#and steamrolled any mistakes I saw!

[lizzybeanbutt]

DANCE LIKE WHATEVER! for make a terrible comic day 2024

[kyriethesquishysquid]

Betrayal Never Felt So Good (König/Fem!Reader) Chapter 8

You can find Chapter 1 here, Chapter 2 here, Chapter 3 here, Chapter 4 here, Chapter 5 here, Chapter 6 here, and Chapter 7 here!

Word count: ~2.5k

Rating: Mature

A/N: Alright, lads, ladies, and bad babes, we’re getting into the thick of it with this one. Please don’t harass me about my inability to write action lol. I’m doing my best, I swear! This is just a short transition chapter to the big bulk of the badness! I hope it’s not too crap and is enough to keep y’all entertained until I can get the rest out. Also, I love the thing media does where they put off-brand names for things so Imma do that occasionally lol. If you catch it in this chapter, kudos to you. 

TW: Badly written action and some violence. Next chapter will be quite detailed and heavy in serious themes, but this one has a lighter tone so it's safe!

Bad German translations bc I’m STILL a lame monolingual American, and STILL no beta because we die like jackass Graves.

It was happening; your worst nightmare was finally coming true. König was in danger. Serious danger, if Luke’s expression was determination enough. You’d never seen the soldier so scared and it was enough to make you fear the worst. 

“Have you called for help yet?” you asked, eyes locked on the ominous building a few hundred meters away. 

“Not yet but-”

“Then call in the backup and then let’s fucking get in there!” Amy shrieked. 

Luke looked like he was about to pass out, face white as a sheet and hands trembling as he lifted up his phone. 

“I-I’ll call but- but I think we should wait-”

You couldn’t help but roll your eyes at him as you spat back, “You know what, you want to wait out here, that’s fine! But I am not leaving them in there if there’s even a slight chance I can help them out!”  

The instant he started speaking to someone, you and Amy rushed down the hill, ignoring the angry cries from the man you left behind. Once you made it to the edge of the clearing, you dropped low to the ground, giving Amy a signal to wait as you crawled forward. Where you had been sad at the lack of the moon earlier, it worked out in your favor now. You took a steadying breath when you made it to the doors and gently pushed on one to see if it was locked. When it swung open easily, you weren’t sure if you were more happy or worried. They had an active threat in their labs and they didn’t go into complete lockdown? It made no sense. 

Although, nothing about this made sense. The boys had surveyed this place well enough, got a decent layout of the building and the schedule of the operators, and yet everything had gone to shit. How had everything gone so wrong to the point Max, Horangi, and König were relying on a newbie soldier and two nurses for rescue.

Brows knitted together in thought, you waved Amy over and entered the doors together. Somehow, you both managed to be completely silent as you stalked through the halls. There was still a siren blaring intermittently and you could hear yelling off in the distance, but you couldn’t tell exactly from where. It almost reminded you of a show you’d seen before; “Weirder Things” and the lab that the main protagonist, Twelve, had escaped from. Hopefully, you wouldn’t come across any interdimensional creatures. Hell, you could hardly handle fighting a human at that point, anything with MORE power would steamroll you no matter your weapons. 

Thinking of said weapons, you drew your M18 from its holster and put your finger over the safety. Who knew if you’d run into your teammates before the enemies? You’d never forgive yourself for accidentally hurting one of them over a stupid mistake. 

“Which way do we want to go?” Amy asked softly from behind you as you came to a four-way intersection.  

You hesitated as you glanced over the signs on the wall before turning to face her fully, flinching in shock when you saw Luke creeping up behind her. He gave you an apologetic look when he joined your huddle.

“We each take a hall?” you offered weakly. 

Amy grimaced and you could see Luke was about to speak up, but the sudden pained cry of an injured man tore your attention from them. Neither one of them moved from their position Apparently, it was up to you to take charge. All those lessons from Max and the few years you had in wisdom on them were your only saving grace.  

“We don’t have time to pussyfoot around on this, guys. Backup is coming, yeah?” you asked as your eyes cut to Luke. 

He nodded once and you sighed. 

“Good, then, let’s just go,” you demanded, “Backup will be here soon and we need to find them before they get hurt or worse!”

“I don’t like this, I think we need to stay together,” Luke retorted. 

Lifting an eyebrow at him, you crossed your arms over your chest and asked, “And what do you suggest then, sir” 

The panic that flitted across his face made your lips turn down. Of course, he wanted to speak up but had nothing to back it up. 

“We- We just go back out and wait-”

“The love of my life is in there, in god knows what condition, after we let them walk into a fucking trap and you want me to just SIT AND WAIT?! Not happening, Luke! Like I said before, if you want to hide, get out, but stay the hell out of my way!” 

You didn’t give him the chance to respond before turning and rushing off down the left hall. If they weren’t going to help find them, you’d do it yourself. Even if it was just to buy them time until the actual rescue arrived. Hearing quick footsteps back at the crossways, you saw Amy dart down the other hall, no sign of Luke in eyesight. 

“He really left,” you sighed. 

In a way, you couldn't really blame him. If it wasn’t König and Max in there, you likely wouldn’t risk your life either, but you wished you had his help. Neither you nor Amy were built for combat, lacking the proper training and resources that the others had. 

Shaking the cobwebs of your thoughts away, you pushed on. You really had to focus if you were going to get everyone out of this alive. The first door you came across was wide open, giving you a view of what looked to be a lab, devoid of anything except empty beakers, silent equipment, and barren tables. The next two rooms were similar, leaving you with an eerie feeling. The way there was obviously ongoing fighting and alarms raised, and yet there was no one to be seen; no security walking around, no locked doors, nothing. Something seemed off but you couldn’t exactly place it. 

Of course, you’d felt that way all day. From the very second you had woken up, dread wrapped around your guts and subdued your mood with its paralyzing tendrils; an acrid taste filling the back of your throat each and every time your eyes met König’s. Part of you had wanted to beg them to wait to make their move but you knew there were orders they had to follow. Gods did you wish you had pushed for it though. The past had taught you to listen to your intuition and the one time you hadn’t…

“Found one!” 

Before you could acknowledge the sudden voice yelling from behind you, agony crashed across the back of your head and darkness filtered in from the edges of your vision. The incoming white tile of the floor was the last thing you clearly saw before you passed out and the pain in your skull was the first thing you felt when you came too. Before you even fully woke, you grimaced in frustration. 

“What the fuck?” you hissed.

It felt like you had been hit by a truck. Realization struck hard when you went to touch your head only to find your arms immovable, bound behind your back against the pole pressing into your spine. It was hard to think, to remember anything past the throbbing ache reverberating through your skull.

“H-Hey, you’re awake!”

Amy’s weak voice was enough to jolt you from the stupor of your inner turmoil. Groaning as the blinding light filtered through your squinted eyes, you fought through the pain to find her and were thankful when you spotted her, relatively unharmed, a few feet away. 

“Oh thank god,” she whimpered, fat tears rolling down her flushed cheeks, “I was so worried they had killed you!” 

You managed a weak smile before the pain became too much, your expression falling back into a grimace. 

“Where are we?” you asked. 

“I don’t know. Some room in the labs, I think. There was a man watching us but he left when I woke up,” she explained. 

With a little nod of understanding, you took a better look around the room and let out a huff of frustration. It was clear you weren’t in any of the rooms you’d previously checked in, possibly in some sort of meeting room if the large table and multiple chairs across the room suggested anything. There was only one door and it was on the other side of the room, left cracked open as if mocking your inability to get to it. As you were feeling around the ropes on your wrists, the squeak of door hinges made you freeze. Your eyes lifted toward the noise just to find a group of three men now filling the room with their intimidating presence. 

“Well, look at this, two little birds wrapped up like pretty little presents for me!” 

The man in the middle was the one to speak, thick lips curved into a cruel smile as his heavy Russian accent floated through the room in time with his steps. You couldn’t stop the shiver that ran through your body when you felt his eyes land on you. Whereas König’s gaze made you feel hot, this man’s made your skin crawl, even through the large douchey sunglasses he wore. There was no denying he and his men were a threat, the wound on the back of your skull proof enough of that. 

“And who do we have the pleasure of joining us for this little impromptu meeting tonight?” he jeered, head turning from you to Amy. 

“Leave her alone,” you bit out instinctively. 

His furry black brows darted up above his glasses in surprise. The two men beside him burst into laughter, clearly amused by your words, and it was all you could do not to spit at them. Better their focus be on you than her, anyway. 

“Who am I to deny such a luscious little thing my attention? So, who are you then, pet?” he practically purred.

At first, you didn’t answer, trying to prolong the little game as long as possible, and then his hands were around your throat. Amy cried out but you simply swallowed and stared at him head on. 

“Tell us who you are, what your men are doing here, and we’ll think about letting you and your little friend go. Don’t and- well, you won’t like what my boys will do to you. Let’s just say… you two are much more their taste than the soldiers upstairs. Soft, pretty, and so unbelievably weak.”

The sickly sweet words were enough to make you sick, but the pressure around your throat felt even worse. His hands were damp with sweat, meaty fingers tightening bit by bit until the pain in your windpipe made it hard to breathe.

“It’s polite to introduce yourself first, sir,” you gasped out, keeping your voice as even as possible. 

You wanted to gag just uttering those words, but it was clear you were going to have to play into his egomania in any way possible to keep the situation calm. The moment he eased up on his hold, you sucked in a panicked breath. 

“Heh, right you are. The name’s Andrei. Now?” 

Licking your dry lips, you swallowed hard and whispered, “Y/N.” 

“Good girl,” he snickered, patting a heavy hand on your cheek before he waltzed over to Amy.

Her eyes widened, giving her all the look of a frightened deer down to the visible trembling through her body. 

“And what is your name, little bunny?” he asked. 

“A-Amy!” she answered immediately. 

You shot her a little encouraging smile when her eyes darted toward yours and she nodded once. 

“Amy, lovely name, little bunny. What is a sweet little thing like you doing with big brutes like those?” 

When she looked your way again, you didn’t have an answer for her. While obviously, you wanted to avoid giving out any pertinent information, her safety was extremely important. 

“I-I’m a nurse.”

For some reason, that amused the asshole, his laughter grating on your ears when he turned back to you. 

“And you, you’re a nurse too?” he asked. 

You nodded and replied, “Yes.” 

“Hmm, this is an interesting turn of events. Malaki, keep an eye on them while I go call him.”

Without another word, the two dark haired men left and only the blonde remained, leaning against the wall with his arms across his strapping chest in an imposing manner. 

“Y/N, are- are we going to be okay?” Amy asked softly, drawing your attention back to her. 

“Yeah, we’ll be fine. Luke, remember?” you assured her warmly. 

A flash of hope lit up her eyes and it nearly broke you. Hopefully, you were right. Hopefully, Luke’s call for help had been early enough to get people here to rescue you all in time. Hopefully, you’d all make it out of this alive. 

It was hard to stay hopeful as the awkward silence of the room stretched on from minutes to an hour. Just how long were they going to wait to get on with this? You should have been thankful for the break from the sleazy men but in all reality, it was just causing the anxiety about the whole situation to double. What was taking them so long? 

You were just about to ask the blonde stranger that when finally, finally the glasses-clad douchebag and his lackey reentered the room. 

“I’m glad to see you two are so well behaved,” Andrei cackled, “Much better than those three upstairs. I’d hate to have to hurt you into submission.” 

At those words, your heart leapt into your throat. Of course König and the others wouldn’t back down easily. You could only imagine the lengths these Russian fucks had to go to just to get the boys even mildly under hand. 

“Damien, Borris, collect them and let’s get going. He is waiting for us in Sergiev Posad.” 

“Wait, what?!” Amy squeaked. 

Andrei grinned maniacally while the other two began working. 

“You ladies will be returning home with us,” he explained, “The boss wants to meet you, you see, and of course your friends upstairs. Kill two birds with one stone, yeah?” 

Defeat blossomed painfully in your chest as the blonde Russian- Damien- manhandled you to your feet, the jerking motion causing the throb in your skull to ramp back up in time. You were being kidnapped… again. This time not by some lovely Austrian man who turned out to be the love of your life, but instead by one of the biggest criminal organizations known to the world, and it wasn’t just you going down into the trenches. 

“Y/N?” Amy gasped softly.

The panic in her tone made your heart ache harder. As the men forced you both along, you forced on the bravest face you could manage and whispered her name back, pulling tear-filled doe eyes your way. 

“It’s going to be okay,” you promised, “We’re going to be okay.” 

“O-Okay,” she whispered back. 

Bitter taste heavy on your tongue, you managed a weak smile before falling back in step with the brutes beside you. Gods, please let your words be true. 

[bottleofbread]

Looks sad. Whips out the Ukulele

"Hi. It's been a while since you saw my face. I haven't been doing so great, so I took a little break. A lot of people are saying some things about me that aren't quite true. It doesn't matter if it's true though just as long as it's entertaining to you. right? You guys having fun? All aboard the toxic gossip train chugging down the tracks of misinformation.

The toxic gossip train... They got a one-way ticket to manipulation station. Toxic gossip traaaain. Tie me to the tracks and harass me for my past. Rumors look like facts if you don't mind the gaps and I won't survive the crash but heyyyy. At least you are having fun.

Uh hi everyone, I've been wanting to come online and talk to you about a few things um even though my team has strongly advised me to not say what I want to say I recently realized that they never said that I couldn't sing what I want to say. So... (looks super smug and really proud of herself)

So here I am and um today I only want to talk about the facts so I hope that you'll be willing to listen.

Here we go.

Many years ago I used to message my fans uh but not in a creepy way like a lot of you are trying to suggest it was more of a loser kind of way but I was just trying to be besties with everybody. it's kind of like when you go to like a family gathering you know and there's a weird aunt there keeps coming up to you and going like "hey girl what's the tea?" and you're like that weird. Uhm that was me but in group chats with my fans. it was weird.

I've been sharing my life online for over 15 years I've poured my heart out to you and because of that I feel like I'm talking to my friends but in the beginning of my career I didn't really understand that maybe there should be some boundaries there.

There were times the DMS when I would share details of my life, which was really weird of me. I haven't done for in years you see, because I changed my behavior and I took accountability.

But that's not very interesting is it? So let's go on the toxic gossip train. Locomotives filed fueled with hateful accusations. The toxic gossip train. Steamrolling all over someone's reputation

Toxic gossip train, hop on board but close your eyes otherwise you'll realize that the train is made of lies and that the person you despise maybe didn't deserve to die, but hey at least you're having fun.

In all seriousness, I do think it's really important to hold people accountable for their mistakes um you know we should hope that everyone can learn from their mistakes and grow and change their behavior and be a better person. This is something that I've always tried to do when I make mistakes. It's something that I will continue to try to do...

What oh you don't care oh okay I thought you wanted me to take accountability but that's not the point of your mob mentality, is it? No, your goal is to ruin the life of the person you despise while you dramatize your lies and monetize their demise ... yeah.

I feel like I can already hear the comments on this video: she's gaslighting, manipulating oh she's a narcissist and a rat, I would never make a mistake like that.

oh I'm sorry I didn't realize that all of you are perfect, so please criticize me. Bring out the daggers made from your perfect past and stab me repeatedly in my bony little back. I'm sure you're disappointed in my shitty little song. I know you wanted me to say that I was 100% in the wrong. Well I'm sorry, I'm not gonna take that route of admitting to lies and rumors that you made up for clout.

Hey everybody I found someone new to harass she did some things that I do not like in her past so everybody gather round cause we're about to attack but not based on facts. Oh no you're loaded Lethal Weapon It's your fingers on the keys. You don't need any armor when you can hide behind a screen so shoot me down quick, with a click and bam - the reputation is deceased.

I also wanted to take a minute to talk about that girl, Miranda Sings, you know the one. She's PG-13 it says that on my website and it's always been that way and that's why you won't find my videos on the YouTube kids app anyway. um I didn't realize it was my responsibility to decide what was appropriate for every kid to see. I've always relied on parents to decide if they're comfortable, with their families watching my YouTube videos or coming to my live shows.

Now. Have I made some jokes in poor taste? yes. Have I made lots of dumb mistakes? yes.

am I sad that there are some fans who feel betrayed? yes.

Was my intention to manipulate? No.

It doesn't really matter what my intention was because it seems as though everyone's already decided on that.

Let me tell you it's not very fun to have millions of people all over the world call you the most vile ,horrendous, disgusting, life-ruining words that a person can be called, in my opinion.

Um it doesn't matter that these things aren't true, everyone just believes that you are the type of person who manipulates and abuses children.

oh I just wanted to say that um the thing I've ever groomed is my two Persian cats. I'm not a groomer I'm just a loser who didn't understand I shouldn't respond to fans and I'm not a predator, even though a lot of you think so, because five years ago I made a fart joke.

So even though I know this video won't change anyone's mind about me I still felt it was important to come on here and defend myself a little and take accountability. And I also wanted to say that to anyone out there who has ever supported me, in any capacity, I really really appreciate you. thank you.

For what it's worth, I never had any bad intentions but I do feel like shit.

The toxic gossip train, you're chugging down the track of misinformation. Toxic gossip train... You've got a one way ticket to manipulation station. Toxic gossip train... you tied me to the tracks and harassed me for my past. Rumors look like facts when you don't mind the gaps. I won't survive and crash, but hey...I hope you had some fun.

dramatically comes close to the camera to turn it off and then continues with:

Actually, you know, I feel like maybe I should let you guys know something. um it seems like, maybe you're confused about something. I don't know.

Let me try to help, um.

Sometimes people make a mistake and it does and make them a horrible person. whoaaaa. sometimes people can make a mistake and they're still a good person, crazy I know. sometimes people can make a mistake and you don't have to take a mistake and twist it up and grind it and add some lies to it and pulverize it and stab it with knives and ruin a life and. oh no sometimes people can make a mistake, it doesn't mean you gotta send them hate. oh no sometimes people can make a mistake and you can kindly let them know and help them to grow.

sometimes people make mistakes simply because they made a mistake and that mistake doesn't make them a terrible human, it just makes them a human.

But what do I know? Fuck me, right?

[rubyvroom]

BG1 playthrough 1 ending: excellent, no notes. okay some notes.

My blundering first playthrough gets funnier and funnier the more I get into the second playthrough and realize all the mistakes I made. For example:

I did not save anybody from the fire at Wakeugan's Rest. XD I thought I had time! I did not!

Did not save the kid from the Harpies! I thought I had time! I did not!

Did not realize there was a faerie in the lantern. I thought the game was glitching because the little voice came up right after the kid was snatched up at Last Light.

WHY DID I NEVER USE TALK TO ANIMALS SPELL ON SCRATCH. I COULD HAVE BEEN TALKING TO SCRATCH THE WHOLE ASS TIME. I did this accidentally on playthrough 2 and I just about fell out of my chair.

Zevlor and a bunch of the Tieflings just disappeared and I never got them back. IDK.

In retrospect, I should have reloaded when Jaheira died storming Moonlight Towers. I didn't know I would be able to keep her!

Apparently I should not have murdered Minsc? Boy was I surprised to learn he can be a companion. With no Jaheira that was not at all clear.

Ditto Minthara, although really I can't imagine recruiting her. I don't want to destroy the Emerald Grove and my tiefling bros

Did not grasp that you can change classes for the origins characters. Which I am immediately doing for my next playthrough because some of the character class choices are... weird.

I can learn new spells from scrolls? Whoops. I think I knew I could do this but I never saw HOW so I just used them up at random.

I super did not do enough long rests, I missed a lot of cut scenes. I thought there were a lot more timed quest consequences than there actually are.

And yet! I still got the "good" endings for all the companions I think. Selunite Shadowheart, not-exploded Gale back with Mystra, Karlach and Wyll adventuring through the hells together (aw), Asterion non-ascended but kind of self-actualized, La'zel working as a diplomat for Orpheus. It leaves me sort of wondering if my second playthrough will be satisfying, since I can't imagine I'd want to get different endings for any of the above. I might like to not end up transforming into a mind-flayer next time in order to defeat the uber-brain? That was a little bit of a bummer even though it was perfectly in character for my paladin.

Despite getting the "right" endings I clearly didn't get anyone's approval up very high, and in fact I didn't know on my first playthrough where to even FIND the approval levels, which explains why I couldn't get anyone to romance me except Halsin. Which turned out fine - Halsin is great. A huge beefy elf druid who turns into a bear? Yes please!

Anyway I am already getting all these extra character moments this time through because I figured out to have a Mean Girls party (Astarion, Shadowheart, Laezel) and a Do-Gooder party (Karlach, Wyll/Gale, Halsin) depending on the quest. Now everyone loves me. This should result in some extra quests I imagine? This time out my halfling is romancing both Asterion and Shadowheart. Already turned down La'zel and Gale. She may be short but she got game.

(I tried to start a Durge playthrough but I wimped out on being evil very quickly. Maybe next time. I want to romance some of the party members before I start accidentally killing them, yes I've read the spoilers now that I finished. )

Also playing on higher difficulty this time and it's a lot easier now that I understand how the game works. The learning curve is a little brutal if you are new to this series, but I got there. For playthrough #2 I am classing like this: Karlach is a Monk which is hilarious. Will is going to be a Warlock/Ranger once he gets one more level. Dual-wielding shadow assassin Astarion is very fun. Shadowheart will take on sorcerer soon I think. La'zel is still just a fighter but that's fine, she's a beast given the right equipment. My main is a bard/warlock so extra squishy but the rest of the party steamrolls every fight.

Anyway, thats my BG3 experience, I am unblocking the tags now that I'm not avoiding spoilers.

[scrybe-of-death]

Hey

It's been a while since you saw my face

I haven't been doing so great

So I took a little break

A lot of people are saying some things about me that aren't quite true

Doesn't matter if it's true, though

Just as long as it's entertaining to you, right?

You guys having fun?

