’d talk to each other every time.

Kate: Thank you, Victor, William. I’ll go ask Roger.

--

After Kate scampered out of the room like a dog, William narrowed his eyes.

William: You’re as good of a liar as ever. You know what Roger’s been “doing”.

Victor: I do. Despite being human, that man is likely trying to step into the domain of the gods.

William: You got them to stay together, expecting some sort of unpredictable reaction. Was this the outcome you expected?

Victor: It was more freeing and groundbreaking that I expected—I find it amusing.

William: …You really are evil.

--

(—I made up my mind to talk to Roger)

If I approached it the same way as usual, he’d turn me away again. 

Jude: Move, you’re in my way.

Kate: Ah, Jude. Good timing. I have a question.

Jude: Do ya have selective hearing for stuff that’s inconvenient?

Kate: How do you talk to someone about something when they’re always finding ways to avoid it?

Jude: *sigh* Gotta take their freedom and interrogate. Ya can also restrain ‘em, threaten ‘em, or use sleeping pills to cloud their judgment. 

Kate: I’d rather not do something extreme, but I’d probably get turned away again if I don’t. I think Alfons has some sleeping pills that are safe to use. Thanks Jude!

Jude: …O_O The hell is she doin’ that to.

--

Alfons shared some sleeping pills.

That night, I dropped them into water and gave it to Roger after his bath.

—But when he drank the water, he frowned…

Roger: This water tastes funny…It tastes like…sleeping pills.

Kate: What?!

Roger: Yep. I know what most drugs smell and taste like. Should’ve put them in something with a stronger taste if you wanted to trick me.

Kate: Then why did you drink it all…?

Roger: Thought it’d be fun to play along.

Roger smirked and looked at me leisurely.

Roger: Suppose I got about 30 minutes before I conk out. Better tell me what you’re up to now.

(...Since he’s already seen through me, I’ll have to tell him everything)

I first told him about how I tried to trap him so that we could talk properly.

Kate: I’m really sorry for trying something as stupid as that sneak attack…!

Roger: …Pfft, heh…

Kate: …Roger?

Roger: Nothing. Just didn’t expect you to use sleeping pills. You’re turning more into my type.

The way he happily ruffled my hair made any feelings of regret disappear.

(Roger really is a strange person…I also love that about him)

Roger: So, were you thinking I was doing some other research on top of my curse research?

Kate: Yes. What exactly is making you work so hard?

Roger: The ends of chromosomes have this structure. I believe they play an important part in chromosome integrity. The shortening of those structures might a cause of aging—

Kate: Um, Roger!

Roger: Hm?

Kate: …Can you simplify that for me?

Roger gave a knowing smirk and spoke again.

Roger: Research on extending lifespans.

(——Huh)

That’s not what I had expected and my thoughts came to a halt. However,

Kate: Extending lifespans. That…

Roger: I’m aware that what I’m researching is unethical. I’m not trying to be a god. It’s evil to speculate on and take human life under the guise of God. Humans can’t become gods. And I got no intention of creating a monster like immortality. But I can still get as close to being a god as possible and use that power properly and effectively. In short, I wanna fight back so that I can live for even just a second longer.

Kate: …Roger.

Roger: If you disagree with it, then—

Kate: I don’t. If I’m not mistaken…is it possible you’re doing this research… To live with me for even a second longer? 

Roger just smiled.

That smile alone was enough to explain everything.

Roger: I’ve already given you everything I have.

The deed to his land, property and assets, a lab coat…Roger had left me a lot of things.

Roger: But that’s no reason to give up on wanting to live a little longer. Never imagined I’d try to do something as stupid as getting close to being a god. It’s all because I fell for you, Kate.

Kate: …

What Roger was trying to do was self-centered and probably disgraceful.

But even if everyone criticized him, I’d rejoice in it.

I really am starting to become like Roger.

Kate: …You really are absurd. But…thank you, I love you.

Roger: I know. Ah…Damn it…I’m gonna pass out.

Roger removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

Roger: Haven’t slept much lately so this drug’s working fast.

His large frame flopped onto the bed like a puppet with its strings cut.

While holding me in his arms.

Kate: Roger?

Roger: …Gonna make love to you…the moment I wake up. So…stay with me…’til... I...wake…up…

After saying that, his breathing started to even out.

Kate: …If you say stuff like that…then I can’t let you go.

Lying in Roger’s arms, I listened to his heartbeat.

The thumping reminded me of  a small animal, and my chest tightened.

(...Even if it’s only for a second longer, I want to be with you forever) 

I ended up falling asleep in his arms and had a dream.

It was a dream about Roger and I living together forever.

We lived forever while fighting against despair—sometimes getting hurt, other times laughing together.

But I knew this was a dream, and that reality wouldn’t be as sweet or kind.

We haven’t found a way to get rid of curses or extend lifespans…

Such a future might not be possible.

But that doesn’t mean we have to give up.

Fighting against despair is what kept us alive.

--

A soft light shined on my eyes and I awoke from my slumber.

Kate: …Mnn…

Roger: …Ah, you’re finally awake. Morning, Kate. Well, I guess your body woke up first.

Kate: Huh? Ah…!

My nightgown was bunched up and Roger’s fingers were buried between my legs.

Even though I just woke up, I already felt so hot, achey, and wet…

Roger licked his fingers and then spread my legs—

Kate: Ahhh—

He lined himself up with my entrance before thrusting in.

Roger: Haaa…I got turned on but how cute you looked while sleeping…

He looked at me as he continued to thrust in and out.

Roger: So, what’d you dream about?

Kate: Nn, ahh… …It was…about your…dreams.

Roger: …O_O

He brought my hand to his chest.

(Ah…)

I could feel Roger’s heart beating a little faster than before.

Roger: I’m in good health. At this rate, I’m not gonna die even if I’m killed.

Kate: Hehe, then I’ll give you more things for your heart to beat for so that you’ll live longer.

Roger: …Since when did you get so good at provoking me?

Kate: Huh? Ahh…

I felt him grow harder and Roger laughed.

Roger: Then let’s do a lot of exciting stuff, Kate.

Kate: Roger, ahh…wait! Ahh! 

As I thoroughly received Roger’s warmth, I made a wish.

I wished that my days with him would last for even just a second longer.

I wished for a miraculous eternity.