#but Darcy felt real love

[bethanydelleman]

How much love and how much lust made Darcy propose to Elizabeth in your opinion?

Because my headcanon is that Darcy is somewhat demisexual and feeling something sexual was (possibly) new to him and it convinced him to propose. I've seen some people see Darcy as a bad boy and lust is almost completely what convinced him to propose and on the other hand there are others who see him completely head over heels in love with Elizabeth.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. (And sorry if you have answered something like this before.)

Thanks for the question!

If we head back to the very beginning of Darcy liking Elizabeth, we learn it's not about "fine eyes" but "rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes." and "in spite of his asserting that her manners were not those of the fashionable world, he was caught by their easy playfulness." Darcy did totally resist Elizabeth's beauty before he knew her, it was her intelligence and playfulness that caught him. However, as often happens in Austen, this attraction to her mental attributes leads to appreciation of the physical, "he was forced to acknowledge her figure to be light and pleasing"

I also read Darcy as demisexual. However, by Hunsford he is clearly intensely experiencing both lust and love. His proposal is about overwhelming desire:

“In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” (don't know why I'm quoting this, ya'll know it by heart I'm sure)

Now as for the ratio, that's hard to tease out. Elizabeth assumes that this is a fleeting feeling (ie lust), which will quickly fade away. That is clearly not the case, especially since we know he's been attracted to her since the last fall. Romantic love is for most people intertwined with lust, at least in my experience as someone who isn't asexual. It means you want to talk to them forever but also tear off all their clothes.

I do think he's seriously in love with Elizabeth, even if he doesn't have a completely healthy regard for her (disdain for her family isn't a great look). I don't think it fits with his character at all to propose marriage based on lust. He thinks very seriously about marriage and he's aware that it will last forever. He has carefully considered the pros and cons, he's not acting purely from emotion. The fact that he stays longer in Kent and doesn't propose till the end of his visit speaks to how much he's thought about it. That's not lust-based irrationality.

And the fact that he listened and changed! That's not lust or a fleeting feeling. That is actual love and respect. If it had been lust alone, it probably would have been fully extinguished by his mortification.

So the answer is... 50/50?

[astudyintheburningofhearts]

JUST FINISHED HEARTSTOPPER..... GERTFUYDHSC AH

[honnelander]

I CAME AS SOON AS I SAW THE POST

can we get a little snippet of go fish!reader maybe reading Pride and Prejudice aloud to Zoro after he had been struck down by Mihawk, like how Nami did, and Sanji over hearing and just staying by the door to listen to her read or something? i think a little blurb like that would be so cute

AHHH CUUUUTE!! i modified this a bit to have it fit into the overall story's timeline. instead of Zoro being struck down by Mihawk, he's sick and bedridden. thank you for this :))

here's go fish!Sanji listening to you reading:

masterlist

"Ohhh Zoro," you quietly squealed, trying your best to keep your voice down from disturbing a very ill and bedridden Zoro from waking. "Are you ready for this? Oh my god, this is another one of my favorite parts," you gushed, sighing dreamily as you put your very loved and well-worn copy of Pride and Prejudice on your lap before hurriedly picking it up again to continue reading aloud to your friend in his room.

"I'm in love with you, most ardently," you read, voice quiet enough and full of wistfulness.

As you continued to read the story, your voice going up and down in excitement as you read the scene aloud, Sanji could hear your quiet gushing from the hallway. He was carrying a small tray of food, two bowls of his special homemade chicken soup sitting right in the middle, one for Zoro and another for you since he knew you'd spent all afternoon reading to the sick swordsman and figured you must be hungry by this point as well.

With careful steps, he silently stood right behind the doorway as he listened to your soothing voice bring the words that were printed on the page of your favorite book to life with a small smile on his face. The blonde cook closed his eyes for a minute, letting the sound of your voice wash over him as he admired you without you ever knowing.

He leaned his shoulder on the doorframe right outside of Zoro's room, gently resting the side of his head against it as well, as his mind wandered for a second, getting lost in the story.

Apparently, it was the part in the story where Mr. Darcy was confessing his love to Elizabeth, but as he listened further, he realized that it wasn't the end of the story where they both confessed their feelings mutually, it was more in the beginning where Mr. Darcy's sentiments were one-sided and Sanji couldn't help but feel a sort of kinship with the fictional man.

While the situation he was in with you wasn't as dramatic as Jane Austen's creation (if there even was a 'situation', he thought dejectedly), the feelings he had for you were certainly real and very complicated.

Was he in love with you? He wasn't entirely sure, but he did like you, much more than a friend should. He had feelings that he only had for you, and no one else. Sure, he's come to love the rest of the crew and Nami too, but none of them could make him feel the things that he only seemed to experience with you.

Suddenly, he wondered how he would confess these sentiments to you one day. Would he pull a Mr. Darcy and just walk into your room one night, spilling out his heart's desires for you in a single breath because if he didn't, he might not have the courage to tell you otherwise? Telling you the thoughts that consistently plagued his mind, trying to sort them out aloud in front of you because they were driving him mad like poor Mr. Darcy? Or would he plan something out and take his time? Wait until he understood what he felt because he 'wanted to get it right'?

Sanji didn't know, it was too soon to tell... but what he did know was that if he stood out there loitering any longer, the soup would get cold and the chef in him would rather die than serve you something like that.

Coincidently, it seemed like the chapter had just ended, you letting out a lighthearted sigh as you softly commented to Zoro, "Ok Zoro, now wasn't that chapter just... extraordinary?"

"It certainly was, Missus," Sanji commented cheekily, suppressing a smile as best he could as he walked into the room.

"Oh! Sanji!" you gasped as your hand quickly covered your racing heart. "Jeez, you scared me." You watched as Sanji placed the tray of soups onto the nightstand. "Sorry. I, uh, didn't realize I was reading so loudly I attracted an audience," you said, your cheeks heating up slightly at the thought that Sanji had been listening to you for who knows how long.

"'Sorry'?" Sanji repeated, a slight frown on his face momentarily as looked down at the tray, glancing at you over his shoulder. "There's nothing to be sorry for, my love." Once the tray was secured on the nightstand, he fully turned to face you, his hands in his pockets as he put on his most charming smile. "Now," he started smoothly, "I'm starting to think that maybe I should get sick so you can come and read to me in bed all day."

Sanji's smile only grew as he watched your face become even more flushed at his words.

You laughed slightly, eyes darting away from his as you asked, "Don't you mean when you're bedridden?"

There was a long pause, the silence becoming deafening at your question. You could feel the tension in the room become thicker the longer that Sanji stayed quiet. Your hands started to feel slightly clammy as your heart rate picked up.

You swallowed. "You know, instead of 'in bed'... since you'd be sick and everything?" you asked finally, as you mustered up the courage to look back up at Sanji from your chair.

At his expression, your heart skipped a beat. Sanji was still looking at you, his eyes twinkling with mischief (and sincerity?) and another emotion you didn't understand, a soft smile on his face. You couldn't help but feel like Sanji knew what he said and that he had said it on purpose.

His crooked smile only deepened. "Sure," he agreed simply. "When I'm sick and ill, and completely bedridden." He blinked, inhaling a small breath as he looked down at his shoes for a moment before looking back up at you, a small questioning look in his eyes as he quietly asked, "And you'd do that? Come and read to me all day?"

"Of course," you answered without hesitation, frowning slightly at Sanji believing that you wouldn't do for even a moment. "I would do anything to help you feel better, Sanji."

Now, between the two of you, it was pretty obvious that Sanji was the smooth-talking flirt, with you never really outrightly flirting with him in the conventional sense, but wow, you might as well be labeled the biggest flirt in his mind because your kind, thoughtful words and gestures never failed to make his heart flutter and knees go weak.

And the way you would look at him, time and time again, whenever you would gently reassure him that yes, you did indeed care about him and that you never truly forgot him... it was enough for him to feel his heart nearly explode.

There it was again, your kind, thoughtful, and beautiful expression on full display for him as you looked up at him through your lashes.

And just like that, Sanji's fears were completely washed away.

He let out a slight laugh, turning his face to the side, his blonde bangs facing you to try and hide the very faint blush on his cheeks. "Aw, you're too kind to me, Missus." He looked back at you, his rosy glow fading slightly, however, his smile was still bright. "Thank you."

At seeing Sanji happy, you were happy. You returned his smile and with a slight teasing tone you said, "But I'll only read to you if you promise to read to me when I'm in bed, sick and completely bedridden."

The blonde chef laughed lightly again, partly because of your now little inside joke, but because the thought that you even had to ask him if he 'would ever do that for you' was completely absurd. Of course he would. He would've been reading to you from the moment you were awake and not feeling well, all the way until you were sleeping, and even then he would continue to recite the pages of the book you loved aloud while you slept, so your dreams and subconscious mind were filled with the sound of his voice well into the night.

