#and then the great khans as a whole are chance's friends that he loves and cares for deeply

[transparentair]

like people genuinely loved N.S. in many ways but the ones who made out best with those feelings were the ones who were willing to stop trying to love N.S. and actively realise those feelings into some end result. people get the most out of N.S. when they decide to just experience the person instead of trying to form a specific relationship that would give them something to "show" for the time spent together. but of course, and understandably, very few live like that by default or even know that's an option. and it isn't particularly palatable or an acceptable answer to the question "what are you guys to each other". N.S. couldn't have ever fit in or learned to live well with the great khans without chance because of it in a very funny way. not quite codependent but the antisocial 1 (unchecked chronic social anhedonia mistaken as just being a VERY chill guy) and antisocial 2 (doesn't want to pick up what youre throwing down) pairing up made them both more bearable and palatable to everyone else. since everyone lost interest or curiosity in trying to fill the role of "the one closest person to the lone wolf of the group" when they saw it becoming occupied. saving 85% of the camp from repeated disappointments from a lack of reciprocated interest and 100% of the generations most antisocial from having severe joker arcs as teenagers.

[arlana-likes-to-write]

You Look Happier

Part 4 of the Family, Pawns, and Sins of the Family

Summary: After every thing you've been though, it's time to move forward. While doing just that you run into a unlikely friend that looks past the scars you bare.

Warning: panic attack, mention of past abuse, suicidal thoughts, fluff, Kamala is a joy and I love her, small scene of a guy grabbing the reader, mention of nightmares, facing past abusers in court.

Word Count: 5.4k

Note: Ignore the fact that I said the next chapter of Second Chance will be posted today, I finished this one shot instead lol. Also, this will probably be the last part of this!

*

Healing was not linear. If this whole experience taught you one thing, it was that. Some days were good. They were great. You smiled and laughed without restraint. Those good days bleed into good weeks. Then, the darkness over your shoulder would rear its ugly head. All your hard work to overcome everything seemed pointless when you couldn’t leave your bed and your moms stayed by your side out of fear you would hurt yourself. There were close calls. The overwhelming urge sometimes became too much. You wanted to feel anything besides their hands on you.

Tonight was the end of a terrible day. You shut down after your therapy appointment. The mid-afternoon nap you took was ruined by a nightmare, and the court called, and they needed you to testify against Principal Cook. It was not your day. Still, you managed to pull yourself out of bed when the Avengers came over for a cookout. You sat at the fire pit with a marshmallow on the end of the stick. The flames engulfed the sticky treat and fell into the fire. Sighing, you blew out the flame and leaned back into the chair. You pulled the blanket to your chin and watched the get-together.

“Hey bug,” Natasha slid next to you. The chair was big enough for you two to sit comfortably without touching it, but you folded it against her. You buried your face in her shoulder and felt her hand draw shapes on your back. “How are you feeling?” Lying was never an option when they asked you this question. They would rather have the brutal, honest truth than a lie. It was a hard thing to overcome in the beginning.

“I’m,” Tired. Sad. Angry. “Struggling.” You sighed.

“Yeah,” Natasha kissed your forehead. “Today was a lot.” You nodded against her.

“Have you heard from the lawyers?” It was Natasha’s turn to sigh and kiss your forehead again.

“Not yet. They are talking with Cook’s defense team and hoping the man will take a plea deal.” You nodded and closed your eyes. The constant motion and her soft humming almost sent you to sleep. “Your mama and I have to go to the tower tomorrow. Is it okay to have your therapy session online?” The other thing was they refused to let you stay home alone on terrible days. It made sense. Through all of this, they wanted you to be safe.

“Yeah,” you whispered. “That’s fine.” There was no need to open your eyes because you knew there was a smile on her face.

“I love you, our firefly.”

“I love you too, mom.”

*

Today was better. Your therapist let you discuss your relationship with Wanda, Natasha, and the twins. It was a breath of fresh air to talk about something positive. The two Avengers were still in their meeting, so you waited for them on the common floor. It was half your fault. You were looking at your phone when a body slammed into you, causing you and your phone to fall to the ground. “Are you okay? Is your phone okay? Do you have a concussion?” You blinked at the girl with long brown hair and bright brown eyes. “Oh my god, I’ve concussed you.” She cried, placing her hands on top of her head.

“I’m not-wait. Who are you?”

“I’m Kamala Khan,” she offered you her hand, which you took to stand up.

“I’m-”

“Oh, I know who you are. Peter won’t stop talking about you. He says, You’re super cool.”

“I’m-” broken. Hurt. Sad. “Okay,” she laughed, and the sound erupted butterflies in your stomach. You noticed you were still holding her hand, and you dropped it suddenly. “Sorry,” you whispered. She smiled, picked up your phone, and looked it over.

“It’s not broken. I would have hated it if I gave you a concussion and broke your phone.” you were surprised by the laugh that you let out. It only made Kamala’s smile grow. “Here you go.”

“You should put your number in it,” a surge of confidence washed through you. Her eyebrows went up. “I mean, you did assault me. I think you owe me,” her mouth opened and closed like a fish. It was cute.

“I see why Peter likes you,” she said, handing you the phone so you could open it, and she quickly put her number on it. “I have to run-”

“Hopefully, not into someone again,” you said with a playful smile. She rolled her eyes.

“But I’ll see you again. Text me so I can have your number, too.” You waved bye as she ran off. Flopping onto the couch, you sent Kamala a simple hello with your name. For some reason, your cheeks were hurting from your smile.

*

You giggled at the funny meme Kamala sent you of Yelena and Kate that she made. You befriended the girl three days ago, and her goal seemed to make you smile. Even after a tough day at therapy, you were welcomed with messages from her that made it better. “Alright, enough,” your phone was ripped away from you. You gasped as you watched Yelena go through your phone. “You’ve been giggling all night. Who are you texting?”

“Mama, tell her to give me my phone back,” Wanda chuckled, standing over the stove to make dinner.

“Give her the phone back, Belova,” the witch laughed. “But I am curious who has got you smiling so much.” Yelena refused to give you the phone.

“First off, you’ve met Kamala,” she handed Wanda your phone. Instead of looking through it like the Black Widow, she returned it to you. “Second, I am going to kill her.” You smiled.

“We ran into each other at the tower,” you texted her, letting her know Yelena saw the memes she made. “Literally,” you mumbled. Every time you thought about how you met your new friend, you laughed. This was amplified when Kamala responded, saying you betrayed her trust.

“Hey,” Yelena snapped her fingers in front of your face. You jumped, not expecting it. “Your mama was talking to you.” The Blonde rolled her eyes and left the kitchen.

“Sorry,” you apologized. “What were you saying?” Wanda smiled with a shake of the head.

“I said dinner is almost ready. Can you go wash up and get your brothers?” You nodded and closed the book you were trying to read, but you were distracted by your phone. “And sweetheart,” you stopped to look at Wanda. “She’s making you smile a lot. Is there more going on?” You felt your body heat up.

“N-no,” you stuttered. “We are just friends,” Wanda smirked. “Mama, we are.”

“Okay, I’m just teasing,” you huffed and walked to your room. You dropped your textbooks and notebooks on your desk. Friends. That was all you and Kamala were. Nothing more. Right?

*

You were nervous as you stood outside Natasha’s home office. You could do this. You could do this. Knocking the door, you heard her voice on the other side telling you to come in. You entered and closed the door. “Hey bug, what -” she stopped mid-question. “Are you okay? You look like you are going to be sick.” Instead of answering, you walked to the front of her desk.

“Can I ask you something?” Natasha nodded, the worry evident on her face. “Can I go to the movies?” The Black Widow blinked at once, twice.

“Jesus, kid, you were about to give me a heart attack,” she let out a shaky breath and placed her hand on her chest for added effect. “Who would you be going with?”

“Uh Kamala,” you played with the fidget ring Yelena gave you after they saved you from Dmitri. “She and a few of her friends are in the city, and they invited me to see Detention Disaster with them.” It was a comedy. You looked at an in-depth review of it, so you knew nothing would trigger you.

“Are you sure? That’s a big step,” you knew what she meant. You rarely went anywhere besides the tower, the park down the street, and your brother’s school. Natasha and Wanda were with you even if you went somewhere outside your comfort zone.

“I don’t know,” you admitted, but you wouldn’t grow or heal if you stayed constant. “But I’d like to try.”

*

“That scene in the cafeteria was so funny,” Bruno said as he walked next to Nakia. “And it was shot so well,” Kamala chuckled and shook her head at her friend.

“Did you enjoy the movie?” She asked you. You were walking behind Bruno and Nakia.

“Yeah, it was funny.” Even after reading the very in-depth review, the movie still managed to make you laugh. Also, the comments Kamala and Bruno made to one another throughout the entire movie added another layer of comedy. They thought they were being quiet. Still, they walked no matter how often Nakia threw popcorn at them. You liked Kamala’s friends, who included you in their group.

“Hey, there is an arcade over here. Do you guys want to go?” Bruno asked. He stopped walking so you could catch up. The arcade was loud and unpredictable. There were too many things to account for.

“It’s up to you,” Kamala said. I can take you back home.” Home was safe and predictable—well, your brothers were not, but they knew your boundaries. But you shook your head.

“An arcade sounds fun,” you said. Today was good, and you wanted to keep hanging out with them. If they wanted to go to an arcade, then you would go no matter how much anxiety swirled in your stomach.

Luckily, it wasn’t busy. A small group of kids was at the basketball game, and some were looking at the prizes through the glass box. You bought a card with your tokens, and Kamala grabbed your hand to show you all her favorite games. You were worried that she thought you were clingy, but she kept a tight hold on you. Playing video games with your brothers helped you with some of the games. You beat Kamala on some of the two-player games.

It was fun, and you pretended you were a normal kid for a split second. No deep trauma that kept you awake at night. No scars that ached when it got cold. You were a kid having fun with her friends.

Until you walked alone as you decided on the next game, you needed a few more tickets and could get a new fidget toy. Suddenly, you felt a body crash against your back, and you stumbled forward. Your first thought of who it was was Kamala. For an Avenger, she was very clumsy. “Hey, watch where the fuck you are going,” you turned around to see a guy; he had to be 18.

“You ran into me,” you said. “You should listen to your advice.” You turned away, but he grabbed your arm and spun you back around. He pushed you against the arcade machine. The corner dug into your lower back, and you let out a pained yelp. Fear washed over you. His mouth was moving, but nothing he said mattered to you. It was happening again. Why? You felt frozen. The way his hands felt on you transported you to Jason, Conner, and Dmitri. Then, a new pair of hands were touching you.

“Hey, Y/n,” the voice said. “You’re safe. I need you to breathe for me.” Your chest felt tight, and it was impossible to get air into your lungs. “What do you need?”

“Hands,” you managed. “Get your hands off of me.” They were removed instantly, and you slid down to the ground, bringing your knees to your chest.

“You know you missed me kicking Bruno’s ass in basketball,” it was Kamala. Kamala was in front of you. “I mean, I was cheating, but don’t tell him that.” You managed a chuckle, which Kamala smiled. “Are you back with me?” You nodded, licking your dry lips. “Bruno and Nakia brought that guy to the manager, and he’s calling the police.” Again, you nodded. “Do you want me to call your parents?”

“No,” you finally spoke. The reality of the situation caught up with you, and embarrassment washed over you. You jumped to your feet. “Shit, sorry that was-”

“Whoa,” Kamala stood up slowly with her hand sup. “It’s okay. You did nothing wrong.” But you did, and if you just walked away from him, none of this would have happened. “No matter what happened, he should have never put his hands on you.” You nodded again. “Come on, let’s go somewhere more private.” She let you go to a small back room used for birthday parties. You were grateful she kept her hands to herself when she opened the door. You slumped in one of the chairs and placed your face in your hands. You heard Kamala sit in front of you. “Are you okay?” She finally asked. You sighed.

“I wanted today to be good and normal,” you said. “But it’s like one step forward and four steps back.”

“Isn’t that the point?” You removed your hands and looked at her. “Healing. Some days are better than others. It’s how it is,” she carefully took your hand, and you allowed her to. “And today was fun. I had fun hanging out with you.”

“I had fun, too,” you admitted. She smiled.

“These things will happen,” she continued. “And that is okay. There is nothing to be embarrassed about. I will be there to help you. If you want me to, at least,” she added quickly. You smiled.

“As long as I don’t scare you off.”

“You could never,” she spoke with so much confidence, and without hesitation, you almost believed her.

Delete Created with Sketch.

Today was a bad day. You had to go down to the courthouse to prepare for your testimony against Principal Cool. He wasn’t there, but you had to relive the whole ordeal. After that, Billy and Tommy begged to get ice cream. However, a man mistook you for someone else and grabbed you by the arm. The cherry on top was Kamala was on a mission with Carol. You missed the way she could make you smile and laugh.

It was past midnight. No matter how many times you tried to go to bed, every horrible thing flashed through your mind. Your phone buzzing caused you to jump, not expecting a phone call. Somehow, just seeing her name made you smile. It felt like your first genuine smile all day. “Hi,” you answered softly.

“Did I wake you up? I am so sorry. I can never figure out what time zone I’m in,” you giggled and rolled onto your back.

“No, I’ve been up. What are you doing calling me?” you asked. “I thought you said it was impossible to find cell service up there.” She was quiet, but you heard shuffling as if she was lying down.

“We usually can’t, but we found some. So Carol is calling Val, Monica is calling her mom, and I’m calling you.” Oh. That was a surprise.

“Why are you calling me?” She had her parents, brother, and her high school friends.

“Because I wanted to silly,” she answered. “Now, why can’t you sleep? Are you okay?”

“I’m,” Kamala knew bits and pieces of what happened to you. You strayed away from the more graphic details. It wasn’t easy to open up to your therapist. “I’m,” you sighed. “I miss you,” you admitted instead. Sometimes, it was easier to change the direction of the conversation.

“Awe, I miss you too,” you heard the smile in her voice. “I’ll be home soon, but you failed to answer my question.” you rolled your eyes.

“I’m tired,” you pushed the calm of your hand to your eye. And you were. You wanted to move past all of this and live a normal life.

“Get some sleep. I-shit. I’m sorry, I have to go. Carol needs me.” You were lucky she couldn’t see you, or she would have seen your frown. “Look, if you need anything, you call me, okay? I may not respond right away, but I’m here.” You nodded.

“Stay safe, superhero.”

“Always.”

*

Soft knocking woke you up. Slowly, you sat up and looked towards the sound. “Kamala,” you whispered. The girl was smiling on the other side of your window. You climbed over to it and opened it. “What are you doing?” She smiled.

“To see you. Can I come in? It’s cold,” you stepped out of the way, and she crawled through the window. It was a little clumsy. Her foot got caught on the window ledge. A small yelp, and she rolled off your bed and onto the floor. You cringed at the sound and were grateful that your room was on the first floor. Soon, your room was filled with laughter.

“Are you okay?” You closed the window. Kamala nodded and rubbed the back of her head.

“My pride took a hit,” you giggled and helped her. “Hi,” she smiled and sat down on your bed.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you supposed to be in space?”

“Well,” she took off her shoes. “The mission is almost over, and Carol doesn’t need me, so she said I could go home.” You raised her eyebrows at her.

“The last time I checked, this isn’t your house,” she said, looking around the room with a confused expression.

“You know, I thought my room looked a little different. There are not enough Captain Marvel posters,” you rolled your eyes. Besides, Carol may not need me, but you do,” you looked at the ground. Kamala placed her arm around your shoulders. That��s okay, you know that? It’s okay to need people.” You shrugged.

“I don’t want to be a burden,” you whispered. “You are an Avenger. You have more important things to worry about than someone as broken as me.” Kamala removed her arm and forced you to sit more on the bed. You crossed your legs to give her more room. She grabbed your hands.

“You are not broken. You are healing. That is a big difference. Soon, all these scars will heal,” you stared at your connected hands.

“What if whatever they broke inside me can never be fixed?” Kamala was quiet. She moved your hands so your palms were facing up. Her fingers were arms as she traced the lines on your hand.

“Then you learn to live without those parts,” she bite her lip. “When I discovered the true nature of my abilities, the old me was gone. I had to embrace the person I am now. It’s scary, terrifying really, but you have your family to help you,” she squeezes your hands. “You have me.” You looked at her, and she had a soft smile.

“Can you stay the night?” You whispered.

“I wasn’t planning on going anywhere,” you stood up to get some clothes to change into. Once she was ready for bed, you climbed under the covers with her next to you. “For what it’s worth,” she broke the silence. “I think you are pretty great.” You bent your arm to rest your head on your hand. She was lying on her back.

“You think I’m pretty, superhero,” she rolled her eyes and mirrored the way you were laying.

“What if I did?” You raised your eyebrows in question. “I think you are pretty.”

“Oh,” you squeaked and cringed at the nose that escaped. “Scars and all?” You questioned.

“They are kind of badass,” she said. “Makes you all hot with the ladies.” She wiggled her eyebrows. You chuckled and pushed the girl on her shoulder. She fell onto her back.

“You are such a flirt.” You said.

“Just for you, khobsurat,” you titled your head at the foreign word. “It’s Urdu.”

“What does it mean?” You questioned. Kamala faced you.

“Beautiful.”

“I don’t know how to do this,” you admitted. You were never in a normal relationship. Everyone wanted something from you. Everyone tried to hurt you. “I’ve been hurt by so many people that promised not to.” Your biological parents used you to get money. Jason promised to love you. Principal Cook and Coach Griffo were hired to protect students. They all hurt you.

“I can’t promise I won’t mess things up because I’m an idiot,” you smiled. “I can be aggressively passionate, overwhelming, and loud, but I will never hurt you like they hurt you.” You nodded, looking down at the shapes on your blanket. “You don’t believe me.” You wanted to. You tried to jump head first, but you weren’t sure if your heart could handle any more heartbreak. It was already bruised, bandaged, and broken.

“I want to. It’s just-”

“Hard?” Kamala guessed. You nodded. “That’s okay. I’m not going anywhere,” she yawned, covering her mouth. “Sorry, that was rude.”

