#and the next time he sees him he attempts to start a duet

[xvxblahhhxvx]

Ok so we all just know Chuuya went to see Wicked in theaters and decided to make Defying Gravity his theme song.

He's battling an enemy, and he suddenly disappears. Next thing you know, there's a disembodied voice-

"Something has changed within me..."

The enemy turns around, but he can't find him.

"Something is not the same..."

And this keeps going until Chuuya signals for one of his subordinates to hit the light so the enemy can see him standing on the ceiling as he belts:

"I THINK I'LL TRY DEFYING GRAVITYYYYY"

He's still singing it on the car ride home.

[mournings-stars]

Maybe the wrapping wings around heddies but the reader wraps their wings around the characters?

okay i rly like this but what about with characters that don’t have wings?? (lmk if yall want characters w wings cus this is kinda silly funny haha)

charlie

she loves when your wings wrap around her — every time she hugs you, she’s waiting for that extra warmth and when it comes she just hugs you even tighter

she wouldn’t ask you to do it, but if you put a wing around her in public she’s trying not to get too excited

cuddling is a must for wings. you’re sitting on the couch? she wants a nice feathery blanket. lying in bed? same thing. watching a scary movie? she’s using your wings as a shield to duck under anytime theres a jump scare

if you asked her if she’d like a wing, she’s the happiest you’ve ever seen her

“im starting to wonder if you’re just dating me for my wings,” you’d joke and she’d laugh and say, “they’re definitely a plus” while running her finger over the top of one (this girl likes to tease i know it)

she loves when you cuddle up to her and wrap your wings around her, like she just melts

she does not let anyone play with them. ever. if niffty tried to go scurrying around them, she’s taking her away faster than she can blink

your wings are hers as much as they are yours, but that’s a silent rule between you two that she doesn’t plan on voicing

she just gives “let me be your wings” from thumbelina vibes like you would have a duet like that

alastor

now if you ever need to gossip, he’s clearing his throat and you’re shielding your conversation with your wings while you two laugh and whisper

he does not want anyone touching him but if you put a wing around him he knows you guys have some important business to talk about

sometimes you throw up your wing, whisper, and he has to stop himself from laughing when you quickly put your wing down, alastor batting it with his microphone as you laughed

now if he’s ever hurt, that’s when your wings go around him, making sure no one sees so he can escape to saftey

you’d always come to his rescue even if he got mad at you for it, wings wrapping around him as you struck his attacker faster than he could summon his shadows (and he definitely gets pissed about it but hey what are … friends …. for!)

wings are for shit talking and the occasional life saver when it comes to al

angel dust

he loves the security of your wings

after a long day, you’d just lie in his room, wings wrapped around him as he held you close — he’d either fall asleep or want to sit in silence like that, but either way you were happy to help

sometimes you’d just sit at the bar, wing around him as you talked and laughed together

whenever you went out together, your wings were a strict barrier that no one dared to cross. you put a wing in front of angel when some guy approaches him? he and every other demon are backing off for the rest of the night. you’re walking down the street? wing around him and no one is approaching you

he definitely asks you to do it (in his own very special way) and he likes to tease you when you’re around other people

but you both know he treasures the safety your wings give him

pentious

my boy pentious 100% thinks you’ve turned against him the first time you drape your wings over him — you could’ve literally been sleeping and he’d accuse you of trying to smother him

“i was sleeping!” “your subconscious mind plans to kill me, too!”

he warms up to it though because the next time it happens you’re fast asleep and theres no attempt to block his airways, or whatever he thought you’d do, so he snuggles into the warmth

being a snake (i love snakes im gonna b a lil nerdy about this one) pen likes to burrow. especially at night. he’d start to curl up under the warmth of your wings and rest there until you eventually moved

some days you’d wake up and he’d be completely hidden beneath your wings. if you lift one, he’d very quickly tug it back (definitely how he found out about sensitive wings)

he felt very bad :(

cherri

wings are for parties!

they give you the best dance numbers — dramatic reveal, awesome poses, super dope flying routine…!

then they’re for comedowns because once you’re home from the club shit hits the fan and you’re wrapping your wings around her so she can even try to sleep

but then the morning comes and you brush it off cus it’s time to blow shit up!

definitely using your wings as a shield though — they’re probably dyed pink and red by now, with all the times you’ve had to cover the two of you from explosives

but she finds it super hot so…

velvette

she likes to fuck with you

1000% uses them as her personal armor — you’re basically a body guard

she’ll wrap them around herself while looking in the mirror, modeling your wings like a feather coat

“my wings are not going in your collection,” you’d have to tell her, still pulling her closer with them as you met her eyes in the mirror

“yeah, guess you’re right. can’t have anyone else getting a hold of these, can we?”

she loves being wrapped in them while she sleeps — she loves you sleeping next her, cause then she can lay them however she wants

it’s always best when you’re wings fold in and bring her closer though

definitely been used for a private moment in the office

she says they’re your best asset

vox

now this man is, under no circumstances, letting you wrap your wings around him

in public? absolutely not…

in private? well…. no! totally not!

at least not until you’re asleep and he’s situating himself beneath them. it’s not his fault a feather blanket helps him fall asleep

you’ve definitely waited until he fell asleep, draped you wings over him, and watched him relax into them

he’s not slick

like at all

not even in public

he’ll touch them and the minute one even wraps around him, his screen is buffering

speaking of in public… just wait til you’re at a party. he’s drunk and all over you, touching your wings, handling them like their his own, you have to use them to shield the two of you when he gets too handsy, and he loves it; pushing your buttons until your wings are around him and being more than satisfied by that

niffty

girl is crazy

she cleans them, climbs on them, inspects them (almost rips the fuck out of your feathers)

there’s no way you can wrap that girl up, she’s too quick

but she would love petting them and thats why shes here

[nshtn]

Tag game: Six* characters you relate to. Tagged by @twoturtlesinabathtub - thank you!!

Alright then...

Edward Nashton - The Riddler: Year One [Dano Riddler] ▷

"Get up, Edward. 'You matter'? If only you mattered ... ... I wait for a hint of dawn, to know that I've made it through another night... Einstein only took naps - shh, just breathe..."

He's a hacker, lacks a solid sense of self, doesn't know how to socialize and tries and tries and tries again. He's autistic and hyperlexic. Genius boy, "rain man", puzzleking. Edward completes his work and his overtime before a day's clock ticks complete. He is so good at the game of normalcy he has learned to front.

And he is tired of this human duet.

The Orphanage was not kind to him, not on any one of the children for whom it reaped economic benefit for the sake of a drug company; he got away, not unscathed, and his survivor's guilt gnaws at his frontal lobes like disease for every moment work and the numbers don't assault his senses.

Even a worm will turn, and Edward sees himself beneath one. Who else could possibly deserve the ire and impermanence of all he meets? He attempts, blindly, ragefully, to avenge the children whose voices did not carry out of those aching, dope-dropped walls, and in doing so he shatters like glass, irreparable and permanent.

He has always been missing something, but now the wound will not stop bleeding, wide and aching unlike anything.

He does not feel better. He has killed, he has taken back what was owed, meted, balanced - judge, jury, executioner - and he does not feel better. Satisfaction is a thin wick, homicidality sadistic and cloying, saccharin and greedy, exposing him for the breed of broken he has been since he was baptized. There is no mythical moment in which he is made beautiful by God, absolved, crucified in just dessert, wings finally to sprout from his shoulders.

There is no panacea to beautify the bloody viscera he's clawed out of his chest. The sadistic death of what he perceives as tormentors brings him no peace.

There never would've been. Not a meaningful one, anyway.

No way to reunite families with the men he has slaughtered. No way to go back, only forward, now, only to fuel this mania until he is enfeebled by it and returned to Hell.

Killing Falcone would never be enough. He starves. He prowls, and what pound of innocent flesh will allow him rest? The guillotine is an empty hole which hungers and hungers and must be fed lest it takes his head in his next moment of lucidity, in those deep dark hours where The Riddler ebbs and Edward Nashton flows.

I relate to his childhood, emotional detachment, mental and physical illness, struggles with survivor's guilt, and his early adulthood, not the murderer he becomes as The Riddler.

Homura Akemi - Puella Magi Madoka Magica ▷

"I will be enough by myself..." "There’s no one to rely on anymore. There is no need to let anyone understand. I will never let Madoka fight again. I will destroy all the witches myself."

She's cold and calculating (and yet not malicious), lacks a sense of self entirely and starts with very little of one, initially emerges from hospitalization due to chronic illness, descends into pseudo-sociopathy after witnessing others' death inescapably hundreds of times, and is corrupted into a being entirely unlike her nature to be human.

Through all of it, Homura is so deeply, horrifyingly lonely. Her cries for help are primarily done outside the view of others even as her sanity unspools. There is nothing to guide her behavior - machine, unerring, indefinite - but her desire to save her friend. She will try - she has to.

Every failure in this Kaizo Trap only reinforces her need. She must win, because to lose is to lose her humanity.

And when Homura Akemi finally loses that which she values the highest, no fault of her own, she does not lose her desire to protect those she loved.

I relate to her spiral into a complicated sociopathy, her physical illness, immutable drive to exist, survivor's guilt and loneliness, and find her heart beautiful.

Pearl - Steven Universe ▷

"[People] want to feel like they're part of something bigger. They want to blame all the world's problems on some single enemy they can fight instead of a complex network of interrelated forces beyond anyone's control."

Pearl is studious and scholarly, must foster her own sense of self from zero, was born a hybrid of artificial intelligence and Gem with no autonomy, and slowly claws an existence for herself in which she pries beyond the primary emotion of saturating, deep grief.

She becomes independent and secure in herself through trial and tribulation no one being should ever endure. She must break herself entirely to start new. Everyone moves on - everyone changes, everyone changes but her. And how does a robot change, really? How do you change a state machine?

She's just a pearl. It doesn't come natural to her. It doesn't come natural to think for herself beyond what is known, not like everyone else.

Like Pink. Just like Pink, stuck in such all-consuming isolation. Does she want to lose that?

And though she is a pearl, yes - never given the same fair shake as others - she still finds a way to the freedom and security she searches for, deep within herself. She still finds a way to exert her own opinion, to care for others like she had never been cared for.

She has been herself longer than she knows. She has had the kindle to create a grand and encompassing fire for longer than she ever knew what to do with it. And when she finally does... she lets go.

I relate to her literal nature, kinship to machinery, ability to excel past her 'programming', motifs of finding one's self within, deep-seated loneliness, and admire her heart.

tagging: @thehivemindsys @crowofstarlight @residualmanifests @theinkedfoxsl @thisaccountsshit @air-of-the-waterfall

[wowzees]

I thought you were the love of my life. I was wrong.

pairing: charles leclerc x reader, little bit of max verstappen x reader

genre: angst (and fluff)

summary: you met charles in your flower shop. Now that you and he have broken up due to drunken mistakes, what happens when he comes to your shop to buy flowers? (they’re not for you)

august, 2018

The bell of your shop rang as a customer walked in. looking up from the pink and white peonies you were tending to. “hi! welcome to Aumbiance florale! what can i get for you…” As you turned around, you were met with the most breathtaking man you have ever seen. he had messy brown hair, beautiful green eyes and a light dusting of freckles over his cheeks. “im here to pick up an order of flowers? i placed an order yesterday.” he spoke, seemingly shy. “of course! what name is the order placed under?” “charles leclerc”.

once you get back from your workstation in the back of the shop, you see him wandering around the store, stopping every now and then to look at the flower arrangements scattered around. “here you are. that’ll be $37.63.” he inserts his card into the payment machine. “great. thank you for stopping by, i hope to see you again soon!” you say, as the payment goes through. “will you get dinner with me sometime?” he blurts, a blush quickly appearing over his freckled cheeks. “oh! yeah, i'd be more than happy to.” you say, bashfully “do you want my number, or is there another way you want me to contact you?” after giving your number to Charles, he quickly presses a quick, barely there kiss on your cheek before hurrying out of your shop.

september, 2019

After that first date with Charles, you immediately hit it off. Now, a year and a month later, you were boyfriend and girlfriend and live together.

“Dance with me, charles!” you giggle, getting lost in the music softly playing from your phone as you two cook together. you grab him and you two start swaying in time with the music. Charles starts peppering kisses on your face, his stubble tickling your face as you laugh together, the aroma of spices and the sound of laughter filling the air.

december, 2019

c'mon charles!” you say as you drag him to the ice skating rink. “It'll be fun!”. you stumble onto the ice together, and it takes about 4 seconds for charles to immediately faceplant into the ice. “owwwwwwww” he groans, rolling around on the ice and nearly getting run over by a mom and her kids. “Charles baby you have to get up or you'll get run over” you say offering him a hand. He gives you a look saying ‘bitch do you think i can get up’ then attempts to take your hand. All he does is pull you down onto him. you both burst out laughing as the moment is recorded online and quickly goes viral.

march, 2020

It was a rainy day in Monaco. Charles had just finished streaming with his friends, and you had just finished reading your book. with your eyes slightly stinging from crying about a MAJOR character loss and a cliffhanger, you walked to your bedroom hoping to take a quick nap. On your way, you pass the piano and can't help but pause and look at it. After moments of contemplating, you quickly take a seat and start playing one half to a duet you and your sister played before you two cut eachother off. When Charles hears you, he comes and sits down next to you before starting to play the other half of the duet. you two play in perfect harmony until you reach the end. when all the memories catch up to you, you can't help but cry. You start to share your and your sister's story, why you don't talk anymore and how your mom took her side in the whole argument and cut you off. “and she stole my boyfriend! I trusted her, I trusted him, and he cheated on me! with my sister, no less! an-an then my mom took her side, and said it was my fault i couldn't put it out! the-then she cut me off and kicked me out of the house!”

Charles genuinely didn't know what to say. All he did was silently vow that no one would ever hurt you again.

june, 2021

 “Charles, where have you been?” you ask, worried. “you said you would be home for dinner” you sigh. “i got caught up in a meeting i couldn't get out of. i'm sorry, sweetheart.” he grumbles “its ok, just let me know next time” you mutter, before climbing into bed. charles joined you not too long after. if you were less sleep deprived and worried, you would have seen the faint hickey on his neck.

This same cycle went on for weeks. you, waiting up at home, charles coming in late, often smelling faintly of alcohol, and coming up with some shitty excuse for why he was late. it didn't take long for you to blow up at him, screaming and crying and nearly throwing a lamp at him.

“It happens all the time now, charles! Do you know the last time we had a meal together? the last time we’ve gone to bed and woken up together? hell, the last time we’ve had sex? cause i sure as hell don't! and thats probably because its been fucking months!” you scream at him, tears running down your face. “fuck this. i'll be back soon” you say, before throwing together a quick bag and leaving to your best friend's house.

if you had stayed a little longer, you would have learned exactly why he had been coming home so late. but it didn't take long for you to see for yourself.

one week later

“charles? im back.’’ the apartment was silent, except for faint sounds coming from your bedroom. you started walking there, assuming charles was streaming or gaming with his friends. as you pushed open the door, you were met with the sight of some girl, riding charles. charles was thrusting up into her, “fuck!” he exclaims “so much better than her!”

“oh my god” you whisper “oh my god, oh my god, oh my god”. you shut the door, and walk to the living room. you sit down on the couch, with the head in your hands and start crying. 

half an hour later, Charles walks out shirtless and seemingly going to the kitchen. “where are you going, huh? to go make something to eat for her?” he jumps, not seeing you. “wai, baby i can explai-” “shut the fuck up charles, were done. i'll be back to get my stuff later.” you walk out of the door, hoping he would stop you, tell you to wait, to come back. but he never did.

over the course of the next few weeks, you were a mess. you stayed with your best friend, buried yourself with work, and got drunk almost every single night. after a few weeks of this, she decided to drag you to therapy. 

going to therapy helped a lot. you learned how to express yourself properly, how to take care of yourself, but most importantly how to move on. you started putting more effort into your shop, and soon your small, little flower shop became the most popular in Monaco. 

you were making flower arrangements for a wedding. It was just you, as most of your employees had taken today off and the ones who hadn't were at the shop. while at the venue, you ran into one of charles’s friends, max verstappen. 

“hey, max! how are you, i haven't seen you for a while” you say while going up to him, giving him a hug. “hey! how are you? are you still with charles?” “no we broke up a year ago” you mutter. “im sorry” he apologizes, looking frantic. “oh, no worries, he cheated,” you sigh. “it is what it is though”. as you and max converse the time genuinely flies. “hey, im sorry, but i have to go and close the shop. i would love to get dinner sometime though.” “yeah, of course! ill text you”

2 night later, you and max go out to dinner. the night is filled with laughter, fun and eventually you going back to his place.

not to long after that, he askes you to be his girlfriend.

6 months later

as you and max are in the back of the shop, you hear the bell ring. “ill go help them, maxie.” you quickly kiss him before hurrying out to help your customer.

as you walk out, you almost freeze in your tracks, charles is at the counter, waiting for help as the girl you recongize to be the girl he cheated on you with is wondering around the store, her back turned to you.

“hi, how can i help you?” you ask, avoiding eye contact. “um, i just wanted a vase of white and pink peonies, they’re my moms favorite.” as you walk to the table with the peonies, the girl turns around, and you drop the vase.

it was your fucking sister

your sister was the girl charles had cheated on you with

max hurries out of the back room when he hears the vase drop

“baby, are you ok?” he asks, checking over you frantically. “yeah, im fine. can you clean this up please? i need to grab another vase.” he agrees, and you quickly go to the back to recompose yourself and grab another vase. 

once you finish, you walk out to the counter, and hand over the flowers. for the first time in a year and a half, you look charles in the eye.

“here you go. that’ll be $40.” your sister walks up next to him, and forcefully grabs his jaw and starts making out with him. 

“ok have a good day. you can leave now” you say. your sister smirks at you as they walk out.

as she turns, you see a bump. she was fucking pregnet.

charles got your sister pregnant.

charles, the man who vowed to never hurt you, got the person who hurt you the most, pregnant.

[ornii]

My Better Bitter Half, Part 11

Apologies for taking so long but we back baby.

How well do we really know our parents? Take my father. I've always considered him an open book. A man given to misguided schemes and exaggerated displays of affection. But when he was a student, he was accused of a murder that took place right up there. Which leads me to wonder...what really happened that stormy night 32 years ago?

You, your sister Wednesday and, possible crush Enid stood together listening to the drivel that principal Weems was spewing.

“Nevermore was created as a safe haven for our children to learn and to grow, no matter bI realize most of you have heard about the unfortunate incident involving one of our students.bBut I'm happy to report that Eugene is on the mend and is expected to make a full recovery.bSo let's focus on the positive and make this Parents' Weekend our very best yet.” Weems said.

“On the mend?” Wednesday said.