All aboard the toxic gossip train

Chugging down the tracks of misinformation

The toxic gossip train

You got a one-way ticket to manipulation station

Toxic gossip train

Tie me to the tracks and harass me for my past

Those rumors look like facts if you don't mind the gaps

I won't survive in the crash, but hey

At least you're havin' fun

Uh, hi, everyone

I've been wanting to come online and talk to you about a few things

Um, even though my team has strongly advised me to not say what I want to say

I recently realized that they never said that I couldn't sing what I wanna say, so

Here I am, and, um, today I only wanna talk about the facts

So, I hope that you'll be willing to listen

Here we go

Many years ago, I used to message my fans

Uh, but not in a creepy way like a lot of you are trying to suggest

It was more of a loser kind of way

Where I was just trying to be besties with everybody

It was kinda like, uh, when you go to like a family gathering, you know?

And there's a weird aunt there who keeps coming up to you and going like "Hey, girl, what's the tea!"

And you're like "Ehhh"

Um, that was me, but in group chats with my fans, it was weird

I've been sharing my life online for over 15 years

I've poured my heart out to you and because of that I feel

Like I'm talking to my friends, but, in the beginning of my career

I didn't really understand that maybe there should be some boundaries there

There were times in the DMs when I would overshare

Details of my life, which was really weird of me

I haven't done that for years, you see

Because I changed my behavior, and I took accountability

But that's not very interesting, is it?

So let's go on the toxic gossip train

The locomotive's fueled with hateful accusations

The toxic gossip train

Steamroll over someone's reputation

Toxic gossip train

Hop on board, but close your eyes, otherwise you'll realize

That the train is made of lies and that person you despise

Maybe didn't deserve to die

But hey, at least you're havin' fun

In all seriousness, I do think it's really important to hold people accountable for their mistakes

Um, y'know, we should hope that everyone can learn from their mistakes

And grow, and change their behavior, and be a better person

This is something that I've always tried to do when I make mistakes

And is something that I will continue to try t- what?

Oh, you don't care? Oh, okay

I thought you wanted me to take accountability

But that's not the point of your mob mentality, is it? No

Your goal is to ruin the life of the person you despise

While you dramatize your lies and monetize their demise

Yeah, um, I feel like I can already hear the comments on this video

"She's gaslighting, manipulating!"

"Ugh, she's a narcissist and a rat!"

"I would never make a mistake like that."

Oh, I'm sorry I didn't realize

That all of you are perfect, so please, criticize me

Bring out the daggers made from your perfect past

And stab me repeatedly in my bony little back

I'm sure you're disappointed in my shitty little song

I know that you wanted me to say that I was 100% in the wrong

Well, I'm sorry, I'm not gonna take that route

Of admitting to lies and rumors that you made up for clout

"Hey everybody, I found someone new to harass

She did some things that I do not like, in her past

So everybody, gather 'round, 'cause we're about to attack"

But not based on facts, oh no

Your loaded lethal weapon is your fingers on the keys

You don't need any armor when you can hide behind a screen

So, shoot me down, quick, with a click, and bam

My reputation's deceased

Uh, I also wanted to take a minute to talk about that girl, Miranda Sings

You know the one, yeah her

Uh, she's PG-13, it says that on my website

And it's always been that way

And that's why you won't find my videos on the YouTube Kids app

Anyway, um, I didn't realize it was my responsibility

To decide what was appropriate for every kid to see

I've always relied on parents to decide if they're comfortable

With their families watching my YouTube videos or coming to my live shows

Now, have I made some jokes in poor taste? Yes

Have I made lots of dumb mistakes? Yes

Am I sad that there's some fans that feel betrayed? Yes

But was my intention to manipulate? No

It doesn't really matter what my intention was

'Cause it seems as though everyone's already decided on that

Let me tell you, it's not very fun to have millions of people all over the world

Call you the most vile, horrendous, disgusting, life-ruining words

That a person can be called, in my opinion

Um, it doesn't matter that these things aren't true

Uh, everyone just believes that you are the type of person who manipulates and abuses children

So, I just wanted to say that, um

The only thing that I've ever groomed is my two Persian cats

I'm not a groomer, I'm just a loser

Who didn't understand I shouldn't respond to fans

And I'm not a predator even though a lot of you think so

Because 5 years ago, I made a fart joke

So, even though I know this video won't change anyone's mind about me

I still felt it was important to come on here and defend myself a little

And take accountability

And I also wanted to say that

To anyone out there who has ever supported me in any capacity

I really, really appreciate you, thank you

For what it's worth, I never had any bad intentions

But I do feel like shit

The toxic gossip train

Chugging down the tracks of misinformation

Toxic gossip train

You got a one way ticket to manipulation station

Toxic gossip train

You tied me to the tracks and harassed me for my past

Rumors look like facts when you don't mind the gaps

I won't survive in the crash, but hey

Hope you had some fun

Actually, y'know, I feel like maybe I should let you guys know something, um

Seems like, maybe you're confused about something? I don't know

Let me try to help, um

Sometimes people make a mistake and it doesn't make them a horrible person, whoa

Sometimes people can make a mistake and they're still a good person

Crazy, I know

Sometimes people can make a mistake and you don't have to take that mistake, oh no

And twist it up, and grind it, and add some lies to it, and pulverize it

And stab it with knives, and ruin a life, and, oh no

Sometimes people can make a mistake, it doesn't mean you gotta send them hate, oh no

Sometimes people can make a mistake and you can kindly let them know, and help them to grow

Sometimes people make mistakes, simply because they made a mistake?

And that mistake doesn't make them a terrible human

It just makes them a human

But what do I know?

Fuck me, right?

WHY DID YOU SEND ME THSI LKFOSIDJFJ

[intheclowncar]

Colleen Ballinger's recent video script with the nonsense removed!

anything crossed out is either nonsense that had to be left in for it to make any sense, is nonsense but wouldn't be fair to remove it or just straight up didn't happen,, like her "taking accountability" I didn't change the wording of any of her sentences and the original script was found on reddit so if there are any mistakes don't blame me D:

"Hi. It's been a while since you saw my face. I haven't been doing so great, so I took a little break. A lot of people are saying some things about me that aren't true, misinformation.

one-way ticket to manipulation station. Harass me for my past. Rumours look like facts

I've been wanting to come online and talk to you about a few things, even though my team has strongly advised me not to.

Today I only want to talk about the facts 

Many years ago I used to message my fans, but not in a creepy way like a lot of you are trying to suggest, it was more of a loser kind of way but I was just trying to be besties with everybody. it was weird.

I've been sharing my life online for over 15 years I've poured my heart out to you and because of that I feel like I'm talking to my friends but in the beginning of my career I didn't really understand that maybe there should be some boundaries.

There were times in the DMS when I would share details of my life, which was really weird of me. I haven't done for in years, because I changed my behaviour and I took accountability.

fueled with hateful accusations. Steamrolling all over someone's reputation

In all seriousness, I do think it's really important to hold people accountable for their mistakes you know we should hope that everyone can learn from their mistakes and grow and change their behaviour and be a better person. This is something that I've always tried to do when I make mistakes. It's something that I will continue to try to do...

your goal is to ruin the life of the person you despise while you dramatize your lies and monetize their demise

I know you wanted me to say that I was 100% in the wrong. Well I'm not gonna take that route of admitting to lies and rumors that you made up for clout.

your Weapon Is your fingers on the keys. you can hide behind a screen 

Miranda Sings, she's PG-13 it says that on my website and it's always been that way and that's why you won't find my videos on the YouTube kids app anyway. I didn't realize it was my responsibility to decide what was appropriate for every kid to see. I've always relied on parents to decide if they're comfortable, with their families watching my YouTube videos or coming to my live shows.

Have I made some jokes in poor taste? yes. Have I made lots of dumb mistakes? yes.

am I sad that there are some fans who feel betrayed? yes.

Was my intention to manipulate? No.

I'm not a groomer. (im just a loser) who didn't understand I shouldn't respond to fans and I'm not a predator, So even though I know this video won't change anyone's mind about me I still felt it was important to come on here and defend myself a little and take accountability. And I also wanted to say that to anyone out there who has ever supported me, in any capacity, I really really appreciate you. thank you.

For what it's worth, I never had any bad intentions but I do feel like shit.

Sometimes people make a mistake..But what do I know? Fuck me, right?"

AND THATS IT,,, THATS THE WHOLE SCRIPT,,, THATS ALL SHE SAID

[dirtyvulture]

Natasha Romanoff x Beefy!Lawyer!Reader

18+ only, read at your own risk

Requested by @dinolandsworld: ok here i am!! i'm exposing myself a lot here but this is actually a fantasy of mine and the law jargin story added a lot to it ... basically having reader fucking natasha senseless in an actual courtroom.

maybe reader is prepping for a trial and yk how they get the courtroom to practice before it and nat shows up and once again gets turned on because of the words reader is using and because how hot she looks in a suit .. and yeah. just nat getting bended over the witness stand with reader fucking her from behind

that would be kind of it

Word count: 1337

AN: Looks like y’all couldn’t get enough of Part 1, so here’s a little more to keep the sinners fed. 😘

Repost because Tumblr is a hoe.

“The defense would like to bring Ms. Johnson to the stand at this time,” you say, trying your best not to look down at your notes. Your partner, Jennifer, sits behind the podium, playing the role of Ms. Johnson.

“Ms. Johnson, can you confirm that you were walking on the sidewalk of 7th Avenue on the night of July 30, 2022?” you ask.

“I was,” Jennifer says.

“Could you see the two defendants sitting on the front porch of the house?”

“Yes.”

“And were you present when the gunshots were fired?” you ask.

“Yes, because I heard them and saw the muzzle flash,” Jennifer answers.

“Could you see who fired the gun?”

“No, but I know a gun was fired from that porch.” Jennifer was going off the police report with Ms. Johnson’s witness statement. This cross-examination was the only way to extract information that wasn’t recorded in the official report–and also point out its flaws.

“But you don’t know who shot it?” You hadn’t intended for it to sound like a question, but you couldn’t take it back and Jennifer jumped on your mistake.

“Objection,” Jennifer says, now taking on the role of the opposing counsel and the judge. “Asked and answered, Y/N.”

“Right.” You’re grateful she doesn’t steamroll you and cause you to lose your rhythm, but you gracefully move into the next question without much pause. “After the gun was fired…”

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

Natasha strides through the courthouse, searching for Department 103. This is not her element, and she feels like a foreigner wandering the halls. People in full suits–whom she assumes must be attorneys–walk by, and she secretly hopes you’re wearing one, too, even though you were just here for court preparation.

After consulting a faded directory on the wall, she finds the correct courtroom. She pushes open the door slightly, hearing your voice and your partner’s.

“Objection, Your Honor,” Natasha hears you say and she feels a jolt go right down her core. “There is a lack of foundation for that evidence because the opposing counsel did not properly admit it.”

Natasha had spent the last few weeks watching all the law shows she could get her hands on, but she still doesn’t understand a word you say.

“Wait, really?” Jennifer breaks character to ask you.

“You didn’t ask the right questions,” you say.

“I didn’t?”

“No, remember you have to have the witness testify about the evidence. Then you have to ask the court to admit it. It’s a step-by-step process.”

Natasha wants to swoon when she hears you educating your partner about court rules.

“Ok, that makes sense, thank you.” Jennifer collects her notes into a briefcase. “You’ll be okay for tomorrow?”

“I’ll be out in a few minutes. Just need to go over some last-minute arguments,” you reply.

“Need any help?”

“No thanks, I’m good.”

“Sure. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Natasha backs away from the door and waits until your partner exits before popping up.

“Oh, hey, Natasha,” Jennifer says. “Y/N will be right out.”

“Thanks.” Natasha practically runs into the courtroom. “Hi, baby!” she calls out.

“Nat! What are you doing here?” You’re in the middle of clipping your briefcase closed when you turn around and see her. Today, you’re wearing a white button-shirt whose buttons look like they’re going to pop off if you flex too hard, paired with black suspenders. Natasha wipes her chin as she walks up to you.

“I thought we could grab dinner together,” she says, grabbing onto one of the suspenders and dragging you down to her level. She takes extra caution to kiss you lightly on the lips when all she wants is for you to take her right here in the courtroom. “I heard a little bit of what you and Jennifer were talking about. I still couldn’t understand any of it, but it was…” She bites her lip while looking up at you.

You chuckle, no longer surprised at how much work talk turns on your girlfriend. The last few times you were in bed with her, she had made you recite your entire thesis.

“You want me to put you on the stand?” you ask, your voice lowering.

Her eyes widen.

“And what if, instead of cross-examining you, I fuck you?”

Natasha looks at your crotch, where she suddenly notices how much it’s bulged out.

“Just in case.” You wink at her.

Natasha squeals as you pick her up easily and carry her to the podium to the right of the judge’s chair (maybe you could use that another time). You kick the chair out of the way, setting her on the desk and brushing her hair aside so you can kiss her neck. Natasha throws her head back and moans, her hands clinging onto your broad shoulders and raking down your back.

“The defense would like to call Ms. Natasha Romanoff to the stand,” you whisper into her ear, feeling her shudder against you. “Do you know why you’re here today, Ms. Romanoff?”

“Because…Because…” Natasha is already a mess and you haven’t even touched her yet.

“Because you were fucked by the defendant?” Your hand forces its way up Natasha’s shirt and gropes her breast. She pants against your neck, her nails digging harder into your back. “Answer the question, Ms. Romanoff.”

“Yes, yes, I was,” she begs.

You pick her up off the desk and turn her around, bending her forward until her stomach is flat against the wood surface. Her skirt rides up and you see she isn’t wearing panties. You lick your lips in anticipation.

“The defendant’s counsel would like to introduce Exhibit A to the jury,” you say, keeping one hand on Natasha’s butt and the other pulling down your pants so your strap has room to pop out.

Natasha keens when she feels the toy brush against her center and pushes back instinctively. You thrust your hips forward and bury the strap inside of her without warning. Natasha squirms underneath but you keep her pinned down, your muscular thighs pressed to the backs of hers and you don’t move so she can adjust to the size.

“Ms. Romanoff, is this the same strap the defendant fucked you with?” you ask, barely able to control your own breathing now.

Natasha feels so full, her walls massaging the strap and she clenches uncontrollably around it. “Yes, it is,” she answers, her voice strained.  

“And how exactly did the defendant fuck you?”

“Hard and rough,” Natasha says, hoping to get her point across.

“Like this?” Your fingers tighten around her hips and you start hammering your hips like an animal.

“Fuck, Y/N!” Natasha screams at a volume that makes you momentarily concerned someone outside will hear. She goes limp across the witness stand as you pound into her tightness, grunting and growling with each of your thrusts.

You never thought you would take your girlfriend like this, in an actual courtroom on an actual witness stand, and you won’t take the opportunity for granted. The strap is angled upwards to hit your own clit with every thrust, and the stimulation is enough to keep you in line with Natasha’s pending orgasm.

“Did the defendant let you cum?” you ask, keeping your rough pace, although your thrusts become more uneven and sloppy.

“Yes,” Natasha squeaks.

“Did you want to cum today?”

“Please let me,” she practically sobs.

“The court will allow it,” you respond, giving her one more deep thrust and feeling her walls tighten around your strap. Your body goes rigid as your own orgasm washes over you, and when your legs finally stop trembling you rest a little of your weight on Natasha’s back and stroke your fingers through her hair softly.

“You okay, baby?” you whisper, stroking the back of her head.

“Perfect,” she sighs.

“Good.” You gently pull her off the witness stand and push her down onto her knees, your slick strap bobbing in front of her flushed face. “How about we try introducing Exhibit B to the court now?”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

AN: Hee hee. 😈

Please like, reblog, and comment! Follow for more content.

[chatonne-rousse]

The Importance of the Black Cat

Adrien has a lot on his mind - concerns, questions, doubts. And right now, he has only one being to confide in. There is not enough cheese in the world to make Plagg want to handle this situation, but his holder needs him, and he knows two things with certainty: his very important place in the world, and that no one hurts his kitten. Not if he has anything to say about it.

Read it on Ao3 here.

The Camembert he holds in his paws is aged beautifully, gooey and perfectly pungent. He knows it was expensive, purchased with his holder’s allowance, and therefore tries to at least do the kid the honor of enjoying it. But as he mulls over the day’s events, the first few bites sit like a brick in his tiny stomach.

Tonight, Plagg eats his cheese for sustenance only. It’s hard to find the usual joy when his holder hasn’t spoken since they arrived home.

The light in the closet switches off as Adrien shuffles out into the bedroom, dressed for bed in black pajama pants and an old white t-shirt. The departure from his usual red and black spotted look doesn’t escape Plagg’s notice, but he chooses not to comment.

Plagg discovered long ago that his devotion to his holders is inversely proportional to his ability to counsel them. He knows he’s not good at advice beyond cheese and chaos. He wasn’t made for emotions and heartfelt chats.

A sure and confident holder didn’t usually open his heart or seek his kwami’s counsel, and Plagg liked that. They did their jobs, they shared their lives, but they didn’t share their hearts. They didn’t need to, because his holder needed his power more than his presence.

But once in a while, he’d materialize in front of a human whose eyes shone with innocent kindness, and he knew immediately that they would need him. If he’s honest, Plagg will admit that these are the best wielders of destruction. It’s all about intention, after all, and a pure heart rarely destroys with disregard. These holders, however, always seemed to come with a price - they saw their kwami as less of a means to an end and more of a friend.

He loved these holders. He would level cities and wipe out species for them. But oh, did he ever dread having to talk to them. Really, really talk.

Plagg knows his kitten will break the silence soon. It’s only a matter of time. He isn’t sure if it will be to talk about being stuck in the elevator with his very good friend, a monologue that will no doubt be punctuated by sighs and soft eyes that will be quickly denied if his kwami points them out.

One undeniable fact from the day, however, is the racing pulse and rapid breathing of a boy terrified of being locked up and feeling increasingly helpless in the situation. Plagg knows very well that it happened, because he was tucked inside Adrien’s shirt listening to his pounding heart. He hopes his holder doesn’t want to talk about that, because it’s way above Plagg’s pay grade.

He also hopes his holder won’t ponder why only he was dragged through the portal to safety, or why Rena Rouge was the one to do it.

Plagg gets down almost two full wedges of cheese before Adrien sits down on the edge of his bed with a heavy sigh.

“Hey, Plagg?” His voice is quiet but doesn’t betray any emotion yet. That’s actually more worrying.

Steeling himself, Plagg swallows the last big bite of cheese and zips from the desk to perch on top of the globe, facing his holder. “What’s up?”

He heaves another sigh before looking up into Plagg’s eyes, emotions still unreadable.

“How important is the black cat?”

Oh. A wave of relief makes Plagg’s whiskers perk up. The question is unexpected but definitely not unwelcome. He’s lousy with advice but an expert at talking about himself.

He puffs up his tiny chest and grins a fanged grin. “Only the most important, kid! Everything has to end sometime - except me, of course, but,” he shrugs, “we can’t all be perfect.” He hopes that will garner a smile, but realizes a moment too late that he’d started his speech talking about death to a boy who lost his mother at thirteen. Oh no, he thinks, panicking. He’s bad at this, too.

He barrels on. “I mean, creation is nothing without destruction. The very concepts go together, always. Can you imagine a world where flowers never wilt and people never die?” Adrien’s eyes widen and his brows furrow. Shit, Plagg thinks. I did it again.

“Plagg, that sounds...really nice, actually.”

He shakes his head. He can get this back on track. He’ll fall back on pragmatism like always. “It does, but that’s not how the world works. Your planet can’t sustain an expanding and eternal population. Everything grows and lives and dies and starts over again. Everything has a beginning and an end.” Plagg’s eyes shine with pride. “Only I, and my very lucky holders, get to harness that inevitability into a real power, and use it for good. Tikki and her bugs can create, but we destroy,” he pitches his voice lower, his tone serious, “so they can create again.”

Adrien’s eyes are still wide, but Plagg sees wonder and a bit of pride there. He lets his tiny shoulders relax.

“I never thought of it that way. You really are amazing, buddy.” He reaches out to scratch Plagg behind the ears with a soft smile that his kwami would see doesn’t reach his eyes if his own weren’t closed with pride and delight.

The hand retreats, and Plagg opens his eyes just to watch Adrien’s face fall.

“But I meant...how important is the black cat to the ladybug?”

"How...what?" Plagg splutters, taken aback. "I just told you, kid. Every beginning has an end. Creation and destruction are perfectly equal. You don't want to know what happens when they're not."

Adrien's eyes snap to his, clearly on the edge of a dawning horror. Oh no. Not again.

Plagg waves his paws. "What I mean is, you need each other. Tikki is never activated without me, and I'm never called up without her. We're two halves of a whole. You've never seen the inside of the miracle box," he scowls, "which is bullshit, by the way, but if you did, you'd see that the center is a circle, split perfectly in two. Tikki and I go together, and so do you and Ladybug. You can do this without each other, but you're not meant to."

Adrien's shoulders droop. "Yeah, I know she can win a fight without me. She's had to do it before." He sighs. "A lot."

"Sure," Plagg agrees, and can't resist adding, "but she wouldn't need to if you didn't throw yourself in the line of fire every chance you get."

"I have to protect her, Plagg! You know that! Ladybug is more important than me."

"Kid!" Plagg bursts out in frustration, "I don't know how else to tell you this! You. Are. Equal."

“Then…” Adrien’s breath catches and he blinks several times. “Then why doesn’t she need me anymore?”

For just a moment, in the time it takes for the words to register and translate and pierce his heart, Plagg’s ire flares white-hot and livid. No one hurts my kitten and gets away with it. But he looks into his holder’s eyes, sad and achingly lonely, and his anger slips away as quickly as it came. He’ll deal with his own feelings on the matter later.