“Get some sleep. It’s been a long day.” She nodded and closed her eyes.

“Night, khobsurat,” she whispered. Was it weird that you watched her fall asleep? Maybe. But you liked how peaceful she looked. You weren’t sure when the last peaceful night of sleep you had. You were a little jealous. Sighing, you turned to your side and hoped for a nightmare-free sleep.

*

The sound of thundering footsteps woke you up. It was your only warning before your door opened, the force almost falling off the handles. “Breakfast - hey, what are you doing here, Kamala?” You heard the girl behind you groan. Sometime in the middle of the night, you gravitated towards each other. Her arm is secured around your waist. It wasn’t an uncomfortable position. You only allowed your parents and sometimes your brothers to cuddle you.

“Not sleeping,” she mumbled. Her breath caused goosebumps on your skin. That was uncomfortable. Your mind flashed back to every time someone held you down, breathing against your neck. You tensed up. “Hey, are you okay?” You shook your head.

“Mom!” Billy yelled. “Y/n has a friend over that she didn’t ask permission ,and she’s having a panic attack.”

“Billy,” you hissed, but your brother ran off. Kamala removed her arm and created some healthy distance between you and her. You needed some space, not your brother getting Natasha and announcing you were having a panic attack, which you weren’t. Now, the hurried footsteps were from the Black Widow.

“Is she going to kill me?” You heard Kamala whisper as Natasha slowed down. That was a great question you weren’t 100% sure about.

“Kamala, what the hell are you doing here?” She asked. “Aren’t you supposed to be in space?”

“Well, you see, Mrs. Romanoff,” Kamala said slowly. “I requested to leave my mission early because she seemed upset.” Your head whipped around to look at her.

“You told me your mission was almost over, and Carol didn’t need you anyone.” Her eyes widened, frantically looking between you and the Russian.

“I did say that, didn’t I? It was a white lie,” she said. “I knew if I told you the truth, you would make me go back, and you sounded so sad on the phone,” she held up her hands, almost to defend herself. “Carol knows the truth, and she approved it. I couldn’t lie to her,” she pointed to Natasha. “She scares me more than you,” she whispered. Her comment made you laugh, but you were still angry at her even though her heart was in the right place. Natasha scuffed.

“I scare you now. Is that so?” You looked at your mom. Her arms were crossed, and she was leaning against the doorway.

“No, ma’am, Mrs. Black Widow, sir.” You laughed so hard that you snorted, which sent Kamala into a fit of laughter. Natasha had a soft smile on her face.

“Breakfast is ready, girls. Come on,”

“Thanks, Mom,” the Black Widow nodded and walked back towards the direction of the kitchen, not bothering to close the door. Kamala let out a shaky breath and slumped back into the mattress. “I can’t believe you lied to me.” You pinched her side, and the girl yelped.

“It was for a good reason,” you rolled your eyes. “Are you telling me if I told you the truth, you’d let me stay?” There was no good reason you had. “Exactly,” she pinched your side back. “How did you sleep?” She sat up and stretched her arms above her head.

“Good, actually,” your mind was blank; no nightmare woke you up.

“Good,” she climbed out of the bed. “Come on. I’m hungry. Your superhero needs food,” she rubbed her stomach.

“My superhero?” She winked at you.

“I like the sound of that,” she teased and grabbed your hand. You were a little stunned, but you led her to the kitchen, where the rest of your family was. My superhero, you liked the sound of it, too.

*

“I’d like to call Y/n Romanoff-Maximoff as my first witness to the stand,” the prosecutor said your name, and your stomach still dropped. This moment was what you were preparing weeks for. All you had to do was take the stand, tell the truth, and be free. Easy minus facing Principal Cook and the side full of his supporters. But you weren’t alone either. Every Avenger that was not on a mission seemed to be there; even the Bartons made the trip to the city. Still, you felt frozen in your seat. Until you felt a hand on your shoulder squeeze it.

“We are right here, bug,” Natasha whispered. “Eyes on us the entire time.” You nodded and forced yourself to stand up. The prosecutor smiled at you as you passed her and headed for the witness stand. You tried to keep your eyes on your section. Even when the Bible was brought over to you so you could swear the truth and nothing but the truth. But you were curious, so your eyes flickered to his defense team. His lawyer was whispering to him, but Cook was watching you. The man smiled and gave you a little wave. You looked away immediately, eyes scanning your section until you found Kamala. She smiled, and the weight on your chest disappeared. You let out a shaky breath. You could do this. You could do this.

*

“I am so proud of you,” Wanda said for what felt like the 10th time once the trial ended. Her arms were wrapped tightly around you.

“Alright, darling,” Natasha smiled. “Don’t hog her. She’s got other people to thank for coming.” With a sigh, she let you go. You made your way around the large group right outside the courthouse. You thanked everyone for their support and tried to ignore the press taking your picture. Kamala was the last person you went up to. Immediately, you slumped into her arms.

“Hi,” she whispered. “Are you ready to go home?” You nodded against her. She took your hand and led you to your parent’s car. There was no need to say goodbye as everyone was invited to the house for a small party. It was your one request to do after the trial. You wanted everyone close by for a gentle reminder you weren’t alone.

Once again, you found yourself at the fire pit as you watched the party. Kamala sat down next to you and handed you a plate of food. “Are your parents enjoying themselves?” You saw them talking with Natasha and Wanda. They weren’t at the trail; they stayed at the house to set everything up.

“They are. I hope you are ready to hear many stories of when I was a baby,” you smiled and took a bite of your hamburger. “You know Yelena gave me the shovel talk,” your eyes widened. You knew when the Blonde found out you were dating Kamala; it was only a matter of time before the ‘talk’ happened. “It was nothing bad. She did not threaten bodily harm,” you laughed, a little surprised, and sipped your water. “She did make me promise something.”

“Are you going to tell me what that promise was?” Yelena was with the Bartons. Nate was handing on her back with his arms around her neck. She caught you staring and winked at you.

“She told me this has been the happiest she’s seen you,” you looked at the girl next to you. She was looking forward, but you saw her eyes flick to you. It wasn’t the first time you heard that statement. You look happier. Everyone said it in their way. “Is that true? Do you feel happier?” It was a complicated question because there were days you were on cloud nine. Others felt it impossible to move forward. But she made it better.

“Yeah, I am,” you admitted. “So, what promise did you make to her?” She took her free hand in yours.

“Just to keep you happy,” she kissed your cheek. “And you know how much I love making you smile.” You rolled your eyes and felt your body warm up.

“Hey, lovebirds,” you heard Kate yell. “I think you should cool off.” You gasped as the cool water drenched you and Kamala. You ignored Kamala’s laughter and looked at who was responsible: your brother, the Bartons, and Peter.

“Tommy, Billy, I’m going to kill you.”

“Awe, why?” Tommy whined. “It wasn’t just us.” That was true, but you had a free pass to bully them.

“Besides, it was mom’s idea,” your head snapped to look at the Black Widow, who was now with her sister and Laura. She was smirking at you. You narrowed your eyes at her.

“Give me your water gun,” you said to Billy. Your brother looked at you, then Natasha.

“I’ll speak kindly at your funeral, soldier,” he saluted you and handed you the water gun. You placed your now ruined food on Kamala’s plate.

“Khobsurat,” she stood up and grabbed your hand. “Are you sure about this? You have a lot of life to live.”

“Oh my god, guys,” you laughed. “I’ll be fine.” Well, you hopped anyway. Besides, you knew Wanda wouldn’t let anything happen to you. You were secretly her favorite. You pumped the water gun and looked at the Black Widow. She shook her head and mouthed ‘no.’ You winked at her and used your powers to turn invisible. Since the Avengers saved you from Dmitri, you rarely used your powers. Besides the occasional training session Natasha and Wanda put you through. You were grateful for that; what they taught you kept you alive. It felt good to use your powers for fun.

You watched the Black Widow walk over to Wanda and wrap her arms around her waist. She was talking with Maria and Sam. Clever or suicide to use the witch as a shield, but it would not stop you. Carefully, you walked closer to them. “What are you doing, sweetheart?” Wanda asked. Natasha placed her head on her shoulder.

“Can I not love on my beautiful wife?” The witch narrowed her eyes at her.

“Who did you piss off?” You slapped your hand over your mouth to stop the sound of your laughter. Wanda glanced around the yard. “Get off of me.” But Natasha held onto her tighter. “Natalia Alianovna Romanova, I will not be your shield because you messed with our enhanced daughter.” Sam laughed, throwing his head back.

“You got your full government name,” he teased. You are in the dog house.” The Black Widow pouted, but her arms remained locked around Wanda.

‘Don’t even think about it,’ Wanda’s voice echoed in your head. Usually, it would scare you. Now, it was a calming presence when you felt her magic enter your mind.

‘Sorry, mama,’ You appeared behind Natasha and unleashed your water onto her back. Natasha gasped and moved Wanda to take some of it. You stopped immediately but still got her wet. You cringed. “That was not my fault,” you said. The witch sighed.

“I know,” Red Magic took the water gun out of your hands. “Run Romanoff.” The Black Widow’s eyes were filled with fear, and you laughed as she took off towards Tommy, who threw his water gun at her. Yes, you were happier—all thanks to them.

[w98pops]

So Nico's parents were Khans 👀👀👀

YES!!

I didn't really thought out them that much, Nico is a new character after all and I wanted to explore him a bit, before going all in into my obsession with writing a whole bloodline with 15 generations and personal backstories for each and everyone.

BUT. I have a silly little drawing of them ⬇️

They both were kids at the time of New Khans wipeout, first generation Great Khans. They were good friends with Papa Khan. (Pretty much the only reason Nico was allowed back in. Papa recognised the memorabilia that Nicodemus has on the hilt of his machete-sword, that one of his moms wore.)

I don't think Nico had any thoughts about his parents before the meeting with Papa, he never remembered them and the only reason he got his mom's necklace back is because Aletus won it in caravan from a legionary who participated in killing of Nico's parents.

About their death, I think Legion not in a million years could've openly confront Khans, they unknowingly found Nicodemus' moms in a vulnerable position (They were having sort of vacation, to celebrate their child's birth) and AFTER losing 12 good soldiers to raid this one house, and finding just two Great Khan women and a child, Legate and Caesar took a note of the tribe's strength, which contributed years later in the decision to try to negotiate "peace" with Khans, instead of just doing it the Legion way.

Also, in my playthrough as Wendy I did expose Legion's plan to Khans, which now that I think about it kinda doesn't make sense because at that point in time Wendy had no real agenda against the people who she literally grew up with.

I think she visited Red Rock twice, before the Fort, and after. Before the Fort she just kinda hang out, met Nicodemus and Chance, and then after her witnessing the horrors of the Legion she never faced as a child, and having a talk with her dad, she deliberately came back to convince Papa (and Nico) to drop this stuff.

Nico got some insight about his parents from Papa, came back to the Legion, got demoted from the frumentarii position because of a failed negotiation, (not crucified only because Nico is too valuable of an asset and also too heavy to lift him up on a cross) was sent to Arizona, deserted and joined the Khans.

Silly chain of consequences regarding the necklace ⬇️

Aletus just randomly won it > Aletus remembered it belonged to Nico's parents > Aletus gave Nico the necklace > Nico thought it looked like the Eye of the Providence, religious man he is, and kept it > Papa recognised it > Wendy and Papa provided Nico with information that changed his life forever > Nico is now on the right path and fixing the mistakes he made > The world is a little bit better!!

It's a bit silly and I just realized I barely talked about the question at hand and just rambled about Nico's relationship with Khans 😭 But hopefully it's fine.

Thank you so much for the ask and letting me ramble about my characters!!! Much much love 💗

[sshbpodcast]

Character Spotlight: Benjamin Sisko

By Ames

We’ve segued so smoothly into Deep Space Nine for our character spotlights here on A Star to Steer Her By that you didn’t even notice it. Thank you, Worf. So this week we’re doing an in-depth look at one of the more complex lead characters of a Trek series, Benjamin Lafayette Sisko. He might be the leader who gets tested the most out of any of our main stars, and he makes probably the most wide-ranging decisions – though typically that decision is “let’s see how this goes.”

From first contacts with the Gamma Quadrant, to yet another standoff with Klingons, to full blown Dominion War, to whatever was going on with the wormhole aliens, Ben’s got a long list of moments for us to consider. So grab yourself a bowl of jambalaya, hop in your solar sail ship, and maybe get a little war crimes as a treat! Scroll on below for our Sisko spotlight and listen to a ton of spare moments on this week’s podcast (jump through the wormhole to 1:04:00). Ow!

[Images © CBS/Paramount]

Best moments

There’s no hurry Our first contact with beings from the Gamma Quadrant is also DS9’s first breaking of the Prime Directive. In “Captive Pursuit,” Miles is trying desperately to save Tosk from his hunters and Sisko is doing his best to technically stay within the rules, and it’s a rare success of doing both. Telling Odo to take his time in apprehending O’Brien shows that Sisko is coming from a place of real morality.

Find something you love, then do it the best you can We could name great moments between Ben and his son all day, but there’s more to our list than that, so let’s sum things up with a perfectly pure moment of excellent parenting from “Shadowplay.” Sisko is immediately accepting of Jake not wanting to follow in his footsteps and join Starfleet, and melts our hearts. Doing something he loves and being true to himself is far more important than legacy.

Cardassians love cosmetic surgery Appropriately, we watched Enterprise’s “Judgment” on the podcast this week and spent most it comparing it to The Undiscovered Country and “Tribunal.” When O’Brien is on trial in Cardassian kangaroo court and his lawyer is doing nothing to defend him, Sisko walks in with an undercover Cardassian spy in tow and wins the whole thing without saying a word. Like a badass.

Humans used to be a lot worse than the Ferengi We brought this up last week in our Worf chat too, but there’s a general racism towards the Ferengi all through Deep Space Nine. Quark calls Sisko out for it in “The Jem’Hadar” when Sisko and he are butting heads, and by the end of the episode, Sisko has seen Quark in a new light and refuses to leave him behind because Sisko got over some his prejudice (at least a little bit).

I’ll see that you get that chance Speaking of that prejudice against our lobed friends, everyone and their moogie is dubious when Nog claims he wants to join Starfleet in “Heart of Stone,” which would be a first for a Ferengi. But when Nog tells Sisko that he’s serious and looking for a life that will earn him real respect, the commander takes him at his word and vouches for him, putting in motion one of the best character arcs in Trek.

Some taboos are made to be broken Throughout the series, the relationships between characters are probably the strongest in Trek, and a true highlight is watching Sisko with his old/new friend Jadzia Dax. It’s such a beautiful scene in the equally beautiful “Rejoined” when Ben tells her that he’d still support her if she decides to break Trill taboo and hook back up with Lenara Khan. He’s that good a friend.

Don’t you see, Admiral? You’re fighting the wrong war. Around season 4, the show really tests Sisko with some ethical conundrums during the Dominion War. This is one he passes with flying colors. In “Paradise Lost,” Sisko is able to see his old mentor and silver medal winner from Jake’s Evil Admirals list, James Leyton, for what he really is: a megalomaniac who uses the Changeling threat as an excuse to incite a coup. Until Ben steps in!

Presenting the newest honoree in the Order of the Bat’leth It takes a certain level of crazy to think you can infiltrate the best warriors the Klingons have to offer, and luck for us, Captain Sisko is just that level of crazy. Avery Brooks seems oddly at home portraying a blood-thirsty Klingon being inducted into the Order of the Bat’leth in “Apocalypse Rising,” and even better, he and Odo (mostly Odo) expose Changeling Martok!

Don’t let Bajor in the Federation! We say it all the time on the podcast and today is no different: Bajor is NOT ready for Federation membership, no matter what Picard says. So when Sisko goes fully nuts after getting zapped by a plinth in “Rapture” and crashes the Federation membership ruling, we are fully supportive of his absolute batshit meddling. And ya know what, it works out for Bajor because of it!

Sisko, you’re baby crazy Any time Sisko is with a baby is truly joyful. This from a podcast of self-professed non-baby people. But this man’s mirth is so pure we’ve got to give it to him. Avery Brooks isn’t even acting in “Children of Time” when he dandles that baby, or in “The Abandoned” when he’s nostalgic about Jake as a baby, or in “Heart of Stone” when he’s delighted that Vilixpran is budding. This man just loves babies.

Let’s pretend that the Major’s not even here… By season 6, Gul Dukat is at his lowest point – he’s lost the station, his daughter is dead, and he’s more nuts than Ben in “Rapture”! And Captain Sisko plays him like a fiddle! “Waltz” is such an amazing showcase of acting talent, with Avery Brooks and Marc Alaimo bouncing off each other like pros. Sisko pushes his Cardassian counterpart over the edge and survives the cave of madness, some-freaking-how!

The Emissary has completed his task Sisko’s final action in this corporeal plane is also the climax of the whole series, culminating the wormhole alien plot that was started at the very beginning. And while we may whine that the Kosst Amojen plotline in “What We Leave Behind” felt rushed at the end, we have to admit that it’s cathartic to have the Emissary make a huge sacrifice to take out the pah-wraiths in the series finale.

—

Worst moments

This is how you hold a grudge Interestingly, the first taste we get of the jambalaya-slinging commander is him being bitter and fickle in the series premiere, “Emissary.” The show immediately introduces him being a dick to Picard, stewing with rage over Locutus’s part in the Battle at Wolf 359 (as if Picard had any control of that!). He also clearly doesn’t want to be in command of the station, starting him off with character conflict that the series will build on.

If I hear of you hanging around with him… Continuing our running gag that the only alien species the show seems to think it’s okay to be racist against is the Ferengi we brought up last week with Worf, we see more instances of it from Sisko early in season one in “A Man Alone.” When Ben basically tells Jake to not hang around with Nog anymore, it’s flavored with that anti-Ferengi racism we’re sadly accustomed to.

When in the Mirror Universe, do as the Mirror Universe people do We have a lot of issues with how DS9 trots out the mirror universe all the time, and it’s at its most uncomfortable when Sisko goes over there and sleeps with his friends’ counterparts in “Through the Looking Glass.” Sure, there’s not much you can do when Intendant Kira sets her sights on you, but it’s simply wrong to take advantage of Mirror Jadzia, regardless of how hot she is.