“Try in a coma.” You chime in, Enid turns to Wednesday and you.

“Have you been to see him? You're his friends.”

“I'm the reason he's in the hospital.” Wednesday said, and Enid attempts to console her.

“That is not your fault, okay?” She says, and you raise an eyebrow.

“Well… technically speaking—“ you start, Enid glares at you, convincing you to stop speaking. You close your mouth and shrug.

“Besides, The monster hasn't attacked anyone in the past week. Maybe you finally scared it off.” Enid explains, and you rub your chin, pondering.

“Or maybe it went into hiding to avoid this weekend. Too many people… they want to avoid getting caught.” You say, suddenly your eyes catch a glimpse of black, three figures, Mother, Father, and Pugsley. Wednesday also notices the family arriving.

“I knew I should have worn my plague mask.” Wednesday said.

“Would you look at my family?” Enid looks over to her howling family.

“Talk about toxic pack mentality. I give my mom 30 seconds before her judge-y claws come out. Let's get this over with.” She said, the students agree and go to face their family.

“There he is. Oh, how we missed those devilish eyes and youthful glare.” Morticia, your mother hugged you sternly, and you happily accepted her love, as decrepit as it was..

“Madré!” You say, hugging her. Spotting your father you also reciprocate a hug.

Padre! How are you father?” You say, you see how uncomfortable Wednesday is, obviously human interaction was not her strong suit.

“How are you, my little rain cloud?” Morticia hugs her daughter.

“I thought Thing was filling you in on my every move.” Wednesday says, Morticia and Gomez look surprised that she knows, and you casually chime in.

“You didn’t think we wouldn’t notice?” You smirk, standing next to Wednesday.

“I uncovered your feeble subterfuge almost immediately.”

“We.” you chime in.

“So, how's the little fella doing? Does he still have all his fingers?” Gomez says.

“Relax. I haven't snapped any of his digits. Yet.”

“So tell us everything.”

“Since you've abandoned me here, I've been hunted, haunted... and the target of an attempted murder.”

Much to no one surprised, the Addams Re reveled in it. Morticia and Gomez reach the Principals office with the family. morticia looks at her old yearbook with Principal Weems

“I haven't laid eyes on this in over 20 years. Such good times we had, didn't we, Larissa?”

“Some of us better than others.”

“Oh, don't be so modest. You always filled a room with your presence. Like a stately sequoia tree.”

“And I guess that would make you the lumberjack.”

The two engage in passive aggressive softball, and you couldn’t enjoy it more, sneering.

“There's that biting sense of humor that I always adored. Do you remember when we did that duet for the Solstice Talent Show? Your Judy Garland impression was a dead ringer.” Morticia says.

“Sounds positively suicidal.” Wednesday said.

“I’d love to see it. Im sure Wedensday would agree.” You say, crossing your leg as you wink at Wednesday, who stares daggers at you. Morticia notices something off.

“Oh. My picture's gone.”

“Really? Well, that is odd.” Weems says, feigning innocence.

“May I borrow this for the weekend? That way Gomez and I can take a little walk down memory lane.” She says to her husband, they gawk at each other which only makes Weems more, uncomfortable.

“All right. Let's get down to the matter at hand, shall we? Unfortunately, Wednesday's assimilation has been rocky at best.”

“Because I refuse to embrace the culture of dishonesty and denial permeating this school.

Starting with the monster that killed Rowan and put Eugene in the ICU.” She says, you raise your finger.

“Although I do hear he's on the mend.” You say with a grin, Weems puts on a smile, a fake one.

“We've always encouraged our children to speak their minds.” Gomez said

“Sometimes her sharp tongue and his serrated wit can cut deep.” Gomez says.

“Apparently her therapist feels she hasn't been very open to the process. Their time together has not yielded the results we'd hoped.” Weems explains

“I'm not a lab rat.” Wednesday said in retort.

“I say more like a, Crow. A lab crow.” You say, Your sisters cold glare was in the corner of your eye.

“I believe Wednesday should get the help she deserves.” You say, only adding more fuel to the fire and Weems Agrees.

“Dr. Kinbott and I have spoken, and we both agree it would be most beneficial for you all to attend a family session this weekend.” She said, and the word “family” made you halt.

“Wait.. family?” You ask. “Absolutely not.”

“No.” Wedensday shuts it down quickly, and Weems shakes her head.

“I thought that might be your reaction, but your parents can see the wisdom in it.”

“Um, not to side with Wednesday, but, um, we're only here for the weekend.” Morticia says, and Gomez spoke up.

“Oh, come on. What can it hurt? To be honest, I've always been a big fan of head-shrinking.”

“It's not that kind of head-shrinking, father.” You say, now having the annoyed cadence of your sister.

“Well, that is disappointing. But anything for our kids.” Morticia says, much to the annoyance of the twins.

The Therapy session began as (Y/n), Wednesday and Pugsley sat in the middle with both Morticia and Gomez at sides, Kinbott looks at the full Addams family with gleaming hope.

“So, who wants to start?” She said, it was silent, until she asked again.

“Maybe we can discuss what it's like having Wednesday away from home?” She said, and Pugsley began.

“I mean, for me....it's been hard not having (Y/n) and Wednesday around. I never thought I'd miss being waterboarded and Used as a host for ghosts so much.” Pugsley admits.

“Morticia, Gomez. How have you been coping?” Kinbott asks them.

“It's been torture for us too.”

“Fortunately, my brother Fester's rack fits two people.”

“Nothing like a good stretch to bring out the best in each other.” Morticia says and the two simply cannot get their hands off of Each other.

“Enough!” Wednesday said, actually letting her anger out. And not many times, (Y/n) agrees.

“I think it's high time my parents faced the music. It seems they've been lying to me.

Keeping secrets. Murderous secrets that need to be addressed. Who was Garrett Gates, and why are you accused of murdering him?” Wednesday asks her father, (Y/n) squints his eyes and slowly turns to Gomez.

“…Father?” He asks, which Gomez’s attitude shifts, and Morticia quickly intervenes

“Those charges were dropped. Your father is an innocent man.”

“Local sheriff doesn't seem too convinced.”

“Wednesday, stop. This is neither the time nor the place.”

“Mother, did you know about this?” (Y/n) asks Morticia.

“(Y/n), now isn’t the time for this.” She said.

“Actually, this is exactly the place.” Kinbott chimes in. “These sessions are—“

“Doctor. This does not concern you. And I refuse to debate a decades-old witch-hunt with you right now.” Morticia says.

“Darling, maybe we should...” Gomez says.

“No. This session is over.”

“Have it your way, Mother.” Wednesday stood up and stormed off.

“Wednes... Wednesday?”

“If you refuse to tell me the truth, I'll just have to excavate it myself.” She walks off, and Morticia follows.

“What were you thinking? How could you ambush your father like that? Wednesday.”

“How could I? You insisted I go to this school.

Did you really think I wouldn't find out your secret?”

“You don't know the full story. Your father did nothing wrong.”

“I'll be the judge of that.” Wednesday walks off, (Y/n) exits the building to see his sister leave, and he follows, Wednesday enters the hospital and makes her way to Eugene’s room, he follows silently until she sits at his side.

“I harvested hive number three. The bees miss you, Eugene. We all do.” Wednesday said, (Y/n) smiles and gently taps on the door. Wednesday quickly turns around and sees her brother.

“How long have you been listening?” She said.

“Long enough to see you care.”

“I don’t.”

“Sure you don’t.” (Y/n) walks next to his sister, looking at Eugene. A heated rage begins to overtake him.

“He didn't deserve this. I should be in that bed.” Wednesday says, and (Y/n) shakes his head…

“It isn’t your fault, it’s the monster who did this, and we will find him, I can assure you of that. Now Cmon, we have to get back to Mother and Father, you’d hate to make they worry.” (Y/n) says with sarcasm. Wednesday reluctantly follows. The twins return to eat with their family.

“Mmm. I am famished. You're not hungry, darling?” Morticia says to her daughter, (Y/n) was too busy looking over at Enid.

“My appetite eludes me, Mother.” She replies; Enid is forced to sit with her family,

“So are you going to make me ask?” Her mother says, and Enid assumes she means the Addams boy who’s making dreamy eyes at her.

“Well.. (Y/n) and I haven't defined our relationship yet, even if it is one—“

“I'm not talking about boys. Have you wolfed out yet?” She says, Enid inhaled sharply and out on a smile.

..”No.”

“Well, that is a disappointment.”

“That's me. A huge disappointment…” she says, (Y/n) sees how sad she is, he stands up and walks over, he adjusts his clothes and smiles.

“Excuse me.” He says, he offers a handshake.

“You must be Miss Sinclair.” He says and takes her hand, the woman puts on a smile as Enid was now panicking. Her crush and now her overbearing mother meeting.

“I’m really sorry but I have to speak with Enid, just for a moment.”

“Alright? Don’t try anything—“

“Mom!” Enid says though her teeth, he leads Enid away and he sighs.

“I’m sorry to pull you from your family—“

“No it’s fine, I actually wanted to ask you something.”

“You did? What?” (Y/n) asks.

“Well… I, don’t know how to feel after the dance…” she begins.

“You, didn’t have fun?” (Y/n) asks, and Enid shakes her head.

“No, of course I did! It’s just… you’re like my best friend, besides Wednesday, you’re.. more than my best friend.. someone I really care about.

“I’d.. like that.. to be more… I know you’re still heartbroken after Ajax..” (Y/n) begins, Enid watches but slowly peers over his shoulder to see what’s going on.

“Uh.. (Y/n)?”

“And I don’t want to be a replacement I, I want to be more than that, I want to be…”

“(Y/n)… your, dad.”

“What I’m trying to say is that I want you to be my Girl—“

“Your dads getting arrested!” She yells. (Y/n) stops and turns around to see his father being taken away by police.

“Gomez Addams. You're under arrest for the murder of Garrett Gates. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”

“Father?”

“You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed for you.” (Y/n) can only watch as his father is taken away, god only knows what hellscape awaits.

The Twins stood at the blocked off prison visiting room, as their father sits solemnly at the seat. He sees the two stand there.

“My little tormenta, how's your mother?” Gomez asks Wednesday first.

“Devastated. She hates you in orange. I caught her laying a rose on a grave earlier today. The headstone read "Garrett Gates." The very boy you've been arrested for murdering. Care to explain?” She says, and (Y/n) nods.

“It’s best for everyone, father, elaborate.” He said, and Gomez explains.

“Garrett was infatuated with your mother. He mistook her kindness for interest. His infatuation turned into obsession, and he started stalking her.”

“Why didn't you call the police?”

“We tried. But his family were the oldest and richest in Jericho, But No one believed us. Garrett's father, an outcast-hating bigot, was furious that your mother had accused his only son. It all came to a head the night of the Rave'N Dance. Your mother and I stepped out to catch our breath. And that's when I saw him. He had broken into the school. His twisted love for your mother had made him insane. His eyes bore into me, brimming with murderous intent. My life flashed before my eyes. Driven by jealousy and hate, Garrett was When I saw the sword, my survival instinct kicked in. It was a terrible accident.” Gomez says, (Y/n) and Wednesday look at each other. (Y/n) motions his sister over and they speak out of hearing range from their father.

“If I'm being objective, his confession sounds entirely plausible, delivered with the perfect degree of sincerity. Perhaps father is exactly what he says.” Wednesday said.

“I agree; although father has a magnificent poker face, I think he’s telling the truth, but then again, what other rotting skeletons are in his closet, let’s play it safe.” (Y/n) said, they walk back and speak at the same time.

“Thank you for being honest with us.”

“I'm sorry I wasn't a better father.” He says, trying to hold back tears, Wednesday had no emotion, (Y/n) sighed.

“Could we please do without the overt display of emotion?” Wednesday demands, and forms composed himself.

“How many fathers hand their daughter a fencing blade when she's five?”

“Your saber strokes were an essay in perfection.”

“How many fathers would teach their son how to beat a lie detector?”

“It’s all about your heartbeat.”

“Or teach her how to swim with sharks?”

“They found you as cold-blooded as I do.”

“The right way to flay a rattlesnake?”

“They really do taste like chicken when prepared properly.”

“The point is, you taught us how to be strong and independent.” Wednesday begins, and (Y/n) adds in.

“And..How to navigate in a world full of treachery and prejudice. You are the reason we understand how imperative it is that we never lose sight of who we are, no matter what life throws at us.” (Y/n) looks into the eyes of his father, showing he means everything he says.

“So as far as fatherhood goes, I would say you've been more than adequate.” Wednesday said, and Gomez holds back a year.

“Gracias, (Y/n), Wednesday.”

The visitation ends and the two step out of the jail.

“We’ll have to consider all of this…” (Y/n) said, Wednesday also agrees and turns to (Y/n).

“You need to… console, Pugsley.”

“Why me?” (Y/n) asks, and Wednesday stares at him.

“… Yeah, I suppose you trying to comfort him would be… an issue.” (Y/n) chuckles, Wednesday turns her head forward.

“I’m going to.. convince the sheriff to hear me out.”

“As long as you don’t wind up behind bars as well, go for it.” He says, they split up and leave, (Y/n) walked past multiple happy families, (Y/n) approached the lake with a bag in hand, he peers over to see Pugsley sitting down.

“Go away.”

“Pug, You forgot your fishing gear.”

“I know you’re just trying to be nice to make me forget about dad. You’re being honest…It doesn't suit you.”

“That’s… fair. Father packed your favorite bait.” He sits next to him and digs into the bag, and grabs a hand grenade.

“What'll happen to him now?” He asks, and (Y/n) primes a grenade and casually tosses it into the water.

“Well, he's confessed, so there won't be a trial. After he's sentenced, he'll be sent to a state penitentiary, where he'll lose his mind being separated from Mother. Did you know they haven't spent a night apart since they tied the knot?”

“I always thought You’d be the first one in the family behind bars.” Pugsley said, (Y/n) shrugged.

“Funny enough, Wedensday nd I had a bet going… she owes me everything in her will.”

The water explodes deep down, and dead fish float up.

“That's quite a catch. Take the shrapnel out and we have a good feast.”

“I'm gonna miss him, (Y/n).”

“It's not over yet. He's innocent.”

“Well, if anyone can figure out who really committed the crime... it's you and Wednesday, you two work really well together. You have to find out the truth and free Dad.”

Pugsley’s words, so endearing. (Y/n) grits his teeth and nods.

“I will. I will Pugsley…Well, until that happens, we both know Mother will be falling apart.

Which means we have to be strong. And by "we," I mean you. Definitely not me.” He says, the brothers spend more time together before (Y/n) left the forest, as he walks out, his ears pick up the sound of sniffling. He halted as he searched for the origin of the sound, what caught his eye was the bright pink vest. He immediately recognized the color. He peers over to Enid sitting behind a tree, crying.

“Enid?” He asks, she looks up to him, her makeup a mess as it seems she’s been at it for a while, (Y/n) sits next to her.

“Is.. something wrong?” He asks, Enid looks at him like a sad, hurt puppy.

“It’s my mom she, wants to send me to… to..”

“To?”

“Conversion therapy! Like I’m some sort of disappointment!” She looks so hurt, (Y/n), not knowing how to console someone, he sighs and speaks from his black heart.

“Enid… you don’t need to wolf out to be a Weerwolf or, find a mate. Even without those powers, you’re unique, sparkly, bubbly, so kind and.. beautiful.” (Y/n) says, looking at the ground, enid looks up at him, perplexed.

“You.. think so?”

“Of course I do! You’re the only person who makes looking at pink bearable.” He says, his hand gently placed on hers. “If my father taught me anything, it’s to be yourself.. unapologetically, which…” he trails on.

“Ive.. been meaning to say this Enid, but I’ve had no luck, I want to ask.. will you—“

“(Y/n)!”

He hears his voice being called, he very didn’t much want to turn his attention to it, but he did, and he saw his sister approach.

“You have got to be kidding me..” he says, he was dragged away by his sister.

“Wednesday this better be good.”

“Father didn’t Kill Garrett. Neither did mother.”

Wednesday said dropping a bombshell, which raises the eyebrow of the Twin.

“Then.. who did?”

“Himself.”

“Okay, elaborate.”

“Mother told me what truly happened, she was protecting father when he attacked, but Garrett was foaming at the mouth. His eyes didn't look human. Foaming saliva, dilated pupils, mental confusion. What are those all textbook symptoms of?”

“Nightshade poisoning…” (Y/n) gets it, and puts everything together.

“He was dead before Mother stabbed him…”

“There's only one way to find out.” Wednesday said, and (Y/n) frowns, he knows what that means.

Late in the night, at the Grave of Miles Garrett, the twins dig his corpse up, both going to the graveyard as they dig up his casket, Morticia stands above them, watching the two.

“This reminds me of when you got your first grave-digging kit. You were so happy, you nearly smiled.” Morticia said, (Y/n) grumbles.

“Are you sure you don't want to join?” Wednesday asks.

“Uh... mm... No, that's okay, darling. I don't want to spoil your fun.” She says.

“This isn’t fun, mother, Digging up graves is for knaves and psychopaths.” (Y/n) jams into the earth again and feels a loud bang, they stop and uncover the decrepit tomb.

“Moment of truth.” Wednesday and (Y/n) open the tomb, the waft of rubbish bond and decaying flesh hits their nostrils. Wednesday seems to enjoy it. (Y/n) isn’t as enthusiastic as his sister. He looks over the corpse.

“I was right.” She points to the inner pocket, seeing hints of a stained blue liquid.

“Nightshade..” (Y/n) reaches in and grabs a finger, and with a quick and sharp twist, effortlessly removes his finger.

“Alright, now.. all we have to do is—“

“Well, well, what do we have here?” Someone from behind all three of they spoke, the twins popped their hands from the grave to see a police cruiser aiming their headlights at them, the second in command.

“Guess there's gonna be an Addams family reunion in lockup tonight. You're all under arrest.”

(Y/n) is locked up with his father, and Wednesday with her mother. Wednesday stands there, silent, as (Y/n) Taps his foot, fuming. Morticia and Gomez were all over each other

“Get comfortable. You can post bail in the morning.” Sherrif Galpin glares at the twins and leave..

“Not even the long arm of the law could keep us apart.”

“At least we'll have one last night together.

Yes.”

“I've seen jackals with more self-control than you two.” Wednesday glares at her parents lost in love.

“Neither one of you are strong enough to serve hard time. And thanks to me, you won't have to.” (Y/n) stops taping his foot.

“I knew our little jailbird would have an escape plan.”

“It seems Wednesday was correct about Garrett, He died from nightshade poisoning.”

“The remarkable preservation of soft tissue and blue tint confirms it. Which means Garrett was dying...Before you stabbed him.”

“You look even more ravishing as an innocent woman!”