Besides, it’s not Marinette’s fault. She’s doing the best she can. He’d still relish giving her an earful, but piling on the heartbreaking guilt about his holder’s situation wouldn’t really help and might just snap what Tikki has insinuated is a currently-tenuous grasp on stability. Plagg knows she’s making decisions based on the mentorship of a flawed man, a failed guardian who ran from his mistakes for the better part of two centuries.

Fu never understood Plagg and never tried to. None of the guardians did. Beyond knowing the basics of his power and the importance of the ring of the black cat in relation to the earrings of the ladybug, Fu never saw Plagg as anything more than a liability. Which is honestly fair, but Plagg doesn’t have to like it.

He definitely doesn’t have to like it when the rules of secrecy leave his kitten in the dark and feeling useless. Especially after what he now suspects from the clues he got today.

He looks into his holder's tear-filled eyes and sees a soft innocence rare among the long line of black cats who've worn the ring. This might just be his most difficult assignment yet, but it's also one of his favorites, and he'll protect his kitten no matter what it takes. Even if it means talking about feelings.

Once his stomach is settled, he's going to eat so much cheese to make up for this.

Plagg takes a deep breath. "Who spotted Optigami in the elevator today?"

Adrien blinks but says nothing.

"Who made sure Ladybug didn't tell her secrets to Truth?" He waits another moment, watching Adrien's blush rise and letting his words sink in. "And who protected her identity when she was hit by Kwamibuster?"

"Okay, but—"

Plagg steamrolls his holder shamelessly. "You were the key to defeating Gorizilla, Stormy Weather, Lady Wifi. I have a long memory, kid. Do you want me to keep going? Because I haven't even gotten to the times you kept your bug afloat with all those pep talks and disgusting feelings. A nice piece of Brie would've perked her up, but I have to admit that your methods worked, too."

Adrien sniffs and chuckles. "Okay, buddy. I get it." His eyes still betray an ocean of hurt, but Adrien's soft smile seems genuine.

Plagg has never quite understood human emotion, though he's seen it all in his many centuries among humanity. He's also seen the myriad ways humans cover up one emotion with another (and another, and another, and sometimes destructive behaviors and very dark paths). He doesn't much enjoy dealing with human feelings, but he when it comes to masks, he prefers the very stylish ones he manifests on his holders' faces, changing with the times and his whims and his holders' thoughts. It's been a long time since he had a holder whose civilian life necessitated so many different masks. No wonder he eats so much Camembert to recharge - it's exhausting just watching it.

"What I'm saying, kitten...er, kid, is that your bug needs you. Paris needs you. And I know that because creation always needs destruction." He snorts a laugh. "That's a fact that's bigger than both of us."

"Yeah, you're right. I know you're right." Adrien sighs and stands to pull back the covers and turn out the light. He climbs in bed and heaves another sigh as his head hits the pillow. "I just wish she'd let me help her. I...I know she's going through something."

Plagg settles on the pillow next to Adrien's, in the Camembert-infused spot where he sleeps. "Being a guardian kind of sucks. It used to be a whole big thing - years of training and ceremonies and shaving your head in a weird pattern..."

Adrien breathes a laugh in the darkness.

"Did you just imagine your beloved bug with her pigtails cut off and a bald spot shaved into her head?"

"Plagg! How dare you?" comes the reply, but his laughter betrays him. Yeah, he's totally picturing it.

Plagg smiles. "What I mean is, you know her. As much as you can, at least. She's told you over and over how important you are to her. I hear all that mushy crap, you know. I don't think she means to hurt you." A pause. "If she does, she'll regret it," he mutters.

"Please don't threaten my future wife, Plagg."

"Still?"

"Still what?"

Plagg blinks. Adrien blinks, then finally catches up.

"Oh. Well." He takes a deep breath. "I'm...a little upset about some things. But I'm sure we can work it out. People make mistakes. Besides, just because someone hurts you doesn't mean you stop loving them, Plagg."

He wouldn't trade Adrien and his tender heart for the world, but sometimes Plagg wishes he was already a bit more jaded when he slipped the ring on his finger that first day. He doesn't want to witness the moment his holder's gentle spirit is finally crushed by what he knows better than most is a very cruel world.

For a long moment, Plagg considers his answer and finally chooses sarcasm. He shrugs. "You can always just cataclysm their prized possessions. That works, too."

That startles a laugh from his holder, tired and tinged with emotion, but a laugh nonetheless. Plagg considers it a win.

They settle into silence. Adrien's eyes close sleepily. Plagg considers getting another wedge of cheese now that his stomach has calmed down a little, but the thought that this is far from over makes his indigestion flare again. Love is messy and inconvenient, the Cancoillotte cheese of emotions. But, he supposes, looking at his holder in the dark, it's worth the difficulty.

Adrien's eyes open suddenly to meet Plagg's glowing green.

"Thanks for talking to me, buddy. I'm sorry I—"

Plagg zips over to his holder before he can finish the sentence, tucking his little body into the crook of Adrien's neck and starting up a loud purr.

"You're welcome. You owe me so much cheese."

Adrien laughs again, and Plagg purrs louder when he reaches up to scratch behind his tiny ears.

"Reblochon again?"

Plagg stifles a laugh at the fact that he has penance cheese for dealing with Adrien's feelings before realizing how sad it is that he...well, has penance cheese for dealing with Adrien's emotions. Someday, when his holder is on his own and out from under the tyrannical rule of his asshole father, Plagg has every intention of cataclysming Gabriel's entire atelier, including his tablet and any backup drives. He dreams about it sometimes. Just watching the world burn. It'll be beautiful.

He sighs wistfully before answering. "I was thinking Époisses."

Adrien groans. "Plagg, no. It's so gross."

"Plagg, yes. Feelings are gross. Cheese is life."

Another sigh. "Fine. I'll order it in the morning."

Silence falls over them again, this time comfortable and warm. When Adrien's breathing evens out, Plagg heads over to the cupboard for a snack. By the time he's eaten two more wedges of Camembert and thought about the whole situation, he's decided to pay Pigtails and his other half a visit. This can't continue. They're all headed for catastrophe, and no one wants to see what he'll do if this breaks his kitten.

He takes a wedge of cheese for the road and heads for the window, but something makes him stop before he phases through. He turns back to look at his sleeping holder. The moonlight shines through the windows, casting shadows like prison bars across the room, across the bed, across his kitten. Plagg thinks suddenly of Adrien waking up alone, his kwami nowhere to be found, and realizes he can't just leave.

He sighs. He's sighed so many times tonight.

Plagg tosses the cheese in the air and catches it expertly, swallowing it in one gulp, then makes his way back to the bed.

Tomorrow, he'll find a way to phase into Pigtails' bag during homeroom for a much-needed discussion with Tikki. He doesn't want to - he really doesn't want to - but Plagg intends to do his part to fix this. Holders like his come once in a very, very long lifetime. Adrien is worth it.

He settles again on his cheese-scented pillow and curls up, wrapping his tail snugly around his body. Soon his purr matches the rhythm of Adrien's quiet breathing, and peace, however temporary, falls gently over the two of them once more.

[micoz-field-of-dreamz]

Hey

It's been a while since you saw my face

I haven't been doing so great

So I took a little break

A lot of people are saying some things about me that aren't quite true

Doesn't matter if it's true, though

Just as long as it's entertaining to you, right?

You guys having fun?

All aboard the toxic muppet train

Chugging down the tracks of misinformation

The toxic autism train

You got a one-way ticket to fixation station

Toxic gossip train

Tie me to the tracks and harass me for my tism..

Those rumors look like facts if you don't mind the gaps

I won't survive in the crash, but hey

At least you're havin' fun

Uh, hi, everyone

I've been wanting to come online and talk to you about a few things

Um, even though my team has strongly advised me to not say what I want to say

I recently realized that they never said that I couldn't sing what I wanna say, so

Here I am, and, um, today I only wanna talk about the facts

So, I hope that you'll be willing to listen

Here we go

Many minutes ago, I had a big bird meltdown

Uh, but not in a weird way like a lot of you are trying to suggest

It was more of a autism kind of way

Where I was just trying to be fixated on my silly bird thiing

It was kinda like, uh, when you go to like a family gathering, you know?

And there's a weird cousin there who keeps coming up to you and going like "HEY LOOK AT MY NEW HYPERFIXATION."

And you're like "Ehhh"

Um, that was me, but on tumblr. it was weird

I've been sharing my life online for over 7 years

I've poured my heart out to you and because of that I feel

Like I'm talking to my friends, but, in the beginning of my tumblr

I didn't really understand that maybe there should be some boundaries there

There were times in the posts when I would overshare

Details of my fixations, which was really cringe of me

I (have)n’t done that for minutes, you see

Because I changed my behavior, and I took accountability

But that's not very interesting, is it?

So let's go on the toxic tism train

The locomotive's fueled with hateful ableism

The toxic interest train

Steamroll over someone's reputation

Toxic interest trainnn

Hop on board, but close your eyes, otherwise you'll realize

That the train is made of tism and that person you despise

Maybe didn't deserve to die

But hey, at least you're havin' fun

In all seriousness, I do think it's really important to hold people accountable for their mistakes

Um, y'know, we should hope that everyone can learn from their mistakes

And grow, and change their behavior, and be a better person

This is something that I've always tried to do when I make mistakes

And is something that I will continue to try t- what?

Oh, you don't care? Oh, okay

I thought you wanted me to take accountability

But that's not the point of your mob mentality, is it? No

Your goal is to ruin the life of the person you despise

While you dramatize your lies and monetize their divergence

Yeah, um, I feel like I can already hear the comments on this post

"xer gaslighting, manipulating!"

"Ugh, xer a r(slur) and cringe!"

"I would never make a mistake like that."

Oh, I'm sorry I didn't realize

That all of you are perfect, so please, criticize me

Bring out the daggers made from your perfect past

And stab me repeatedly in my bony little back

I'm sure you're disappointed in my shitty little song

I know that you wanted me to say that I was 100% in the wrong

Well, I'm sorry, I'm not gonna take that route

Of admitting to lies and rumors that you made up for clout

"Hey everybody, I found someone new to harass

Xe did some things that I do not like, on xer account

So everybody, gather 'round, 'cause we're about to attack"

But not based on facts, oh no

Your loaded lethal weapon is your fingers on the keys

You don't need any armor when you can hide behind a screen

So, shoot me down, quick, with a click, and bam

My reputation's deceased

Uh, I also wanted to take a minute to talk about that bird, Big Nird

You know the one, yeah him

Uh, hes so silly

And it's always been that way

And that's why you won't find my recent posts about anything wlse

Anyway, um, I didn't realize it was my responsibility

To decide what was appropriate for everyone to see

I've always relied on you to decide if your comfortable

With watching an autistic person post about xer fixations

Now, have I made some jokes in poor taste? Yes

Have I made lots of dumb mistakes? Yes

Am I sad that there's some people that feel like im cringe? Yes (no)

But was my intention to manipulate? No

It doesn't really matter what my intention was

'Cause it seems as though everyone's already decided on that

Let me tell you, it's not very fun to have millions of people all over the world

Call you the most vile, horrendous, disgusting, life-ruining words

That a person can be called, in my opinion

Um, it doesn't matter that these things aren't true

Uh, everyone just believes that you are the type of person whos cringe

So, I just wanted to say that, um

The only thing that I've ever rambled about is things ive made.

I'm not a r(slur), I'm just a loser

Who didn't understand I shouldn't post my thoughts

And I'm not cringe even though a lot of you think so

Because 1 minute ago, I made a dumb joke

So, even though I know this posr won't change anyone's mind about me

I still felt it was important to come on here and defend myself a little

And take accountability

And I also wanted to say that

To anyone out there who has ever supported me in any capacity

I really, really appreciate you, thank you

For what it's worth, I never had any bad intentions

But I do feel like shit

The toxic interest train

Chugging down the tracks of hateful language

Toxic autism train

You got a one way ticket to ableism station

Toxic willow train

You tied me to the tracks and harassed me for my divergence

Rumors look like facts when you don't mind the gaps

I won't survive in the crash, but hey

Hope you had some fun

Actually, y'know, I feel like maybe I should let you guys know something, um

Seems like, maybe you're confused about something? I don't know

Let me try to help, um

Sometimes people make a mistake and it doesn't make them a horrible person, whoa

Sometimes people can make a mistake and they're still a good person

Crazy, I know

Sometimes people can make a mistake and you don't have to take that mistake, oh no

And twist it up, and grind it, and add some lies to it, and pulverize it

And stab it with knives, and ruin a life, and, oh no

Sometimes people can make a mistake, it doesn't mean you gotta send them hate, oh no

Sometimes people can make a mistake and you can kindly let them know, and help them to grow

Sometimes people make mistakes, simply because they made a mistake?

And that mistake doesn't make them a terrible human

It just makes them a human

But what do I know?

Fuck me, right?

sorry to everyone witnessing my big bird meltdown. im going thru it. apology video coming soon.

[scarletjedi]

untitled Untamed time travel au but make it Mingcheng PART 2A

@piyo-13

Part 1: The Setup

Part 2A: GUSU REVISITED (part 1)

EDIT: Part 2B now up!

y'all...I tried to do one part, but this notefic is quickly becoming fic, and I need to keep it small enough to fit on tumblr, lol. The second half of this should be up in the next day or two!

Okay, the next day they arrive in Gusu, have the run in with Zixuan, which....almost goes the same? Zixuan still buys out the inn, but WWX saw this dude, who made Yanli happy, die (and while JC says it wasn’t him, he still feels that guilt) and JC looks at him and sees Jin Ling’s father, and they just... leave. Do not engage. Perhaps with a look at each other like - we need him to see her for herself, but we don’t want to put her through the pain of losing him.

...okay, JC can’t leave without saying something along the lines of “we’re in Gusu to learn, but also to form alliances. Open your damn eyes, and you might actually make a friend” - Zixuan is shook, but Mianmian looks at JC assessingly. I am here for “isolated and therefore socially awkward Zixuan” and I think it’d be hilarious if he takes this as a sign that JC wants to be friends. So, he will kind of randomly show up where JC is, like a cat trying to signal that they’re friends by mirroring you? Luckily, JC speaks “stray animal” and eventually figures out that Zixuan isn’t trying to spy on him but trying to make friends. It eventually leads to a conversation where JC turns to him and just asks “Why don’t you like my sister?” ...but i’ll get to that.

So, they leave, and this time they double check that WWX has the invitation. He does, but they’re still delayed just a bit going up the mountain, so when they reach the top, Lan Wangji is waiting.

The party stops when they see him, mostly because it looks like he’s barring entry, but JC sees the way LWJ looks at WWX and *knows* that somehow, LWJ is back too.

Now, in The Untamed canon (which we’re in) I fully believe that WWX was in love with (and knew it) LWJ before he died, but either felt that his love was not returned, or that LWJ’s love would end if he knew, the time was never right, etc - so, he’s looking at this like and opportunity to present the side of himself that he thinks LWJ wants.

Meanwhile LWJ is like “THERE IS MY GREMLIN ALIVE AND WELL. THIS TIME I WILL LOVE HIM AND STAND WITH HIM NO MATTER WHAT.”

But when JC announces themselves and WWX pulls out the invitation, LWJ says “Wei Ying” in that WAY of his and WWX freezes because a) he realizes that LWJ is also back b) this doesn’t fit into his plan and c) stall. So he does that awkward laugh, flicking his nose, like “Ahaha, Lan Zhan. It’s me.”

And LWJ *SMILES* “It is good to see Wei Ying.”

And WWX *melts* because he is weak, and JC is like “kill me now” (JYL is confused but thinks its sweet) and everyone else is just *confused*.

Not taking his eyes off WWX, LWJ gestures for Yunmeng Jiang to follow him, and leads them (well, WWX and by proxy everyone else) to the student dorms where they will be staying. (WWX walks next to LWJ, and there is something about the way they fit together that makes JC *feel things* all over again, because here was one more thing WWX lost because of *him* and—

When they arrive at the dorms, the other disciples and Yanli all retire, but JC stays because if LWJ is back then they need to talk before JC leaves those two to “count each others eyelashes or whatever they do when they’re alone together” and the absolute bitchy-ass angry *look* that LWJ sends him has JC standing taller and WWX stepping between them.

“Ayia, Lan Zhan, there’s no need for that. Jiang Cheng and I talked it out. We’re good.”

Lan Zhan looks over at WWX, softening for a moment, before bringing the heat back for JC. “He killed you.”

“You-!” JC clenches his fist, and is thrown because there *aren’t* sparks because Zidian is on his *mother’s* wrist, and it’s enough to make him settle, enough for WWX to step in again and say:

“That fall wouldn’t have killed me if— If I hadn’t lied to him, then Jiang Cheng wouldn’t have had every reason to believe I would survive that fall.”

*That* causes a reaction, a widening of his eyes that would be subtle on any other face, at the implication that Jiang Cheng hadn’t been trying to kill him. But, it doesn’t make the frown disappear. “He did not stand with you.”

“Neither did you!” Jiang Cheng snaps, going for the *jugular* without even realizing, and LWJ just fucking *wilts*

“That...is my regret.”

But before he could say anything else, WWX spoke again.

“Look, there’s no reason to rehash the past. I’m alive! And I know what I need to do to not be bad again, but I would really appreciate it if my brother and my soulmate” and didn’t THAT cause JC’s eyebrows to rise “didn’t hate each other.” Suddenly, several things about the last few years made a lot more sense.

“I don’t hate him,” Jiang Cheng said, as Lan Wangji said “Wei Ying is always good.”

When *that* caused the three of them to stare at each other again, Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes. “Look, we need to talk soon about this whole time travel... thing, but I want nothing to do with whatever this” and gestures between them “is. So, I’m going to bed because I have been awake for two days straight and I would like to sleep. Figure it out!” and Jiang Cheng turned and went to find his bedroom (which he shared with WWX. Considering the way they were looking at each other, JC was pretty sure he’d be spending the first night without a roommate. Again).

MEANWHILE, outside, Lan Zhan and Wei Ying are left staring at each other. (Well, WWX stares after JC for a minute, mouth open, but that fades quickly when he sees Lan Zhan staring at him, all intent.)

Wei Ying would normally begin to fidget, but he’s transfixed, heart in his throat, without a clue as to what to do next and—

“A-Yuan.” Lan Zhan said, and Wei Ying’s focus sharpens.

“A-Yuan?!”

Lan Zhan nodded. “I found him, after. He was sick. I brought him here, gave him the name Lan to hide him.” He opened his mouth as if to say more, but fell silent.

Wei Ying was staring with shining eyes. “He lived? My little radish...” he trailed off, staring into the distance. He frowned, shaking his head. “But Lan Zhan, why would you—”

“I should have been there,” Lan Zhan interrupts *interrupts* angrier than he had ever sounded, but even Wei Ying can tell that it’s not directed at him. He cools quickly. “I will not make the same mistake.”

He catches Lan Zhan’s eye again and falls silent. “Oh.”

And Lan Zhan steps back, like he hadn’t intended to let that slip. “If Wei Ying does not feel the same—”

“I do!” Wei Ying bursts out, stepping forward and reaching out, not quite touching. “I do. Feel the same,” he said, quieter this time, for the two of them. Lan Zhan’s expression doesn’t change, but something shifts and Wei Ying knows him well enough to know it as *joy*

And, Lan Zhan reaches out and takes his hand.

(Yes, they use the next several months to actually talk though their relationship, but this is effectively a speed run from the way they feel in Episode 1 to the steps of jinlintai, bypassing all the *plot* that gets in the way of their romance, but whatever, it’s my fic. If this was a wangxian fic first, then I might do the “WWX needs to get a clue” thing he has going in the book, but.... Honestly, I *adore* the idea of *gremlin couple wangxian* on what is essentially their honeymoon in gusu. Like - pre-sunshot Gusu is not *prepared* for post-Yiling Laozu LWJ.)

The next morning, JC arrives to classes with the rest of the Jiangs, not at all surprised to see Wei Ying standing with LWJ (though everyone else seems to be weirded out by it, which may be because they’re standing far too close). LWJ nods at JC, who nods back, grimly pleased to see that there was no longer an open front of hostility. JC wasn’t foolish enough to think it was gone completely, but at least they should be able to discuss business when necessary. (And some part of his mind absolutely began planning the wedding. WWX was Yunmeng Jiang, and if JC had anything to say about it, he would REMAIN YMJ until he was damn sure to remember that he can’t get rid of Jiang Cheng that easily... and JC would be DAMNED if he let Lan Xichen steamroll the wedding prep, which he absolutely would, hopeless romantic that he was).

They enter and settle into their usual spots, though LWJ hesitates when he realizes that his seat would not let him watch WWX. JC continues on to sit in his old seat, determined to see *as little of this as possible* and turns to look at Nie Huaisang, who—

Oh, sonofabitch, Nie Huaisang was back too. How the fuck did their ritual have enough power to drag *four souls* back in time, especially one from *wherever the hell WWX was* JC widened his eyes at him, clearly saying *WTF* which had Nie Huaisang giving him a *look* from behind his fan, which fluttered, agitated. JC rolled his eyes, cutting them over to WWX, who was blatantly staring at Lan Wangji, chin propped on his palm. (And if LWJ had his head tilted so he could look back, well, *most* of the class probably couldn’t tell). Incredible. Jiang Cheng turned to look at JYL, who was hiding a smile behind her sleeve, when movement behind NHS caught his eye.

Meng Yao. Oh, that wasn’t awkward at all. Nie Huaisang flicked the corner of his fan, and JC turned back aground, knowing they would talk later, and then they were all standing as Lan Qiren walked into the room.

Which was when it dawned on Jiang Cheng that he would have to take these classes again. Judging by the soft whimper behind him, Nie Huaisang realized it, too.