Abusing your power is so romantic Sisko is so blinded by love in “For the Cause” that he ignores all the signs that his girlfriend Kasidy has been aiding the Maquis. And then Ben abuses his power as commander of the station to get her out of an inspection when she bats her eyes at him, which is straight-up unethical. As we’ll see, Sisko tends to make terrible decisions when the Maquis are involved…

Red – the blood of angry men Arguably the most immoral acts that Sisko commits are the war crimes in “For the Uniform.” Even after Starfleet tries to take him off the Maquis assignment, Sisko’s obsession with taking out Eddington has gotten so personal that it clouds ALL his judgment. If we gave Picard grief about removing the residents of Dorvan V, then we’ve got to rake Sisko over the coals for POISONING A PLANET and relocating more people!

Prophets, take the wheel! Half our Worst Moments come from the last two seasons when Sisko is tested more than any other Trek captain due to the Dominion War. And so often, he chooses the messed up response. I am still trying to figure out his Hail Mary play in “Sacrifice of Angels” when he flies headlong into the wormhole against thousands of ships and ends up asking the wormhole aliens to do a literal deus ex machina for him. Leeeeroy! Jennnnkins!

What’s a better response to a “Yo Mama” joke than this? I shat on this one in our time travel post, but Sisko using his status as Emissary to let Kira play with the Orb of Time in “Wrongs Darker than Death or Night” because Dukat banged her mom and then gabbed to her about it is absolutely incompetent of him! Why anyone has access to that thing is incomprehensible because it just begs for time shenanigans!

I can live with it… because Vreenak can’t Arguably one of Deep Space Nine’s best episodes, “In the Pale Moonlight” forces Sisko to make the hardest decision a Starfleet officer has to make – and he jumps at the chance to pick the option involving committing more war crimes. While it is a huge benefit to get the Romulans on your side, Sisko knowingly accomplishes this through lies, counterfeiting, bribery, murder, and most damning of all: enlisting the help of Elim Garak!

Sisko SMASH! Here’s another instance when Ben abuses his power, this time in order to get access to an ancient artifact from Bajor in “The Reckoning.” And what does the Emissary do once he’s borrowed the tablet without asking permission, promising to take good care of it and that he’ll return it first thing in the morning? He destroys it utterly in a fit of rage, releasing some spirits that nearly gets Jake and Kira killed.

Pick a lane, Ben I will always give Sisko guff about this. In “Accession,” he has accepted his role as Emissary to the prophets while he’s already serving as commander of Deep Space Nine, and frankly, Ben, you can’t be both! It’s a HUGE conflict of interest. In “Tears of the Prophets,” Admiral Ross gives him some hell for this when he’s torn between the Prophets and Starfleet, and he’s right! Step down!

You’re outta here! “Take Me Out to the Holosuite" is a polarizing episode that fans either love or hate (even your SSHB hosts are mixed!), but you’ve got to admit: Sisko is a terrible baseball coach! He forces all of this senior staff to play a baseball game in the middle of wartime, cancels his girlfriend’s shipments to make her to play too, kicks Rom off the team, gets obsessively competitive about it, and then gets himself thrown out anyway! How many strikes was that?

They warned you that marrying me would bring you sorrow Finally, we are still cross with Sisko for knocking up Kasidy. In “The Dogs of War,” Kasidy tells him she’s pregnant because he forgot to take his contraception, even though Bashir is constantly reminding him! This is a world in which having children should always be a choice because future contraceptives are basically magic, AND he’s been told that he’s basically cursed, so take your damn meds, jackwit.

—

Well, we can live with it. We can live with it. We’ve also got more DS9 character spotlights on the way if you keep watching this blog, more Enterprise watch-throughs on the way if you keep listening to us on SoundCloud or wherever you podcast, and more announcements from Ops over on Facebook and Twitter. Computer, erase that entire personal log.

[triviareads]

Tastes Like shakkar sounds so good! What are your top 5 books with brown or desi characters?

I enjoyed Tastes Like Shakkar a lot more than I was expecting, and have relentlessly been shilling it ever since. It's such a solid romance, the sex was good, a lot of the desi family stuff (the concept of being a "family manager") really hit, but it never took away from the main romance. Also, it's always nice to feel "seen" in the books you read even though it's pretty rare for me, but since this was specifically about Indian-Americans in the NY-NJ area, I really felt that.

Here are books with desi rep apart from Tastes Like Shakkar that are in my top 5:

Wrong to Need You by Alisha Rai: I debated putting my other fave by Alisha, Serving Pleasure, on here but Wrong to Need You portrayed a less-troubled desi family dynamic than Serving Pleasure so I'm picking this. Sadia is a widowed single mom grappling with her attraction to her brother-in-law, Jackson who's just returned after a self-imposed exile related to a mysterious fire. The restrained tension between these two is so hot (ok maybe not entirely restrained; she doesn't recognize him when he first returns and nearly has sex with him lol). Also, Sadia, like Jiya below, subverts the passive Asian woman trope on multiple levels, and based on the dynamic between her and Jackson.

I also liked how Sadia's large, close-knit Pakistani-American family was portrayed; they may not see eye-to-eye all the time, but they love one another and are willing to learn and compromise.

Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert: Zafir Ansari is truly a prince among men; him and Dani go viral for his rescue of her, and they start fake dating so his football charity can get some positive attention and donations. I like how Zafir was the romantic one among the two of them (and is a Bollywood romance fan, predictably), and is also great in the sack so... a winner, basically.

Also, Talia wrote this lovely exploration of grief (Zafir lost his dad and brother) and this really sweet relationship between Zafir and his SIL, and his family as a whole which I appreciated.

Sink or Swim by Tessa Bailey: I know Tessa has gotten a lot of flak for her portrayal of Latinx characters (which, deserved imo), and she's otherwise by and large stuck to writing white characters, but I can't deny she did pretty damn good job of writing Jiya and her family, who are desi, in this book. Here are my full thoughts on this.

The Roommate Risk by Talia Hibbert: Friends to lovers AND probably one of the only unrequited love books I'll ever recommend only because I love Jasmine so much (even while she's STRUGGLING to figure out that yes, Rahul has had feelings for her ever since she deflowered him on the... I wanna say library floor), and Rahul Khan is adorable and a stern, stern man who can absolutely get it. Similar to Zafir above, Rahul's dad also dies during the book (there's a lot of flashbacks) and Talia portrayed Muslim funeral customs and just the general family dynamics thoughtfully and in such an emotional way.

Hard Way by Katie Porter: lol my problematic fave because there are a few things that are just so weird in terms of rep: For one, the author keeps putting Sunita, the heroine, in "indian inspired" clothes, for example, some kind vaguely described professional suit inspired by a saree? Like, this woman is an attorney who works for a United States congressman. She's probably wearing a regular-ass suit like the rest of the people in that office. Also, her nickname in law school was the "Ice Queen of Bangalore" which was meant to be microaggressive, but the nickname literally makes 0 sense to me since she was raised in AMERICA, and considering half the Indians I know can't make the connection between being Kannadiga and possibly being from Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka, what are the chances these white mfs can, right? And the weird thing is, she narratively sort of "reclaims" her nickname, but it was such a cringe one to begin with and I don't even know why the authors bothered to put it in in the first place.

BUT Sunita is the only Kannadiga heroine I've ever read (I am. kannadiga, to clarify), she's a martial artist, she's struggling to work out her marriage with her husband (I'm a sucker for that shit), she's good with being kidnapped and zip-tied straight from the grocery store by her husband because it's a mutual fantasy, and she attends yakshagana performances (also very personal to me and my family)! Do you know how rare it is to see any of these things as far as brown heroines go? Maybe I have a lower bar for South Asian rep because there are so few romances that have South Asians who don't hate themselves/the culture AND have good sex scenes, but hopefully that will change as time goes on.

[thelastbraincellofthehive]

Soooo as I thought, v9 caught with me before I had a chance to finish my rewatch, but no reason to cut it when we have 7 days in between episodes lol so back for v5!

I gotta admit this was not my favorite volume, the pacing issues really show in this one and some things felt not well expressed/explained, but still the story and character moments are very great and it contains some of my favorite scenes in the whole show.

Also there's lots of Raven and Ilia how can I complain about that??

Anyways, lets get in!

I gotta say that Triumph is definitely my less favorite opening, I never liked it that much, but it's not saying a lot, because it's still a no-skip when I listen to the rwby playlist and it still fucks. Jeff and Casey don't miss. So basically, it's not bad, it's just that all of them are so good that it's hard to compete lol.

The scene where Blake and Sun talk about how Blake sees every person as a word it's one of those things that live rent-free in my mind <3 Blake's love for her friends is so loud in its quietness, it's beautiful <3

Also her saying that Adam is Spite<3 I love it because while watching reactors they almost always think 'Hate' or 'Violence' but as soon as they hear Spite is like...something just clicks into place. Of course he is spite, it's the only thing that make sense!

I gotta admit that much of why I'm happy about this volume is really just the fact that we got so much Raven lol. I seriously enjoy Raven so freaking much I can't believe it! I can't wait until we finally see her again! Please RT???

No but seriously, every scene with Raven is so enjoyable to me because I really feel there is so much hidden meaning behind all of her interactions. She's another of those characters I can see the bravery and love practically trying to claw their wait out from, but damn this woman is so stubborn and traumatized smh. I hope Tai is able to knock some sense into her sometime.

Also while on the topic of Raven... I still believe that Vernal and her were in some kind of relationship??? Like... There was something there! And Vernal has such a big lesbian energy to me

Also while on the topic of Vernal... Vernal can also step on me. Her design is honestly so sexy???? The short hair, the dark skin with light blue eyes, honestly top tier. Why did v5 had to be the volume were sexy women were introduced just to be killed???

Yes that last line Is about Sienna... I'm still so mad we only got five freaking minutes of Sienna Khan, how do you make such an awesome design and interesting character and then just inmediatly kill her off?? Why? 😭

Anyways, leaving my list of rwby crushes aside... This volume was one of Blake's best<3 I still remember how proud I felt when I heard her speech after battling Ilia and the Albains. My girl was born to lead a revolution<3 also, that speech is just amazing, I think we should all remember it along with Ren's advice to 'take action every time'.

And then she goes and tells Adam to his face that he's not that important? That he's not the center of her life and She's not letting him act like it anymore? That moment was top tier! I can't wait for v6 it's my favorite <3

Yang and Weiss' reunion 🥹 and how tiny Weiss looked while they hugged 😭 I love these two so much!!!

And the moment when they meet with Ruby again and Ruby is panicking in guilt and Yang just hugs her and tells her she loves her because last time we saw them together in v3 Ruby told her she loved her and Yang didn't respond 😭😭😭😭

And then they just inmediatly call Weiss to join them because of course you silly touch-starved princess you're family too!!!

Seriously this volume is just full of character moments that make me all soft 🥹

Listen, I love Nevermore and Bmblb and Armed and ready and Wings and can you beelieve how many songs the ship has already?! as much as every bee shipper...but All that matters Is just my favorite Bee song <3 I love the angsty bees, and I love how undeniably romantic and devoted this song is even if it doesn't mention love a single time.

Cinder really be there insulting Raven's cleverness and inteligence while I'm still 100% sure she doesn't have a single braincell in her head because Neo took it hostage seroously woman, I love you but you're stupid as hell!

Emmerald's little breakdown thinking that Cinder was dead</3 you'll be ok baby

Also Blake asking 'what was that?' after the Salem vision and Oz saying 'that was Salem' and I can just imagine Blake thinking 'that doesn't clarify things at all but ok' because at this point She's not 'in' yet lol.

Ilia, honey... You were right there. Right in the same room as Weiss, at the same time, after the battle ended... Why couldn't you just talk to her???? I'm literally asking for the crumbs of one (1) interaction between them!!

I love how cute and innocent Jinn's statue looks in the school lol once we actually meet Jinn... She's nothing like that lol but we love her anyways.

Jaune's semblance!!! He deserved that moment! He worked so hard and Cinder Is a bitch but she didn't get her way because Jaune is awesome!!!

also that Pyrrha line 😭

While I don't hate Ozpin as part of the FNDM does, that part where he looks at Yang and tells her he's not gonna lie of tell half-truths is one of those that annoy me after v6 lol I get why he is the way he Is .. but still, Yang being angry at him after that was deserved.

Also I've seen that conversation like fifty times already ando the thing that bugs me the most about The volume is that I don't really get why they treat Raven and Qrow turning into birds like it is some kind of abomination lol that's one of the moments I feel didn't translate so well. I get that the actual problem goes way deeper than that, but "why would you do something like that?" Still sounds a little overdramatic lol

Oscar and Ruby training hand to hand has to be one of the cutests scenes this volume lol both these kids are so pure and cute<3

"you can't lose to a girl that wears a skirt" "Ruby you wear a skirt" lol <3 I love the Ruby-Weiss moments<3 also combat skirts FTW!

Again with Yang and Weiss, I couldn't not talk about Alone together <3 again, I really love Weiss taking care of her team with the coffee first and then talking to Yang <3 Weiss reaaaaaally became the best teammate the girls could have.

Also Weiss and Sun being wingman/woman for the bees is my favorite thing<3 they could bond over it maybe lol

Yang crying over Blake 🥹 again, she is the living embodiment of 'I don't care, I say caringly, while I care a lot' and I love that <3

Also Ruby making me cry when she said 'combat ready' and immedialy thought of Penny and just... Lost her light... That was a low blow, still is

And yes I'm still very much angry about Penny 🙂 better move on

Leonardo being an actually cowardly lion and Ironwood an actually heartless tinman make me worried about Vaccuo's headmaster... I gotta buy the CFVY novels to learn a little more about him *puts on birthday list*

The Cinder vs Raven fight is probably my favorite one in the volume though Yang vs the Bandits is hot af and I loved Weiss vs the Lancers but honestly, I can't not laugh when they get out the giant swords lmao what was that? What was the use of that? Lol I love it

The fact that RT didn't make Pilot boy explicitly gay because they were gonna kill him off and then regretted it because the fandom just latched onto him lol that's still one of my favorite v5 funfacts

I gotta say I kinda love how this story is way bigger than any of the characters involved. I remember how many people were mad that they just ended the white fang plot with the quick capture of the Albains and the Faunus army, and then how many more got angry when Adam was finally killed next season, but it makes sense because the end goals are bigger than these villains... And sadly bigger than the heroes too, hence why Nobody is trully safe.

Yang proving again and again that she has gotten smarter while fighting is so sexy of her<3 She's learned to prioritize, to slow down and, as Taiyang told her, find out of there's a way around the fight, which is why her final confrontación with Raven is so rewarding to watch, and why it makes sense.

Again I really want to see Raven again <3 pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease!!!

I get they wanted to end the volume on a kind-off cliffhanger/hint of next path, but Oscar, my dear, you really didn't need to try so hard to deliver that message lol I'm sure they could've waited a couple hours for you to say it.

There's probably a lot I'm forgetting but like... I kind of really want to keep going because my favorite volume is next!! So I'm gonna leave here!

Overall, team rwby is back together and that's how it should be!! Also, bees<3

[republictrooper]

TOMORROW AND TOMORROW AND TOMORROW

Didnt get a chance to watch Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow until tonight for various reasons, so pardon my late review!

Anyway, for the 2nd week in a row we get that most classic of Trekisms - a really flimsy metaphor for something presented in a way that's kind of insulting if you think about for more than a minute, but this time, also wrapped in some absolutely top tier character torture porn (complimentary)!

Like, the metaphors get a bit tiring and insulting, but... it's nice to have a Star Trek that's doing them again in a way we havent seen since DS9 and Voyager.

Anyway, Viewing Notes:

Who kept my sweet sweet spock from playing the music of his soul? WHO ARE THEY I JUST WANT TO TALK

(also damn starfleet couldnt spring for the noise dampening walls?)

Poor M'Benga. You tried ;_;

"You don't have to bear this alone" OH DOESN'T SHE?????????????

Kinda funny (as in sad funny) M'Benga said that too, since I think he STILL hasn't been able to reveal that he was smuggling Rukiya for years, even if Una eventually found out and agreed to keep his secret.

NGL, Exasperated Kirk in the Alleyway kinda had me laughing a bit. To say nothing of the clothing scene. And the Chess Scene. And the Hot Dog scene. As much as I didnt want to like La'an/Kirk, this is a pretty classic screwball romance setup and I am a SUCKER for those. So. Fine. You got me. I kinda sorta ship it.

Oooo, so THAT'S why this Kirk says he's from Space. Oof. There's a kicker.

I gotta say, New Kirk is making a believer out of me. He's not Shatner at all, which I think he doesn't need to be, but even in this "Earth is kinda Xenophobic" AU, he has that kind of quiet confidence and latent nerdiness of classic TOS Kirk. He's got the sassiness (That little one of us has got to change look he gave to Laan and the Heck yeah I'll just hustle people at chess for money thing) combined with the chivalry (Immediately changing so La'an can have her preferred outfit, charming the people he vanquished at chess with a handshake and a smile) that really works for me.

"Get to the Bridge" oh my gosh SNEAKY AS THE DICKENS.

Pelia remains an absolute delight in every appearance. I kinda love how she just... wasnt a great engineer though? Why would she be? She's immortal, but she's also just a person trying to survive, and she has hundreds of years to live! We need more Immortals who are just this guy (gender neutral), to be honest. Why would she have kept up on engineering stuff for a few hundred years? That would probably get boring! Hell, maybe that's why Scotty replaces her, she gets bored of engineering and decides to try something else! It makes perfect since she didnt learn it yet!

Aaaaand now we get the part I'm not sure I like: What if you went back in time to Defend Baby Hitler from the people who came back in time to kill him, because if you didnt, the future would be worse? Also it's implied Baby Hitler is being, if not actively tortured, at least definitely imprisoned against his will and separated from his friends and family.