“For once, could you two get off of each other and focus.” Wednesday said, (Y/n) agrees.

“Yes, we need to get this to the mayor, and he will drop all charges, all we need is someone to bring it to them.. someone we trust.. Pugsley.” (Y/n) says

“No.” Wednesday replies flatly.

“.. Lurch?”

“No.”

“…Uncle Fester“

“Absolutely not.” Wednesday said, (Y/n) walks to the edge of the cell.

“Well what do you suggest then? break out of here?” He says, Wednesday walks over and snatched the finger from his hand, and suddenly, she had a vision.,

“Prove to me you're still worthy to be called my son! Kill all those outcasts! Sneak into that dance and spike the punch bowl.” Those words rang through her. She sat up from her episode and her family obviously looks concerned.

“Did you have a vision?”

“What happened?”

“What did you see?”

“The night Garrett died, he had a vial of nightshade poison that broke in his pocket.

He wasn't just trying to kill father. He was going to use the nightshade poison to murder the entire school.” She says, the family look at each other. A sly grin creeps along the face of her brother.

“Oh I’m going to enjoy this…”

“Thank you for seeing us at such short notice, Mr. Mayor.”

The twins stand before the mayor, after being in jail for approximately 4 hours.

“Yes, well, veiled threats have that effect.”

“Then let’s cut to the chase, Garrett Gates wasn't killed by a stab wound.” (Y/n) goes first, then Wednesday places the severed finger on his desk.

“That blue sheen is a telltale sign of nightshade poisoning.” Wednesday said.

“But you already knew that, dont you mayor? Because back when you were sheriff, you were in charge and covered it up.”

“Ansel Gates hated outcasts and Nevermore.

He claimed the land the school was built on was stolen from his family over 200 years ago.

Garrett went there that night to spike the punch and kill all the kids at that dance.” The twins deliver a fairly clear shut argument, and the mayor grumbles, and confesses.

“Ansel confessed the whole thing to me in a drunken stupor. It was his idea.”

“Then Why did you instruct Dr. Anwar to falsify the autopsy report? You knew the truth about how he really died.”

“Listen, my job was to keep the peace. If there had been a trial, Jericho's and Nevermore's reputations would have been trashed.”

“I think the only reputation you were worried about ruining was your own.”

“I remember Garrett bragging to me that his father had the sheriff in his pocket. One year later, you get elected mayor. Hmm. No doubt with the full support of Ansel Gates.”

“I resent your implication.”

“I resent the fact you decided to cover up a potential Genocide of an entire school by a bigoted drug crazed maniac to save the face of this place. The truth stings, doesn’t it mayor?” (Y/n) said with a cold bite.

“What I resent is that you could have prevented Garrett's death if you had done your job when I lodged my complaint about him stalking our Mother.” Wednesday snaps back, The mayor was at a loss, and gave in.

“What do you want?” He asks them.

“All charges dropped. Our father will be released with a full and unequivocal apology from the sheriff's office. Do we have a deal?” (Y/n) asked, and the Mayor gave in.

The twins exit the building as (Y/n) thinks, and decides to speak about it.

“Have you spoken to mother about your visions? You know she could help you. You’d only have to ask Wednesday, we’re family.” He said. Wednesday was silent for a moment, and he continues.

“We’re Navigating this, treacherous shoal of our sibling relationship. But I'm always here for you, Wednesday. Mother, father, Pugsley, unfortunately.” He says.

“I’ll.. consider speaking to her.” Wednesday says, and (Y/n) sighs with relief. Gomez and Morticia We’re Released and All hugged, besides Wedensday.

“Don't crowd me.”

The next and final day, (Y/n) approached Enids family with her Next to him, they stopped and he motions for her to go.

“Stick to yourself, I know you’ve got this.” He says, and Enid walks to her mother, ready to stand her ground. Enid approached and her mother was already hounding her.

“So, it's decided. Six weeks at Camp Howl.

You'll need to pick which activity—“

“No, I don't. Because I'm not going. Not this summer. Not ever. If I'm meant to wolf out, then I'm going to do it on my own timeline and not yours. I hope that one day, you'll finally accept me for who I am.” Enid turns and sees (Y/n) smile, giving her a nod of approval.

(Y/n) returns back to his family as Wednesday was reluctantly being hugged goodbye.

“Don't push it.”

“Well, at least we can't say Parents' Weekend wasn't a nail-biter.” Gomez said.

“I knew you didn't have what it takes to be a murderer.” Wednesday says flatly,

“As much as that stings, gracias, my little death trap.” Gomez gives his daughter a hug, and turns to his son.

“A devious as always, my boy.” Gomez grins and (Y/n) smugly bows.

“Of course, manipulating the mayor into freeing my family a stroke of genius.” (Y/n) replies, and he and his father continue to laugh about it, Wednesday and Morticia watch them, she sighs happily and then goes back to her daughter, and she hands her the yearbook.

“As I leafed through the pages of this yearbook, I was reminded of all the wonderful times I had here. But they were just that. Mine.

You have your own path to blaze. I don't want to be a stranger in your life, darling. If you need me for anything, anything at all, I'm only a crystal ball away.”

“Thank you, Mother.” Wedensday looked blankly at her, but under those eyes was love, the Addams leave, letting the twins look into the book, and at a page of Weems.

“Hm… her Judy Garland costume was phenomenal..”

“…no.”

“No?”

“That isn’t a costume… she looks exactly like her.”

“Wednesday that’s impossible, the only way she could if Weems could shape her body to match hers.”

“…like a shape shifter?” Wedensday asks.

“Most likely, yes.” (Y/n) replies; Wednesday immediately slams the book shut and quickly walks off.

“Wednesday?” (Y/n) asks, and she bursts into Weems office.

“I knew it. I did witness Rowan getting murdered that night.” Wedensday stopped at the foot of the desk.

“Excuse me?” Weems asks.

“When Rowan appeared the next morning, it was you. When you participated in the talent show, not only did you impersonate Judy Garland, you became her. You're a shape-shifter.” Wedensday accuses her, and Weems scoffs at her.

“That's a fascinating theory.”

“I'm curious to find out how Sheriff Galpin feels when I tell him.” Wedensday says threateningly, Weems stands up, slowly showing her towering height.

“You won't tell a soul, Miss Addams. And it wouldn't matter much if you did. Rowan's father already knows what happened, and he fully supports my decision not to involve the authorities.”

“Why would he agree to that?”

“Because Rowan was not in his right mind. His telekinetic abilities were driving him mad and he attempted to murder you twice. His tragic death allowed us to rectify the situation without casting the school or Rowan in an unflattering light.” Weems explains the cover up.

“You and Mayor Walker are the same, aren't you? Burying bodies to cover your dirty secrets.”

“I did what I needed to do to shield this school from controversy and protect its students from harm.”

“Tell that to Eugene. How are you protecting him?”

The two continue to bicker, until (Y/n) bursts in.

“Principal Weems, Wedensday… you have to see this.” He rushes back and the two follow out to the yard as they bear witness. Flames dance in their eyes, seeing words burned into the ground, this was a message, who knows the borrows that are yet to come

[dr-futbol-blog]

Duet, Pt 6

Next, we find McKay and Cadman in Heightmeyer's office which should be familiar to him, as we saw in The Gift (S01E18) that he was in therapy (or, in his words, they were "seeing each other"). This just reminds us of the fact that McKay is known to lie about his interest in women, as it's very apparent that no seeing each other of any kind beyond a professional setting has taken place between these two. Reintroducing Heightmeyer in the same episode as Katie Brown is not coincidental.

While Heightmeyer may have been able to help McKay with his nightmares (or what ever else he might have been seeing her for), he seems skeptical that she can help him with this:

McKay: How do you feel you're qualified to help us with this problem, huh? Heightmeyer: I'm not. Who could be? This was not covered in medical school. But I have spent quite some time as a couples therapist. Cadman: We're not a couple! McKay: In any sense of the definition, not a couple. Cadman: No!

Not being a couple of any kind is something McKay and Cadman can both emphatically agree on. And note that McKay's disdain for Cadman and the idea of her as a romantic partner is equal to her disdain for him. Now, for Cadman the issue seems to be that McKay is not at all her type. Not only would she never date someone like him, she can barely understand why anyone would. And for McKay, it's the same toward her only it's impersonal, because he does not see her as an individual person. She represents a category he finds disinteresting. Cadman is objectively an attractive young woman and as a blonde, she should be right up McKay's alley if we take him at face value. More so even than Katie Brown. And yet he does not behave like he's attracted to either of them, seeming rather to want to be as far away as possible from both women.

But the fact that they bring up couples' therapy as something Heightmeyer excels at, something that's in her wheelhouse, is interesting, as it's very much something that Sheppard and McKay could have used a while ago. Many if not all of the issues they are currently facing could have been solved with couples' therapy. And while Cadman and McKay may not fit any definition of a couple, Sheppard and McKay on the other hand fit multiple definitions of the word. Being that Heightmeyer is s a Psychologist, an expert of how humans work, she attempts to approach McKay with a definition that he might recognize:

Heightmeyer: In physics, a 'couple' is defined as a pair of forces equal in magnitude acting in opposite directions. So you don't feel that applies here? McKay: Yeah, that's very clever, but we're not equal forces. Cadman: Watch it! McKay: And what I mean by that is she's just a voice in my head. I have control of the body. Cadman: I've seen your body, McKay. You can keep it!

Let's put a pin on the way they define "a couple" in this episode, and the fact that Heightmeyer uses a definition derived from Physics (or Mechanics) in particular, as this is relevant for later. A couple are equal in magnitude but acting in opposite directions. It's not difficult to guess which two characters are the only ones that actually fulfill this criterion not only in this episode, but on the series as a whole. It very much does apply to McKay but it is not Cadman that is his coupling.

Cadman makes yet another disparaging remark about McKay's body here and if her field conversation was inappropriate, this is starting to border on abuse. Yes, McKay did call her a girlie earlier, but the things she says are both hurtful and very personal.

What's interesting about this is that Heightmeyer seems to believe McKay at face value on the fact that he actually has another consciousness in his brain. She never even entertained the possibility that there might be something else wrong with him, that he's experiencing some form of psychosis or dissociation, the latter of which she very probably knows he suffers from. She's received no outside confirmation that McKay is telling her the truth about this and yet from the very beginning she approaches their predicament as though it was very real. And as such, she is trying to reach Cadman to hear her side of the story:

Heightmeyer: How do you know that? She's been able to access the part of your brain that creates speech and controls hearing. Why not movement? McKay: Well if she could have, she would have by now. Heightmeyer: Maybe you need to release control. McKay: Why would I do that?

Again, interesting. McKay's response just confirms Heightmeyer's assessment of the situation as correct, McKay does have issues with relinquishing control. And not just here; this need to control his surroundings and especially the people around him likely springs from his unstable childhood environment, where the inconsistency and conditionality of parental affection caused him to develop strategies that might mitigate the hurt and confusion resulting from this. Like if he did his homework, if he did his chores correctly, if he did all the right things in the right order, he wouldn't be yelled at. If he excelled at something, he might even receive praise. This kind of damage suffered early on translates into obsessive-compulsive behaviours in adulthood, and while McKay may not have full blown OCD, he does display similar tendencies, he does attempt to exert control wherever he is able. A lot of what Heightmeyer is saying here to McKay and Cadman could easily be applied to McKay and Sheppard, substituting 'body' for 'team':

Heightmeyer: Because, like it or not, you're sharing that body. The roles could have easily been reversed, Rodney. You could be trapped inside her body. And wouldn't you like a chance to, say, talk to others without having to go through her? Cadman: Yeah! McKay: Maybe. Cadman: Maybe?! McKay: OK, yes, I would want that. Heightmeyer: So let her. Close your eyes... take deep breaths and stop trying to control everything for a second.

The decision Sheppard made in transporting the nuke into the hive personally left McKay helpless and drifting, as did his failure to fix the ancient satellite and save Peter Grodin, and if he had no control over these things happening, what did he even have? With regards to Sheppard, he similarly needs to release control, he needs to trust Sheppard enough to let go, and this is a lesson he is going to learn soon enough (it only takes blowing up a solar system for him to get there, but all the same).

McKay does consent to trying this out and Cadman is able to take possession of his body. While it has to feel all kinds of weird to begin with, having a woman in control of his body seems to freak McKay out. Not that it's another person, not that it's a soldier, not that it's Cadman personally but that it is, in fact, a woman. I don't know how anyone can watch this episode and come out thinking McKay likes women.

But what's interesting here, especially with regards to the question of whether Heightmeyer knows McKay's secret or not, is that the way she appeals to him here, the way she gets him to relent is by reminding him that he might want to talk with someone without having to go through her if the situation was reversed. She's reminding him that there are things he does not want Cadman to know about him. Also, the way he rolled his eyes and said "In any sense of the definition, not a couple" to her at the start had this "You know I'm gay so why would you even suggest that?" undertone. He does not find any part of what they are doing here helpful.

McKay: OK, that's enough of that. Cadman: Oh, come on! Heightmeyer: Doctor McKay, we were just starting to make progress. McKay: Well, progress won't be necessary if we can get her out of here. Now, I have calmed down, so has she. Let me get back to work.

Notice how just as soon as McKay regains control of his body after having had a woman possess it, he turns his body away from Heightmeyer, crosses his legs and even places his hand over his crotch to shield himself, to protect himself from both women in the room. He forms like a full body barrier because he was made to feel so uncomfortable. The fact that he feels the need to shield (double shield!) his crotch especially tells us that this has everything to do with gender.

McKay also cannot seem to get out of her office fast enough. For sure, he's eager to get back to work because he uses work to avoid having to face unwelcome thoughts and feelings but here, again, it's much more that he just needs to get away than that he needs to get back to the lab. Being dominated by a woman, having his body taken over by a woman, is just not among experiences that he ever signed up for.

But what is interesting, now that we see a woman possess McKay's body, is that we are able to appreciate the difference between a homosexual man and a woman. McKay is not a macho man by any means, but he is still a man. While not exceptionally masculine, he is not precisely effeminate either. Some people probably view these scenes in which the actor is portraying a woman inside a man's body as him "acting gay," where that's not the case at all. From his vocal fry here up until his kiss with Beckett at the end of the episode, none of this is meant to show us how McKay would act if he was gay. All of that is an actual woman--and what's more, a woman whose sexuality seems to be much more fluid than his. McKay is not acting gay here because that is not him, whereas everything he does is gay because he is gay even when he is trying to pretend that he is not. And this gives us an interesting opportunity to observe this.

At the same time, Sheppard is continuing his mission to bag him a tall, dark and hunksome new team member, and to this end he is trying to masculine bond with him over weapons. Taking Ronon to the armoury also establishes rapport and displays trust. Letting the stranger play around with their weapons is meant to show Ronon that Sheppard harbous no suspicion or distrust toward him, that he is willing to give him a clean slate. This is at least partially a performance because, again, Sheppard is doing the hard sell. He can't afford to mince around with getting Ronon to join them because he does not want to take McKay out into the field again without this man.

If the wrestling was homoerotic, so are the phallic guns with which they play, boys with their toys. Ronon is proving himself to be a super soldier and while Sheppard is beginning to realize that he's going to have trouble controlling him, he is more convinced than ever that he needs Ronon. What's amusing about this scene is that it reiterates Sheppard's love of and preference for big guns, if you catch the drift.

Meanwhile, having returned to the lab, we find McKay working together with Zelenka, heads bent together over a laptop. Given that the audience of Beckett, Weir and Sheppard are gone, things seem to have calmed down considerably since their previous encounter.

As we are asked to pay attention to gender with this episode, McKay uses a curious turn of phrase as he orders a test to commence:

McKay: Alright! Let's give this bad boy a try. Start her up, but slowly ease her into it.

He calls the wraith memory device both a bad boy and her. What's interesting is that his line follows directly from Sheppard's scene with Ronon in the armoury. Ronon could certainly be described as a bad boy, and Sheppard was giving that bad boy a try by watching him do both hand-to-hand combat and how he is with weapons. Bad boy had a try-out. And while Sheppard, too, seemed to be easing Ronon into it, Ronon himself was ready go on in full steam. What Zelenka says regarding the wraith dart is also interesting with regards to Ronon: "The power requirements are delicate. We should have run more simulations before we--" Sheppard is clearly currently running simulations on Ronon, testing out the power output of the man. Ronon is lethal, so a delicate balance between using him to take out enemies but sparing their own people must be maintained.

McKay is the head scientist and leader of the lab, and we see him try to exert control of his environment here just as Heightmeyer pointed out that he tends to do. And even when this ends up in a spectacular failure, he attempts to shift the blame on others. And it is because Zelenka does actually care about McKay that he then drives him out of the lab for a second time, which seems to take not a small amount of courage. Zelenka is a brave man, not unlike McKay, which is likely why they get along so well despite the constant... friendly collegial debates. At the very least McKay respects him, which is why Zelenka is able to penetrate the fog of his ego here:

Zelenka: You shouldn't be here. McKay: I'm sorry? Zelenka: We are telling you these calculations are wrong. Having two consciousnesses inside of a single brain must be very taxing. McKay: Listen... Zelenka: You're making mistakes. Now leave it to me, before you do more harm than good.

McKay thinks that his mind, his intelligence, is the only thing he has going for him. He thinks that the only reason why people put up with him is because he can do things for them, because he can consistently perform miracles. Because he can do things that no one else can do. He believes that he is unlovable as he is (and Cadman's jabs at his body are not helping with feeling this way), and that it is only through his work that he has worth, it is only because of his output that people need him around. This isn't true, and it certainly is not true of Sheppard who has tried to show him in dozens of different ways that this is very much not the case with him. He was willing to ride a nuclear bomb to show McKay that it's not all on him, and all because he cares about the man. But it is how he views himself. And this, having his mind taken away from him, being unable to do things that should be elementary to him, makes McKay feel like he has no worth at all. McKay is not giving up control, it is being taken from him by force and he feels helpless to stop it.

If his mind is going, he has truly lost everything.

Continued in Pt. 7

[fuckitpossumorb]

Hello, it is my moment to being up the fact I’m Mexican and listen to a lot of music in Spanish.

So I’m here to bring up a very lethicus song for me.

For all of you non-Spanish speakers I will try to explain some of what the letter says, though it doesn’t necessarily tell a clear messages a lot of the lyrics and the general energy of the song screams lethicus to me so…

Starting up with, this is a duet by a man and a woman, a nice detail throughout the song is that it very much seems like the two voices are finishing each other’s sentences, like they both have the same feelings and thoughts about each other and during the chorus they take turns before finishing it by singing toguether.

The only part were they sing entirely by themselves is on the first verse where the man makes the introductory verse, but the longer it goes the louder you can hear the woman humming beneath his singing.

The most important (and popular) part is the chorus, but I’m going to take it part by part to try and make it more understandable for everyone.

The first verse passively describes a person with crossed arms and an angry semblance, the singer calls them intimidating and asks what they should do.

By my interpretation it speaks of liking someone and not knowing how to approach them at all, feeling intimidated by them because you think so highly of them and being regarded by them makes you anxious.

The next lines says “if you take a step, I start to cry. If you walk more, I’ll fall to the floor” basically saying that if the person themselves attempts to approach it makes the singer anxious and scared.

Next comes the famous chorus! Known for its first like “No me mires con esos ojos”/ “Don’t look at me with those eyes”

I’ll try to translate it because this is what really sediments this as a Lethicus song for me

“Don’t look at me with those eyes (because)

You blind me, (because) you crumple me

Don’t look at me with those eyes (because)

I’ll give you everything, no other way

Don’t look at me with those eyes (Because)

You melt me, (because) you transmit me

The shame of the sun, who in its brightness

If found, overshadowed

By your sight”

I think you might be able to see where I’m getting at.

Here the female voice joins, implying they also feel this same way about the other singer, the sight of them makes them anxious and weak because their love for them is simply to big, to the point they are so important they even make the sun seem dark and shameful against their own brilliance.

Next verse, is a bit more odd, but it speaks of hearing a singing by a girl’s voice (this is sung by the male voice, implying it is the other singer they talk about), then the next line says “and bubbles the blood, that flows through my veins” (this in the female voice)

The next few lines are sung together, say that the moment the other person sees them it makes them fall by the impact of it, that their acknowledgment gives them a heart attack and then the chorus starts again, slightly more intensely and closes the song.

Though you can easily place each character in the corresponding voice of their gender, I think the first lines fit nicely from Lethica’s perspective, as Marius starts with a very closed off demeanor and has been described as having a general stern looking face.

But given the implications in the song that all feelings are reciprocated between the voices, it could just as well be from Marius’ POV and instead of crossed arms and an angry face it’s more Lethica’s mask that intrigues and intimidates him at the same time.

The chorus it’s obvious to me, each of them being weak to each other, their pulse quickening under the gaze of the other and finding them a lot more important. From Lethica it is a simple comparison of Marius to the sun, with his bright blonde hair, his shining armor and his willingness to help, but from Marius it sounds a lot deeper, since he is straight up saying that the light of his god seems diminutive in comparison to Lethica.

Last verse seems just reaffirms it for me, Marius hears Lethica’s voice/singing and feels pulled to her and as he comes closer Lethica’s heart beats faster. Just by regarding each other they have extreme effects on one another that can even make them feel suddenly wrong footed.

Anyways that’s my take on it at least. If any of you have other ideas I’d be happy to know.

[stargazer-sims]

Journal Entry #25

previous // next // story index

__________

Yuri

At the ripe old age of twenty-five, I’ve had my first hangover. I give the experience zero out of five stars and would not recommend it.

Last night, I may have gone a bit overboard at the dance bar. I’m not supposed to drink with my medications, and I'm usually good about it, but I like a drink now and then and sometimes I let myself indulge. Typically, I limit myself to one cocktail or one glass of wine, just enough to make me feel relaxed, but I'm not sure what happened to my self-control last night. I managed to work my way through three drinks, which I can assure you was not one of my better life choices.

Victor and I had a fabulous time at the bar. We danced until I was exhausted, performed some breathtakingly horrible karaoke duets, and laughed a lot. With two fizzy cocktails already under my belt before I even got onto the dance floor, I wasn’t the least bit concerned about who was watching us or what their opinions of us might’ve been. I felt like a superstar, and nobody was going to stop me from enjoying myself.

The dance bar runs an ongoing contest in which guests can win a prize if they can throw a dart and hit the bullseye on the dartboard. Before we left, Victor decided he wanted to have a go at it. I sat at the counter and ordered my third drink while I watched him.

My assumption is that they don’t get a lot of winners because most patrons are already at least a little intoxicated before they try it. Victor has excellent aim and he never drinks alcohol, so he was already at an advantage. The bartender handed him five darts and directed him to stand on a line that seemed ridiculously far from the board. He was unfazed by the distance. It only took him three attempts before he landed a dart dead-center on the tiny target.

Then, just because he’s super competitive, he threw his last two darts even though he’d already succeeded in winning a prize. The fourth dart was slightly off-center, but the fifth one struck home just as precisely as the third one had. Everyone gathered near the bar clapped and cheered for him.

Victor’s prize turned out to be a voucher for a three-course meal for two at the hotel’s restaurant. He likes anything to do with food, especially free food, so needless to say he was looking extremely pleased with himself when he came back to where I was sitting and showed the little embossed restaurant card to me.

“You’re amazing!” I exclaimed. I got up from my bar stool and literally fell into his arms. Undeterred by my lack of coordination, I hung onto him and kissed him on the mouth, right in front of the bartender.

Victor grinned. “Thanks,” he said. “Not sure I can say the same for you right now, though. Are you okay?”

“Never better,” I said.

“I don’t know. I’m kind of scared to let go of you, in case you fall over.”

“I’m not going to fall over. I’m totally fine. See?” I took a step away from him to prove it.

Unfortunately, I was not totally fine and the minute I no longer had anything or anyone physically supporting me, I lost my balance. It was a weird sensation, a little like being sedated, in which I knew something bad was happening but I didn’t care.

I probably would’ve landed on my backside if Victor hadn’t caught me. He said, “I think it’s time to call it a night.”

“It’s a night,” I said, and started giggling like a fool at my own feeble humour.

“Yeah, it’s definitely time to go to our room.”

I don’t remember most of our journey from the bar back to our suite. I couldn’t tell you if we took the elevator or the stairs, or whether I walked on my own or had to be carried. If I were to guess, I’d say I moved under my own power for the most part and we probably rode in the elevator because the stairs would’ve been far too dangerous for me in the state I was in.

I vaguely remember raiding the snack basket in our room and stuffing my face with nori senbei, a kind of rice cracker flavoured with seaweed. They're a particular favourite of mine, but they're not meant to be eaten by the packet. Three or four of them with a nice cup of green tea is a popular afternoon snack here. I got into the red bean mini cakes too, regardless of Victor telling me not to. They're very rich, and I suppose it was inevitable that they'd upset my stomach if the alcohol didn't get that job done on its own.

I think I napped for a short time after that, and the next thing I recall was kneeling on the cold ceramic tiles of the bathroom floor and being sick. Ashamed of myself for my lack of self control, I couldn't stop crying.

Not only was I embarrassed, I was also gripped by a sudden and overwhelming fear that I’d done serious harm to myself. The pain in my belly was nothing like I'd experienced before. It wasn't worse than anything my chronic illness puts me through, but it was a much different kind of pain than that, which made it terrifying to me.

Victor, who is the next thing to a saint, knelt on the floor with me and held me while I sobbed uncontrollably and repeated over and over that I didn’t want to die from alcohol poisoning. I felt terrible, not just physically, but psychologically too. Mere hours ago, I’d promised him that I’d be less selfish and that I’d do my best to make his life easier, yet there I was, being the biggest needless burden ever.

“Yuri, it’s all right,” he said. “Everything’s okay. You’re going to be fine.”

“Everything’s not okay,” I cried. “I didn’t keep my promise, and now you probably don’t even want to marry me, and… and it’s all my own fault!”

“Shh...” he soothed. “It’s okay, I promise.” He rubbed my back in the comforting way that always calms me down; long, firm strokes that I like to think are somewhere between a massage and a caress. “Mistakes happen.”

“Do you think I’m really going to be all right?”

“Yes,” he said. “You’re just a little drunk. You’ll feel better by tomorrow afternoon.”

“Please don’t be angry,” I said. “I’m really sorry.”

“I’m not angry, love. Don’t worry.”

“I… I’m sorry. After I literally just said I wasn’t going to be high-maintenance any more…”

“You’re so dumb,” he said, but his tone was entirely without malice. “How am I supposed to marry someone as silly as you?”

“I’ll never do it again,” I said miserably. “Please don’t not marry me. I’m supposed to be your famous husband.”

He laughed. “You’re such a mess. Let’s get you cleaned up and into bed, okay? I’m still going to marry you, but not until you’re sober.”

I sniffled loudly. “Okay.”

He helped me in the shower, and then carried me to bed and curled up with me. He let me wrap myself around him in a way that I know I could never do with anyone else.

I’ll never cease to be amazed at how he’s managed to gain my trust to this level. I can barely stand to let most people touch me, and I struggle with allowing the people closest to me to show me any kind of physical affection. Besides Victor, the only people who can touch me without making me recoil are my mother and my baby sister, but as deeply as I love Mama and Yuki, I can’t even tolerate being hugged too closely or too long by them. But, Victor is special. He’s my one exception. With him, I’m not anxious or uncomfortable at all. I feel perfectly safe and at ease.

The more I thought about it, the more I concluded that I do want to marry him. It’s not that I think being married will change anything about our relationship. We already have everything we need, and an official document from the prefecture of Kyoto or from any other government jurisdiction isn’t going to affect us one way or the other. But there’s something symbolic about marriage, something about making a public declaration of a commitment you’ve already made in private, that subtly alters the way others perceive you. Victor and I know we belong to each other for life, but I want to be able to say to the world, This is my husband. I choose to belong to him.

Lying there in his arms, I decided that I want to take his name too. I don’t care if ii sounds odd. I want everybody I meet to know who I belong to, without any ambiguity.

I hadn’t realized I was thinking aloud until Victor said softly against the top of my head, ‘I’ve been thinking about that, too.“

"What…?” I said, confused.

“You said you want to take my name,” he said. “I was kind of thinking I’d like to take yours.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, so maybe we should both have each other’s name. Lots of people hyphenate their surnames. We could do that.”

Concentrating was difficult, but I fought through the fog in my brain to comprehend what he was suggesting. “Like… Okamoto-Nelson?”

“Yeah, or Nelson-Okamoto,” he said. “Tell you what. Why don’t you get some sleep now? In the morning we’ll write it down and practice saying it a bit, to see which one we like better.”

“Sounds good,” I murmured.

He kissed the top of my head. “Good night, future famous husband.”

I’m happy to report that I’m feeling much better now, but I can tell you this morning was rough. I woke up with a raging headache and sore muscles all over my body as if I’d done a major workout.

Fortunately, ibuprofen and hydration helped my head, and a long, hot bath soothed my aching body. The pain in my stomach wasn’t so easily tamed though, and Victor didn’t protest when I refused breakfast. We’d planned to go down to the restaurant, but Victor ordered something for himself from room service instead so he could stay with me.

We hung around in our room till mid-morning, listening to an audiobook on Victor’s iPad for a while and organizing our plans for the rest of the day. Of course we tried out our potential hyphenated surnames as well. In the end, we thought Okamoto-Nelson would sound best.

We had a meeting with our photographer scheduled for one o'clock, which we couldn’t miss, since they’ll be doing our portraits tomorrow. They asked us to meet them in the park where we’ll be getting our pictures taken, so they can check the location and see where they’re going to set up their equipment.

We decided that after we finished our meeting with the photographer, we’d go window shopping, to look at jewelry. To my surprise and delight, Victor seemed almost as into the idea of us getting matching jewelry as I was.

“It has to be something I can wear all the time, though,” he told me. “No bracelets with charms dangling off them or whatever. I wouldn’t be able to keep that on at work.”

We settled on rings.

As all of you probably know, Victor and I already have matching rings that we never take off. We’ve had those since before we were living together, purchased off a website and sent to each other through the mail. With those rings, we had to put them on ourselves while watching each other on FaceTime with thousands of kilometers separating us. This time, I’m going to have the pleasure of putting Victor’s ring on him, and he’ll be able to slip the matching one onto my finger. I’m looking forward to that moment.

By noon, I was feeling almost like myself again and I was getting hungry, so we got dressed and headed out. We bought fruit smoothies from a food truck that was near the hotel, and then made our way to the park. It was so beautiful, and I could hardly wait for our big photo session the next day. Wedding photos or not, we’d have stunning scenery for our backdrop.

Exactly at one o'clock, our photographer showed up, looking like they’d just stepped out of a magazine. Call me biased, but I have a thing for western men and male-presenting people. The photographer, whose name is Calder Bernhardt, is from some place in Germany, and they’re one of the most gorgeous people I’ve ever met. I tried not to stare at them.

Meanwhile, I think they were trying not to stare too hard at Victor. I didn’t blame them, honestly. He’s still the prettiest, regardless of how lovely Calder looked with their slicked-back blond hair and slate blue eyes and aura of European classiness.

“It’s the hair, isn’t it?” Victor said, self-consciously running his fingers through it when he noticed Calder’s intense gaze on him.

“I’m sorry, yes,” Calder said. 'It’s remarkable. I’ve never seen anyone your age with natural hair that colour. And it is natural, isn’t it? I noticed your eyebrows and lashes as well.”

"You, uh… You like it?” Victor seemed shocked.

“It’s wonderful,” the photographer said. “I love the contrast between you and Yuri. The two of you are going to be glorious portrait subjects, particularly here in this beautiful spot.”

“Thank you,” I said. “We’re excited for our photo shoot tomorrow.”

“Well, now I am too,” Calder said. “When’s the wedding, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Victor and I looked at each other. He said, “Tomorrow?”

I laughed out loud. “No, not tomorrow. We haven’t set a date yet.”

“If you need a photographer for the event…” Calder began.

“We’ll keep you in mind,” I said.

We chatted for a while about poses and lighting and locations, and Calder described their plan for the following day. Once everything was arranged, we said farewell, and then Victor and I went to catch a bus downtown.

We went into several shops, but we didn’t see anything that both of us liked. I was starting to feel discouraged, and Victor suggested that maybe we should go back to the hotel and do sime browsing for jewelry online instead. I was at the point of agreeing, but then i noticed we were walking past a general merchant, kind of like a small department store.

“Can we try looking in here?” I asked. “If we don’t find what we want, then we can go back to the hotel.”

“Sure,” he agreed. “Nothing to lose by looking.”

The shop had really strange lighting, and didn’t seem particularly upscale despite its elegant facade, but I was determined to give it a chance. We found our way to the jewelry counter, where an extremely bored looking woman with dyed ginger hair asked us what we wanted.

“Rings,” I said. “Preferably something with a small setting, so it can be worn every day.”

“Any particular stone?” she asked.

“I think—”

“That!” Victor interrupted, pointing at something inside a glass display. “Yuri, look. I think we might’ve just found our rings.”

I let my eyes track to where he was pointing. The two rings were nestled side-by-side in a grey velvet box. They were white gold, with a tiny row of clear stones and a slightly larger red one cut into the shape of a heart. The red stones seemed to be lit from inside, and I was certain they were real rubies.

“They’re beautiful,” I said. I looked up at Victor. “They’re not too feminine for you?”

“No,” he said. “I can see myself wearing one of those. And maybe this is weird, but I like that they’re white and red, like our two countries’ flags.”

“That’s not weird,” I said. “I think it’s appropriate. You came a long way to be with me, but ten thousand kilometers is no match for destiny, is it?”

He smiled. “To the ends of the earth and back,” he said.

I turned my attention to the sales lady again. “We’d like to try those on, please.”

She asked me what sizes we needed, and I told her. She disappeared through a side door without a word, but returned a few minutes later with two identical grey boxes. I asked her about the stones, and she confirmed they were, in fact, genuine rubies.

“Rubies are a good choice for wedding rings,” she said, finally appearing to take an interest in us. “They symbolize love, good fortune and courage.”

We hadn’t told her why we wanted the rings. I wondered if our connection was that obvious.

Victor looked as if he was going to cry as he stared down at our hands. “They’re perfect,” he said.

I probably don’t need to tell you that Victor and I left that shop with our perfect rings, tucked safely in their grey velvet boxes, awaiting their big moment. They were expensive, but not nearly as costly as they might’ve been in one of the boutiques we’d visited earlier.

Victor said he thought it must’ve been meant to be, and I couldn’t have agreed more.

[wainwrightjakobshammerlock]

Re: inbox infodumping

I’ve gotten back into Hades recently and I really want to be playing it, but I don’t have access to my computer at the moment, so I’m gonna start rambling about the story so far and see where that takes me. You don’t have to read all of it

SO

You play as Zagreus, son of Hades and Persephone, and prince of the underworld. Something I haven’t found out yet happened a long time ago, causing Persephone to leave the underworld for good. Zagreus was raised by Nyx, goddess of night, but realised right before the events of the game that his mother is in fact Persephone. With Nyx’s help, he contacted Olympus to ask for help, and got answers from most of them. They can talk to him but he can’t talk to them, and partly thanks to Nyx, they can’t see him either. They think he’s fighting his way out of the underworld to join them on Olympus, hence the help; he’s actually fighting his way out to find and meet Persephone

So that’s our backstory. So far, I’ve made it to the very end a few times and fought the final boss, Hades himself, at the gates of the underworld. I’ve made it to phase 2 twice but I haven’t quite beaten him yet

I have, however, made some good progress in two subplots:

In the second zone, Asphodel, you can meet Eurydice; she gives you food that can power up the boons the Olympians gave you. You can also meet Orpheus; he’s been sentenced to solitary confinement because he refused to sing, but you can pay to have him brought back to continue serving as Hades’ court musician. However, he still won’t sing

Eventually, Zagreus finds out that they know each other and starts playing messenger. The end of their myth, with Orpheus turning around, seems to have gone kind of like a messy divorce. Eurydice kinda hates him now and wants nothing more to do with him, whereas Orpheus desperately misses her. After a few more conversations with them, you can get Eurydice to write down the song she’s been singing and bring it back to Orpheus. Shortly after, he will start singing it

When you see Eurydice again, she says that you’ve gotten her thinking about Orpheus again and asks what you expect her to do with that. Then gives you food and you leave. That’s as far as I’ve gotten in their storyline, but I do have a prophecy (sort of like a sidequest but not really; you have a list of prophecies like “Zagreus will one day escape the underworld” and you get rewards for fulfilling them) that they will be reunited. And I’ve seen that they sing that song as a duet eventually, but I’ve avoided listening to it before I get to hear it in-game. It’s called Good Riddance, if you want to hear it

Then there’s Achilles. He’s Zagreus’ mentor figure; he taught him how to fight and smuggled him the weapons that you use in escape attempts

When you reach Elysium, you can meet Patroclus, who’s waxing poetic and sitting next to the river Lethe; the one that makes you forget everything when you drink from it. Eventually, Zagreus figures out that Achilles and Patroclus know each other and asks Achilles about it. He asks him to send a message, that he still thinks about Patroclus every day and sends his love. Patroclus doesn’t believe that you actually know Achilles, and I haven’t managed to convince him otherwise yet

After more questions, Achilles will then explain that after he died, he made a pact with Hades; Patroclus would get to go to Elysium instead of Asphodel, and Achilles would serve in the House of Hades for eternity. His logic was that they couldn’t be together regardless, so at least Patroclus gets a better afterlife this way. He doesn’t know that Patroclus doesn’t like Elysium very much, since he doesn’t exactly fit in with the, quote, “braggarts and kings”

And I’m absolutely sure that I can get them reunited at some point, too

So yeah! Hades story! Here’s some random other stuff about that game as well!

Cerberus does guard the gates to the underworld, but he can be bribed with treats because he’s your dog

The boss at the end of Elysium is in fact two people: Theseus and the Minotaur (Asterius). I haven’t learned their backstory just yet, but from what I understand, Theseus somehow and for some reason got Hades to put Asterius in Elysium with him. Anyway, now they’re inseparable. They say they have a brotherhood that Zagreus could never understand. But also, I’m fairly sure Theseus calls Zagreus a homewrecker if/when he starts becoming friends with Asterius. I do know for sure that Asterius reassures Theseus that their bond could never be broken by anyone besides themselves, and to not let Zagreus get in the way of that

I really like Asterius

The weapons have four Aspects each, which are different forms the weapon takes on for different wielders (and each one has a different gimmick that changes how the weapon plays). Each one has one Hidden Aspect, which is a form it will take for someone in the future

And my point here is that in Hades, you can fight the god of the dead himself with the actual Excalibur

And there’s also a dedicated button to pet Cerberus. Great game

Ah yes I have heard of this game but I haven't actually played it yet bc it's a roguelike and roguelike Hard for me. But ooh. Thank yew for the infodump. Any game where you can pet the dog >>>>

[phanfictioncatalogue]

Emotional DNP Masterlist

Even Longer (ao3) - PJismysmolbean

Summary: Dan is laying with Phil one night and he gets a bit emotional.

Everything Changes (ao3) - true_serendipity

Summary: Dan experiences some emotional turmoil whilst attempting to write the script for his new video. Phil is there to help.

Glow in the dark comfort (ao3) - FandomsOverLife

Summary: Dan has been having a rough week and hes reached his limit, though Phil has an idea to help comfort him

he knows me like I know myself (ao3) - Gal_tic

Summary: Inspired by the song 'She' by Ed Sheeran, and Dan's story in the ls the other day about Phil's very sweet birthday present.

Dan reminisces on his and Phil's relationship, and how Phil truly is the person who knows him the best.

is the next one going to do the same, or am i stronger now? (ao3) - InTheVoid

Summary: Phil opens up about his past relationship to dan.

it will always be just like this (ao3) - rosecolouredjosh

Summary: post ‘giving the people what they want’ video where Dan and Phil get kinda emotional and nostalgic while cuddling in bed.

Not Ready (ao3) - auroraphilealis (peachrayne)

Summary: It's their daughter's first day of pre-school, and Dan is not ready to let her go.

One Last Thing (ao3) - hygge

Summary: In which Dan writes an emotional letter to Phil after his sudden passing.

Piano Duets (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: After an important competition, Dan and Phil's piano teachers meets up, to discuss a duet. Dan is upset at first, and Phil doesn't understand why. Slowly, they become closer, and Dan knows he's falling for Phil.

Pillow Talk (ao3) - articulatememe

Summary: Dan is ridiculously in love with Phil, but really, it was too early for this, and he was unwilling to deal with his sappy ass right now.

- - -

Dan and Phil are cuddling in the lounge at two in the morning, and Phil's sleepy cuteness is too much for Dan to handle. Also, Phil plays Neko Atsume

Safe (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: Phil helps Dan through an Emotional Breakdown.

See Me (ao3) - Misha_with_wings

Summary: Dan gets in an accident, leaving him in critical condition. He ends up stuck in between life and death, watching his own body fight to stay alive- and watching Phil fall apart, but he can’t do anything about it in his ghostly form.

He was confused and didn’t know what to do but he was sure of one thing, he wasn’t going to let himself die.

She Called Me Daniel (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: AU where Dan gets emotional because their daughter calls him Daniel instead of Dad and Phil has to fix the situation.

there’s still fire in the darkness (ao3) - MANIAvinyl

Summary: Dan wasn’t supposed to make it past age 18. The only reason he’s still here is because of Phil Lester, the only guiding light, the only true heart of gold. Sometimes he starts to question if he even deserves Phil at all.

Depression is a monster. It feeds off of fear and sucks the light out of eyes once bright with wonder. Phil’s willing to fight the war on love for the two of them, he just wished he didn’t have to.

To Love (ao3) - thewakeless

Summary: dan, phil, moscow, and the overbearing emotional toll of being in the closet.

Try New Things (ao3) - Lizzyboo

Summary: Phil wants to try bottoming for the first time, and Dan is happy to oblige.

fluffy and emotional sex with phil bottoming for the first time and dan topping for the first time, and them experiencing something new as a couple.

Unfinished sentences (ao3) - AmazinGhoul

Summary: Phil has an idea for a collab video with Dan and it turns out much more emotional than intended.

You are Everything to Me (ao3) - Junebug1312

Summary: Dan doesn't think he is good enough, Phil needs him to know how in love he is with Dan. Cue lovely fluff and emotional talks.

[deathbysatellite]

Monty 1 Household: Week 1 - Part 4

<<Prev | Next>>

TW: Animal Death

Samantha gave out Patrizio's number to Gabriel Green, who invited him downtown on an outing along with Samantha and Chastity Gere.

And as you can see in the background, poor Ricky still has that horrible hairstyle Romeo gave him.

At Lucky Shack Cards and Drink, poor Samantha is clearly regretting her decision to sing karaoke in front of everybody. Unfortunately, this duet and a couple of social interactions was just about all I had time for before the timer ran out, ending the outing at either "Boring" or "So-so" (I can't remember which). Patrizio didn't stick around for much longer.

Fuck not again! I've been feeding Lorenzo, I swear! I deleted the bird cage after this. That thing must be cursed or something.

Isabella becomes Romeo's first successful styling attempt since Mercutio.

Patrizio clearly likes her new look, as he autonomously expressed his approval by serenading her.

That, or he's exaggerating about his fishing attempt. "The fish was THIS big!"

The end of the teen stage has come for Mercutio, who has had enough of Veronaville for now, and is off to bigger and better things at college. I feel like I haven't paid much attention to him, screenshot-wise. I'll have to rectify that once I get to the college rounds.

Arthob makes an appearance. Pretty sure wolf sightings are supposed to be rare, but it seems like he makes and appearance every other household, and certainly appears more on residential lots than most strays.

Oh, you again. Both Patrizio and Isabella have been offered a membership to games hobby lot this week. Between the chess club and the video game console, they really gained a lot of enthusiasm.

Taking their order anyway turned out to be a stupid decision. Mimi have him counterfeit money, and the money to cover the costs come out of Romeo's own paycheck.

Deciding he hasn't lost enough money that day, Romeo goes into town with the sudden desire to buy a cellphone.

First he gets tricked by some asshole customer, and now a wolf with glowing eyes is chasing him across the front lawn! Romeo can't help but wonder what he did to deserve this string of bad luck.

Patrizio and Isabella take Romeo with them to Games of Glory for some family fun. Isabella had been hoping to max the logic skill, only for Patrizio to beat her to it.

After their chess match, Patrizio starts a Sims 3 gaming competition. Many sims would come and go throughout it, but only he and Isabella actually stayed for the whole competition.

"I won? I won!"

Spending all day playing pinball works up quite an appetite, but Romeo apparently doesn't have the sense to make sure the food is still good before chowing down, and ends up with the flu.

Only half a point away from maxing the logic skill, Isabella tries out the thinking cap in the hopes of speeding up the process. Her/my impatience had dire consequences, as the malfunctioning machine fries her brain, leaving her exhausted and with a lost logic skill point instead.

I was also too impatient to deal with Romeo being sick, and had one of his grandparents make comfort soup. Even burnt, it still does the trick.

Now quit complaining, kid, and eat your magic soup.

Still not at a bronze badge yet, Romeo invites Juliette over to offer her a makeover.

"You know what you're doing right?"

"Of course, I do!"

"Yes, it worked this time!"

"What?"

"Nothing!"

The two of them head out on a date to Red's Famous 50's Diner.

Sure, sit as far from your date as possible, like it's the Sims 3. To be fair, Mary-Sue Pleasant and Mary Gavigan were blocking the seat next to Juliette.

"Do you wanna hang out back at my place?"

Isabella is trying to regain her lost skill when her grandson and his date return home.

"I'll cut you a deal kid. If you win, you get my blessing. If you lose, you get my foot in your ass."

Patrizio and Isabella spend the final morning competing against each other at SSX3. This prompted my roommate and I to spend around 5 minutes just making up dialog of these two trash talking each other.

"Ha! You can suck my dick, old woman!"

"Maybe I'd suck it if you could keep it up!"

Meanwhile, poor Roux is stuck on the couch, crying to be let out.

And Romeo tries on last attempt at giving his grandfather a haircut.

Success!

[milksnake-tea]

✩ CHAPTER SUMMARY : Despite what you tell Sunday, you can't sleep. Instead, you opt to join Sam at the top of the ship for some company.

✩ SERIES SYNOPSIS : Following the catastrophe of the Charmony Festival, rather than in one of Penacony's hospitals or prisons, Sunday awakens right in the base of one of the most notorious criminals in the galaxies. With nowhere else to go, he's left to follow you, the Stellaron Hunters' medic, in his attempts to become accustomed to his new life.

✩ WORD COUNT : 4.0k

✩ TAGLIST : @felibrary, @vxnuslogy, @https-mika, @greyrain23, @red-ninja15, @arienic , @immahuman , @sund4ykisser , @mysteriaqueen , @kiopanxp , @isa-l0v3r , @hesper-houkai-kat , @gamekillera , @nayukiyukihira , @randomidk-123 , @universetrash , @forevernyeong , @thedepartedcryptid , @heyhazelnut101 , @1000-leaves , @lowkeyren , @zhayur , @jellofishuu , @kascar-chronicle , @azaleaflowerr , @neigee , @fallintothechasm , @veritusratio , @astolary , @xphantasmagoriax , @semi-orangeapple , @ezra1yn , @xynthevoid , @apinu , @crysangria , @shenwi , @louchive , @mave-in , @mutiachan , @meerpea , @tetrxctys , @emiken-070907 , @tragedy-of-commons (send me an ask off anon if you want to be added !! if your name is bolded, it means i cant tag you )

✩ ADDITIONAL NOTES : LORD i don't know why this took so long actually … my bad guys 😭😭 luckily i grabbed back motivation tho !! so hopefully the next chapter will come out sooner (or not. college is starting in like a week). honestly tho, im not that happy with this chapter :(( but thank you for reading, and for sticking w me !! eating every one of u up

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“Watching the stars again, I see.”

The mechanized suit towers over you. In the darkness of the endless night sky, Sam’s flames, a duet of orange and teal, are all the more brighter. If you weren’t one of his comrades, you would’ve found him threatening.

Sam turns his head. Your footsteps are near-silent as you come up besides him, your arms crossed leisurely with a glass held carelessly in your hand.

“I thought you’d be asleep by now.” Such a stark contrast from the sweet voice of his pilot, but your years spent alongside him have turned intimidation into consolation. “Are you drinking again?”

“Not alcohol this time,” you chuckle, waving the glass. “Thought I’d try out some of that SoulGlad you bought me. It is a luxury item, after all.”

“Is it good?”

“It’s alright. I still prefer wine.”

Shaking his head, Sam returns his gaze to the cosmos. The topmost floor of the Delphi is like that of a greenhouse, minus the planets. A glass dome covers it from head to toe, allowing for a breathtaking view of the universe. The ship itself moves languidly so that the various nebulae pass in multi-colored clouds.

“It’s better in the dream,” Sam says. You look up curiously.

“So I’ve heard. ‘As rich and sweet as divine nectar’, was it?”

“Yes.” Sam’s robotic voice turns wistful. “Even though I was already in a dream, with just a sip of that, I felt as though I was floating. It was truly… a sweet dream.”

You smile softly. “I’m glad.”

The glass is cold against your lips as you drink the last of the soda. True to its advertisements, the carbonation leaves you feeling giddy and joyful… but it’s not enough. It’s too gentle, too kind, too… pliant. After all, knowing that you are asleep and dreaming- ruins the dream itself.

A sigh leaves you. Light gently shines down on you from the kaleidoscope of distant stars. Soft piano music plays in the background, courtesy of Kafka.

“I looked at the dream bubble earlier.”

Sam hums, his flames glowing brighter momentarily.

“Did you… like it?” he asks hesitantly. His meekness was kind of cute, like a puppy. It was one of the things that you like about him, though.

You spy a faraway planet in the sky. From here, it looks like a small speck amongst the vast universe. But to someone else, it might’ve been their whole world.

“Where did you find such a dream?” you say instead. “It couldn’t have been easy.”

It should’ve been impossible.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Sam admits. “Dr. Edward - he’s the person who runs the Dreamscape Sales Store - didn’t specify. Then again, the nature of his products is… peculiar, to say the least.”

“Hm.” Your eyes become lidded. “That’s unfortunate. I would’ve liked to know who had made such a wonderful dream.”

Sam glances at you hopefully. “You liked it, then?”

You hum idly. “Yes, it was… nice. Not totally accurate, but nice.”

You don’t have to see Firefly’s face to know that she’s smiling. “I’m glad. I was worried that, well…”

“That I’d get offended?” you chuckle. “Sparky, you know me better than that. Besides…”

Your arms uncross, and the glass disappears into multiple speckles of light.

“All that matters is that someone remembers it. As the years pass, accuracy holds less and less value.”

“I… I guess that’s true,” Sam admits. “Still, though...”

There’s a contrast in temperature as your hand comes to Sam’s shoulder, warm flames battling against cold metal.

“Don’t worry about it,” you comfort. Your lips are pulled into a smile, but you don’t know what expression lies in your eyes - nor are you sure you want to know. “I enjoyed that dream.”

Firefly doesn’t seem to be entirely convinced, but she doesn’t need to know what happened when you touched that bubble. She doesn’t need to know, and so she never will.

“How's our little superstar?” you ask, changing the subject. Sam hums.

“Still as fiery as ever,” he reminisces, head tilting upwards towards the sky. “They don’t remember us, which is to be expected. But their heart and antics are still the same. They’ve recently developed a… peculiar hobby, though.”

“Oh?” You raise a brow curiously. “And what’s that?”

“Trashcans,” he says flatly. The sudden change from gentle fondness makes you laugh.

“That sounds about right,” you chuckle. “They’ve always been a little weird.”

“I guess so,” Sam shrugs. “Then again, we all are, aren’t we?”

“Hm… maybe more than a little.”

“Hey now.”

The two of you burst into uncharacteristic giggles. With the effects of SoulGlad still ebbing away at your rationality combined with your lack of sleep, it wouldn’t be off to say that you’re somewhat delirious right now. Of course, it can’t compare to the numb bliss that came with alcohol, but it was still something.

Weariness beginning to take its toll on you, you lean against Sam, ignoring how some of the metal digs into your body. He looks down at you curiously, before patting you lightly on the head.

“You should sleep,” he advises gently. You hum, before shaking your head.

“Don’t feel like it.”

Hearing another distorted sigh, you laugh airily, only to let out a small yelp when Sam scoops you up. The mechanized suit is already huge, being at least twice your size, and so he only needs one of his arms to hold your entire body. He cradles you against his core, allowing the heat to warm you. It’s a sweet gesture, but truthfully, it’s unneeded - the Delphi is always at the perfect temperature, after all. But you appreciate the sentiment nevertheless.

“Sleep,” Sam urges once more. You look up at the metallic face that shows little emotion, if any.

“Why so insistent?”  you question, raising a brow.

“Is it so wrong to care for a comrade?” Sam shakes his head. “You aren’t as resilient as you think you are. Even you will fall if you fail to get adequate rest.”

“So you say.”

“Don’t you have a mission soon? Staying up too late isn’t a good idea.”

You snort. “Then that makes two of us with bad habits, Miss Defies-the-Script-at-Whenever-Possible.”

Sam falls quiet for a moment. Initially, you’d think that it was out of guilt or because Blade had already scolded him about his habit a few weeks prior to Sam’s assignment in Penacony, but after staring at him for a bit longer, you realize that that’s not the case.

You shift so that you can sit somewhat upright in Sam’s hold. “Hey, lighten up. I was just joking.”

“I know.” Sam sighs again. “I was just thinking about Penacony.”

“What about it?”

“It isn’t anything bad,” he hastens to say. “It’s just… I felt so alive in that dream. I could jump and run and- do all sorts of things that I couldn’t in reality. It got me thinking.”

Uh oh. Not another philosophical talk. You’re not good at those.

Despite this though, you nod, encouraging him to continue.

Sam raises the hand that isn’t holding you and curls it into a fist. “I know I will die one day. That’s just a part of life that I can’t avoid, nor can anyone else. But if life itself, and everything else that comes with it, is already determined by fate, do we really have free will? Is my freedom of choice real, or simply an illusion?”

At his imploring gaze, you shrug.

“Well, think about it. Do you think Elio’s script is absolute?”

“Of course it is.”

You lightly poke where Sam’s nose should be. “Not exactly. It has holes and spaces. You know what Webs always says.”

“Yes, but…”

“Think of it this way,” you suggest lightly. “Elio gets his script from Terminus, and Terminus only knows the future because THEY’RE from said future. Meaning, they come from a future that we created, not them.”

Sam stays silent, so you continue.

“If we don’t have free will, then who holds that will? Terminus? HooH? Ena? We don’t know, and we may never know. But does it matter?”

Sam’s flames pulsate from under your palm as you place it over his chest plate. Your eyes have become downcast, hiding what may be brewing beneath your irises.

“In the end, we still choose in the end. Like right now - you’re holding me, but you could’ve also incinerated me.”

Sam deadpans. “That’s a horrible example. I am not so careless.”

“Yes,” you say, “because that’s the kind of person you are. You made that choice not to cook me alive, not Terminus or any other omnipotent being that cares so much that they feel the need to control the movements of insects like you and me.”

Your tone comes out a bit harsher than you intend, and it’s not until the words leave your mouth that you realize. Blinking rapidly, you still, your brain catching up with your mouth in real time. Sam too seems startled by your outburst, the flames flickering.

“Is everything alright?” he asks after a brief moment of silence.

You sigh, leaning back against his shoulder. Burying your face in your hands, you let out a tired groan.

“Sorry about that,” you mutter. “I think the lack of sleep is getting to me.”

“It’s fine. May I ask what happened, though?”

No, you may not, you think, but shove it to the back of your mind.

“It’s just-” you drop your hand to your side, “-it’s the usual.”

“This is why I keep telling you to calm down with the drinking,” Sam scolds gently. You grumble, leaning into him.

“You’re so insistent,” you mumble against the cold steel. “Kafka and Blade have already given up; why haven’t you?”

“Blade only stopped because he shares that same stubbornness you cling onto,” Sam points out, flicking your forehead with as much gentleness a mechanized suit can. “And Kafka wouldn’t know real concern if it shot her in the face.”

You give Sam a look, the red spot on your forehead already healing. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

Sam sighs again - there’s been a lot of that as of late. “I don’t want to see my friend destroy themself. The longer you drink, the longer it takes for you to heal.”

“My healing capabilities exceed Blade’s,” you couldn’t help but point out. “You’ve worked with me long enough to know that I won’t keel over so easily.”

Sam shakes his head.

“You know what I mean,” he says. “When it comes to the mind, you’re the weakest out of all of us - and you will only grow worse if you continue down this path.”

You blink. It’s easy to forget, with Firefly’s typically softer demeanor, the bluntness that comes whenever she takes on SAM’s suit. Granted, you’ve been working with her the longest out of everyone, so you really should be used to this by now. Maybe it’s the SoulGlad hitting.

“Fine,” you eventually give in. “I’ll sleep.”

Without hearing what Sam has to say next, you curl up in his hold and shut your eyes, ending the conversation right then there. Should you go to your room instead of inconveniencing your coworker? Probably. That’s the logical thing to do.

But Sam made the decision to pick you up, and you don’t feel like leaving any time soon. Besides, you know Firefly can get rather lonely during the night. As the only Hunter that doesn’t need that much sleep, she often spends the night by her lonesome, watching the stars from the Delphi’s roof and waiting for everyone to wake up.

“You know, I was going to ask you to play Egyptian War with me,” you murmur groggily. Sam hums.

“That card game again? The last time we played, I crushed your hand by accident.”

“I got better, though?” you point out.

“Still, I’d rather avoid that if possible. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.”

There’s a pointed edge to his tone that you decide to ignore. With a shrug of your shoulders, you snuggle closer to Sam’s heated center. When he wasn’t committing mass arson or flaming up barbeque, he made for a surprisingly good pillow - as long as you didn’t mind the lack of cushioning for your head.

“Alright,” you hum. “Goodnight, Sam.”

Sam sighs, but shifts you in his hold so that you’re more comfortable regardless.

“Goodnight, [Name].”

As you slip in and out of consciousness, you think one last thought to yourself.

How nice it would be, to not have to dream.

Firefly… you don’t know how lucky you are.

—

Sunday finds himself unable to sleep much that night, and before he knows it, morning has come and the familiar chime of his phone’s alarm is rousing him from his bed. Even if he wanted to ignore it, he couldn’t. Just the sound is enough to send alarm bells through his nerves, essentially activating his fight-or-flight instincts.

As he drags himself through his morning routine, functioning on muscle memory more than anything, the same words that have been keeping him up last night drone on like a broken record.

I trust that you will make the right decision.

Why is the seer leaving it up to him? Does Elio not see all the possible futures? Is he not certain of what choice will be the right one? Why was he letting Sunday guess?

With a brief twitch of his wings, Sunday sighs.

“It seems that once again, the fate of an innocent world is in my hands.”

He shouldn’t be questioning Elio, truth be told. If this is all the information that the seer has elected to give him, then this is all the information he needs to know. Whatever decision he makes will be the right one, evidently.

Which, quite frankly, is both reassuring and terrifying.

There is always the possibility of accidentally damning the planet if he chooses wrongly. Mistrust or misread a candidate’s character, and the lives of billions of people will be turned significantly for the worse.

But Sunday isn’t that naive little priest anymore. He knows humanity for what they are, has seen their ugliness, and has embraced them regardless.

Elio trusts him, and he doesn’t plan on disappointing him.

And if he is to do that, he needs to get better at fighting.

With a twirl of his wrist, his rapier materializes in his hand. Once upon a time, he’d detested the feeling of weaponry in his hands. He’d vowed to never be the source of someone else’s suffering, and yet, he is, tossing and swinging his sword without so much as a care in the world.

Besides, that vow had been a foolish one. One simply could not live in a universe as cruel as this without harming another, intentionally or not. Even the most righteous have spilled blood.

And Sunday is no exception.

He studies the rapier carefully, making sure not to accidentally cut himself in the process (it has happened before). Even now, he can’t help but think of how uncanny it is, the way the sword is practically tailored to fit him and his aesthetic.

There was always the possibility that Blade could’ve forged it for him, except for one glaring problem: he’s learned from Kafka that Blade has long lost the dexterity of his hands, revoking his ability to craft forever. So then, to have such a sword pre-made and ready for him…

He smiles cynically.

Elio had already known he’d join, didn’t he?

That seer’s abilities never failed to unnerve and impress him.

He releases the rapier, and it shatters into multiple pinpricks of light. In the full body length mirror he’d bought on Euphrosyne, he rechecks his outfit, smoothing out any wrinkles and adjusting anything that’s out of place.

When he eventually steps out of his room, he’s greeted with an unexpected sight. Firefly - no, this was Sam, the Hunters have made sure to drill the difference into his head - freezes as Sunday stares at him dumbfoundedly.

“Ah-” Sunday watches in confused amusement as Sam sputters and scrambles for an explanation. The mechanized suit quickly straightens with an embarrassed cough. “Sorry. Just- pretend you didn’t see this.”

“Now, I couldn’t possibly do that,” Sunday chuckles, closing his door behind him. “What’s going on here?”

Sam sighs. “It’s well- it’s complicated…”

He shifts so that Sunday can see the being cradled in his arm - case in point, you. You appear to be asleep, cuddled up to Sam’s heated core, but once Sunday sees you, you peek your eyes open.

You shift, stretching a bit before nodding at him. “Oh, hey.”

“Hello, [Name].” Sunday returns the greeting as if this were a common reoccurrence. “What are you doing up there?”

“I was sleeping,” you say, propping up an elbow on Sam’s shoulder and leaning your cheek against your hand. “Now I’m in the middle of waking up.”

“On Sam?”

“Yeah? Everyone’s done it before.” You sit up, swinging your legs to dangle off of the crook in Sam’s elbow. “You should try it, he’s like a miniature fireplace.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Sunday would sooner die than let Sam pick him up and carry him around like that. Then he blinks, processing what you’ve just said. “Wait, did you say everyone? Does that include Blade?”

“It wasn’t willingly, if that eases your mind,” you laugh airily. “He was sleep-deprived and it was one of the rougher missions, so he ended up passing out. I don’t think I’ve seen that guy sleep so soundly.”

“And you are fine with this?” Sunday looks up at Sam.

“I don’t mind,” comes Sam’s reply. “Everyone looks so happy, and so I’m happy. The company isn’t so bad either, even though they’re often unconscious.”

“Love you too, Sam,” you chuckle. “Even if you watch me while I sleep.”

Sam makes a sound like a short-circuiting computer. “I do not-”

You pat the suit deftly on the head. "I'm just messing with you, Sparky. Don't go combusting on me now."

Swiftly jumping off of Sam’s arm, you stretch leisurely, not unlike a cat. Sunday can’t help but wonder, weren’t you supposed to be sleeping in your room last night, given your texts? What were you doing with Sam, and why did he have to carry you back to your room?

He doesn’t get to ask, though, as you beat him to the interrogation first.

“So, princess, where’re you headed to this early in the morning?”

“Ah,” Sunday straightens. His hand instinctively bends to behind his back. “I’m planning on doing some training with Blade, if possible. I’m afraid I’m still rusty when it comes to the sword.”

“Oh, good idea.” You nod approvingly. “Although, there’s one problem: the old man isn’t on the ship right now.”

Sunday blinks. “Sorry?”

“Silver Wolf kidnapped him,” says Sam bluntly, you shaking your head grimly beside him. “She found a new Xianzhou game and dragged Blade along so that he could help her out with some of the translations.”

“Translations?” Sunday repeats, trying to imagine the intimidating Hunter being dragged around by a girl as small and unassuming (given you don’t know who she is) as Silver Wolf. “But doesn’t she have a translating app on her devices?”

Sam sighs. “She does. But she wanted to bring Blade, and since he wasn’t doing anything beforehand, he played along.”

“So that’s why the old man’s kind of unavailable right now. As far as I know,” you say, “it’s just us three on the ship right now - Kafka left to do… something. I don’t know. You want to try sparring Sam?”

Sunday takes one good look at the hulking piece of flaming metal that is Sam. “I don’t think that’s wise.”

“It isn’t,” Sam confirms unnecessarily. “I would accidentally crush you or burn you in the heat of combat. Elio would not be pleased.”

“Could he really be mad if he already foresaw it?” Sunday isn’t sure how he feels about how casually you’re discussing his potential demise at Sam’s hands.

“How about we not let it get to that point?” he tries gently.

“Why don’t you spar him?” Sam suggests, tilting his head so that he looms over you. “You’re fine enough with a sword.”

Subconsciously, Sunday’s wings perk up. Glancing at you, he’s pleasantly surprised to see as you contemplating the suggestion.

“That’s true,” you admit. You nudge him with your elbow. “How about it then, princess? Wanna fight me?”

“We aren’t ‘fighting’,” sighs Sunday with a shake of his head. “It’s just sparring. But yes, I would be honored to spar against you.”

To be honest, he’s rather relieved that it’s you instead of anyone else on the ship. By no means is he saying that Blade is a bad teacher (as crass as his methods are, Sunday can’t deny that they work), but his fighting style is completely different from Sunday’s. Sunday prefers a lighter and more elegant approach to combat, while Blade’s style is, for lack of a better word, brutal - and from what little he knows of Sam, he doubts that his style is any more compatible.

But with what he saw from you yesterday, with your thinner sword and more relaxed body language, you won’t be as harsh nor as crushing as the other two - or at least, it’s less likely that you’ll throw him into the nearest wall.

You grin, flashing your teeth briefly. “Great. I still need to get washed up, so why don’t you head over there first and warm yourself up?”

Sunday nods with a slight bow. “Very well, I shall see you there.”

But just as he turns his heel and begins to make his way to the training room, his wings twitch as he catches snippets of your final conversation with Sam.

“Thanks for indulging me last night, Sparky,” you chuckle lightly. “And… sorry for making you deal with all of that.”

All of that? Sunday knows he shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but he can’t help it. It takes almost all of him not to glance back at you in curiosity.

No, he shakes his head, it’s none of his business. Whatever it is, it’s your private matter and he needn’t stick his nose into it.

Still… his bad habits get the better of him. Internally, he sighs as his wing raises just slightly to allow him to hear better.

“Don’t worry about it,” he hears Sam reply. “Are you feeling better?”

“Obviously. I think a nap on SAM could fix anything, really. You might even put me out of a job with how well it works.”

There’s a noise like a starting engine - Sunday thinks it’s Sam laughing. “I doubt that. Although, if you’re really sorry, you’ll lay off of the alcohol for me.”

“Yeah, no. Any other favor but that one.”

“[Name].”

Sunday imagines you raising your hand in surrender. “Alright, alright. I will try to not drink as much. Is that better?”

If Sam had said anything in response to that, Sunday didn’t hear it, for he’s already stepped out of the residency hall and into a much larger area of the ship. As the tinted glass doors slide close behind him, he finally allows himself a glance behind him.

What was that all about?

—

Once you hear the sound of the doors closing, you turn to Sam. Sam turns to you.

“He eavesdropped, didn’t he.”

“100%.” You shake your head. “I don’t think I’ve seen anyone take so long to walk down a hall. Plus, his wings gave it away.”

“He needs to work on his stealth skills,” Sam agrees.

“Well, to be fair, there’s not many places to hide in here. So I guess I can forgive him.” You look up at the robot. “I meant what I said, though.”

Walking to your door, you giggle as one of your plants nips lightly at your finger despite having been fed yesterday. You glance behind you. Sam’s already looking into the distance, at what, you’re not sure.

“Are you planning on taking a vacation?” you ask. Sam looks at you.

“Yes. There’s a tropical planet in the nearby system,” he says. “I think I’ll go have a visit.”

You nod with a smile. “Alright, have fun. Take pictures, okay?”

“I will. Good luck on your mission.”

With a snort, you push open your door, vines brushing against you as your plants greet you.

“With Kafka and Sunday on board? Yeah, I'll need it.”

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reblogs w comments are appreciated !!

[chaospenelope]

The Flowers That Grow In Darkness: GlamRock Freddy

I’ve seen a post talking about GR Freddy headcanon so I decided to make one about mine!

My GlamFred goes by He/Him, They/Them

The first animatronic made specifically for the PizzaPlex. Colly Beth was the first animatronic made for FazEnt after Mr Buoy bought it but she was made for a tv show and live show tours before the PizzaPlex even began in the planning stages. Frederick Plush FazBear Jr, aka GlamRock Freddy, was designed by Mr Lucky Buoy and a young robotics engineer named Gene T Manni who mysteriously disappeared from his home late one night just before Freddy and Bonnie were permanently put online. And they both were put online at the same time because Gene did not want them to get lonely. Over the course of studying the first animatronic he noticed she was often tagging along with staff and anyone else constantly asking questions and generally not wanting to be alone. Their first conversation was saying hello and evolving into a sort of duet of Daisy Bell but changed the lyrics as they sang, reflecting their learning AI.

After they got to know each other Lucky wanted them to learn and develop their own personalities with a little guidance by showing them various tapes of old FazBear media. The old cartoons, comics, and some filmed stage performances that he had accumulated over the years.

Freddy really latched onto the OG Frederick Plush FazBear. They admired him, rewrote some of the original FazBand songs with a GlamRock twist, acted out some cartoon scenes as original Freddy, drawn pictures of him and the rest of the band, and even stole one of Lucky’s Plushes of him, which Lucky pretended not to notice. (Fred ended up apologizing and attempting to return it after a restless charge, but Lucky told them to keep it.) He would often dream of one day meeting his idol but he thought that day would never come.

GlamRock Bonnie (Most called him Boo since his favorite thing to do was jump from behind something and yell Boo!) wasn’t quite as entranced as his bud but he was happy they were happy, that didn’t stop him from a light teasing, but he never went too far. He was the more fun of the two, together they were a party, and they requested permission to be there when each subsequent animatronic was brought online after them so they could welcome them to the family with a personalized song.

But despite being operational in one of the funnest places in the world, Boo started to get a little restless. He started talking about him and Jr traveling a little, seeing the world and just wondering, being free to do as they please and just exist. However, Jr had no desire too, he was happy where he was. Happy to continue the legacy.

And that is why Freddy blamed himself. When Boo was taken every one thought he just, left. Lucky had started his trip to Japan to settle some business there before he can fully focus on the PizzaPlex, so some very lackluster people were in charge at the time, not malicious but neglectful, so not much was really done about it. They just told the engineers to give the next animatronic Boo’s job. That poor sap was Monty.

Freddy was hurting, they all were, but Freddy most of all. He did his best to welcome Monty, but he didn’t have a song in his heart for a while. He always felt guilty for that, like he wasn’t enough by himself, but the show has to go on, after all, the original Freddy sang til the very end, right?

[phantom-le6]

Episode Reviews - Star Trek: Voyager Season 6 (1 of 7)

Apologies to any regular readers out there for taking a while to sit down and get the next season of Voyager started reviewing-wise. There are a few reasons for this, but rather than bore you with those, let’s crack on and look at the first few episodes from the show’s sixth and penultimate season.

Episode 1: Equinox (Part 2)

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

Following the events of Part 1, Seven has encrypted the codes accessing the Equinox warp controls, delaying the plan of Captain Ransome and his crew to murder another 63 aliens for fuel. After learning the Doctor in their sickbay is from Voyager, and erasing his ethical sub-routines as they did with their own EMH, they tell him to probe Seven's brain to obtain the codes, despite the fact this may permanently incapacitate her. During the Doctor's preparations, he idly sings "Oh My Darling, Clementine" in a duet with the partially incapacitated Seven, much dismaying Ransom as he suddenly sees her in more human terms.

 Janeway starts taking the objective of stopping Ransom to extremes. She orders torpedoes to be fired on the Equinox, nearly kills an Equinox crew member during an interrogation, tractor beams an Ankari ship to strong-arm their cooperation, and relieves Chakotay of duty when he questions her orders.

 Ransom starts to realize the error of his ways and orders the crew to return the Equinox to Voyager, but the remaining crew, except for Ensign Marla Gilmore, attempt to mutiny against this. As Voyager attacks, the mutineers fight back, the Equinox EMH supplying his shipmates with Voyager’s shield frequencies (having taken the Doctor’s place at the end of part 1).  However, with Gilmore's help, Ransom transports part of the crew, as well as the Doctor and Seven, back to Voyager, while the remaining mutineers are killed by the aliens. After transporting Gilmore to Voyager, Ransom stays behind, sacrificing himself to pilot the ship far enough away from Voyager to protect it from the resulting explosion.

 As Voyager resumes its journey home, Janeway reinstates Chakotay to Commander and strips the five surviving Equinox crew members of their ranks while integrating them with Voyager’s crew. Seven promises to help the Doctor secure his ethical sub-routines from being deleted in the future.

Review:

As good as this episode and its part 1 instalment from season 5 are, it is also justly criticised by Trek writer Ronald D Moore, who briefly joined the writers on Voyager following the end of Deep Space Nine.  Season 6 of Voyager was the first time since TNG season 5 that only one Star Trek show was on TV, so now this show was getting all the limelight and attention.  However, going by Moore’s comments, it wasn’t doing all it should with that spotlight. In part 2 of ‘Equinox’, Janeway starts losing her moral compass to get Ransom, while Ransom in turn begins to regain his, and the former situation creates a worse schism between Janeway and Chakotay than the one we saw back during the two-part episode ‘Scorpion’.

 According to Trek wiki site Memory Alpha, Ronald D Moore criticised the episode for both failing to explain the rationale behind these changes, and for resolving the Janeway-Chakotay schism too quickly and cleanly.  These are valid points, and it’s emblematic of the show as a whole relative to the metrics of good Trek.  All too often, episodes fail to be “about” anything, and while overall I prefer Voyager for its high level of autism-like characters, that doesn’t excuse a lack of substance.  Part 1 did give us a kind of “there but for the grace of being a main cast goes our crew”, but part 2 just seems to coast on this and throws in random drama until the action at the end.  Seven’s abduction doesn’t justify this, as Janeway barely voices much concern for her, and it’s not like Janeway ever learns that Seven’s life is on the line from the Equinox crew.  In turn, Janeway barely knows Ransom and Trek has known a fair few rogue officers at times within the ranks of Star Fleet.  That means Ransom betraying Janeway lacks the depth necessary to justify an Ahab-like pursuit of Ransom; Sisko and Eddington had that in Deep Space Nine, Chakotay had this with Seska in early Voyager episodes, but for Janeway and Ransom, it’s a hollow excuse for a vendetta.

 Ransom’s reasons for going the other way are also very thin.  Just because he sees Seven potentially suffering for his actions, that’s when he decides to have an attack of conscience?  Why do I get the feeling that if it was Tuvok, Neelix or anyone other than Seven, we’d never get this turn-around?  Probably because, as has been noted by Youtuber Jessie Gender, this is an episode from the Berman era, when Trek was handled by a sexist idiot that didn’t believe in Trek and just did a favour to the late Gene Roddenberry. Bottom line, this is a poor follow-up despite good acting and decent guest actors.  The show also fails to really follow through on the addition of the Equinox survivors to Voyager’s crew due to Berman’s myopic insistence on Trek as episodic television.  In the end, I give this episode only 5 out of 10.

Episode 2: Survival Instinct

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

Voyager is docked at the Markonian Outpost Space Station, which has welcomed the wayward ship with open diplomatic arms, allowing the free exchange of gifts and ideas. While meeting several representatives of various species in the mess hall, a man approaches Seven of Nine and reveals a container of several Borg compenents from her original unimatrix, which she takes in trade. The sight stuns Seven and brings back memories from her past as a Borg. As the man walks away, it is revealed that he is in telepathic communication with two other guests aboard Voyager, colluding with them to penetrate the ship's security systems.

 With B'Elanna Torres' help, Seven examines the components but denies having experienced any feelings at the sight of them. After returning to her Borg alcove to regenerate, the man and his two accomplices enter the cargo bay, revealing themselves as former Borg drones. They attempt to inject Seven with nanoprobes but she detects their presence, stops the attack, and alerts security. The three are subdued and taken to sick bay. The Doctor determines that while they are former Borg, the process to remove their Borg implants was blundered, and they’ve apparently been left with a shared mental connection. When they awake, the three affirm their condition, stating that they were also part of Seven's unimatrix, and want to bring her into that connection to learn what happened some years ago when their Borg scout ship crashed on an uninhabited planet. Seven herself cannot recall the event, but agrees to link to the others temporarily to attempt to uncover it.

 Told in flashbacks through the episode, after the crash, the four survivors lost contact with the Borg collective and constructed a communication array to contact the Borg for rescue. As they waited, the other three began to feel some aspects of individuality. While the other three embraced this, Seven fought against it. When they realized the Borg were approaching, the other three attempted to flee, but Seven followed them and re-injected each with nanoprobes, neutralizing their individualistic tendencies and re-assimilating them into the Collective.  This created the mental link within the trio, and upon learning this in the present, they fall into a coma.

 The three former drones have only two options for recovery: return to the Borg so they can become drones again, or have the Doctor remove the affected implants, severing their connection to each other. However, this process would mean removing Borg implants their brains are dependent on, leaving them with only a month to live. The Doctor asks Seven for her opinion, and she consults Chakotay, who asks her what she would rather do: live as a Borg for a normal lifespan or as an individual for a month. Seven is visibly moved and tells the Doctor to remove the others' implants. The Doctor protests, saying that his objective should be to preserve life at all costs; however, Seven argues that, like herself, even the Doctor was once a "drone" of sorts (confined to the ship's Sickbay) and that he would resist any attempts to force him back to that state. The Doctor accepts this logic and removes the implants from the former drones. Lansor (the former Two of Nine) elects to explore the station for the remainder of his life; Marika (Three of Nine) accompanies Voyager on its journey; and P'Chan (Four of Nine) chooses to spend his remaining days on a nearby uninhabited planet.

Review:

Leave it to an American TV show to force characters into a “liberty or death” scenario.  This episode ends up feeling like a load of melodramatic tripe when it gets to that part, because aside from anything else, this is a sci-fi show that has previously show-cased that its title ship has various ways of putting people in suspended animation.  How about instead of having to choose between essentially life-limiting the ex-drones or handing them back to the Borg, they just put the trio into suspended animation for a later cure down the road?  Seriously, the plot of this episode come the last act is just pointless histrionics and, quite honestly, a let-down in Trek tradition.  How have we gone from someone like Kirk who didn’t believe in no-win scenarios to people who make the choice without even looking at alternatives?

 The one redeeming aspect of the episode is that it goes back to the idea of Seven being akin to someone being liberated from a cult.  In the flashbacks, we see she’s had a prior experience along the same lines as her original introduction to Voyager along with three other drones.  However, Seven’s reaction differs because she’s been assimilated by the Borg as a child instead of as an adult.  This left her without the means to function as an individual from a mental perspective, which is often why cults in real life would target young people wherever possible.  The earlier in life someone is indoctrinated into a given belief, the less likely they are to abandon it because they develop a dependence on that. Frankly, I think the episode would have done better chucking out the life-or-death medical stuff and focusing more on Seven reconciling with what being Borg did to her and the other drones through her.  Overall, I give this episode 6 out of 10.

Episode 3: Barge of the Bead

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

While returning from an away mission, B'Elanna Torres encounters interference from an ion storm which results in a concussion. Commander Chakotay finds a Klingon artifact lodged inside Torres' shuttlecraft, and Torres sees this emitting blood and hears voices speaking in the Klingon language. Since the USS Voyager is stranded in the Delta Quadrant, the ship is several thousand light-years away from Klingon-controlled space. Morale officer Neelix plans a celebration of the discovery of the object, since it’s a symbol of the Alpha Quadrant and thus Voyager’s home; Torres resists the proposal for a party. She consults with Lt. Tuvok, who believes her negative response to the object stems from her hatred of her Klingon heritage. Tuvok assaults Torres with a Bat'leth, saying she is not a true Klingon before dismissing her as dishonoured. While attending the festivities in the mess hall, Torres notices the Doctor and Seven of Nine singing Klingon drinking songs and Tom Paris eating Klingon cuisine. After witnessing several Klingon warriors killing the crew, she falls and finds herself aboard a boat. Torres discovers she is being transported to Gre'thor (the Klingon version of hell) on the Barge of the Dead, and that her mother Miral was placed aboard as a dishonoured soul.

 Torres awakes to find she has been in a coma the entire time. She had almost died from the accident in the ion storm. Chakotay believes Torres' encounter with her mother was a hallucination prompted from her near-death experience, but she believes that it was real. Torres believes her mother is being punished because of her daughter's dishonour, saying that she must return to the Barge of the Dead to rescue her. Captain Kathryn Janeway permits Torres to put herself in an induced coma, with the Doctor monitoring the procedure. After being placed in a coma, Torres successfully returns to the barge. She reunites with her mother, but they argue about whether or not she has truly embraced Klingon spirituality. Miral responds by telling her she does not understand what it truly means to be a Klingon, as B’Elanna plans to be revived before the barge reaches its destination, thereby cheating. After their conversation, Torres decides to take her mother's place on the barge; even though Miral resists the transference, she is allowed to move on to Sto-vo-kor (a part of the Klingon afterlife similar to the Norse Valhalla) while Torres is escorted into Gre'thor.

 She discovers that Voyager is her version of Gre'thor, and is confronted by alternate versions of the crew. Miral returns to explain that she cannot fully be released into Sto-vo-kor until Torres completes her journey. Tuvok attacks Torres again with a bat'leth, but she surrenders rather than fighting back. Miral identifies this as the first step in her path. She informs Torres that they will reunite either in Sto-vo-kor or when Torres returns home. Torres is resuscitated and embraced by Janeway.

Review:

Working religion into Trek is one of the ultimate delicate operations in fiction writing.  Handle it right and you get a great Trek episode because it covers genuinely new ground in character development, maybe explores issues with real-life religions or otherwise delivers something of substance.  Handle it wrong and you just prove Roddenberry was right making future humanity in an optimistic future a very secularist concept. For me, this one went all wrong.  It’s one long riff on the same old things we already know about B’Elanna; anger issues, hates her Klingon side, blah blah blah. In theory, the near-death hallucination/religious experience she has should make the episode better, but frankly it doesn’t, because it comes close to basically saying “this religion is right about the afterlife”, and that’s never a good way to handle religion.

 When Trek has done religion right in the past, it’s either kept things firmly in the show’s real world, making the story all about belief without even suggesting the supernatural, or it’s provided a simultaneous scientific explanation, leaving it up to a given character to make a decision if what they felt was science or mysticism.  This episode, however, doesn’t lean enough on its science side.  It also fails to really explain what the heck B’Elanna is really going through at the end. Top-to-bottom, it’s an episode I think the show should just never have bothered with.  3 out of 10, next episode please.

Episode 4: Tinker Tailor Doctor Spy

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Doctor asks Captain Janeway to alter his program to allow him to captain the ship if an emergency occurs. Janeway refuses the request. Despite this, the Doctor alters his own sub-routines, allowing him to daydream, while Voyager is traveling through an apparently harmless nebula. Among other ego-fulfilling fantasies, the daydreams include one where he becomes the "Emergency Command Hologram" and defeats an attacking alien vessel using a fictional deadly photonic cannon. The Doctor finds that his daydreams are occurring when he doesn't want them to, a side effect of his faulty programming, and the crew disables the new routines.

 Meanwhile, undetected by Voyager, the crew of an observation ship of the Hierarchy has been monitoring Voyager's passage. As they have done with other ships that pass through the nebula, the Hierarchy determines whether there is any value on the ships, and if so, attacks them. Unable to scan Voyager via normal means, Hierarchy crewman Phlox instead uses a microscopic tunnelling scan. This latches onto the Doctor's program, allowing him to witness events experienced by the hologram, but these are actually the Doctor's fantasies. Phlox soon realizes his mistake, which the Hierarchy will severely punish as soon as it becomes known. The attack on Voyager for its anti-matter reserves already has been scheduled, so Phlox needs it to fail while appearing that what he reported was true.

 Phlox uses the tunnelling scan to reactivate the Doctor's daydreaming programs to allow him to communicate with the hologram. Phlox explains the situation to the Doctor, who in turn reports this to Janeway. As Voyager's crew becomes aware of the approaching Hierarchy ships, Janeway arranges for the deception to be complete, temporarily turning the Doctor into the Emergency Command Hologram. The Doctor, less confident in reality than his daydreams, is still able to bluff regarding use of the "photonic cannon" and the Hierarchy quickly retreats. Janeway commends the Doctor for his performance and arranges a team to evaluate the prospects of putting the hologram in charge of the ship under emergency situations.

Review:

Now this episode is actually a great episode, despite the unfortunate necessity of the Voyager crew having to invade the Doctor’s fantasies via the holodeck when his program goes awry.  It’s a rare occasion where Trek does comedy over action or something else and manages to do it well, yet at the same time also develop a character and explore an issue.  It’s interesting to see the Doctor exploring daydreams, because that’s a very human thing we all take for granted, and his fantasies are very relatable.  Whether it’s the action hero fantasy where the Doctor becomes the Emergency Command Hologram, or imagining the female crew members being attracted to him, the Doctor’s imaginings aren’t much different from those of most people in real life.

 As I say, the downside of the episode is the rest of the crew having to spy on his fantasies when the Doctor malfunctions. I’m glad they at least express some reluctance, especially since the Doctor is one of the show’s autism-like characters.  That autism-like quality in the Doctor is also why, even though I also see Seven as autism-like, my patience with her reaction to the Doctor’s fantasies is rather thin.  Ultimately, fantasies are a private thing, and frankly given the advancement of technology in Trek, I have to question why the crew even needed to put those fantasies on the holodeck.

 Yes, the Doctor fantasised about Seven coming onto him, and about sketching her in the nude, but ultimately, it was a fantasy. It was not a real event, ergo Seven doesn’t have much of a right to get annoyed about it.  This is why it’s a good thing human society isn’t telepathic; it’s bad enough watching the tabloid press in real life invade the privacy of the high-profile and then drumming up judgement from the public over perfectly legitimate, if not always well-understood, activities.  Imagine if we all showed the same lack of respect for privacy by tip-toeing through other people’s thoughts to see their private hopes, dreams and fears.  There’s a reason why in real life, most of us only reveal our innermost thoughts to close family, romantic partners and/or mental health professionals; we don’t want every Tom, Dick and Mary to know everything going on in our heads.

 Given this, I think someone should have taken five minutes to point all this out to Seven, or even better, I think the crew should have fixed the Doctor’s program without playing out the fantasies in the holodeck like a damn peep show.  However, it’s still the best overall Voyager episode of this round, and I give it 8 out of 10.

[dr-futbol-blog]

Condemned, Pt. 1

In Condemned (S02E05) we see the (new) team together for the first time, and if it isn't Ronon's first away-mission, it certainly is one of the first. They are all still trying to find their places in this new configuration, symbolically represented by how Teyla has now taken the shotgun seat next to Sheppard in the puddle jumper, where we find them at the start of the episode. Previously we saw McKay occupy this seat and we will see him retake it in the future, but there is an actual reason for him to be seated behind Sheppard here.

Just to tease it, it has to do with some parallels the episode attempts to build with the original trilogy Star Wars. There is one explicit and widely recognized reference to the franchise but it is not the only reference this episode makes to the films. But more about that later.

Now, things must have happened between the end of the previous episode and this. At some point, Sheppard had informed Ronon about the fact that he would now be a part of the team. But he must also have discussed it over with McKay because while McKay is clearly cautious around Ronon, he certainly seems to be trying to get along with him. When we now find them in the jumper, this is not the first time McKay has seen Ronon ever since he (presumably) cut him down from the tree in Runner (S02E03). And it isn't just that McKay is trying to get used to Ronon's presence on the team, it seems like Ronon is also trying to figure out what kind of an animal McKay is and how he is supposed to respond to him. Toward this end, there seems to be something of a contest or one-upmanship going on between them at the offset:

Sheppard: Look familiar? Dex: No. Teyla: Me either. I do not believe I have been to this planet before. McKay: There's no sign of any settlements. At least, nothing recent. Dex: Other than the smoke from that campfire. McKay: Ah. Yes, well. I mean, other than that.

This informs us of the fact that Ronon and McKay have different but complementary skill-sets. Where McKay is an expert on futuristic technologies, Ronon has a knack for more primitive forms of technology, both having their uses both for the team and for the security of Atlantis.

But while the whole team may still be trying to settle into a new dynamic, the thing that has most changed between the previous episode and this is Sheppard's disposition toward McKay. When they were on the recently culled planet at the beginning of Duet (S02E04), Sheppard seemed distant and detached where McKay appeared to be upset for reasons that were never revealed. As they were on the planet with a squad of marines, Sheppard had separated them into different teams so that himself, Teyla and McKay were all divided into different groups with marines.

But now, we find Sheppard among "his own people". There is no one in the jumper but members of his own team that he had chosen for it personally, so it's possible that he is able to be more at ease here than when he was having to perform commander to the new marines that don't really know him, seeing as how he seems to feel somewhat insecure about his new leadership position. It is his performance as Lieutenant Colonel that may have resulted in him trying to distance himself from his emotions since so many of his superiors have indicated that his emotions are what compromise his command.

But here, among his own people and in his own element flying the jumper, Sheppard seems much more free and relaxed. But he also seems much more comfortable being near McKay. Content, even. He smiles slightly to himself as he listens to McKay's exchange with Ronon behind him, and he seems aware of McKay's body behind him even without seeing him. This is not where we left them. Sheppard had left McKay in the hospital with barely a look, and had responded nothing to Weir's suggestion that they might want a moment to themselves. But based on how they are here, it's entirely possible that they did have such a moment.

This may be corroborated by the fact that in the following episode Trinity (S02E06) Sheppard refuses to let McKay into his quarters as he comes to talk with him even though McKay explicitly requests entrance, which definitely suggests that the previous time McKay had come to talk with him and Sheppard had let him in, something had happened. Something had happened of which he did not want a repeat just then. While whatever happened clearly has not fixed nearly everything between them, the way they are around each other in this episode implies that they had hooked up between the end of the previous episode and this. That they've had sex, to make it explicit. While it is of course possible Sheppard's good mood here is entirely based on him getting to have Ronon on his team, he does not look unlike a man that has recently had sex.

And so, they land the jumper on the strange new planet and find themselves in a village that seems very recently abandoned. Where Sheppard takes point, McKay is safely sandwiched between Ronon and Teyla, and this is something they will frequently do from henceforth. As they try to figure out what has taken place, we get the first of several references to friendship in this episode:

Teyla: It appears they left in a hurry. Sheppard: Not used to friendlies coming out of the gate.

McKay isn't precisely used to friendlies coming out the gate either. There are many different friendships budding during the episode. It seems as though McKay is using banter to bond with Ronon where Ronon is clearly fucking with him, both of them amused by the other man's antics. They are very different people but they are trying to get along suggesting that Sheppard has had a lengthy discussion with McKay about why they need Ronon. The reason why Sheppard personally needs Ronon, as McKay's guardian angel, however, is his business alone. And we do see several clear instances of Sheppard being protective of McKay and McKay in particular, all throughout the episode:

McKay: What are you... oh my God, he's tasting it! You don't know what that is, that could be their laundry! Dex: Pretty good! McKay: Oh yes, good idea! And when you're finished with their porridge, why don't we try their beds, hmm? Dex: Want some? McKay: How good is it? Sheppard: Leave it be, Goldilocks.

Calling McKay Goldielocks is a cultural reference that only the two of them would understand so here, once more, even inside their own team, the two of them insulate themselves inside a bubble where only the two of them are invited. McKay references the fairy tale and Sheppard acknowledges this. Now, calling McKay Goldilocks, who is a little girl, might be considered a disparaging remark but what Sheppard is actually doing here is making sure that McKay does not eat any unknown substances. He is taking care of McKay. Ronon can drink dishwater all he wants but McKay with his deadly allergies is not eating anything questionable on his watch. By calling him Goldilocks we also establish McKay as fair-haired, which is relevant for later.

But let's not dismiss the fact that Sheppard jumps in here just after McKay has mentioned trying out their beds, as the tone of his exchange with Roon turned a little bit flirty all of a sudden, and Sheppard felt the need to nip that in the bud. While he is making sure McKay doesn't eat anything that could harm him, he's also warning him not start anything with tall, dark and hunksome, and not to needlessly antagonize him, either. They all know Ronon is attractive, Teyla very much included, but Sheppard did not bring him on as a boy toy for any one of them.

With regards to the fairy tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, we'll get to the question of Sheppard's quarters and the size of his bed with the next episode, but trying out of a bed that was too small (where previously they had discussed beds that were too large, Mckay just pointing out their dimensions in Before I Sleep S01E15) may be something that had only just happened in their very recent past, where the bed that was just right in McKay's quarters was no longer shared by them. And while they may have reconnected recently, they are also very much trying out that being friends thing here. Infusing their friendship with benefits may have been playing with fire but maybe they can make this work. So far, so good.