The class runs the same, as clear as Jiang Cheng can remember, even if the recitation of the rules seems occasionally pointed at Lan Wangji, which is odd. He doesn’t dwell on it, however. He’s gotten good at looking like he was paying attention while thinking of other things, and Jiang Cheng had a lot to think about.

~*~

Like before, WWX invites NHS to go fishing (and JC isn’t sure if he realizes that NHS has also come back yet - in fact, he’s pretty sure he doesn’t), only this time, JC agrees to go with them and WWX pulls LWJ along, leading the group far enough ahead that JC and NHS end up waking behind. NHS keeps up with looked wide-eyed and confused until they leave the main areas for the backwoods.

“So,” Jiang Cheng starts. “Something went wrong.”

“Obviously,” Nie Huaisang hisses, snapping his fan closed. “I woke up in the same room as him.”

JC winces, because yeah, awkward. “I’m a little surprised he’s still alive, actually.”

NHS’s jaw clenched, and JC was reminded very strongly of NMJ. “No one would support flat out murder, even if they don’t really care about the victim.”

“And it’s messy,” JC offered, dry. NHS looked at him from the corner of his eye.

“It’s so hard to get blood out of white fabric,” he agreed and JC laughed.

THAT gets WWX to spin around. “You laughed!” he accuses, pointing a finger at JC.

“So?”

“So I haven’t heard you laugh in years, Jiang Cheng!” he pouts. “Why do you laugh at his jokes and not mine.”

“You are an *actual child*--”

Then, of course, NHS gasps, his fan falling from his hand. JC, catches it, reflexively, startled at the horror he sees on NHS’s face as the show drops. “Wei-xiong, you— but you—”

WWX laughs awkwardly. “No need to worry, I’m —” probably going to say something about not being evil anymore, or not following the demonic path, but NHS cuts him off.

“Back from the dead!?”

Which is when JC remembers that they used Baxia in the ritual, and if his core was enough to bring back WWX, then maybe...

“Da-ge!”

MEANWHILE, in Qinghe, Nie Mingjue wakes up, which is odd, considering the last thing he remembered was dying. Perhaps he didn’t die? Unless the doctors had some new pain medications, he didn’t feel as if he had just had a near-fatal qi-deviation.

Tentatively, he opens his eyes and sees...his bedroom ceiling. How long was he sleeping that they brought him from Lanling to Qinghe? His door opens and he’s reaching for Baxia before he can think — and stops when he recognizes Nie Zonghui (though not before Zonghui notices the aborted movement). “Sect Leader....troubled night?”

Nie Mingjue snorts. “That’s one way to put it.” There’s something rattling around the back of his mind, some detail that doesn’t quite add up as Nie Zonghui helps get him ready for the day. It’s not just that Zonghui doesn’t seem surprised (or relieved) to see him up and awake, it’s the names that Zonghui mentions in is reports — names of disciples who are, like Zonghui himself, long dead.

It’s when Zonghui mentions that a messenger bird had arrived from Gusu that morning, carrying word that Huaisang had arrived safely and that Meng Yao would be leaving tomorrow to return to his duties that the other shoe dropped.

“Zonghui, there’s something I forgot to tell Huaisang. I need to send him a message, the faster the better.”

Zonghui gave a short bow. “Consider it done.”

BACK IN GUSU

Nie Huaisang was pacing atop a long, flat rock on the river’s edge. It wasn’t a very long boulder, maybe 5 or 6 steps at most, but it was dry so Jiang Cheng wasn’t too worried about him slipping. Besides, Lan Wangji was sitting only a few stones away, playing a soft melody on his guqin.

Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian were both in the stream, robes and pants hiked up to keep them from getting too wet, as they waited to catch their dinner. Jiang Cheng remembered getting upset about WWX fishing their second night there, blatantly flaunting the “no killing” rule, but if LWJ felt like indulging his soulmate, what the fuck, then who was Jiang Cheng to complain.

On the rock, Huaisang was plotting out loud, starting ideas and rejecting them just as quickly. “You know, if you put this much effort into your studies this time, you might not have to come back again,” JC called over. Nie Huaisand didn’t even break his stride, just flapped his fan irritably in Jiang Cheng’s direction.

WWX darted forward, pulling a wriggling fish into the air in triumph. “Jiang Cheng, catch!” He tossed the fish, and Jiang Cheng caught it with ease. He considered, for a moment, throwing it at Nie Huaisang, but he was getting hungry. He tossed the fish into the bank, where it wouldn’t flop back into the water. Lan Wangji side-eyed it, warily.

“You know, he’s not actually done anything wrong yet,” Wei Wuxian said. “Can you really hold him accountable for actions he hasn’t taken?”

That made Huaisang stop. “To a certain extent, yes, I can.” That got him a *look* from both LWJ and WWX. “Look, all the decisions we make are influenced by the lives we live. And no, as far as I can tell, Meng Yao didn’t come back with the rest of us - and I still don't’ know why you came back too, Lan Wangji,” LWJ makes a gesture that is far too elegant to be, and yet totally is, a shrug, “but so far, Meng Yao’s life is *exactly the same* as the Meng Yao who committed those acts. That means Meng Yao is the same man who WILL make those choices, barring a MAJOR shift in the way he views the world.”

“Can we cause that shift, then?” Wei Wuxian asked. “I just don’t know if ‘kill him dead’ is always the best course of action.”

Nie Huaisang’s eyes narrowed, a fraction of the coldness Jiang Cheng had seen that day seeping through, before his expression cleared a bit. “It would be a touchy subject for you, yes, but Meng Yao is not Wen Ning.” Wei Wuxian flinched, and, surprisingly, it was Lan Wangji that spoke.

“One cannot change another’s mind,” he said, vanishing his guqin and rising to his feet, one hand behind his back. “One can only show the path; only they can choose to walk.”

“And we have the path to show him,” Wei Wuxian argued. “Don’t we have a responsibility to try, knowing the damage he can do? If we know we have the opportunity to change things and save lives, are we not bound to try? Is that not why Jiang Cheng was sent back in the first place?”

“I’m fine with killing him,” Jiang Cheng said. “He deliberately uses his own weakness to learn the vulnerabilities of others, and then uses that as leverage to get what he wants and then discard them once his objective has been met. He uses Jin Zixuan’s better nature against him. He used Mingjue’s sense of fair play against him and then used his biggest fear to kill him, and he used Zewu-jun’s kindness as a shield.” He looked up at Nie Huaisang. “Though, if you’re right and he’s back too, Meng Yao might not live long enough for us to do anything about it.”

“Oh no,” Huaisang said, voice dryer than dust. “What a tragedy.”

“His information was key in winning the war,” Lan Wangji said. “Can we win against the Wens again without him?”

“Hey, yeah,” Wei Wuxian added. “Speaking of - am I going to have to...” he trailed off, miming playing a dizi.

“You better not!” Jiang Cheng snapped. Wei Wuxian looked at him in surprise, then smiled sadly.

“No, you said not to, and I won’t refuse a direct order from my sect leader,” he said. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I know how.”

“Meng Yao wasn’t actually that good a spy,” Nie Huaisang said, a faint frown between his brows that Jiang Cheng didn’t trust at all. It meant he had noticed something and was putting pieces together that Jiang Cheng wasn’t sure he wanted known. “More than once his information was either wrong or outdated. A lot of the correspondence was kept for our records, and I went back to check once I had my suspicions about him.”

“You think he was playing both sides?” Jiang Cheng asked. Nie Huaisang fluttered his fan and didn’t disagree.

Between them, Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian caught more than enough fish to feed Huaisang as well, and he and Lan Wangji were both invited back to the Yunmeng dorms to eat with them and their sister. Yanli was surprised, of course, but rolled with it well enough. Luckily, she had chosen to make a soup that was in line with Gusu Lan’s dietary restrictions, so Lan Wangji was able to join them. WWX and JC exchanged smug looks when Lan Wangji blinked down at his soup in surprise, and began to eat more quickly.

Later that night, while WWX was walking LWJ back to his rooms, Yanli poked her head into JC’s room. “Second Young Master Lan seems to have taken quite a liking to A-Xian,” she said.

JC nodded, because that was certainly one way to put it.

“Which makes sense, A-Xian can be very charming,” she continued. “But from what the other female disciples tell me, Second Young Master Lan is ...” he paused, and Jiang Cheng filled in:

“A giant stick in the mud?”

“A-Cheng!” Yanli scolded, but there was laughter behind her voice. “...essentially, yes.”

Jiang Cheng sighed. He had no idea what to say here. He was never good at lies, never LIKED lies, preferring to neither confirm nor deny another’s suppositions when the need for secrecy was necessary...and he had never been able to lie to Yanli. Never wanted to. And besides, Nie Huaisang hadn’t covered this possibility with him.

“A-Jie,” he said, “There’s something I want to tell you, but it’s going to sound like a lie even though it’s the truth. I need you to hear me out, and to believe me, and I will do whatever I can to convince you that it’s real and true.”

And...he tells her. Flat out, just tells her about living the next ten years of his life - the end of her engagement, the indoctrination in Qishan, the burning of Cloud Recesses and Lotus Pier, the death of their parents, losing his core, gaining his core but losing Wei Wuxian, the War, her marriage to Zixuan, A-Ling, Nightless City, Nie Mingjue, death after death after death — and Nie Huaisang, like vengeance made flesh, with a crazy, desperate plan.

“So, yeah. They’re close because they’re, like, in love or whatever.”

“Because they’ve known each other for ten years.”

“Seven,” Jiang Cheng corrected. “They only had seven.”

Yanli looks a little stunned wild-eyed. She had looked sad yet resigned when she had heard about her engagement ending, hopeful when she heard about their wedding. Her eyes had shone suspiciously when she heard about Jin Ling...a few tears falling when she heard about Qongyi pass and Nightless City.

“Do...” he began. “Do you believe me?” he asked, voice small and hating it, but he couldn’t stand it if Yanli thought he would make this up.

Slowly, she nodded her head. “It sounds...wild,” she said. “But I know my A-Cheng. He is honest, and would not make up wild stories like this. So, if A-Cheng says it, it must be true.”

“A-jie,” He said, and had to stop, his voice choked off, and when Yanli leaned in to hug him, his tears were sweet with relief.

~*~

The next complication came the next day, at the presentation ceremony, when, once again, Wen Cho showed up to interrupt Yunmeng Jiang’s gifting. It took everything in him not to punch Wen Chao in his smug face with Sandu unsheathed, and Wei Wuxian was a dark, simmering presence next to him. Somehow, the steps played out like they had before - a brief exchange lead to swords drawn, lead to Xichen stepping in and Wen Qing soothing tempers with quick words.

Jiang Cheng wasn’t prepared to see her again. Her, or Wen Ning, who was a remarkably still shadow behind her. When they left, his eyes stayed lowered towards the ground. There was nothing to make Jiang Cheng think that there was something different, except the long running knowledge that he had the worst possible luck.

WWX was strangely unwilling to approach Wen Ning first, though he clearly wanted to. Some misplaced guilt, perhaps. He still clung to LWJ’s side, which was in no way avoidant behavior, WWX, but Jiang Cheng was surprised when Wen Ning found him first.

“I knew it!” Jiang Cheng cried out, to everyone’s surprise, even Wen Ning. He gestured at Wen Ning. “WWX’s here because he’s tied to me, and Wen Ning here is tied to Wei Wuxian.”

“That still doesn’t explain Lan Wangji,” Nie Huaisang said, tapping his fan against his cheek.

“Nothing explains Lan Wangji.”

“Aiya, Jiang Cheng, so mean!”

None of this has much of an effect on the present moment, however, save that it causes Nie Huaisang to adjust his plans *again*. “No one else has better come back!” he demanded. “All of these calculations are hard, and I am *delicate,* Jiang Cheng.”

“Yeah, a real wilting flower.”

Later that night, just before curfew, a missive arrived to Nie Huaisang from his brother. Huaisang walked as fast as he could manage from the Nie Quarters to the Jiang, bursting into Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian’s room, holding the letter aloft, speaking as soon as he’s through the door: “It’s him! He’s alive! Da-ge’s back!”

Huaisang slammed the letter on the table, reaching for the nearby inkbrush, quickly grinding some ink to circle letters on the page. There, written in an otherwise standard letter reminding Huaisang to mind his studies and practice his saber, was the phrase: Do Not Trust Meng Yao.

TO BE CONTINUED....

[lol-jackles]

You are the best.i have seen people say cw went broke because it is woke and people say itz because cw is not wok enough. You make sense and give the truth. Thanks for that. Also I saw on uoutube rust armorer filed unsafe workplace lawsuit against Alec Baldwin and assistant director... what's your take...Also did you watch wheel of time? Any opinions??

Hannah claims she was sabotaged by mean girls, a mystery person loaded the live round, ammos were supplied by an incompetent supplier, and 1st AD Halls failed to follow protocol and alert her before Alec was handed the weapon.  The jist of Hannah’s sabotage theory is:

Hannah’s father's friend owns a weapons company and supplies guns and ammunition to film productions.

Hannah’s father’s friend recommended both Hannah and her mentor to the production team for Rust.

Hannah’s father was supplying the guns and blank/dummy ammo to the Rust set. Both Hannah and her mentor were picking it up as needed from his storefront.

Mean girl drama occurred between Hannah and her mentor.

The ammo supplier sided with the mentor and gave Hannah some advice she didn't like.

Hannah responded with a very unprofessional text.

The ammo supplier told a mutual friend of Hannah’s father that he would never work with Hannah again due to her unprofessional behavior.

The morning of the shooting the mentor and another girl were in the production trailer loading guns when Hannah arrives on set.

Hannah noticed a box of blank ammo in the production trailer that was not there the night before and no one responded to her question where they came from.

Hannah shook the box to confirm they were blanks but did not inspect them individually and the loading continued.

After the fatal shooting, the ammo supplier asked the same mutual friend some questions about ammo he also received from Hannah’s father and appeared to investigate the matter himself in a number of ways. He told the mutual friend it was his opinion that Hannah was at fault for the earlier mistakes that caused a misfire and led to the horse misbehaving. In his text to Hannah he implies that she mistakenly failed to detect the live round because Halls was rushing her and pulling rank.

Look, I don't care if Mohommed, Jesus, and Budda personally labeled each bullet "DEFINITELY A DUMMY ROUND, LOAD ME!", you check that bitch twice.  Hannah didn't check the rounds before she loaded them in the chamber. In attempt to shift blame, she indirectly admits she had very little control over the guns and ammunition and allowed others to load weapons and belts, left guns under the supervision of other people or unsupervised, and did not follow standard procedures in a number of ways. Her failure to maintain control of those guns allow 4 accidental discharges to occur on this set, one of which killed a woman. Even if she was sabotaged over the scab drama or by mean girls or she was steamrolled by the older AD and intimidated by Alec who created a tense atmosphere due to his volatile nature toward those beneath him, she's still going to have a hard time defending her failures to make sure the weapons were safe.

Alec is mentioned in her lawsuit because she is alleging that she fully expected Halls to comply with protocols and call her back to the set so she could check the gun again before giving the gun to Alec because 1) Alec didn't attend cross draw training and 2) the gun had been out of her possession for 15 minutes. So, according to her, had she been called back by Halls, she would have performed another check that would have led to the discovery of the live round.

I personally find her theory of sabotage a bit incredulous (but no impossible). I think she probably accidentally loaded the live round. 

I'll write my review of Wheel of Time in another post.

[electronicgrowth]

Can’t Get Enough Part 8

The two most stubborn people in Knockemstiff, Ohio have eyes for only each other. Lee Bodecker is determined to become the town’s next sheriff. He knows that image is everything. Billie Dechswaan doesn’t care about her image at all. All she wants is to leave Knockemstiff and never come back. But Lee has other plans for her. Both are far too stubborn to give up their own plans. What happens when they can’t get enough of each other? 

A/N: So, this is a long one. If I’m honest, I’ve lost a lot of my vigor for this story. I still have quite a bit of story written, so maybe I’ll find the inspiration again. But if I’m totally honest.... I’m wildly depressed. Like barely functioning. I’m going to keep posting what I already have written, but I’m not sure if I’ll finish what I had initially planned out. 

That day started like any other for Lee Bodecker. He awoke with a headache. A consequence of drinking too much the night before. He peeled himself out of his bed, before stumbling to the bathroom for a shower. He was disappointed. Nearly a week since John passed and Billie had yet to show her face. Maybe she didn’t care. Maybe she really had cut off all contact with her family. Maybe she even found a new guy and had already given him a whole bunch of babies. 

The last thought made Lee feel nauseous. And not in the hangover kind of way. 

After the shower, Lee shaved. He may feel like a mess but he couldn’t show it. Then he proceeded to pick up the beer bottles from the counter and dispose of them. He liked the house clean when he got home. Even if he just proceeded to make the same mess all over again. 

He made his way to work. Nobody at the station greeted him. It was a well-known fact that Sheriff Bodecker was not a morning person. Lee was able to enjoy two cups of coffee while he did some paperwork. The morning passed without incident. Miss Edna, the receptionist came in at exactly noon with more paperwork for Lee, a fresh cup of coffee and a sandwich. She’d worked at the station for 30 years. And no matter who the sheriff was, she always made him a sandwich for lunch. Edna was the glue that kept the station running. No one dared talk back to her, not even Lee.

After lunch, Tim Mitchell rushed into Lee’s office. Not even stopping at his desk. 

“You alright, Mitchell?” Lee asked the deputy. 

“Yes sir,” he responded, “Thought you’d wanna know I dropped Sylvie and the baby off at her mama’s house this morning.”

“Why would I need to know that?” Lee hissed. 

“Joy had a vistor. One I think you would be very interested in seeing.” 

“Billie?” Could it be? Lee didn’t dare let himself hope.

“Yes, but I think the person with her might be of more interest to you.” 

A husband? A boyfriend?

“Just spit it out,” Lee groaned in annoyance. 

“Billie had a little girl with her,” Tim answered, “She’s probably about four. Thought you’d wanna know.” 

Lee was shocked. So, that letter Billie had sent him about losing the baby wasn’t true after all. A four-year-old. She had to be Lee’s. That meant that Lee was a father. Of a child. Not a baby. He was utterly gobsmacked. 

“Thank you, Mitchell,” he dismissed. Mitchell nodded before exiting the office. Lee took a moment, not to collect his thoughts, no. A moment to collect his jacket and run out the door to tell the undersheriff that he was leaving and not to disturb him. Lee sped to the Dechswaan farm. He broke every traffic law. It was a good thing that he was sheriff. 

He practically ran from his car to the door. Lee proceeded to pound on the door with his fist four times. Not caring if he was rude. He was here for something that belonged to him. 

She opened the door as Lee resumed his pounding. He looked shocked that she’d open the door. Almost like he didn’t believe she was really here. He was dressed in his sheriff’s uniform. He’d gained a bit of weight since she last saw him, he was still handsome though. And Lee surveyed how much curvier Billie was too. She really looked like a woman.

“Let’s go for a walk, Lee,” she said before he could speak. She closed the door and walked down the porch. She marched through the yard, arms crossed. He followed silently, he was fuming. And yet, he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. The way she swayed as she walked. Lee let her lead him all the way to the barn before saying anything. 

“Okay, talk,” he commanded. 

“What do you want me to say?” Billie asked, turning to him but keeping her distance from him.

“Tim said you had a little girl with ya,” Lee accused. 

“I do. My daughter.”

“How old is she?”

“Four.” 

Lee nodded and tenses his jaw, “So, she’s mine then?” 

“Yeah,” Billie conceded, no emotion on her beautiful face. 

“Why? Why didn’t you tell me? You said you miscarried,” Lee muttered, feeling betrayed. 

“Because you are a steamroller. And heaven help anyone who gets in your way, Lee. I wasn’t about to let you take away all my options. I owed it to myself to try my hand in New York.” Her face was scrunching up in angry. 

“And you owed it to me to tell me about my kid!” 

“You think I don’t know that? I regret it everyday, but I can’t take back the past now!” She shouted. 

“That’s it? That’s all you regret?” Lee countered, stepping closer to her.

“Of course not,” Billie scoffs, rolling her eyes and turning away from Lee. But he was quick to grab her, pull her back towards him. 

“What then? What do you regret,” he growls, his face just inches from hers. Her eyes flicked down to his lips. She swayed closer. Lee thought, for just a moment, that she might try to kiss him. But she regained her composure and met his eyes once again.

“Alright, you listen here Lee Bodecker. I’m only gonna say this once,” she begins quietly, “I was wrong. And you were right. I should never have left. And I’m sorry.” 

“Oh, sugar,” Lee laughs bitterly, releasing his grip on her arm, “I’m definitely gonna make you say that all again.” 

Billie crosses her arms, and smirks at him. 

“I knew you’d say that,” she says, “Good thing I’m prepared to beg.” He’s shocked at her tone, she’s toying with him. She knows just what buttons to push to get him right where she wants him. He knows he’ll be putty in her hands soon enough, he’ll give her anything she asks for. But she deserves a little punishment for all the years he was forced to live without her.

“And why was it a mistake, sugar?” He coaxes. 

“There are a lot of reasons it was a mistake,” she counters, looking at her hands, picking at her cuticles. 

“Tell me,” Lee demands. 

“Well, no one in New York wants some hick with an accent teaching their kids. I got a useless degree. And I surely know how to pick my men. The first boy I ever went on a date with tried to rape me months later with his buddies. You got me pregnant on purpose. And the one I dated to try and forget you used me as his personal punching bag.”

“He hit you?” 

“It’s been awful, Lee. I-I can’t do anything right. I always think I’m making the right decision, but it’s always the wrong one. And if you want me to say it then I will. I’m at rock bottom. And I shouldn’t have left you,” she murmurs. 

“Why?” Lee challenges. 

“You know why.” 

“No, tell me.”

“The biggest mistake was thinking I could stay away from you. But don’t think for one minute that it’s because I need you.”