I mean... Listen, I get Khan is fictional, as are the eugenics wars, but the metaphor is... I dunno man, the comparison is there and it's kind of iffy, and I while I understand how it kind of adds more dimensions to La'an's struggle with her ancestry, the whole "Millions of people have to suffer and die because thats the way the timeline has to be" sticks in my craw. It'd be like if Past Tense made the twist that the DS9 crew had to kill Gabriel Bell instead of impersonating him at the right moments. I just don't think this was the right story to tell.

I think I can kinda deal with it because you know, this is Star Trek. But gosh, this will not replace Past Tense as my favorite Star Trek time travel story any time soon, no matter how charming Alternate Kirk was.

Sera's rant about the timeline is interesting. One one hand, the clever little "Timeline reasserting itself" to explain plot holes like that Time Voyager travelled back to the 90s and there was no sign of Eugenics Wars was kinda fun, but on the other hand, it smacks of the same kind of overexplaining I disliked with having M'Benga introduce Spock to the harp. Sometimes its enough that Spock plays the Harp! Sometimes its enough that when a single universe lasts for half a century and is written by hundreds of people over multiple series and mediums, little continuity errors slip in!

(nitpick time: You're telling me she cant at least talk to Pelia about this? If they "fixed" things and this is her timeline Pelia should remember her, right? Hell, they outright implied La'an's visit was the reason she became an engineer in the first place! Maybe she mentioned the bunker in Vermont specifically so La'an would know to go meet her there whenever the time travel happened, and threw in the "That painting is a Fake" because she remembered talking about it with La'an! TALK TO PELIA, LA'AN!). I suppose the idea might be that Pelia doesn't know exactly why La'an was in the past and cant be allowed to know more, but. Ugh.

Cuz like, listen, I know the dramatic weight requires La'an not to talk to anyone, but like. The Temporal police dont employ any counselors? If they're saving Mass Murderers from assassination on the reg, La'an can't be the first temporal agent to have mental health issues over that, even as a temporary recruit pressganged into service to save her own ancestor. And it's not like Pike could change anything if she told him, that stuff happened IN THE PAST!

BASICALLY LA'AN IS SUFFERING AND SHE DESERVES SOME COMFORT COME ON I EXPECT BETTER FROM STARFLEET EVEN THE DUMBASS SECRETIVE TIME POLICE DIVISION

Like gosh, that lady was ice cold i think even if Alt!Kirk had survived and hopped a ride over on that little device she would have killed him just to preserve the timeline or some shit.

I dunno. Time travel stuff. Ugh.

Anyway, OK Episode, I loved alternate Kirk, loved La'an and Kirk's shenanigans in modern Toronto/Vermont before things got real, kinda shipped La'an/Kirk in spite of myself, and the temporal intrigue was... intriguing, but "Let's Save Baby Hitler" left a sour taste in my mouth. On to the next Ep!

[multiverseofmiracleshq]

For the whole history of MILES MORALES please click here.

← ONCE THERE WAS AN IDEA TO BRING TOGETHER →

Life for Miles has become incredibly complicated. He has clones now, and that’s a total mess. There’s been the recent issue of Beyond Corp having trademarked Spider-man -- which means that Miles is technically operating illegally. He is Spider-man, though. They can’t just take that away from him. Once he gets that -- and the clones -- sorted, Miles has a chance at his life returning back to what it was. It was normal by any means, but it was his. Thankfully, he’s got good friends and family by his side. They love and support him, which makes it easier to keep fighting. He’s Spider-man: he got bit by the spider and he’s lived up to the responsibility. That means more than any trademark ever could.

←  A GROUP OF REMARKABLE PEOPLE TO SEE IF THEY →

✗ RIO MORALES & JEFFERSON DAVIS (1610) love Miles so much that they smother him at times. It’s been rough in the past: Rio’s death really hurt Jefferson and Miles. She was resurrected when Earth-1610 was destroyed in the Incursion, and having her back has made a world of difference in Miles’ life. Both of his parents know about his secret identity. It can make it hard at times, but it’s nice to be supported. He loves the hell out of his family, and that includes his baby sister Billie. The Morales-Davis household is a solid one.

✗ GANKE LEE (1610) is Miles’ best friend and that hasn’t changed even if their reality has. Miles knows that he can trust Ganke no matter what; sure enough, Ganke was one of the first to learn of Miles’ secret identity as Spider-man. The two have remained close despite all the wild stuff they’ve been put through, and Miles is really glad to have his friend by his side.

✗ KAMALA KHAN (616) and Miles were on the Avengers together along with Sam Alexander when they decided that it wasn’t what they wanted anymore. Disillusioned, they created the Champions. Ms. M is a great person to leave the team; they all care about what they’re doing but there’s just something about Kamala that’s undeniable. She’s one of his best friends and he trusts her with his secret identity. He maybe used to have a crush on her, but they don’t talk about that.

← COULD BECOME SOMETHING MORE  →

✗ THE CHAMPIONS → As a founding member, Miles has been there since the beginning. He really believes in the team and what they stand for; not only that, but they’re also his best friends. It’s not easy to be a teenage hero and no one knows that better than the Champions. They’ve struggled at times, but they’re a family. They fight for one another and always will.

✗ OTHER AFFILIATIONS -- order of the web.

← & IF WE CAN’T SAVE THE WORLD, WE’LL AVENGE IT →

✗ AGE → 17-18 ✗ MULTIVERSE ORIGIN → 1610 ✗ SPECIES → human mutate ✗ ETHNICITY → black / puerto rican ✗ SECRET IDENTITY → private ✗ RELATIONSHIP STATUS → open ✗ FACECLAIM → rhenzy feliz ✗ AVAILABILITY → open

← FUN FACTS →

became spider-man at 13 and was displaced to earth-prime around 17

writes fanfiction about himself

his venom strike feels like being kicked in the balls

[growup-gloup]

Hi I really need help getting over this guy. I’ve liked him for years and I don’t think he feels the same. It’s been distracting my studies and it’s hard to stop liking him when he’s so smart, reliable and kind. Pls help me. He is my first crush I don’t know what to do and I’m tired of feeling this way.

The key to getting over someone, whether it's a crush or a breakup, is acknowledging how you feel. Give yourself some time to come to terms with what you feel for that person, and to truly accept that you might not be able to have that person the way you want to. Shed a few tears if you must, but then wipe them away and get up.

It's human to have feelings for someone, but you don't exist for that person. No one deserves to occupy that much space in your mind rent-free.

You get over a person using healthy distractions like the following:

Delete all Evidence of Them. Obviously, this is easier said than done but delete to the best extent you can. It's hard to block someone who is in your circle of friends, especially if they've done nothing wrong, but you CAN get rid of any photos or other endearing things you've saved that remind you of them. You can also restrict their account on social media. That means that you will still be following them if unfollowing them is not an option, but you won't see their posts in your feed unless you look them up. This reduces the chance of you thinking about them, especially if they're not around.

Spend Time with Other People. If you spent a lot of time with that person, you are going to feel a type of loneliness that none of the following tips will help in the beginning. So, while the next tip will talk about how to be alone, you should still spend some time with other friends, and even family members, going places and doing things that make new memories. Note: this does not apply to rebounds, which is an unhealthy way of handling your feelings after a heartbreak.

Learn to Enjoy Solitude. Fall in love with yourself. Spend time being alone and doing things you enjoy. And if you're not sure what you enjoy, this is a great time to find out by trying new things until something makes you happy. Hobbies can take up a lot of spare time and mind space while also giving you a productive outlet and possibly new connections.

Focus on Your Education. Now that the distraction is gone, you can spend more time on your studies. Join a study group, and set a schedule that is just for reviewing and testing yourself. You can also reach out to other classmates or your teacher if you have questions, or you can try your hand at ye ol' reliable Google and Khan Academy.

Consume Intellectual Media. Don't get me wrong, I love a good rom-com, but that's not the best thing to be watching when you're trying to get over someone. Instead, opt for movies or TV shows that make you think, or are in a genre you haven't explored yet. Bonus points if it's in another language because you get to explore a whole new culture as well! You can also watch documentaries and listen to new types of music and podcasts, and even books. Again, this might not be the best time to pick up the latest YA romance, but it is a good time to try a different genre or pick up a great non-fiction book. Let me know if you'd like suggestions for some non-fiction books to start with.

Even as you do all of these things, getting over someone doesn't happen overnight. It takes time, and it gets a little bit easier every day. You just have to take it one day at a time and focus on the things that matter.

💋

[mintytrifecta]

Okay literally only one person enabled me so I’m actually going to go talk about Mort in Exiled cause I love him and he’s great

Mort started out the season as a prisoner but unlike most of the animals imprisoned, he kept home and believed that Julien would come back but instead of just waiting around he takes his chance to take out Koto. He puts so many plans to action and tries doing good.

And Koto only sees this as a joke. He sees Mort as a joke. He invites him into the circle as his jester because he doesn't take Mort seriously. Mort is confused at first, sure, but then he takes to the job as needed and does an exceptional job with what he's given.

As soon as Nurse Phantom tells him he can use his newfound position to help Mort goes right at it. Now Mort k n o w s he's seen as idiotic. He k n o w s he's seen as childish and uses this to his advantage and it's cunning.

His plan to escape was great and he managed to stay serious and use everyone's strong points to help with it, even with the hiccup given by Zora.

And may I remind everyone that Mort wrote a FRICKING PLAY IN ONE NIGHT. Like that is hard! And he said so himself he's only written novels before and speaking from personal experiences writing scripts is h a r d. He pulled it off and managed to do it so that everyone can escape while the play was being put on.

Even as it failed he didn't give up and became even more serious and headfast as the season went on guys he carried the braincell the whole season-

But then, Enter Mortacus Khan.

Mort is faced with his true nature. He's faced with his immortality and apparent memory loss. All of a sudden he's not just a genetic anomaly or really old and it's insane to hear. But before he can try to proccess any of that he's supposed to fight this other version of him that LITERALLY HAS AN ARMY AND IS WAY MORE POWERFUL THAN HIM.

He wins, though. If only through wit and knowing himself.

Then he gets whipped into his own mind to find Smart Mort and sees all these other versions of him. These people who are him that he's absorbed but had no idea that he did. He's forced to come to terms with his identity and his apparent eldritch self and he accepts it. He owns his self-image because despite his eccentricities, despite his immortality, despite these worlds and knowledge he somehow detached himself from, he is his own person. He is Mort. Not Smart Mort, not Hippie Mort, not anybody else but himself. It's his head and his body and his life.

He then controls and commands an entire goddamn army of himself and only this manages to turn the tide of the war of the beasts. It's because of Mort that they manage to have at least some kind of a winning chance.

All of this to say, Mort is a good person and a good character. He's weird and offputting but when the chips are down Mort is headfast, strong, smart and will do whatever he can do help and save the people he loves.

It's interesting cause in a way, his arc in Exiled resembles how people treat Mort.

Most people see him as a weird and useless element of the show, until they start to get to know him better and he turns funny but nothing to take seriously. But then he develops. He's got his own life to him and during Exiled he gets serious and starts getting taken seriously by the audience.

Mort is a genuine good person and good character. He's weird but he's smart and cares deeply about his friends and will do whatever he can to help them.

Because despite being eldritch, he has compassion, and that's something nobody can take away from him.

His arc starts with him being a jester to being the leader of himself in every sense of the way and I just think that's poetic and beautiful.

[jazy3]

Thoughts on Grey’s Anatomy: 17X7

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

They did it! I can’t believe it! They actually killed DeLuca off! I’m so happy right now! As long time readers will know I have never been a Andrew DeLuca fan and I speculated back in the summer that they might be planning to write his character off after it was revealed that the planned finale for Season 16 included an explosion that was supposed to claim the life of one of the characters. I speculated that DeLuca was the most likely candidate with Tom and Jackson being the most likely runners up because I felt that they had gone as far as they could with DeLuca’s character and there wasn’t much left for him to do on the show.

Add that to the fact that the actor who plays DeLuca said a bunch of stuff to the press last year where he spoiled some pretty major plot points and stated that he knew things about where the show was going when he hadn’t even read a single script for the season yet and I was pretty sure his days were numbered. That being said, the show had teased us a bunch of times about firing, killing, or writing off the character during seasons 15 and 16 and they never went through with it so a big part of me was skeptical that they ever would.

But it turns out I was right! His days were numbered and they wound up killing him off in the Mid-Season Premiere! I’m still in shock. It hasn’t really sunk in yet to be honest. This episode honestly made me wish we’d gotten to see the remaining episodes and finale of Season 16 as planned. Based on what we know it looks like the plan was for Richard, Bailey, Meredith, and Carina to stage an intervention, DeLuca was to go away and get treatment and return to the hospital only to die tragically in an explosion.

Season 17 would have opened with the characters finding out about that and mourning his death and I think it would have been interesting to see Meredith navigate that as in the Finale Hayes asked her out and she said yes. It seems likely that if the COVID-19 Pandemic had not hit when it did and shut down production and altered filming for this season we would have seen Meredith and Hayes go out for a drink and start dating.

Seeing Meredith navigate the loss of her ex-boyfriend who she was no longer close to while in the beginning stages of her relationship with Hayes would have been very interesting and I’m sorry we didn’t get to see that. I’m also sorry that due to safety restrictions Meredith and Hayes haven’t had much screen time this season, but it looks like that’s about to change as I’ll get into a bit later.

Back to the episode at hand. I never liked DeLuca as a character and I hated him with Meredith so I’m glad that they killed him off and that we never have to deal with that nonsense again. I’m glad that they caught the human trafficker Opal and took those people down. I was never super invested in that storyline so I’m glad they wrapped that up. I feel so bad for Carina though. She’s a great character and is wonderfully acted by Stefania Spampinato.

My heart broke for her in this episode because while I won’t miss her brother I know that she will and will be absolutely gutted when she finds out that he’s died especially after she worked so hard to get him help and treatment for his Bipolar Disorder. I’m glad she has Maya there to support her.

LOL at Bailey sleeping through the whole damn episode! What did I miss indeed! That poor woman slept through DeLuca getting stabbed, almost dying, not dying, having surgery twice, and then actually dying as well as the other shenanigans going on at the hospital. I loved that she was asleep at Meredith’s bedside especially after they spent a good chunk of Season 16 fighting.

I also feel really bad for Richard in that he’s obviously grateful that DeLuca helped save his life and wanted to help and when Owen turned him down because it wasn’t a good idea for him to scrub in Richard lurked in the background in the OR gallery the whole time to make sure that everything was okay. Plus he can’t talk to Meredith about it right now because she’s in a coma which must be so difficult for him. The extra stress also puts his sobriety at risk and that worries me.

I got to be honest I am struggling to understand Teddy’s point of view this season. She’s being really awful! She’s being cruel to Tom. She was cruel to Owen. I don't know what Teddy expected to have happen. Both Cristina and Amelia walked away from their marriages to Owen and moved on with their lives in large part because they realized Owen was in love with Teddy and always would be.

And then she finally gets what she’s wanted all these years and the minute she realizes Amelia’s baby might be Owen’s and not Link’s she runs back to Tom and has a several months long affair with him and then drops him like a hot potato as soon as she realizes that the baby is Link’s and after Owen finds out about the affair she refuses to talk to Tom for months and then comes crawling back to him and wants to be his friend after Owen makes it clear he wants nothing to do with her. WTF?

I feel bad for Tom. I really like his character. He’s super interesting and complex and he deserves better than someone who treats him like that. Tom is a good man at heart and he treated Teddy like gold and in return she’s done nothing but break his heart and stomp all over him when he’s already down. He deserves someone better. I’ve never been an Owen fan, but honestly Teddy is behaving so horribly I’m on his side on this one.

They had some great scenes in the OR together, but Teddy clearly read too much into it. Every time he gives her a crumb she’s convinced he’s forgiven her and wants to give her a second chance and that’s not it at all. Owen has been clear. He doesn’t forgive her and he doesn’t want to get back together with her. All he wants is to co-parent peacefully and work together as colleagues because he values her skills as a surgeon. That’s it.

It was cute to see Teddy Face Timing with Leo. I’m glad they are finding safe ways to incorporate the kids into the story. Speaking of which, the scene where Amelia and Maggie tell Zola that her Mom has been placed on a vent and she might not come off it was heartbreaking. That kid has grown into her own as an actress and really holds her own in that scene.

Her line about how she didn’t want them to tell Bailey or Ellis yet because they’re too young to understand broke me heart. Zola’s only a few years older than them but she’s old enough to understand the impact of what’s happening in a way that they can’t. And she remembers how hard it was when Derek died. When Cristina left. When Alex left. She doesn’t want to put her siblings though the same thing especially when Alex’s departure is still so fresh for them and they never got a chance to really know their Dad. The fact that Zola can recognize that at such a young age is raw and heart breaking.

We saw Winston and Maggie reconnect this episode which would have been super hot and enjoyable if Meredith hadn’t just been put on a ventilator! The scene where Jackson showed up looking for Maggie was too funny! I loved the scenes with Jackson, Link, and Winston in the backyard having beers! Winston has a great sense of humour and seems to be a calming presence. I like the idea of those three being friends.

Link’s face when he realized that Winston doesn’t know that Maggie and Jackson used to date and are also step-siblings. I’ll be interested to see Winston’s reaction when that comes out. I loved Link’s rant about how worried he was about Meredith and what her declining health and potential death was doing and would do to Amelia. Did anyone else catch that he called Amelia his wife? I’m calling it. They’re foreshadowing an Amelink wedding!

I liked hearing Jackson talk about how Meredith is family and they’re all worried and Winston’s comments about how all they can do is just keeping moving physically and metaphorically. I’m also loving Amelia and Maggie’s wardrobes this season. Their sweaters in this episode were gorgeous! Hats off to the wardrobe department! They’re looking good!

I loved seeing Jo and Hayes work together again because I love their friendship, but to be honest I was expecting more of the friendly teasing and banter of last season where she egged him on about Meredith and they traded barbs. Their scenes in this episode were a lot more intense and agitated. She totally played him with that line about Meredith.

He kept saying no to taking Luna to see her Mom and so Jo made it personal for him. If Meredith asked to see her kids Hayes would never say no and he would move heaven and earth for her. By making that connection Jo got him to agree to her plan. I also love that the reason he kept saying no in the beginning was because of what happened to Meredith.