But while Sheppard's mind seems to be occupied by thinking about beds and how to keep McKay safe from himself, they suddenly come under a hail of arrows as they are attacked by the natives of the island, and the natives do not seem friendly at all.

They all duck down just as soon as Ronon warns them about the imminent attack but Sheppard is slower than the others to get down because he looks over to McKay before ducking, seeming for the fraction of a second to consider covering him with his own body. Sheppard is not looking at the source of the attack, he is looking at McKay. And again, after the hail of arrows ceases, as he tells them all to take cover, Sheppard quickly checks to see McKay is unharmed. Important asset, and all. Even having brought Ronon on the team, keeping McKay safe seems to be a full-time job for Sheppard. What ever had happened between them hadn't changed that.

Continued in Pt. 2

[btsqualityy]

Y.O.U (Years of Us), Chapter 1: “I’ve Missed You, Bubs”.

Jimin x half black/half Korean OC

Genre/Rating: 21+, established relationship, idol!AU, smut, angst, and fluff

Summary: Kamaria sees Jimin for the first time since he got married and he proposes an...interesting idea.

Warnings: Somewhat non-serious threats of violence.

WC: 3.3K

Author’s Note: Italics indicate a flashback! Hope you guys enjoy it!

Song Of The Chapter: Taeyeon-What Do I Call You Now

3 YEARS AGO

“So tell us, in your own words, what does Park Jimin mean to you?” The interviewer questioned and Kamaria bit her lip as she contemplated her answer for a few seconds. 

“He’s.....a safe space,” Kamaria began. “I can be my authentic self with him and never have to worry about judgement.”

“When you say judgement, what do you mean?”

“If I’m speaking honestly, there are certain aspects of myself that I prefer to keep private. My identity as a mixed race woman as well as the pressure that comes with being known as Choi Sora’s youngest child....it causes people to have preconceived notions about me and that all weighs on me so I have separated my work identity and my personal identity as a result,” she elaborated. “With Jimin though, I don’t have to have separate sides to me. I can be as loud or as silly or as pensive as I want to be, and he takes me as I am. Wholly. Completely.”

“How does he treat you?”

“Like a Queen but he treats everyone in his life well,” Kamaria giggled. “I truly think that if it were possible, he’d take the stars out of the sky and hand them to me if I asked.”

“How would you describe your friendship?” The interviewer questioned and Kamaria smirked lightly because she knew he’d have a field day if only he knew just how deeply their friendship currently ran.

“I think it’s one of mutual care and support, and love,” Kamaria stated. “Our music also plays a large part in it and I think that’s why he and I have been able to be friends for so long now.”

“Alright, any last words you want to say to Jimin for his upcoming album release?”

“Jimin-ssi, you’ve worked hard on this album and I’m extremely proud of you,” Kamaria started. “Thank you for allowing me to work with you and I, personally, think it’s some of your best work yet. I love you. Fighting!”

....................................................

Kamaria slowly walked down the steps leading from the stage, being careful of her dress and high heels as she did so. Seventeen’s DK was right by her side, holding her hand as a means of support to make sure that she didn’t fall. After performing a duet together at the SBS Gayo Daejeon and receiving a standing ovation, the two of them made their way backstage.

“You did amazing, sunbaenim,” DK praised and Kamaria smiled brightly, tightening her grip on his hand thankfully. 

“I appreciate that but one half of a duet is only as good as it’s counterpart,” she replied. “Your vocals are effortless. I’d love to work with you more, whether it’s with your members or even any future solo work.”

“Really?” He gasped.

“Really.”

“Ah, thank you so much,” DK chirped happily, bowing deeply in gratitude. 

“It’s no problem, honestly,” Kamaria chuckled. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get going.”

“Of course,” he nodded before releasing her hand and watching as she walked away. As Kamaria made her way down the long hallway to her dressing room, her manager Nari showed up next to her. 

“Ok, first things first: you were amazing, as always,” Nari began as she reached down and picked up the bottom of Kamaria’s dress to hold it for her. 

“Thanks Nari,” Kamaria responded, bowing lightly to the crew as they passed by them. “I’m assuming there’s a second thing.”

“Yes,” Nari sighed. “Jimin’s here.”

“I know that.” Kamaria had only been forced to see his fucking face as she sat in the audience earlier in the evening, attempting to enjoy the show.

“And he wants to speak to you,” Nari finished and Kamaria glanced over at her, lightly shaking her head. 

“Fuck no.”

“He was really insistent though,” she tried to say and Kamaria scoffed loudly.

“He always is, egotistical fuck,” she snapped. “I don’t want to see his face, let alone talk to him because I swear, if I see him-”

“What’s gonna happen, bubs?” Jimin wondered with a smirk and Kamaria’s eyes widened when she saw him standing next to the door of her dressing room. “God, you look gorgeous.”

“Nari, give me five minutes?” Kamaria requested as she turned to look at her manager and Nari raised an eyebrow. 

“You sure?”

“Yeah but if you hear me scream, you know who did it,” she replied. 

“Oh baby, if I do anything to you, it’s cause you wanted it,” Jimin said and Kamaria rolled her eyes as she stepped past him, opening the door to the dressing room before stepping inside. Jimin followed behind her, shutting the door afterwards and smiling widely at his ex-girlfriend.

“What do you want?” Kamaria questioned as she turned around to face him. 

“I just wanted to talk to you,” Jimin shrugged. “I’ve missed you, bubs.”

“Firstly, don’t call me that,” she snapped. “You don’t deserve to. Secondly, if you wanted to talk, the time would’ve been three months ago before you decided to get married out of the blue.”

“Don’t throw that into my face. What else did you think I was supposed to do?” He demanded to know. “Wait for you the rest of my life?”

“No but I didn’t expect you to go off and marry the first woman who paid you attention!”

“Why not? You left me, not the other way around.”

“And you know exactly why I did,” Kamaria shot back with a raised brow and Jimin exhaled harshly. Reaching over to the vanity mirror that sat against the wall, she grabbed her purse from the top of it and began to walk towards the door. When she closer to Jimin though, he lightly grabbed her arm which made her stop. 

“Bubs, please,” Jimin whispered and for a split second, Kamaria could see the Old Jimin again. The Jimin that she had met eight years ago, the Jimin that was the light of her life, the Jimin that she had fallen in love with. 

Chancing a look downwards, Kamaria caught a glimpse of something gleaming in the light and when she looked closer, she realized that it was Jimin’s golden wedding band sitting on his fourth finger. 

“Let me go,” Kamaria whispered and Jimin followed her line of sight, sighing heavily when he realized what she was looking at. 

“Bubs.”

“If I have to ask you again, I’m going to swing,” she stated firmly, looking back up at him with a scowl. “And you know I will.” Knowing her well enough to know that she wasn’t bluffing, he released his grip on her arm and watching as she threw open the door to the dressing room, storming out and letting the door slam shut behind her.

....................................................

Later on that night, Kamaria was sitting in her large bathtub nursing a bottle of wine in one hand and the remote control to the large television that hung on the wall opposite to her in the other hand. She had been renting a penthouse apartment while she was having a home custom built but she had fallen in love with her temporary home so much (specifically the master bedroom and bathroom), she was contemplating buying it as a second home.

As she soaked in the water, she couldn’t help but to think back to her encounter with Jimin a few hours prior. Going from seeing someone every day to completely cutting that someone out of your life had been a hard thing to do, but Kamaria had been committed to doing it. Jimin going off and marrying that random woman had hurt Kamaria more than she was willing to admit, and seeing his face that night only drug up bad memories. 

“Fuck,” Kamaria groaned when she heard her phone begin to ring from it’s spot beside the tub. Setting the remote control down, she grabbed the phone and answered it before putting it up to her ear. “Hello?”

“Bubs,” Jimin called. 

“What the fuck, Jimin?” She huffed. “You’re like a bad case of chlamydia. How the hell did you get this number?”

“You know me better than that. I have my ways.”

“What do you want?”

“I just want to have dinner with you,” Jimin admitted. 

“Why should I?”

“You should because we have eights years of friendship between us,” he pointed out. 

“Ok, I’ll bite,” Kamaria sighed. “What do we even have to talk about?”

“I have a proposal for you,” Jimin told her and she automatically rolled her eyes.

“You can send all business stuff to Nari or Bang PD.”

“Stop fucking dismissing me like that,” he grumbled. “I’m serious. I need to discuss something with you.” After thinking for a few seconds, she took a deep breath in and released it before doing something that she knew she would probably regret.

“Ok.” 

“Thank you, bubs,” Jimin replied giddily. “Now, I have one question for you.”

“What’s that?”

“What are you wearing right now?” 

“You’re a disgusting, limp-dicked, sack of shit,” Kamaria chided. 

“Oh, talk dirty to me, baby,” he snickered. 

“How’s the wifey?” Kamaria suddenly asked and Jimin instantly stopped laughing. 

“Don’t throw my wife or my marriage in my face, and I’m not going to tell you that again.”

“You mean the fake marriage?”

“What do you think makes it fake?” He wondered. “I’m genuinely curious.”

“I’d like to not vomit into my bathwater,” she laughed. “So I’m not interested in recounting what makes your sham marriage just that: a sham.”

“Sure you’re not,” he hummed. “I’m more interested in you and this bathwater though, I will admit.”

“Why, wanna drink it?”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Jimin smiled. “You know how I feel about you and your body.”

“I’m hanging up.”

“Alright, alright. You free on Monday, 7pm at Ryunique?”

“Ryunique?” Kamaria repeated, her interested peaked at hearing the name of her favorite restaurant. 

“Well, I figured if I chose somewhere you liked, you’d be less likely to storm out if you get pissed,” Jimin reasoned. 

“I’ll be there.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing you, bubs,” Jimin said. “I love you.”

“Choke on a thousand dicks, Jimin,” Kamaria fumed before hanging up on him. After she put the phone back in it’s previous place next to the tub, Kamaria brought the wine bottle that was still in her opposite hand up to her lips, taking a long swing.

“Fucking dumb ass,” she muttered as she laid her head back, not knowing for sure if she was referring to herself or the ex-boyfriend that she still loved. 

....................................................

“I cannot believe you gave him my fucking number!”

“Look, don’t chew my head off,” Nari spat from the opposite end of the phone. “I know you’re upset at him for getting married but you also still love him and want to talk to him.”

“I do not,” Kamaria muttered petulantly as she looked out of the window of the escalade that she was in. “Me icing him out for months clearly shows that.”

“Yeah, right. Tell me why you’re going to Ryunique right now then,” Nari dared. 

“He said he had a proposition,” Kamaria shrugged. 

“And he couldn’t just tell you over the phone?”

“Apparently not,” Kamaria responded. 

“Look, you’re already on your way there so just have an open mind and don’t be such a bitch,” Nari suggested. 

“Please, I’ve been a bitch since the day that I met that man,” Kamaria laughed. “He’s used to it. Plus, being a bitch is my specialty.”

“Uh huh,” Nari chuckled and just then, the car pulled to a slow stop in front of Ryunique. 

“I just got here, gotta go.”

“Call me after to tell me what he said!”

“Alright, bye,” Kamaria replied before hanging up the phone. Once the driver had gotten out and walked around the side of the car to open her door, Kamaria slowly slid out, being careful of the black mini dress that she had on as she did so. 

Since Ryunique was popular among idols and actors/actresses, paparazzi was almost always stationed out front so Kamaria slapped a wide smile on her face as she waved to the cameras, the flashes almost blinding her. After about 30 seconds, she then made her way inside of the restaurant. 

“Ah, there’s one of our most valued customers!” The owner, Shin Ryujin, exclaimed upon seeing her. “You’re just as gorgeous as ever, Minali!”

“Thank you so much, Ryujin-ssi,” Kamaria bowed lightly in respect. “Is my favorite table available?”

“Yes, Jimin-ssi called and reserved it a few days ago,” Ryujin confirmed. 

“Of course he did,” she muttered to herself as she followed behind Ryujin, pacing towards the back of the restaurant where the space between the tables was larger and the area was slightly sectioned off from the rest of the space by large walls of paneling on either side. 

“Your favorite wine?” Ryujin asked and Kamaria nodded her head thankfully before he walked away. Pulling her phone out of her purse, Kamaria saw that it was already 7:10 and she rolled her eyes. Before she could complain though, she heard a flurry of activity and when she looked up, she couldn’t help the soft gasp that slipped past her lips. 

Jimin had walked in, dressed in a black button down shirt paired with black slacks and his favorite Chelsea boots. The thing that had made Kamaria gasp though, was his fresh undercut that he had to have gotten done earlier that day, and the sight took her right back to when she had met Jimin for the first time eight years prior. 

....................................................

8 YEARS AGO

“Thank you so much for doing this at the last minute,” the director, Seok Choi, said as he led Kamaria towards the set. “We know you have busy schedules these days, with the recent success of your first film and all.”

“Trust me, it’s no issue at all,” Kamaria assured him with a smile. “Plus, I’m a fan of Bangtan so this is an amazing opportunity for me.”

“Ah, speaking of Bangtan,” Seok Choi said as he walked onto the set. “Jimin-ssi, this is your leading lady Choi Minali. Minali-ssi, this is Park Jimin.”

“I also go by Kamaria,” she said, bowing towards Jimin who did the same. She had attempted to keep her cool because not only was she a fan of Jimin’s music, she also thought he was the most gorgeous man on the face of the planet. Dressed in a suit with no shirt underneath the jacket, his hair was pushed back off of his forehead and showcased his freshly shaven undercut. 

The sight of him was so damn appealing, Kamaria had to remind herself that she was there to work. 

“Nice to meet you,” Jimin smiled. “I have to say, I appreciate you taking this on. Our previous lead broke her ankle trying to do the choreography and with this being my debut solo music video, I’m a little on edge.”

“I get it,” she nodded in understanding. “I’m a big fan so I jumped at the chance to do this.”

“Have you heard the song yet?”

“I was listening to it in my dressing room as I went over the steps with the choreographer and I have to say, Jimin-ssi, it’s fantastic,” Kamaria gushed. 

“Nah,” Jimin chuckled in embarrassment. “You think?”

“Yeah.”

“Eh, I doubt it,” he tried to say.

“Listen, if I don’t know anything else in life, I know music,” she stated firmly. “And trust me when I tell you, you have a huge fucking hit on your hands.”

“Well, thank you,” Jimin smiled, refreshed by her bravado. “Shall we rehearse?”

“Lead the way,” Kamaria grinned and Jimin couldn’t help but to notice how gorgeous she was, especially when she smiled. 

....................................................

“Down girl,” Kamaria whispered to herself, feeling her panties beginning to stick to her skin a little from the sight of Jimin. After greeting a few people at the entrance and signing a few autographs, Jimin eventually made his way back to their private table and Kamaria took a few seconds to make sure her dress was sitting on her body right, pushing her breasts up a little to make sure they were sitting pretty. She knew that Jimin loved this particular black dress on her so she wanted to make sure that he would be eating his heart out by the time dinner was over.

“Hi bubs,” he smiled brightly, stepping over to Kamaria and bending down before he pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. 

“Oh wow, look who’s late,” Kamaria deadpanned. “As always.”

“I’m Jimin-ing today,” he laughed as he pulled his chair out on the opposite side of the table and sat down. 

“Jimin-ssi, hello,” Ryujin greeted him cheerily as he came back to their table, setting Kamaria’s glass of wine down in front of her. 

“Hello Ryujin.”

“Are we drinking tonight?” He asked and Kamaria looked right into Jimin’s eyes as she waited for his answer.

“Not tonight Ryujin,” Jimin shook his head before looking back at Kamaria. “Just a water with lemon for me, please.”

“Alright, and your regular orders for your meals?” He checked, waiting until both Jimin and Kamaria had nodded their heads before turning and walking away. Kamaria looked back down at her phone in her hand, scrolling through her social media until she heard a tap on the table. 

“Hey,” Jimin called, waiting until she had looked up at him. “It’s kind of rude to ignore the person who’s treating you out to dinner.”

“It’s also weird for you to be on a date with another woman while you’re married,” Kamaria shot back. 

“Oh, so you want this to be a date?” He smirked. 

“You’re such a dick,” she muttered as she looked back down at her phone but when she did, she could feel Jimin’s eyes still on her so she looked up at him again. “What?”

“You just, you look gorgeous,” he replied candidly. “It amazes me that after eight years, I literally never get tired of looking at you. You’re wearing my favorite dress, too.” So he did notice but Kamaria wasn’t surprised. The man noticed everything about her and he always had.

“Well, thank you.”

“My gorgeous bubs,” he cooed and feeling herself about to fall for it, she put the walls up as quick as she could.

“How’s Hye-ja?” Kamaria inquired, making Jimin sigh heavily. “How’s the marriage?”

“It’s...not great,” Jimin admitted. 

“Well, what else is to be expected when you marry someone after four weeks of “dating”, and I use that word very loosely,” she replied.

“I wouldn’t have even entertained her if you hadn’t left me.”

“I left for a fucking reason and that was because of your inability to respect both me and my boundaries,” Kamaria huffed. 

“Alright, here we go!” Ryujin cheered as he, along with an extra waiter, brought their plates to the table and set them down. “Enjoy you two and please, don’t hesitate to call if you need anything else.”

“Thank you, Ryujin-ssi,” Kamaria smiled lightly before they walked away. 

“Anyways, I’m happy that you brought up my marriage because that’s what I asked you here to talk about,” Jimin began. 

“What, you gonna ask me to join?” She asked as she began to cut into her steak. 

“Ha ha.”

“Sorry, it was low hanging fruit,” she shrugged. 

“Well, I found out that Hye-ja doesn’t want children,” he revealed and Kamaria’s eyes widened slightly, her heart aching for him. As long as they had known each other, she knew of Jimin’s strong desire to start a family and have children since he loved them so much. 

“Not to throw salt in your wounds but again, this is what happens when you marry the first bitch who pays you attention.”

“She’s not a bitch bubs, she’s Kim Hye-ja,” Jimin chuckled. “One of the most famous actresses in South Korea. Be honest with yourself.”

“Please, my brand ranking is higher than hers.”

“You looked that up?” He questioned and Kamaria cut her eyes at him. 

“Get to the fucking point before I leave.”

“Alright, alright,” he acquiesced. “Well, long story short, I’ve decided to have children anyway. Without Hye-ja.”

“Congratulations,” Kamaria chuckled as she picked up her wine glass. “I have to say, it’s one of your crazier ideas though. Who’s the lucky lady?”

“You,” Jimin grinned and Kamaria choked on the sip that she had taken, coughing and spluttering as she attempted to regain control. 

“What? I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you correctly. Repeat again?”

“Bubs, will you be my surrogate?”

....................................................

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