Sanji would do anything for you. And you never even needed to ask.

But he didn't tell you all that, not wanting to freak you out with his intense train of thought, so he simply said, with a small smile and twinkle in his eye, "Consider it done."

From Sanji's right, the sound of bedsheets rustling caught both of your attention.

Zoro groaned, gingerly opening his eyes as he pulled his blanket closer to himself. "Ugh... waiter? What are you doing here?"

Sanji looked down at him, a hint of concern on his pretty features as he replied, "Ah, Mosshead, you're awake. I, uh, thought I'd do a little room service and bring some soup for you and y/n."

At hearing your name, Zoro opened his eyes again. "Y/n?" He slowly turned his head towards you. "What are you-" he started to ask but when he saw the book on your lap he groaned and covered his eyes with the crook of his elbow. "Oh don't tell me- you've been reading that garbage to me while I was sleeping this whole time?"

But you weren't offended by his question. Instead, you laughed. "If you mean masterpiece then, yes. You're right. I had just gotten to the good part too!"

Zoro shifted in his bunk, getting comfortable. "Well, by all means, keep going," he deadpanned. In a more sincere tone he said, "I haven't slept this good in a while." But then, with a ghost of a smile, he added, "Your book is so boring it puts me right to sleep."

"Hey, a win is a win," you laughed joyfully. You looked up at Sanji for a second, wanting to share your little moment of happiness of Zoro wanting to continue reading with him.

But Sanji was already looking at you, eyebrows raised in surprise and a disbelieving closed-lipped smile on his face. His smile only grew at seeing the happiness you radiated, his eyes scanning over your face. "Well, in that case," he started as he made his way towards the door. "Let me excuse myself then. I wouldn't want to get in the way of your storytime, Mr. Mosshead."

As Sanji left the room and stepped out into the hall, he could hear you giggle at his 'Mr. Darcy' joke while Zoro grumbled, a sweet sense of satisfaction coming over him.

But before he went back to the kitchen to start on tonight's dinner prep, he loitered outside of Zoro's room again, leaning against the doorframe like he did moments earlier, out of view, so could listen to you read once more for a bit, a small, wistful smile on his face.

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[coolprettyleo]

the jokes weren't funny. - connor bedard ☆

wc: 627

tw: filming, drama, sadness, mean comments

ryan leonard x ex oc

connor bedard x oc

death by a thousand cuts au

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

frankie hughes felt like she couldn't catch a break for the life of her.

no matter how many times the girl thought her life was finally getting better, it only seemed to turn around and smack her right back down.

she sat in the las Vegas hotel room in tears as she read through the comments about the latest TMZ article that, of course, had to do with her.

someone had filmed her and connor outside the bar last night as they waited for their Uber, and the video was quite interesting, to say the least.

it started off with the two of them drunkenly dancing around from the muffled bar music, obviously intoxicated, which seemed to cause a stir amongst the media, seeing as they were both underage and were supposed to be 'role models'. it only got worse because the two young adults seemed to forget they were in public and made out with each other against the wall a little later on into the video.

the comments were brutal, and she couldn't help but think she deserved every single one.

what happened to her and ryan? they were so cute.

omg she's cheating

puck bunny at its finest

leonards too good for her anyways

why do i ship

maybe it wouldn't have been such a big deal, but people still believed she was with ryan. they hadn't given anyone to believe they were over, they hadn't unfollowed each other or removed the pictures of each other from their social media, so it was understandable why the world thought she was a cheater.

she had definitely felt like one. her heart still belonged to ryan, but she was sure he would want nothing to do with her once he caught sight of the video.

she felt completely helpless, so she resorted to doing nothing but curl up into a ball and cry. wondering why the hell she was the way she was.

she was cut off from wallowing in self-pity when her manager, darcy, called. knowing it was going to be nothing but a scolding, she answered because she most likely had a solution.

"hello?" she answered a bit timidly.

"hello. I'm assuming you've seen the video, and I'm calling to tell you it's going to be fine. you were bound to have a scandal at some point; I'm just happy it isn't rehab yet. anyways, we have two choices, we can put out a statement on your behalf, or you unfollow and remove every picture of ryan from your feed," darcy rushed out.

"I don't- I don't want to do that," frankie said, feeling tears begin to sting her eyes. she felt like that would make the breakup so much more real, and she knew she wasn't ready to do that yet.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice, honey. you're still on the rise, and a big scandal this early into your career won't go well. it's better to put out the fire before it gets bigger," darcy explained to her.

"I just feel like it will blow over if we, like, let it," Frankie said.

"it wouldn't just blow over! unless..." darcy thought as frankie waited. anything would sound better to her at this point.

"i mean, i would have to get in contact with his team, but I'm sure they'd be on board. the internet loves a good crossover, just look at taylor swift and travis kelce-"

"what?" frankie asked, confused as to who or what she was saying.

"we could make the public think you and ryan have been separated for a while now," she said

"and how would we do that?" frankie asked, scared to hear the answer.

"you get into a pr relationship with connor bedard, of course!"

[fae-renjun]

OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE CAMERA — h.sh

ep. 11 — take a chance with me [𖦹 wc: 830+]

previous | masterlist | next — (listen to take a chance with me by niki for the ideal experience)

“that’s it for today guys! all of you did a great job, i can’t wait for us to start shooting tomorrow!!” the rest of the cast said their goodbyes and shuffled out of the room. wonbin shot seunghan a knowing look just as taesan wiggled his eyebrows at you before both musicians left for uni band practice for the upcoming end of year concert, followed by yizhuo who said something about having to style the band. sungchan, shotaro and eunseok said their goodbyes and filed out as well, patting seunghan on the back as they did. sohee and anton walked up to seunghan, holding back laughs as they gave him a hushed pep talk. 

you were too distracted by your conversation with karina and leehan about scenes that might need to be changed to notice seunghan’s nervous glances towards you as his two younger friends left the room. as you finished your discussion with your friends and closed your binder with notes on the film, leehan looked over your head and at seunghan, giggling before leaving the room and dragging karina with him before she could say more than “have fun!”

you spun on your heel to face seunghan, “so.”

“so?”

“where are we going?”

“oh! yeah sorry. um. we’re going to kwangya cafe first, and then, would you want to see a movie?” he said, rubbing the back of his neck in nervousness as he finished his question. you looked at him, holding back a smile, “seunghan i am literally directing a movie right now. do you think i don’t like watching them?”

“oh, yeah,” he laughed in embarrassment. “the local theatre is playing pride and prejudice for its anniversary i think. i remembered you talking about it and i’ve never seen it so i got us tickets.”

your whole face lit up and seunghan was relieved. 

you started talking about how much you loved the movie and how excited you were for him to see it as you packed up. he kept listening, asking questions and nodding his head. when you got to the cafe you cut off a short rant about cinematic techniques in romance so you could order, after which you said, “oh my god i’ve just been yapping about movies again. i’m so sorry.”

seunghan laughed and brushed it off, “don’t worry. it’s cute. i like listening to you.”

“oh. well. i wanna know more about you too though.”

so, the two of you delved into a conversation about his dance background, his love for pokémon, and any mutual interests the two of you shared. before you knew it the food and drinks were over and it was time for the film.

in the darkness of the small movie theatre, your elbows bumped against one another on your shared armrest every time one of you reached for the popcorn bucket in between. you kept subtly glancing over, trying to gauge the boy’s reaction to all your favourite scenes, observing as much of his expression as possible with the light from the large screen in front of you. every time you reacted to a scene—giggling when lizzie rejected mr. collins or sighing as you watched darcy’s hand flex for the 127th time in your life—seunghan would look over and wonder why he’d never tried harder to talk to you before now. 

seunghan was anything but dry and boring. he launched into a mini-monologue about the movie as soon as the two of you exited the movie theatre, and you were grateful for it. You’d always felt like you were too much for people, you’d been told you talked too much and too fast about the things you loved and were too passionate about movies and making them to pay attention to real life. but you never felt like you were too much around seunghan. more and more each day you were hoping his presence in your life would become permanent, and that it wouldn’t end as soon as the short film was done. 

the sky darkened as the sun set while he walked you back to your apartment. when the conversation you had been having came to a lull, you said to him, “you don’t have to do this you know? walking me back to my apartment and all.”

“oh it’s no problem, it’s on the way to my apartment anyway.”

“oh.”

“and i just wanted to,” he finished. you hummed in response, not knowing how to reply. soon, you arrived and said your goodbyes to each other. but as you turned around to open your door and he turned to leave, you spun back towards him, “seunghan?”

“yeah?”

“was this a date?” “only if you want it to be. see you tomorrow, future oscar winner,” he said with a grin, not giving you a chance to process his words and reply before leaving. The final part of his sentence only registered in your head as you walked into your apartment, the thought of it gracing your lips with a smile. 

a/n: not that anyone cares but this takes place the same day as the tpwbib prologue :))

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© 2024 FAE-RENJUN. All Rights Reserved. Do not copy or steal any of my posts.

[goggles-mcgee]

Next in the Trix lineup is Darcy!!

Design wise, again, I leaned into y2k fashion more, but more so in the boho/hippie fashion offset of that category. I gave her striped hair since I felt like it fit her style more with the direction I wanted to go. She's got nine piercing, four in each each and one on her lip. She is also a thrifter when it comes to her clothing.

Witch transformation wise, I leaned more into her powers of darkness, which is why her hands, feet, hair, and cape are inked in darkness. Her face always has the shadow over her eyes, and her eyes shine brighter in this transformation. She does have a closed third eye on her forehead, but no one is quite sure if it is makeup or real. She has the iridescent bodice as well, along with a charm with her initial on it.

Headcanons!

•She is very into poetry, and if someone makes fun of her for it, she curses them to speak only in rhymes for a week.

•She is an only child but has many cousins, and despite being an only child, she was never one to seek out the spotlight. She was fine sticking to the shadows even at Cloud Tower, but she does like when she's respected and feared.

•She has a soft spot for animals.

•Her full name is Darcelle Belladonna Blackwell

•She loves psychology, and it is a study she excels at.

•She makes handmade soap and sells them at Cloud Tower for some extra money, but she keeps her identity a secret as the seller. It's something she feels that Icy and Stormy would mock her for.

[suzukiblu]

i am literally for real obsessed with your timberkon pink kryptonite fic so i definitely would love to see another sneak peek, but i'm also loving all the superfam stuff you're putting out!!! something that i wish you would write because i love your works (and have since the darcy lewis stucky days) and i think you would do amazing things with the pairing is jaytim, but i know thats not everyones cup of tea

(i realize now that you were probably aiming for an ask rather than a reply so here it is in your inbox too hskdhsh)

Thank you! ❤️ And oh, asks and replies were both fine for this, no worries. I try to just specify in-post whenever I have a preference but it's not gonna bother me either way.

I DO like JayTim to read, but I've never really felt a particular bug to write it myself? At least not yet, anyway, that may one day change. Though I miiiiight still put Kon in the middle because I am who I am and all, haha.

I'm planning to update the pink K fic on AO3 tomorrow, though I'm pretty sure I've already posted enough of chapter two in excerpts on Tumblr to have posted basically all of it by now and I'm trying to avoid doing that with chapter three, sooooo instead please accept the beginning of this very niche Superfam omegaverse pack dynamics AU instead. I've been looking for an excuse to post this whole big long thing anyway, lol.

Read-more for length, 'cuz there's kind of a lot here, haha.

.

The representative from the wet nurse agency shows up fifteen minutes early with an unusual-seeming omega who can't be a day over nineteen, being generous. Bruce makes a note to look into the agency's hiring practices a little more closely. The current situation is something of an emergency, unfortunately, and he's only had time to run the intermediate-level background checks so far.

Maybe this isn't the prospective wet nurse, he halfheartedly hopes, and they're just another representative; one who's in training or just here as backup. The kid smells like milk, though, and also why the hell would the agency send out an omega representative? Omegas are typically secretaries and clerks and almost all do in-office jobs, where they're "protected" from the outside world.

The practice is stupid and demeaning and borderline abhorrent, but it's a step up from the days when an omega couldn't get any job that wasn't as a nanny or a sex worker or some fucked-up combination of the two. Clark being an actual reporter is something that was practically unheard of two lousy generations back, and even now Clark is still an unusual exception in his field. Typically, an omega writing for a newspaper would be doing gossip or advice or something domestic, not investigative journalism.

So no, there's no way that this particular omega is anything but a wet nurse candidate, unusual-seeming and concerningly young or not. And Bruce had insisted on the candidate coming to meet them in person, even when the agency had very unsubtly implied that it would be better to just have the milk delivered.

Bruce is absolutely looking into this agency's hiring practices. An omega this age should barely be presented. One who's already allegedly producing enough milk to be a viable wet nurse for what they're requesting . . .

It's concerning, yes.

"Master Bruce, the representative from the Waterton Agency and her associate," Alfred introduces politely, gesturing between Bruce and their guests. He doesn't look or smell disapproving, even in the mildest notes, but Bruce knows he is.

Of course he is, with an omega who might be being either abused or taken advantage of or outright trafficked in the manor.

Bruce should've run a better background check.

"Hello, Alpha Wayne. My name is Ellen Travers," the agency representative greets tightly as Bruce steps into the parlor. She's a harried-looking blonde beta with graying hair who looks very unhappy to be here and is doing a very bad job of hiding the nervous dissatisfaction in her scent.

She doesn't introduce the omega.

Bruce puts on his stupid "Brucie" grin and strides right up to Travers, sticking a hand out to shake. She puts on a weak attempt at a polite smile in return and takes it.

"Hello there, Beta Travers, thanks so much for coming out here on such short notice!" Bruce greets her with a lie of cheerfulness, but Travers continues to smell nervous and upset and her smile is no less forced. And the omega . . .

The kid smells downright sullen, which is not a typical scent to catch off an unfamiliar presented omega and doesn't do anything to make him seem any older.

And yes, he's definitely unusual. He's much taller than Travers–about Bruce's own height, in fact–and has a very broad build and a surprising amount of muscle on him on top of that. Bruce knows full-grown alphas who'd kill to be built like this kid. He's also much more "handsome" than "beautiful", and frankly couldn't look less like the kind of sweet and pretty little things the agency had advertised on their website if he tried, much less the soft and maternal type Bruce had been expecting to actually have show up, given the specific requests he'd made.

Well, it does make sense. Bruce obviously wasn't going to provide the agency with either a Kryptonian genetic profile or a Kryptonian pup's exact dietary needs in search of a suitable wet nurse, but the nutrient requests that they'd made would likely necessitate an omega of a similar build to Clark's to supply–hell, the kid even resembles him a bit, funnily enough. They've already had four agencies tell them that they simply didn't have an appropriate candidate on staff, and the milk samples they'd been able to provide hadn't proven very helpful.

Bruce has no idea how the Kents ever fed Clark, but Martha had at least had the advantage of having a pack bond with him. A packmate's milk always does miles better by a pup than a stranger's or any kind of formula ever could.

Though she'd had some very odd cravings while nursing him, she'd told them. And Clark had still grown up underfed, even with formula and yellow sunlight to supplement–the Fortress had observed marked evidence of childhood malnutrition in him, he'd said.

Occasionally Bruce wonders what a properly-nursed Kryptonian raised under a yellow sun from infancy would've actually turned out like.

The thought is . . . well. A thought.

A thought that still makes him leery of how Jon Kent might grow up, sometimes.

Those concerns aside, though, the really unusual thing about this omega isn't either his physique or his face. Bruce is perfectly used to omegas with "nontraditional" looks after knowing Clark and Diana this long, to say nothing of various other Justice League members or other superheroes and villains he's known, or of both raising and reuniting with Jason. But this omega isn't as demurely dressed as mild-mannered Clark Kent would be; he's wearing opaque sunglasses and an alpha-cut studded leather jacket and alpha-style jeans and an inconveniently inaccessible plain black T-shirt with no sign of a nursing bra underneath it, nothing soft or appealing in either his clothes or his posture. If anything, he looks aggressive; tense and guarded and ready to start some shit. Even Jason usually puts up a temporary illusion of traditional omega mannerisms when he's meeting strangers as a civilian, if only so he'll be underestimated. This kid isn't even pretending to make the attempt.

And the kid smells completely and undeniably stray, too. Bruce can't catch a single note of packscent coming off him. Not even the scent of whatever pup got him milked up enough to qualify for this job. Unbred omegas sometimes lactate in heat or when under stress or if someone in their pack either has or adopts a pup, but a stray who doesn't smell particularly distressed or anything like he's on his cycle shouldn't be producing any milk at all.

At least not without using the kind of stimulants that Bruce explicitly forbade when filling out the agency application, anyway. Those medications are necessary for some omegas, obviously, but in this situation . . .

Kryptonian pups don't respond well to getting anything like that in their milk, they've already very thoroughly learned.

The omega also has spiked stainless steel piercings in his ears, snake bites under his mouth, and two curved barbells in his left eyebrow. All his other jewelry is heavy alpha-styled rings and bracelets, and his nails are painted a chipped black. And he is, notably, not wearing any kind of collar or necklace, and his neck is completely unmarked.

Bruce is in no way oblivious to the obvious message that an uncollared and unbitten omega's neck presents when left so obviously bared. Especially on a stray one who's dressed like an alpha and standing like he's expecting a fight.

He cannot imagine why this kid is working as a wet nurse.

None of the theories that come to mind bode particularly well, though.

"This omega is our most fitting candidate for your needs, Alpha Wayne," Travers says, her smile turning increasingly forced. Bruce thinks he can safely translate that expression as that of a beta who did not in any way agree with that assessment but was stuck following orders. "She fulfills all of your nutritional requests, including the necessary iron content and the prioritized fats and proteins, and, of course, is not taking any manner of lactation-inducing stimulants or supplements."

"He," the omega corrects, sounding dubious. Travers's mouth tightens. Bruce knows a lot of old-school traditionalists who won't call a male omega "he" or a female alpha "she", no matter what said omega or alpha's preferences happen to be, and makes another note about looking into this agency more thoroughly.

Much more thoroughly.

"She isn't available for direct nursing, unfortunately, but her milk is a perfect match to your requests and she produces both excellently and reliably; her supply will be more than enough for your needs," Travers continues as if the omega hadn't spoken, and the omega's lip curls in obvious annoyance as he rolls his eyes with no attempt to hide his exasperation even in the presence of an unfamiliar alpha.

Bruce thinks of Jason with a brief pang, and pushes the thought aside. It's not the time.

Maybe he could've asked Jason for help with this, if he'd been a better father. A better alpha. A better . . .

But he wasn't, so now there's an annoyed stranger standing in his parlor instead of a content packmate curled up in their nest.

"Really?" he asks, tilting his head and blinking down at Travers with a deliberately surprised expression. "The consultant made it sound like you'd need multiple donors, for the amount we're asking."

If one goddamn barely-presented kid is actually producing enough milk to even half-feed a Kryptonian pup . . .

"This omega produces sufficient quantities for your needs, Alpha Wayne," Travers replies with another forced smile. She must know how ridiculous a statement that is, when she's talking about a stray kid and not a fully mature omega with at least a couple of litters under their belt who's well-established in a stable pack, but she says it with conviction all the same.

"Oh, good!" Bruce says brightly, because he's supposed to be a stupid knotheaded playboy who wouldn't know a damn thing about nursing either way. "That'll be convenient, then."

Frankly, he only wishes one omega could produce what they need right now, but requesting that much milk from one agency for just one pup would be immediately flagged as suspicious, and definitely turned down outright. They're still looking for other candidates under false names, but at the rate they're going, they're going to need to keep supplementing with formula, which already hasn't been going well.

If Clark could get milked up himself, this wouldn't be a problem, of course. A Kryptonian omega could easily produce more than enough for one Kryptonian pup, especially under a yellow sun. Clark nursed Jon without a problem for years and was actually overproducing when he was, Bruce knows very well.

Unfortunately, that's not an option anymore. Not since . . .

Clark would never forgive himself if something like that happened again.

Never.

And Kara and Karen are both alphas, and Jon's a beta and only ten anyway, and the only other living Kryptonians they know of are either remorseless criminals imprisoned in the Phantom Zone or the sickly little pup who's slowly wasting away upstairs.

Formula and concentrated yellow sunlight haven't been enough. Clark can't get milked up anymore. They haven't been able to synthesize any appropriate supplements either in the Fortress or in working with the Justice League or STAR Labs or even in collaborating between them.

And the pup is just getting weaker, and quieter, and sicker.

A human wet nurse probably won't even help that much, at this point, but . . .

Well, it's the best chance they have to keep the pup alive until they can synthesize something. Maybe the only chance, now.

"We strive to provide to our clients' convenience, Alpha Wayne," Travers says, and the omega rolls his eyes again. Bruce is less and less convinced of him being an adult in any way but the presentation of his pheromones.

It's rude to address an unfamiliar unpacked omega directly, especially as an alpha. Technically Travers is chaperoning them in a professional situation, though, and Bruce has increasing suspicions about this omega's personal standards so far as "manners" go anyway.

And everyone knows Brucie Wayne is stupid and shameless, of course.

So he flashes the kid a grin, and he says, "Well, it's great to meet you, we appreciate you making the trip! What's your name, Mr. . . .?"

The kid blinks at him, clearly surprised both to be spoken to and to be called "Mr." instead of "Miss" or "Ms." or even "Omega". Travers looks absolutely scandalized.

Bruce really doesn't approve of the kind of traditionalists who won't introduce an omega or use their stated pronouns, though, so fuck if he cares.

"Her name is Carly, Alpha Wayne!" Travers interjects quickly, her tone a little bit too bright to be genuine. "Short for Caroline."

"Just Carl," the kid corrects, shaking his head. Travers's mouth tightens again. It's not a very typical omega name, so no surprise.

It occurs to Bruce to wonder if Carl might be a trans alpha, which he probably should've thought to wonder as soon as he saw how he was dressed and got an impression of his personality. Obviously the kid's at least not currently on HRT if he's working as a wet nurse, but that doesn't rule out the possibility of him being transgender all the same.

Actually, affording gender-affirming care is definitely a reason that a kid like this one would be working this job, especially if said kid's family weren't supporting them. Wet nurses make more money than most other fields that omegas without a diploma can expect to get into, at least short of sex work, and Carl is very obviously too young to have graduated college yet.

Actually, Bruce still isn't even sure if he's old enough to have graduated high school yet.

He's going to burn down this whole damn agency if they're knowingly employing a minor as a wet nurse.

"Nice to meet you, Carl," he says easily. Carl's eyes narrow consideringly, and then he folds his arms and smirks, crooked and casual.

"Sure," he says. "Nice to meet you too, Wayne."

Travers looks agonized. The last non-alpha stranger who called Bruce "Wayne" instead of "Alpha Wayne" was a beta terrorist who was in the middle of kidnapping him, and he's not sure any omega who wasn't an active supervillain ever has, so he's not surprised by her reaction.

Carl is still watching him with the same cocky smirk, though, an obvious challenge in the expression and his posture both. Bruce puts another point towards the possibility of him being a trans alpha, though he's not stupid enough to actually ask if he is, especially not in front of someone the kid works under. Presentation aside, Carl might not be out, and Travers is currently at least professionally following traditional manners, so Bruce doesn't have much hope for this agency being all that progressive and doesn't want to accidentally get the kid fired.

Though if Carl is a minor, Bruce is going to have to see if he can't slip him a business card and find him another job. Especially if he's going to be burning down the agency he's working for.

"Why aren't you available for direct nursing, if you don't mind me asking?" he asks in a curious tone, because he still can't smell a pup on the kid and most wet nurses who aren't nursing their own pups do direct nursing, and he wants intel about the agency's typical practices. Carl shrugs.

"Stubborn tits," he replies, pushing his chest out as he gestures at himself with no apparent sense of shame or self-consciousness, and Travers looks increasingly agonized. Bruce is just increasingly missing Jason, himself. "Milk flows too slow and the pups always get all fussy and stress out about it. Which, whatever, pups are weird anyway, they're not really my thing."

"'Weird'?" Bruce repeats, carefully noting the lack of possessives in reference to any potentially dysphoria-triggering anatomy. Still not a confirmation, but another point. Carl shrugs again.

"I'm afraid Carly doesn't bond appropriately with pups, Alpha Wayne," Travers interjects quickly, and Carl scowls at her. "She has an unfortunate detachment disorder."

"I 'attach' fine," Carl grumbles sourly, jamming his hands into his jacket pockets. "I just don't like kids."

Travers grimaces. Bruce keeps pretending to be an oblivious idiot. He has met omegas who don't like children. They exist.

They're just all deeply, deeply traumatized people. Or clinically insane.

Or both, frequently.

So . . . "detachment disorder" seems likely, yes.

Bruce doesn't consider either sex or gender to be the end-all be-all of a person, of course, but there are certain biological imperatives that no one can deny as existing, and a lactating omega faced with a theoretical hungry pup–really, just about any omega faced with a theoretical hungry pup–is not ever going to say they "just" don't like kids. Usually the problem with omega wet nurses is them liking kids too much, in fact, and getting distressed or depressed when the parents wean the pups and they won't be seeing them again. The decent agencies have psychological support for that in place and typically offer paid leave between long-term clients. The Waterton Agency does up to a month, which is one of the reasons Bruce chose it.

So yes, Carl is almost definitely traumatized.

Though really, a wet nurse who won't be around much isn't the worst thing, considering. Neither Clark nor Jon started developing any especially noticeable powers until they were older, but they can't assume anything based off a sample size of two, especially when said sample size is made up of biological relatives. And even if they didn't have to worry about that, well, the manor is frequently full of vigilantes and the cave is right underneath it. There's a lot that a regular guest could notice, especially over however long they might need to be nursing. Especially because nursing is a quiet, out-of-the-way activity that takes a while, and it would be very easy for someone to forget to keep their voice down or to not do a damn quadruple-backflip off a chandelier at the wrong moment.

And there's a reason Clark and Lois brought this problem to the shadows of Gotham, as opposed to staying in bright and sunny Metropolis with it. They've got something to hide right now, and a lot to figure out.

Plus if even a molecule of kryptonite gets involved in this situation, even secondhand . . .

Power Girl and Supergirl and Steel are the ones taking shifts watching Metropolis right now, and everyone is just going to leave it at that. Superman isn't coming out for anything less than the apocalypse.

"Well, the Lane-Kents will probably want you to meet the kiddo either way, if you don’t mind," Bruce tells Carl, offering an easy shrug. "Peace of mind, you know how it is."

"Not really," Carl says. Bruce debates slipping the kid a psychiatrist's business card, but he'd probably take it as an insult.

"Er, yes, Alpha Wayne," Travers says awkwardly. "Actually, we were expecting Alpha Lane to be with you . . . ?"

"Lois is currently stuck in Metropolis traffic thanks to Metallo bashing up half of downtown this afternoon and Clark is upstairs getting the kiddo around. Little guy just woke up from his nap," Bruce replies with a pleasant smile, making another note of how Travers left off the omega member of the couple's last name, and also apparently doesn't expect to be meeting said omega at all. He is increasingly regretting choosing this agency, though he may yet manage to do some good in the world by subtly dismantling it. Or maybe just by buying it outright and doing a little restructuring.

Or a lot of restructuring.

"Wait, it's not your kid?" Carl asks, wrinkling his nose with a puzzled expression. Travers looks pained. The Waterton Agency isn't Gotham-based, so Bruce isn't sure why she apparently expects Carl to be up on the Wayne pack's current members, especially considering how she keeps talking over and outright ignoring him. Bruce has a hard time picturing her bothering to provide the information herself, at this point.

"Oh, no, just doing a favor for some visiting friends," he replies smoothly, still wearing the same pleasant smile. Which is a lie, of course, because actually the Lane-Kents are part of his secondary pack and "visiting friends" therefore in no way covers what they are to him. The Wayne pack is both his primary and his family pack, obviously, and the Justice League is a loosely-connected tertiary pack, but his secondary pack lacks both an official name and public recognition, because explaining to the public why Brucie Wayne's secondary pack is two award-winning reporters from Metropolis, a random museum curator in Gateway City, a decorated Navy SEAL, and occasionally a cat burglar with commitment issues is just not going to work out for anyone's secret identities.

And that even without counting how everyone knows about Lois Lane and Steve Trevor's respective very public connections to Superman and Wonder Woman, much less ever explaining anything about Selina. Bruce, meanwhile, still isn't sure how he ended up in a pack with any of these people. Clark and Diana definitely have a lot to answer for either way, though.

Mostly he blames Clark. Diana has more decorum. Clark is just . . . Clark, so now Bruce gets a scarf and cookies from Martha Kent every Christmas, never mind that he's technically Jewish, because God forbid he ever tells her that and she starts sending him Hanukkah presents instead. He cannot handle eight nights' worth of Martha Kent's colorfully-wrapped scarves and lovingly-packaged cookies. That's just not a thing he can do.

He doesn't even celebrate holidays, except when Dick cons him into it. Which admittedly he's been doing more often again the past few years, but–

This is off-topic, Bruce reminds himself, but then gets distracted as Carl cocks his head a little and frowns over something. Bruce instinctively wants to brace himself for trouble at the sight, because that frown actually very strongly reminds him of Clark's "what the hell weird and concerning thing did I just notice with my super-senses" frown, but A) Carl doesn't have super-senses and B) Bruce just heard the stairs creak, which means the actual Clark is finally on his way down to meet them. No one else in the manor would ever make the steps creak any way but deliberately except for Lois or Jon, and Jon is out on a walk with Damian and Titus while Lois is, again, currently stuck in Metropolis traffic. So: Clark, definitely.

Also Clark tends to make the stairs creak a lot louder than either Lois or Jon do, given the very notable size difference there.

"Has Alpha Lane authorized you to make decisions for his pup's care, Alpha Wayne?" Travers asks with another forced smile. Bruce is resolving to check specifically her background too, at this point.

"No, no, that won't be necessary, good ol' Clark's right here," he says, waving a hand dismissively. "It's his pup too, and he knows much more about ones this age than I do anyway."

"Yes, well, omegas tend to get a little . . . irrational about the idea of sharing their pups with a wet nurse," Travers says "politely", like she thinks she's stating a fact. Bruce would say something cheerful-sounding and subtly insulting back, typically, but Carl's frown is deepening and he looks a little bit . . . odd, maybe, or . . .

There's a strange little pup-call from the stairs, very quiet and echoing in unusual registers but still recognizably one all the same, and just as recognizably resigned-sounding. It's a pup-call that clearly expects to go unanswered, at this point, which is something that Bruce would like to never hear again in his life, given the option.

Though it's better than a pup who's given up on calling at all, he supposes.

He tries not to grimace at that thought, though he's sure Clark's grimacing enough for the both of them right now after hearing a call like that. The pup is starving, and they just can't feed him properly. At this point sending him back where he came from might be kinder.

Honestly, if Bruce didn't know exactly who his parents were, he might've already insisted on that.

It's just–

The pup calls again, even quieter. Travers looks perplexed.

"Er," she says. "I apologize, Alpha Wayne, but is the pup ill? We can't be around them if they are, it's against agency policy."

"Oh, the kiddo just sounds like that," Bruce replies dismissively, and then lies, "Vocal chord deformity, apparently. We're not sure what caused it, pediatrician thinks it's something genetic."

Well, it is genetic. Jon calls in exactly the same registers, and according to Martha and Jonathan so did Clark.

So it's genetic, yes. Just not a deformity.

Carl's expression looks–odd, still. Bruce isn't sure what to think of it, but it makes him a bit wary. A detachment disorder doesn't imply an actual negative reaction to the presence of a pup, obviously, but . . .

Clark steps into the parlor with Lor-Zod sitting on his hip, the pup no older than two or so and looking small and listless in his arms, his dark skin all washed out and his previously bright eyes gone dull and tired. When he first crash-landed in Metropolis in the rocket he'd been wrapped up inside, Clark said he'd popped out of it energetic and excited and clamoring for attention in toddler-level Kryptonian, but he's been slowly fading ever since, wasting away without the nutrients that they just can't provide him. He's probably only made it this long thanks to the sun.

Again, Bruce has no idea how the Kents ever fed Clark, though he was already at least three by the time they got him, which probably helped. A pup Lor's age is capable of eating solid food, obviously, but milk or formula is still a major part of a pup's diet until they're four or five, if not older, and the longer the better. Hell, most kids still at least semi-regularly nurse for as long as their dam can manage to stay milked up, or even until they present themselves. No one can wean a damn toddler and expect them to thrive.

Or even survive, in Lor's case.

Lor opens his mouth in another weak, resigned little pup-call, and Clark's own mouth tightens as he restrains himself from answering it and giving the pup false hope for milk he just doesn't have, and Bruce steels himself to–

Carl croons.

Travers startles. Bruce is . . . surprised, a bit. A detachment disorder doesn't really imply the kind of omega who'd croon at a pup they've never seen before in their life, after all.

It's an unusual and unpracticed croon, as if it's a sound Carl doesn't make very often, which Bruce supposes would make sense. Lor responds to it immediately, though, shifting weakly in Clark's arms and pup-calling again.

Carl, with absolutely no manners or decorum whatsoever, sweeps right past Travers and Bruce and Alfred and just plucks Lor straight out of Clark's arms. Which–forget the kid calling him "Wayne"; that's a damn etiquette breach. Hell, Clark probably only didn't take Carl's head off for snatching up his pup without permission because he's so clearly dumbfounded that he actually did it.

Bruce is slightly less dumbfounded due to having spent five seconds in the kid's presence, but still, what is he–

"Carly!" Travers chokes in horror. Carl very obviously doesn't even hear her and just starts purring at Lor and cuddling him close in a way that really doesn't even slightly imply "detachment disorder".

And then Bruce figures out what was "odd" about Carl's expression, before.

"Huh," he says, a little bemused. "Did he just go into feral drop?"

"Alpha Wayne, I assure you, this is not the Waterton Agency's standard of behavior!" Travers sputters, sounding even more horrified, and Clark just blinks and tilts his head.

"I think he did, yeah," he says, looking perplexed. Carl continues ignoring everyone in the room except for Lor and just purrs louder at him as they both nuzzle into each other. Lor makes more very distinctly Kryptonian pup-calls at him, and Carl croons back with no apparent concern over their strangeness, sounding absolutely goddamn enamored.

That is definitely not a detachment disorder, Bruce thinks. There is no possible way that an omega with a detachment disorder just went into full feral drop over a pup at first sight.

Or possibly first sound, he's realizing.

Bruce is perfectly aware that omegas can feral-bond with distressed pups whether they mean to or not, but he's never seen it happen this fast outside of a warzone or a natural disaster. He's heard hearsay and read studies about particularly compatible sets that have done it under less stressful circumstances, but distressed and starving pup or not, he wouldn't have even expected a human omega to be capable of bonding with a Kryptonian pup like that.

Or at all, frankly. Deliberately created and carefully cultivated pack bonds are one thing, but . . .

Lor chirps, the sound still a little quiet and fragile, a little weak, but also undeniably hopeful, and Carl gives him a low, rumbly purr in reply and yanks up his inconveniently-cut T-shirt to expose his chest with no trace of hesitation or modesty. He's already leaking sweetly-scented milk, already adjusting his grip on Lor to let the pup get at his chest as easily and comfortably as possible, and Lor latches without a moment's hesitation and immediately starts to nurse.

And then Lor purrs. Carl just watches him with undeniable adoration, still paying no attention whatsoever to anyone else in the room.

Alright, then, Bruce thinks carefully.

Well, that just happened.

"Thought you didn't like kids, Carl?" he inquires casually, putting on an easy grin, and Carl finally seems to come up enough to remember that the rest of them exist, though he still doesn't actually take his eyes off Lor.

"I would literally become a supervillain if this kid asked me to," he replies dreamily, keeping Lor cradled in one arm and tracing a finger down the pup's cheek with a soft, besotted expression that's unmistakable for what it is even with the sunglasses on. He looks like he might just burn down the world if someone tried to take Lor away from him right now, and his pheromones are so all-encompassing and so cloyingly sweet that Bruce genuinely might need to see a dentist after this.

"Well usually I'd say we keep Batman in the loop on that kind of thing around here, but if the kiddo asks, it only seems fair," he jokes with a laugh.

"I would drop-kick Batman off a roof for you," Carl informs Lor lovingly as he strokes his cheek again and then skims a fingertip along the little barely-visible scar splitting his eyebrow. Lor keeps purring sweetly and Alfred coughs to conceal a low chuckle. Clark looks a little pained to be watching one of his pups nurse from another omega so easily and eagerly, but his mouth quirks in amusement at the comment anyway. Bruce doesn't dignify any of them with a response, because he is an alpha with dignity and also is in no way threatened by a passing comment from a barely-presented kid who clearly isn't even combat-trained.

. . . although he also isn't going to be stupid enough to try coaxing Lor away from the omega he just feral-bonded with just yet either.

Then Tim walks by the doorway, takes one look at Carl with Lor, and trips over literally nothing and into a full faceplant on the foyer floor. Bruce pauses, then raises an eyebrow.

"Alright down there, Timmy?" he asks. Tim scrambles back to his feet, looking more genuinely mortified than he's ever seen him.

"Fine!" he blurts. "Fine. Everything's fine. All the things are fine. Uh. What? Who?"

"This is Carl," Bruce says, gesturing to the kid. "Wet nurse from the Waterton Agency. And his escort, Beta Travers. Carl, Beta Travers, this is my son, Tim Drake-Wayne. And also Clark Lane-Kent and his pup, Chris Lane-Kent, who I'm assuming you've figured out are your prospective clients."

"Yes, Alpha Wayne," Travers says with a grimace. "We gathered."

"Ngh," Tim says, looking at literally everything but Carl and Lor. His face is bright red, which is an unusual amount of embarrassment for him to be showing just over tripping. Typically he masks that kind of thing a lot more effectively. Bruce would almost think he was actually embarrassed by watching Carl feed Lor, but Tim's literally never been affected by anything but passing curiosity when seeing a pup nurse before, so that seems unlikely. And he's a male beta, if still an unpresented one, so it's not like he's got any reason to care all that much about it anyway.

So his reaction does seem a little odd, yes.

Hm.

"Chris," Carl coos adoringly down at Lor. Bruce is in no way stupid enough to think that he absorbed any of the rest of that introduction or has even noticed Tim's presence at all. He wouldn't even put money on him having noticed Clark's presence, in fact, except as a pup-delivery system. The kid is very clearly in love with the pup in his arms and doesn't give a damn about any of the rest of them at all.

Detachment disorder. Sure.

[mclennonlgbt]

Midas Man review (with spoilers!)

Yesterday I had the unique opportunity to watch a biopic about Brian Epstein. Although the film is currently only available in certain countries, @pauls1967moustache organized a watch party, which I joined. Thank you!!!

"Midas Man" has many advantages. The main one is the leading male role: Jacob Fortune-Lloyd did a great job. He perfectly portrayed Brian's complex personality. He was able to convincingly present both his uncertainty and tremors, as well as his perseverance in promoting the Beatles. Eppy said with full confidence that his boys would be bigger than Elvis - clearly he believed it deeply, even when higher-ups in the music industry laughed in his face. Fortune-Lloyd also convincingly played Brian's emotions related to his sexuality. On the one hand, Epstein did not want to run away from his nature, but on the other - he was well aware that sex between men was a crime and could expose him to blackmail. In one scene, Brian's parents pressure him to be more careful because revealing his sexual orientation in the newspapers could discredit the family business and end the careers of the Beatles and other artists he manages. Brian, filled with guilt, apologizes to his parents for "causing them pain." I have been following this thread with interest and I am glad that it has not been omitted or trivialized.

Unfortunately, the love story disappointed me. It was very cliché. Brian met someone he quickly began to care about. Tex did not reciprocate his feelings, he just wanted to have fun and benefit from Epstein's influence. Ultimately, he left without saying goodbye, stealing money and documents. I know the real Brian dated some shady guys, but it wasn't portrayed very convincingly in the movie. Perhaps Edward Speleers, the actor playing Tex, failed.

How did the Beatles fare? Not bad, but... nothing more. I must praise Blake Richardson, who played Paul - his facial expressions were very reminiscent of McCartney's. Blake was very authentic, I felt like I was looking at Paul. I also liked Wallace Campbell as Ringo. Unfortunately, the remaining Beatles were exaggerated. I'm thinking specifically about George (played by Leo Harvey Elledge). John, on the other hand, lacked depth. I had the impression that he was just a cheeky kid who thought he was entitled to everything. The young Lennon had a more complex personality. Besides, Jonah Lees who played him almost didn't look like him at all xD Speaking of which, the wigs looked terrible in most scenes. I guess there wasn't enough budget for it.

I was surprised (in a negative sense) by the complete omission of an important thread in the history of the Beatles: Brian's infatuation with John. Whether or not Lennon reciprocated the feeling, it was largely Epstein's motivation to pursue the band. When we jumped from 1963 to 1964 and there was no mention of the trip to Barcelona, ​​I was confused. Instead, the creators decided to focus on a fictional romance between Brian and Tex.

The advantage of the biopic is that viewers have the opportunity to meet other artists that Epstein managed. In one scene, Brian proudly introduces us to Billy J. Kramer, Tommy Quickly and... Cilla Black (Darci Shaw). Brian and Cilla's relationship is definitely one of the most touching and adorable elements of the entire film. It is clear that the singer is Epstein's favorite, and not only in professional terms. They are simply a pair of devoted friends. From what I understood, Cilla knew about Brian's orientation and fully accepted it.

"Midas Man" is a decent movie, better than I expected. However, these are not the heights of cinematography. I had the impression that Brian was presented somewhat sweetly, as a person without flaws (perhaps his family took part in consulting the script?). I think a rating of 7/10 would be fair.

[unluckyhoneybee]

and for sway? could you write for sway about dating a bi girl? She comes out to him after a couple of months of dating which leads him to a spiral of thoughts and insecurity

Note: first time writing for Sway!

Warnings: the ask says it all.

Jeremy kissed the top of your head and got up. You watched him walk in the kitchen and as soon as he was out of view you ran your hands over you hair in distress. Your nerves were eating you alive.

For the two months you had officially been dating Jeremy and the tien you had spent getting to know each other, you hadn't been able to talk with him about this huge part of yourself. It wasn't that you didn't trust him, but you had a couple of previous bad experiences and had grown extra cautious. Now that you knew there wasn't nothing to fear with him, you were trying to bring it up someway. Was it a film with your first girl crush a good opportunity?

"Hey" Jeremy fell next to you in the sofa and kissed your shoulder. "You are staying tonight, right?"

"Mhm" You kissed his cheek and leaned on his body.

Jeremy hadn't mentioned it, but he had noticed how you seemed more lost in your thoughts than normally.

"All good?" He hugged your shoulders and you sighed.

"Yeah"

He sighed too and moved you so you were looking at him. Then he grabbed your chin.

"C'mon" He playfully tapped your lips with his thumb. "I won't pressure you to talk, but I'm here if you want to. You love this film, YN. You haven't told me anything about Mr Darcy or Liz yet. About the hand scene, where are those giggles and feet kicking?"

You chuckled and moved a bit closer. You decided to go for a kiss first, your mind playing games and telling you maybe it was the last one.

"There is something" You made a pause "About the film, actually"

Jeremy brushed some hair out of your face. "Go on"

You took a deep breaths and then needed so much time to form the words that Jeremy's face fell slowly. His grin disappeared and instead he slowly frowned.

"YN..."

"I think I'm bisexual"

One, two, three, four, twenty seconds, thirty...

"Jeremy?" There it was. Ice cold expression and surprised eyes. You were ready for the fall. "Please say something"

Your voice, showing how scared you were, pulled him out of trance.

"Yeah, uh... You think?"

"I am. I am bisexual, Jeremy" You said with shaky voice.

"Oh" He licked his lips and ran the hand that wasn't keeping you close to him over his hair.

You felt your feelings raw. You felt really vulnerable.

"Oh? That's all" You cleared your throat and moved to sit straight but Jeremy thought you were leaving so he put his hand on your lower back.

"Wait, no, no" He cupped your cheek and made you look at him. "It's fine. I'm sorry I didn't react well. You caught me out of guard there"

You swallowed and leaned into his touch, which made him relax and smile.

"Just... What does it have to do with the film?" The funny tone on his voice made you chuckle.

"Uh... That's my first girl crush" You said pointing back.

"Keira?"

"Mhm. Can't blame a girl who grew watching Elisabeth Swan becoming the Pirate Queen, can you?"

Jeremy laughed loudly. "I can't, I can't. I see your vision in there"

You giggled and looked down at you hand on his chest. You fell in silence as Jeremy comforted you with his hand in your back. He caressed up and down as he observed your face.

"Are you feeling better now?"

You were tired, to be honest. "Yeah, kind of relaxed now. Took a weight off my shoulders"

Jeremy kissed your forehead.

"Don't need to worry about me, okay?"

"Yeah, I know. I trust you"

"Good"

You cupped his jaw. "and you? I understand if you need time"

"No! No, no. I'm fine. All good"

"Yeah? You don't mind I'm bi, for real? And don't make a threesome joke or I'll strangle you"

"Does it change something? Between us, I mean"

"Uh, no" You said. "I suppose. If you don't mind I also like girls, it doesn't change anything"

"I don't mind. It's just you, my girl, in the end."

You nodded with a smile and kissed his lips. "Thank you for telling me" He said when you pulled back. It was completely sincere. It felt so food to be trusted like this.

But that night, when you were already asleep and tightly grabbing onto his biceps, he laid there with his eyes open and running thoughts.

"So, YN is into girls too"

"Mhm" Jeremy nodded. "We talk during breakfast and when basically said that she is into more than just men. More than one genre"

"Okay" Linus nodded.

Jeremy respected you and your sexuality but was a mess with terms, so he asked you to explain stuff to him.

"What's the problem? Are you okay with it?"

"For sure, yeah" Jeremy nodded furiously. "I'm completely okay with her. I fell in love with YN for a reason"

"Cool then" Linus patted his shoulder. "But tell me te real problem, Sway"

Jeremy sighed. "I don't know why she told me just now. I mean, we know each other for a while, when started going out months ago and we have been a couple for two months"

Linus frowned.

"What if she has met someone?"

"Sway..."

"Ully, maybe she has met a girl. And she has told me now. Or maybe she is discovering things now. She said at first she thought she was. Maybe there is someone and she has a crush on them and she is doubting..."

Linus grabbed Sways shoulder. "Listen, you said she had a crush on the pirates of the Caribbean girl. That was what? 2005?"

"Yeah, around then"

"I don't think she has met anyone" Linus sighed. "Plus, you should ask her directly instead"

"I don't want to offend her"

"Sway, I think it's just that you are insecure"

Jeremy looked at his pads laying on the floor. Suddenly they were so interesting.

"Why would I?"

"This is knew for you. You really like this girl. You don't want to loose her. Easy"

Jeremy looked up again. "Why did she took so long then?"

"Ask her, Jeremy" Linus hugged his shoulders.

"Okay"

A couple of days later, when he arrived from the road trip, Jeremy drove directly to yours. He noticed a little bi flag bracelet in your wrist and smiled to himself.

"How was the flight?" You kissed his lips gently.

"Good"

"Go and get comfy, I'm making dinner"

"You are an angel." Jeremy kissed your cheek and moved to your bedroom.

You were happier and more smiley now that you didn't feel the need to hide from him and he liked that, but it was him now who seemed a bit lost.

"Now it's you." You said after dinner when you were clearing the kitchen. "I know that loss was hard but..."

"It's not the loss" He whispered.

You walked to him and hugged his waist. Jeremy laid back on the counter and grabbed your hips.

"Then?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah"

Jeremy swallowed the lump on his throat and then cupped your face.

"I don't want to offend you"

"Jeremy..."

"Why did you need so much time to tell me?" He asked. "I'm not throwing it at your face or anything but... Does it have to do with me?"

"Jeremy, honey..." You put a hand on your chest right over his heart. "It's not you"

He patiently waited for more.

"I've had a couple of bad experiences" You started slowly. "I told people who I was and they didn't react well, so since then I give myself time to make sure it's a safe space. And you are the safest I have felt with someone"

Jeremy moved his thumb over your cheek.

"I really love you, Jeremy." You said for the first time. "It's just that sometimes it's scary to be open like this. I know now that it would have been okay even if I told you sooner"

Jeremy felt a bit stupid. He leaned and kissed you deep and slow. You loved him.

"I really love you too, YN" He said with a huge smile.

"That's really cool, huh?"

"Super cool, yeah"

You both laughed and moved to press your foreheads together.

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Yeah. Just felt a bit insecure"

"About?"

"Why would you date me if you could date a girl?"

"Because you are Jeremy Swayman and give the best hugs ever, plus you are the sweetest and funniest guy I've met. And it has nothing to do with my sexuality. I met you and I liked you and then I fell in love with you. You make me extremely happy."

"Oh dear..." He kissed you deeply once more. "Linus wants to meet you. And I want you to meet him. I hope you don't mind I talked to him but I was a bit lost."

You chuckled. "The moment I told you I knew you would tell him, silly"

Jeremy laughed and pinched your but.

"I love you so much" He said.

"I love you too"

"Then? Dead man's chest?"

"Absolutely"

[adamnablelittledevil]

What did you think about that moment in chapter 24?! I'm dying to know!

(The part that starts "I looked down on Lestat, who was unchanged...")

Hey! I'm sorry I couldn't answer it immediately and you had to wait, but I wanted to give this a proper answer with all my thoughts, so I hope this was worthwile and and makes up for it. 😉🙃 Anyway, here we go… I already knew what was going to happen, so, I was counting the pages to finally get to the chapter. And when I did, man, it did not disappoint.

Obviously, that wasn't romantic, but it was such a meaningful, intimate, delicate and tender moment that it felt even more powerful to me. Yes, part of the reason Armand went there was to get answers and try to quiet the anguish in his heart, but most of it was genuinely love. Which is why he returns, approaches, touches and shows Lestat affection again, even after drinking his blood. And it speaks volumes how Armand had all the reasons to keep a safe distance and yet he didn't flinch or even hesitate. And not only he approached Lestat, but also touched him, multiple times, and kept getting bolder and bolder with those gestures and 'pushing his luck'. Whether Armand was willing to take the risk of Lestat having a negative/defensive reaction or knew he would allow it by mere instinct, this is a proof of how deep their bond goes and how far they have come in their relationship. And from Lestat's side as well, because Armand was the only person he gave his consent to get near at the time and that was a huge thing. It was overall a really big and turning point in their relationship. And it's one of my favorite Lesmand/The Vampire Armand/The Vampire Chronicles moments as a whole.

And as if it isn't enough that it's such a monumental event on its own, it's so poetic too. The fact it happens in a chapel, they are both silent, Armand's tear falls on Lestat's cheek… It's all about the aesthetics, the body language, facial expressions etc. The imagery is so delicate and beautiful. The wording is stunning as well. Specially for this line:

"I tried to keep my heart absolutely pure of pride and pure of anything but love. It was not differentiated or defined, this love, but only love […]"

This has become one of my favorite quotes ever, maybe even my ultimate favorite from The Vampire Chronicles. I absolutely love the idea of a love that can't be classified, nor separated in different boxes, but instead defies all definitions and simply transcends. And when she wanted to, Anne Rice knew how to execute the concept brilliantly on her books. She even knew how to elevate and still manage to make it better almost two decades later. When she went on Facebook to further elaborate on it from Lestat's point of view, it just made my heart ache in the best way. I mean, the screenshot below speaks for itself.

Plus, if the show does that in the future, in any shape or form, it would be incredible. I'm such a sucker for scenes that are more complicated and primarily rely on the talent/chemistry of the performers and the actors need to work twice, three times as hard to execute them. Silent, scenes where the actors don't touch, phonecalls where they can't look at or feed off of each other in any way… I like to call them 'raw scenes' and they're usually my favorite on any show/movie I watch, including Interview With the Vampire. I can see it being a mix of Aragorn taking care of Eowyn after she was wounded

and Lizzy and Mr. Darcy dancing,

filmed and edited in a way that makes the people around them disappear for a moment and slowly reappear at the end, just like the way Armand described how the situation felt here:

"There was no chapel then for me, or outraged sighs or reverential cries. I heard nothing, and yet knew what was all around. I knew it as if the substantial place was but a phantasm, for what was real was his blood."