She went from laughing and joking to being put on a vent and he doesn’t want to run the risk with any other patient and it’s obviously eating him up inside. He misses her. He cares about her and he’s clearly terrified about the possibility of her not waking up. That being said, Jo’s line where she compared Alex leaving her for Izzie because he found out he had kids he didn’t know he had and sending her a heartfelt letter to Hayes spending years watching his wife and the mother of his two boys die of cancer was way out of line. Super not okay. I really think that Jo is going to adopt that baby. I think that’s why they are setting up her interest in OBGYN.

In other news, Nico is still a terrible boyfriend to Levi. I honestly don’t know why Levi puts up with him. Levi really shone in this episode I think. He felt responsible for what happened, but instead of bungling things and making things worse like he might have done in the past he got out of his own way and asked Dr. Khan who was a vascular surgeon in Pakistan prior to immigrating to the U.S. to take his place.

I feel like this episode implies that the Beach is limbo now as I don’t know how else DeLuca could have ended up there as he wasn’t someone who was close to Meredith the way that Derek, George, Richard, and Bailey are. Not sure how I feel about that as I was kind of liking the is it a COVID dream is it the afterlife ambiguity.

Onto next week’s promo! I’m not excited that they appear to be setting up an episode in which the other characters mourn DeLuca’s passing as none of the other characters apart from Carina were really that close to him. They spent the last two seasons establishing that everyone hated his guts, considered him a nuisance, and only put up with him because they had to. So to me the other characters mourning him doesn’t feel authentic or real. It just feels forced.

There are several things I am excited about though. Seeing Maggie’s reaction to his death I think will be interesting. She was visibly upset and ran to his side when Alex beat him up in Season 13 and mourning the loss of your ex-boyfriend who you were no longer close to while being in a committed relationship with someone new I think is an interesting dynamic. She’s kinda standing in for Meredith here because she’s on a vent.

I’d like to see Catherine support Richard and make up for her horrible behaviour last season. And the best thing of all: Hayes!!! In the promo trailer we see Hayes sitting at Meredith’s bedside talking to her about how she needs to fight and how they all need her to fight. Bring it on! It’s about damn time! And Derek’s back and he’s … fishing? I’m excited to see what happens there and if they actually get to talk and have a real conversation this time. It has also been announced that Sarah Drew will be returning for a cameo as Dr. April Kepner this season so I’m excited for that!

Until next time!

[wallwriterstuff]

Dear Sister Part 1 ||Alec Volturi x Female Reader||

A request from @tiger-khans-blog

Part 2 can be found here

Request: Hey there I am really amused by your style of writing stories.Can I ask you another request for Alec Volturi? The thing is Demetri's younger younger Sister the reader fled from her family.As they had the tradition to get the girls married in a early age.And the reader is a Creator gifted Vampire.The Volturi gets to her.She is asked to join them.She recognizes Demetri immediately.She goes and hugs him.Demetri recognizes her.And she finds out that Alec and her mate bond.That's why she decides to torment Alec.So that he doesn't want her.But everything goes opposite.Alec falls for her head to heels.Then her Casanova image gets revealed that she is no less than her brother. Alec tries to convince her to give him a chance.Then Alec tries all the ways to make her fall in love with him too. Then she lastly agrees.Demetri gets against of this relationship.Then he tries to make them separated.But he becomes unsuccessful. As Jane is his mate.

Jane and Alec are aged up in this fic to 18.

Words: 4593 Warnings: Some swearing, sexual references, angst 

The report had come from a nomad they had spared in South Africa once and Aro had immediately been intrigued. Alec couldn’t deny he was curious (for he was always curious about a great many things and Aro had given him the time to explore them all to his heart’s desire) and he had found himself in quiet contemplation ever since their mission had been revealed. He had never heard of or read about a gift quite like hers, nothing in history had even come close to it.

“You are quieter than usual brother.” Jane broke the silence between them as she artfully finished dragging the pen across her eyelid, surrounding crimson red orbs with black ink. Alec glanced back at her from his place on the windowsill. In truth he had been ready before his sister even set foot in his room, and he knew full well she had only come because she wanted to know what was going on inside his head. She didn’t share his curiosity about the world but she was always intrigued by his inner-most thoughts.

“There are few people in the world who we haven’t been able to take on, but I wonder if this one might be too much.” He confessed finally, his brows furrowing. Jane sniffed, colouring in the sharp flick at the edge of her eye.

“Too much for us? You forget our reputation brother.” She blinked a few times, turning her head side to side before flashing her reflection a wan smile. The little liquid pen clattered into the silver case she kept her makeup in and she reached for a scrunchie next to tie her hair back with.

“I’m well aware of our reputation, I helped create it after all, but we’ve never faced anyone like her.” he persisted, his frown deepening. The nomad was a skittish little bugger and hadn’t really spent all that long talking, too busy stuttering over his sentences with his eager to please attitude, so only Aro had seen through his eyes to experience what he had seen. He had been excited by the nomad’s thoughts, almost jumping up and down with pure joy and wonder. A creator of things is how he had described her, and Alec had been left plagued with questions ever since. Creator of things? What sorts of things? Did she craft elements? Weather? Actual objects? What about people? Could she create people? What were the limits of such a gift? More importantly, who was she?

Gifts were based on human traits, ones felt so strongly that to amplify them was to make them physical. For her gift to be so unique, so powerful…

“Alec!” Jane drew his attention away from the landscape beyond his window once more. Her expression was stony.

“Don’t look at me like that.” He warned.

“Get your head in the game then.” Jane said firmly. Alec hadn’t even noticed Demetri enter his room but he spotted the tracker’s raised eyebrows now. He refused to say anything, feeling the familiar bitterness sink into his chest as Jane turned to Demetri, letting him wrap her cloak around her shoulders with a flourish. He fastened it with a smile, staring down at her adoringly before his lips met her forehead, then the tip of her nose, and finally –

“If you’re done defiling my sister in front of me.” Alec scowled. He still wasn’t used to their relationship. It had to have been the slowest burn romance in history. Jane had hated Demetri and Demetri had shown no interest in her, and then suddenly they were all over each other and the pair needed one another like fire needed oxygen. Alec wasn’t sure where it had come from, but he knew he sure as hell didn’t like it.

“I have not even gotten to the defiling part, but if you would like to witness what it really means to defile someone I suggest turning off your laptop and coming to our room later.” Demetri grinned. Alec’s growl was deadly, but Jane had already shot her mate a warning look that made his smile turn sheepish. Alec didn’t give him a chance to apologize.

“Let’s just go. You’re still useful to me right now, keep it that way.” The unspoken threat lingered between them as Demetri curled his fingers around Jane’s, head bobbing in a nod and his smile vanishing as he reached for the catalogue of tenors in his repertoire, searching for the right one to grasp and follow.

“Play nicely you pair, I will not be mediating again, do I make myself clear?” Jane scolded. Alec felt the disadvantage he was at, it was visible by the way she had twisted her fingers through Demetri’s, stuck to his side like a barnacle to the underside of a ship. He tried not to sneer when he agreed but the pout on his face said it all.

“I have her, let’s grab Felix and go.” Demetri said, his voice somewhat robotic with the intensity of his focus. Alec’s eyes lingered on the way his fingers briefly squeezed Jane’s before their palms split, hands dropping back to their respective sides. It had taken a long time for Alec to admit the bitterness he felt stemmed less from the fact it was Demetri that his sister had ended up mated to, and more because if he was brutally honest, Alec was actually a little envious Jane had found someone other than him. He remained quiet though, and had resolved that Jane would never find out about that; nobody with eyes would ever deny the twins loved one another deeply, but the kind of love and intimacy a mate provided was far different from the sort of familial love they shared.

That was a gap Jane could not full.

On edge as he was Alec remained utterly silent as he ran behind the couple, his expression set in a deep frown and ears ignorant to Felix’s usual round of teasing. Jane didn’t try to engage him in conversation either, recognising his silence as a desire to remain locked in his head for a little while – when it became unhealthy she’d intervene but for now she left him with his thoughts. He almost slammed into her when Demetri suddenly came to a halt, head twisting North-West.

“What the hell?” he demanded, hands on Jane’s shoulders as both a sign of apology and to keep his momentum from ploughing her down. Demetri looked befuddled, squinting at the horizon.

“The tenor I was following just…changed location.” He answered.

“Changed location? Are you sure you’re not losing your edge?” Felix chuckled. Demetri was usually the one that would jump on the band wagon when a round of teasing began, but the quickest way to frustrate him was to question his abilities. When he rounded on his best friend Felix immediately held both hands up with his usual shit-eating grin.

“Demetri. Talk to us.” Jane requested calmly. Her hand on his shoulder made the muscles unfurl, and though he remained tense he wasn’t ready to spring anymore.

“I do not honestly know what to tell you,” he admitted, “I was following the tenor, I held it as firmly as you hold my arm now and it just…dropped. It completely disappeared for the briefest moment, and when it returned it was in the complete opposite direction.” He looked incredibly troubled by the whole affair and Jane rubbed his shoulder soothingly.

“Then we follow it in the new direction. You are the best we have Demetri, we trust you to be right.” She assured him. Alec’s nose wrinkled, his brain immediately throwing up more questions than he could answer. It wasn’t like Demetri to just lose a tenor, his gift was far too potent for that and once he had grasped the tenor he wanted to follow, he held onto it with the tenacity of a bulldog to a fresh cut steak. What could move so quickly it would confuse even Demetri? There was no way it was physically possibly to move that fast, not to switch directions so drastically and change locations so smoothly. So how had she managed to move so fast? Was it possible –

“No!” Demetri snarled, his leg extended to take a step before his head snapped in the opposite direction once more.

“It moved again?” Felix asked, surprised now and far more alert than he had been previously. Alec’s upper lip curled, his shoulders bunching with tension and distress. He didn’t like this. It felt like he was being circled, something sinister closing in.

“How!” Demetri snapped. Felix had unclasped his hands, his eyes flitting about as if he anticipated a fight. A branch snapped from behind him  and Alec whirled with a growl, only to watch an innocent little deer startle and skitter away.

“How do we find her if you can’t track her?” Felix wondered aloud.

“I don’t know.” Demetri ground out. His teeth were clenched, jaw working as he fought to keep a hold of the tenor and pinpoint it once more. Alec didn’t imagine it would happen anytime soon. Someone who could move that fast was never going to be found unless they wanted to be, and given how she was hopping about right as they started to track her Alec guessed that the point was she really didn’t want to be found right now.

“Demetrius!” the sudden shout was accompanied by a gust of wind that ruffled Alec’s cloak. He whirled quickly on the balls of his feet, slipping into a half crouch with a stony expression. His nostrils flared, a shockwave rippling down his spine. She was beautiful. There was a shimmer of gold in that chestnut brown hair, the curls perfect and hanging just so just below her shoulders. Her face was defined by high cheekbones living in the shadow of thick, full lashes. Her lips were equally as plump and an errant thought about how they might taste passed through his mind unbidden.

Focus!

“Pain.” Jane hissed. Three things happened simultaneously then. One, Alec’s stomach dropped without explanation or cause. Second, the girl raised her eyebrows in disbelief, her expression a tad sarcastic as those perfectly plump lips pushed out in a pout. Third, Jane’s furious face melted into a look of tortured agony before she crumpled to the ground knees first. His head snapped back and forth between the girl and his sister, complete shock setting in. It was like she had somehow absorbed Jane’s power and reflected it back at her, the delay was too long for it to be a basic mirror gift so how had she done that?

“Enough!” Demetri snarled, lunging for her. Alec could feel the fury rolling off of him in waves and he couldn’t reach him in time to hold him back. In truth he doubted he could,  the unparalleled rage that was felt by those whose mates were endangered wasn’t something to stand in the way of, nor was it something easy to abate.

Demetri ran straight through her and crashed to the floor the other side.

“Felix don’t!” Alec barked, his eyes calculating as the ear-shattering sound of Jane’s screams died away. The forest clearing was left eerily quiet, only the low rumbling of Demetri’s growling reverberated through the air now. She sighed, a soft exhale of air that seemed to deflate her entire form as she turned to look at him.

“Really Demetrius? I had hoped you would recognise me.” She confessed, her voice somewhat apathetic despite the way her brows had furrowed that betrayed how deeply conflicted the knowledge made her feel. Her voice was musical to his ears, enough to daze him slightly and Alec desperately fought through the sudden, confusing, onslaught of emotion. Demetri had faltered now, his full name had been agitating enough but the implication he should know her was just downright unsettling to them all. There weren’t many left alive who knew them from their earliest days, and the fact Demetri seemed to struggle to know her was only more proof to Alec that this girl was not only dangerously powerful. but old enough to know how to use that power in the most effective way.

Demetri edged his way around the new threat while Felix quietly circled from behind. Alec shook his head at the giant, knowing deep down it would do no good. The girl would have to be adequately distracted if they were going to take her down. Jane was on her feet again and Demetri quickly pushed her behind his own body once he was close enough, his eyes narrowed.

“You might wear her face, but I cannot believe you are her.” he hissed. Alec had never seen Demetri look like he did right then. The tracker was confident, suave, charming even if the sheer number of partners he’d managed to tempt his way before he’d settled with Jane was anything to go by. Alec had seen him furious, elated, even upset once or twice, but he’d never seen him tortured, not like this. Demetri was watching her like he’d seen a ghost, like he wasn’t sure if she might attack him or if she’d disintegrate – and he didn’t know which would be worse.

“You were never the one lacking faith when we were small,” She remarked dryly. Vibrantly crimson red eyes flashed with indignation, a full pink lip curled back in a smirk that was more of a sneer. Alec wanted to look at Demetri, see his reaction, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of her twisted expression. Her pain was almost tangible, like he had internalised it to. He didn’t like that expression on her face at all and he didn’t really understand why before the wind changed direction. Mint. Fresh mint and sunshine on warm sand. His eyes widened slightly. They were his favourite scents, two of his favourite scents blended and combined into one perfect smell that was caught in his nose and ensnared every fibre of his being. Only one person in the world was meant to smell that way to him. He had heard Jane and Chelsea and so many others tell him as much.

“Y/N.” Demetri breathed. Alec could only watch, warring with himself as Demetri moved to embrace her, the shock he felt evident on his face. Jane was quietly seething beside him, watching her mate embrace another woman, but Alec finally felt the last puzzle piece slip into place when Demetri turned with her tucked under his arm. The shine to chestnut brown hair, the high cheekbones, the full, dark lashes, the very structure of their faces…it was all too similar to be a coincidence.

“You’re related.” He said. Demetri nodded, looking overwhelmed with emotion as he stared down at the girl tucked beneath his arm.

“I thought her dead, I tracked you to a dock and could go no further. You were just gone.” He said. She scoffed slightly.

“Would you have had me stay? Marry that disgusting oaf thrice my age? He was said to have beaten all the whores in the brothel,” She turned her gaze to the floor, “No matter how much I love you brother you were not making the right choice for me. I had to look after myself.” Demetri looked pained by her admission while Alec’s mind reeled.

“So the only feasible thing to do was run away? You didn’t even try to talk to me or mother!” Demetri argued.

“For what purpose! My job was to be worthy of the dowry paid for me and mother made it abundantly clear I could not even do that right given her choice of suitor for me!”

“Mother loved you! I loved you! I still do! I have grieved your loss every day of this life.”

Alec’s brain had finally switched off by then. Only Jane seemed to notice his obvious distraction but there was little time to comment on it between meeting her mate’s sister and having to convince her not to run from them anymore. Through the daze he was in Alec understood that if she ran now, disappeared as suddenly as she had appeared, then she would be missing from both of their lives forever.

“Stay. You have to stay.” He blurted. Multiple heads snapped his way, furrowed brows and confused expressions surrounding him. Her face twisted into an amused expression.

“Oh do I, pretty boy?” she questioned. Alec ignored the way his stomach fluttered at the strange pet name, swallowing hard as he tried to organise his scrambled thoughts. How was he supposed to explain the complexity of what he was thinking, what he was feeling, when he barely knew himself?

“You do.” Alec pushed, his voice firm. His words were falling from his mouth before he even consciously thought of them. Her amused expression never faltered as he fought to regain some control of himself. The embarrassment of being caught unawares had him scowling, chest puffing as a desperate need to defend his authority broke free of the maelstrom he was feeling.

“I don’t think-“

“It’s pointless you thinking at all. If we return without you there will be no corner of this Earth you may settle in. Demetri will be forced to hunt you for the rest of your immortal life, so, to make it easier on both of you, you’re best coming with us now.” Alec kept his voice firm even though he felt the flutter of nerves in his gut. What if she said no? He’d never know his mate if she left now, and Y/N was so worth getting to know. It had been so many centuries since Jane was as happy and calm as she was, and the very same thing was at his fingertips, just an arms-length away, waiting for him to reach out and grab it.

“And you think he would find me?” she asked. The question hung in the air, the growing tension palpable almost. Once her eyes locked with his he couldn’t look away, time became non-existant and his companions faded in favour of leaving a single face, just one, that his whole world centred around. He pushed back, desperate to stop whatever was trying to pull him towards her so he could gain some clarity. The more distance, the easier it was to think. Alec didn’t blink, he had no need to, so he saw every little moment as she disappeared in a wisp of red smoke and reappeared just as fast in front of him. He was immediately overpowered by her scent, by her voice, by everything she was and everything they had the potential to be.

“Please.” He said, quieter this time. He really wasn’t sure he’d survive if she left. Y/N’s head tilted, her smirk dropping the slightest bit for a fraction of a second as she leaned closer to him. Just like that, it returned, and her lips were diverted from their heart stopping path towards his mouth towards his cheek instead.

“Since you asked so nicely, take me back to your house pretty boy.”

Alec did.