“Then why can’t you stay away if you don’t need me,” Lee narrows his eyes. 

“B-because I love you,” she mutters the sentence so quietly Lee almost couldn’t hear her. 

“You love me?” He smirks. 

“Yeah,” she shakes her head. 

“Alright darlin’. I’m gonna tell you how this will go.”

“Alright.” 

“We’re going to the courthouse tonight and making this official. I don’t care if I have to haul the judge in myself. When people ask, we’ll say we reconnected recently and decided to keep it small given the circumstances.” 

“Just like I said, you’re a steamroller,” Billie chuckled, “You think you have all the power. But I know what you’ve been doing here.”

“Oh yeah,” Lee challenged, “What have I been doing?”

“I heard all about Sandy and Carl, and you killing Leroy Brown and you taking bribes,” Billie spat. 

“Well, we’ve both made mistakes. I’ve only done what I’ve done for you. To provide for you. I take those bribes because it makes me more money,” Lee yelled. 

“And you got yourself in some hot water in the process. I heard you even fucking got shot. Do you know what that was like for me? I nearly came home when I heard that, I thought you were going to die. You need to be more careful Lee,” Billie shot back.

Billie realized that she had Lee right where she wanted him. He was her ticket away from Larry. He was more than capable of protecting her from that bastard. And she’d be lying if she said she didn’t want him. Billie walked forward to Lee and pushed him up against the side of the barn. She looked up at him with her big doe eyes. 

“Do you love me, Lee?” She asked, pressing her body against his. 

“Do you love me?” He countered, suspicious of her. 

“I do. I really love you,” she whispered, her hands rubbing down his chest and stomach until she cupped his cock through his pants, “So, let me tell you how this is gonna go. We’ll go to the courthouse when I’m ready. You’re not going to punish me for leaving even though I know you really want to.” She undoes his belt and pants, her hand slips into his underwear and she grips his cock, slowly jacking him off. His head lolls back to hit the barn wall. “You are going to be more careful going forward. No fights that involve guns. You are not getting shot again. Because you’re gonna have a wife and a baby that need you.” Lee groans, eyes shut, enjoying her hands on him for the first time in five years. “I’ll let you fuck me raw. Let you get me pregnant again. I’ll give you all the babies you want. I bet you would like that wouldn’t you, honey?” Lee nods pathetically. Her hand is moving up and down his length at a brutal pace, Lee jerks his hips, chasing the pleasure. “But you have to protect me. And you’re going to give me anything I want.” Billie leans up and licks Lee’s neck. “You’ll give me a nice house and pretty dresses. And I’ll just be at home all day, dripping for you. Waiting for you to come home and fuck me so good. Keep me full of you. Don’t you wanna be inside me, Lee?” Lee groans loudly. Billie sucks a hickey into Lee’s neck, and forces his lips down to meet hers. “I’m gonna help you become mayor one day, so just tell me you love me. And I can make all that happen for ya.” 

“Shit, baby. I love you so fucking much,” Lee grunts, his arms locking Billie against him, “Don’t leave me again.” 

“I promise I won’t,” she gasped, as she started to get down on her knees, but Lee grabbed her elbow and kept her upright. He grabbed her and slammed her against the barn. He caged her in and caught her lips. He holds onto her waist like he may never let her go. Her tongue is everywhere. It’s becomes clear to Lee that Billie is just as desperate for him as he is for her. Billie pulls away, panting for air and stares into Lee’s eyes. All he can see is how much she loves him, and he wonders if she sees the same thing in his eyes. He bends down to pick her up, her legs wrap around him. With one arm he holds her up, with the other he moves her panties to the side and grips his cock, preparing to plunge inside her. He rubs his length against her slit for a moment. Then rapidly shoves himself inside. He’s brutally fucking into her and she’s a mess. Desperate for anything he’ll give her. 

“Lee,” she whined. He smirked. 

“You like that baby?” he teased. She nodded. 

“You feel so good,” she cried, her head lolled back to hit the wall of the barn. Lee can see in her eyes that she’s totally lost in pleasure. Her eyes are unfocused and glazed over. He continues to pummel in and out of her.

“Did he fuck you like this?” He growled into her neck.

“He never fucked me,” she moaned, “I wouldn’t let him.”

“Why?” He teased.

“B-because….” 

“Because why?” He was just being cruel trying to get coherent answers at of her at this moment.

“Because I only ever wanted you.” If there was one sentence that ever made Lee’s cock so hard and warmed his heart so much it was that sentence. 

“Honey,” he murmured forcing her to pay attention to him, slowing his thrusts, “tell me that you love me.” 

“I love you so much, Lee,” she sobbed. 

“You gonna cum, honey?” He asked. 

“Yes.” 

“Play with your clit,” he demands. Billie is quick to comply. Her fingers skate down between them to find her clit and she rubs circles against herself. Lee speeds up again. 

“What do you want, baby?” 

“I want your cum, Lee. Please give it to me.” Lee wasn’t about to leave his girl hanging, as soon as she begins to tighten around him, he lets himself go. He comes inside her with a grunt of her name. She’s quick to follow, letting out a high pitched shriek. 

He pants against her lips, before taking out a handkerchief from his back pocket. He wipes off his cock and cleans between her legs and shoves the handkerchief into his back pocket. Billie leaned up against the side of the barn, desperately trying to catch her breath. 

“You want to meet your daughter?” Billie asked, as Lee tucked himself back into his pants. 

“Really?” Lee looked shocked at the offer. 

“Yeah, of course,” Billie scoffed. 

“What if she doesn’t like me?” 

“She will. She likes most people,” Billie promised. 

“Most people?” He questioned. 

“She only ever dislikes people that give her a reason,” Billie answered. She grabbed Lee’s hand and pulled him back to the house. His thumb dragged across her knuckles. He didn’t know if he’d ever let go of her hand. 

“Just grab a seat,” Billie said, gesturing towards the couch in the living room, “She’s just napping.” Billie sat down next to Lee. She kicked her shoes off, and draped her legs across his lap. 

“So, what’s it like to be sheriff?” she smirked, the way her eyes lit up was the same as when she was eighteen. When she used to tease him in the front seat of his car. 

“It’d be better if I had less idiot deputies,” Lee chuckles. 

“Well, you better get on that Sheriff,” Billie teased, “But you like it?”

“I do. It’s nice to be in charge,” Lee responded. Billie hummed. She knew that he liked to be in charge. 

“Sheriff Bodecker,” Joy sighed, as she entered the front sitting room, “How are you doing?” 

“I’m good. How are you holding up, Joy?” Lee asked. He allowed concern to flash across his face. Even though he knew of his role in her grief. 

“Much better now that my Billie is home,” she answered, petting Billie’s hair. 

“I feel the same way,” Lee smiled dreamily. 

“You gonna make an honest woman outta my daughter then?” Joy joked. 

“I think I will,” Lee laughed. 

“Good, good. We could use the happiness of a wedding around here. Or more babies,” Joy beamed as she went back to the kitchen. 

Lee smirked down at Billie after the baby comment from her mother. Billie toyed with Lee’s hands, avoiding his gaze, and intense blush colored her cheeks, despite the fact that Lee had been balls deep inside her ten minutes ago, coaxing her to promise him more babies.

“Mama,” called a small voice. 

“I’m right here, baby,” Billie answered getting up from the couch and going to the stairs. Beth took each step down slowly. Her hair and dress were rumpled. When Beth reached Billie, she attempted to smooth her daughters hair and clothes. 

“I have someone I want you to meet,” Billie cooed. Picking her daughter up. Billie went back to the couch and sat down with Beth in her lap. 

“Lee, this is Beth,” Billie said. Lee smiles down at the little girl. Beth decides to take the opportunity to lean as far forward as she can to see Lee. He’s surprised that she’s not shy. He’s a stranger after all. She reaches out to touch his badge. Seemingly intrigued by the star-like plaque. 

“Are you a policeman?” She asks him. 

“Yeah, I’m a sheriff,” he tells her. 

“What’s that?” She asks. 

“That means he’s in charge of all the other policemen around here. Uncle Tim is a policeman and this is his boss,” Billie says patiently. 

“Do you catch the bad guys?” Beth quizzes, looking up from his badge to his eyes.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” Lee chuckles. Beth wriggles out of Billie’s lap and closes the very small distance between her and Lee. She climbs onto his lap and continues to play with the edges of his badge. 

“I have a bad guy for you to get,” she tried to whisper, it comes out less quiet and more like a stage whisper. 

“Sure thing, peanut,” he said affectionately. He’s expecting her to tell him about the monster under her bed. Or a criminal in a story. 

“It’s mama’s boyfriend. He’s mean and he hurts her,” the little girl told him. Lee attempted to keep his features schooled. He doesn’t want to scare the little girl. For a moment he considers hunting down the bastard and strangling him with his bare hands. He wants to make him suffer, and be the reason that asshole would never see the light of day again. But he needs to take care of the little girl in his arms for the moment.

“Well, I want nothing more than to keep your mama safe,” he placates the small child. He looks at Billie and she looks guilty. 

“Baby,” Billie scolds, “You know that we’re here because mama isn’t with Mr. Larry anymore, because he’s a bad man. We’re moving back where all of our family is.” Beth slowly nods, but continues to play with Lee’s badge, small fingers skating over the edges.

“Beth,” he says as he directs his attention back to the little girl on his lap, “do you want to color?” Beth looked up excitedly at Lee. She hurried Billie out to the car to get her favorite coloring books. Billie, Lee and Beth sit at the mismatched dining room table and color together. Beth talks Lee’s ear off. She spends that time telling him everything about herself. Her favorite book, her favorite animal, her favorite color, all the information she deems the most important. Lee just soaks in everything she tells him. He’s ecstatic to be learning about his daughter.

That evening, Billie digs out her old apron. She and Sylvie make dinner while Lee and Joy occupy Beth and Rose. After having dinner and cleaning the kitchen Beth looks almost dead on her feet. But she returned to the table with after dinner coffee. She sat down next to Lee. He was quick to rest his hand on her thigh. 

“You look exhausted, honey,” he observed. 

“I am,” she sighed, “I should probably get Bethie ready for bed.” 

Upon hearing this Beth shrieks, “Noooo. I want to stay up and keep coloring with him!” Crocodile tears began welling up in Beth’s eyes. 

“Baby it’s okay,” Billie tried to placate. But Beth was not having it, she looked like she was about to start wailing. Lee stood up and picked Beth up from her chair and then sat right back down with Beth in his lap, she was far more content there.

“Beth,” he began, hesitantly, “How do you feel about you and mama living with me? And me being your daddy?” 

Beth’s tears dry up quickly and her eyes light up, “Really?” She asks excitedly, “Can we mama?” Lee catches Billie in a dreamy daze. He only ever saw that look every once in a while. 

“Of course, sweetpea,” she smiles. 

“Can we go now?” Beth begs.

“We probably should be getting this one home,” Lee said, petting Beth’s hair soothingly. 

“Home?” Billie questioned. 

“What? You thought that I wouldn’t have you two come home with me tonight?” Lee chuckled. 

“Isn’t that inappropriate for the sheriff to let an unmarried woman stay at his house?”

“I was just re-elected. So, I’m not too worried about what people say. As someone in law enforcement, only I can speak to where is safe for a young woman to stay at night.” 

“Alright,” she says, amused, “You still live in the same place?”

“I do.”

“I’ll drive my car over there then,” she smiles, standing from her seat, “Beth, it’s time to go. Hug Grandma goodbye.” Beth slowly gets up and hugs Joy. Billie kisses her sister and mother on the cheek. 

“Do you need anything before Wednesday, mom?” She asked Joy quietly. 

“No, the funeral home did want us to come early. They said 2:00, I believe,” Joy sighed. 

“Alright, well if you think of anything just call me at Lee’s, okay?” Billie commanded. 

“I will, honey,” Joy promised. Beth is standing close to her mom, while Lee waits for them at the door. 

“Mama, up,” Beth demands making grabby hands. 

“Baby, you’re getting too big for mama to carry,” Billie tries to reason. Beth’s bottom lip quivers and Lee can see that she’s about to cry again. 

“Beth, why don’t you let daddy carry you,” he offers. Beth beams up at him, rushing over so he can pick her up. Billie mouths “Thank you” to him. Lee grabbed Billie’s hand and led her out of the house with his daughter in his arms. He’s on top of the world. 

Billie follows Lee to his house. He lives in a simple ranch style house. It looks the same as the last time Billie saw it. Lee always said that this was just a first home. That he wanted to live there until he’d had a couple of kids. Then when the third baby was on its way, he would buy a bigger house. 

Lee is quick to help Billie with the bags. She doesn’t have many. And she’d sold her furniture to a young couple down the hall. They enter into the living room and it’s just the same. Same furniture, just a little more worn down. Lee locked the door and led them towards the bedrooms. He set the suitcases down in the hall, between the master room and one of the spare rooms. Lee had furnished both the spare rooms with items he’d inherited when his mother died. 

“Beth can sleep in this room,” he said pointing to the room next door to the master, “I’ve got some sheets for that bed in the closet. I don’t keep them on the bed unless I have company.” Billie nodded. 

“It’s getting close to her bedtime. Do you mind getting her bed ready, while I give her a bath?” She asks, gesturing towards Beth, who is tiredly leaning against the doorway. 

“Of course,” Lee says eagerly. Billie takes one case and begins digging through it. He can see that it’s Beth’s clothes. Billie is quick to find a small little night dress for Beth, before picking up another bag and finding Beth’s shampoo and toothbrush. She leads Beth to the bathroom where she fills the tub and starts directing Beth into the tub. Lee smiles to himself at how right this feels.

After her bath, Beth demands a bedtime story. Billie sits in the rocking chair in the corner, Beth in her lap, gently rocking as she reads the story. Lee watches from the doorway. He’s not paying attention to what she’s saying. He’s enthralled by how maternal she looks. She looks like she was made to be a mother. She happily makes a new voice for each character, Beth fights to keep her eyes open. She, too, is captivated by her mother. But the exhaustion of the day wins, and her breathing evens out as she falls asleep. Billie carefully tucks Beth in with a gentle kiss of her forehead. She turns to Lee, shooing him from the room. She quietly closes the bedroom door. 

Lee stares at Billie. Her baby blue dress brings out the blue in her eyes. Her hair is starting to fall from its perfect style. She looks as beautiful as always, but Lee knows her well enough to see that she’s completely exhausted.

“Let’s wash up and get to bed,” he coaxed. She nodded in agreement. Lee went to the bathroom first, quickly splashing water onto his face and washing up. Billie went next. She removed her makeup and brushed out her hair. She hated the way she looked without makeup. She knew she wasn’t nearly as pretty. But she also knew it was just better for her to take it off. She changed into a nightie, as well, before she exited the bathroom and went back to the bedroom. Lee was already in bed, and Billie was quick to crawl in next to him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into him. 

“I have something for you,” he hummed. 

“Lee, I swear to God if you pull out your cock—“ Billie threatened. Lee laughed heartily and as quietly as he could with Beth in the next room. 

“No, something else that I think you’ll like,” he smirked. Billie rolled her eyes playfully and shook her head. Lee got out of bed and went to the closet. Billie could see that he was looking for something. She saw him pull a shoebox from the top shelf, he quickly took what he needed from the box and put it back where he had found it. Whatever it was that he got from the box, he hid it behind his back. His eyes glinted mischievously as he approached the bed. 

“So, I got this for you a while ago. And I kept it because I always hoped you would come back and I could give it to you,” Lee murmured as he kneeled down next to the bed. Finally, he revealed a small box. Billie had a feeling she knew what this was. 

He opened the box, and revealed a beautiful ring. It was set on a thick gold band. In the center was a diamond that sparkled impossibly, an asscher cut. It wasn’t as large as the diamonds all the women in Hollywood got, but it was far larger than anything in this region of Ohio.

“Lee,” Billie gasped, “How long have you had this?” 

“I got it a couple of weeks before you told me that you were pregnant,” he answered, smiling bashfully. 

“I can’t let you give me this. It’s so extravagant,” she protested. 

“Sugar, I’ve been dying to give you this ring for five years. So, marry me, let me give you this ring, and make me the happiest man alive,” Lee smiled, “Please.” 

“Of course,” she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. Lee slid the ring up her finger. It fit perfectly. Lee got up from the floor and got back onto the bed. He crawled over Billie before kissing her deeply. When she cupped his cheek he could feel the extra weight of the ring. It spurred him on, his bit down on her bottom lip before kissing down to her neck. Her hands raked through his short hair. His fingers went to the apex of her thighs, he slid her panties to the side and plunged two fingers into her. He was shocked that she was already quite wet. He kissed her neck, as the room filled with obscene noise from her pussy. 

“Lee, please. I need you inside me,” she begged. 

“I am inside you, baby,” he teased. 

“Your cock. I need your cock,” she mewled, “I need to feel you inside me.” Lee wasn’t about to argue with a beautiful woman in his bed. He helped her out of her nightdress and underwear. She yanked on his boxers until he helped her get them off. He settled himself between her thighs. He lazily rubbed his cock over her slit, wetting his length. He pushed just the head of his cock in before removing it again. Billie pouted up at him. 

“I think you may owe me a little something, darlin’,” he teased. 

“Please, please,” she pled, clawing her fingers into his ass. 

“Aww, look at my little baby. So desperate for my cock,” he mocked, he continued to rub himself against her pussy lips. “What would you do for my cock right now?” 

“Lee,” she groaned. Billie was not interested in this game at the moment. Maybe a different night, but she just needed him to fuck her into the mattress. “Just tell me what you want and I’ll do it.” 

“I wanna make another baby with you, right now,” Lee growled in her ear. 

Seriously? That was all he wanted. From how he was playing it, she thought he might want anal. 

“Well,” she began as she moved her hips up and down, forcing him to take more friction, “then you better get to work, daddy.” She whispered the last word directly into his ear, before licking the shell of it. That was all it took for Lee to push into her abruptly. He stilled and looked down at her. 

“Tell me you want me to get you pregnant,” he demanded. 

“I want you to get me pregnant,” she whimpered. 

“What?” He goaded. 

“I want you to get me pregnant, daddy.” Lee began pumping in and out of Billie brutally, hitting that sweet place inside her that made her gush all over him. 

“Fuck, did you get tighter?” He groaned. His hands palmed her breasts. Lee was sure it wasn’t just the five years of separation, but he was enthralled by how beautiful she was. She was perfect. His hands couldn’t grip all of her breasts, her hips flared out in delicious curves. Her tummy was soft, softer than before, it was an aftereffect of having his baby, Lee was sure. Her thighs were thick, he couldn’t help but imagine those wrapped around his face as he fucked her with his tongue. But that was a task for another day, or maybe just later. 

His hands skated down her figure to grabs her hips. He held onto her so tight, he knew it would leave bruises but he used his grip as leverage to fuck her harder. Her legs locked around him, as he thrust in so hard it pushed her farther up the bed, until her head hit the headboard. Billie threw one hand up to stop her head from slamming harder into the headboard, but that action just forced the headboard to slam into the wall. 

“Lee,” she moaned, “We have to be quiet.” They had a little one to worry about now. Lee slowed, but the headboard kept hitting the wall. He pulled out and stood next to the bed. Billie immediately pouted at the loss of him inside her. 

“Come here,” he cooed. She crawled over to him and began to lay back before he stopped her. 

“No, back to me, feet on the floor,” he commanded. She followed his directions and stood so her back was pressed to his front. He held her tightly to him. Kissing her neck, as one hand held her hip and the other ran over her belly. 

“Can’t wait til you’re all swollen with me,” he hummed in her ear. He pushed her forward onto the bed, before pushing back inside her. Billie turned her face so she could moan into the bedspread. Lee used this new position to fuck her deeper. And as hard as he could. His hands held her hips tightly, and he bent over her, kissing her neck and back. She got wetter and wetter the more attention he paid to her back. That was something he’d never discovered and he loved it. He started sucking bruises between her shoulder blades and the curve where her neck met her shoulder. 

“Oh, fuck,” she gasped. Her juices were starting to trickle down her thighs. 

“So wet,” he smirked, one hand curving around her body to rub her clit. Lee could feel her legs starting to shake. 

“You gonna come for me, baby?” He teased. She nodded desperately, not able to speak. Her hands went to the bedspread and gripped it tightly. Lee kissed the back of her neck, and felt her clench a bit tighter around him. He laved his tongue over the same area, before sucking a bruise in the same section. Billie’s eyes rolled back and she came with a shout. It took all of Lee’s self control not to follow her. He slowed his thrusts as she came down. He pulled out, very pleased to see her dripping as he did. 

He rolled Billie onto her back. He wanted to look at her when he came. He cupped her face, she was still in a daze, but she looked up at him dreamily. He pushed back into her, and she moaned, quietly. 

“I love you,” she whimpered. 

“I love you, baby,” he told her. Tears sprang to her eyes, as he rolled his hips slowly against her. 

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, “I wish I never left.” 

“Shh, it’s okay,” he reassured. She reached up to touch his face. 

“You need to know, I missed you everyday. I regretted it everyday,” she sobbed, “I was so stupid. You are the only man I ever could’ve loved and I left you.” Lee stopped moving, but stayed inside her. 

“Honey,” he said, “It’s okay. I promise. I’m never gonna stop loving you. Not even you leaving could change that. Just be with me now. We don’t have to worry about anything else but the future, okay?”

“Okay,” she whispered. He kissed her forehead. 

“Do you want to stop? We can just go to sleep if you want.”

“No, I want to keep going.” 

“You sure?” He asked. 

“Yeah, please,” she begged, “I want you to feel good.” She leaned up to kiss him. Her hands lightly scratched over his back, encouraging him to keep going. Lee hesitated but picked his movements back up, he was going slow. Slower than Billie wanted. 

“Faster,” she commanded. Lee complied, slamming into her. 

“Say my name,” he growled. 

