#bea states facts

[oibkenobi]

i hope there’s some satisfying direction they’re going with this, because i don’t want the mandalorian to become one of those shows that people say should have ended season x.

[averlym]

,,, little lemmings in line...

[graysoncritic]

A (Negative) Analysis of Tom Taylor's Nightwing Run - Introduction

Introduction Who is Dick Grayson? What Went Wrong? Dick's Characterization What Went Wrong? Barbara Gordon What Went Wrong? Bludhaven (Part 1, Part 2) What Went Wrong? Melinda Lin Grayson What Went Wrong? Bea Bennett What Went Wrong? Villains Conclusion Bibliography

I want to start this essay by admitting I’m actually embarrassed by its length. Why did I spend so much time on something I dislike? The truth is, I did not begin this with the intention of creating such an extensive, formal study of the Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo’s Nightwing run and how it reflects the wider problems with DC’s handling of one of their most iconic characters. I was just trying to organize the thoughts that came up during discussions with other Dick Grayson fans. Before I knew it, I had enough material, enough desire to challenge myself, and enough frustrations to vent to properly create this monstrosity.

I did not begin this Nightwing run determined to hate it. In fact, I was ready to love it. As Taylor promoted the run before the first issue was officially released, I was so excited for it. As I read short interviews where he discussed Heartless, I could not wait to have a new, incredible villain. Foolishly, I believed Taylor when he said he loved Dick Grayson. 

Needless to say, I was disappointed. Then frustrated. Then angry. The beginning of any story is a period where writer and reader form an indirect bond, and as the story progresses, so do the highs and the lows of said relationship. As such, a reader’s tolerance for negative factors will either increase or decrease depending on their experience up until that point.

In other words, if the writer fails to earn the reader’s trust and instead takes their attention for granted, even seemingly insignificant details become irritating in a way they would not be if presented in a better story. In such scenarios, the reader can no longer overlook those minor moments because there’s little good to balance them out with. It is a death by a thousand cuts. 

In the case of Taylor and Redondo’s run, along with those thousand cuts are also broken bones, internal bleeding, head trauma, and severed limbs. A weak plot, simplistic morality that undermines the story’s stated themes, and, most importantly, a careless disregard for Dick Grayson and everything he stands for utterly destroyed my enjoyment of this series. 

It is still too early to tell what sort of impact Taylor’s (as of time of writing, still unfinished) run will have on Dick Grayson’s future portrayals. But just because we cannot predict its long term significance, it does not mean we cannot critique it. Currently, we simply lack the benefit of hindsight. 

If this essay were to have a thesis, then it is this: Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo’s Nightwing not only fails to tell a compelling Nightwing story, but it also exemplifies a cynical, self-serving, and shallow approach to storytelling that prioritizes creating hollow viral moments to boost the creators’ own online popularity over crafting a good story, honoring the character in their care, and respecting his fans – fans who have, historically, often been women, queer folk, and other individuals who felt othered by a cisheteronormative patriarchal society. Taylor and Redondo’s thoughtless and superficial narrative not only undermine the socially progressive ideals they supposedly care for by propagating a cisheteronormative patriarchal worldview, but they also demonstrate a lack of love and understanding for the character in their care. At best, Taylor and Redondo have no interest in getting to know Dick Grayson, nor any respect for their predecessor and their contributions to this character. At worst, they despise Dick so much that they wish to reinvent him into something completely different, tossing away everything that was special to his fans in order to appeal to a readership that never cared about Dick Grayson. 

I structured this essay so that, hopefully, each part will build on the ones that came prior. Naturally, because all aspects of a story are interlaced, there will be overlaps between each of the sections. As it may have become obvious from this introduction, I’ll be focusing primarily on the writing of this run. That is not to say that I will not address the art, but writing is the field I know most about, and so it feels only fair to focus my critique on that. 

I hope that by the end of this essay, I will have successfully proved that this run’s mishandling of different narrative elements betray a cynical appropriation of progressive ideology and a disregard and disinterest in what makes Dick Grayson so special to so many people. This is an attitude that is present within DC Comics’ current ethos as a whole.

Now, who is this essay for? Honestly, it’s probably not for Tom Taylor fans. I do not believe I’ll be persuading anyone with my writing, and, to be quite honest, neither would I say I wish to do so. Taylor and Redondo’s run has won numerous awards and has many dedicated fans who adore it for what it is. If that is you, then I’m glad. I wish I could be among your numbers. I wish more than anything that I could love this story. But I do not, and I know many others agree with me, and it is to them, I think, that I’m speaking to. As Taylor’s run is praised to heaven and back, I needed a safe space to voice my thoughts. This essay became this safe space. And to others who also feel unseen by the constant praise this run is getting, I think this could speak to you, as well. To be cliche and cringe, this will hopefully let you know that you are not alone. 

Finally, I want to acknowledge some people whose thoughts greatly contributed to the creation of this essay. For around three years now I’ve been having wonderful interactions with other Dick Grayson’s fans, and those discussions were not only incredibly fun and cathartic, but also provided great insight into what needed to be included in this essay. My best friend especially gave me a space to vent when I got frustrated, and my original outline borrowed a lot from the messages I sent her, as well as notes I took for our discussions.  

I’ll also be directly quoting four different Dick Grayson fans (identified as Dick Grayson Fans A, B, and C in order to allow them to keep their anonymity). Their analyses were so critical to the formation of my thesis and for a lot of what will be addressed in this essay that I actually feel like they deserve co-credit in this essay. Dick Grayson Fan B especially deserves a shoutout in helping me track down a couple of pages used as supporting evidence, as I knew what pages I was looking for but was having a hard time remembering in which issue they were located. I’m quoting them with permission, and crediting their ideas and contributions whenever relevant. 

Now, without any further ado, let’s get started. 

[salemontrial]

A list of things (in no order) they BETTER include in the movie

- Rule #1: Don't Get Caught

- "And they are not khakis they're chinos. Khakis are for white people."

- The magazine page

- Zahra stealing Alex's phone and shoving it in her bra after the emails get leaked

- "Numbers on me being into dudes?"

- Get Low at the new years gala (bonus points for "Fuck it up, vato!")

- Alex blowing a beer bottle

- If I don't hear Bea's emotional depth pie speech I'll riot

- "America: He is my choice."

- "Now, I'm standing here, and I'm thinking about it... A reliable, hardworking, honest, Southern Democrat versus corruption, and maliciousness, and hate. And one big state full of honest people, sick as hell of beinf lied to."

- "Say good morning to your strumpet, Henry" "Good morning strumpet"

- Honestly the entire facetime with Pez while him and Henry are in Wales--

- Idk man i wanna see dc dykes on bikes chase westboro baptish church goers down the street

- "I am the First Son of the United States, and I'm bisexual. History will remember us."

- "I've seen Jurassic Park. Did you know birds are directly descended from raptors? That's a scientific fact. Raptors in my bedroom, Henry. And you want me to go to sleep like they're not gonna bust out of their enclosures and take over the island the minute I close my eyes? Okay. Maybe your white ass."

- "i want to see a cage match between your grandmother and this fucking ghoul running against my mom"

- The "Sexual Experimentation With Foreign Monarchs: A Gray Area" powerpoint

- "Sería una mentira, porque no sería èl."

- "Dear Thisbe, I wish there weren't a wall. Love, Pyramus"

- "Oh I'm terribly sorry Pip! So awfully clumsy, I think all that cocaine I did must have done a number on my reflexes!"

- Them dancing to Your Song in the A&V

- Alex NEEDS to fall into that rosebush

- "Hey. We won." "Yeah. We won."

- "But that would be-" "Yes Alex, the day we met, nothing gets past you does it? 'What about you' he asks, as if he doesn't know-"

[incorrectfabfifteen]

Hello, welcome to Incorrect Fab Fifteen, a blog about all things Silver Age Teen Titans! I've come up with the term Fab Fifteen to broadly refer to all of the members (which I'll explain below) as well as a natural expansion of the Fab Five (plus, it's better than just calling them the OG Teen Titans or the 70s Team).

For DC newcomers, don't be afraid of some of the comic terminology present, they'll make sense with more exposure.

Introducing: The Fab Fifteen!

Dick Grayson

Full name: Richard John "Dick" Grayson

Alter Ego: Robin I, Nightwing, Batman III, Red X

Birthday: March 20th

Love interests: Bette Kane (Pre-Crisis), Princess Koriand'r, Barbara Gordon, Helena Bertinelli (DCYou), Bea Bennett [There's probably more, feel free to send an ask so I can fix this]

Reading recs: The Judas Contract, The Cheshire Contract [collected as Nightwing: Old Friends, New Enemies], Nightwing Vol 1 by Chuck Dixon, Batman & Robin, The Black Mirror, New 52 Nightwing by Kyle Higgens

Wally West

Full name: Wallace Rudolph "Wally" West

Alter Ego: Kid Flash I, The Flash III

Birthday: January 16

Love interests: Donna Troy (Pre-NTT), Rachel Roth (🤨?), Frances Kane, Linda Park, Jesse Chambers

Reading recs: Born To Run, Savage Velocity, The Flash by William Messner-Loebs and Greg LaRoque, The Flash by Mark Waid, Flash Forward, The Flash by Jeremy Adams (especially The Return of Wally West and One-Minute War)

Donna Troy

Full name: Donna Hinckley Stacy Troy

Alter ego: Wonder Girl, Troia (Who Is Wonder Girl? until Total Chaos; JLA/Titans until Infinite Crisis; No Justice onwards), Darkstar (Zero Hour until Meltdown), Wonder Woman IV (Who Is Wonder Woman?)

Birthday: April 26

Love interests (oh boy): Dick Grayson (FORMERLY), Wally West (only during the Silver Age + some weird thing during DC Rebirth), Garth (Titans 2018 + Titans United), Roy Harper, Kyle Rayner

Reading recs: Who Is Wonder Girl? [Collected in The New Teen Titans Who is Donna Troy?], Wonder Woman By John Byrne Vol. 3, The Return of Donna Troy, Wonder Woman: Who is Wonder Woman?, Titans: The Spark and Into The Bleed

Garth

Full name: Prince Garth of Shayeris

Alter ego: Aqualad (also legal name until Crisis), Tempest

Birthday: March 6

Love interests: Donna Troy, Tula Marinus, Dolphin, Lilith Clay (temporary)

Reading recs: World's Finest: Teen Titans, Death of a Prince, Tempest by Phil Jimenez, Aquaman by Peter David, JLA: The Obsidian Age, Aquaman: Underworld

Roy Harper

Full name: Roy William Harper Jr.