Y/N was immediately given a black cloak, a cloak she at first refused before Demetri took her aside and they had a long discussion that had ended with her walking back in to accept her place amongst them. Alec had watched her from afar ever since. Inevitably Demetri had reconnected with his sister, and he watched as the man teased her mercilessly in between reminiscing about their shared history. He watched her craft gifts he’d never even considered in his long history of living and was left awed each time he saw one. She moved fluidly and with grace, quickly picking up the fighting techniques Felix taught her and decimating their enemies like a one-woman army. He fell in love with every little thing about her from afar. He adored the way she had a comeback for every occasion and the little smirk she quirked upward just for him when they passed in the corridor. He was besotted with the way her melodic voice always sang a nickname only he was given.

He had found her in the library once, curled up with an old looking book he knew wasn’t from their library – because Alec knew every book in their library cover to cover – in her hands. He’d been surprised at how mellow and calm she was that day, how she’d greeted him with a smile that was devoid of anything false, genuinely and calmly content for perhaps the first time since they’d met. There were a myriad of other little things he found out once they began to read together to, things that only made him fall in love with her a little bit more. She wrinkled her nose before a storm, always able to smell the rain in the air before anyone else ever did. She hummed in the shower, old folk songs Alec didn’t know but was quickly learning the tune to. Her every movement was like dancing because she had once trained as a way to pass the decades. Whenever she stepped into the sun, she lifted her face to its rays for just a moment to soak in their warmth.

“Earth to Alec.” Felix waved a hand in front of his face and Alec was quick to snatch it from the air. He quickly shifted his body, flipping Felix over his shoulder with a growl that voiced his displeasure. Felix laughed, loud and long with a gleam in his eye that told Alec just how much he was enjoying this. The giant pulled him down with him in the blink of an eye, rolling him beneath him and pressing his knee tight into the inner side of his thigh to keep him pinned.

“Bastard.” Alec snarled.

“If your eyes weren’t on Y/N you might have seen it coming.” He teased. Alec was fuelled by sheer embarrassment at that, lifting his free leg and kicking Felix back with such force he dented the wall opposite him.

“Keep your mouth shut!” he warned. Felix hissed, pulling himself free of crumbling bits of marble and brushing the dust from his clothes.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he asked in amazement, “It’s clear as day you love the woman Alec so stop pining after her with your eyes and just ask Y/N out already! Take your frustration out by pounding her, not me!” Alec let loose another warning growl, but it was stopped dead by the familiar, refined tone of Demetri. His head whipped to the left, finding the tracker stood tall in the doorway. His expression was devoid of any emotion.

“Surely that’s a sick joke.” He said finally. Alec blinked, somewhat astonished at the venom behind Demetri’s voice.

“Excuse me?” he asked. Demetri scowled, lip curling back above his teeth.

“My sister is off limits.” He hissed, fists clenching at his sides. Felix very smartly moved out of their way.

“Then so is mine!” Alec snapped.

“We’re mates! You cannot fight fate!” Demetri argued, “A puppy crush is something else. Find somewhere else to place your affections, Alec.”

“Maybe fate wants me to put them right in your sister.” He sneered, tired of his attitude and feeling a righteous kind of fury burn through him. Demetri was already starting to growl at him, slowly lowering his centre as he prepared to strike. Alec didn’t give him the chance, the mist pouring from his palms as they trembled near his sides. Demetri dropped like a stone, Felix soon following when he went to stop the younger boy.

“Enough Alec!” Felix shouted.

“Yes, I have had enough! I have had enough of all of your filthy jokes hinting at the ways you repeatedly defile my sister! I have had enough of having to pretend I’m okay with watching your sickening displays of affection with my twin! I knew it from the moment I met her that Y/N was made for me, her scent is my favourite smell and nobody appreciates the little things about her the way I do. Your sister is very much my mate and if I cannot keep you from Jane, you will not be keeping Y/N from me!” he promised, voice strong and echoing off of the marble walls of the training room. It took him a second to remember just who was in it.

Y/n stared back at him with an open-mouth, completely shocked it seemed by his admission. His anger was swept away in a flurry of horror, horror that quickly faded to disappointment as Santiago stepped forward with a look of disgust on his face.

“You’ve been sharing my bed knowing Alec is your mate?” he demanded. Her head snapped back and forth between them so quickly it was at risk of snapping right off. Alec could see the panic in her eyes as another lower guard member stepped forward.

“You replaced me with Santiago? My gift almost guarantees me permanent status here, why would you downgrade?”

“Watch your mouth!” Santiago snarled. Y/N looked back at him as Alec felt his heart freeze over, a deep, raw kind of ache starting up in his chest. She’d slept with Santiago and that random guy who wasn’t even worthy of having his name remembered? Had she not felt it the day they met the way he had? No…no, they’d read together at least once a week for the past five months she’d been here! He’d seen her drop her guard the first day they had met, he was sure she had felt it, so why would she find the company of the other guard members more preferable to his?

“Just how many of the other guard members have you slept with?” Demetri demanded, looking equally as horrified. Alec was sure that was more to do with her choice of partner than anything else. A horrible numbness began to set in. Did she truly not care for him? Alec would have died for her, hell, he’d have ripped off an arm if she asked it of him, such was the depths of his devotion to her.

“Alec I-“

“Goodbye.” The single word shredded his throat like he’d pushed a ball of thorns up through it, but that pain was nothing compared to the distinct throbbing in his chest. His mate didn’t care, that much was obvious. He left the argument fading behind him, walking with tunnel vision towards his room.

His mate didn’t care. And it tore him apart.

[a-bang-for-your-bucky]

Welcome Home Part 3

*not my gif*

WARNINGS: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE, seriously I use the ‘F’ word a lot. 

Pairings: Cody Rhodes x OFC (Sister), Brandi Rhodes x OFC (sister), Dustin Rhodes x OFC (Sister), past Seth Rollins x OFC, future Kenny Omega x OFC 

Summary: Peyton gets an offer that will change her entire career, while she tries to deal with the rising feelings for her best friend. 

A/N: Here is part 3. I hope y’all like it. 

The next few days following the aquarium, Kenny and I were more inseparable than usual. Everywhere we went, we were together. When Dynamite rolled around, the entire locker room was whispering about us. 

I was on my way to the EVP room, when I was stopped by Kris Statlander. “Hey girlie.” She greeted, booping my nose. It twitched at the contact. “I didn’t hear from you much this week, and then I saw the pics of you and Kenny. Spill.” She smiled, with a raised eyebrow. 

I laughed nervously, “There’s nothing to tell. We’re just friends.” She shook her head. I knew what people were saying. “I’m serious, Kris. Just friends who went to the aquarium together.” I defended, moving my hands in a definitive motion. 

“Girl! His eyes were on you, not the damn fish.” She rolled her eyes, “How are you both so clueless?!” She threw her hands up, flabbergasted. She quickly whipped her phone out and pulled up the shark tank picture again and showed it to me, zoomed in on Kenny’s face. “Those are heart eyes, girl. He is in love.” 

There was no way Kenny was in love with me. “Kris, he is literally married to wrestling. No time for relationships.” I pointed out. 

“But he always makes time for you.” She said before walking away to film a bit for BTE. Kenny did always seem to make time for me. I tried to shake her words as I continued my way to the EVP room. Cody had sent me a text earlier in the day saying that creative had a storyline they wanted to pitch to me. 

I opened the door and Cody was there with The Bucks, a writer, and Tony Khan. “Hey, sorry, I rushed here as fast as I could.” I apologized for my tardiness and grabbed a seat next to Cody. 

“Peyton, we want you to have a with Penelope for the number one contender slot for the AEW Women’s Championship.” Tony started to explain. A huge smile crossed my face. Then Nick added, “We want you to face Shida at ‘Winter is coming’”. I shook my head. 

“No fuck--” Cody gave me a stern look, telling me to watch my language, “I mean, no friggin’ way?!?” I couldn’t hide my excitement. Tony handed me the contract for the match at ‘Winter Is Coming’. I looked down at the papers in my hand. “This is legit? Are you sure there isn’t anyone else who deserves this before me?” I questioned, looking up from the packet that held my future. 

“We have pulled all the stats, plus we took in account fan base and Dark comments. You beat Penelope, and you’ll be number one contender.” Matt laid it all out, and I just needed to take it. All it took was one smooth signature and it was booked. 

“Well good evening, folks. It’s Wednesday night, and you know what that means! Thanks for joining us here on Dynamite. Boy do we have a lined up show for you.” I listened to JR announce as I paced back and forth in front of the gorilla monitors. The announce team of JR, Tony, and Excalibur went on to discuss the card for the night. 

To say I was nervous was an understatement. Sure, I had been in the title picture before, but this was completely different. This would be my first title shot in AEW, plus Penelope and I were kicking off the show. That was something that didn’t happen often. Cody was waiting by the curtain, like he always did before my matches, to wish me luck. He immediately could tell that something was wrong. “What’s up, Pey?”

“I’m worried about Kip. It has me thrown off. He’s a wild card.” I mumbled anxiously as I bit at my nails. Cody nodded, giving me a knowing look. He pulled me in by my shoulder.

“You’ll be just fine, kid.” He smiled. I wanted to ask what he meant, but Kenny’s voice filled my ears before I could. 

“Hey, Princess!”  I could tell my face lit up at the sight of him. “I just wanted to say good luck. And ask if you wanted to grab dinner after?” Cody looked at the both of us and sighed. I knew he wanted the heat to die down from the Aquarium photo, for my sake. He had told me many times. I didn’t care though and neither did Kenny. 

“Of course, Omega. Thank you.” I replied quickly, throwing my arms around him for a tight hug. Cody grabbed my attention, letting me know it was my time. I released Kenny, but he grabbed my hand, giving it a light ‘you got this’ squeeze, before letting go. 

“The following contest, with a twenty minute time limit, is scheduled for one fall, introducing first from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, being accompanied to the ring by Kip Sabian, Penelope Ford.” I watched as they made their way into the ring and gave a disgusting show of PDA. 

I fiddled with my jacket, waiting for my music to hit. I instantly regretted letting Brandi talk me into wearing a choker. It suddenly felt too tight. I didn’t have a chance to remove it before I heard the familiar start of “My songs know what you did in the dark”. I composed myself and fixed my hair. I walked out the “Heel” tunnel and onto the ramp.

“And her opponent, from Atlanta, Georgia, well they call her the “Dream Killer”, Peyton Rhodes.” Justin announced my name and the crowd still cheered, which made my heart happy. I quickly made my way into the squared circle, so the bell could ring.  

The match started with a few back and forth blows. Penelope got me into a side headlock, before quickly doing an arm drag. I shot back up to my feet. Again, we locked up, before I drove a knee up into her stomach. I had quickly gained the upper hand in the match. I was getting ready to drop her with a DDT, when I saw Kip pacing outside of the ring. I flipped him a bird and slammed Penelope’s head into the mat. As expected, Kip got involved. He slid into the ring, getting in my face. “Get out of the ring, Kip!” I yelled and he stepped a bit closer. I thought he was going to push me back away from him. 

Suddenly, the crowd erupted in cheers as a figure jumped the barricade and slid into the ring. It was Mox. He pushed Kip back and into the ropes, making him fall through. This distracted Penelope and I took that chance to hit the “dream killer”, my finisher. I got the three count and the bell rang. Aubrey raised my hand and Justin announced me as the winner. 

Jon was still standing at the tunnels when I climbed through the ropes and walked up the stairs. I extended a hand to show respect, which he gladly took and pulled me in for a hug. The fans went wild. “What a reunion it was tonight for Peyton Rhodes and Jon Moxley. Now that Rhodes has defeated Ford, she will go on to face AEW Women’s champion Hikaru Shida for the title at “Winter Is Coming’ on December 2nd.” Tony announced for the viewers at home. 

Cody again was waiting by the curtain for me. “Great match, sis. Jon, thanks for having her back.” He said, like it was all planned. I needed to know what the hell Jon was thinking.

“Dude! You guys are trending!” Matt yelled as he walked up, shoving his phone in my face. It was like I was in a daze. I had no idea why Jon, of all people, got involved in my match. Now, we were trending on social media. Before I could reply, I was being pulled by an assistant to do an interview with Dasha. 

“I’m backstage with Peyton Rhodes. Peyton, what was that?” She asked. I quickly got into character. I flipped my hair over my shoulder, attitude immediately crossing my face. 

“What was that? You’re asking the hard-hitting questions, Dasha.” I mocked her, before continuing. “ Let me tell you what that was. That was me rising to the top of this division, just like I said I would.” I stepped closer to her mic, “That was me letting Shida know that her days as champion are numbered.” I turned to the camera. “Hold onto that title tight, Shida. Because it will be mine very, very soon.” 

Dasha nodded, looking annoyed with how bitchy I was being, “But everyone wants to know what Jon Moxley was doing?” She inquired, pushing the mic back in my face. 

I scoffed, “No comment.” I quickly walked away to find out what the hell just happened. Why did Jon come help me? I tried to find him, but no one had seen where he went. So I settled for finding my brother. I went to his trailer, and banged on the door. 

“Open up, Rhodes.” I shouted, and Brandi came to the door. I looked at her, fuming. “Where is my brother?” I snapped. She just moved to the side, letting me in. Cody was sitting on the couch, like he was waiting for me. What surprised me, was to see Kenny sitting there, too. 

“Glad you could join us, sis. Take a seat.” Cody motioned for me to sit next to Kenny. I cocked a brow, confused, but took the seat anyway. I looked at Kenny about to say something before Cody cut me off. “Since you two are wanting to be the talk of AEW, and have no intentions to listen to me or my advice, Khan wants you to work together.” My mouth dropped. 

“What the hell does that mean?” I growled. Kenny looked at me, shocked, that I was angry that we got to work together. I saw his smile drop instantly. “I mean, Don’t get me wrong, Ken, I would love to work a story with you. But I can’t do the whole ‘escort/manager’ thing again.” I objected, not going down that road again.

Kenny nodded in understanding, “I know. And you know I would never do that to you, Princess.” He ensured me, placing a gentle hand on my knee. 

“I would also never do that to you, Peyton. Trust me, this will be amazing.” Cody predicted, “We have a lot to talk about.” He smirked, taking a seat across from us. “After you left the meeting last week, Tony pulled me aside.” Cody started to explain. 

My mind was racing. What did Tony have in store for me? For Kenny? How in a matter of two weeks did I become number one contender and get to work with my best friend? I looked over at Kenny, who’s blue eyes were focused on what my brother was saying. He looked so happy. I wondered if it was because we got to do a storyline together or because he was getting his shot at the AEW world title? 

“Tony wants you to turn on Moxley.” Those seven words drew me from my thoughts. My whole body went rigid. Did he just say what I think he said? I looked over at Kenny who was smiling like a cat who caught the canary. 

“He wants me to do what?” I asked, wanting Cody to clarify what the fuck he just said to me.

[australian-desi]

Rest In Peace ~ Sushant Singh Rajput

Hey guys, I was going into a spiral thinking about SSR and everything he went through and I needed somewhere to write my feelings down. There’s so much noise about this on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, I didn’t want to add to the noise, bashing and overall negativity, so found this to be the best place. I’m sorry in advance if I offend anyone. This is going to be very long. 

Sushant Singh Rajput the Actor and Human:

I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t his biggest fan, not by a long shot. I watched him in Pavitra Rishta every now and then because my mum was obsessed with that show and I used to be confused as to why everyone was obsessed with Manav and Archana - I was 12 years old when the show started and just felt it was another saas-bahu serial. However, to this day it amazes me how Manav and Archana were able to capture their audience for three consecutive years when their story was another saas-bahu serial. It was obviously the actors portraying them, and it takes a lot to grab someone’s attention and keep it on yourself. SSR had that energy. I remember then he came onto Jhalak Dikhlaa Jaa, I watched that show quite religiously because of my love for dance, and was bowled over by how good of a dancer he was. He had perfect lines, and his posture was amazing, I was in awe every time he danced. I remember that in that show he proposed to his then-gf in the cutest way possible, a proposal that is etched into my mind till this day. 

He then left his daily soap, for a career in Bollywood, it was a very risky, bold move because it is a well known fact - Tellywood actors, are rarely able to make good careers in Bollywood. Most of them become irrelevant after their first or second movie. But man was everyone wrong about Sushant. I didn’t watch Kai Po Che, but I remember the buzz around it at the time, everyone was talking about it, and it was one of the biggest movies of that year. He then did Shuddh Desi Romance - a movie I was inclined to watch because he was in it, I was slowly turning into a fan, but I didn’t get the chance to watch it. Then came PK. When PK’s trailer was launched, SSR’s cameo was kept a secret, I remember I was in the theatre and he came onto the screen and absolutely owned it. His performance as Sarfaraz won me over, and a smile still comes to my face when I remember him in the song “chaar kadam”. SSR had an amazing screen presence, he knew how to keep the audience’s attention on himself and a lot of the time you would forget this Sushant Singh Rajput, in fact you would only think of him as his character. The brilliance in his craft was the ability to become his characters completely, to the point you think of them as a real person. The next movie I watched of his was MS Dhoni - a movie that became a sensation. Everyone who went to the movie as Dhoni fans, came back as Sushant’s fan. He deserved that and more. You could see his hardwork, his passion and his dedication in everything he did. I remember when the trailer for Raabta dropped, I was super excited two of my favourite actors - Sushant and Kriti had come together. At that point I started watching more interviews of him and got to know him a little from what he portrayed as a person. Raabta flopped at the box office, however, personally I enjoyed it and I was amazed at the chemistry he had with Kriti Sanon. In Kedarnath, I was so excited that Sara Ali Khan was doing her debut with him, and man both did not disappoint. Kedarnath was an amazing movie and Sushant portrayed his character with utmost conviction. Chichore was the last movie I watched of his and I absolutely loved the movie and him in it. The themes and overall message of that movie hit deep, and it was intelligently made, with comedy mixed with the darker themes, but not taking away from the main message they were trying to convey. Overall, even though I wasn’t a fan of him at the start of his career, he had won me over. 

I also started adoring him as a person. His love for physics and astronomy; his eyes full of curiosity and enthusiasm towards the great unknowns. He didn’t finish his engineering degree, but the childlike wonder he had towards science made me excited as a scientist myself. He showed everyone that he had a brilliant mind and I’ve said this before and I’ll said it again, actors who are educated and well-spoken make me respect them more, they have a different way of thinking, they are eloquent and they show how much education can do for a person. SSR had all of these qualities. I could hear him speak for hours at a time. His instagram posts were always so deep and meaningful, it would make me thing differently, and his 50 things bucket list inspired me to no end. Especially how much he wanted to do for other people and how much he wanted to grow as a person. He also had an infectious smile, his smile used to make his fans smile and it takes a big person to do that. 