“Lee,” she breathed in a high pitch voice. 

“Tell me what you want, honey,” he grunted. 

“I want you. I want you to cum inside me,” she gasped. 

“Are you mine?”

“Yes, yours. All yours.” Lee was pummeling into her now, chasing his orgasm. 

“I love you, Lee,” she whimpered. And those words sent Lee careening over the edge of the cliff. His hips stuttered into her, as he came. Rope after rope of hot cum painted her walls. Billie fluttered around him. Lee panted above her, but leaned down to capture her mouth all the same. His tongue tangled with hers. 

When they broke apart, Lee pulled out. Billie started to sit up, but Lee pushed her back down. 

“Stay on your back,” he ordered, “I want it to take.”

“Honey, we have all the time in the world to try again,” she laughed. Lee didn’t care. He picked her up from the edge of the bed, and set her down, so she could lay against the pillows. He helped her get under the sheets before joining her. He thought about pushing inside her again so none of his cum could leak out. Billie turned onto her side so she could lay across his chest. He scowled at her for ignoring his directions. 

“Don’t worry. I’ll let you fuck your cum back into me in the morning,” she sighed, burrowing her face into the crook of his neck. Lee chuckled, and wrapped one arm around her. He was dragging his hand up and down her back when he felt it. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it was a bumpy spot on her back. It didn’t feel like the rest of her soft skin. He peered down and saw several dots. They were in clusters all over her back. He hadn’t noticed them before, he’d been too preoccupied.

“What are these?” He asked her. Billie stiffened. She was like a board in his arms. 

“It’s nothing Lee. Let’s just get to sleep,” she hummed. 

“Tell me,” Lee said sternly. 

“Just… just don’t freak out, okay?” She murmured, pulling away to look at his face. “They’re healed cigarette burns. Larry was an angry drunk.” Lee felt a murderous rage race through his blood. He had half a mind to get dressed and go find that bastard that very instant. “Honey, please just stay calm.” 

“Stay calm? How do you expect me to stay fucking calm?” Lee hissed through gritted teeth, trying to stay quiet for Beth’s sake. 

“It’s okay. It’s over. I’m here and he’s back in New York,” she soothed. 

“I could just kill him,” Lee growled. 

“I’m okay,” she promised, “Let’s just go to sleep. Please.” Lee nodded begrudgingly. He pulled Billie back into him. She quickly fell asleep, but Lee was content to just hold Billie for a moment. Happy that after so long she was back in his arms. 

@greeneyedblondie44 @bxnnywriting @kitty4860

[bloody-bee-tea]

Hi! I love every one of your xicheng that I could read, and if I could ask for a continuation of "Stream" I'd love it So Much. Pleaseee?

BeeTober 2020 Day 14

Umbrella - Savor

So, fun fact, I never intended to write a second part of Stream, but here you go anyway <3 !

They are taking it slow. They are taking it so slow that Jiang Cheng isn’t even sure he can call Lan Xichen his boyfriend yet, even though they go on dates two or more times a week.

But Lan Xichen is incredibly understanding and accepting of Jiang Cheng’s slow pace and always gives him a choice, especially when it comes to physical contact.

He always offers; a hand on the table, a lifted arm for Jiang Cheng to slide under, his face for a greeting kiss, but he always makes sure that it’s Jiang Cheng’s decision.

Jiang Cheng would mind it, would think that Lan Xichen doesn’t actually want to do any of those things with Jiang Cheng, if it weren’t for the entirely adorable way his entire being seems to light up whenever Jiang Cheng accepts the offered contact.

The first time Jiang Cheng has kissed him on the lips in greeting, he feared Lan Xichen would set something on fire, he was beaming that much.

“You’re thinking,” Lan Xichen suddenly says and reaches over the table to flick Jiang Cheng’s forehead. “Good or bad?”

It’s something else Jiang Cheng has noticed; Lan Xichen likes to check in on him like that in regular intervals, always makes sure that this is still what Jiang Cheng wants and sometimes Jiang Cheng really has to fight the urge to straight up jump Lan Xichen.

He knows that Lan Xichen wouldn’t mind, would actually welcome it, but Jiang Cheng isn’t yet ready to propel their relationship forward like that.

“I think good?” Jiang Cheng tries, even though he’s hesitant to voice his thoughts.

“Want to share?” Lan Xichen asks and puts his hand on the table, a clear offer for Jiang Cheng to take it.

Lan Xichen has picked up on the fact that Jiang Cheng sometimes does better when he can hold Lan Xichen’s hand, or when he can snuggle into his side, and he never hesitates to offer that comfort to Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng reaches out to take Lan Xichen’s hand without hesitation and threads their fingers together.

He takes a moment to simply breathe before he looks at Lan Xichen again.

“You’re my—I mean, when I talk about you, I can say that you’re my boyfriend, right?” Jiang Cheng asks, mostly to confirm it for himself, and not because he is still doubting everything he has with Lan Xichen, and Lan Xichen seems to know it, because he smiles softly at him.

“Of course I am, my heart. I hoped that was clear.”

Jiang Cheng blushes with the use of that endearment, like he always does, and then nods.

“It was. It is. I just wanted to be sure,” he agrees and Lan Xichen lifts their hands to press a kiss to Jiang Cheng’s knuckles.

There are still days where Jiang Cheng spirals; where he’s convinced that he’s the worst thing to ever happen to Lan Xichen, but Lan Xichen never gives him that feeling, and Wei Wuxian is always there to catch him when it happens, too.

Jiang Cheng has to admit that being open with his thoughts and feelings has been a great help.

“Then be very sure of this,” Lan Xichen tells him and Jiang Cheng smiles at him and nods.

They enjoy the rest of their date, right until Jiang Cheng’s phone rings.

“It’s Wei Wuxian,” Jiang Cheng says, right before he accepts the call and when his brother doesn’t immediately start to yell into his ear, he knows that something is wrong.

“What is it?” Jiang Cheng asks, and immediately a frown appears on Lan Xichen’s face.

He must be worried that something happened to Lan Wangji.

“I’m really sorry,” Wei Wuxian starts with and Jiang Cheng’s stomach drops.

“For what?” Jiang Cheng presses out, but he knows that voice.

It’s Wei Wuxian’s ‘your mother was here and now I feel worthless again’-voice and Jiang Cheng would be content with his life if he never had to hear it again.

Lan Xichen seems to realize that something is definitely wrong, because he abandons his own seat to come over to Jiang Cheng’s side, so he can press close into Lan Xichen’s side.

“Madam Yu was here,” Wei Wuxian confirms Jiang Cheng’s fears and he closes his eyes.

“What did she say?” Jiang Cheng asks and transfers the phone to his other ear, so Lan Xichen can listen as well.

Wei Wuxian knows that Jiang Cheng keeps nothing from Lan Xichen, not anymore, and he also knows that they are on a date right now.

“I think she just stopped by to remind me that I am the disgrace of the family,” Wei Wuxian starts, but Jiang Cheng knows that that isn’t all, because otherwise Wei Wuxian wouldn’t have called and instead waited until Jiang Cheng comes home.

“You’re not,” Jiang Cheng says, almost on reflex, and Wei Wuxian lets out a humorless laugh.

“Yeah, doesn’t matter,” he mumbles. “She saw the picture,” he then says, and Jiang Cheng immediately knows which picture.

He just recently put it up, of him and Lan Xichen on their date to the amusement park, and of course his mother would immediately see it.

“Fuck,” Jiang Cheng mutters and Lan Xichen squeezes him.

He knows which picture, because he was the one who chose it.

“She’s furious that you weren’t the one to tell her and you and Lan Xichen are ordered to come to dinner tonight. I’m really sorry,” Wei Wuxian says again, as if it was his fault that Jiang Cheng’s mother completely steamrolled him.

“Ordered,” Lan Xichen repeats, and Jiang Cheng grimaces at him.

“I’m really sorry, Xichen-ge, but there was nothing I could do,” Wei Wuxian says and Lan Xichen carefully plucks the phone out of Jiang Cheng’s hand.

“It’s not your fault,” Lan Xichen says, but his eyes are on Jiang Cheng. “I had to meet the family at some point.”

“You met the important part,” Jiang Cheng immediately says, because Lan Xichen has met Jiang Yanli, and really, that is the only family Jiang Cheng cares about. Besides Wei Wuxian of course, but Lan Xichen knew him already.

“You met my uncle,” Lan Xichen reminds him, and Jiang Cheng flushes with just the memory.

He will never understand how Lan Qiren can actually hold him in high regards and that he’s proud of Lan Xichen for having ‘such an amazing boyfriend’. It almost felt like an out of body experience to Jiang Cheng.

“Your uncle was easy,” Jiang Cheng grumbles and takes his phone back from Lan Xichen. “Do you want me to come home?” he asks Wei Wuxian, because he knows he is still shaken and Lan Wangji is out of town at the moment.

There’s a very long silence on the other end, one that tells Jiang Cheng that the answer is yes, but then Wei Wuxian says “No”.

“Bullshit,” Jiang Cheng snaps and sends an apologetic look at Lan Xichen, who is already reaching for his porte-monnaie.

“I’ll be home in twenty,” Jiang Cheng informs him.

“You don’t have to cut your date with Xichen-ge short,” Wei Wuxian whines, but it’s half heartedly at best and Jiang Cheng isn’t even listening to him anymore.

“You better be on the couch when I get home,” Jiang Cheng says, as Lan Xichen hands him his coat.

“You’re so mean to me,” Wei Wuxian complains, but Jiang Cheng knows that he has won. “I love you,” Wei Wuxian tacks on, voice quiet and Jiang Cheng smiles slightly.

“I love you, too. Now let me go, so Xichen can drive me home.”

“Fine,” Wei Wuxian sighs and then hangs up without another word.

“I’m really sorry about this. About all of this,” Jiang Cheng says to Lan Xichen, who lifts his arm, to invite Jiang Cheng into a hug.

Jiang Cheng steps into his space without hesitation.

“You don’t have to be sorry. Family first.”

“Not the one you’re meeting tonight,” Jiang Cheng grumbles and then buries his face in Lan Xichen’s sweater.

“Please don’t think less of me after tonight,” he mutters, and he squeezes his eyes shut when Lan Xichen presses a kiss to the top of his head.

“I could never, my heart,” Lan Xichen says confidently.

Jiang Cheng doubts that; he knows his mother alone is very hard to take, but when his father is there as well, it’s likely to be an absolute shit show. And Jiang Cheng fears that it will be too much for Lan Xichen; that he will hear things about Jiang Cheng he can’ stomach, which will only end in him leaving.

Jiang Cheng isn’t sure if he could still take that.

“You don’t have to ask for hugs, or when you want to hold my hand. Or when you want to kiss me. You can just do those things,” Jiang Cheng says apropos of nothing, because he wants Lan Xichen to take the physical contact he wants as well, at least for today.

Jiang Cheng is not sure there will be much more after this.

“Okay,” Lan Xichen agrees and immediately tilts Jiang Cheng’s head up to press a kiss to his lips. “But only as long as you are really comfortable with that.”

“I am,” Jiang Cheng agrees and presses up to get another kiss.

They get lost in that for a few moments, before the thought of Wei Wuxian alone on their couch gets too much for Jiang Cheng and he drags Lan Xichen away.

~*~*~

Jing Cheng really wishes that Lan Xichen would be less perfect, because then he could have had the afternoon to convince himself that maybe this dinner will work out.

But instead Lan Xichen stayed the whole afternoon with Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian—unobtrusively in the back, occupying himself in Jiang Cheng’s room while he and Wei Wuxian were watching a movie, cuddling on the couch—and never complained even once.

It makes Jiang Cheng’s heart beat fast to think about how right it had felt that Lan Xichen was there with them, but he tries to push that thought away.

He’s still convinced that after this evening there won’t be many more of those moments, because Lan Xichen will realize what a grave mistake he made in dating Jiang Cheng and he will leave him.

Not in a mean way—Jiang Cheng doubts Lan Xichen can even be mean—but it will hurt nonetheless.

“You’re thinking again, and this time it’s bad thoughts,” Lan Xichen accuses him and Jiang Cheng sends him a small smile.

Lan Xichen is right, but he’s not going to admit to that. Instead, Jiang Cheng keeps his eyes trained on him, tries to savour the fact that for now he’s allowed to look. And when he remembers that he’s also allowed to touch, he reaches out to take Lan Xichen’s hand in his.

“I’m driving, my heart,” Lan Xichen gently reminds him but Jiang Cheng pouts at him.

“You don’t need your hand right now. I’ll give it back if you need to shift.”

“You better,” Lan Xichen replies, not turning his eyes away from the road and Jiang Cheng wonders if he imagines what dinner will be like.

Jiang Cheng knows from experience that no amount of imagination could prepare him for what is about to happen.

They spend the rest of the drive in silence and they arrive at Jiang Cheng’s parent’s house sooner than he would have liked, if he’s being honest.

He wouldn’t have minded driving with Lan Xichen for eternity.

“I am really sorry for what is about to happen,” Jiang Cheng says, just as he’s about to take his hand back, but Lan Xichen presses a kiss to the back of it before he allows Jiang Cheng to have it back.

“It can’t be that bad, and besides. It’s not your fault, no matter what happens. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Jiang Cheng says, voice already choked up, because he knows that won’t be true for much longer.

His mother especially has a way to hit where it hurts, and she knows all of Jiang Cheng’s soft spots. And she has never been afraid of using them.

Lan Xichen sends him an encouraging smile and then they are already ringing at the door. Jiang Cheng might have lost some time to his panic, because next thing he knows they are already sitting at the table; his parents, Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng himself.

Jiang Cheng knows what will happen before Jiang Fengmian even opens his mouth.

“Did you not bring Wei Wuxian?” he asks and Jiang Cheng attempts a smile for him.

“He was busy, this evening,” he says, and tries very hard not to think about the still shaken form he left bundled up in a blanket on the couch.

“What could he possibly have to do,” Madam Yu scoffs and Jiang Cheng closes his eyes, because he hoped to get at least past the first course before his parents started with this.

He tries to tune them out as best as he can; he knows his input is neither required nor wished for and so he listlessly moves the food around on his plate.

Sometime around the five minute marks of his parents fighting about Wei Wuxian Lan Xichen moves his hand to Jiang Cheng’s thigh to lightly squeeze it and while Jiang Cheng knows it’s only meant to show his support, the shame burns hot in his gut.

He hates that Lan Xichen has to see how worthless Jiang Cheng is in his parent’s eyes.

The longer the fight takes, the more tense Lan Xichen gets and Jiang Cheng has to swallow hard to keep his composure.

He wonders what Lan Xichen must think of him, now that he sees that Wei Wuxian is so much more important to either of his parents, be it in a good or bad way.

“Mom, dad,” Jiang Cheng finally tries when it all becomes too much for him. “Please,” he reminds them with a look at Lan Xichen, and he realizes his mistake just a second too late.

He hates that particular glint in his mother’s eyes.

“So, Lan Xichen,” she starts, her voice suddenly saccharine sweet as if she hadn’t viciously ripped into her husband just a minute ago. “Tell me, what do you want with Jiang Cheng?”

“I—love him,” Lan Xichen hesitantly says, clearly taken aback by the wording of that question and it almost sounds more like a question than anything else.

Madam Yu’s eyes go hard at that, and Jiang Cheng can only duck his head, before she starts in on him.

Maybe she shouldn’t have reminded her that Lan Xichen is there. It would have been better, probably, because next thing he knows she’s listing all of his inadequacies. Every last single one of Jiang Cheng’s faults are being flung around, dragged into the open and his mother remembers some things even Jiang Cheng already forgot.

It was probably time she reminds him of those again, Jiang Cheng bitterly thinks.

Once his mother is done, once she said almost exactly what Jiang Cheng has said to Wei Wuxian all those months ago, she expectantly looks at Lan Xichen, as if she expects him to get up and walk away.

Jiang Cheng is honestly more surprised when it doesn’t immediately happen.

“How dare you,” Lan Xichen hisses and Jiang Cheng closes his eyes. “How dare you speak about your son like this? At least now I understand why he has all these insecurities that keep him from accepting happiness,” Lan Xichen says, and he sounds angry.

Jiang Cheng has never seen him angry before; even when he’s mad he keeps a tight smile on his lips and tries to solve it diplomatically, but right now Lan Xichen seems furious.

“Happiness,” Madam Yu scoffs. “He can be happy if he gets a good match at all. Content is what he should aim for, and he probably has to settle for less.”

“He will not have to settle for less,” Lan Xichen seethes. “I will make sure that he is as happy as he can be, and I will not allow you to further undermine his happiness.”

“Oh, right,” Madam Yu says. “And how are you going to make him happy? You’re just using him for his connections, better admit to that now, so we can all settle on an agreement.”

“I am here because I love him, and I will do anything to make him happy.”

“As if,” Madam Yu mutters and eyes Jiang Cheng as if she wants to figure out how he—the worthless, never good enough, too angry son—managed to snatch someone like Lan Xichen.

Jiang Cheng would like to know that as well.

“I would marry him tomorrow if it would make him happy,” Lan Xichen presses out and Jiang Cheng stands up so abruptly that his chair topples over.

“Don’t,” he says to Lan Xichen, avoiding his eyes, because he knows they are already brimming with tears, and then he simply leaves.

He can’t believe Lan Xichen would lie like that, can’t believe Lan Xichen would lie like that to Madam Yu, who is worse than a shark that smelled blood when it comes to lies.

She would have called Lan Xichen on his bluff in just a second, and Jiang Cheng is absolutely not ready to hear Lan Xichen explain that yes, it all was just one big lie.

Fuck, Jiang Cheng can’t believe Lan Xichen would say that, that he would lower himself so far after everything he heard about Jiang Cheng this evening.

Really, he should have realized halfway through dinner that Jiang Cheng is definitely the wrong person for him.

For anyone, really.

Jiang Cheng flees the house, doesn’t even stop to check if Lan Xichen is coming after him or not, and he also doesn’t waste a moment to figure out how he will get home.

He’ll walk, if he has to, or call Wei Wuxian. He’s probably sitting next to his phone anyway.

Jiang Cheng realizes his mistake when he steps out into the pouring rain, but by then he’s already soaked, so it doesn’t matter anyway.

He keeps on walking.

Jiang Cheng is glad for the rain, because at least that way he can pretend that he’s not crying as he wonders if Lan Xichen will bother to break up with him personally, if he told his parents to convey the message or if he’ll just vanish from Jiang Cheng’s life.

This has always been what Jiang Cheng was most afraid of, and he should have known better than to try for some form of happiness with Lan Xichen. It never works out for Jiang Cheng after all.

Jiang Cheng isn’t very far from the house, when suddenly an umbrella is being held over him.

“What are you doing?” Lan Xichen softly asks and tugs on Jiang Cheng’s arm to stop him and the tears immediately flow faster.

“Why would you say something like that?” Jiang Cheng chokes out and Lan Xichen’s face goes soft.

“Because it’s the truth.”

“Don’t say that,” Jiang Cheng whispers and he fists his hands in Lan Xichen’s jacket. “Don’t say that,” he repeats again, stronger this time. “You deserve so much better!”

“I don’t care if I deserve better or not,” Lan Xichen says, and covers Jiang Cheng’s hands with his. “I only want you. You and no one else. It has to be you,” he says and then he leans down to kiss the tears right from Jiang Cheng’s face.

Jiang Cheng closes his eyes and he’s so, so scared that he is ruining Lan Xichen’s life by allowing this to continue but he can’t help himself.

He got a taste of it, and now he’s insatiable.

“So when you said you’d marry me—,” he starts and Lan Xichen hums softly.

“I meant it. I would if I thought it would finally put you at ease, make you believe that you are good, that I love you, and that you are good for me as well.”

“What if I never think that?” Jiang Cheng lowly asks and Lan Xichen nuzzles his cheek.

“Then I will still someday ask you to marry me. I realize that it’s too early now, don’t worry about that, but one day it won’t be. And then I will ask you.”

Jiang Cheng cups Lan Xichen’s face with his hands, and brings their foreheads together before he answers.

“What if I can’t say yes?” Jiang Cheng wants to know and Lan Xichen shrugs.

“Then we’ll stay boyfriends,” he says, as if it’s the easiest thing in the world.

“You’re insane,” Jiang Cheng accuses him, because Lan Xichen must be, if even a refused marriage proposal couldn’t chase him from Jiang Cheng’s side, but Lan Xichen only smiles.

“Okay,” he easily agrees and kisses Jiang Cheng. “And I’m also insanely in love with you. And no matter what your mother or your father have to say about you, that won’t change.”

“Not at all?” Jiang Cheng wants to know, and his voice is small, because he knows what his parents think of him is right.

“No. Because they clearly don’t know you like I do. They don’t know that you’re the most hardworking and diligent person I know. That you care more than you should and that you love so much, that you try your very best every day and that you are an amazing man. And if they don’t know that, then that’s on them. Their loss. I know who I have right here with me, and I love you so much.”

Jiang Cheng has to fight new tears at that, and he falls forward right into Lan Xichen. He wishes Lan Xichen could hug him right now, but he’s still holding the umbrella and so a one-armed hug is the best he can do.

“I love you, too,” Jiang Cheng says and he knows that he still has a long, long way to go, but if he has Lan Xichen by his side, he might even believe all of the things he just said.

One day, Jiang Cheng hopes.

And on that day, he will find his true happiness with Lan Xichen as well.

Link to my ko-fi on the sidebar!

[sepublic]

Campfire, Canyon of the Golden Winged Snakes, Hey Ho Whoa!

           AMELIA IS BACK BABY!!!

           Let me tell you, when I first saw her, I had to do a double-take… Like the way the characters just so casually passed her, I blinked and was like- Wait, was what Amelia?!? And then I realized it was, and I just… WHAT!