Alter ego: Speedy, Arsenal, Red Arrow

Birthday: November 1

Love interests: Donna Troy, Jade Nguyen, Kendra Saunders

Reading recs: Snowbirds Don't Fly, The Cheshire Contract [Collected as Nightwing: Old Friends, New Enemies], Arsenal by Devin Grayson, Outsiders 2003, Justice League of America 2007, Infinite Frontier, Green Arrow 2023

Lilith Clay

Full name: Lilith Jupiter-Clay

Alter ego: Omen

Birthday: Not stated but her debut was November 18

Love interests: Gnarrk, Donald Hall, Garth, Bette Kane

Reading recs: The Terror of Trigon, Teen Titans by Dan Jurgens, Teen Titans: Life and Death, Titans Hunt (2015), Titans Rebirth

Mal Duncan

Full name: Malcolm Arnold "Mal" Duncan

Alter ego: Guardian (Pre-Crisis), Hornblower, Herald (Post-Crisis), Vox (Infinite Crisis until Flashpoint)

Birthday: Not stated

Love interests: Karen Beecher

Reading recs: Silver Age Teen Titans, Titans Hunt, Titans Rebirth, The Other History of the DC Universe #2

Fun fact: Mal Duncan was featured in the first interracial kiss in comics history with a goodbye kiss between him and Lilith!

Karen Beecher

Full name: Karen Beecher-Duncan

Alter ego: Bumblebee

Birthday: Not stated

Love interests: Mal Duncan

Reading recs: Silver Age Teen Titans, Titans Hunt, Titans Rebirth, The Other History of the DC Universe #2, Doom Patrol by Keith Giffen

Don Hall

Full name: Donald Hall

Alter ego: Dove

Birthday: Not stated

Love interests: Lilith Clay

Reading recs: The Hawk & The Dove, Silver Age Teen Titans, Crisis on Infinite Earths

Hank Hall

Full name: Henry "Hank" Hall

Alter ego: Hawk, Monarch (Armageddon 2001), Extant (Zero Hour until JSA)

Birthday: Not stated

Love interests: Dawn Granger, Ren Takamori

Reading recs: The Hawk and The Dove, Hawk and Dove: Ghosts & Demons, Hawk and Dove (1989), Birds of Prey (2010)

Dawn Granger

Full name: Dawn Marie Granger

Alter ego: Dove

Birthday: Not stated

Love interests: Hank Hall, Sal Arsala

Reading recs: Hawk and Dove: Ghosts & Demons, Hawk and Dove (1989), Birds of Prey (2010)

Duela Dent

Full name: Duela Dent

Alter ego: Joker's/Riddler's/Penguin's Daughter, Card Queen, Harlequin

Birthday: Not stated

Love interests: Earth-1 Dick Grayson, Earth-3 Dick Grayson

Reading recs: Silver Age Teen Titans, Teen Titans: Titans East

Bette Kane

Full name: Mary Elizabeth "Bette" Kane

Alter ego: Batgirl (Pre-Crisis), Flamebird (Post-Crisis, current mantle), Hawkfire (N52 Batwoman only)

Birthday: Not stated

Love interests: Dick Grayson (Pre-Crisis)

Reading recs: Teen Titans Vol 1 #50-53, Hawk and Dove Vol 3 Annual 1, Beast Boy (2000), DC's Legion of Bloom

Charley Parker

Full name: Charles Edmund "Charley" Parker (human name); Ch'al Andar (Thanagarian name)

Alter ego: Golden Eagle, Hawkman IV (Rise of the Golden Eagle)

Birthday: Not stated

Love interests: Kendra Saunders (I think?)

Reading recs: Hawkman: Rise of the Golden Eagle,

Tula

Full name: Tula Marinus

Alter ego: Aquagirl

Birthday: Not stated

Love interests: Garth

Reading recs: Tempest by Phil Jimenez, New 52 Aquaman, Mera: Queen of Atlantus, Aquaman by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Aquamen

So a special note: despite Beast Boy being a part of the Titans West (as well as appearing in the above photograph), they do not count as part of the Fab Fifteen, mainly because he's already part of the New Teen Titans. Also note that this acc won't be using the New 52 version of Duela Dent (although the Gotham Knights version is fine so feel free to send in any hcs about her)

Also you maybe be asking why Gnarrk's entry is below instead of with everybody else. That's because Gnarrk was never a Titan in the first place. Sure, he appeared as part of the title and was there when the Titans West was formed but he never actually joined the team at all. Gnarrk becoming a Titan became a thing when he was introduced following the New 52.

Gnarrk

Full name: Unknown

Alter ego: Caveboy

Birthday: Not stated

Love interests: Lilith Clay

Reading recs: Titans Hunt (2015), Titans Rebirth

Uhh, yeah, so that's the Fab Fifteen! Again, don't worry about this technical jargon if you're a newcomer and you just wanna look at the other posts, we're all here to have fun.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for saying my family shows favoritism towards my baby cousin?

(This is copied from my Reddit drafts because my partner told me tumblr would be better for this and I trust them)

Okay this is a long one so I’m just gonna throw out fake names for everyone and everyone is white middle class Americans

I, Op, 20M, I’m a trans man not accepted by my family. This is relevant

Renee, 20F, my twin sister

Bea, 16F, my younger sister

Lee, 35F, my aunt on my father’s side

Lucas, 2M, my cousin, son of Lee

Suzie, 5F, my cousin, daughter of Lee

My father, 44M, the patriarch of our whole family

My mother, 45F

Grandpa, 76M, paternal grandpa, previous patriarch

Grandma, 74F, paternal grandma

So I’m sending this in on Christmas Day of 2023. For some context, I still live at home, but it’s more of a roommate situation now that I’m an adult. Renee lives on her out-of-state college campus but visits for holidays, and Bea is still a high schooler. Lee, her children, and her husband who isn’t relevant to this (I love my uncle, we just literally never talk) live across the country. My father is losing the battle with cancer and can’t travel, so we had two separate christmases this year, one with my immediate family and one with Lee. Grandma and Grandpa went to Lee’s, which was awesome for me because that meant I got to avoid them this year!

As the character list above states, I’m (one of) the oldest of the five grandkids with my cousins being born a lot later than me and my sisters. My family is a traditional WASP family and staunchly conservative with Aunt Lee actively being a cop right now while my parents and Grandpa served in the military. Growing up undeniably queer was hilarious, I know. But the family dynamic wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been, my family did a good job of trying to hide the fact that Renee was the favorite child lol, but that was more on the basis of her having the same traditional values that they do until Aunt Lee had Suzie, then she obviously became the favorite. Fine by me, she’s an adorable girl and I love spoiling her. Also, ACAB does apply for Aunt Lee for being complacent in this system, it’s not just the most relevant part of the story besides explaining how she fits into the family dynamic

But then Lee had Lucas a few years later and the focus in the family shifted to him. At first, it was baby fever making everyone dote over him (and I’m guilty of this too) but after a while, I realized that the fever hasn’t died down. If we had family reunions, everyone would flock to Lucas and I would be the one watching Suzie. For a toddler, she’s a great conversationalist, but it was still sad to see all her aunts and uncles and cousins showering her baby brother with attention and not her. And then the comments started. That my father would only refer to Lucas as “my nephew” even when talking directly to Lee (unhinged to witness in person). That Grandpa was so happy to finally have a grandson (felt great). The lady-killer comments and guessing what profession he’s gonna go into based on how chubby of a baby he is (the money’s on Linebacker, little dude is built like a truck). Stuff like that

None of these comments were ever made about Suzie when she was born, and I really don’t want to admit that it’s because Lucas is a boy, but thats the only answer I can think of when trying to understand the favoritism. Lucas is showered in gifts and love and while I know newborns need that, Suzie received nowhere near this much attention. Lee’s husband doesn’t go to family functions because he works full time, but I heard Suzie mumble at Thanksgiving last month that she wanted to go home to daddy. It broke my fucking heart, so I called him and she got to FaceTime with my uncle until my phone died

At this point, I’m not even upset that the family ignores my obvious trans-ness as I’m over a year on T (paid for by myself too) in favor of my boy cousin. I’m upset that Suzie is getting left out of the fawning while she’s still super young and she could grow up resenting Lucas because of it.

Anyways, so this morning we opened gifts as an immediate family and I got to FaceTime my significant other as they unboxed their gift from me and we were having a good time until my dad FaceTimes Grandpa. Grandpa answers and Dad immediately asks how his nephew is. Lucas is pushed in front of the phone and all I can hear is asking about how Lucas is, is Lucas talking yet, is Lucas reading yet. I manage to squeeze my head in and ask about Suzie and Lee’s voice off camera says that “oh she’s fine, just snobbish.” Snobbish? A five year old?

And here’s where I’m probably the Asshole. Honestly, I’m looking between ESH and JAH here, but would perfectly understandable if tumblr decides YTA. My response to Lee’s comment was: “well maybe she wouldn’t be if everyone didn’t pick Lucas as the family favorite.”

My dad smacked me upside the head, Renee and Bea got really pissed off, and the FaceTime went quiet until it was cut off and Grandpa called back to talk to Dad privately. Bea called me an asshole and while my Mom got onto her for her language, Mom agreed that I was.

My dad came back from the phone and did the silent point towards his bedroom, y’all with shitty parents know the one. Because I’m twenty fucking years old and pay RENT here, I shook my head, grabbed my keys, and went to go hang out with my significant partner and work friends. We had a great time and I’m currently in the car with my significant other while typing this. I’m gonna spend the night at their place and go back in the morning to see how bad the damage is. My significant other says I was justified in what I said, but two of my work friends (one who’s a Cishet guy who grew up in a similar household and another who’s a new dad with his own son) say that what I said was uncalled for and rude. They explained that I had no right to weaponize Lucas and Suzie like that and I understand that. I’m just tired of Suzie being neglected and, selfishly I know, I’m tired of how my identity is ignored as well

So, tumblr, AITA?

TL;DR, My two year old cousin is the “only” grandson in the family. The family ignores my male identity and my baby cousin’s five year old sister to fawn over the two year old. Am I The Asshole for pointing this out point blank in front of the whole family on Christmas morning?

What are these acronyms?

[deepestnightcolor]

Hello again! I absolutely LOVED 'eggs', made my heart swoon for alex even more❤️

I was wondering if you would put the idea that I've been thinking of a while now into a fic, obviously do not have too❤️❤️

So I was thinking that, with how alex kind of checks Hailey out in some of Dialogue and can see that their the stereotypical 'jock x cheerleader' dynamic, but when starts noticing his little quips, they get jealous of his compliments, as they deeply like Alex, but he hasn't noticed.

So reader has the brilliant idea(not really) to make him jealous of them, so they go flirt with someone (could be anyone) and alex obviously gets upset, so when reader comes home, disappointed that alex didn't do anything. BOOM, big knock at the door, and they open it, and big surprise, it's alex, dripping with rain and just tackles the reader to make some good old jealousy sex, the rough type😍😍

(Preferreablely female reader, please❤️❤️)

Hopefully, your day is going well. Keeping hydrated, LOVE YOUR FICSSS like they are my fuel💀❤️

ᴀ/ɴ: There we fucking go, Alex has found you~ I hope this fuels you for another few weeks ;)

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: Alex x Fem!Reader

ᴡᴄ: 2934 words

ᴍᴅɴɪ ✧ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ: jealousy sex, flirting, oral, unprotected sex, cursing, spanking

☾ ʟᴇᴛ ʜɪᴍ ᴄᴏᴏᴋ ☽

It always tickled you in all the wrong places, but it was understandable, really. Who would have liked to hear their crush checking out another woman?

“iF yOu SeE HaYlEy TeLl HeR I aM bUsY,” you mocked in an over-exaggerated voice as you kicked a rock, making your way back over to Sam who had comfortably stretched out on a beach towel. “Whaddup, sunshine?” He asked with a grin, one eye lazily opening to look up at you. “Men suck,” you snarled back, plopping down next to him with crossed arms, a pout on your face. “Aw, come on now,” he laughed, patting your knee before closing his eyes again. “Just because Alex is a little dense sometimes-“ “How do you know this is about Alex?” you scoffed, the pout on your lips only intensifying. “Hm…Lemme think. Maybe because you just talked to him and stomped over her like a toddler throwing a tantrum? Ooooor, maybe, just maybe, ‘cause I own two eyes that can see that fuckin’ obvious crush you’ve got going on, so…” A sigh left your lips as you fell back, rubbing over your face. “Yeah, sorry,” you murmured, a shameful blush spreading on your cheeks. “It just- you know, it sucks so bad that you go over to someone and flirt with them, just to talk about another girl! I mean, I’d get if he just wasn’t interested in me, but sometimes he has the audacity to flirt back!”

The blond next to you chuckled, his hands behind his head. Lazy days with Sam usually calmed you, but today, Alex only riled you up. And you had been so confident today! Striding towards him in your cute new bikini, flashing him the prettiest smile! And he-  “So you are jealous,” Sam stated, so matter-of-fact that it made you want to pinch his side. “Well…maybe.” “So…Catch his attention?” “I am trying, Samson! I am trying really hard here!” Sam sighed, raising his brow. “Is he looking?” “What?” “You heard me. Is he looking?” You glanced over your shoulder, and much to your surprise, Alex was looking in your direction, giving you a small wave. “Yeah, why?” “Alright, I am going to pull you down to me now. Just play along.” And really, seconds later, a long arm snaked around your waist, pulling you down and into his side. He helped you rest your head on his shoulder, lazily playing with your hair. If you hadn’t been so upset from before, you’d have actually enjoyed this. You sighed as your cheek rested on his skin, warm from the sun, moody ego slowly being soothed. “Is he still lookin’?” Sam asked, making you glance up. And yeah, there he was, arms crossed, face closed off. His whole body language seemed tense all of a sudden, making you hum. “Staring.” “Good,” Sam hummed, pulling you a little closer, “let him cook, then.”

Maybe the two of you had put on a little show for Alex. Cuddling at the beach, cracking jokes as you packed up because the sky had been darkening, playfully shoving one another as you walked past Alex. Just to add a little on the image, you waved sweetly at him, before resting your head back on Sam’s shoulder. “Do you think that worked?” You asked, feeling the first raindrop imploding on your skin. “You will figure out soon enough,” the blond laughed, ruffling your hair as your ways parted. Oh well, you knew that had been childish, but you just- it had felt cathartic to give Alex a taste of his own medicine, even if it wasn’t going to bare any fruit.

Heaven had just started to flood the town when you entered your home, dropping your beach bag in the entryway without a second thought. Your sour mood had turned more positive thanks to Sam, but still, the ugly pit of jealousy had rooted in your stomach, making your head reel. How could Alex be so nonchalant about all of this? One day he was flirting heavily with you, the next he talked about Hayley. In all fairness, you had to admit – they’d make a sweet couple. A classic one; the cheerleader and the jock dynamic matched to a t. That didn’t mean it didn’t sting, though.

You sighed, about to take off the thin robe you had thrown over your body on your way home when you heard thunder rumbling in the distance, the grey sky darkening your house. The air was thick and humid, making it feel harder to breathe all of a sudden. How could such nice weather turn into this dark, gloomy threat within mere moments? You shuddered despite the heaviness in the air, about to step away from the door to be able to snuggle up on your couch when you heard a knock on the door. Your head tilted to the side – who in their right mind had made their way over in this weather? The rain was pounding on your roof – it must have been almost painful to trek over here. Maybe Sam had forgotten something?

You hadn’t expected to open the door to Alex, absolutely drenched and panting heavily. “Alex- What are you-“ There was no time for you to finish the question as you were pushed backward, the muscular man kicking the door shut behind him. “What do you think that was, huh?” He almost snarled, brown hair that was usually carefully styled sticking to his face, water drops running down his tense face. “What do you-“ “Cuddling up with Sam, huh? Almost eye fucking one another,” he snarled, body language on the verge of being threatening as he stepped toward you, his long fingers wrapping around your chin. “Clinging to him in that skimpy little bikini,” he scoffed, free hand snapping the strap of your bikini top against your shoulder, “after flirting with me. After prancing around in front of me. After making me all hard.” “Alex, it wasn’t-“ “Shut up,” he gasped out, pulling you close and letting your lips collide in an almost aggressive kiss, his tongue pushing past your lips as he pressed you into his wet body. You couldn’t help yourself, moan slipping into his mouth as if it had been pre-destined, your body almost immediately giving into him.

He guided you forward with the strength of his body, hands on your hips, tugging, no, ripping at the hem of your bikini bottom snapping the elastic back against the squish of your hips. “Wasn’t like that, huh?” He hissed; tongues still connected by a string of saliva. “���Course it wasn’t.” You wanted to respond, you had it all sorted out in your mind, but then the fat of his lips met your neck, gently kissing at the skin before he sucked it into his mouth greedily, hips bucking forward, allowing you to feel the bulge that had formed in his wet trunks. And Yoba, how good it felt. Absolutely perfect, perfect enough to make you forget about your intentions, about how you wanted to throw in his face that you had wanted to give him a taste of what he had been doing to you – it simply didn’t matter anymore. Not with his cock grinding against you through the nylon of your swimwear.

“That’s better, isn’t it, babe? Better than messing around with Sam, right?” It was a snarl, as threatening as the thunder hanging in the sky as he urged you toward the couch, your body buckling into it as soon as the back of your knees hit it. “Yes,” you croaked, eyes meeting his darkened green ones. Poor Sam, not even there and still thrown under the bus.

Alex hummed, his face softening just a tad as he hovered over you, his thumbs hooking in the waistband of his swimming trunks, lowering just enough to reveal his hip bones, just enough to show off the head of his dick. Your mouth watered, fingers fidgeting as the need to touch him arose, but Alex was quicker. “Turn around. Hands and knees. Be my good girl now,” he cooed, voice soft enough to soothe your anxieties but stern enough to make you obey immediately.

“Look ahead,” the athlete added, and you could hear something wet drop onto the floor. The image of his cock springing free popped up in your head, making you sigh in despair. Yoba, how you wanted to see him, take it in. But you had played with fire, and now had to live with the consequences. Not that you minded. Not when his fingers slipped your bottoms to the side. Not when you felt a tongue take a long drag through your folds. Your hands automatically curled into the cushion of your couch, eyes drifting shut as his tongue lapped at you. “So sweet,” Alex breathed, tongue lapping at your sweet juices. His lips wrapped around your folds, giving them a light suckle. Yoba, you tasted heavenly. Heavenly enough for him to almost forgiving you pressing into Sam’s side, but only almost. His hands gripped your thighs, forcing them to spread wider, wanting more access for his face to nuzzle into your wet, tongue greedily lapping up the nectar you gave him, eyes closed in bliss. And oh, how your sweet little clit throbbed whenever his tongue threatened to touch it, how you whined when he ran it back down just moments before it actually came in contact with it.

“Alex,” you groaned out, voice a lot more whiny than it had been before, hips grinding back against him, just to be rewarded with a rough smack on your ass. “Impatient little slut,” he growled, sitting up on the armrest, leaving your pussy all cold and drooling. “You know, I think…I think I should mark you up,” he rasped, licking his lips when he saw the reddened skin from where his big hand had landed. “Make you smell like me. Maybe it will keep others away from you.” Another smack to your ass, rougher than before, but this time, his thumb smoothed over the stinging skin. “I think that would be good, actually. What do you think, babe? Do you like the idea?” His hips bucked forward again, tip catching the wetness his tongue had hungrily licked up just moments ago. Your mouth worked to press out an answer, but Alex proved himself to be impatient. The tip of his dick, fat and heavy, pressed against your twitchy entrance, threatening to bully into you. But at last, Alex halted, his hands placing firmly on your hips, thumb pressing in the skin so hard they ought to leave marks. But he had to ground himself, had to hold on to you to keep steady, otherwise your sweet, drooling cunt would have been too much of a temptation. Wouldn’t have allowed him to keep back, not with how your hips pushed back, grinding ever so slightly in search for friction, and he had to hold back– just for a moment longer, he hoped. “You okay with this-“ “Fuck! Get a hint and DO it already, you dense donkey!” you called out, frustrations you had been feeling at the beach resurfacing, spilling out in that weak insult, tickling a laugh out of Alex. Dense donkey, huh? He would give you “dense donkey”.

His hips shoved forward, sinking his dick about halfway in in one, smooth, powerful thrust. It made you cry out, your back arching inward as your cunt worked on adapting to the perverted shaft stretching you wide. “Yoba, you are so fuckin’ wet, babe. Did Sam get you riled up like this, huh?” The jealousy pooling in his stomach made his jaw clench, hips pushing forward when you didn’t answer – he had given you the option to answer, you had failed to deliver. But it  was him who got to fuck you now, not Sam. Him that would fill you to the brim, over and over, not Sam. And then, there it was. Your head, shaking ever so slightly in response to his question, answering with actions instead of words, leading the grip on your hips to ease up a little. That was his girl, wasn’t that right? But still, he couldn’t let you off the hook so easily, not with how you had behaved. He waited for your cunt to stop clenching around him so much before he slowly pulled back, making you whine at the empty feeling he left behind as only his tip was resting within you. With a rough shove, however, he bottomed out inside of you, making you gasp out his name. Yoba, didn’t you sound angelic? He wished you could have looked at your cunt and how greedily it swallowed all of him, drooling all over his skin. He wasn’t much better in that regard, drops of pre-cum mixing with your delicious wetness. But fuck, you were so wet, and sweet, and your squishy walls-

His head fell back as he groaned out, eyes squeezing shut as he let the feeling of you being filled to the brim by him sink in. He had dreamed of you quite often already, sometimes even fucked his fist with your name on his lips, but this – this was much better than anything his brain could have come up with. “Look at that pretty little cunt,” he sighed, pulling out again, just to fill you back up. He adapted a slow pace, pulling out until only the tip was remaining, just to bottom out within you. Every damn time he fucked you full you were sure you were going to rip, and fuck, you wanted to rip for him. Wanted him as deep as humanly possible, just- needed him. Alex’s clenched his jaw again, biting down on his lower lip as he took in how your whole body was forced forward with each thrust, moaning at how you greedily sucked him in, how your cunt clenched when he was just about to slip out in an attempt to keep him in. He loved how he made you feel every single damn centimetre, and you took it all, moaning his name with breathless begs, panting like a bitch in heat beneath him. He really wanted to keep up this torturing pace, wanted to keep teasing you, edging you along slowly, but he just couldn’t- not when he could have more of these sounds.

His hips picked up in their pace, fucking into you much faster now, not taking the time to pull out almost completely. However, the force of his thrusts didn’t lessen, quite the opposite. Fucking into you hard enough to elicit the sound of skin smacking against skin, compelling your poor pussy to squelch as his tip bullied into you, bumping against your greedy, soft walls. His hand reached forward to hold onto your shoulder, the other still holding onto your hip. “Tell me, love. Do ya like this? Bein’ fucked on the couch like a dirty little slut? Huh? Do ya like bein’ fucked by me?” As if to underline the sentiment, his hips snapped deeply inside of you, pounding as deep inside of you as he could, using your hips as leverage to pull you against him. A mumbled “yes” slipped from you, accompanied by the moans Alex’s rough treatment tickled out of you, making him laugh a little breathlessly.  “Didn’t hear you, babe. Say that again. Come on, scream it out for me,” he urged, his balls pulling tight when he heard a sob coming from you. Must have hit a good spot, huh? He angled his hips differently, now attacking the spot that had made you sob for him, grinning to himself when your moans picked up in volume. “Baaaabe~” he hissed, groaning out your name. “Tell. Me.” Two especially hard thrusts into the spot followed his words, making your whole body quiver. “Yes, Alex!” “Yes what?” He snarled, smacking your butt twice. “I love being fucked by you!” “That’s my girl,” he gasped, eyes squeezing shut when you clenched around him once more. You were driving him crazy, right up the wall, balls feeling incredibly tight as he neared his orgasm. “Who do you belong to, little bitch?” He cooed in your ear, biting the lobe, suckling a hickey into the skin just below. “Y-y-you- I- am gonna-“ “You gonna cum for me, yeah? Do it. Make me smell like you.” His hand gripped strands of your hair to pull your head back, not wanting to allow you to moan into your pillow. He wanted to hear you, have those pretty sounds all for himself while his tip abused that sweet spot inside of you. You squeaked as your body tensed, toes curling as the first orgasm of the night wrecked through you, juices leaking over Alex’s fat, throbbing cock. Yoba, he would make you lick him clean later, you’d look so good with his dick pressing against your tongue- A groan left him, spasming cunt massaging his already aching dick. He was gonna cum, and he was gonna cum soon.

“Fuck, babe!” He hissed when his orgasm came over him, ropes of white painting your walls. You moaned at the feeling, but the sound shifted into a whine when Alex all of a sudden pulled out, jerking his dick with wet clicks. Hot semen landed on your ass, your back, your shoulders. “looks beautiful,” he gasped, tightening his fist around his throbbing shaft, cum now covering the back of your thighs as well. His hips bucked forward as he milked his cock, pushing his tip against your folds against, watching your cum mix together. “All…fucking…mine,” he gasped, suddenly leaning forward. “How’s that taste of your medicine?”

[ashecampos]

ANYONE BUT HER

Reader x Janis Imi-ike

Warnings - smoking, alcohol, drugs, swearing, cheating, mentions of anxiety.

there will be more parts to this, make sure to reblog and comment and I will get the next few parts up as soon as I can, happy reading lovelies 🫶🏼

“DAMIEN WE HAVE TO HAUL ASS IF WE WANT TO MAKE IT TO THIS GIG” Janis shouts at her best friend as she grabs his car keys and runs to the door leaving her jacket on the stairs. Not a moment goes until her best friend is also running out of the door behind her, shutting it and jumping in his car.

—

“For the love of Bowie please tell me one of you guys have a spare pick” I say running onto the stage where my band are setting up for the gig. My brother Aaron looks at me, points at my necklace. A guitar pick hanging from a chain. I dramatically place my hand over the pick and point at him “nuh uh this” I point at the pick “this was dads”. He rolls his eyes and throws me a pick.

I look over at my girlfriend who is talking to our bassist over at the bar, rolling my eyes I place my guitar down and go out back for a quick breather.

—

“So Cady what do you know about music?” Damien questions his new neighbour/ future classmate who had only came to the US a month ago. “nothing..but oh I know this really cool African band from my hometown you mig-“ Cady starts talking about Africa as Janis eagerly slaps Damien’s arm, cutting the poor girl off. “Dude look” Janis signals over to y/n after grabbing her two friends’ attention. “who is that?” Cady asks not missing the fact that her new friend is openly eye fucking this random girl whose face is hidden by the cloud of smoke coming from her cigarette. “Oh baby, that right there is the definition of ‘rockstar girlfriend’ also but not limited to hot guitar hero” Damien flails his hands toward the girl in question as Janis just stares. “Oh here we go, doors are open, I repeat lady’s doors are open” he squeals like a little girl going to see a boyband.

Blowing out a cloud of smoke I fiddle with my lighter in my hands, trying to calm my pre show jitters. My mind is somewhere else, as usual. Looking around at the que of people waiting to see us only made my anxiety worse. A warm hand grabs my arm and pulls me back into the venue “dude what the fu-“ shit “cmon we have to be on in five, if your going to be sick do it now and quick” my ever so loving girlfriend states as she drags me to the curtain backstage where the rest of the band is waiting.

One by one we walk out onto the stage.

Aaron goes on first, he’s our drummer and my twin brother. He’s wearing his usual get up of dark blue jeans, a hoodie and a flannel with some airforces.

Then goes Jason, our bassist. Or should I say our token fuck boy. He is wearing black jeans with a white long sleeved polo shirt.

Next is me, the guitar. I’m sporting my favourite black Levi’s, a dark red corset top I was forced against my will to wear by my girlfriend and a leather jacket, my guitar slung around my body so it’s resting on my back. My curly black hair bounces as I walk to my spot of the stage and plugging my guitar into the amp as I sling it around to the front of my body.

Lastly Bea. My girlfriend, our singer saunters out onto stage. She is wearing a black mini dress and heels. She looks plastic. Like a Barbie. She wasn’t like this a few weeks ago. She was just her usual perfect self. But she’s changed.

The crowd goes wild and the lights shine brighter onto us as Bea introduces the band.

The show goes great. Perfect even. We finish our set and the crowd stays, some drifting to the bar a few leaving to catch the late bus home. But a lot stayed to meet the band.

I place my guitar on the stand and straighten Jason’s bass while the rest of the band walk toward the bar, I take a B line towards the exit door, only to be pulled away by my arm. Now I walk to the bar with the rest of them. “What can I getcha baby?” The bartender asks, leaning over the bar a little with a smirk. “Double tequila straight, hold off the rocks and a sex on the beach for the lady please” I say with a smile. “Stop flirting with the sleaze bag of a server” Bea nudges me. “I wasn’t even…never mind” I sigh out, handing Bea her drink and downing my double shot.

We all separate and mingle with the fans. I end up standing in the corner of the room talking to some guys who want tips on how to hold a pick, you know the usual stuff. That’s when I see my girlfriend making out with Jason. I excuse myself and run out of the venue, my breath choppy and my vision blurry. I end up leaning against the stone wall of the bar, tears unknowingly flowing down my face, ruining my makeup.

—

“See I told you these guys were good” Janis shouts over the crowd to state the obvious as the show ends and people start to part ways.

..

The band comes out to cool off with the audience who is left, Janis, Damien and Cady being a group of them. “Holy shit” Janis says under her breath as she watches the singer and the bassist start making out. “Ohh fuck” Damien finishes Janis’ sentiment of shock as they witness the guitar player stumble out of the bar. “should we go see is they are okay?” Cady asks, Janis and Damien put their drinks down as if the question had restarted their brains and placed them back into reality. The group then follow the girl outside where they find her sat in the floor against the brick wall, her knees up to her chest, hands covering her face.

“Cady go find Aaron, drummer boy and let him know his sister is a mess but to not to worry, Damien go make sure singer or bassist does not come out here” Janis quickly springs into action.

—

She cheated, she fucking cheated with our bassist. Does she even know that I saw? Would she even care? I can’t believe that she che- “hey, is it okay if I touch you?” I girls voice breaks me out of my thoughts suddenly. I slowly take my hands away from my face and nod, observing the girl. She’s from my school, I’ve seen her before.

She slowly sits down next to me and takes a hold of my hand. That’s when it hits me. It’s my brother’s girlfriend’s ex. What was her name? Janine? No Janis? Yes Janis. Why was she at our gig? “Your girlfriends a douchebag” she says with a sad smile “you mean my ex girlfriend” i say barley above a whisper, my voice threatening to crack. “hey why don’t you come with me and my friends, we are going back to Damien’s to binge watch crappy VHS films and drink shitty beer. You down pretty girl?” She says reeking of confidence and hope that she can lift my spirits. Shrugging I agree before I am swept off of my feet and into a car with two new people and Janis.

—

Y/N SAMUELS is sat next to me right now. Definitely not something I expected to be saying. She’s like a goddess. She’s worse than plastic, she’s like stained glass. Fragile as fuck but so breathtakingly beautiful. I don’t know much about her but I know I need to have her.

—

I’m sleepy upset and now in a car with two randoms and Janis Imi’ike, not that I’m complaining. She’s really pretty the more I look at her. She rocks a cropped mötley crüe T-shirt with some black baggy jeans and docs. Her style has got to be one of the best I’ve seen even at school she somehow manages to catch my eye in the hallways or in classes. The car comes to a halt and I look at her again, now she is looking back at me with a grin, her hand held out ready for me to take it.

Damien’s basement is really nice, it’s been converted into a makeshift cinema room with two sofas, one of which being a two seater the other being a one seater. “Nice place” I say nodding my head at Damien “why thankyou my new pocket sized lesbian friend” he quips back. “Rude, for your information you’re just freakishly tall” we all laugh a little, his and Cady sit on the two seater while Janis who is still holding my hand guides us to the one seater. Putting a blanket over us to keep us warm she then places her hand on my waist while Damien starts playing a movie. I instantly recognise it as the conjuring 2013. Smiling I look up at Janis and say “it’s like he knew I would end up here tonight” she chuckles and shakes her head.

Never in my life did I think Y/N would be here hanging out with the three of us in Damien’s basement, a week before junior year, watching the conjuring. We are about half way through the movie when she moves so she is laid on top of me straddling my waist and cuddling me, her face nuzzled into my neck. I can smell the alcohol and weed on her but I’m not one to complain. She’s had a really rough night on top of the douchebag cheating on her. The movie eventually ends not that I was taking notice of it as all I could think about was her, I didn’t take my eyes off of her the whole time. Damien stands up from the other couch and I give him a death glare warning him not to wake her up. He smiles and comes over, gently tapping her shoulder, waking her up. “Hey fun sized, wanna play a game with us” he says smirking, I look over at Cady, she too has a shit eating grin on her face. What were they scheming this time? She rubs her eyes and nods a little. “Mh. What game?” She asks a valid question “dare or drink” he goes back to behind the couch and pulls out a cooler full of ice cold drinks. Like a switch has flipped she removes herself from my body. And sits on the floor next to the small coffee table. We all do the same, grabbing drinks and opening bottles. “Cady I dare you to make an Instagram account under the name ‘Caddy Heroin’ and follow the first five people who pop up” I start off strong, to this Cady puts the drink to her mouth and takes a big gulp. Earning a boo from the latter. A few turns go by and Damien turns to me and y/n pointing at us. “You two seven minutes in heaven right now or drink the rest of your bottles” he says with a smirk. Laughing y/n gets up with a stumble and holds her hand out for me. Her bracelets glistening under the dark light, I take her hand and pull her with me to another room in the basement. As soon as the door shuts I place my hands on her waist and push her body trapping her between me and the door.

Maybe I was drunk or maybe it was just the fact that Bea cheated on me but I decided to be reckless. When Damien proposed seven minutes in heaven I decided to take the offer up, Janis pulled me into the next room, pinning me against the door and attacking my lips, then that turned to my neck and I think you know what happened after that, we had Damien knocking on the door declaring we haul our asses out of the supply closet before he comes in and drags us out. Once out of the closet ;) we played a few more rounds before I ended up asleep on Janis again. By 2am we were all asleep.

7am the next day

I wake up to the sound of someone snoring, looking around the room I see Damien and the new girl on the other couch sprawled out, an ungodly sound coming from the boys mouth. Looking up I see Janis Imi-ike my longtime crush and Regina George’s ex girlfriend with her arms wrapped around my waist. I use the fact that everyone is asleep to make my escape. Before leaving I write my number down on a piece of paper and place one of my bracelets on Janis’ wrists.

part 2

[lyn-js]

Dancing under the Moonlight | Prologue

Bradley Bradshaw x OC Reader (Nickname Honey)

Summary: After the Uranium Mission, Bradley Bradshaw decides he wants to settle down. Maybe even start a family at some point in time. But he felt so tired (and old) to be in the dating scene. That's until he sees a beautiful new bartender at The Hard Deck. Not only that; turns out she's Penny's niece, Beatrice. They both hit it off amazing, but for some reason, Beatrice isn't letting her walls down yet. But Bradley is going to get to the bottom of what Bea's big secret is.

Warnings: Swearing, angst, drinking, mentions of past abuse, fluff, eventually smut 18+, age gap (24 & 35)

Check out the Masterlist

You’re hiding in the closet in your bedroom. Scared for your life, trying to cover your mouth so he doesn’t hear you. You suddenly jolt at the sound of someone knocking on your door. But you don’t answer it, you stay inside not wanting to be found. A few minutes later you hear the door creak open, your whole body is pulverized with fear. You hear footsteps all around the room. But you finally hear someone call out for you.

“Bea…Beatrice, are you here?” you hear a female voice. You come to realize it’s you, Aunt Penny. You let out a gasp and start to let out all the waterworks from your body and start to sob uncontrollably. You hear her footsteps padding her way to the closet. She lets out a gasp of her own. Seeing you curled up with your knees to your chest, seeing the healing bruises on your arms and legs. She kneels and takes her hands and puts them on both sides of your cheeks, so she can fully see you.

“Oh, my honeybee. You’re safe now. Nobody is gonna hurt you ever again. Okay? I won't let that happen.” You just let her hug you. You miss having a warm embrace with you. You miss that motherly love and affection. You missed the one person who truly believed in you, and who wanted you to succeed in your dreams. You missed your mom.

You just simply nod, and let more tears run down your face, but you feel your aunt wipe away those tears, and give you a gentle kiss on your forehead. The next thing you know, you’re gathering all of your stuff that you can fit in Aunt Penny’s car. Including some of your clothes for work and some shoes. But before you went out the front door you ran over to where the TV stand was, untape your necklace that was on the back of it. You knew Zeke would look for anything worth anything to you and pon it off. But you would never let him take this away from you, your mom got you a necklace with a honey bee-shaped charm on it for graduation.

You took everything you needed and went off with Aunt Penny to Fightertown U.S.A.

(Bradley POV)

You were walking into The Hard Deck like any other normal night. You’ve been at this whole routine since the mission was a success. Ever since then, you haven't been able to sleep. Not being able to sleep alone for that matter of fact. You've always wanted to have somebody, somebody to come home to. To have a warm body next to you, someone to have a conversation with, actually talk about something other than work. Instead of walking into an empty apartment, falling asleep with no noise, slowly diving into an abyss of nothing. 

But now, you’ve found a group of friends that you can talk to, hang out with, and find a connection with people you haven't had in a long time. 

All of the squad was there, including Mav. We were all having a good time playing pool and darts, drinking, and making jokes with everyone. Until we see out the window, Penny pulls into the parking lot super fast. Then we all look over at Mav a second later when he gets a phone call from Penny. 

“Hey, Pen-” He stops talking, getting cut off by her, we can actually kind of hear her through the phone. “Hey, Hey… slow down hon. Okay. Okay, I’ll be right out. Bye, hon.” We all look at him in a confused state. Something wrong Mav?” Phoenix asks with a little bit of curiousness in her voice. Then all of us asked but with only our facial expressions. Then, he just gives us a confusing stair. Not knowing what to say after talking With Penny. “Rooster. Walk with me for a minute?” he asks looking at me. I just nod and leave the group to see what he’s looking for.

“What’s up, whaddya need?” I ask him with the same curiousness in my voice. “Penny…Penny’s niece is here, and she doesn’t want to go back to the house. She doesn’t want to leave her there. So, is it possible for you to just help me bring her into the back?” He asks you. You're just trying to wrap your head around your head the crazy information you've just heard. You just agree and walk out with him.

You both are out of the bar and slowly make your way over to Penny. When you do, you see her talking to someone. That must be her niece that Mav was talking about. you think to yourself. You see both of her legs on the seat, pulling them close to her chest, just looking out the passenger window staring into oblivion. You can see a little bit of the fading bruises on parts of her legs. You’re starting to put your fists into a ball, almost making them turn ghost white. Not a lot. Just a little though.

When you see Penny go around to the other side to collect her from the passenger seat, you see her cling to Penny, almost like she would disappear if she had let her go. But Penny just whispers to the girl sweet nothings and tells her everything is going to be all right. Then we walk both of them into the bar.

When we get in, the group looks at me and Mav. Wondering if we had any answer to what was happening. We just look back, and keep walking to the back where Penny’s office is. 

Once we get back there Penny sits her down and just wraps her in a hug and kisses her on the forehead. I start to daze out for a second, I can’t help when I see someone giving someone/thing else affection.

It always brings me back to when someone close and important to me. My mom. She would always make things feel better, and she would always make sure I felt safe, loved and cared for. When I lost her, I felt so alone, and like I had nobody else in the world to love and take care of me. Sometimes I wish she was still here.

But I snap out of my daze and focus on the situation before me.

(Back to your POV)

The only thing I can keep my eyes on are the pictures hanging on her wall, and some framed on the shelves. Some pictures were of my aunt and my mom when they were young. God, she looks so pretty. You thought to yourself when looking back at the same honey-colored eyes that you inherited from her. Others were of you when you were a baby, all the way up to a teenager. Graduation day, sleepovers with your best friend Chantal, and holding your baby cousin Amelia with her drool falling onto the front of your shirt. Even though you thought it was so gross, but you didn't care. You just wish you could just close your eyes and go back in time. Going back to when you were younger. When your amazing mom was alive. To when you were the most happy.

You just wanted to be left alone, curl up into a ball hide away from the world, and never be seen again. Not only were you embarrassed that you were about to start crying like a fucking maniac, but you look up for only a second, and you see a really cute mustached guy standing across from you. You’re on a fuckin’ roll Beatrice!! 

You see Penny crouch down on the floor to talk to you. “Hey Honey,” she said with a warm smile, I just muster up a half-one because you were feeling so tired and worn down. “I have to go back out just for a little bit, but I have someone who can wait here with you. Is that okay?” You don't answer just yet, but again you look up and see the cute mustache guy is still there. He smiles and gives a simple wave, not seeming too scary. You simply nod and she kisses you on the cheek “I’ll be back in a little bit Honeybee, if you need me, or anything just call out for me. Okay?” I just give a quiet “okay” and then she gets up to leave.

Both your Aunt Penny and the other man walk out the door to go back to work. Just leaving you and the Mustache guy alone. With nothing to do. “You speak up to him “You don’t have to stay with me if you-” he cuts you off. “Even though we’re not talking, it’s nice to have some company. Especially if it’s not with Bagman annoying the shirt out of everyone,” he says. I let out a little chuckle, but my smile fades a little bit when he tries to shut the door. “C-could you keep the door open… please,” I stand up and say a little loudly. He looks back at me and I cower back in the wheely chair. “Hey, hey it’s okay if you want to keep the door open. We’ll keep it open, we're playing by your rules. Okay?” a little bit of tension leaves your body, and you let out a big breath. Not knowing why you were holding your breath. You look up to him speaking again.

“Is it okay if I can sit next to you? I mean, on the floor if that’s okay with you,” he says pointing to the floor tile next to the chair. “Oh no, I don’t want you to sit on the ground,” you say wanting to put up a fight. But also kind of knowing you would lose because you couldn’t say no to this attractive, cute, and tall man. Snap out of it. You just met him, get your mind out of the gutter stupid!

“Don’t worry, it’s not a problem, I’ve been cramped in an FA/18 for hours. Sitting on the floor in a small office is a piece of cake,” he says while kneeling and taking the spot next to you. You wanted to giggle a little bit because of course your aunt has a small office, and you look at this man that’s as tall as a fucking oak tree trying to sit on the small, maybe a little bit dirty floor. Also seeing him scrunch his long legs close to his body. Trying to get me to think he is living his best life right now.

“I’m sorry, but I know for a fact that you are so uncomfortable right now,” you say to him, and starting to warm up a little bit. “Oh come on, I am living the life right now. Somebody get me a margarita.” he quietly yells out the front door. That has me leaning back in my chair laughing, which leads him to laugh with me. 

After your laughter dies down a little bit, you both fall into silence, only hearing the rowdy patrons from the bar. You see him stick his hand out and start to speak. “I’m Bradley by the way. Bradley Bradshaw at your service.” You giggle a little bit more when his other hand comes up to his forehead to salute you. You were a little hesitant at first. Not wanting to fall into another trap. But for some reason, you feel sort of different around him. You feel a type of warm, and sweet comfort from him, you want to believe in yourself .He doesn’t seem so bad. But you try so hard to shove warm and lovey-dovey thoughts in the back of your mind. But you just can help it.

 Just when he was about to drop his hand back down to his side, you put your hand out too. “Beatrice Benjmine. Also at your service.” You also offer the fake salute, then you hear him chuckle and take your hand to shake. His hand feels so warm, and calloused against your small dainty ones. You could also see a big size difference in your hands too, wanting to know what was also big about him. OH MY GOD BEA, What are you doing!!!

You snap out of your mind and come back in the moment. You both are still looking at each other. Hands still together and shaking. But you both drop each other hands and fall into a light conversation until you hear Aunt Penny coming into the office telling you it’s closing time and heading home. You and Bradley both decide to get up so he can walk you and your Aunt out to her car.

When all three of you were outside and walking to the car you heard Bradley speak up and talk to you. “It was nice meeting you, Beatrice. Hopefully, I will see you again,” Once again putting his hand up to salute you. You start to giggle. “It was a pleasure meeting you too.” you salute back. After that he walks past you to get the passenger door open, you give him a warm smile and get into the seat. When He closes your door you see him through the window smiling at you and giving you a small wave. You wave back when Aunt Penny starts to pull away, but you can see him in the rearview mirror walking over to a blue car and getting in, maybe going home himself. But you just stare back out the window watching the waves roll to the shore with the moon sparkling over the waves.

You want to believe Bradley is a good guy, that he wouldn’t hurt you like Zeke did. But you have a sense of love and protection he would have for his other friends he was talking about earlier. You wanted to trust your mind, but you couldn’t just yet.

Even though you just met him that night, you wish you could form a good and happy friendship with Bradley. But being your usual crazy self, thinking in the back of your mind. Only to hope it can turn into something a just little more.

I hope you all like the prologue for this story. I have a big story line for Beatrice and Bradley.

Reblogs are always welcome. Unless you're under 18. I will block you. and comment if you want to be added to the taglist. If I forgot anybody message me and let me know. You will be added.

Taglist: @caitsymichelle13 @shanimallina87 @angelbabyyy99 @callsign-magnolia

Once again dividers are by @saradika

[spaceman-earthgirl]

Ava’s fingers brush the edge of the envelope in her hand, Beatrice’s name written in her neatest handwriting in the middle. As soon as Ava had seen the card, she knew it was perfect, perfect for Beatrice, perfect for them.

It’s only Valentine’s Day, a small blip in the grand scheme of things. It’s a minor holiday, a commercial celebration of love that Ava wouldn’t usually bother with, something she’d never thought she’d even have the chance to celebrate.

But this year she has a girlfriend, she has Beatrice, she’s come back from the dead, again, and she wants to celebrate the woman she loves.

So caught up in her own thoughts, Ava misses the slight creak of the floorboard behind her, jumps when hands land on her hips

“Jesus,” Ava says, hastily pushing the card away, now half hidden under a loaf of bread as Beatrice’s arms curl around her stomach.

“Sorry,” Beatrice laughs, the sound warm as she drops a kiss to Ava’s shoulder in apology. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Ava can’t really be too upset with Beatrice for sneaking up on her, not now that Beatrice is hugging her from behind, all warm and soft in the best possible way.

“What are you doing up so early?” Beatrice asks.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Ava counters, though she’s the anomaly here, it’s not often she’s out of bed before Beatrice, and never this early. But she’d wanted to make this morning special, wanted to bring Beatrice coffee in bed, wanted to give her the card she’d picked and show Beatrice once again how much she means to her.

“I woke up expecting cuddles but you were gone.”

Ava immediately spins in Beatrice’s embrace, dislodging Beatrice’s arms in the process. Ava loses her train of thought for a moment, too busy taking in Beatrice’s slightly dishevelled state, her hair a mess from sleep, her shorts not quite straight as they sit on her hips.

She’s struck once again how lucky she is to have this, to get to see Beatrice like this. Through everything, against all odds and despite all the shit that’s been thrown at them, she gets to see a sleepy Beatrice, standing barefoot in their kitchen, looking so utterly beautiful that Ava’s heart skips several beats.

“Are you okay?” Beatrice asks, eyes darting over Ava’s face. She reaches out, fingers brushing some of Ava’s own messy hair behind her ear.

God, Ava really loves her.

read the rest on ao3 or under the cut

“I’m great,” Ava grins. “Even better for the fact that you just admitted you like cuddles, that you’ve actively come looking for me so you can have said cuddles.”

Beatrice rolls her eyes. “I’ve never denied liking cuddles before.”

Ava shrugs, still grinning. “It’s also just cute hearing badass Beatrice say the word ‘cuddles’.”

Beatrice presses her lips together, but Ava can tell she’s trying not to smile too. “So that’s why I’m up early, but why are you up so early?” Beatrice asks.

“I was originally going to make you breakfast in bed.” Beatrice’s eyes widen in alarm, Ava holding up her hands so she can finish. “But,” Ava continues. “I realised how bad of an idea that would be after last time, so I was just going to bring you coffee in bed, but I had to be up early because you wake up stupid early. I haven’t made the coffee yet but I do have this for you.”

Ava reaches blindly behind her, hand hitting several things before she feels the card. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Bea,” Ava smiles, tilting forward to press a quick kiss to Beatrice’s cheek before she holds the card out in the small space between them.

“Oh,” Beatrice says, clearly surprised as she looks down at the card between them. She eyes it for a long moment before she slowly reaches out and takes the envelope. “Thank you,” Beatrice breathes.

Ava watches in silence as Beatrice opens the envelope and slips the card out.

Beatrice laughs when she sees the front, and Ava smiles. She’d been slightly worried Beatrice wouldn’t find it funny, or would’ve expected something a bit more serious.

They’re both in uncharted territory here, figuring out how to navigate this new relationship together. It’s barely been a month since Ava’s been back, since the portal had opened again and Ava fell straight out and into Beatrice’s arms.

But here they are, learning what it’s like to live together and love each other and learning that they both get to be happy.

“Where did you even find this?” Beatrice asks, holding up the card for Ava to see, like she didn’t spend ten minutes in the store after she saw it, trying to decide if she should buy it.

The card has a cartoon bumblebee on it, the words “Bee, Mine” big in the centre.

“It’s perfect, right?” Ava grins. “And it’s even better because you’re ‘Bea’ too.”

“It’s perfect,” Beatrice agrees. “And yes, I’ll bee yours.”

Ava feels positively giddy as she laughs, shifting from foot to foot, too much excited energy to stand still. But she does because Beatrice leans forward and kisses her and all of her energy directs into the kiss instead, her hand curling around Beatrice’s neck to pull her closer.

Ava’s knees go weak when Beatrice’s tongue slips into her mouth. This may be her first Valentine’s Day, but it’s definitely going to be hard to beat.

“That’s some kiss for six thirty in the morning,” Ava breathes when Beatrice pulls away. Ava tries to follow but a hand to Ava’s chest stops her. “Fine,” Ava pouts, getting the idea. “I know we have training this morning but could I interest you in a sick day? We could go back to bed and-,” Ava wiggles her eyebrows. “-cuddle.”

“Actually, about that,” Beatrice says, fingers playing with the hem of Ava’s shirt. It’s a little distracting so Ava takes Beatrice’s hand, tangles their fingers between them. “I wasn’t really sure if we were going to be doing anything for Valentine’s Day, I wasn’t sure if I should get you anything, and I know I should’ve just talked to you about it but-“

“You didn’t need to get me anything,” Ava cuts in. She didn’t realise how much this had been on Beatrice’s mind. “I know this is new to both of us, but I just wanted the chance to make you feel special and tell you once again how much I love you.”

Beatrice smiles. “I love you too. But I did get you something.”

“Oh.” Warmth spreads through Ava’s chest. It makes her feel stupidly happy that Beatrice put thought into this too.

“Not a physical thing,” Beatrice continues. “But we don’t have training this morning. In fact, we have nothing to do all day, I talked to Mother Superion and she agreed to give us both the day off.”

Ava’s mouth drops open. “What?”

“So, we can do whatever you want. I was thinking we could spend the morning here and then this afternoon we could go and explore that market in town you told me about last week and then I’ve booked us reservations for dinner.”

Ava suddenly feels like she might cry. “You did all of that for me?”

Beatrice squeezes Ava’s hand. “It’s slightly selfish, because I want to spend the day with you too.”

“Thank you.”

Beatrice bites her lip. “It’s not too much?”

Ava smiles as she shakes her head. “No, it’s perfect. I can think of nothing better than spending the day with you.”

Beatrice crowds into her space again, erasing the gap that she’d created between them. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Ava.”

Ava’s free hand reaches up to play with the collar of Beatrice’s sleep shirt. “If our morning consists of us staying at home, can we go back to bed?”

“You just want to cuddle,” Beatrice teases.

“Among other things,” Ava winks.

Her words get the blush Ava had been hoping for, but she doesn’t get to tease Beatrice again because her girlfriend cuts her off with a kiss.

(For the next year, Ava thinks nothing can beat this Valentine’s Day, but when Beatrice proposes on the next one, it becomes her favourite day).

[henryspearl]

thank you for the tag @tailsbeth-writes 🫶

here’s a little bit of brother and sister bonding for you on this sentence sunday ✨

Bea’s eyes start to dance wickedly, “Who says I’m still not desirable? Who says that I do not still have suitors approaching me?”

A small grin tugs on Henry’s lips and his pupils dilate, becoming somewhat intrigued. “Whose eye have you caught, sister? Or more so, who has caught yours?”

Bea scrunches her lips together as her eyes glaze over her lilac dress, her fingers starting to play haphazardly with the small loose stitching that is starting to appear. “You know Lord Bowden?”

Henry gasps in surprise, a smile pulling at his lips, “I did not know you were into him?”

“I’m not,” Bea states as she looks back up at Henry. The smile on her lips dances cheekily. “But his cousin Viscount Mitchell is rather pretty don’t you think?”

Henry gasps again, suddenly overwhelmed with delight for his sister.

“He has approached me a few times,” Bea continues. “In fact, I promised him a dance tonight.”

“I’m pleased for you,” Henry says sincerely. “If he is the husband for you then I can only hope that this disaster we are wrapped in does not drive him away.”

“I am sure we can hold off this ‘engagement’ or not have it at all,” Bea says. “Things always have a funny thing of working themselves out for the better.”

Henry hums in response.

Bea nudges his elbow lightly, a playful tone sings in her voice as she presses, “So, you and Alex spent the night together huh?”

tagging: @babygirlgalitzine @onthewaytosomewhere @iboatedhere @clockwrkpendrxgon @softboynick @heysweetheart-writes @theprinceandagcd @firstprincehornyramblings @henrysfox @fullsunsets @lizzie-bennetdarcy @priincebutt @myheartalivewrites @anincompletelist @kiwiana-writes

[oibkenobi]

enjoying ahsoka so far insofar as it's fun. i have my issues with her characterization, but i think it could be another fun filoni show. one thing i don't like is (minor spoilers for first episodes to follow)

...

the world building element of including a whole other galaxy? like the galaxy is already so big and not totally explored. what about the unknown regions?? wild space?? the very edges of this almost inconceivably massive entity? why introduce something totally new and kinda unnecessary. this gives me the 100 later seasons vibes where they'd just introduce new planets for no reason aside from having somewhere new. like why can't they just be at the edge of the galaxy, the galaxy is such a big place, this addition just makes it seem small. i feel like this is all ramping up for ahsoka and sabine and ezra just staying in the new galaxy, essentially stranded, so that rey can be the last jedi a few decades after without killing them off. also giving disney a new play ground to milk some more star wars out of. like filoni might end up making this something good but at this point i'm very skeptical.