SSR’s Death: 

I was doing an assignment when one of my friend’s had sent me the news. I thought it was a hoax at first, but then I googled him, and it was true - Sushant Singh Rajput had committed suicide. Honestly, I’ve been distraught since then, I cried multiple times, and I can’t stop thinking about him, the pain he must’ve felt in order to take this decision, and whenever I saw his sisters or dad I cried even more, the sadness and despair I felt would be nothing compared to theirs, especially because his death was preventable. I’ve never been depressed, I’ve had my fair share of panic attacks and anxiety but I don’t know what depression is. I only know what I’ve studied, that people who are depressed have physiologically different brains to people who are not, they have decreased levels of oxytocin and serotonin, and that they have less grey matter. I’ve also been told that this causes them to not be able to function, they sleep too much, become unable to socialise, and their brain starts to turn them against themselves. However, I believe that there is always an underlying cause of depression. There are triggers for depression, a person doesn’t become depressed over nothing. I know everyone wants to know the trigger; why did he take such a drastic step, but he didn’t leave a note. He left with silence. I know it is difficult, but I feel that we should respect that, however, we should not let him die in vain. 

But I’m going to be real here IT IS NOT OUR PLACE AS THE GENERAL PUBLIC/AUDIENCE OR FANS TO GO ONTO OTHER CELEBRITIES TWITTERS/FB/IG AND CALL THEM MURDERERS. How dare we think that we can blame other people for someone’s death. I don’t care how these people treated him while he was alive, let them mourn him in peace. His death has taught me one thing, not one person is toxic, not one industry is toxic, all of us are. The person who is now checking up on every single person that they usually would not care for because of guilt, the girl shouting all over my timeline that Karan Johar, Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt murdered SSR, the boy screaming that x person didn’t post about his death they wouldn’t be affected by this or they don’t care. Every single person. Everyone needs to stop with raging on social media. They need to take a step back and breathe, and mourn and let others mourn. 

My take on Nepotism and Bollywood: 

Here’s the crux of the issue. Bollywood. I’m your average desi girl, I’ve grown up watching bollywood, being obsessed with it. To the point that at a certain time I only watched Bollywood. Then the whole nepotism scandal hit. I remember thinking to myself then, what’s the big deal? Also did people really not think about this until an actress had to come speak about it on national television? Did no one realise that Bollywood has been preferring starkids over other talents for decades? I used to think that yeah, Bollywood has nepotism, but where does nepotism not exist. The truth is nepotism exists everywhere. A doctor’s child becomes a doctor. A business man’s child becomes a businessman etc. But here’s the thing, the doctor’s child has to work towards becoming a doctor, he/she has to go through the same steps that other non-doctor children have to do. The only advantage they get is, that their parents might be able to help prepare them for what’s coming, and it’s not like every doctor has doctor parents, both people get equal opportunity. The child of a doctor just has more insight. However, in Bollywood, there is no equal ground, it isn’t as if a starkid only has it easy to get their first movie. Nope, they sign their second or third movie before their first one releases. Take Sara Ali Khan for example, she had already signed Simmba, before Kedarnath had released. Now take Anushka Sharma, she didn’t get her second movie two years after the release of her first one. Nepotism does exist, it will exist, but in other industries, the people who aren’t a product of it are still able to get promoted, to do good work and receive equal opportunity. However, in Bollywood this is not the case. It has never been the case. This needs to change. This needs to desperately change. Especially because nepotism didn’t use to be as bad, as the products of nepotism were still talented, but now, they are not, and SSR’s death can bring this change, because Bollywood is losing it’s credibility, and as I consider Bollywood my own, my home, I want it to do better. Actors who come from non-film backgrounds and television deserve to share space in mainstream cinema with those who do come from film backgrounds. 

Where From Here

In the past couple of years, we’ve become a horrible society. We pretend to like people when we meet them, and then bitch about them behind their back. We also think that whatever comes to our heads we can say to whatever celebrity the way we want because them being public figures is an open invitation for us to say hurtful things to them which normally we would not say if we meet them in person. We are the people who cry about nepotism, and then when a movie doesn’t have a big star in it we go “we’ll watch it at home, if we have time, why waste money going to the cinema”. We are the same people who cry about mental health issues and to raise awareness, when we think its absolutely fine to give a celebrity death threats because of a comment they made. We are also those people who cry about how SSR was treated unfairly, when we had a chance to go see his movies but didn’t. Who gave us this authority to be able to judge? Who gave us the right? If we won’t talk to other people with such disrespect in real life, why can we over the internet? WE. NEED. TO. DO. BETTER. AS. A. SOCIETY. 

We need to stop shaming people, we need to support artists that aren’t star kids, but also support star kids. They don’t deserve the hate they get either. It isn’t completely their fault that they are given more opportunity. It’s our fault too. We are the ones who make them successful. Directors know that they could sell more tickets with Ranbir Kapoor on the poster than Sushant Singh Rajput, even if Sushant Singh Rajput is a better artist. We need to support both talents. We need to show filmmakers as an audience, that both artists should be given equal opportunity. That the only thing nepotism should do for a starkid is just give them insight on what a life of an actor is like. That is all. They should also go to auditions, they should also be accepted or rejected based on talent. And for the love of god, we need to stop getting celebrities to judge other celebrities based on acting skills and sex appeal. it’s 2020, we can do better. 

Also to anyone who’s having any sort of dark thoughts. Please, I beg of you talk to someone. There is someone who loves you; your parents, siblings, teachers, friends, family, that brown guy in your dms. And if you truly don’t know anyone that you can talk to, talk to a therapist on a free hotline. My inbox is also always open if you want to chat. 

To Sushant Singh Rajput - I will miss seeing you at the movies, your smile and your interviews, and how much of an inspiration you were to me. I hope you are at peace now, and finally found happiness. 

For anyone who read this - thank you for reading my absolute ramble and I hope I made sense 

Here’s a dumb joke to make you hopefully smile a little, or at least roll your eyes: What do you call bacteria found in Agra? Agraculture - does this even make sense. IDK. All I want to say is, that I’ve been an absolute dukhi aatma for the past couple of days, and now its time to smile, and look at some positives. 

[helloalycia]

noise complaint [three] // alycia debnam-carey

summary: after becoming friends with the neighbour you really like, you decide to come clean about who you are. You didn't expect it to result in something else...

warning/s: none.

author's note: it's literally been a year since I posted part 2 to this. I never even intended for there to be 3 parts, but here we are! Hope you like the lil conclusion to this :)

part one | part two | masterlist | wattpad

"...write their full names down and don't forget to give them a leaflet. They're more likely to give that way."

"You done, mom?"

I gave my friend and colleague a knowing look. "Ty."

He rolled his eyes playfully, holding the door to my building open. "I won't forget, Y/N."

"You did last time," I reminded him as I gladly walked through the door.

"Well, I won't this time," he promised, before checking his wristwatch. "I gotta go, shoot."

"Thanks for walking me," I said, giving him an appreciative smile. "Now, if you screw up, please tell me before the event and not after."

"I will." He laughed as he gave me a hug. "See you later, Y/N."

"Bye." I waved him goodbye with an amused smile.

When he left, I headed to grab my mail, seeing a familiar brunette already there, grabbing her own mail. The same teasing smile that adorned my face when I was around her appeared and I headed over there confidently.

Alycia and I were kind of friends now, though it was very obvious I liked her. I tried to tone it down for her sake, but sometimes it was funny watching her glare at me playfully.

"ADC, to what do I owe this pleasure?" I said, stepping beside her to open my mailbox.

She cracked a smile, eyes sparkling with amusement. "You approached me, Y/N."

"My point remains."

She laughed, rolling her eyes as she continued looking at the letters in her hand. "Just checking my mail, like you."

I kept smiling as I glanced at her, before looking to see what letters I got.

"So... was that guy your boyfriend?"

I quirked an eyebrow as I tore my eyes from my letters. "Huh? Oh, Ty?" I laughed when it dawned on me what she thought. "If he was, I definitely didn't know."

She seemed to relax a little, an embarrassed smile on her lips.

"I'm gay," I clarified with a humoured expression. "I've got the hots for a certain Australian neighbour, remember?"

Alycia rolled her eyes, suppressing a smile. "Seriously? Besides. I didn't want to presume. You could've been bisexual or something."

"Not in this life," I said, shuddering at the thought of being with a man. I suddenly grinned as I looked at her though. "Why d'you ask anyway? You jealous?"

Alycia glared at me playfully, though her cheeks were getting pinker by the second. I refrained from laughing, loving teasing her until she usually slapped me on the arm and changed the subject. As funny as this was though, I guess I did secretly wish she was jealous. But Alycia wasn't interested, that much she had made clear.

"Ladies, it's lovely I caught you both here!"

Alycia and I spun around when we saw our landlady, Mrs. Khan, approaching us with a smile.

"Mrs. Khan, hey," I greeted. "Did you need something?"

She shook her head. "I just thought I'd check in since the last time we met." Her eyes fell to Alycia's. "Any complaints, Miss Debnam-Carey?"

I looked over to Alycia with a cheesy grin on my face, causing her to crack a smile and roll her eyes.

"No complaints on my end," Alycia told her honestly. "Y/N seems to be behaving herself."

"How lovely," Mrs. Khan said, almost with relief. "That's great to hear. I guess I'll leave you both to it."

With that, she left us in the hall with our mail.

"She's totally warming up to me," I said with a knowing nod.

Alycia chuckled as she closed her locker. "I'm sure she is."

I closed mine too and followed her as she walked up the steps. "Hey, if you hadn't tattle-tale-d on me like a kid a month ago, she would have no issues with me."

"You're forgetting the part where you blasted your volume whilst playing video games," she said with an amused smile, her green eyes bright as they stared at me.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever..." I waved her off dismissively.

She laughed when she knew she was in the right, and I watched with a smile, admiring how beautiful she looked when her eyes were closed and her teeth were showing in a wide smile. The sound was contagious, making my stomach do somersaults, and it made this whole thing a little worth it. She was ethereal.

–

That same evening, I was going around the whole building and collecting some last minute donations for the charity gala I was attending on the weekend. The charity I worked for raised money for schools in deprived countries to help them afford supplies, textbooks, computers, the whole lot. My job was to help fundraise in schools, offices, even on the street, and I was doing some last minute fundraising to help the kids in our local schools increase their donations.

People were quite generous in our building, and for the most part, weren't rude. There were a few who may or may not have shut the door in my face, but otherwise it was going well. I purposely saved Alycia's door for last however, wanting to see her face when I asked her.

She didn't know what my job was, just that it was office-based, which technically wasn't a lie. I just wanted to have another excuse to tease her, so I headed over to her place and knocked on the door with my clipboard and envelope in hand.

When I knocked on, it took her a moment to open up, but when she did, a confused smile appeared on her lips.

"Good evening, miss. I was wondering if you would be interested in donating some money to [a charity name], to help children in deprived countries have a better education?"

Alycia quirked an eyebrow, resting a hand on her hip as she met my eyes with confusion. "Huh?"

I chuckled and lowered my clipboard, cutting the act. "How do you do, m'lady?"

She stepped to the side to let me in and I walked in, casually taking a seat at her kitchen counter. I'd been over at her place a few times in the past month, and vice versa, so this was pretty normal for us.

"What's with the clipboard?" she asked, grabbing a glass and pouring some lemonade in it.

"Thanks," I said, accepting the drink, taking a sip before explaining. "Part of me was trying to pull your leg, but the other part is actually trying to raise money for charity."

"Wait, you're serious? This isn't you being your dorky self?"

"No, I'm serious," I said, though I was laughing. "I'm in charge of organising donations and making sure the kids raise enough. I've been going around the building, asking for donations. Just thought I'd see if you wanted to donate? Of course, you don't have to, but yeah."

Alycia was still struggling to believe me as she studied me curiously. Eventually, she sighed and went to grab her purse from the coffee table.

"How's... thirty dollars?"

I raised my eyebrows with surprise as she held it out towards me. "More than expected. People usually give, like, ten."

She chuckled and waved the money towards me again. "Here's thirty. Can't deny kids their education, right?"

I accepted the money, an appreciative smile on my lips. "Wow, thanks, Alycia." I filled in her details on the clipboard and put the money in the envelope before jumping off the stool.

"So, you do charity work?" Alycia asked, as if still trying to believe it.

"What? Do I not seem the type?" I teased, before finishing the lemonade off in a quick gulp.

"No, no, that's not it," she reassured, a little embarrassed. "I just, I don't know. It's strange seeing you serious about something. You usually take the piss."

"Only with you, Alycia," I said with a grin. "Besides, this is a good job. It helps people. I love it."

Alycia smiled as she listened, nodding in agreement. I bit my lower lip as a thought crossed my mind, but I wasn't sure whether to push my luck. Then again, we were friends, so it wasn't really...

"Hey, Alycia?"

"Yeah?" She was at the dishwasher now, filling it up with dishes by her sink.

I ignored the nervousness I felt and said, "All this money is gonna get counted up and announced at this gala this weekend. Everyone who works with the charity will be there, and I've got two tickets. I was wondering if you, maybe, wanna go with me?"

Alycia stopped what she was doing and looked up, raising her eyebrows as if she'd misheard. "You want me to go with you?"

"As friends, of course," I clarified, offering a small, nervous smile. "It could be fun! It's for charity, and it's gonna be all fancy and stuff. You like dressing up, right?"

Alycia began to smile. "It sounds lovely."

I felt my heart fluttering nervously. "So, that's a yes?"

She chuckled. "Yes, Y/N, it's a yes. I'd love to go with you."

I tried to hide the excitement in my voice as I said, "Yeah, great, that's great. Er, yeah. Okay. I'll let you know all the details tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan," she agreed, flashing me a heartwarming, weak-in-the-knees smile.

I swallowed hard, returning the smile, before grabbing my clipboard. "I should go get this sorted out, but yeah, I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks again, for the donation."

"Anytime."

I tried not to trip over my own two feet as I let myself out, a massive grin on my lips. I'd wanted to ask Alycia since the gala had first been announced at work, but I figured she might say no since we'd only just recently established our friendship. She didn't though. She said yes!

I was thrilled, knowing it was my chance to share another part of my life with her, an important part. Yes, I'd been teasing her and annoying her since we'd met, but I began to trust her as a friend, and I wanted her to know everything about me, now that I knew she liked me for me and not for anything else.

–

I played with the edges of my blazer nervously, constantly checking the door of our building to see if Alycia was there.

The weekend had come by soon enough and Alycia was finishing getting ready, telling me she'd meet me outside. I was super nervous though, unable to keep still as I thought about whether the car and driver was too much.

I just wanted Alycia to have a great time and be treated how she deserved. It's not like we would stand out – everybody at the gala had much more glamorous modes of transport.

After what felt like forever, I saw Alycia's figure stepping outside, an apologetic expression on her face. I lost my words though, my mouth going dry as I looked at her. She was radiant, wearing an off-the-shoulder black dress that hugged her curves perfectly, paired with some high heels that accentuated her legs. It's like she was purposely trying to make me have a gay panic attack, honestly.

"I am so sorry for taking a little longer than I said," she said when she approached me. "I couldn't find my shoes and then I lost my purse when I found them."

I was still awestruck by how gorgeous she looked, her dark eye makeup making her bright green eyes stand out and sending shivers down my spine.

"You look amazing," she complimented, eyes looking me up and down. "You clean up nice."

She was smiling playfully, and I tried to find words as I nodded.

"I... thank you. You look... wow. Like, good wow. Really good wow. Really good wow."

She looked down bashfully as she smiled to herself. "Thank you, Y/N."

I swallowed hard, before clearing my throat. "I, er, yeah, we're taking the car." I nodded to the Porsche parked out front. "I hope that's okay."

She looked to where I was and her eyes widened. "You're kidding, right? That's a bit too fancy isn't it? I didn't mind getting a taxi."

I smiled, finally catching my breath, holding out my hand. "Now what kind of date would I be if I made you get into a taxi dressed like that?" She looked to me with an unreadable expression, and I quickly added, "Friendly date, of course."

She pursed her lips, suppressing a smile, and placed her hand in mine. "That's sweet. I don't even know what to say."

I began to lead her to the car, opening the back door. "Don't say anything. Just get in and enjoy the ride, yeah?"

She paused by the open door, directing a small smile my way. To my surprise, she leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to my cheek, making me melt on the spot.

I closed the door after her before going around to the other side, sliding in beside her.

"Straight to the gala, Miss Y/L/N?" the driver asked, glancing at me in the rear view mirror.

"Please, Jerry, thank you."

Jerry nodded and set off. Alycia glanced at me with a raised eyebrow, a surprised smile on her lips.

"What?" I asked, refraining from chuckling.

"You better have not spent a lot on this," Alycia warned playfully, though I sensed truth to her words. "And don't say your work arranged it because nobody's work arranges stuff like this."

I laughed, meeting her intoxicating gaze. "I promise you that everything was completely in my price range."

Alycia narrowed her eyes, attempting to figure out the grin on my lips, but when she realised she couldn't, she sighed and leaned back into her seat.

"You're off the hook," she gave in. "For now."

When Jerry reached the gala, I escorted Alycia out of the car and watched as she took in the vastness of the building.

"This is... wow," she muttered, looking around at the high ceilings and carved-out wall work in the entrance.

"Wait until you see the inside of the ballroom," I said with an amused smile. "You'll love it."

She glanced at me with disbelief, before allowing me to lead her further inside. I handed in our tickets, received two champagne flutes for Alycia and I, and led her in the main ballroom that was bigger and brighter than anything even I had ever seen.

It was elegantly decorated, with beautiful flower arrangements lining the walls and sitting on the tables, and fairy lights were strung across the ceiling, twinkling above like stars. The room was packed with people who worked with me and some parents of the children who had been raising money in the local schools. I also recognised some sponsors and partners of the charity, but ultimately, I was subtly watching Alycia to see what she thought.