           I was a bit afraid we wouldn’t see her, but it seems that she’s our NEW fourth companion, to replace Tuba… RIP to Tuba, you had a good funeral, and given the trajectory this season is going as of now, we… Really won’t see you again, huh?

           Screw you Simon.

           We’ve gotten SO many fascinating revelations in these three episodes… I can’t say I’m surprised at all that Amelia, or at least the revelation of her, would return to help Grace (and maybe Simon) resolve her issues! That was a very neat twist with the massive pile of numbers actually indicating it was AMELIA and her monumental issues, not the Apex! Very clever of the writing team to have us heading towards her the entire time, though it makes me wonder when we’ll get back to the Apex given how we only have TWO episodes left…!

           What’s interesting is that according to Amelia, there’s ‘corrupted code’ in some cars, and apparently this refers to any cars that SHE made while trying to figure out the perfect world? Amelia mentions ‘quarantining’ them, and One-One wants them gone as well… Given what Amelia says about ‘ejecting’ cars, does that mean they’re all transported to the very end of the Infinity Train, and just… thrown off?

           Are there a bunch of cars strewn about somewhere in the wasteland, is there even an END to this Infinity Train??? Or are they all just lumped together and some sort of force-field is placed around them, or some other barrier, to keep the corrupt code from –presumably- infecting the other cars around them?

           It is a bit weird to see One-One insist on getting rid of those cars, though… I hope the denizens inside are okay, especially those corgis! Given his lesson with Tulip about not blaming himself worked, I feel like this is contrary to what he’d learned? Or is he simply allowing those worlds to exist, and remain ‘weird’, while still fixing the corrupted code so it doesn’t spread and disrupt the world of other cars who have their own thing going on? Regardless, as Amelia said… it seems One-One is still working on his issue of viewing passengers as ‘numbers’ to fix, like the cogs of a machine! It seems he’s at least TRYING to be more personable, but, well…

           It seems that Amelia is still working on that sound-motif she’s always had, which is pretty neat! She mentions a ‘pulse’, so I presume it’s sent out from the engine, and when it scans an ‘anomaly’ (AKA anything with corrupted code, including stuff and denizens from the unfinished cars) they’re ejected… Given Amelia mentioning having to quarantine Hazel soon, I imagine this pulse heads out every now and then? Shouldn’t one pulse alone have done the trick, or is there a certain range to them and Amelia has to travel through the cars and activate the pulse from her location, to allow maximum effect?

           Anyhow, Amelia! You know, I mused that Episode 7 of this season would introduce the Book 4 protagonist, given how our previous Episode 7’s worked… Each one established the general idea/setting for our protagonist, as well as a formal introduction! The Chrome Car told us about Lake and her deal with wanting to be her own person, escaping the Flecs… The Mall Car established the Apex and properly introduced us to Simon and Grace…

           So… maybe The Canyon of the Golden Winged Snakes Car re-introduces us to Amelia, while establishing the conflict of the next Book; Fixing the corrupted cars! This is just speculation on my part, of course…

           Back to Amelia, I guess I shouldn’t be all-too surprised that she’s still kind of a jerk, what with the way she just… steamrolls over what Hazel has to say to ‘correct’ her with the proper facts, and whatnot! I’m a little glad, because it doesn’t completely forget that she still has a bigger number than Simon or Grace by FAR… But also upset, because c’mon Amelia, Hazel is a freaking kid! I know you’re trying to erase multiple decades’ of past sins and mistakes, but she doesn’t know!

           I also like seeing her just trash-talk Simon and calling him a child, especially since we know that he and Grace are only eighteen thanks to the Reddit AMA by Owen Dennis… Even if Simon were physically older, mentally he really isn’t! Granted I guess I can’t blame him for THAT, though I can blame him for Tuba’s death…

           I remember when the writers discussed juggling multiple characters, so after seeing Tuba die, I was wondering what was really the point… But I see now! It’s because they ALSO have to handle Amelia as well! And dang, she’s still remarkably callous… She doesn’t remember Grace at all and doesn’t even seem remotely interested… And upon hearing that a cult was started in her honor, she just does NOT care! It really shows that Amelia still has a LOT to work on, that just fixing the broken cars isn’t enough for her…

           It was a bit weird to have our main trio just pass by this obvious, fellow passenger, and just totally ignore them… But given Grace’s rule about ‘not trusting adult passengers’, I guess I’m not surprised? I have to wonder when it was made, and how young she was when it was established; If Grace was a kid and that was part of her apprehension towards adults, and/or they were actually trying to get their numbers down, so she saw them as ‘deceitful’ or whatever! Coupled with adults being less likely to fall for the Apex’s propaganda, and it makes sense…

           What’s really fascinating is that One-One doesn’t even know about the Apex, according to Amelia! Which, given the implied length of the Infinity Train, it really says a lot about how much stuff could’ve happened, completely independent from one another! It almost seems like fate that Simon and Grace encountered so many kids and brought them together… Whereas Tulip didn’t encounter ANY passengers, sans Amelia, on her journey!

           (Well, there was that ONE dude in the next car over who immediately got sent back home. And she was only there for five months, but still!)

           I feel this low-key ties back to what I discussed earlier, about One-One being an ‘ends justifies the means’ sort of person; That the situation with the denizens is less a matter of them dying, and more about what that says about the Apex passengers as people! Of course, he doesn’t even KNOW about them, which honestly blows my mind… He really IS disconnected, huh? I guess Tulip helped make a dent in his metal head, but there’s still a lot of work to go… You know, Amelia’s criticism of One-One seeing passengers as just ‘numbers’ reminds me of what some other fans brought up, on the idea of if whether or not issues can actually be quantified like that!

           Given what Owen said about the train also being wrong sometimes, and I have to wonder if this will be resolved by the end of Book 3… or perhaps Book 4, assuming we get it! Yeah, most of the team has been laid off and the viewings are low, so SERIOUSLY- WATCH on HBO Max, spend actual money on this thing if you want it around because you’re LITERALLY paying for Book 4’s production by this point people! And spread the word!

           Anyhow, looks like other fans were right- Hazel IS a failed creation of Amelia, in this case her attempt to recreate Alrick… Although she implies that Hazel is more than just a ‘clone’ of him, is this referring to Hazel being a little girl, or something else entirely? Is the implication that Hazel would’ve been her and Alrick’s child, because uh… Amelia and Alrick are white. She also mentions a ‘handkerchief’, so what’s THAT about…?! Did she just toss one aside and it glitched into Hazel…?

           Hazel is taking this about as well as you’d expect a child, and I’m wondering if Grace suddenly turning around and calling her ‘null’, only to ask to stay overnight… Means that she has a plan to ditch Simon and hang out with Hazel and Amelia, for the rest of her life? Either way, Simon is apparently taking her ‘betrayal’ to heart… That, or he’s expressing genuine remorse at seeing what he did to Hazel, but probably not. Honestly, the way his character is going it seems like he may go off the deep end…

           OR, maybe not! Because we get some more development on him and THE CAT… Samantha! That’s right, an actual name! I guess I’m not shocked that ‘Samantha’ managed to smuggle some tiny One-Ones out of the Tape Car, and even a miniature player as well! I have to wonder how she finds her stuff, honestly… Considering how vast the Infinity Train is, it’s not out of the question for people to go entire months without encountering others! It’s actually kind of a miracle of fate that The Cat has encountered so many passengers, over and over, across this show…! Given the possibility aired by Mace about some characters being ‘destined’ by the Infinity Train, and I’ve got to wonder…

           It’s interesting that even when Simon is taking his rage out physically, he NEVER goes for The Cat… and she knows this, no less! Not once is she ever scared for her life, instead she’s more concerned for what this has to say about Simon! It’s complicated, all right, and apparently all we know for now is that The Cat accidentally left Simon behind, and ultimately stuck with her choice to prioritize herself! It’s interesting, the idea that even if Simon and The Cat have a better understanding as to why the other did what they did, they won’t ever really ‘forgive’ one another, or reconcile- Just go their separate paths, for now and likely eternity…

           Simon is of course getting mad at Grace for not talking to him and is confused by her changing her mind! A confrontation between the two is inevitable in our last two episodes, and given how we haven’t seen Grace’s number at all… It’s probably low. I can see the two reuniting with the Apex at the end, only for Simon to invoke his larger number to turn them on Grace… Or try to head back to the Apex to do exactly that!

           Still, given how the show is still making the point to delve into his perspective and trauma, and how he STILL won’t harm The Cat… I have to wonder if the season really will end with Grace leaving the Infinity Train, and Simon staying behind to fix his own issues? Of course, what about Hazel… We know she’s a denizen for sure so she can’t leave, right? Unless her fake number can fool One-One… Speaking of which, was Amelia’s number at 337 when she first arrived? Because that seems a bit small for someone who had otherwise hijacked the Infinity Train by then and was making unfinished worlds…

           Back to Amelia, if Simon doesn’t help… I wonder if Book 3 will end with HER taking lead of the Apex and leading them down a new path? It’d be ironic given how she mentioned about not being great with kids, and tie back to her penance… Or, maybe Grace will continue to live with the Apex and help! Maybe Simon will join Amelia… Who knows? Personally I’m fixated on the fact that Amelia just UTTERLY outclasses Simon… I expressed previous appreciation at Tuba being able to defend herself, until you know what…

           But given how Amelia is a lot more savvy, jaded, and cynical about this sort of situation; I think she’s probably safe for now! It’d feel a bit unresolved for Simon to get HER killed off too…

           Overall, a fascinating turn of events, and I can get a good sense of why the episodes were clustered the way they were together, to be released separately! Each does its own little arc… The first one establishing the mood and having Tuba, only for her to die! Then the next one involving Amelia and the fall-out of the Hazel revelation… And the last two episodes will be THE finale, just like it’s traditionally been in the past! I can’t wait to see what happens next…

[k7l4d4]

Midnight Striga: Fairy Tail/Owl House Cross Fic Episode 3 Part 5

Hello all, here’s the second to last section of Episode 3 of Midnight Striga! Everybody Clap Your Hands!!

‘This school is pathetic.’ Boscha mused to herself. ‘It enables stupidity and jeopardizes the potential of those who could be strong.’

“So,” Skara cautiously began, “what are you planning on us doing after school, Boscha?” She was nervous. It was only natural, her closest friend had brutally man-handled her not even ten minutes ago. ‘Don’t think about it.’ She thought to herself.

Boscha blinked, thinking for a moment, before a bloody grin crossed her face. “Practice.”

Skara cringed. For the past three days, practice basically meant Boscha going out and beating any and every demon she came across to a bloody pulp. Skara… wasn’t comfortable with this new Boscha. Sure, she was always aggressive, and really in your face, but she wasn’t a sadist or anything. This blatant cruelty was way beyond anything Boscha had ever been okay with before. Skara desperately glanced around, hoping to find something, ANYTHING, to get Boscha’s mind out of its current headspace. Thankfully, she spotted just the target. 

“Oh my Titan, is that Willow?” Skara called out, shifting Boscha’s attention towards the named girl. Skara grimaced slightly; while she personally didn’t care one way or another about the girl, only really going along with Boscha’s antics in the past because Boscha’s her friend and Willow isn’t, she wouldn’t wish Boscha’s current attention on anyone, even someone she apparently hated.

As Boscha followed Skara’s gaze, her eyes fell on one Willow Park. As she stared at the girl who stood at the absolute bottom of the social ladder, Boscha didn’t fight the vicious grin that came over her. Willow was someone strong who acted weak. She would make a good test. As she walked up to Willow, Skara nervously following behind, Boscha contemplated how this would turn out. Willow clearly saw them, if the fact she darted closer to the wall was any indication, but Boscha was having none of it, slamming her palm in front of Willow’s path.

“Hey, Half-A-Witch. How are things?” Boscha faux-casually asked, visibly shivering. Skara recognized that shiver; it was the same one Boscha got just before she started breaking bones.

Willow marched down the hall, furiously brushing away the tears in her eyes. She hadn’t meant to hurt Amity, no matter how angry she got, but the thing she said… ‘Out of sight, out of mind.’ Willow internally recited, trying to close off the train of thought. Taking a calming breath, Willow soldiered on, even as she feared that she had ruined her chances of getting into the Plant Track, if she wasn’t expelled altogether!!

Willow just wanted some time alone, without having to worry about her temper snapping. As she caught sight of Boscha and Skara, two of her chief headaches, closing in on her, Willow’s heart sank. ‘Not now, of all times!’ She groaned to herself. She braced herself for the coming confrontation, making a token effort to avoid them. Boscha cutting her off was well-within expectations, she dryly noted.

“Hey, Half-A-Witch. How are things?” Boscha asked, shivering for some reason. Ordinarily,Willow would do her best to ignore the girl, maybe act a little more timid to get her to move on quickly. But now? Willow was angry, hurt, and very much willing to stand up to the school’s top jock.

“If you must know, I’m having a bad day, and I’m in now mood to put up with you.” Willow softly growled.

Skara and Boscha both pulled back, Skara in shock, and Boscha… in anticipation.

“So, looks like you finally grew a spine, eh?” Boscha grinned, heedless of the tugs to her uniform Skara was giving.

“And just what is that supposed to mean?” Willow demanded, eyes flashing.

“Just that you’ve been wasting your potential for years.” Boscha ruthlessly stated, arching an eyebrow. As Willow gained an affronted look, and Skara just looked confused, Boscha steamrolled on. “I mean, you’ve got all that power and skill for Plant Magic, but you wasted it on Abominations? Seriously, were you even trying?”

Willow grit her teeth. “It’s more complicated than that.”

Boscha rolled her eyes, smirking. “Sure it is. You know what I think?”

Willow snorted. “No, I don’t. And I honestly don’t want to, either.” She shoved between the two Witches, walking past as quick as she could. It wasn’t quick enough.

“I think you're a coward.” Willow stopped cold, almost rooted in place. Slowly turning, she took in the sight of Boscha’s mocking grin, Skara standing back in shock.

“What did you say?” Willow whispered, her temper starting to rise.

“It's so obvious!” Boscha gleefully cried. “You let yourself get stuck in a track guaranteed to be a dead end, never fight back, and just let everyone walk all over you! You’re a coward.”

“Stop.” Willow started.

“You’re lazy, never even trying to stand up for yourself, even though you could crush more than half the school if you wanted to, you never ask for help, letting yourself sit in mediocrity!”

“Quiet.”

“You could be queen of the school if you really wanted to, but instead you settle for being a nobody. I wonder what your parents would think, if they knew their little girl was this pathetic” Boscha finished, eager to see the reaction she would get, proof as to whether Willow was weak or strong.

“Shut UP!!” With a furious scream, tears rushing down her face, Willow summoned another colossal vine, sending Boscha careening into a wall, before storming off again, this time not bothering to wipe away her tears. Skara rushed over to the other Witchling.

“Boscha!” She cried. “What in the Titan’s name was THAT!?” That was far beyond anything Boscha had ever said to Willow before. Calling out her performance, her abilities, and implying her parents would be ashamed of her? That was ice cold.

Instead of a response, all she heard… was laughter. The soft, unhinged laughter of someone who really didn’t know what was happening anymore, and was just enjoying what they could of it all. “She really is strong! But she acts so Weak. I don’t understand her at all.” Boscha laughed.

“Boscha, come on.” Skara pleaded. “We really should get going. Ah!” Any further attempts on Skara’s part stalled as another girl accidentally knocked into her, as the girl and that one friend of Willow’s, Augustus, took off, with only a faint backwards call of ‘sorry!’ in response. “Oof. Rude.” Skara muttered. 

She sighed, “Alright, you ready to go Boscha…?” Skara’s voice trailed off as she saw the state Boscha was in; she was sitting stock-still, teeth grit tight, eyes wide with disbelief and shock. Before she could say anything, Amity suddenly blew past, not even looking at the two. While this confused Skara, she decided to prioritize her friend(?) on the ground.

As she moved to help pick Boscha up, she overheard some of the other girl’s whispers, not that she understood them. “She’s here! Why is she here!? Is she here for me? Has she heard of me, is she impressed with me? I have to know, I have to know! Why, why, why?”

As Boscha took off in the direction of the group, Skara had a sinking feeling that things were about to get crazy.

As Luz and Gus rounded the bend, finally having caught up to Willow, they froze, uncertain at the sight before them; Willow, shivering in a corner, tears streaming down her face. Luz took a step forward, clearing her throat. “Hey, Willow? You okay enough to talk?” She was certain that, whatever else, Willow was most certainly NOT okay, but she might have it in her to talk about it.

“Y-yeah. I think I can.” Willow hiccuped. “I-I just… I don’t know what to do.” She sniffed, futilely wiping at her eyes with her sleeve, struggling to stem the tide of tears. “Bump will never let me in the Plant Track, not after I attacked a Top Student like that!”

“What!” Gus exclaimed. “Willow, that’s nuts. You’re amazing!”

“And that Amity kid clearly provoked you.” Luz chimed in. “He’d have to be pretty dumb to deny you because of someone else’s actions and choices.”

“Indeed.” The three gasped as Bump seemingly melted out of the shadows (He actually just used one of the hidden corridors known only to the Principal). “And while I may not appreciate the insinuation that I would blame a student for losing control of their emotions after being brutally slandered by another,” he aimed a pointed look at Luz, who did her best to whistle innocently. “I am far from willing to forgive such cruelty on school grounds.” He gave Willow a reassuring grin. “Make no mistake, Miss Park, you are not in any trouble. If it means anything, Miss Blight’s parents will be receiving a call for their daughter’s conduct.” 

He chuckled at the look of amazed disbelief he received from the girl. “Yes, I am capable of looking past a student’s social and financial standing.” He stated, enjoying the sheepish flush of the three. “While I will have to assign you a small punishment for tearing up school property, if only to suspend any attempts by Mr. and Mrs. Blight to see you punished, I am happy to say that your display was more than enough proof of your skills.” With a cheerful twirl, the lavender coloring of Willow’s uniform faded, and was replaced with a rich, leafy green, much to her delight. “Welcome to the Plant Track.”

Willow gazed up with starry eyes. “Thank you, thank you, thank you sir!” She cheered, almost vibrating in place.

“Woo! Way to go Willow!” Gus cheered.

“Got to say, the color suits you better,” Luz smirked, only for her expression to shift to a more thoughtful look. “I know it’s not really any of my business but, is there some kind of history between you and Little Miss Perfect? Because, back there? That screamed personal business.”

“I must confess to being curious myself.” Bump admitted, with Gus adding in his own curiosity.

Willow bit her lip, nervously glancing at them, unsure. But then, as she glanced down, seeing her uniform, her will steeled itself. “To tell the truth, Amity and I used to be best friends.” Willow admitted with a sigh.

“Whoa, wasn’t expecting that.” Luz stated. “If the two of you were good buddies, what happened for you to both get to, well, this point?” She gestured around them, motioning to the small pools of tears at Willow’s feet.

Willow gave a bitter chuckle. “Your guess is as good as mine.” At the questioning looks she received, Willow elaborated. “When we were little, during Amity’s birthday, she told me she didn’t want to be friends anymore. That I wasn’t strong enough, skilled enough. That I wasn’t good enough.” Willow clutched the edge of her uniform. “After that, things just went downhill from there, and here we are.” Gus gasped in outrage, while Bump shook his head in disappointment, and Luz just stared off with a faraway look in her eyes, glaring at nothing.

Amity clenched her hands into fists, tucked around the corner. She bit her lip, having overheard every word. Having the dirty secret between herself and Willow aired at least semi-publicly was… frustrating, to say the least. As she steeled herself for the yelling, she moved to step out from her hiding place-

“HUMAN!!!”

Only to be knocked back by the furious form of Boscha rushing past, Skara frantically trying to keep up.

Luz groaned, annoyed at the sound of her species being shouted to the heavens, even as Willow, Gus, and Bump gave her quizzical looks. Turning, she saw another Witch girl wearing a Yellow-coded uniform, a girl with a red uniform awkwardly hovering nearby. “Can I help you?” She asked, arching an eyebrow.

Boscha paused, processing. She didn’t remember her? After what had happened!? Why was she here? She needed to know. She didn’t know whether to laugh, to cry, to scream. She needed to understand what was happening, she NEEDED to. “Why are you here!?” She demanded, ignoring Skara’s attempts to grab her attention.

Luz cocked her head, confused. “I came because I needed something to do, and I had something to find.” At the perplexed noises from the others, Luz remembered she never told them she was looking for something. Turning her head back, she added. “Yeah, part of the reason I asked Willow to bring me here was because I was trying to find a lead for… something I lost a few days ago.”

“Half-A-Witch?” Boscha muttered, heedless of the angry stares she got from the girl in question, as well as her.

“Yeah.” Luz replied, eyes narrowed. Suddenly, she gained a confused look, turning her head back and forth. “I’m sorry, have we met before? You seem kind of familiar.”

Boscha growled, caught between mind-numbing joy at the knowledge that she remembered her, and frustrated rage at how poorly that recollection was. “My name is Boscha.” She bit out. “You humiliated me in front of my friends and the town.”

“Ah.” Luz calmly replied. She wasn’t particularly worried, but it was good to know what she was working with. “So I’m guessing this is some kind of attempt to get revenge or something?” She hated those types of things, but it wouldn’t be the first time some idiot came after her because she “refused to show them proper respect,” or some crap like that.

“No.” Boscha calmly said, lifting her arms in a what-can-you-do gesture. “I already tried that, and I still lost.” She trailed off, remembering that night, as well as the jewel she found, and how it beckoned to her. “Our fight, if you could call it that, was a wake-up call to me. It seems so obvious in retrospect,” She gave a gaze of what Luz thought was admiration her way, “But you really put it into focus. What point is social standing, popularity, any of it, when one is weak?” She gave a bitter chuckle. “Nothing. Without strength, all that amounts to nothing but an illusion of real power. Those who cling to such things? Worthless. Like I was.” All present who knew Boscha rocked back at her statement. What she said was… very much contradictory to Boscha’s personality and beliefs. Boscha, calling herself weak? It made no sense.

Boscha walked forward, pushing her face incredibly close to Luz. “I kept thinking about, you know, what you said that night. About how you consider yourself neither strong or weak, merely continuing to find new ways to improve your skills and power.” A dreamy expression crossed Boscha’s face, much to Luz’s discomfort. “I couldn’t get it out of my mind, how much sense it made.” She pulled back, laughing. “What was I thinking all these years!? I let myself become complacent, I stopped pushing, assuming I had reached the peak, when in truth I was just another face in the crowd.” Her grin took on a manic hint. “I was really looking forward to when I ran into you again, so I could show you just what I was capable of, how far I’ve managed to grow!”

“Uh huh,” Luz said slowly, inching away from the unstable sounding Witch. “That sounds… really great and all, but I’ve kind of got other things to do. Maybe some other time?”

Boscha’s expression grew frightened. “What? No! You have to stay, you have to see what I can do!! You have to see how strong I’ve grown!!” The desperate, manic intensity in her voice grew with each word, the red color bleeding into her eyes growing more potent with each passing second.

“Look kid, Boscha, right?” At the girl’s frantic nod, Luz continued, “I only barely remember you. Whatever happened was only slightly above any other day for me. So, yeah, I think I’m gonna go.” As she tried to move, however, Boscha’s arm lashed out, gripping Luz’s arm painfully.

“No.” Boscha breathed out, utterly calm, aside from the mania in her eyes.

“Boscha, I must insist that you let Miss Noceda go,” Bump stated, pushing forward towards the two. “This behavior is unacceptable for a star athlete such as yourself!”

“Stuff it, Old Man!” Boscha shrieked, the hand gripping Luz’s arm growing hot. Everyone reeled from the extreme disrespect and hint of madness in Boscha’s voice. “She has to see what I can do, she has to!” She punctuated her statement by pointing her finger dramatically in Bump and the others’ direction, with Luz fixating on the object tucked in her fist; a very familiar looking jewel.

“Hey!” Luz spoke up, pointing at Boscha’s fist. “That’s what I’ve been looking for!”

“Huh? When did I put this in my uniform?” Boscha pondered, confused as to just when, exactly, she had brought the jewel with her. As much as she seemed to fixate on it at home or in private, she thought she had left it behind. 

Hearing Boscha’s words, and getting some seriously bad vibes from what was said, Luz spoke up again. “Yeah, that thing is insanely dangerous. I’m really gonna need you to give that back.” She reached out for the Lacrima, slowly prying her arm away from Boscha’s burning grip.

“What?” Boscha said, her confusion rapidly morphing into panic, throwing Luz over to the others. “No! You can’t take it, it’s mine!” She shouted, desperately clutching at the jewel like a lifeline.

“Uh, Boscha, maybe you should?” Skara hesitantly spoke up, concern echoing across her voice. “You’ve been acting really weird ever since you got that thing. It might be dangerous, you know?” She slowly reached out, hoping Boscha would calm down.

Her anger suddenly spiking, Boscha spun around, her hand bursting into flames, slamming around Skara’s throat. “YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!!!” Without another world, she hurled Skara over towards the others, a scream ripping out of the poor girl’s throat.

“Skara!” Amity’s eyes widened in shock, almost uncomprehending of what she had witnessed; Boscha had just essentially branded Skara across the throat. With a shout, she broke out of cover, rushing for the wounded girl. “Boscha, what’s wrong with you!? This is insane, even for you!” While she had never thought highly of the sportier girl, she had honestly thought she was above such acts.

“You just maimed your friend!” Luz roared. “What’s wrong inside your head, kid!?” She demanded, bracing herself for a fight.

“QUIT CALLING ME KID!!” Boscha screamed, summoning a colossal wave of blood-red flames in all directions. “IF YOU WON’T TAKE ME SERIOUSLY, THEN I’LL MAKE YOU!!!!”

With a scream, the assembled Witches and human rushed for the door, desperate to escape the conflagration. With a heave, Amity tossed Skara over her shoulder, not willing to leave her in the same room as the apparently crazed Witchling.

“No, stop,” Skara croaked, coughing lightly.

Amity gave her an incredulous look. “Are you kidding!? She just burned your throat! You’ll be lucky if you don’t suffer permanent damage, and that’s IF we get you to a Healer in time!”

Skara stubbornly wiggled. “She didn’t mean it. That jewel’s doing something to her I think. I can’t just abandon her.”

Amity huffed, frustrated at Skara’s stubbornness. “Even if that’s true, she attacked you! Whether she meant to or not, she’s dangerous at the moment, and could Kill you!”

“You don’t know that!” Skara insisted. “I can get through to her, I know it!”

“You’re deluding yourself!” Amity spat back. “How could you possibly help in this situation?”

“I don’t know.” Skara bluntly admitted. “But it’s better than abandoning my friend when she needs me!”

That struck a chord with Amity, one she viciously stamped down on. Scoffing, she carried the protesting girl out the doors.

Just as they all were about to finish crossing the doors, Luz paused.

“Luz, hurry! Come on!” Willow insisted.

Instead, Luz grabbed the doors, silently mouthing out ‘sorry’ before slamming them closed, and quickly locking them. She turned back to the raging flames the Witchling had summoned, casting a shield to allow the flames to wash over her. Or, at least, it was supposed to. To her surprise, and alarm, the flames crashed against the Barrier, before cracking it, sending Luz scrambling out of the way as they roared past. To her shock, the flames pooled around the doors, all of them, completely blocking off the corridor from the outside world.

“Now.” Boscha crooned. “We’re all alone.”

“Yeah, so what?” Luz snorted, bracing herself for an attack, “You want a medal?”

Boscha laughed. “No, of course not! I just want to prove myself to you, that’s all!”

“Oh great, you’re one of those.” Luz muttered under breath.

“Now please, do me a favor, okay?” Boscha said. Her face morphed into the same manic intensity as before. “And BURN!” With another roar, a storm of flames came hurtling towards Luz.

Biting back a curse, Luz began to cast as quickly as she could. “Light-Make: Battlement!”

A glimmering fortification manifested before her, taking the brunt of the blast. Rushing around her defense, Luz barely ducked a flying Haymaker from Boscha, who had closed the distance in a blink. With a snarl, Luz called up a blast of light, hoping to send Boscha sprawling, only for the other Witch to take it without flinching.

Skittering back, Luz did her best to tune out the crazed girl’s cackling. ‘Damn, I can’t believe I forgot the first rule of battling Slayers,’ She internally berated herself. ‘Never let them set the pace of the fight.’ Slayers, those who practiced one of the Lethal Arts, such as Devil Slayer Magic, were all insanely tough, strong, and quick for their builds and ages. Apparently, Boscha had been channeling that Lacrima since she picked it up, and the synchronicity had started hitting its peak. “Light-Make: Spear Storm!” Crafting a collection of spears, Luz sent them flying, hoping at least one would hit the empowered girl.

It wasn’t meant to be. With almost laughable ease, the girl’s arms whipped forward, effortlessly shattering each spear. “Burn!” She roared again, launching a flame-clad punch at Luz, almost pulverizing her ribs. As Luz skid back, she clutched at her chest, feeling a familiar burning pain, and she didn’t mean the flames.

‘Yep, she broke a rib.’ Luz winced. “Damn it. Light-Make: Halberd!” She cried, swinging the colossal spear-like weapon, watching in satisfaction as Boscha slid backwards after catching the blade, a small ribbon of blood flowing from her hand at the point of contact. ‘But at least I got a hit in!’

“I won’t lose again!” Boscha roared, blasting away with her flames. As Luz desperately ducked and weaved around the blasts, she caught sight of something that chilled her to the bone; the Lacrima was sunk into Boscha’s wounded hand. That was very bad.

“H-hey!” Luz called out. “Are you sure you want to do this? We can end this right now, you know!”

“Not a chance!” Boscha cried, launching a barrage of punches towards the human, each connecting solidly. Luz held in the cry of pain that threatened to break out. ”Can you see it? How strong I’ve become!?” With a fierce shout, and a fiercer uppercut, Boscha sent Luz flying, jaw rattling from the head-ringing blow. “Now that I have this power, nothing can hold me back anymore!!”

“Is that seriously what you want out of life?” Luz ground out, teeth feeling dangerously loose. “To not be held back? Sounds a little lonely, you know?”

Boscha scoffed. “I Don’t need them, they don’t need me! I’m doing just fine on my own!”

“Yeah, but you’re completely alone.” Luz pointed out. “What’s the point of being strong without others around to use that strength for?”

Boscha paused, frozen in place. Why did she care so much about being strong? She shook the thought away. She wouldn’t be distracted, not now! So what if people were afraid, that just meant they acknowledged her power!

“Boscha, are you really okay? Maybe we can find something else to do.”

She roared, lashing out against the human that had beaten her so easily, utterly dominating the fight. A perfect reversal. It didn’t matter if she was alone, she was doing just fine!

“You just burned your friend!”

Who cared if she hurt Skara!? What did it matter if everyone left her!? Each thought was punctuated by a vicious blow against the human, who was curiously not attempting to defend herself.

“Hey, at least you’ll always have me, right?”

She didn’t care… She DIDN’T CARE!!! With a scream, she sent Luz flying again. “Fight back! How can I prove my strength if you don’t fight back!!” She needed to prove herself, she just had to! If she didn’t then everything was for nothing!! The fights, the attacks, the scared glances and whispers in the hall, ...Skara. None of it was worth it if she couldn’t prove it!! “Why aren’t you fighting anymore!?”

With a slow steady pace, Luz strolled over to Boscha, heedless of the harried blasts of flame sent her way; each went flying wide. Mentally, she tallied her injuries; her left shoulder was one good bop from dislocating, three of her ribs were cracked, she felt as if she had a hairline fracture running along the length of her right arm, and she’d probably have to be careful around tough foods for a while. As she finally made her way to Boscha, the almost rabid Witch twitching with violent energy, she looked her in the eyes, and said the only thing that mattered, “Because you’re crying.”

As the murderous fury cleared from her face, Luz watched as Boscha unconsciously relaxed, slowly reaching up to her face, astonishment clear as her fingers came away wet. “What? But I-! I don’t-. Why is this?”

Calmly placing both hands on the girl’s shoulder, Luz asked her, “Is this honestly what you want?”

“I don’t know.” Boscha mumbled, before gaining a feverish energy. “I Don’t Even Know!! All I know is that you came into my life, and the world doesn’t make sense any more!!” Her vision grew thick with increased tears, all but blinding her. “I don’t know what I want! I just keep feeling angry, and scared and I don’t understand anything anymore!” Snot started flowing from her nose as her tears increased even further, actively sobbing now. “I-I just, I just want the world to start making sense again.” She clutched her head, a pained look on her face. “What am I even doing!? I was attacking kids in the street! I went so far beyond anything I’ve ever done to someone! And Skara!” She cried out. “I BURNED SKARA!!! What’s WRONG WITH ME!?”

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, desperately ignoring the screaming pain in her limbs, Luz slowly helped lower Boscha to her knees, bringing her in close. She… was out of practice on giving this kind of comfort, but the least she could do was try. “I can’t say I understand what you’re going through, not entirely. But I think I might have an idea to help with your temper issues.” She gave what she hoped was a reassuring grin.

Boscha gave her a hopeful look. “You mean it?”

Luz nodded firmly. “Yeah. I’m not sure how to help you with the rest, but I can help you with this.” She held out a hand. “Just let me take a look at that wound on your hand, okay?”

With a shaking tentativeness, Boscha reached out, showing the injury to the girl.

Luz sucked in a breath. It was worse than she had feared. The Lacrima was sunk deep; any chance of extracting it was officially gone, not without the backlash killing the girl. She sighed. “Yeah, I can help with this, but it’ll hurt. Are you sure?”

“Yes!” Boscha exclaimed, an almost mad desperation in her eyes. “Please!!”

“Okay.” Luz stated, bracing herself for any sudden uncontrolled attacks in response to what came next. “This is going to hurt, okay?” At Boscha’s nod, Luz added. “And while I’m not sure I can help with your existential crisis, I can be there to help, if you want me to.” Not giving Boscha a chance to respond, Luz grasped the Lacrima… and shoved it all the way in, gritting her teeth at Boscha’s ear-splitting scream of pain. As the pain ran its course, luckily without Boscha letting loose any spells in a frenzy, the girl blissfully lost consciousness. With a tired sigh, Luz slung the exhausted girl over her shoulders, wondering how she could or would explain all this.

Eh, she’d figure something out.

[quakerjoe]

"Why are people so hostile towards President Donald Trump?"

Chris O'Leary:

Before you pass my answer off as “Another Liberal Snowflake” consider that 1.) I'm an independent centrist who has voted Republican way more often in my life than Democrat, and 2.) If you want to call someone who spent the entire decade of his 20’s serving in the Marine Corps a snowflake, I’d be ready to answer the question what did you do with your 20’s?

Why Liberals (And not-so liberals) are against President Trump.

A.) He lies. A LOT. Politifact rates 69% of the words he speaks as “Mostly False or worse” Only 17% of the things he says get a “Mostly True” or better rating. That is an absolutely unbelievable number. How he doesn’t speak more truth by mistake is beyond me. To put it in context, Obama’s rating was 26% mostly false or worse, and I had a problem with that. Many of Trump’s former business associates report that he has always been a compulsive liar, but now he’s the President of the United States, and that’s a problem. And this is a man who expects you to believe him when he points at other people and says “They’re lying”

B.) He’s an authoritarian populist, not a conservative. He advances regressive social policy while proposing to expand federal spending and federalist authority over states, both of which conservatives are supposed to hate.

C.) He pretends at Christianity to court the Religious Right but fails to live anything resembling a Christ-Like Life.

D.) His nationalist “America First” message effectively alienates us and removes us from our place as leaders in the international community.

E.) His ideas on “Keeping us safe” are all thinly veiled ideas to remove our freedoms, he is, after all, an authoritarian first. They also are simply bad ideas.

F.) He couldn’t pass a 3rd-grade civics exam. He doesn't’ know what he’s doing. He doesn't understand how international relations work, he doesn’t understand how federal state or local governments work, and every time someone tries to “Run it like a business” it’s a spectacular failure. See Colorado Springs’ recent history as an example. The Short, Unhappy Life of a Libertarian Paradise And that was a businessman with a MUCH better business track record than Trump. We are talking about a man who lost money owning a freaking gambling casino.

G.) He behaves unethicaly and always has. As a businessman, he constantly left in his wake unpaid contractors and invoices, litigation, broken promises, whatever he could get away with.

H.) He is damaging our relationships with our best international friends while kissing up to nations that do not have our best interests in mind. To his question “Wouldn't’ it be great to have better relations with Russia?” The answer is Yes. But it is RUSSIA who needs to earn that, who must stop doing the things that are damaging to that relationship, or we are simply weaker for it.

I.) He has never seen a shortcut he didn't like, and you can’t take shortcuts in government. “Nuclear Option, Remove the Filibuster, I’ll change the Constitution by Executive Order…Don…what happens when you remove the filibuster and the other side retakes the majority in the Senate? Suddenly want that filibuster back? What happens if you manage to change the Constitution by Executive Order and an Anti-2A President wins the next election?

J.) He behaves and has always behaved as an unabashed racist. Yes, I’ve seen your favorite meme that claims he was never accused of racism before the Democrats…Absolutely false. Donald Trump’s long history of racism, from the 1970s to 2019 See the Central Park 5, the lawsuits and fines resulting from his refusal to lease to black tenants, the 1992 lost appeal trying to overturn penalties for removing black dealers from tables, his remarks to the house native American affairs subcommittee in 1993. The man sees and treats racial groups of people as monoliths.

K.) He is systematically steamrolling regulations specifically designed to keep a disaster like the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis from happening again.

L.) He speaks and acts like a demagogue. He sees the Legislative and Judicial branches of government as inconveniences, blows up at criticism no matter how deserved and actively tries to countermand constitutional processes, not to mention attempts to blackmail and coerce people who are saying negative things about him

M.) His choices for top positions, with the exception of Gen. Mattis, who is a gem, have been horrendous. A secretary of Education without a resume that would get her hired as a small town grammar school principal, A secretary of Energy who didn't know the Department of Energy was responsible for nuclear reserves, an EPA head whose biggest accomplishments to date had been suing the EPA on multiple occasions, an FCC head who while working for Verizon actively lobbied to kill net neutrality, and an Attorney General who thinks pot is “nearly as bad as heroin” and asked Congress for permission to go after legal pot businesses in states where it is legal. (There goes that great Republican States rights rally cry again, right? *Crickets*) An Interim AG after Firing his First AG who’s appointment is probably unconstitutional.

N.) He denies scientific fact. Ever notice that the only people you hear denying climate change are politicians and lobbyists? 99% of actual scientists studying the issue agree that it’s real, man-made and caused by greenhouse gasses. Ever notice that every big disaster movie starts with a bunch of politicians in a room ignoring a scientist's warning?

0.) He does not have the temperament to lead this nation. He is Thin Skinned, childish, and a bully, never mind misogynistic, boorish, rude, and incapable of civil discourse.

P.) He still does not understand that the words he speaks, or tweets, are the official position of 1/3 of the US government, and so does not govern his words. He still thinks when he speaks it’s good ol’ Donald Trump. It’s not. It’s the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. You have probably spread a meme or two around talking about how no president’s every word has ever been dissected before…YES, THEY ALWAYS HAVE. It’s just that every other president in our lifetime has understood the importance of his words and took great care to govern his speech. Trump blurts out whatever comes to his mind then complains when people talk about what a dumb thing that was to say.

Q.) He’s unqualified. If you owned a small business and were looking for someone to manage it, and an unnamed resume came across your desk and you saw 6 bankruptcies, showing a man who had failed to make money running CASINOS, would you hire him? He is a very poor businessman. This is a man it has been estimated would have been worth $10 BILLION more if he’d just taken what his father had given him, invested it in Index Funds and left it alone.

R.) He is President. But he refuses to take a leadership position and understand that he is everyone’s President. Conservatives complain about liberals chanting “Not my President” while Trump himself behaves as if no one but his supporters matter.

S.) He’s a blatant hypocrite. He spent 8 years bitching Obama out for his family trips, or golfing, or any time he took for himself, and what does he do? He was already on his 20th golf outing in APRIL of his 1st year in office. He constantly rants about respect for the military, yet can’t be bothered to attend the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day because of a little rain. (And that excuse about Marine One not being able to fly in the rain is HILARIOUS.)

T.) He’s a misogynist. It's not really ok in this day and age to be a misogynist, but it’s not a huge deal if you’re a private citizen. It’s a pretty big deal if you hate half the people you’re elected to lead. The disdain for women seeps out of his …whatever…. and he just can’t hide it.

U.) Face it. In any other election “Grab Em’ By the Pussy” would have been the end of that candidate’s chances. Back in the 90’s I used to marvel about how Teflon Bill Clinton was. I no longer do. The fact that he managed to slip by on that is as much a statement about how much people hate Hillary Clinton as it is about what is wrong with politics in this country right now.

V.) He has one response to a differing opinion. Attack. A good leader listens to criticism, to different points of view, is capable of self-reflection, tries to guide people to his point of view, and when necessary stands his ground and defends his convictions. Any of that sound like Trump? His default is not to Lead, its’ to attack. Scorched Earth. The Jim Acosta reaction is a good example. There was no defense of his convictions when Acosta was asking him repeated questions about his rhetoric on the caravan. His response was to attack Acosta.

W.) He takes credit for everything positive while deflecting blame for everything negative. Look at him with the Stock Market. He’s been bragging about it since day one, and to give credit where credit is due, speculation on coming deregulation early in his presidency did fuel some rapid growth, but to pretend that it’s all him, that we’re not in the 9th year of the longest bull market in history and THEN, when the standard market volatility that deregulation inevitably brings about starts to show up? Yeah. Look at yesterday. Hey! Stock Markets losing because the Democrats won! Do I need to bring out the Stock market chart for the last 10 Years again?

X.) He emboldens the worst among us. Counter-protesters are slammed into by a car while countering actual Nazi rally, and the response is there’s fault on “Both Sides” The media is at fault for a nut job sending them and Donald’s favorite targets pipe bombs. The truth is not all Republicans, not all Trump Supporters are racist, fascist lunatics. Many are just taken in by the bombastic personality and are living in an information bubble made worse by the fact that they unfollow anyone and ignore any source of information that makes them feel uncomfortable. People on the left do that too. The Biggest problem the right has right now is that the worst of the Right is the loudest and the most in your face, and the actual right, especially the Freaking PRESIDENT needs to be standing up and saying No. Those are not our values.

Y.) He seems to think the Constitution of The United States, the document that IS who we are, the document he took an oath to support and defend is some sort of inconvenience. He demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of Constitution, from believing he can alter the 14th through executive order, to thinking The free exercise clause in the first amendment somehow supersedes the establishment clause (not that he really understands either) or that the free exercise clause only applies to Christians. Or his attacks on freedom of expression and the press. He repeatedly makes it clear that if he’s read them, he does not understand Articles 1–3, and that’s something he really should have before he took the job, because they’re not going away.

Z.) I’ll use Z for something I do blame him for, but the rest of us have to carry the blame too. Polarization. This country is more politically polarized than I can remember in my lifetime. Some of you who are a few years older than I may remember how it was in the late 60’s when construction workers in New York were being applauded for beating up hippies, I think it’s pretty close to that right now, but that was before my time. And he is the cause of much of the current level polarization, but also the result. It didn't’ start with Trump. We’ve been going down this road I think since the eruption of the Tea Party in the early years of the Obama Administration. I do hope the tide turns before it gets much worse because the thing that scares me more than anything is what if that keeps going the way it has been? "