[bunchofstraydogs]

@nihilo-sensei Sorry for the late response, i gave up on writing lmao.

I see where you’re coming from, but to be honest, I don’t see BEAST!Atsushi and Kyōka joining canon verse ADA. B!Atsushi is, at best, unhinged. Far more than canon Atsushi ever was. Some things in our lives get so deeply engraved into our souls, that it becomes our nature. Beast Atsushi isn’t good, nor inherently evil, he’s just wild. Feral, actually, would be the perfect word to describe him. You can’t have someone as bloodthirsty, terrified, and unstable in ADA. They’re a detective agency that first and foremost have a duty to protect the public, not a sanctuary for the mistreated. While they comprise of such people, Beast Atsushi would be more of a liability, despite him being a far better and more competent fighter than canon Atsushi.

And where Atsushi goes, so does Kyoka, and that hasn’t changed.

For canon and beast SSKK meeting, i will remove everyone else from the equation and focus on these chuckleheads.

Beast SSKK doesn’t have the same dynamic and connection canon SSKK does. This fact mainly affects how Chuuyas would perceive the other two. And among the four of them, only B!Dazai would have a clear understanding of the situation.

Let’s start with Dazai. Beast Dazai is vastly different than canon Dazai. In canon, Dazai was set off on a better path by Odasaku. He’s also grown to care about people and doing relatively right by them. He also lives because he doesn’t want his death to hurt others. He has a goal, he has done good (he’s far from being good, though), and people depend on him.

Beast Dazai, on the other hand, while knowing the other side of things, is entirely whacked in the head and selfish. Obsessed, even. He also never had Oda in his life, only knew him from memories that weren’t even his. He is far colder than canon Dazai (not that the canon one is a ray of sunshine). While he did steer the mafia to protect people from the shadows, his only goal was to make certain that Oda lives and becomes the author he wanted. That, and to be friends with Odasaku, something that seems to be impossible for him. He never truly cared much about the rest.

Dazais wouldn’t take well to each other. I am certain Beast Dazai would actually hate canon Dazai on some level for getting to experience friendship with Oda and for “letting” Oda die. Canon Dazai, on the other hand, would at first look at his parallel self notice the sheer difference, the emptiness and darkness, and would see him as the biggest threat, actually. Because it’s true, his greatest enemy is, and always will be, himself. In this situation for a different reason other than his inner demons. Because who else can pose the intellectual challenge to Dazai better than Dazai. And this one in particular has the upper hand, knowing what he does.

Neither of them would concern much with Chuuya of either world, as they pose larger threat to each other.

Chuuyas, on the other hand, well. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen much of Beast Chuuya, so I don’t know how different he is not having the history with Dazai he does in canon. Nor do we know how he joined. But he appears to be the same spicy, loyal Chuuya as he is in canon. His disdain for Dazai is larger than in canon, but his loyalty is holding him in place and is aware that Dazai is above him. Canon SSKK are a duo, partners, equals, whatever have you. So the power dynamic is different.

That said, the difference in the Dazais is obvious at first glance, and both notice it.

I think that, the more those two talk and provoke each other, the more they realize how unlike the state of things are between them. That gets them even more confused and weary.

But to cut it short, Chuuyas would be able to coexist with each other.

Beast Chuuya would be annoyed with canon Dazai at most, but loyal to his Dazai and serve him in the end.

Canon Chuuya would fall into a familiar tandem with his Dazai to resolve the very big problem that Beast Dazai poses.

Beast Dazai wouldn’t care much about the situation. He’s not looking to cause a ruckus in the canon world or any tangible trouble for the other two (besides just mind fucking with them for his own amusement), as Oda is already dead in their world so any effort on his part is wasted.

And canon Dazai would hyper focus on Beast Dazai, of course not leaving Beast Chuuya out of the equation. But given the chance, he may try to play things off and annoy Beast Chuuya by “ordering” him around as he is his “boss” and tell canon Chuuya to be more like Beast one.

———

I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this text. It’s been years since I read BEAST and I definitely forgot things. It’s also been a hot moment since i last immersed myself in the franchise, so ya. Don’t take it to heart. Hope you liked it.

[graysoncritic]

A (Negative) Review of Tom Taylor's Nightwing Run - Conclusion

Introduction Who is Dick Grayson? What Went Wrong? Dick's Characterization What Went Wrong? Barbara Gordon What Went Wrong? Bludhaven (Part 1, Part 2) What Went Wrong? Melinda Lin Grayson What Went Wrong? Bea Bennett What Went Wrong? Villains Conclusion Bibliography

Though it may not appear so given the length of this essay, I did try to be fair to Taylor and Redondo. I focused my criticism on Taylor because my knowledge of written storytelling far exceeds my knowledge of visual storytelling, especially when it comes to sequential art. As such, I did not think it was my place to criticize something that I did not feel entirely comfortable addressing.

As I implied in the introduction, this essay was both an intellectual exercise and a cathartic one. Much of the information in it were reworded discussions I had with other Dick Grayson fans throughout the past couple of years. I must also thank them for allowing me to quote them when appropriate, as none of this would have been possible without their contribution. The essay itself was written in the time span of months, and sometimes I went weeks without even opening the document, only doing so again when a new issue came out and I wanted to vent.

As I worked on this, I was able to articulate a frustration that has been building up inside of me and, I know, many Dick Grayson fans for years. These frustrations are not exclusive to Taylor's writing. Rather, Taylor’s writing is but the most obvious and prominent example of said problem, with new and old symptoms drawing glaring attention to themselves on a monthly basis. The real problem behind all of these grievances and, quite frankly, the hurt Dick Grayson fans feel at the moment is rooted in the fact that DC Comics as a whole seems determined to undermine, if not completely erase, the importance of this amazing character.

There are other ways in which this can be observed. One of the Dick Grayson fans I know has been collecting examples of this erasure that span decades. I, myself, have thoughts on the motivations behind these actions and how they are reflective of a societal dislike for those who are othered, and especially those who challenge patriarchal ideals, the gender binary, and heteronormative culture. 

Perhaps one day I will address those subjects. Or perhaps not. As cathartic as writing this was, I do want to write more about the things I love rather than the things I hate. But I also believe it is important to express dissatisfaction when experienced, to vent when required, and to critique when necessary.

If you stuck around this far, then I do not believe that this needs stating, but just in case, I must assert that I reject any claims that comics should not be analyzed in this much depth. I do not, for a second, believe that comics are above serious criticism simply due to their format or their content. Comics, like every form of storytelling, are worthy of being examined and dissected. They are a part of our culture. They are literature and as such, they deserve to be studied. 

This essay explored Taylor’s current, ongoing run of Nightwing. I believe it proved not only its failure as a good story, but also as a good Nightwing story. Taylor’s superficial characterization, weak plot, and simplistic morality that undermines the story’s stated themes, demonstrate that Taylor does not care about Dick Grayson. He does not see Dick as a character worthy of his care and attention. At the very best Taylor lacks the knowledge to understand Dick. At the very best, Taylor has no interest in getting to know him, nor any respect for his predecessors to learn how they handled Dick and incorporating their work into his continuity. At worst, he despises the character so much that he wishes to re-invent him into something different, tossing away everything that was special to his fans in order to bring in a new crowd that never cared about Dick Grayson before he was made palatable to them. 

And that attitude is not isolated to Taylor. It is, I believe, observable throughout much of DC. Not all current writers, editors, and artists are like this, of course, but for years — decades, actually — there have been attempts to erase Dick’s importance to certain characters, to replace him, to downplay his achievements and his uniqueness in order to prop up others, and to water him down until he becomes but a shadow of who he was. Sometimes, it feels like DC is trying to kill Dick Grayson, remove his parts and give to other characters. This character gets his unique relationship with Bruce. This character gets to keep Dick’s relevance to Robin. These characters can have Bludhaven. For how long, I must wonder, do Dick Grayson fans have to put up with this silently? Must we just quietly watch this continue until Dick is all hollowed out and is only a memory living in the hearts of those who love him? 

Because we do love him. We love him for all the special characteristics that made him different, that did not make him into a blank canvas, an every-man hero. I do not hate Taylor personally, but I believe that his clear disinterest in Nightwing is not an isolated case, and that DC, at this moment in time, is unwilling to engage with Dick’s character and his fans. They want a brand new and palatable hero to step into his place, not the long standing bastion who has been around longer than most of DC’s characters. They don’t want Dick Grayson. They do not respect or care for him. And as such, I believe Dick’s fans have a right to be angry and to feel like DC does not care or respect them. 

I do not know how long these attempts at erasing Dick will last. I do not know how long-lasting the effects of Taylor’s run will be. But trends come and go, and Dick has been around for nearly a century. He’s a strong enough character to survive this long, and I believe, despite previous and current attempts, that he will survive this as well.

And as he does, I will be there, cheering him on. 

[henry-fox-biggest-stan]

Out of curiosity: why do you think Philip hates Alex specifically? (cakegate aside) Do you think he'd just be okay with Henry dating some upper-class English guy?

Why I think he hates Alex

He has no been kind to him once in the book. Also Alex ruined his wedding cake. Not a great first impression.

I don’t think there’s more to it tbh. Alex hasn’t been kind to him either, and Philip sees Alex being so “open” with the public, having fun with it, his public persona completely different to their (Philip, Bea, and Henry’s) public persona, and just being the compete opposite to what monarchy considers proper, so he doesn’t like him, let alone want him dating Henry.

Answering your second question,

I think it’s not based on Alex not being an upper-class English guy, but more based on how Alex is as a person, as in his personality. And also the fact than he’s the son of the president of the states.

“I don’t care if you’re gay,” Philip says, dropping that big fat if like Henry hasn’t already specifically told him. “I care that you’ve made this choice, with him”—he cuts his eyes sharply to Alex as if he finally exists in the same room as this conversation—“someone with a fucking target on his back, to be so stupid and naive and selfish as to think it wouldn’t completely fuck us all.”

Alex is, since the start of the book, very different to Henry. Interests and family aside, Alex kind of enjoys being in the public eye. At least at the start of the book. He likes being in front of a crowd, make them scream. Is true than Alex is probably the most private one out of the White House trio, but just because he doesn’t share his private life to the public, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t get along with them. One of the first scenes of him we have is him talking about how he and Nora like creating rumours and being in magazines and all.

I have a point I swear, just wait.

Monarchy (Philip, Henry, Bea), is the complete opposite to this. They stay out of directly interacting with the public, they don’t have fun with it like Alex does. Not because is a personal choice (which that too) but because they can’t, because they have a reputation to uphold. And isn’t everything about monarchy based on reputation?

Alex, Nora, and June, also have reputations, but theirs are handmade, you could say, while Philip, Henry, and Bea’s and premade, they had no choice on them, they are just something they have to do, something the have to look like.

Alex, Nora and June chose their own reputations, they decided how they wanted people to see them. They had control over that.

All three of them—himself, June, and Nora—have their roles.

Nora is the cool brainy one, the one who makes inappropriate jokes on Twitter about whatever sci-fi show everyone’s watching, a bar trivia team ringer.

He looks at June—ahead of him now, caramel highlights in her swinging ponytail catching the midday sun—and he knows her place too. The intrepid Washington Post columnist, the fashion trendsetter everyone wants to have at their wine-and-cheese night.

But Alex is the golden boy. The heartthrob, the handsome rogue with a heart of gold. The guy who moves through life effortlessly, who makes everyone laugh. Highest approval ratings of the entire First Family. The whole point of him is that his appeal is as universal as possible.

For example Alex is not his public personal (aside from heart of gold). That’s something he created. The whole point of him is than his appeal is as universal as possible.

Stopping myself here because if I don’t I’ll go on yet another rant about Alex (I love my boy so much).

But basically in the book there’s a deep contrast between Alex’s family and Henry’s family, one is warm the other is cold. Alex has, and has always had, a choice. Sure, being on the public eye was not something he chose, it just happened because his mother wanted to be president, but he could choose everything else. His public persona, his decisions, who to date and who to not date. They didn’t even stop him from dating Henry. Just told him than he has to know what he wanted, to choose. But they didn’t stop him.

Henry is the opposite. He can’t choose how to present himself, how the world sees him. He can’t even wear ties with patterns.

Patterns are considered a “statement.” Royals aren’t supposed to make statements with what we wear.

They aren’t supposed to make statements.

The Royal Family are, as a rule, expected to stay out of politics, and refrain from giving their personal opinion on certain topics, so as to remain impartial.

Dating Alex, son of a political leader, is a statement. Is saying “I support this and I do not support that”.

And, Alex wants to be involved in politics, he talks about how he wants to make a change, how he genuinely cares, and the fastest way to make a change is making it while being on positions of power, somewhere people can hear you.

Alex’s whole reason for wanting to go into politics, when he knows so many past presidential sons and daughters have run away screaming the minute they turned eighteen, is he genuinely cares about people.

He has a very visible political position. People know what he supports and what he doesn’t, what he wants to do and what he doesn’t. And since he likes being on positions of power, because that gives him the possibly to make a change (even if at the end the change he did was unrelated to politics but about who he was as a person), he doesn’t get out of it. He continues being on it, he doesn’t mind attention on him, as long as they see what he wants them to see.

Philip sees Alex always on the public eye for one reason or another, a photo shoot, a new rumour, etc, and sees how his public persona is different to theirs, “wilder”, not so formal.

And, conservatives hate Alex. He is everything they stand against, even before knowing he was bi. He’s a grandchild of immigrants, he’s mixed race, he’s brown, he’s outspoken about his views (which are opposite to theirs), he’s the son of the first president who’s a woman, and who is also a democrat, he comes from a mixed race family, etc etc. Monarchy is supposed to be neutral. Alex is the opposite from neutral.

Philip’s main problem with Henry being gay is than he wanted to come out. Henry’s gay? Ok but he can’t come out. And that’s not based on homophobia (no matter if it sounds like it), is deeper, Henry coming out would challenge everything. First, he wouldn’t be neutral anymore. Monarchy is built upon manipulation upon privilege upon capitalism, etc. Henry coming out would threaten everything, all the rules, all the stuff would have to change, people would be asking why he didn’t come out before, and if Henry said the truth, their reputation would be dammed. And many many people would stop liking them. Some would not like them for being homophobic, other wouldn’t like them because Henry is gay. People from both sides would be against them. Their reputation (as mentioned as repeatedly through the book as repeatedly as I’m mentioning it now) is something that must be perfect. They can’t make statements, they’re perfect, formal, they’ll continue the bloodline, etc. If Henry is gay and people know, it no longer affects him, but all of them.

And many people see queerness and something political. Again, Henry wouldn’t be neutral.

I think than if Henry married a woman (hopefully a beard, someone who knows he’s gay and doesn’t care to cover for him) and had affairs with men, and Philip knew (than he was gay), he wouldn’t mind. He did what he had to do. Henry’s reputation is good, their reputation is good, they’ll continue the bloodline, etc. Because Philip, like Henry, was taught to leave their wants aside, and focus more on monarchy and what’s good for it.

The thing with Philip is, he isn’t evil. And many seem to forget that. He did bad things, and I’m holding him accountable for them, but at the end of the day, he was just brainwashed by Mary, specially after Arthur’s death. He was vulnerable after his father died, his mother wasn’t there mentally, he felt like he had to step up, be the “man of the house”, and he clung to his grandmother (the only adult in his immediate family who was physically and mentally there for him), and Mary took this opportunity to make him into the version of him monarchy wanted him to be (rule follower, defends their reputation no matter what, cares more about monarchy and what people think of them than what he wants to do.), which is just what Mary tried to make Henry to be too.

But he was on about Martha, and land holdings, and the hypothetical heirs they have to start working on, even though Philip hates children, and suddenly it was as if . . . as if everything you said last night came back to me. I thought, God, that’s it, isn’t it? Just following the plan. And it’s not that he’s unhappy. He’s fine. It’s all very deeply fine. A whole lifetime of fine.”

She probably tried with Bea, but Bea saw the manipulation right away and it didn’t work, or she didn’t get to try because with Arthur alive, that man would have never let her do that to his children, and with Arthur gone, Bea was like Catherine, mentally somewhere else. After rehab, she was still mourning, but she had Henry, she didn’t need her like Philip did. Because I think Henry and Bea were closer than Philip and Henry/Bea even before Arthur died, after it and Mary’s manipulation, they just drifted more apart.

If Casey wanted us to believe Philip was bad he would have made him be bad until the end, made him not change. Philip did change. Henry is even trying to make amends with him. Maybe he hasn’t fully forgiven him, which makes absolute sense and just because Philip was a victim it doesn’t he mean he was a victim inside their relationship, than he couldn’t continue the cycle of abuse. But Philip realized the cycle of abuse, realized he was continuing all this time. And tried to stop. That’s growth. Maybe not forgivable, not after everything, but he’s trying.

Philip came to Kensington two weeks ago to apologize to both Henry and Bea for the years since their father’s death, the harsh words, the domineeringness, the intense scrutiny. For basically growing from an uptight people- pleaser into an abusive, self-righteous twat under the pressure of his position and the manipulation of the queen. “He’s fallen out with Gran,” Henry had told Alex over the phone. “That’s the only reason I actually believe anything he says.”

Mary isn’t trying, Mary didn’t decide to support Henry at the end, didn’t try to do better. No one forgives her, and we are not supposed to see than she’s trying to be better, because she isn’t. “Isn’t Mary also a victim of this cycle of abuse, wasn’t she like Philip, brainwashed by her own parents probably (and her parents by their parents and so on), and continued the cycle?” Yes, but she doesn’t actively try to be better, doesn’t realize that, doesn’t even feel bad about it, different to Philip.

Answering again with shorter answers.

Why does Philip hate Alex specifically?

Because Alex is the whole opposite to what they stand for, he’s a walking statement, and he’s so himself, different to monarchy with their perfect flawless formal public personas.

Would Philip be fine with Henry dating some upper-class English guy (before coming out and everything than happened after he did)?

As long as he kept it secret, Henry could date whoever he wanted as long as he didn’t want to make it public, as long as he planned on marrying a woman and following his duty, as long as that someone was responsible, and didn’t have a “target on his back”, and Philip says Alex has.

Again, holding Philip accountable for everything he did, just explaining the reason why he did it.

Does this make sense? Because in my head it does but I don’t know if it does when I write it down

[thelampisaflashlight]

What The Garden Grows

[A short drabble wherein Dew speaks with a strange woman in the woods.] Below the cut.

She sets the mug down in front of the man, placing it so the handle faces away from him, and Dew has to fight the urge to adjust it.

He stares at the golden ring around the rim of the mug instead, admiring the delicate shine.

The cup she holds is simpler.

Off white with a single, thin, tan line wrapped around the body.

It reminds him of the sort of dishware you'd find at a twenty-four hour diner where the waitress' name is Pam and she calls you "Hun" in an endearingly rough smoker's voice, in fact...

"My grandmother liked to take souvenirs back from the restaurants she visited." she explains, answering his unasked question.

"Sticky fingers?" he chuckles.

"Like a bird sitting in pine sap."

Dew gives a small smile before picking up his mug and sipping his coffee.

"You have questions." she says, pulling her chair out, the old wood creaking as she makes herself comfortable, "Ask."

Without hesitation, "Who are you?"

"I'm Bea." she replies, "Beatrix Milne, and so you don't have to ask, I'm a gardener."

"At the abbey?" he states, seeking clarity, and the woman nods, "How come I've never seen you before?"

"How often do you come out this far?"

"Touché." he swirls his coffee a little, watching the little bit of unmixed cream make trails, "I suppose you know Mountain then?"

"We've worked together before, yes." she confirms, "...I would consider him a friend... a good friend."

Dew hums, gesturing to the building itself, "What is this place?"

"I think the official name is 'The Cottage'... It's part of an old homestead that belonged to a fellow named Lars a very, very long time ago."

"Mountain's old house then." Dew looks around at the woodwork, ancient, but still standing tall, "He told me about this place a long time ago... Just never knew where it was."

"Then you know the story."

A pause as Dew traces his finger around the rim of his cup.

"...I do."

"You're trying to understand why he did it, aren't you?" Bea guesses, and Dew runs a hand through his hair.

"I know why he did it, I just don't know how." he says, "Do you?"

Bea slides him a plate of pastries, homemade, and Dew carefully takes a bite of one.

Apple.

"Everyone here has secrets, child of Bothynus." she smiles, "Sometimes it is better to live without knowing."

"Ignorance is bliss then, is it?"

"So it seems."

Dew looks at the flecks of thin bread upon his fingers, "...What are you?"

Bea breaks one of the pastries in half, dunking it in her coffee, "Human."

"You're a very odd human." Dew remarks, "Is that an American thing?"

She laughs, "Maybe. Who can say?"

"Why did you come here, Bea?" Dew asks after a moment, "What called you to this place?"

"Family." she says, "A promise."

"You have family here?"

"Not anymore, not in the physical sense at least."

"I was worried for a moment," he whispers, "that you might be one of the old bastard's secret children."

Bea takes a small bite of her treat, "Perhaps, perhaps not. I don't know who my father is, but I doubt he was anyone important."

"And your mother?"

"Troubled in life, hopefully at peace in death." she folds her hands upon the tabletop, "You can relate."

Dew sits back in his chair, "See, that's what makes me wonder if you really are human. You know too much."

"I could know more." she offers her hands to him, and he finds himself setting his own upon her palms, "What do you want to see?"

"You already know."

"You have to say it." she tells him gently.

"...I want to see Aether." he admits.

"I make no promises." she says, locking eyes with him.

"I expect none."

"Let us gaze into the deep then, together, shall we?"