"You were right, this is even better," she admitted, intrigued by everything we walked past.

"I knew you'd love it," I said, staring at her with admiration. Even when she was distracted like a kid in a candy store, she still looked so beautiful, leaving me with butterflies in my stomach and tingles up my arm from where hers was touching mine.

She turned to me, eyes brighter than any of the fairy lights above. "I didn't think you liked events like this."

"I don't."

She cocked her head to the side. "Then why did you come tonight?"

"Well, there's two reasons," I admitted. "One was because it's for charity. I thought I'd show my support."

She smiled adorably. "And the second reason?"

I gave her a knowing look. "You agreed to come with me. How often do I get to take you out?"

She rolled her eyes, but I saw her fighting the smile from her lips.

"Y/N, hey!"

I turned around at the mention of my name, a little disheartened that they interrupted Alycia and I's conversation. It was Ty, all dressed in his best clothes, a grin on his face.

"Great to see you," I said to him, smiling at him nonetheless. He hugged me as I said, "You doing okay?"

He nodded. "Amazing. Apparently we raised a lot this time 'round."

"Fingers crossed," I said hopefully, before glancing at an awkwardly smiling Alycia. "Ty, this is Alycia. She's my date."

I laughed when Alycia smacked me on the arm playfully.

"I'm her friend," Alycia corrected, before shaking Ty's outstretched hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"You, too," Ty replied with a friendly smile. "You must be the Australian neighbour she's always talking about."

I rolled my eyes, knowing my face was heating up as they both looked to me with humorous expressions.

"Huh, I must be," she agreed teasingly.

"Anyway, Ty was just leaving," I said to Alycia, ignoring the playful smirk tugging at her lips.

"Actually, I came to tell you that your parents are looking for you," he said matter-of-factly. "And they're heading over here as I speak."

I knew I'd be seeing my parents tonight, since it was their charity after all, but I was expecting to prep myself a little beforehand then speak to them. So, when Ty sheepishly told me they were walking over to me, I may or may not have panicked a little.

"Your parents?" Alycia asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

I nodded, seeing my parents approaching me with smiles on their faces. "Yeah. I was supposed to mentally prepare for this, but I guess we're gonna see how this goes."

Alycia opened her mouth, a questioning gaze on me, but my parents suddenly stopped by and spoke first, silencing her.

"Y/N, there you are!" my mum said, before pulling me in for a quick hug. "You look lovely!"

"Thanks, mum," I said, smiling with embarrassment. "You both look great. And this gala is the best you've done yet."

"It's certainly a stand-out event," my dad agreed with a shrug, before he noticed Alycia, who was still looking between my parents and I as if piecing us together. "And who might this young lady be? A date?"

For once, Alycia was too confused to correct them, so I did.

"This is Alycia Debnam-Carey," I introduced her. "She's my friend and neighbour. She donated and so I thought I'd invite her to show her a bit of what I do."

"The glamorous parts of it," my mum joked, before smiling kindly at Alycia. "It's lovely to meet you, Alycia, dear. I'm Y/M/N and this is my husband, Y/D/N."

Alycia suddenly cleared her throat, eyes darting to mine with surprise. She plastered an easygoing smile on her lips as she shook my parents' hands.

"Y/L/N as in..."

"The founders of this charity?" my dad finished for her with a quirked eyebrow. He suppressed a laugh. "Yes, that's us. Didn't Y/N say...?"

Alycia licked her lips, shaking her head. "Er, no... you guys are amazing though. I've read a bit about the work you do and I've even donated a few times."

"Only a few?" my mum teased.

Alycia smiled, a little flustered. "Well, I'm actually a regular donator to The Salvation Army. It's a postal thing that I don't really know how to stop, but yeah."

I contained a smile as my parents chuckled at Alycia's truthfulness.

"Your honesty is refreshing," my mum admitted before glancing at me. "I see why you're friends with her."

I glanced at Alycia, noticing she was smiling politely at my parents and giving them her full attention.

"Well, Alycia, I hope you enjoy the the evening, and on behalf of the whole organisation, I thank you for donating to a great cause," my dad concluded with a grateful smile. He looked to me and said, "Enjoy yourself, Y/N, you deserve it."

"See you both later," I said, giving them a nod, before watching them walk away.

When they were gone, Alycia breathed out shakily, looking to me with an unimpressed look.

"Were you planning on telling me that you're the daughter of billionaires and that this is your parents' gala, or were you gonna wait until I made a fool of myself in front of them?" she asked, raising an eyebrow with disbelief.

"Bit of an exaggeration," I said playfully, before losing my smile when I saw her serious expression. "Alycia, you didn't make a fool of yourself. They loved you."

"Y/N."

I sighed, offering a small, nervous smile. "Look, I don't really think of myself as a billionaire's daughter. I mean, you've seen where I live. I just work for them. I barely see them. I prefer to stay lowkey."

"Clearly," she noted, making me chuckle.

"I don't really tell people who my parents are until I trust them," I told her truthfully, eyes softening as they met her unreadable green ones. "I never know if people want to be my friend for me or for them. So, it was better this way. I know I lied, but I hope you understand."

She breathed out slowly, nodding. "I get it. I do."

I smiled hopefully. "So you're not mad?"

She chewed on her lower lip as she smiled, shaking her head. It seemed like she was distracted, but I didn't think too much on it as I realised she wasn't as bugged out by the whole thing as I thought she would be.

"Thanks," I said, breathing out calmly. "Sorry, again. Come on. You're hungry, right? The appetisers here are practically main courses."

She didn't argue, so I grabbed her hand and led her to the appetisers table to make a small plate.

–

A few hours had passed and the evening was in full swing, with some rich people drunk enough to do very YouTube-worthy embarrassing things and others judging them immensely. It was my favourite bit at events like these.

Alycia seemed to be enjoying herself, I think. I introduced her to some more of my colleagues, as well as some parents I'd befriended when visiting the schools, and she was her lovely, charming self. Yet, something seemed a little off.

I didn't know what it was. Ever since she found out about who I actually was, she'd been acting quieter. Not distant, but quiet. I didn't think anything was going to change since I was clearly the same person, but she didn't seem to think so. And I was beginning to regret telling her at all because I was missing our signature back and forth very much the rest of the evening.

It got to a point where even Ty was noticing how off she suddenly seemed, so I decided to pull the brunette aside and talk to her. There was no point forcing her to stay tonight if she didn't want to.

"Is everything okay?" she asked with confusion when I pulled her into a quiet hallway outside of the ballroom.

I pursed my lips, feeling nervous the longer she stared at me. I was scared that she'd admit she was pissed because I lied, and I'd lose a friend.

"You don't want to be here anymore," I said, eyes flickering to the ground, unable to hold her gaze. "It's because I lied to you, isn't it?"

I heard her sigh quietly and I knew I'd made a mistake.

"Alycia, I'm sorry," I apologised again, meeting her eyes. "I shouldn't have lied. I–"

"Y/N, no, it's not that," she cut me off, shaking her head.

I relaxed my shoulders subconsciously. "It's not?"

It was her turn to look nervous, as her eyes looked up to the ceiling with discomfort. "It's just– you had to go and tell me and ruin everything..." she mumbled with agitation.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "I– er... huh?"

She clenched her jaw, eyes meeting mine. "I had it all planned out, for God's sake. Now it seems like I only like you because you have money and that's far from the truth."

I widened my eyes, second-guessing myself. "You like me?"

Alycia groaned aloud, rolling her eyes. "Of course, you idiot!"

Still unable to believe it, I asked, "Like, like like me?"

She glared at me. "Yes, but now you've–" She shoved me in the shoulder, "–gone and ruined it because the timing is all wrong and now you're gonna think I'm using you!"

My stomach was raging with butterflies as a grin appeared on my lips. I couldn't help myself as I realised she liked me back. I'd been teasing her this whole time, but the feelings were real. I never actually thought there was a chance she'd reciprocate.

"Y/N, please be serious," she said, crossing her arms and staring at me with a firm expression.

She looked really freakin' cute with her jaw tense and eyes darkened with annoyance.

"Just to clarify," I said, ignoring her for a second, "the other day, when you thought Ty was my boyfriend... that was you being jealous, right?"

Alycia breathed out slowly, uncrossing her arms and straightening up. "Are you really gonna make me say it?"

My childish grin was on my lips, making her roll her eyes and sigh.

"Fine. Yes. I was jealous. You happy? Now look. I know you might think that I–"

I moved forward and kissed her, cutting her off from saying anything else. I closed my eyes and felt her slowly reciprocating, lips moving against mine. Her hands rested on my shoulders as I caressed her cheek with mine, the other pulling her closer by her waist.

I'd wanted to kiss her for so long, but I was so afraid of the rejection. But here was she was, kissing me back...

I pulled away when we needed air, opening my eyes and feeling my lips tingle. I was submerged in green instantly, a smile curling on my lips. Every inch of my skin felt like it was on fire, in the best way possible.

"I feel like you did that to shut me up," she spoke first, voice soft as she pulled back to take a breath.

I chuckled. "Partially."

She licked her lips and stared at me expectantly.

I stared at her with serious eyes, grin fading into a smile. "Alycia, I know you'd never use me. You're not like that. I mean, you put up with me for this long, didn't you?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but I cut her off.

"Look, I only told you the truth about my family because I realised I wouldn't have a chance with you," I admitted, and saw she was hanging onto my every word. "I thought it was best to come clean. If I could only have you as a friend, I wanted to do so right. I trust you to know the truth and still like me for me. You liking me back doesn't change that. Just makes me extremely lucky."

She cracked a small smile, but still seemed uncertain. "Are you sure?"

I couldn't help but laugh. "Do you want me to not trust you?"

"No, no, I'm not– ugh." She was flustered, her cheeks going an adorable pink colour. "I just want you to be sure. I know how I feel about you... I know that was before you told me. I mean, I don't really care about any of this." She motioned around her. "You were annoying at first, but it grew on me. I just... I want you to be sure."

I smiled genuinely, stepping forward and grabbing her hands. "I'm sure. Also, you know you can never live this down now, right? You like me."

Alycia raised an eyebrow playfully. "You can't tease me about liking you, you idiot."

"Why not? You were supposed to hate me, remember?"

She rolled her eyes, though a smile tugged at her lips. "I never hated you."

"Pretty sure you filed a noise complaint against me," I recalled, pulling her closer to me, getting goosebumps when her body touched mine.

She gave me a knowing look. "That was because your volume was way too–! You know what? Forget it."

I grinned, staring at her even though she was avoiding my eyes to prove a point.

"You're doing it again," she mumbled, finally lifting her gaze to meet mine.

"Doing what?"

"That thing," she said, as if I should know. "Where you act like you've won this thing between us."

I chuckled. "Once again, I didn't think there was anything between us. Well, I guess now there is... if you want there to be?"

Alycia wrapped her arms around my neck, eyes looking between mine thoughtfully.

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?"

"Probably."

She breathed out, a small smile playing on her lips. "Yeah. Probably."

She leaned forward and closed the gap between us in a soft, sensual kiss. I closed my eyes and revelled in her warmth whilst wondering how on Earth I got this lucky.

[richincolor]

We've hit the jackpot this week with new releases. There are so many to choose from. Which ones are you looking forward to?

The Silvered Serpents (The Gilded Wolves #2) by Roshani Chokshi Wednesday Books

They are each other’s fiercest love, greatest danger, and only hope.

Séverin and his team members might have successfully thwarted the Fallen House, but victory came at a terrible cost ― one that still haunts all of them. Desperate to make amends, Séverin pursues a dangerous lead to find a long lost artifact rumoured to grant its possessor the power of God.

Their hunt lures them far from Paris, and into icy heart of Russia where crystalline ice animals stalk forgotten mansions, broken goddesses carry deadly secrets, and a string of unsolved murders makes the crew question whether an ancient myth is a myth after all.

As hidden secrets come to the light and the ghosts of the past catch up to them, the crew will discover new dimensions of themselves. But what they find out may lead them down paths they never imagined.

A tale of love and betrayal as the crew risks their lives for one last job.  — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Smash It! by Francina Simone Inkyard Press

Olivia “Liv” James is done with letting her insecurities get the best of her. So she does what any self-respecting hot mess of a girl who wants to SMASH junior year does…

After Liv shows up to a Halloween party in khaki shorts–why, God, why?–she decides to set aside her wack AF ways. She makes a list–a F*ck-It list.

1. Be bold–do the thing that scares me. 2. Learn to take a compliment. 3. Stand out instead of back.

She kicks it off by trying out for the school musical, saying yes to a date and making new friends. Life is great when you stop punking yourself! However, with change comes a lot of missteps, and being bold means following her heart. So what happens when Liv’s heart is interested in three different guys–and two of them are her best friends? What is she supposed to do when she gets dumped by a guy she’s not even dating? How does one Smash It! after the humiliation of being friend-zoned?

In Liv’s own words, “F*ck it. What’s the worst that can happen?” A lot, apparently. — Cover image and summary via Bookshop.org

Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite edited by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker Imprint

In this delicious new collection, you’ll find stories about lurking vampires of social media, rebellious vampires hungry for more than just blood, eager vampires coming out–and going out for their first kill–and other bold, breathtaking, dangerous, dreamy, eerie, iconic, powerful creatures of the night.

Welcome to the evolution of the vampire–and a revolution on the page. Vampires Never Get Old includes stories by authors both bestselling and acclaimed, including Samira Ahmed, Dhonielle Clayton, Zoraida C rdova and Natalie C. Parker, Tessa Gratton, Heidi Heilig, Julie Murphy, Mark Oshiro, Rebecca Roanhorse, Laura Ruby, Victoria “V. E.” Schwab, and Kayla Whaley. — Cover image and summary via Bookshop.org

Early Departures by Justin A. Reynolds Katherine Tegen Books

What if you could bring your best friend back to life–but only for a short time?

Jamal’s best friend, Q, doesn’t know that he died, and that he’s about to die . . . again. He doesn’t know that Jamal tried to save him. And that the reason they haven’t been friends for two years is because Jamal blames Q for the accident that killed his parents.

But what if Jamal could have a second chance? A new technology allows Q to be reanimated for a few weeks before he dies . . . permanently. And Q’s mom is not about to let anyone ruin this miracle by telling Q about his impending death. So how can Jamal fix everything if he can’t tell Q the truth?

Early Departures weaves together loss, grief, friendship, and love to form a wholly unique homage to the bonds that bring people together for life–and beyond. — Cover image and summary via Bookshop.org

Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh Dutton Books for Young Readers

“Ada” means first daughter, means oldest girl, means pressure. “Ada” means you are expected to do a lot of things because the honor of this family rests on your back.

When Ada leaves home for her freshman year at a Historically Black College, it’s the first time she’s ever been so far from her family—and the first time that she’s been able to make her own choices and to seek her place in this new world. As she stumbles deeper into the world of dance and explores her sexuality, she also begins to wrestle with her past—her mother’s struggle with addiction, her Nigerian father’s attempts to make a home for her. Ultimately, Ada discovers she needs to brush off the destiny others have chosen for her and claim full ownership of her body and her future.

Every Body Looking is a luminous and inspiring novel in verse about bearing the weight of others’ expectations and finding the courage to shape a life of one’s own. — Cover image and summary via Bookshop.org

How It All Blew Up by Arvin Ahmadi Viking Books for Young Readers

Eighteen-year-old Amir Azadi always knew coming out to his Muslim family would be messy–he just didn’t think it would end in an airport interrogation room. But when faced with a failed relationship, bullies, and blackmail, running away to Rome is his only option. Right?

Soon, late nights with new friends and dates in the Sistine Chapel start to feel like second nature… until his old life comes knocking on his door. Now, Amir has to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth to a US Customs officer, or risk losing his hard-won freedom.

At turns uplifting and devastating, How It All Blew Up is Arvin Ahmadi’s most powerful novel yet, a celebration of how life’s most painful moments can live alongside the riotous, life-changing joys of discovering who you are. — Cover image and summary via Bookshop.org

White Fox by Sara Faring Imprint

After their world-famous actor mother disappeared under mysterious circumstances, Manon and Thaïs left their remote Mediterranean island home–sent away by their pharma-tech tycoon father. Opposites in every way, the sisters drifted apart in their grief. Yet their mother’s unfinished story still haunts them both, and they can’t put to rest the possibility that she is still alive.

Lured home a decade later, Manon and Thaïs discover their mother’s legendary last work, long thought lost: White Fox, a screenplay filled with enigmatic metaphors. The clues in this dark fairytale draw them deep into the island’s surreal society, into the twisted secrets hidden by their glittering family, to reveal the truth about their mother–and themselves. — Cover image and summary via Bookshop.org

Miss Meteor by Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore Harperteen

There hasn’t been a winner of the Miss Meteor beauty pageant who looks like Lita Perez or Chicky Quintanilla in all its history.

But that’s not the only reason Lita wants to enter the contest, or her ex-best friend Chicky wants to help her. The road to becoming Miss Meteor isn’t about being perfect; it’s about sharing who you are with the world–and loving the parts of yourself no one else understands.

So to pull off the unlikeliest underdog story in pageant history, Lita and Chicky are going to have to forget the past and imagine a future where girls like them are more than enough–they are everything. — Cover image and summary via Bookshop.org

When They Call You a Terrorist (Young Adult Edition): A Story of Black Lives Matter and the Power to Change the World by Patrisse Khan-Cullors & asha bendele Wednesday Books

A movement that started with a hashtag–#BlackLivesMatter–on Twitter spread across the nation and then across the world.

From one of the co-founders of the Black Lives Matter movement comes a poetic memoir and reflection on humanity. Necessary and timely, Patrisse Khan-Cullors’ story asks us to remember that protest in the interest of the most vulnerable comes from love. Leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement have been called terrorists, a threat to America. But in truth, they are loving women whose life experiences have led them to seek justice for those victimized by the powerful.

In this meaningful, empowering account of survival, strength, and resilience, Cullors and asha bandele seek to change the culture that declares innocent black life expendable. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads