#both the son and the friend in question aren't happy with their situation either

[loudkidsoulfreak]

i think there is something so ironic about yukiko, someone who love her youthfulness, have a son who was de-aged and a (former) friend who can't age.

[nogoodsheepstealing-greatgrandma]

On Rosby and Stokeworth

There is one particular matter that I don't see brought up a lot whenever Rosby and Stokeworth are used against Rhaenyra. And that is the matter of Hugh Hammer and Ulf the White:

Their deaths left her with a nettlesome problem of succession, however. As it happened, each of the “faithless friends” left a daughter; Rosby’s was a maid of twelve, Stokeworth’s a girl of six. Prince Daemon proposed that the former be wed to Hard Hugh the blacksmith’s son (who had taken to calling himself Hugh Hammer), the latter to Ulf the Sot (now simply Ulf White), keeping their lands black whilst suitably rewarding the seeds for their valor in battle. But the Queen’s Hand argued against this, for both girls had younger brothers. Rhaenyra’s own claim to the Iron Throne was a special case, the Sea Snake insisted; her father had named her as his heir. Lords Rosby and Stokeworth had done no such thing. Disinheriting their sons in favor of their daughters would overturn centuries of law and precedent, and call into question the rights of scores of other lords throughout Westeros whose own claims might be seen as inferior to those of elder sisters. It was fear of losing the support of such lords, Munkun asserts in True Telling, that led the queen to decide in favor of Lord Corlys rather than Prince Daemon. The lands, castles, and coin of Houses Rosby and Stokeworth were awarded to the sons of the two executed lords, whilst Hugh Hammer and Ulf White were knighted and granted small holdings on the isle of Driftmark.

TG always presents the Rosby and Stokeworth issue as Rhaenyra choosing between daughters vs sons - fighting for women's rights vs thinking of herself as the exception. They ignore of course the situation Rhaenyra was in - that situation being in the middle of a civil war and needing to keep the lords on her side. Plus thanks to Tyland Lannister stealing the treasury, forcing Lord Celtigar to raise unpopular taxes, she was in an even worse position to start promoting radical reforms that would alienate the lords of Westeros. TG love to claim moral relativism in a fantasy-medieval patriarchy to justify calling Aegon the rightful monarch, yet they weirdly demand that Rhaenyra be a radical third wave feminist.

But not only do they ignore the situation Rhaenyra was in, they miss that the decision presented to her - by her Hand and her husband - was really between either the Rosby and Stokeworth sons... or Hugh Hammer and Ulf the White. On one side she had her Hand, Corlys Velaryon, warning that passing over the sons would alienate the other lords. On the other hand, Daemon was proposing that two very young girls get married off to Hugh Hammer and Ulf the White. Aged 12 and 6. To two grown men who were, by all accounts, violent rapists.

So the choice was between the sons (and their castellans, till they came of age) or serving the daughters up to be child brides to reward two dragonriders.

And in retrospect, had she gone with Daemon's plan and given Hugh and Ulf the much bigger reward of Rosby and Stokeworth, they might not have gone over to the Greens. All it would have taken was the sacrificial rape of two girls, and maybe Hugh and Ulf would have been sated.

Now, as Queen, could Rhaenyra have taken a third route, ignoring both her Hand and her husband, and just given Stokeworth and Rosby to the daughters in their own right?

Well perhaps, but

A) The realities of alienating the lords still stand.

B) You've got two angry dragonriders to contend with.

Two dragonriders, expecting rewards. Well they can't be angry if it's out of her hands, can they? If Rhaenyra is just respecting custom and giving the lands to the sons, Hugh and Ulf can't argue they were refused. The lands aren't up for grabs, the girls aren't valuable prizes, they'll just have to be happy with their smallholdings on Driftmark.

If GRRM simply wanted to make the point that Rhaenyra was choosing between sons and daughters, why throw Hugh Hammer and Ulf the White into the mix at all? Is it not then reasonable to theorise that Rhaenyra might have wanted to protect these girls? I'm not saying it was her main consideration (again, there is the political reality of, repeat after me TG, alienating the Lords when she could not afford to), but I think it was a factor GRRM intended for us to consider.

Plus, TG love to call Viserys a 'tyrant' for changing the laws of succession and 'forcing the lords to accept his daughter'. (As if the Grand Council hadn't already established that the laws of succession can be ignored to crown a man, so why not ignore them to crown a woman?). By that standard, wouldn't Rhaenyra be a tyrant for ignoring her Hand, for giving two highborn girls to two bastards, for overturning tradition?

Rhaenyra’s flight from King’s Landing had been beset with difficulty. At Rosby, she found the castle gates barred at her approach, by the command of the young woman whose claim she had passed over in favor of a younger brother. Young Lord Stokeworth’s castellan granted her hospitality, but only for a night. “They will come for you,” he warned the queen, “and I do not have the power to resist them.”

This often gets presented as karma for Rhaenyra not backing female succession. And maybe this 12-year-old girl was rightly angry at getting passed over. This can co-exist with the reality that Rhaenyra was not in a strong enough political position to risk alienating the other lords, and I don't blame a 12-year-old girl for not seeing the bigger picture. It could also have been revenge for her father getting executed as a traitor and turncloak (again, fair enough, her anger co-exists with the reality that turncloaks typically face execution in this world). And it could also have been the same consideration as Stokeworth's castellan - this 12-year-old could have feared reprisals for sheltering Rhaenyra.

But that aside, it is so so funny that TG cackle at their supposed victory, at proving that SEE RHAENYRA ISN'T A REAL FEMINIST... as though Rhaenyra not being a perfect feminist somehow makes their own position more feminist? As though the Greens would recognise the daughters rights? As though Lady Tyrell didn't send them an iconic fuck you letter saying "well I could send my army to help, but since I'm a mere woman..." As though Lady Jeyne Arryn didn't recognise that her own rights would be called into question if the Greens succeeded?

The Grand Council at Harrenhal came for what little inheritance rights women in Westeros had - that although a son may come before a daughter, a daughter comes before an uncle. Vaemond Velaryon used the precedent of the Grand Council to put himself forward as heir, Arnold Arryn did the same to try usurping Jeyne Arryn. The Grand Council established that Andal law can be overturned to crown a man. Whatever you think of Viserys and his motives (hypocrisy, favouritism, guilt), he almost established that Andal law can be overturned to crown a woman too. That crucial baby step of rectifying the Grand Council was almost made - it would have been made if Rhaenyra sat the throne unchallenged. The Greens sabotaged Rhaenyra from even making a baby step, and then judge her for not overturning the entire system.

[beomgyuslilracha]

the ceo's son ✧.* [ pt. 9 ]

⊹ pairing: choi soobin x f! reader

⊹ genre: strangers to friends to lovers

⊹ warnings: uhhh angst if you squint?? but i make up for it with fluff

⊹ wc: 5.4k

summary: you've been an intern at c company for roughly over four months now - directly under the ceo as his assistant. everything was going perfectly: you were saving up money to attend uni next year, and you knew that you were under the ceo's good graces to receive a great recommendation when the time came! in fact, he took a liking to you so much that he'd often joke that he wanted to set you up with his son. at least ... you thought it was a joke.

before continuing on to the 2nd floor, you excitedly pointed out the game factory area full of a multitude of arcade games that you thought would be fun for you and soobin to try. although, soobin had suggested that you wait to play any games until you reached the game village on the 3rd floor.

which is where the miscalculation soon comes into play.

at game village, he knew there were prize machines that he wanted to be able to win you a cute plushie from.

he didn't admit this to you, though, are you kidding?

instead he opted for the 'they have better games' excuse, which he honestly wasn't even sure if they did. he was especially glad you didn't question him further about it, since all he remembered was the prize machines.

he needed to win you a prize, and he was willing to lie to do that.

after quickly riding the french revolution rollercoaster on the 2nd floor, where you practically squeezed the blood out of soobin's hand from exhilaration and slight fear, you both then made your way to the 3rd floor for the arcade.

seeing as neither of you were all that interested in the jungle adventure ride, you ended up making a beeline straight for the game village.

that was up until soobin managed to catch sight of who was inside, causing him to freeze in his tracks.

they should've just stayed on the first floor.

"actually, why don't we give jungle adventure a chance anyway?" he suddenly suggested, confusing you from his quick change of mind.

"but i thought you said-"

"yeah, but it might be better than we remembered," soobin interrupted you, not wanting to give you a chance to speak and risk being caught.

"soobin hyung!!"

damn it.

although soobin had attempted to keep walking away, you whipped your head around to spot soobin's group of friends from yesterday all watching the two of you from inside the game village.

"aren't those your friends?" you questioned him, confused once again as he had tried to keep softly tugging at your hand to walk away with him.

unfortunately for him, the two of you couldn't get away fast enough before all four idiots came running up to greet you both.

"hi, you must be y/n, right?" kai was the first to speak, smiling down at you as he finally got to see you face-to-face.

you could only nod, suddenly feeling incredibly shy and tiny, seeing as there were now five men towering over you at once and reminding you of just how small you were.

"how funny, we didn't expect to see you here," yeonjun lied, poking soobin's shoulder playfully and causing the poor boy to grow even more upset.

"yeah, of all days, i didn't think any of you would be here either," soobin forced himself to play along, though practically speaking through clenched teeth as he glared at all of them.

he only hoped that they would catch the hint and leave, but, of course, they pretended not to.

"kai really wanted to come," taehyun explained with an amused smile, finding the situation rather funny.

believe it or not, there wasn't any secret intentions or malicious planning behind it - neither of them actually expected to run into either of you in such a niche place out of the entire park.

a happy coincidence!

at least, a happy coincidence for four of them.. not so much for a certain someone.

"hi, i'm beomgyu! soobin hyung told us so much about you," beomgyu introduced himself to you, commenting in a teasing tone. he didn't even suppress his laughter when soobin shot him a glare in return.

"hopefully all good things?" you said in more of a questioning tone, now glancing up at the embarrassed boy beside you.

this time, it was your turn to squeeze his hand gently. you weren't sure if he was upset with his friends suddenly crowding you both, which he was, but you hoped to silently let him know that you weren't bothered.

in fact, you couldn't help but to think it was rather nice to meet them in a more public setting rather than awkwardly back at the dorm.

"trust us, he goes on and on and on about how great you are," yeonjun reassured you, now being the one to laugh as he watched both yours and soobin's cheeks turn a matching shade of pink.

"we should probably leave them alone now," taehyun nudged yeonjun, being the only one out of the four to finally catch on to soobin's telepathic screaming for them to go away.

not that he actually heard it, but soobin thought for a split second that he might have.

"unless you want to join us, y/n?" kai interjected, perking up at his own suggestion.

truth be told, you really did want to join them. you wanted to jump at the opportunity to get to know them more and have a blast playing games with them as well. although, you knew that if you were to look at soobin, one look would convince you to say no and go on your way somewhere else.

against your better judgement, you chose not to look at soobin just this once.

"i'd love to join you!" you told the cute blonde, growing even more giddy as each one of their faces lit up and cheered after that.

as they all ran back into the arcade, fighting over which game you should play first, you took your time to hold both of soobin's hands in your own.

"come on, it'll only be for a little while, okay?"

soobin's cute pout shifted into a small smile after a minute, nodding his head slowly and allowing you to pull him along to the arcade room.

even though they set his plans back a bit, he supposed the experience wasn't all that bad. soobin got to watch all four of his friends warm up to you quickly, and it was enough to make him happy all over again.

he was especially glad that you weren't entirely turned off by them all - mostly beomgyu - screaming in your ear.

it wasn't exactly ideal for you, of course, but you didn't mind as much as you expected. instead, it felt rather nice to know that they felt comfortable enough to be themselves around you, despite having just met for the first time.

well, sort of for the first time.

in any case, seeing how easy it was for them to be themselves, you also found yourself warming up to them more and more by the second.

instead of flinching slightly every time they yelled in excitement, you found yourself laughing or jumping excitedly beside them. they were such a joy to be around and you couldn't believe soobin never introduced all of you sooner.

however, watching you now, soobin remembered exactly why he held back introducing you all to one another sooner. because now he was struggling way too much for your attention.

it was all fine and dandy at first, such as when the six of you agreed to play a few rounds of air hockey against one another.

it even surprised you to watch soobin transition from the sweet, shy boy you once knew to the sudden screaming one as he played a match against beomgyu.

of course, compared to the yells at the other end of the table, soobin was still remaining relatively mild.

the competition above all had you sweating for soobin's sake, but the screaming and excitement had you laughing like crazy. you felt as light as air, feeling nothing but genuine joy bubbling up inside of you the longer that you spent with them.

soobin was even letting out the cutest little laughs and screams that your heart almost couldn't take it.

for every sudden urge you got to risk it all and kiss him, you found yourself biting harshly at the edge of your thumb to push every thought away. you merely blamed it on the adrenaline, getting far too excited with the group beside you.

after an exhilarating tie breaker, soobin ended up winning the final round against beomgyu.

this then opened for an adorable game between you and kai.

neither of you wanted to play too roughly for the other, so it consisted of many cute giggles and tiny taps of the puck towards each other's side.

while yeonjun and beomgyu groaned for the game to hurry up, taehyun and soobin were both smiling at the adorableness between you both.

soobin more than taehyun, obviously, seeing as he gazed over at you like you were the most precious being on the planet. with every giggle that escaped your lips, he had to bite into his cheek in order to fight off every urge that wanted to race forward and kiss you.

he needed to get you to magic island quickly.

when the timer ran out, with an adorable score of 1 - 1, this was when soobin failed to beat the rest of the boys from earning your attention. regardless of how many times he had tried to call your name, it seemed like they all had something to tell you at the exact same time.

"aww, y/nie, let's try to win matching plushies!" kai cooed, making you giddy at the sudden use of a nickname, lightly grabbing your wrist and leading you to the machine that held the cutest pokémon plushies inside.

soobin's eyes widened in panic, spotting yet another flaw in his plan.

"ahh, kai, why don't we try a different machine first?" soobin had tried to suggest, looking around for any other game that they hadn't tried yet.

"no, hold on, y/nie and i want these snorlax plushies!" kai giggled beside you, both of your shoulders now rubbing together as your eyes focused intently on the game inside.

yeonjun, beomgyu, and taehyun weren't particularly interested in the prize machines, so they opted for a new round of air hockey to determine a champion between the three of them.

"y/n-"

soobin was quickly interrupted by yours and kai's cheerful squealing as the first snorlax was instantaneously won and dropped into the prize box.

kai rushed to pull the plush out of the machine, squeezing onto it tightly and squealing with you happily at how cute and soft it was.

"here, y/n, do you want-" kai trailed off on his sentence, having finally caught sight of soobin's death glare directed at him from behind you. "actually, uhh, i want to keep this one."

"that's alright, i can try to win one for myself!" you shrugged simply, not bothered at all. he did work hard to win the plush, so it wouldn't have been fair for you to accept it anyway.

"here, let me try," soobin finally found his chance to step in, his hand covering yours on the machine and sending sparks coursing up your arm.

your face warmed at the contact, and you failed to suppress the smile that overtook your face. "okay!" you agreed excitedly, swooning at the mere idea of soobin winning a plushie all for you.

at least, that was the plan, anyway.

quickly running threw 5 thousand won without even thinking, soobin still managed to fail time and time again to win the plush that you wanted. his head bonked against the machine glass, his frustrated focus being no help no matter how hard he tried.

"soobin, it's okay, i don't need it," you had tried to tell him, tugging lightly at his sleeve to try and earn his attention away from the machine.

soobin said nothing, mindlessly feeding another 500 won into the machine for just one more attempt.

why was it so hard??

he just wanted to win you a cute plush to see your precious smile. he just wanted you to think of him every time you hugged and looked at it. he just wanted to give you a cute memory where he won you a toy - so why was it so hard?!

just as you were trying to convince soobin to give up and that it was okay, beomgyu came hopping over to suddenly gain your attention again. apparently yeonjun and taehyun gave up playing against him, so he begged for you to play at least one round.

you would learn in a second that the other two gave up due to beomgyu being a horrific menace and a huge cheater.

it was funny, though, so you didn't mind.

once you were distracted, kai finally shoved a defeated soobin away from the machine and took over. in a matter of seconds, he won another plush.

with soobin gaping in absolute shock, unable to believe it, kai merely patted his friend's back and walked away - wordlessly allowing soobin to take all the credit.

even though he knew it wasn't the same, soobin was way too tired to try again. on top of that, he wasn't looking forward to wasting more money on that hell machine. he figured he would try some other day to win one for you fairly, but he was all too willing to take anything he could get for now.

thank you, sweet sweet kai!

grabbing the snorlax from the machine, soobin shyly made his way over to where you were still playing, with the plush now in hand.

at least it would still make you think of him, even if you didn't know that he wasn't actually the one that won it for you.

you were still midgame with beomgyu, giggling happily as you watched him practically use his entire body to cover his side of the goal. trying to keep things 'fair', you used your free arm to cover your side, now just having a game of hitting the puck and forth with no end in sight.

although, the second you caught the briefest glance of soobin finally standing beside you, you stopped everything to gasp in excitement — allowing beomgyu to take immediate advantage and score on you without hesitation.

"oh my gosh, no way! you finally won and i missed it??" you exclaimed, happily accepting the plush that he was now shyly handing over to you - making him look all the more adorable. despite how happy you were, though, you found yourself still pouting rather sadly. "i guess i'm just your bad luck charm."

"what? no!" soobin quickly denied, cupping your cute face in his large hands and tilting your head to look up at him. "you're my absolute favorite charm."

kiss me, kiss me, kiss me.

kiss her, kiss her, kiss her.

despite you both sharing the exact same thoughts and staring at each other with the same adoration in your eyes, you both ended up clearing your throats and quickly pulling away after beomgyu called for soobin to leave you alone and let you finish the game with him.

you lost miserably after that, not being able to focus at all with just the thought of soobin's lips putting you in a daze.

as desperately as he wanted to, soobin was far too afraid to rush things with you. he thought maybe the moment could have potentially been perfect, but he wasn't keen on the idea of his friends being around when it finally happened.

eventually, seeing as the time was getting later and later and you both still had the 4th floor to get through, soobin finally asked you privately if you were ready to move on without the others.

"oh yeah, let me just say bye to everyone first!" you told him with a smile.

which then lead to the second and a half miscalculation of the night.

the half miscalculation being the absolute failure that occurred at the prize machine a short while ago.

in which you were merely meant to say goodbye, suddenly beomgyu brought up the absolutely wonderful idea of joining you two as a group.

you didn't want to be rude and refuse, so you looked to soobin to see what he would prefer. obviously, he hated the idea and told them all to stay there and let you two move on alone.

apparently none of them got the hint - even though it was more of an outright protest than a hint, but they still didn't listen either way.

much to soobin's reluctance and dismay, the four nuisances ended up accompanying you both for the remainder of the 3rd and 4th floors anyway.

hell, they even convinced you to join them again on the 1st floor to repeat some of the rides together.

to make matters worse, beomgyu and kai found themselves naturally attaching to you so easily the more time you spent together. you were able to match beomgyu's hyper behavior and excitement for practically everything, as well as double the cuteness when paired with huening any time either of you did anything.

had it not been for the sake of you, soobin would have beaten them both for ruining everything for him.

in fact, he almost did whenever they both made it a habit to take what should have been his place beside you during the rides. it first happened during the pharaoh's fury ride back on the 4th floor, where you all split into groups of three for the front and back row.

he was forced to watch the three of you laugh and squeal in excitement altogether right in front of him, while yeonjun and taehyun mainly teased at his misery for the entirety of the ride.

soobin's thankfulness to kai from earlier quickly faded into that of anger, knowing full well that the boy hated rollercoasters yet still agreed to join - apparently just as long as he got to sit beside you.

meanwhile, you, on the other hand, were so surprised at how easily you got along with soobin's friends! all of them were so sweet and so funny, you couldn't help but to feel genuinely happy that you could blend well with them.

to your delight, you were ecstatic that they all seemed to really like you too!

they were all practically competing to gain your attention, even going as far as playing rock, paper, scissors to see who got to sit next to you during each ride — though the game never mattered, since beomgyu and kai would whine dramatically until they got to be the ones to sit with you.

on top of it all, soobin was pretty sure you forgot entirely who he was by this point.

not that you did, not one bit, but he was too busy sulking to understand.

you were simply trying to make sure that his friends genuinely liked you, hoping to get along well with them so that you could spend more time with soobin in the future. you thought that if they enjoyed your company now, maybe they'd convince soobin to invite you along to more things so that you could spend more time together with him.

you didn't mean to ignore him, truly. you merely thought that he'd be happy to see you and his friends getting along well with each other.

and he was, don't get him wrong at all, but that didn't mean he wanted you to spend more time with them instead of him.

unfortunately, soobin was on the verge of giving up.

after all that planning they did earlier, he couldn't believe his friends came along and ruined everything. they completely stole you away from him, and it didn't even dawn on any of them that the park would close soon without him ever having confessed to you.

luckily, there was still one person that kept their poor friend in mind.

taking one glance behind them to practically see a storm cloud hovering over soobin's gloomy head, taehyun then leaned over and whispered something in kai's ear.

after glancing back as well, kai tapped slyly on beomgyu's shoulder on the other side of you in order to silently signal him as well to look behind them. this followed with the same reaction from beomgyu to yeonjun, getting him to notice the poor boy trailing behind the five of you.

one by one, all four of them finally got the hint.

when you all had reached the 2nd floor on the way to ride the french revolution again, they conveniently stopped in front of the magic island entrance, where beomgyu let out the fakest and most dramatic yawn possible.

"woah, i'm getting tired," beomgyu acted loudly, going as far as rubbing his eyes like he were some sleepy cartoon character.

yeonjun rolled his eyes behind the boy, unable to believe anyone would buy his act.

but you did.

"oh no, should we stop here?" you asked him, hugging tightly to your snorlax plush to keep yourself from being sad. you were enjoying having fun with them, you didn't want it to end so soon.

"no, no, don't worry about us!" taehyun quickly cut in, smiling sweetly at you. "you and soobin hyung can go on ahead and we'll probably just head back to rest."

soobin finally perked up for the first time in the past hour, realizing now what was happening in front of him.

turning your head in time to spot how cute and eager soobin appeared to be from the idea, you giggled and happily agreed.

the boys all gave you gentle hugs goodbye, sent secret winks and thumbs up to soobin, then went on their merry way to secretly enjoy the lower levels of lotte world instead of going home.

you would find this out much later, though, after the four of them had to practically beg and convince soobin to let you hang out with them again - only under the promise that they would not steal you away like last time.

"your friends are a lot of fun," you told soobin, offering your hand cutely so that he could hold it.

he didn't waste a single second to interlock his fingers with yours, practically melting at the realization of how much he missed being with you. despite having been just a few steps away from him the whole time, it had felt like the two of you were still so far from each other.

now here you were again, your hands together, and walking side by side as you made your way across the long bridge leading to magic island.

"i'll be sure to tell them you thought they were all annoying," soobin teased, laughing adorably when you started to whine and protest for him not to lie.

when soobin had asked what you'd like to do first, you began looking through the guide map that you had picked up from the information desk on the way in.

you gulped nervously, though, as you read over every attraction. they all seemed to be a little too thrilling for your taste.

the gyro drop, the gyro swing, the bungee drop - anything they could possibly think of to make you nervous and sick to your stomach at the thought. you wondered if soobin would be up to the idea of going to the fantasy dream attraction just to look at a bunch of cute animals instead.

"actually," soobin spoke up through your silent worries, having glanced quickly at the time on his phone. "what if we, uh ... what if we, um, go on- on the moonboat?"

oh God, he was so nervous. his stomach was twisting in knots and he was starting to feel the slightest bit lightheaded just from trying to articulate what he was going to say.

did he stutter? did he even ask you right?

honestly, he was pretty sure he blacked out while trying to get the question out, so he seriously couldn't remember.

the brief second it took for you to answer felt like hours to him. "oh, yeah, that'd be so cute!" you cheered, purely happy at the idea of avoiding all the other scary rides that you were way too nervous to suggest.

as you first walked past the bungee drop and swing tree, soobin's stomach first felt like an entire nest of butterflies were fluttering around trying to look for an escape. once you reached the comet express and the dock was now in plain sight, the butterflies suddenly felt like a swarm of bees buzzing around and stinging every surface.

was it too late to suggest something else?

would it be okay to prolong the ride just a little bit longer?

he glanced over at you, taking in your cute smile and the little hums you would make as you mimicked the music you heard nearby.

he didn't want to wait anymore. he wanted you to be his. he wanted to sweep you off your feet and call you his girlfriend so absolutely no one else in the world could.

meanwhile, you were delighted in your own way. with soobin in his own little world, you were simply looking forward to sharing such a cute moment on the moonboat with him.

you couldn't help but to think it was a rather romantic suggestion, especially now that it was night time and all the boats were shining beautiful colors on the lake. you doubted it was his intention, but it still made your heart flutter at the thought nonetheless.

reaching the dock where the moon and ufo boats were waiting, you only had to wait just a few minutes before reaching the front, where soobin paid for the 20 minute ride and allowed the worker to escort you in ahead of him.

this was it.

everything soobin had planned has finally led him to the end of the night moment.

wanting to see your precious smile from excitement, he let you take full control of the boat settings to do whatever you pleased. after tucking snorlax in between the two of you in the seat, you then set the color of the boat to a beautiful shade of purple and used the arrow keys to start leading you around on the lake.

soobin's heart was swooning at the sound of your excited giggles, melting at every little thing you did and said while he connected his phone to play music for the two of you.

would it be too obvious to play a romantic song?

maybe too corny?

the second soobin noticed the song appear from his playlist, his heart flipped. it was all too perfect. the words, the voice, the melody, the meaning.

now playing: strawberry moon by IU

taking a deep breath, soobin locked his phone and put it away, now focusing his entire attention solely on you.

"it's so beautiful," you sighed happily, staring at all the other boats around you and the gorgeous lights shining from the park itself.

soobin agreed, but only because he was looking at you when he did. no other sight mattered to him. nothing else came close to how beautiful you were, with your eyes sparkling from all the different lights being reflected off of them.

"thank you for bringing me today, binnie! i had a lot of fun," you told him, finally looking over to meet his eyes.

the second you did, your breath hitched and your heart flipped entirely. he wasn't looking at you the same way he normally did, with his cute semi circle eyes and flashing dimples. no, this time was much more ... serious?

serious, but in a good way. at least, it felt like a good way. his gaze on you was soft, it practically made you melt into the seat. his small smile was so fond and gentle, for lack of a better word. almost like he was looking at something he deeply cared about.

but ... he was looking at you?

he was looking at you as if you had handpicked all the stars in the sky - the same stars now reflecting back to you in his eyes.

"y/n, can i tell you something?" his voice was low and calm, but it caused your heart to pound harder and louder in your chest. the music and noise from the park quickly became a muffled background, and all you could hear was the pounding of your own heart directly in your ears.

"yes, of course," you finally managed to say, though rather breathless.

without breaking eye contact, you felt his hand slowly trail along yours to intertwine them together once again. it felt as if he ignited a fire that started in your fingertips and traveled throughout the rest of your body.

time stood still. everything went quiet. all that either of you could hear was each other's breaths and the faint whisper of IU singing around you.

"y/n, i want you to know that i ... i really ...," soobin's words trailed off, his adoring gaze shifting from one of your eyes to the other as he soaked in just how beautiful you looked staring up at him.

meanwhile, your heart practically stopped beating. you couldn't even be sure if you were still breathing. every part of you was waiting.

you knew exactly what he was going to say, but you desperately needed to hear the words for yourself. you desperately needed to hear him confirm that everything you've ever felt for him was reciprocated and not just in your head.

"i really like you," soobin practically whispered, his following breath shaking from nerves.

there it is.

the words you never expected to ignite a show of fireworks in your heart, sparking every nerve to heat every inch of your body twice as much as before.

it was unbelievable how you never knew just how badly you needed to hear something until the words came out of his mouth.

"soobin," you spoke his name so softly, still at a lost for breath. "i really like you too."

though both your confessions were rather simple, it was enough. for you two, it was fitting. simple and easy, but meaning absolutely everything to one another.

soobin's free hand softly traced the shape of your cheek, allowing him to feel just how warm your face was to the touch as it turned a pretty light shade of pink.

his touch, though light, sent electricity running through the entirety of your face. you could only find yourself craving more.

with his fingers now tucked under your chin and his thumb lightly grazing your bottom lip, soobin's eyes flickered from your eyes, to your lips, and back again.

he was suddenly much closer to you now, though his lips still felt like they were miles away. your hearts were pounding in sync, and you could tell that he was still feeling just as nervous as you were.

"can i kiss you?"

"yes, please."

once the words escaped your lips and both your eyes fluttered shut, you half expected for soobin to roughly crash his lips against yours without any hesitation.

but that wasn't soobin.

instead, you were surprised.

his lips delicately brushed against yours before softly pressing closer. it started off as a precious little peck before his lips naturally parted, tilted his head, and deepened his kiss with you. it was slow, electrifying, and absolutely perfect.

it was so ... soobin.

your free hand instinctively reached out to grab the edge of his coat, yearning to pull him even closer to you. happily obliging, soobin's hand moved from under your chin to cradle your cheek and deepen his affection for you even further.

your lips practically fit together like a puzzle piece. connecting and moving together in sync, driving each other into a state of breathless euphoria.

soobin's forehead softly rested against yours as you both pulled away to finally catch your breath. simultaneously letting out small exhales of laughter, neither of you were able to think of any other way to express the absolute bliss you felt in that moment.

you had attempted to sit back, but soobin cutely shook his head and grinned as he leaned forward to follow you. "one more time," he whispered, earning cute giggles from you as he pecked tiny kisses all over your cheek before planting another kiss on your lips.

he had been waiting far too long for this moment, so he was planning to enjoy every second.

you didn't mind one bit. you wrapped both arms around his neck to keep him close, deepening the kiss with him even more than before.

when you first started working at c company, you had thought his father was absolutely crazy for suggesting something so bold as to set you up with the youngest member of his own family.

now here you were, just short of two months later, your lips slow dancing together with the ceo's son.

previous | masterlist | epilogue

a/n: (warning: long) (pls at least skip to the highlighted part for brief info!)

okay, can i just say ... the ceo's son was originally supposed to be a oneshot. when i first wrote it, i had absolutely NO idea that anyone would enjoy it as it was - much less encourage me to turn it into a 9 PART SERIES. i'm seriously... i have no words. i appreciate EVERY single one of you that liked, replied, reblogged, and sent multiple asks complimenting me for something i truly started on a whim. i appreciate all of you more than you could possibly understand. all the comments and tags had ME giggling and on the verge of CRYING. i seriously got so emotional with all of your sweet words and support, which gave me all the courage i needed to continue writing and posting as soon as i could <33

i truly hope you all have thoroughly enjoyed this little series, and i genuinely wish i could have dragged it on for longer - but i didn't want to risk burning myself out trying to come up with more ideas. (i do have a little idea of a bonus part, but i'm going to wait on that for now).

but alas, the ceo's son has reached its end 🥹 soobin and y/n finally came together as they were meant to be, with only a few hiccups along the way. i'm gonna miss these two kids, they were so dumb and adorable, i seriously loved writing them together. BUT, the good news is, i already have a TON more ideas i want to work on for other members (hehe peek the masterlist for a preview of what's on the way) and i really really hope that you all will continue to stay tuned and support me 🫶

AHH I KNOW I WROTE SO MUCH, BUT PLS IF YOU SKIP EVERYTHING ELSE, PAY ATTENTION HERE REALLY QUICK:

i want to create a permanent taglist for anyone who would be genuinely interested in what i come up with next - so for anyone already tagged here and anyone else that isn't, pls pls let me know if you would be interested in being a part of it !!!

okokok i'll shut up now, but omg thank you for everyone who read all of this - i appreciate YOU even more. much much much love <333

~

taglist:

@sha-aesthic @wccycc @yjusei @ihrtgyu @strawberrydaichi @seodami @sparkswhoz @o934pm @dongmeiii @cannedturtle @intrrverted @fanfangying1304 @n0tprettybutt1red @human-misery @baekberrie @softcabur @goldennika

[ bold = couldn't be tagged :( ]

[writingquestionsanswered]

So how do I make two characters not see each other as siblings because character A became apart from character B's family after getting abandoned and rejected by their family? My goal is basically to have these two characters become very good friends with a strong romantic tension and also make it a very slow burn as they gradually realize they are both in love. But I'm scared that I will mess it up very badly by making it cringe and awkward for the readers because A is a family to B's parents and little brother. (Both are 17–19) - 💀

Avoiding Siblings Vibe with Live-In Characters

1 - Watch the Labels - In real life, it's not uncommon for parents to apply labels to adoptive family members, including referring to them as their kids, siblings of their kids, etc. There's nothing wrong with that obviously and every situation is different. However, this is a writing blog and we are talking about the best way to illustrate something in fiction--because reading something is very different from living something. So, having said that, in a story you will need to be careful about how B's parents apply labels to A. It's okay if they (or B, or the little brother) refer to A as family, like family, or part of the family. And the little brother can say they think of A as a sibling. However, you'll want to avoid having B's parents refer to A as one of their children, like a child to them, referring to them by any child labels like "my kid" or "my child/son/daughter," or referring to them as their children's sibling or like a sibling to their children. Also, you should avoid having B refer to A as their sibling, like a sibling to them, their little brother's sibling, their parent's child, or referring to the mom and dad to A as "Mom and Dad." (They should always say "my mom and dad" to keep that distance.)

2 - Establish the Romantic Tension from the Beginning - Even if it's just barely there, there can be romantic tension between these two before they're even friends. It can be as simple as making eye contact and looking away, feeling awkward when they accidentally touch, or noticing their heartbeat increase when the other is present. You can have them be in denial or not even realize what's happening, but giving those clues to the reader straight away makes it clear this isn't going to be a platonic relationship.

3 - Openly illustrate that they don't see each other as siblings - All things considered, I can't help but love this moment in the 1996 adaptation of Emma, where Emma and Knightley make it clear they are not (and do not see each other as) brother and sister:

Having a few moments like this--where the question of them being siblings or like siblings is raised, either between them or by someone else, and they are able to laugh it away--help to clarify for the reader that these two aren't siblings and definitely don't see each other that way.

Finally, here are some other posts that will help with the romantic tension:

Guide: Creating Romantic Chemistry Guide: Characters Falling in Love Guide: Writing a Slow Burn Romance The Subtle Signs of Romantic Interest and Love Friendship Turns to Romance

Happy writing!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[citrinekay]

What’s Beyond Evil about? What about it do you love?

Hello, thanks for the questions! I'm always happy to promo Beyond Evil and gush about why it's 16 of some of the best episodes of television I've ever watched 😊 Assuming this ask is for recommendation purposes, I'll try to keep my explanation mostly spoiler free.

Plot-wise, Beyond Evil is about a 20 year old serial murder case that took place in the fictional small town of Manyang. Lee Dong-sik, local dilf nutjob, was accused of doing the crimes, including killing is own twin sister. He has since become a police inspector in Manyang (returning home 18 years after the murder accusations because an investigation went wrong while he was stationed in Seoul.) Han Joo-won, the son of the Deputy Commsioner of the Korean police force and previously an inspector himself in Foreign Affairs division, comes to Manyang specifically to catch Dong-sik, who he believes to be the killer based on other crimes he was investigating at Foreign Affairs. They are quickly assigned as partners, much to both of their displeasure. (Dong-sik doesn't like Joo-won's snooty, rich city kid attitude and Joo-won wanted to surveil Dong-sik discreetly for his private investigation). What can be described as a cat-and-mouse game between them ensues when a new murder occurs with the same MO as the cases from 20 years ago, exacerbating Joo-won's determination to catch Dong-sik at all costs. But wait, the preppy little hot-shot from Seoul has some secrets of his own and motivations for being in Manyang that aren't purely moralistic or justified ... Most of the show involves them trying to solve the crimes and importantly, the consequences that occur when the answers are revealed.

What I like about Beyond Evil ... well I could probably talk about it all day but I'll try to condense it down into a few bullet points:

The characters - they are all fleshed out, flawed, realistic, and compelling, even the "bad guys". Friendships of all genders and ages are included. The idea of family and what makes people family by blood or choice gets discussed in almost every episode. The people who are portrayed as lifelong friends do genuinely seem like they love and care for one another in an organic way. I don't think there's a character in this show that I don't love for one reason or another even if it is just loving to hate them.

It's a "cop" show that is kind of ACAB tbh. The police are portrayed in a unflattering light unlike most American dramas. The rules surrounding how and when missing persons can be looked for and how the investigations into the various female victims are conducted based either negative or positive societal reactions to the victims are criticized at every turn. In the end, you're left with a lot of questions about how the justice system could be improved but the realization that any kind of change won't be simple or easy

Segueing off the prior point, the victims and their families are the main focus. There's no understand or sensationalizing the killer and the criminals. Trauma, and the lingering affects of a family member being killed, is a major theme that often gets excluded in mainstream crime dramas.

My main pairing. When it comes to Joo-won and Dong-sik, the writers really revolutionized the older jaded cop vs. the younger hot-shot rookie trope. Their relationship is so fascinating and unique. It could be a recipe for disaster or a very mutually advantageous partnership, depending on the situation lol The push-pull between them never fails to satisfy. I love examining power dynamics in my pairings and this one has it in spades. Shipping aside though, the evolution of their relationship and the way Shin Ha-kyun and Yeo Jin-goo portray the characters and how their chemistry ignites onscreen is, in my opinion, a major selling point for the show.

The themes - justice, injustice, atonement, redemption, despair, healing, what it means to be vulnerable and give someone else the power to destroy you or restore you, food as a love language ... Above all, this show is about love

While I feel I've only scratched the surface of explaining why I love this show and would recommend it to everyone, I'll stop here so I don't give away too much. If you do happen to watch the show based on this answer, I hope you enjoy it as much as me!! Thanks again and have a lovely day 🥰

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

Princess for Christmas AU

Okay, so the absolutely bonkers part of this au-- now, stay with me-- is that the royal family of the story is the El family, the heir of which is Kal (he goes by Clark in boarding school and it sticks among his friends). While overseas in the US for university, he meets Lex Luthor... and falls in love.

Lex, of course, is a good man and a good brother. He and Clark get on like hotcakes, and eventually start dating, and after a few years Clark knows he wants to spend the rest of his life with Lex. As true equals.

But Clark's family doesn't trust or approve of Lex. Though Lex appears to be good on the surface, his father Lionel was somewhat shady. They judge him for that, and they judge him for the fact that his power and influence is relatively new, compared to the centuries their family has ruled.

When Clark refuses to break things off with Lex, he's disowned and cut from the line of succession. He returns to America and builds a quiet but happy life with his partner. After a few years, they start a family (either via adoption or a surrogate using Clark's genetic material). Their little boy is adorable and precocious, as only the son of Lex and Clark could be.

But tragedy strikes when one wintry night their car crashes, killing them both. In the chaos that follows, Lex's younger sister Lena inherits both a company and a nephew. The happily unattached scion of the Luthor family struggles to find herself anchored to LuthorCorp, to a literal person.

She's overwhelmed by it all, and by the end of the first year, she's nearly at wits end. So when a very prim man requests a meeting with her, Lena can barely believe that he has the nerve to announce himself as a representative of the royal family of Krypton.

Despite his employers, however, the man is good-natured and polite enough that Lena doesn't expel him from her office outright. She hears him out, and is shocked when he extends a personal invitation for her and her nephew to visit the palace for the holidays.

At first, Lena refuses, and sends the man on his way. But as she gives it more thought, and as she looks at her miserable, missing-his-parents nephew, she changes her mind. It's been a long time since she's traveled, and she's been so busy her nephew has spent more time with the nanny than with her. Maybe a holiday abroad would do them both good. Maybe it would bring them closer.

Her nephew-- lets call him Liam-- rouses from his funk during the trip, loving the plane and the flight and the scenery as they drive through serene european hills towards the palace. Upon arrival, though, it's not Liam's grandparents they meet, but the staff.

Typical, Lena thinks to herself, even as she greets each individual warmly. Of course these old world elitists would open with a power play.

But the staff helps them both get situated. Liam gets his own room, which makes Lena more than a little nervous, but he seems totally unfazed by the distance from Lena's own room.

While Lena explores the quarters given to her, she hears a car drive up and through the window observes a luxury car gliding to a stop in the snow outside. From it steps a tall blonde woman. She greets the butler with a warm smile as she hands the keys to a valet, but Lena also sees the lifted chin and casual regality-- this woman was born royal.

The woman seems to ask a question, and when the butler nods, her gaze lifts to meet Lena's through the window.

Lena's heart jolts in her chest, surprised to be caught staring, but she doesn't immediately look away-- the royal family aren't the only ones who know how to play with power.

She holds the blonde's gaze for a long moment, then slowly turns away from the window before the woman can break eye contact first. Lena wins this round.

At dinner, Lena and Liam arrive promptly to find the entire royal family of Krypton already waiting in a formal dining room. Despite wearing an expensive black dress, Lena can't help but feel underdressed beneath the haughty gazes that stare at her down long noses.

"May I present Miss Lena Luthor, and her nephew, Master Liam Luthor."

None of the gazes warm at the butler's announcement of their arrival, but chairs are pulled for them to sit, and Lena leads Liam forward by the hand. Once Liam is settled in his seat, Lena takes her own, and is surprised to find herself directly across from the blonde woman she'd observed earlier.

The woman gives her a smile, as warm and as dazzling as Clark's used to be.

Throughout the dinner, the room mostly ignores Lena and Liam. Lena is just fine with that personally, but as much as Liam seems focused on picking at his rather unappetizing plate, she wonders how long it will be before the kid will notice he's not wanted.

Lena is so preoccupied with Liam (and avoiding the blonde woman's gaze), that she doesn't immediately notice the silence that eventually falls upon the room. When she does, she looks up and sees the entire table watching them.

Immediately recognizing that their stares are neither curious nor welcoming, Lena's hackles lift. "Yes?" she asks curtly.

"The King and Queen have finished eating," the woman sitting next to her hisses.

Lena glances at the two heads of state, and indeed their utensils are laid across their plate, signalling the finish of their meal.

"Well I hope none of you planned on having me for dessert."

The blonde across the table coughs slightly, shifting in her seat.

"The meal is over when their majesties are done."

Lena sets her fork down, but when her neighbor's gaze slides to Liam, she bristles once more.

"Well, he's six, so."

From the corner of her eye, she sees the Queen motion for the staff to clear the table. As one, the attendants all step forward, and Liam's plate slides out from beneath his fork mid-bite.

When he looks up in confusion, then sees everyone staring, he turns to Lena with tears in his eyes.

Lena's temper rises, and so does she, shoving her chair away to crouch next to her nephew.

"Hey buddy. How about we go find some real food."

Liam nods, even though his lips tremble. He takes her hand and squeezes it tightly as he hops from his seat.

"It is disrespectful to rise before their majesties--"

"As soon as I see something to respect," Lena snaps to her hissing neighbor, even as her gaze cuts to the king and queen at the head of the table, "I'll be happy to oblige."

Then Lena storms off with Liam in hand, leaving a shocked and silent hall behind her. It takes three wrong turns and two pleas for directions, but they finally make it to the palace kitchens. She lifts Liam to sit on the broad island in the center of the room and proceeds to start pawing through the large walk in freezers.

"I don't suppose these people would have dino nuggets squirrelled away somewhere, would they," she says aloud to herself as she tosses various frozen items aside.

"Not exactly."

The sudden female voice at her shoulder makes Lena jump, bumping the back of her head against the shelf above.

"Jesus fuck--" Lena whirls around, swallowing the rest of her curse when she remembers there are young ears nearby. But then all thoughts of Liam disappear at the nearness of a familiar face.

"Sorry," the blonde woman from before says, taking a step back. "I didn't mean to startle you."

Lena simply stares.

Eventually, the woman clears her throat, then slowly reaches over Lena's head to pull a package off the top shelf.

"Potstickers," the woman says. "I always keep a package on hand for emergencies."

Lena accepts the offered gift, finally tearing her gaze away from blue eyes to look towards Liam. "Potstickers?"

Success is won when Liam's eyes brighten, and his lips spread into a rare smile.

Lena doesn't cook often, but she manages to find her way around the gargantuan kitchen to heat the potstickers in question. The blonde woman lingers, watching.

"I apologize," she says after awhile. "I didn't introduce myself. I'm--"

"Kara."

Lena takes no satisfaction from the shock that passes across the princess' face.

"I know who you are."

Lena swallows the bile that rises suddenly to her throat. She keeps her eyes on the potstickers, quietly plating them. She doesn't share how often Clark had mentioned Kara, how his voice only darkened with regret at the mention of her. How he had repeatedly wished that, if nothing else, Lena had had a chance to meet his cousin.

Lena slides the plate of potstickers in front of Liam with a smile. "Bon appetit," she says brightly.

Behind her, Kara stands still and silent, likely putting together what Lena's knowledge of her means. How it means that her cousin spent more time with Lena in his final years than she had. How it means that Clark must have still loved her, to tell Lena about her.

Lena lets her stew, focusing her attention on Liam.

Still, as Liam chows down, Lena can't help but wonder if Kara sees Clark in the blue of Liam's eyes too.

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About "Knock Knock Knockin' on Hooty's Door" from The Owl House

Wow. They are really pushing it for that secret message, huh?

Anywho--Salutations, random people on the internet who certainly won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons!

I think it goes without saying at this point that Season Two of The Owl House is setting itself up as a season without filler. Now, filler episodes aren't always bad. Yes, it hurts when a series turns away from the main plot for a week. But at best, they're utilized as a chance for the writers to play around with the characters and developing said characters without it relating to the overarching story. So, some people who see that consider it a bad thing that a series doesn't have that many filler episodes.

I like to call those people: F**king morons.

Don't get me wrong, I see where some of you are coming from. And I'd be willing to agree...if The Owl House was a plot-driven series. Which it's not. It is a character-driven series. Because for every plot thread and narrative that the show presents, they always relate to the characters and develop them further each time these threads get brought up. For example, look at "Knock Knock Knockin’ on Hooty's Door" (It pains me just to write that). Several narratives move forward, and it’s all done to make the characters grow. And to explain how requires going into spoilers. So keep that in mind as you continue reading.

Now, let's review, shall we?

WHAT I LIKED

Hooty: Might as well start with the character that this episode is about.

To tell you the truth, I wasn't a huge fan when I found out we're getting a Hooty-centered episode. I've grown to love him over time, but he is a comedic character that's best used in small doses. Primarily due to how his voice is grating to me (My ears are still bleeding...). With that said, I do really love his contributions in "Knock Knock Knockin' on Hooty's Door" (Seriously, there couldn't have been a less awkward title?). Hooty's antics when trying to help everyone are as hilarious as they are heartwarming. He deeply cares for his friends but just doesn't understand how his plans could do some unintended harm, which is pretty lovable if you ask me. We also get some surprisingly great insight into his character, as he feels insecure about basically being the comic relief who doesn't really do that much other than being funny. Rarely do you get that level of dimension from a comedic character, and it's even more uncommon for that to work out as well as it does here. It once again proves just how competent the writing is in this series to the point where we get an episode about Hooty, and it's funny and heartwarming instead of being annoying. And whoever is responsible for that, you're the best.

Lilith’s Letter to Hooty: I mean it when I say that I love how Lilith kept her word about her and Hooty becoming penpals. Their friendship was something I would have never expected to love, and I'm still shocked that it works so well, so seeing it continue like this just warms me to the bone. Plus, it is pretty sweet that Lilith's kind words are what inspired Hooty to do what he's done in this episode...meaning it's Lilith we should thank here--SON OF A WITCH! Even when she's gone, she's still working her way into my heart!

King going through Puberty: What?! KING IS EVOLVING!

(There, I made a Pokemon reference. Do I get my cookie now?)

Eda Keeping Herself Awake to Train Herself: I'm willing to bet a large sum of money that this has everything to with Raine getting captured last week. If Eda was still the most powerful witch in the Isles, she might have actually saved them. But she isn't, and now the love of her life is in the clutches of a tyrant planning something that could potentially be the end of everything. So I can understand Eda pushing herself to her limit to get back on top again, as I would probably do the same. It's not healthy in any way, and Eda would be doing more harm than good. But when it comes to the people you love, logic doesn't always win out in the end.

Luz Wanting to Make her Way into Amity’s Heart by Making the Echo Mouse Happy: ...That's it. I Just...I just love everything about it, ok?

This was also when I knew that I was wrong to doubt that there would be zero Lumity in this episode. I realize my follies now, and I humbly apologize.

Hooty Teaching King About Demons: This was so funny. So, so funny. Probably doesn't come as a surprise, especially since The Owl House proves itself as a comedy before, but the jokes have never hit as frequently and as hard as they did here. From Hooty getting offended by King's dance to him and Dana's insert wanting a "DNA sample," everything managed to successfully make me lose my s**t. It does come at the expense of King suffering, but I can stomach that much more than if it were Eda or Luz. And, as a bonus, we get lore about how demons work, added with another great joke of King getting in trouble with Hooty for saying he already knows this stuff. Humor isn't always the show's strong suit, but when it works, it f**king works.

King Wanting to Know What he Is: But despite how funny King's vignette was, we still get to see more of his character grow. We learn that he's frustrated now that there's this big question mark over his life now, feeling extra angry that his father "abandoned" him to leave such a present mystery. It shows the hidden resentment he has that Lilith inadvertently brought out, made even worse when King's father hasn't responded to the video yet. King hasn't really gotten that much development until "Echoes of the Past," so it's pretty cool that the writers haven't really slowed down on it. Especially when it leads to these great moments of King venting his frustrations.

King’s Shouting Powers: KING learned FUS RO DAH!

(And now that's a Pokemon reference AND a Skyrim reference. WHERE'S MY GOSH DANG COOKIE!?)

Eda’s Nightmare: If King's vignette hits you hard with the laughs, Eda's will absolutely hit you harder with the feels (never make me say "feels" unironically again). Knowing that Eda's life got thoroughly screwed over by the curse is something we could figure out on her own. But seeing just how much the curse ruined her life and tore apart relationships that mean the world to her really does a swell job at ripping apart the soul. What's even more tragic is, technically speaking, it's all sort of Eda's fault too. She kept hiding the curse, refusing to be a burden to others who would do all they could to help. If she had only been open and honest, things probably wouldn't have changed much, but they most likely would have been better than they are now.

Eda Attacked her Father as the Owl Beast: ...I don't know what I was expecting when "Keeping Up A-Fear-Ances" hinted that there was some possible tension between Eda and her father...but it definitely wasn't this.

The fact that we see blood where his eye used to be doesn't make things any happier, either.

Raine Broke Up with Eda: Before we get into anything else, let's celebrate the fact that it's now confirmed that Eda and Raine really did use to date in the past. Because this show is just f**king phenomenal with its LGBTQA+ representation!

But, seriously, this is a fantastic reveal that goes far beyond just shipping...well, sort of. It shines a new light on Eda and Raine's interactions from last week, revealing that while they're not a couple anymore, they still very much love each other. It helps make their last interaction especially tragic, as they were both on the same page now and could very well be together again. Only for them to be forced apart for the second time in a way that's much worse than the first. And I frickin' adore that this series changes the impact of one episode one week later. Again, it shows just how competent these writers are, and kudos to them for making something so...perfect.

The Moon Person: WHO THE FU--Nope. Nope! We have more than enough mystery bulls**t to deal with through CreepyLuz and Philip Wittebane, so I am PUTTING YOU ON THE BACKBURNER FOR NOW!

(They're probably nothing more than a one-off character, anyway)

The Owl Beast and Eda are Connected: Through visuals alone, we, the audience, can clue into what the curse really means. The Owl Beast doesn't want to be a part of Eda as much as she doesn't want it to be a part of her. Whether they like it or not, and they very much don't, they're stuck together. The thing is, and this is what I love the most, they still decide to make the best of their situation rather than let it ruin their lives even more. This might be the best possible turn Eda's curse could have made. It'll still affect her, and there are probably more negatives than positives, but at least now, it's not the worst thing in the world. And I feel like that's all anyone can ask when in a position like her own.

Eda's “Pretty Dream”: I don't know what emotions are toiling inside me more with this moment. Awe and wonder over how beautiful Eda's dream is, or heartbreak over the implication that she has only had nightmares since getting cursed...I'm gonna say both. Yeah, it's definitely both.

Eda’s Harpie Form: Well, fan artists are gonna have a field day with this...especially the freaks.

(You know who you are. And you're weird!)

Luz Calling Amity a “Cotton-Candy Haired Goddess”: ...Have I ever mentioned how much I love this show?

Hooty Kidnapped Amity: ...Hooty, if your stupidity wasn't charming, I would be more than willing to call the authorities over how you kidnapped a girl in your version of a knapsack and locked her in the basement. For that is going to ring SO MANY alarm bells in people's heads.

Amity and Luz Stuck in a Tunnel of Love: *Smacks lips* Mmm. The adorable awkwardness of this moment is just *chef's kiss* magnifique!

Luz being afraid of getting made fun of:

Amity’s look of hope: I mean...just...f**king--LOOK AT HER:

That is the look of a girl who, while embarrassed as hell, still is ecstatic to learn for a brief moment, everything that she is hoping for has a high chance of being real. Who, in their right mind, wouldn't go "Aw!" at something so pure and innocent?!

Luz Destroying the Tunnel of Love: This is how to effectively utilize dramatic irony. The audience can understand why Luz is tearing the place apart because she explicitly states that she's afraid of Amity rejecting her in the end. They also know that's bogus, thus making it extra painful to watch Amity's heart break more and more with each second (which is perfectly represented through Amity's expressions). You feel bad for both of them, and even worse when you know that it can easily be prevented by the simple art of communication. That's what makes it great dramatic irony. Knowing the point of view of each character results in a scene that evokes emotions in two different ways.

Hooty’s Breakdown: This was...genuinely hard to watch. Not that it was badly written, far from it. It just...hurt seeing how destroyed Hooty was when he realized he failed the people he has such an admiration for. On the upside, a wholesome moment follows soon after as the Owl House gang tries to reassure Hooty that he's done a lot of good that night. It's a pure action that shows even though Hooty gets on their nerves all the time, they still care about him...damn it. I think I'm gonna cry.

Eda’s Advice for Luz: ...Eda...You're the best.

You found out that your surrogate daughter wants to ask a girl out, and not only were you quick to deliver the best possible advice ("Just go for it!"), but you also quickly reassure her that it doesn't need to be perfect.

And you know what? That's it. Eda is the best cartoon mom! She might not technically be Luz's mom, but I don't give a s**t because she is the best!

Luz and Amity Ask Each Other Out: Shh-sh-sh-sh...

Do you hear that?

...

...

...It's the sound of dozens of Lumity fans collectively losing their s**t...and I'm one of them.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

HOO-HOO-HOO-HOO!

IT!

IS!

CANON!

AH-HAHAHAHAHA!

HOLY S**T! Holy s**t! Holy s**t...might just be the best way I could possibly describe this! Finally, after all the waiting, speculating, and praying, THESE TWO IDIOTS FINALLY GOT TOGETHER! AND IT WAS PERFECT! I mean, it was awkward as s**t, but that's what makes it perfect! You know why? You wanna--Hey! *snaps fingers*. You want to know why? It's because they're teenagers. Of f**king course, it's going to be awkward! This is their first relationship, so there will be a lot of missteps along the way. And that, in itself, brings me to the best (second best part?) thing about it happening in episode eight of the new seasons. Most endgame couples get together in the climax or even at the end of the series. But to have them get together this early on, means there will be quite a few episodes dedicated to showing them grow as a couple.

And better than that--EVEN F**KING BETTER THAN THAT--dozens of kids are going to see these two, a realistic depiction of young love that just so happens to involve two girls, and are going to learn once and for all that there is nothing wrong with being who they are. That fact alone is f**king incredible. Yes, it sucks that season three got cut short, and we'll have even less time with Luz and Amity, but knowing how many kids have felt seen today almost makes it worth it in the end.

And if I see one mother f**ker saying this was poorly paced, I might just hunt them down for SPORT...Sorry if that was an overreaction. I'M JUST SO HAPPY! Because they're happy! Look at them. Listen to them! It's so...GAH-HAHAHA!

“They’re adorable! And deserve all the happiness!”: You're darn right, Hooty! You're darn right.

King’s Father(?) Shows Up: What the--WHAT?! They're doing this now?! Here?! After everything else?

Oh, man. What could this mean? What dynamic changes will this cause in the main cast? How could the writers fit this in during the next two episodes? And what--

Hooty Eats the Letter: ...Pfffft--HAHAHAHA!

Oh, man...I should be mad, and I wouldn't blame others if they are...but that is too much of a brilliant f**k you that I can't help but appreciate it. Bravo writers. Bravo.

WHAT I DISLIKED

...Dislikes? Dislikes? You would honestly believe that after everything I witnessed in this episode, that I would have the gull to list anything wrong with it?!

HOW DARE YOU ASSUME THAT I WOULD BE SO CALLUS TO--Actually, I do kind of have an issue with the episode's title. It's just too much of an awkward mouthful for me to get behind. I understand that the writers wanted to sneak the K into the secret message, but were there really no other titles starting with K that they couldn't come up with?

But that's just a personal issue, and in no way do I think anybody else would feel the same way. Especially with how well-written everything else is anyway.

IN CONCLUSION

"Knock Knock Knockin' on Hooty's Door" (title aside) is another A+ episode. It was hilarious, heart-wrenching, and downright adorable while keeping me entertained with every minute. I'm sure there are some issues I was willing to ignore due to how expertly written everything else was, but why bother looking for the chinks in the armor when I could just enjoy a perfect episode for being so...perfect! Some of you might be willing to disagree with me, but to that, I say: Don't knock it till you've tried it.

(Now, if you don't excuse me, I'm going to go lie down. It's...It's been a day.)

[kasjophe]

So yeah I kinda noticed this and now my brain is convinced those are best friends and reason why Weasley & Malfoy families seem to have such prejudice upon each other is because of something that happened between these two.

So I did some digging.

And that would mean they are Septimus Weasley (I found he was born in 1913 and these scene takes place in 1927 so he'd be 14 at the time) and Abraxas Malfoy (couldn't find specific date but I assume they're the same age)

And as I did some research I learned 1) that the families relation became worse in twentieth century 2) WEASLEYS AND MALFOYS ARE RELATED (look at number 4), RON AND DRACO ARE DISTANT COUSINS (there's Longbottom there too and that means NEVILLE MIGHT BE THEIR COUSIN TOO, ba Narcissa and Frank could be cousins for all I know)

I know all purebloods are literally related one to another at some point but learning it is even more interesting

Back to boys - I saw them for 3 seconds and can't help but imagine their lives. Even if Abraxas was raised like Draco (to be a spoiled little shit hating muggles) he surely wouldn't show it. Times were different, he wouldn't speak up rudely and share his opinions lightly.

"Gryffindors are reckless fools son, but don't ever let them make you lose your composure. You're better than that."

"Yes, father."

Acquaintances, that's all he was supposed to be with Septimus. He was a pureblood after all.

But he was so... bright, that Weasley boy.

Well mannered conversations were either about politics or anything but politics. And somehow Septimus managed to talk about everything and change small talk into hours of laughing.

And Merlin's beard his father mustn't hear about this.

(According to Harry Potter Wikipedia like sites, Septimus might have had six brothers since his name meant seventh and was usually given to that child - many siblings wouldn't be also surprising as it seems Weasley family had tendency to have many children)

So I can imagine Abraxas asking him what it's like to have such a big family and Tim just smiles "Loud." and then asked the same question later when they know each other better, answers:

"It's like.. sharing one broom between whole quidditch team."

"That must be annoying."

"It is haha! You're lucky if they don't push you off of it!"

"I suppose.. you have to get a broom on your own then."

"Maybe, but for it to be useful someone has to teach you how to fly."

Also as you can see on screencaps - smirking is Weasleys thing.

But what is interesting in that scene - Dumbledore is teaching students DADA and moment later aurors come into the classrom. Tim is smiling, finding it entertaining, while Ab sees the danger this situation holds. He's looking at Dumbledore whole time - he recognises his power (and probably fears it) as well as what comes along with Ministry..

🌃

"Chess?"

"Yes! I've got it for Christmas, look at the pons, aren't they brilliant?"

"Whatever makes you happy.."

"You're sulking cause you know I'll beat you."

"As if!"

🌃

"Come on Ab, it'll be okay, you can fly on my broom."

"Father says quidditch is a brutal sport and I shall not play it."

"Why, you're scared?"

"Shut up Tim, you know it's not like this."

"Come onnn.. here, you can sit behind me. Then it's not you flying, technically."

"You'll play my servant? Also practically - I'm on the broom."

"Merlin, Ab just get on you won't regret it."

🌃

"I asked Cedrella to come to the Yule Ball with me! She said yes!"

"You actually did it?! Actually- why am I even suprised at this point.."

"And what about you? You still haven't told me who would you like to go with?"

"Tim you fool, we're purebloods! I can't just ask any girl to be my d.. date. I'm surprised Black even agreed, I bet her parents would be furious knowing she accepted your invitation. What if she thinks you're courting-"

"Ab! Stop! Lala I'm not listening!"

"I suppose.. I just hoped we'd go, together."

"But.. we're both boys-"

"As gentlemen Weasley! Companions! And then you'd ask Black for dance- ugh forget it."

"My brother said it would be fine!"

"Your brother was pulling your leg Tim, now you gotta marry her."

"What?! You're the one pulling my leg! Ab? Abraxas! Stop laughing!"

🌃

"So.. I spoke with father and it seems like he's really fond of seekers."

"No way-"

"So I thought maybe I should-"

"Yes! YES! Move your ass Ab! We're going to get you on the Slytherin team!"

"Well it's not like I have a choice now-"

"Can't wait to kick your ass."

🌃

"Is it true, Abraxas?"

"Woah, full name? Haha-"

"I'm serious. Is it true you called that muggleborn girl that awful word?"

"What? Mudblood?"

"Malfoy!"

"What? That's what she is."

"How can you even say that-"

"You can't possibly be on her side."

"There is no side Ab!"

"We're purebloods Septimus, we're not like them."

"You.. you really think like this? I- how did I not notice? I thought you were different, but you are evil!"

"Now Weasley, last chance, take that back. You must see my point."

"No Malfoy, open your eyes. You're acting evil!"

"Father was right, you are a fool."

Okay so, I actually imagine them as best buds all the time they were in Hogwarts. Tim helped Ab relax and Ab was there to stop Tim from getting into (too much) trouble. They would laugh, do silly stuff, help each other study for exams, really, they were best friends - shared passions and could help the other grow with different point of views.

It.. it was just so good. Not having to think about their families and outside world, just living the moment. So Tim ignored how suspicious Ab sometimes acted, he closed a blind eye on his rude remarks about others.

"Your father is a fool."

And the hell rose.

[wolfish-trickster]

Lost traveler

3/?

Loki x female!reader

Word count: 1 588

Tag list: @gaitwae @lucywrites02 @hard-to-be-the-bard @birdgirl90 @laramoonworld

Summary: A mysterious traveler visits Asgard and thanks to an accident has to stay for longer than she expected. Bonds are created but also shattered along the way.

A/N: reader has elemental powers, something like avatar the last airbender.

The palace was HUGE. Everyone always spoke of palaces as giant places but you've never been in one this big! Golden walls reflected light onto beautyful carved columns connecting the impossibly high ceiling with marble floor. On every turn there was either a tapestry or stairway to a big balcony with gorgeous view of the golden city below.

Evrytime you let out a gasp or your eyes wondered around the room you were walking through the queen softly chuckled at your side. She showed you a big part of the palace, since you will be living here for few weeks and no one would like you to get lost in one of the neverending hallways.

Finally she lead you out of the palace to top of some coloseum-like building. All around you sat men and women dressed in silky or leather clothes. They were watching what was happening bellow them. Down on the bottom there were few pairs combating. Either hand to hand, sword to sword or other weapon you've never seen before.

With a hand on your back she lead you down towards the fighters. People bowed to her as you both passed them. You heard few of them whisper about the 'dirty girl with unfitting clothes by the Allmother's side'. You turned towards the whisperers and smiled cheekily at them, letting them know you heard them and you couldn't care less about what they had to tell you. Even though you felt a little selfconscious thanks to them.

Queen walked you towards a particular group of fighters, two of them you already knew. Thor, if you remember correctly, and his brother were sitting on a nearby bench with two more men. One of them was twice as big as you with messy ginger hair and bushy beard, the other had black hair tied in a tight ponytail. They were laughing and cheering for two of their friends. Another blond man with slight facial hair combating with a brown haired girl. The girl pinned him down with her knee on his back and twisted his arm backwards.

"Come on Fandral! Are you really going to let a girl beat you?!" you heard Thor shouting.

Frigga coughed to announce her presence before Fandral could respond. Both of the warriors stood up and brushed the dust from their clothes. The rest of the group stood up and bowed. "Allmother."

Thor and his brother, however, didn't bow. They just walked over to you two. "Greetings mother," hold on, MOTHER?! THOSE TWO ARE PRINCES?!

"This is Astrid. She will be staying with us for a little while. Be kind to her," queen introduced you. You waved at them with a timid smile.

One of the princes stepped closer to you. "So, looks like you are feeling better, little traveler," the younger brother gestured to your bandaged hand.

You nodded. "It's getting better."

He smiled at you, almost relieved.

Then nudged his brother with his elbow. "What-? Oh! Yeah, right," the Thunderer caughed. "I apologize for striking you with a lightning bolt. I won't do it again," he gave a 'are you happy now?' look to his brother. He just rolled his eyes.

"Okay, apology accepted."

"Wait, YOU were the one who hurt her?" Fandral stared at Thor.

"Fandral, not now."

"Oh for Norn's sake," the girl pushed her way through boys towards you. "Hello, my name is Sif. Ignore those dunderheads."

"Who do you call a dunderhead?!" the ginger giant asked, even though it sounded more like a roar with his booming voice.

Sif turned towards him. "Do you want to taste the dirt just like Fandral?"

".....no."

You chuckled at their little banter.

Frigga hugged you around shoulders. "Seems like you don't need me anymore. They will keep you company and show you the rest of Asgard. And who knows, maybe you will find a trusted friend among them," she winked and waved goodbye to her two sons and their friends.

You turned towards them, fidgeting with your fingers. What are you going to say? Are you supposed to say something? Will you just let them ask whatever they want to know and you will answer?

The younger prince decided to end your internal suffering. "I think we owe you our names at least. You already know Sif," he gestured at her and she winked. "This blind oaf is my brother Thor."

"Blind?" you asked.

Raven haired boy grinned. "He-"

"It's an inside joke! Right?" Thor adressed his brother treatingly.

"Right. Then we have Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg," one by one they either waved at you or grinned. Fandral even winked.

"And I am Loki," he offered his hand for you to shake.

"A-astrid," you took it hesitantly. He gave you a look. You couldn't read it was a good or a bad one.

You shrugged it quickly when Thor launched forward at you and took your hand in his big rough one. "Such a pretty girl, traveling the world. You must be desperatly lonely. No worries my sweet, I will not take a step away from you," he winked at you, a seductive smile grew on his lips. He brought your hand towards them. You quickly pulled your hand back and behind yourself.

"I'm just fine on my own, thanks," you blurted before you could stop yourself. Will they behead you for saying no to a prince?

Loki chuckled. "She's a feisty one. I like that."

Apparently no.

"Hey, Astrid," Sif tried to pull you away from them. "Can I ask you something?"

'Bet she will ask where I am from' "Sure."

"Do you know how to fight?"

You didn't expect that. "No, not really."

You felt Loki's eyes on you again. And the same look he gave you before.

"Hmm, what a pitty," she detached herself from your side. "Alright, who wants to go next?" she cracked her nuckles and grabbed a long sword from a nearby bench.

Thor grabbed his own and rolled his shoulders. "You are going down."

~~~

She didn't go down. Not even an hour later. Loki didn't bother to show off his muscles like Thor's friends in front of you. Throughout the whole training he was wondering only one thing: why did you lie? If you were a fighter, why not showing it? And your true name? What was with the cracked bracelet of yours? And how did you get here without using bifrost?

So many questions.... Loki WILL find an answer. He always does.

"Our little companion seems bored," Hogun noted.

And sure enough, you were drawing circles into the dirt with the tip of your boot. When you realized they were talking about you, your head shot up. "What?"

"I said you seem bored."

"No, I'm just... Sometimes I get lost in my thoughts. That's all."

You really aren't a good liar.

"You are bored. And honestly, I would be too if I was thrown into your situation. What do you suggest we do?" Loki asked.

"I have an idea," Thor interrupted. "Let's show you Asgard!" he started pushing you out of the training area. And as always, everyone had to do what Thor wanted.

They walked you around the biggest beauties, the most outstanding views in the city. Thor was proudly pointing at building after building as if he was the one who build them. Loki was the only one to notice your unease. How you shy away from people, avoid going into crowded places, how you always try to hide behind them.

'You didn't like being in the city' Loki concluded.

"-and that is where the best beer and mead is made. How do you like your temporary home so far?" Thor asked hopefully.

"It's nice?" that was more of a question than answer.

"Didn't I tell you? He is blind," Loki scoffed. "Blind towards the fact you do not like crowds and attention. And since you still have your traveling clothes on," he tugged at your shirt, "you are attracting way more attention than you would like. Correct?"

"Yes, actually."

"Here is my proposition to you: for the rest of the day, we will go anywhere you want. How does it sound?" he smiled charmingly, hoping to see you blush. He wanted to know what makes you tick.

"That would be very kind of you," no blush, but a sweet, grateful smile. He could work with that.

Rest of the group sighed. "Alright Astrid, where do you want to go?"

"Can we go to the forrest? Please?"

"Forrest? Seriously?" Sif whined.

"What? Scared you might get lost again?" Volstagg nudged her.

"For your information, we were nine and it was Loki who told me to go right if I want to see a roe!" she pointed her sharp finger towards the trickster.

Loki shrugged. "Not my fault you scared her away and got lost," he turned to you, "I like the way you think. I can show you the most beautiful lily ponds and the most colourful flowers as well," he dropped the volume of his voice a little, "and some poisonious plants if those fools start to get on your nerves."

To his surprise, a mischevious smirk grazed your features. "I like the way you think."

[bkdk-n-tasty]

So in the supernatural AUs, supernatural creatures aren't secret yeah? Than how do people react to Human!Izuku suddenly getting knocked up by a werewolf? Is he met with sort of scorn and stuff because he was "irresponsible" or when he explains he met his destined mate while they were in rut, do people just sorta go "ohhhhh, I get it". And if that's the case in both AUs, how do people react to finding out hot werewolf Katsuki is off the market because he accidentally summoned a succubus?

Basically, they kinda take over the Quirk aspect of canon lmao. Though instead of 80/20 it’s more like 65/35.

Izuku definitely gets mixed responses for sure. His close friends are definitely surprised considering up to that point Izuku had been dating Monoma. Izuku has always attracted supernaturals, his squad is full of them. Uraraka is a witch, tsyu is half water nymph, Shouto is dhampir (half vamp), and Iida is an elf. So it’s not like they’re actually surprised their human friend gets “snatched up” by a werewolf. Most of the squad already likes the werewolf more because they’ve already seen how Monoma treats Izuku when he thinks no one is watching.

His friends insist on meeting Katsuki. Most don’t like his attitude but are at least happy when they see how kind he is towards Izuku and the way he treats him.

Other classmates aren’t as kind. They might say shit about Izuku either about him being pregnant, being with a werewolf or that he’s no longer with that up coming magic user Monoma. Plus most see Male pregnancy as weird/unnatural cause the only males that can get pregnant are either born supernaturals or mates of supernaturals.

Onto Izuku’s family, Inko is torn. She’s happy that Izuku seems happy but she had liked Monoma. Part of that is due to the fact she never saw him as nothing but kind to Izuku because he is that good at making people believe he’s a good person. Izuku’s father wasn’t very happy with Izuku being with Monoma but at least with him he could pretend he was actually a normal human. With Katsuki he can’t pretend so he’s outright against their relationship and even disowns Izuku when he finds out he’s pregnant. “No son of mine can even get pregnant. That’s a sin, a disgusting one at that.”

Izuku might have a cousin or two that still talks to him but that’s it. Chiyo, his adoptive grandmother (used to babysit him up till he was a teenager and is the only grandchild of her’s) is the only person that actively accepts Katsuki and even knits stuff for the baby(ies). She eventually even talks Inko into accepting Katsuki and their children.

Most of the people he ends up getting close to are people in Katsuki’s pack. Some of the mates are humans that can actually relate to his situation and that definitely helps him a lot. Not a lot of them ran into their destined mates during their rut/heat so they might see Izuku doing so as irresponsible but it was out of his control. Some of the others had ended up meeting their mate like Izuku had and totally understand it, that some of their kids are in the same boat as Izuku’s.

—

To answer the other half of the question:

Some people are absolutely jealous when they find out Izuku is a succubus because Izuku when he’s in human form is already super cute. Pretty booty, thicc thighs, even cute round tatas. So they can imagine how hotter he gets when he’s in his demon form.

Some people are horrified because who let a young adult even try to translate ancient scripts alone. His professor is one of them and he tries to talk Izuku into undoing the contract with his student. Izuku laughs in his face and says “and what?? You’re going to take his place?? You’d break your hip thinking about it.” Katsuki hears this and gets mad at his professor saying that he has already accepted this and doesn’t want it changed. Of course the professor assumes that he’s under the demon’s influence and doesn’t believe him.

Katsuki ends up dropping that class and switching to another. He isn’t going to put up with someone’s bullshit thinking that he was being persuaded into liking Izuku. He knows that part of its due to their contract but his feelings are deeper than that.

[ladytshelby]

Stand By Your Gun Chapter Two

𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐵𝑦 𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝐺𝑢𝑛 𝐶h𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑇𝑤𝑜: 𝑆𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑇𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡h𝑒𝑟

Finally, here is chapter two! I hope you enjoy it. As always comments and feedback are welcome. Chapter one

Warnings: mild swearing, brief mention of panic attack, nightmares, death, alcohol drinking (if anything else needs to be put here please let me know).

Amelia leans against the door of Tommy’s room and waits for the click of the latch before asking, “You know more about the robbery than you're letting on, don't you?”

Tommy is standing by the window, looking out with a blank stare not saying anything. Even though half of his face is turned away from her, Amelia can still read him like an open book, can practically see the wheels turning in his head. She has always loved his brain and how it seemingly never stops running, always being five steps ahead of everyone else. Sure he is a good-looking man, but then again, he always has been.

Moving to sit on Tommy’s unmade bed, Amelia spots Pride and Prejudice on his bedside table in the place Amelia left it a few days before. A forgotten betting slip acting as a bookmark sticks out so Amelia reaches down and grabs her beloved novel to fix the paper. She has lost count on the number of times she has read the book but each time gets better nonetheless. Some nights when she doesn't want to go home to her mother, she’ll fall asleep in the armchair reading, sometimes by herself or with Tommy not really listening but enjoying the background noise when sleep won’t come.

Finally, after a few moments of silence, Tommy turns around and sighs breaking the quiet that has enveloped the room, “I know enough.”

“That’s a shit answer and you know it,” Amelia scoffs. “The face you were making downstairs is enough to tell me that you know a lot more than everyone else.”

“Millie, it is none of your concern at the moment.” Tommy grabs a bottle of whiskey off of his dresser, takes a swig, and sits in the armchair crossing his legs. “Besides, I have everything under control. There’s nothing for you to worry about.”

Amelia looks at him and can’t help but feel a bit hurt. Tommy usually tells her everything no matter the importance saying that he values her opinion and wants to hear the situation from a different angle, “If it has something to do with the family then I bloody think it’s mine and the whole family’s concern.” Amelia stands and moves to stand in front of Tommy with her arms crossed, “You saw what they done to Arthur for God knows what reason. What if it happens again to John or Ada or worse Finn—”

“It won’t happen again, Amelia. I’m making sure of it.” Tommy interrupts Amelia. His hands gripping the arms of the chair so hard his knuckles are turning pale.

Frustrated, Amelia starts pacing back and forth, “I just don’t understand what the problem is and what you aren't telling me.” She stops pacing and looks Tommy in the eyes hoping what she is about to ask isn’t true. “You have the guns, don’t you?”

Tommy’s face has the answer written all of over it, and Amelia can feel her blood heating. “Are you insane? Of course, you are because no sane person would be hiding the stolen guns the bloody government is looking for.”

“Will you be quiet,” Tommy snaps in a hushed tone, “All of Birmingham doesn't need to hear you.”

Amelia puts her hands over her face and lets out a frustrated sigh. She moves over to stand by the window taking the place Tommy was at before. She can see two small girls playing with rocks, dirt covering their already gray dresses. Amelia can’t help but miss the innocence of being a child in a moment like this. The only thing on your mind being games and wonder at the world around you. Having no idea that the world is dangerous and falling apart.

When she looks back at Tommy, he is looking at her the same way he has since they met when they were barely teenagers, a silent way of asking her to be on his side and to keep his secrets, no matter what. Normally she would never waver, but with this— “Why do you have them, and who all knows?”

“It was an accident. My boys were on a regular pick up, nothing out of the ordinary, and they must have been drunk or not paying attention,” Tommy exhales loudly and pours another whiskey. “They grabbed the wrong crate and brought it back to Charlie’s yard and that’s where it sits and holds Lewis Machine Guns, ammunition, semi-automatic rifles, and pistols with their shells. And the only people who know are the idiots who got it in the first place, Charlie, Curly, me, and now you.”

Amelia nods and doesn’t say anything, can’t find the words to speak them. She can’t decide if she is surprised something liked this happened, but ultimately, she isn’t. Everything was going seemingly well for a while, so of course, some problem such as this had to make its way into their lives, “You have to get rid of them, dump them in the cut or put them back where you found them. Campbell will hang you if he discovers you have the guns. You can’t do that to the family.” You can't do that to me. Amelia thought but didn’t say.

She wraps a loose thread from her dress around her fingers and pulls tight. The thread breaking with ease, leaving a red ring on her pointer finger. Amelia has always been a fidget, especially when she’s nervous.

Tommy sensing her uneasiness gets up and makes his way over and puts his hands on Amelia’s shoulders trying to get her to look at him and says, “It’s nothing for you to worry about, Millie. This isn’t women’s business; I’ve got it handled.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, it became women’s business when all of you got on that train to France, Tommy. What’s changed now?” Amelia finally lifts her head and meets his gaze.

“We came back.”

Amelia looks at him and shakes her head. “No, you didn’t, you’re still there, Tom. Maybe not all the time, but sometimes I see that look in your eye. You might be here physically but mentally, you are back there.”

A shadow goes over Tommy’s face, and he moves back from her as though he is making room for his breathing, tugging at his collar to loosen it. Amelia didn’t move closer because if he starts panicking she doesn’t want to crowd him and make it worse. From working at the hospital, she knows different people want different things when they are having a bout of panic.

“At The Garrison, Danny had a fit and knocked over tables and chairs and shouting like he was still in the trenches. Freddie and I got him calmed down or at least we thought,” Tommy stammered still trying to catch his breath. He picks up his glass and downs it before continuing, “he then and went and killed an Italian waiter with two other Italians watching and now they want Danny dead for it.”

“What?” Amelia gasps, “There must be something we can do. You can’t kill Danny; it’s not his fault. Surely they will understand.” Amelia said this even though she knows there is nothing that can be done. The death of one means death for another.

“You know there’s nothing we can do. It’s either I do it or they do.”

Amelia wracks her brain thinking of a way out of this. Danny doesn’t deserve to die because of his past trauma from the war. No one does. “Tommy, what if there was a way to shoot Danny and make him appear dead, but in reality, he is still alive.”

Tommy leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He has a smirk on his face and light has returned to Tommy’s eyes. Scheming has always been one of Tommy’s favorite pastimes. “I’m listening.”

“You know that butcher shop down by my house?” Amelia asks and when Tommy nods she continues, “I happen to be friends with his son, he works at the hospital with me, so what if you get some sheep’s brain or something and find a way to shoot that so the blood goes everywhere, and the Italians think that Danny is dead. You said you had some business in London, send Danny there to do it.”

“Amelia, that might work.”

“I’m glad I may be of service to the cause, Mr. Shelby.” Amelia jokes and they both lightly laugh.

Tommy reaches for his cigarettes and matches but they are just out of reach, so Amelia grabs them and hands them to him, their hands lightly brushing. The contact making a tiny spark run through Amelia making her pull her arm away. It is something she always reads about in her novels, that jolt of electricity when the love interest and main character touch.

It is also something she always ignores when it comes to Tommy and herself, or she tries to forget about it, but it is becoming more difficult with each passing day. The glances, the touching, the secret whispers back and forth, and the familiarity with each other is sometimes too much for her, reminding her of old times the two used to share. There may have been a time and place for them but she is afraid that time may be over, so she never says anything and neither does he. Everything is too different now.

Amelia watches Tommy as he lights the cigarette in silence, her eyes following the smoke as it slowly dances its way up to the ceiling. The smell encases the room and it makes Amelia want to cover her nose but she doesn’t. She has always hated the smell of them but with Tommy, she doesn’t mind it. The smell of cigarette is something that is a part of him so much so that often she would find herself missing it when he was in France.

“How have you been sleeping?” Amelia questions, finally breaking the silence after a few moments. “Are you still having nightmares?”

Tommy doesn’t answer right away but when he does he murmurs, “Its okay, but the dreams are still there.” He shakes his head, his hair going in his eyes. The urge to move it out of his face is there but Amelia pushes it down like a cinder block. “Sometimes I wake up before the explosion and sometimes I don’t.”

Amelia nods understanding. “I still dream of my father. Sometimes they are a good and happy, but other times he will look at me and motion for me like he is beckoning me to come to him, but when I try to move I’m stuck and he then starts screaming at me to hurry up but it’s like I’m frozen to the spot; I never get to find out what is behind me. I only see the horror on his face.”

Every time she dreams of her father, it’s as though he is really there like when she wakes up he will be sitting in his favorite chair reading the paper or laughing at something Amelia had said; the sound still present in her ears long after she wakes. She knows it is a dream but she can’t help the disappointment that settles in her stomach when she remembers he is actually gone and will never come back—no matter how hard she wishes.

“Amelia there was nothing you could have done. You were only twelve and the doctors did all they could.”

“I know.” Amelia wiped a tear before it had a chance to escape down her face. “That doesn’t mean it can’t hurt.”

They were quiet for a few moments, the silence hanging in the air like a cloud of smoke and if Amelia breathed it would surely choke her.

Tommy coughs while stretching out his long legs, his trouser moving up around his ankles. “When was the last time you went home?”

Amelia scoffs. She did not feel like having this conversation about home and her mother. “I went home two days ago to get a change of clothes for my shift. I’ve been at the hospital or here since.”

“You need to go home, Millie.”

“Do you know that first thing my mother said to me when I got home?” Amelia asks not looking at Tommy only picking at her nails.”

“No.”

She laughs halfheartedly, “The second I walk in the door, the first thing she asks is if I paid the rent. No greetings or pleasantries, only a question about money. It’s as if I’m not her daughter anymore.”

Tommy comes to stand in front of her and lifts her head with his finger so she is looking straight at him, ice blue eyes meeting russet brown ones. Purple splotches stain the pale skin around them, proving his tiredness. She watches as he swallows, his Adam's apple bobbing slowly as if he is swallowing words he wishes he could say. “One day, you are going to get out of there and then you will be able to breathe and finally relax your shoulders and clear that head of yours, but for now, Millie, you need to go home.”

Amelia grabs his arm and removes from her chin, but she doesn’t break eye contact with him, “I’ll go home, but I want to help you the guns, or something. I can help you, please.”

“It’s going to be messy and could get dangerous. I don’t want you around that.”

I can handle it, Thomas.”

Tommy nods, never doubting it, “I know, I just don’t want you hurt.”

“Then I won’t get hurt,” Amelia responds and moves around him to go to the door,

“How did the horse charm go? Do you think it will work?”

“They did it and we’ll know on race day.” He shrugs making to follow her out the door, “and Amelia, just keep your eyes and ears open and tell me if you hear anything suspicious.”

“You got it, boss.”

~~~~~~

Amelia said she would go home, but she didn’t say she would go home sober. She slowly made her way to The Garrison, wanting, no, craving the drink that will send her into the sweet oblivion that is sleep.

Amelia’s walk was a short and quiet one, the only noise seemed to be the thoughts exploding in her head about the situation Tommy presented to her. She can’t help but have a twinge in her stomach that this is not going to end well, but she does know that will get through it no matter the outcome. They will always walk through hell together and make it to the other side.

The bar was loud but that was to be expected. The place is littered with people she knows and people who she has never laid eyes on in her life. People are dancing with their hands up to music that isn’t there. Some are gathered around tables playing cards with the money they just got paid. The whole place is chaotic but the craziness is what the bar was made for. A joint to drink booze and not think about your problems that hit you the minute you walk in your front door.

“Well if it isn’t Miss Hastings.”

Amelia spins around and is greeted by an older man who is looking at her with a smile. He has soot on his face from the coal job she knows he works tirelessly at. She matches his grin and stretches her arms out towards him. “George, long time no see, sir.” She pulls her old friend in and squeezes tightly and pulls back putting her hands on his shoulders. “I hope you’re well.”

George nods. “I could complain but why would I want to.”

“And the same goes for your wife and kids, I hope.”

“Yes, all thanks to you, Martha’s sore throat cleared up wonderfully.”

Amelia laughs, “It wasn’t me. Tea, honey, and good rest did all the work.”

After parting ways with George, Amelia finds an empty bar stool and even though she is sitting away from most of the patrons, she can still hear their conversations as though everyone is trying to be louder than the rest. Most of the talk is of work, failed marriages, on-the-side girlfriends, and the occasional whispering of the new chief inspector who has strolled into town thinking he owns the place.

Amelia leaned in closer trying to catch any information they might have but she misses what he says because of the roar of shouting in the back from some bloke who decided to wear whiskey instead of drink it.

“They are quite a loud lot aren’t they?”

“As loud as they come, I’d say.” Amelia looks up and meets the gaze of the girl she ran into earlier standing behind the bar wiping down a glass. “Hey, I’m sorry I about earlier, I can be a mad clutz when I’m in a rush.”

“It’s fine. I wasn’t paying attention to where my feet were headed.” The girl, Grace, puts down the glass and extends her hand out. “I’m Grace.”

Amelia shakes her hand noting the softness of it. Seemingly too soft especially to work in a place like this. “Amelia.”

Grace smiles and moves down a bit to pick up a gentleman’s glass to refill when she asks, “What can I get for you, Amelia? Harry said it’s on the house.”

“Irish Whiskey and you can leave the bottle.”

“Hard night?” Grace questions when she sits the glass in front of Amelia.

Amelia takes a swig before answering letting the amber liquid slide down her throat leaving a burning trail in its wake, “We all stress, some days are more stressful than others.”

“I understand that completely.” Grace replies twisting the rag in her hands seemingly catching her eye on something or someone, but Amelia doesn’t turn to look because Amelia is taking the chance to look her over.

Grace is very pretty with the blonde hair and blue eyes of an upper-class lady she would have met when Amelia was still in the class herself. At all the society parties her parents would drag her to when she was a young girl. She seems more like a girl that would work at the hospital with her not serving her whiskey at The Garrison.

Grace turns back to her and gives her a smile. “You wanna talk about? Your bad day I mean.”

Amelia pours another glass, “Can’t. Promised I wouldn’t tell a soul. Just know that I learned something that could be harmful to people I care about if it was found out.”

A light seemingly sparks in Grace’s eye and she looks down trying to hide it, but Amelia notices it immediately. She gave the vaguest detail she could just to see if her curiosity was going the right direction and it seems like it is. Watch out for the barmaid called Grace.

Amelia stands up and fishes out the money needed to pay for the whiskey and puts it on the table. “Well, I’ll be seeing you around then for more chats perhaps, when the bar isn’t as crowded. Us Small Heath girls have to stick together.”

Amelia gives her a warm smile, which Grace returns, and picks up the bottle and turns to leave when Grace says, “Harry said it’s on the house.”

“Harry says a lot of things besides he has a new salary to pay.”

Amelia walks through the double doors of the bar and makes her way home.

[lunaraen]

"I thought it'd be good to have a bonding night!" With Jesse setting up Romeo with other reformed villains from her past in hopes of giving him hope for the future (while also trying to force him to get out and make new friends that aren't in the Order)

Romeo’s not a good person. Thatis, he’s working on it, but he knows he hasn’t been one in centuries, if heever really was one in the first place.

He’s also, to put it simply, alucky son of a bitch.

There are days when he struggleswith what’s common, what’s basic, what no one else has ever had to question orget help with, but he’s had yet to be tossed out or given up on. The Order Hallhas become a refuge of sorts in a twist no one, least of all him, expected, andits home in a way his own world isn’t. He deserves the scorn he gets there, andit won’t keep him from working to fix the damage he did and at least try andmake up for a fraction of what he did, but…

There are times when it’s justreally good to be here, even if Xara almost always visits with him, because shehasn’t killed him yet and that’s another twist itself, because he gets to helppeople but Jesse’s also hellbent on helping him and Romeo will always take it.

All the same, it’s a bit of atrick to keep in mind how lucky he really is when he feels like Jesse’s all butdragging him out of the temple and can’t help the way the pit in his stomachgrows.

(He knows it’s probably a normalfeeling but that doesn’t mean he has to like it.)

Still, it may be for the bestthat the person whose identity he stole and friends he used happens to beridiculously understanding and forgiving.

“Remind me why we’re doingthis again?”

“I thought it’d be good tohave a bonding night!”

Then again, maybe not.

He owes Jesse so much forallowing him to do what he’s wanted to since the start of this whole redemptionbusiness, even if the largest contribution may just have been keeping Xara frommurdering him.

Jesse’s notoriously skilled, he’slearned, with talking down murderous individuals, and for that he’s beyondgrateful. He’s even more grateful for being given shelter in the Order’stemple, along with Xara, while the two work to repair and rebuild their world.

(Their people still aren’t veryhappy with Romeo, which is completely understandable, but staying with Jesseallows both of them to fix the damage here and there, thanks to the workingportal system.)

And he wants to repay Jesse’skindness, because Jesse asks for so very little and she’s given him so much bysimply allowing him to live.

As overwhelming as it all waswhen he became human again, the deep sense of wrong was strongest, coupled withthe equal strength of the desire to fix what he could as soon as possible.

“Isn’t putting all of yourenemies in the same room typically considered a bad idea?” Of course it is. It absolutely is and Jesse has somany bad ideas it’s a miracle she’s alive and still in one piece. “Ithought it would be the sort of thing you’d want to avoid, not activelyencourage.”

And Jesse, of course, focuses on the wrong part.

“They’re not my enemies anymore. That’s the point!” It wouldn’t be so bad, if she actually got mad athim, but even the glare seems mockingly light, her voice just a bit too gentleand letting him know about her smile before it even replaces the faked sourlook.

Romeo thought, once, that she waseither too nice for her own good or just too insane.

He now knows better.

She’s both.

“Jesse, all of the peopleyou’ll be getting together attempted to kill you. I should know; I’m one ofthem!” He rubs the back of his neck. When he continues, it doesn’t soundas warm or as relaxed as it should. “And it’s hardly the worst I’vedone.”

“I’m glad you know that, butyou’re not going to get anywhere if you don’t try to improve.”

“Well, yes, but…” Histeeth dig into his lower lip as he begins chewing on it, brow furrowing beforehe glances at Jesse with what he hopes is an obviously exaggerated narrowedgaze. “I know what this is.”

“A bonding night?”Jesse blinks at him, her genuine half smile not quite covering her confusion.

“Don’t try to cover it up.Misery loves company. You’re just trying to taunt me by lumping me togetherwith your other failed enemies.”

“Believe it or not, no, andI wouldn’t say any of them are ‘failed’ just because they didn’t kill me.”Jesse shrugs, expression relaxing again as she does, smile turning full even asshe rolls her eyes. “I mean, you already know Cassie, and you’ve metMevia.”

It would be hard not to, giventhat an ex-murderer (though both he and Cassie contest that it’s not really possible to be an ex-murderer or serial killer once people have already beenkilled) living in the basement would be a hard person not to meet at leastonce. Cassie’s made for better company than Mevia, simply by being around andnot being as horrendously intimidating, and Romeo’s been content to leave Meviato be dealt with by Harper.

(Now there’s a situation that seems similar to his and Xara’s.

Granted, there’s not much Meviacan do for anyone to make anything up to them other than give herself to themob, and they all know that won’t end well. Harper’s got a different sort oftemperament anyhow, which may be for the better.)

The fact that Cassie was activelytrying to redeem herself made it a much more pleasant meeting than it could’vebeen, and makes her an easier person to spend time with.

“And Stella.” Really,he knows nearly all of these people. All but one. Still, Stella’s notparticularly all that happy with him, not that he blames her, but she tolerateshim well enough. There’s an explosive venting session waiting to happen there,though, if he’s learned anything about emotions. “But isn’t she going tobe there more for 'Aiden’ than her own actions?”

Jesse slows down, brow furrowingagain, and he gets the feeling he’s said something wrong. Was it implyingStella was as bad as the rest of them?

“What’s with the tone?”

Oh.

Romeo pauses, looking up at theswaying tree branches and fluttering banners above them as he tilts his head tothe side before shrugging, forcing his shoulders to relax as he looks back atJesse. He has no room to talk, but he’s not judging either.

He’s worried she thinks he is,though, that he’s being judgmental or cocky, and he doesn’t want to do that ordisappoint her and he’ll run himself down in circles if he keeps thinking aboutit.

“It’s the only way any ofyou ever speak about him.” He raises both his hands, briefly, forcing backa wince at Jesse’s furrowed brow. “Not you personally– the others.Particularly Lukas.”

He doubts Jesse would sayanything negative about nearly anyone. Not that she couldn’t, because shecertainly could and has plenty of chances to, but there’s a very steepdifference between what Jesse could do to others and what she chooses to.

“Aiden’s improved! They allhave, really. Besides, don’t you want a chance to make some new friends?”

“I have friends!” Infairness, most of them are the Order or friends of the Order. He has one or twowho just happen to live in town, but it’s not exactly easy to make friendsafter what he did, and he understands that. “And I already happen to behappy with the ones I have.”

Loneliness is another humanstruggle he thought he understood, one he experienced in the shallowest ofsense when he still had his powers.

It’s coupled in annoyance only byhow frustrating the other basic needs of sleep and food are.

(And food was certainly a pain,first in how long it took him to understand he needed to eat regularly to stayhealthy and regain his strength and then in having to figure out when to stopand that constantly eating wasn’t much better)

“Great! But you can havemore without having to give us up.”

Jesse gives him a knowing lookand he’s not sure if it’s his general nature that makes him so easy to read orhis general inexperience with emotions and self-control.

“I didn’t say you were oneof them.” He knows enough to make sure everything about the way he says itis plainly warm, from the grumble to the smile that proves it otherwise.

He owes her more than he’ll everbe able to pay back and everyone knows it.

“Are you going to drag yourfeet like this the whole way?”

“Absolutely; as much as Ican get away with it, at least.” He grins, teeth showing. It gets wider asshe matches it, before disappearing entirely into a pout when she responds.

“I’ll carry you.”

“You’re joking. Youwouldn’t.” The words are said more for the sake of saying them thananything else, and there’s a familiar weariness to them as Jesse grins at him.“You would.”

“Right. So…?”

“I’m coming, I’mcoming.” He rolls his eyes as he scoffs, combing a hand through his haironly to wince as his fingers snag in a tangle. He’s sure it’s the only onebecause he just brushed his hair and it would be horrible embarrassing to go toany gathering with messy hair. His fingers work on straightening that out as hegrumbles. “And I abused mypowers.”

“I don’t need any powers tocarry you.”

In fairness, she’s right, becauseshe’s considerably strong and there are few things she can’t carry, even if heisn’t as rail-thin as he once was, and part of him is beyond relieved shedidn’t take offense to the jab.

(The reminders may be constant inthe back of his mind, but he needs tostop reminding her of the stuff he did if he doesn’t want her to finally changeher mind about helping or forgiving him. She knows better than anyone what hedid, and, for all the people he harmed, she might just be one of the people heput through the most trouble.

Scratch that, she definitely is.)

Okay.

So he has fun.

Big deal.

It’s not the first time Jesse’sbeen right.

He knows better than to thinkit’ll be the last, and it’s another way he’s far too lucky.

Romeo brushes his hair back withboth his hands, posture loosening as the breeze starts to play with his hair assoon as his fingers are done halfheartedly combing through it.

It went far better than hethought it could with four (five counting Stella, but she’s gotten much betterand, as far as he knows, has few people still mad at her) reformingcriminals/villains just hanging out in the corner of a tavern, but no onebothered them. It would’ve been more, but apparently Aiden’s two friends hadwork tonight, and Romeo can’t find any fault in that.

The company made for someinteresting conversation.

It’s dark, evening with a hint ofdying sunset doing its best to stretch over as much land as possible, includingthe impressive walls and through the quietly dancing trees, hardly anyone inthe street. If he waits an hour, the night crowd will really pick up, but nomatter how pretty the view is right now, he’s fairly confident he’ll startheading home before it comes to that.

It’s been too relaxed and toorelieving a day, even with millions of unknowns and anxieties running under hisskin, to get mixed up in all that. He’s pretty sure Jesse’ll be by sooner orlater anyhow.

Not that he can’t find his wayback, but it’s always nice to not go alone.

Cassie prefers being mysterious,and while there’s only a number of ways to get back to the temple, she seemsintent to slip away as soon as things calm down. She at least says goodbye, andRomeo can’t find any fault in her actions.

Far be it from him to takecomforts from her like that.

And Mevia… well, Mevia scareshim, just a bit, and he won’t lie that he considers it a considerable reliefthat she chooses to go to the temple on her own as well.

She has a greater, if stillsmall, chance of being attacked, with how many of the people she hurt live inand regularly filter through town, but he knows she has at least one weapon onher and will probably be fine even if the unthinkable does happen.

He’s to the side of the tavern,leaning on the fencepost as he lets himself just breathe and enjoy how welleverything went, when Aiden joins him, leaning against the fence post next tohis.

All the same, despite Aiden beingthe one to walk up to him, he seems startled when Romeo addresses him.

“Thanks.”

Then again, it’s not necessarilya good thing, he supposes, to be thanked by an ex-megalomaniac. Especially onewho nearly ended the world.

“For what?”

“This– all of it, it’s beenfar better than I ever expected, mainly because you actually started talking tome.” Romeo chuckles, ignoring the desire to end the conversation here and nowbefore he messes up more because that’s not how this works. “If you hadn’t, Iprobably would’ve done something inane like stand in the corner and stare atthe wall until it was all over. So… thank you.”

Maybe Stella or Cassie wouldhave, but they seemed too busy talking to each other or the others, and anypositive possibilities don’t diminish how much he appreciates what actuallyhappened.

“Yeah, well, thanks for notkilling all the people I care about or ending the world.”

Now, if Romeo was thinkingproperly, he’d accept it and let things melt into a comfortable silence, or asilence of any kind.

Then he could regret not asking.

Instead, he’s relaxed and he’shad a nice time, so he decides to take a chance and asks a question that makesAiden look away and his shoulders hunch. This way, he regrets opening hismouth.

“I thought you didn’t careabout anybody here until recently?”

“I wouldn’t be here if Ididn’t. I was mad and stupid– I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t still like them alittle.” He visibly rolls his shoulders back, but it does little to makehim look more relaxed as he glances back at Romeo. “Does Jesse seem likethe kind of person people want dead?”

And that…

That’s an interestingperspective, especially when tied to such an interesting question.

Romeo harmed people because hesimply didn’t care, or not near enough when he was an admin and emotions werepetty at best. Aiden lashed out, harming people he cared about, because hecared too much and was ruled too easily by his emotions.

And obviously those people stillcared about him, from his two friends to Lukas changing his name in his book toavoid making things harder on the people who’d betrayed him.

All the same…

“You did.”

Aiden snorts, lips twisting intoa brief frown.

“People who aren’t toostupid for their own good.” He looks over his shoulder, but Romeo onlysees the tavern when he follows his gaze. “Stella wanted a rival, and itsounds like Cassie wasn’t really all there mentally when she met Jesse–eventhen, it’s not like she targeted Jesse or the others for anything other thanbeing there. And Mevia… well, that was messed up, but she didn’t want topermanently kill Jesse either. That whole thing sounds really twistedanyways.”

Admins respawn, and Romeo caneasily remember the various times he and Xara killed each other in battle orfor fun.

He can understand now why thatwould maybe seem a little twisted, but back then… they hadn’t meant anythingserious by it. To them, death was just a byproduct of all the fun, and hardlyanything to worry about. It was nothing permanent, as much as it could ache orsting.

Still, if he was able to twisthis powers and hurt people with them, it’s not much of a surprise the 'OldBuilders’ did the same with respawn. Even if it seems to have hurt most of themjust as much.

“I tried.”

“Yeah, but it’s not like youstill want her to die or get hurt. Jesse’s way too nice to people like us.I’m… I’m really glad she’s still alive. Even if she’d never gotten to myletter, or decided to do anything about it, she deserves better than dying likethat.”

“…why are you thanking mefor that? I tried and failed. That’s the only reason this world isn’t coveredin bedrock.”

“No. The real reason isbecause Jesse did her best to save everyone and succeeded again, because that’swhat she does and she’s incredible at it.” He’s not going to argue thatbecause he can’t and him being alive and here is proof enough of that. “I’mthanking you because you’re actually trying to get better. You haven’t betrayedJesse’s trust or anything, and tonight… tonight was nice. Thanks for notbeing a jerk either.”

It almost feels like athinly-veiled threat, but he seems to mean it and it’s not like Romeo can blamehim for being suspicious, if he is.

“No problem.”

And that’s the end of that, fortonight. He’s not surprised to see Jesse walking up the road when Aiden turns,heading the opposite direction with Stella.

It’s alright. It won’t be thelast time.

It went better than any of themwere likely expecting, even if it had its awkward moments, which means there’llbe a repeat one way or another.

He hopes it will, at least.

Romeo’s heart hurts, but in a waythat’s slowly becoming familiarly bittersweet, and he can’t bother to grumbleas he walks beside a grinning Jesse, his own lips betraying him as they twitchinto a small smile.

He thinks it’s a good sign.