I'm personally obsessed with that trick and find it so sophisticated and mind-blowing that it frustrates me how it's barely used? So, I always appreciate it whenever I see it. And I also just know that Assad would be phenomenal at that, because he's already been doing that kind of acting for two whole seasons now. I can see him being soft, gentle and even somewhat tragic and I just know the affection and pain in his eyes would kill me in the best possible way. I could even see it becoming part of my top 5 moments on the series, maybe even my number #1. Right now my favorite clips are the 1x01 church sequence, the 2x08 loustat reunion and armandiel's last scene on 2x05. However, considering how much I love this moment and pretty much all things lesmand, they can easily become just as big of an obsession, possibly even bigger in future seasons (they already are my #1 on the books). I mean, the scene they have alone already makes my heart skip several beats because the chemistry was magnetic and irresistible,

that eye contact was *INTENSE* and I felt the sparks all the way over here. Felt like I was witnessing something that I shouldn't lol, but I was happy to invade their privacy because it was simply mesmerizing.

Anywaaaay… Hopefully, that will happen on the show someday, even if the context and circumstances of it may differ. Still, regardless if they do a version of it or not, that will remain a wonderful part of the book and that gladly I will never move on from.

[lifeofpriya]

Hello love!

Because I am insane for this man now may I please request the “Kissing you, and then putting their hands around your neck to stay like that for the next seconds, minutes as you two get lost in each other.” prompt for our cutie Brit? 🩷 - @pyotrkochetkov

hi!!! i had a real blast writing this one and ughh, i just feel like Jack would be a wonderful wedding date 😩

A Little Spontaneous Romance

wc: 2.1k

"Jack, we need to get going, or otherwise, we'll be late for Lizzie's wedding," you reminded your boyfriend, peeking into the bathroom as he perfected his tie in the mirror. The room smelled faintly of his aftershave, something woody and expensive that always made you feel like you were standing in a forest glade. The sink was scattered with his toiletries, and a puddle of water had formed around the base of the tap. You stepped closer, taking in the sight of his broad shoulders, his muscles flexing as he tugged at the knot.

Jack turned to you with a smile that could melt glaciers, his eyes a mesmerizing shade of hazel that reminded you of the leaves that rustled outside your childhood home in the autumn. His hair was slightly damp, the ends curling just enough to give him that 'I woke up like this' look that you knew took him at least fifteen minutes to achieve. "Alright, love," he said, placing a gentle kiss on your forehead. "Let's not keep the happy couple waiting."

As you both walked out of the hotel room, the sun was just beginning to kiss the horizon, casting a warm glow over the city. The cobblestone streets of the old town were already bustling with life, the sound of laughter and distant chatter mixing with the faint notes of a street musician playing a saxophone. You felt Jack's hand in yours, his grip firm but comforting as you navigated the throngs of people making their way to the wedding venue. The anticipation of the day ahead filled you with excitement and a touch of nerves - Lizzie had been your best friend since childhood, and you were thrilled to be a part of her special day.

Jack looked over at you, the corner of his mouth tugging upwards into a smirk. "You know, I've never seen you so dressed up," he said, his eyes scanning your attire with appreciation. A gentle breeze ruffled your hair, and you felt a shiver run down your spine as Jack leaned in closer. "You look absolutely stunning," he whispered, his breath warm against your ear.

You blushed, looking down at the dress you'd chosen. It was a simple yet elegant number, the fabric shimmering slightly in the early morning light. You'd spent hours searching for the perfect shoes, finally settling on a pair of shoes that added a touch of sophistication to your outfit. "Thank you," you murmured, glancing up to find him studying you intently.

As you approached the grand archway that led to the wedding venue, the scent of fresh flowers grew stronger. The air was filled with the sweet aroma of roses and peonies, and you couldn't help but feel a sense of serenity wash over you. The venue was a picturesque rooftop garden, with greenery cascading down the walls and a stunning view of the city beyond. The chairs were arranged in neat rows, draped with ivory fabric that billowed gently in the breeze.

Jack squeezed your hand, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "This is going to be an amazing day," he said, his voice full of genuine warmth. You nodded in agreement, feeling a swell of happiness for Lizzie and her soon-to-be husband, Darcy. The two of them had been through so much together, and you were thrilled that they had found their way to this moment.

As you entered the venue, you couldn't help but notice the way the light danced across the surface of the crystal chandeliers hanging from the canopy above. They cast a soft, romantic glow over the space, making everything seem ethereal and magical. The string quartet played a soft melody that resonated with the air around you, setting the tone for the celebration to come.

Jack looked around, his eyes wide with wonder. "This place is unreal," he murmured, his voice filled with awe. You nodded, squeezing his hand tighter. It was unlike any wedding venue you had ever seen, a perfect blend of nature and opulence that reflected Lizzie's unique style.

As you made your way to your seats, you felt a rush of excitement mixed with nerves. You had been helping Lizzie plan this day for months, and now it was finally here. You had never seen Jack so dressed up either, in a tailored suit that hugged his athletic frame, making him look every inch the dashing tennis star he was. His tie was a deep shade of blue that matched the color of the sky above, and his shoes were so polished you could see your reflection in them.

The music grew louder as the bridesmaids began their procession, their dresses fluttering in the breeze like petals on a summer's day. Lizzie looked stunning in a gown that made her look like a modern-day princess, her eyes sparkling with joy as she made her way towards Darcy, who was standing at the altar, looking as though he couldn't believe his luck. You watched as they exchanged vows, their love for each other palpable in the air, making it thick and warm around you.

As the ceremony concluded and the newlyweds shared their first kiss, the crowd erupted into applause. You turned to Jack, whose gaze was fixed on the couple, a soft smile playing on his lips. He leaned in, his eyes finding yours, and for a moment, the world around you seemed to fade away.

The reception was a whirlwind of laughter and dancing, the air thick with the scent of champagne and the sound of clinking glasses. You and Jack mingled with the guests, chatting and sipping on drinks, but your thoughts kept drifting back to how unbelievably handsome your boyfriend looked in his suit. His strong arms were wrapped around you as you swayed to the rhythm of a slow song, the fabric of his jacket feeling smooth against your bare shoulders.

The sun had set, and the twinkling lights strung up around the venue created a romantic atmosphere that seemed to beckon you closer to him. His hazel eyes searched yours, and you felt the warmth of his breath against your skin as he leaned in to whisper something in your ear. You couldn't make out the words over the music, but the sentiment was clear: he was as smitten with you as you were with him.

As the night progressed, Jack grew more and more relaxed, his movements fluid and graceful as he danced. You watched him, unable to take your eyes off of him, feeling a mix of pride and desire. He was truly in his element, the charming, charismatic man that had stolen your heart on the tennis courts and never let it go.

But then, something changed. The music grew softer, the lights dimmer, and the air between you two seemed to crackle with an intensity that was almost tangible. You found yourselves standing in a quiet corner of the rooftop garden, the sounds of the party muffled by the dense foliage that surrounded you.

Jack looked at you, his gaze unwavering, and before he could say a word, you leaned in and kissed him. The kiss was tender, yet filled with a passion that had been simmering just beneath the surface of your relationship. His arms encircled your waist, pulling you closer, as if he was afraid that if he let go, you would vanish like a mirage in the desert heat. The world around you ceased to exist, and all that mattered was the feel of his lips on yours, the beat of his heart echoing in your chest.

You moved your hands up to Jack's neck, feeling the steady throb of his pulse beneath your fingertips. The kiss grew deeper, more urgent, as if you were trying to convey every unspoken word, every unvoiced emotion, through the simple act of pressing your mouth to his. His hands slipped from your waist to cup your cheeks, his thumbs gently caressing the soft skin beneath your eyes. The warmth of his palms sent a shiver down your spine, and you realized that you had never felt more alive than you did in this moment.

As the kiss lingered, you felt the tension in your body melt away, leaving only the sensation of Jack's firm grip and the heat of his touch. Time seemed to stand still, the only indication of its passing the soft rustle of leaves in the wind. You were lost in the moment, lost in the feel of him, lost in the realization of just how much he meant to you.

When you finally pulled away, you were both panting slightly, your cheeks flushed and eyes wide with surprise and desire. "I've wanted to do that all night," you confessed, your voice barely above a whisper. Jack's eyes searched yours, a mix of confusion and something else - something deeper, something that made your stomach flip.

He leaned in again, this time with a more urgent need. His kiss was fiercer, more demanding, as if he were trying to claim you in that very instant. Your hands tightened around his neck, your nails digging slightly into his skin. The world around you faded away once more, replaced by the sound of your beating hearts and the soft caress of the evening air.

Jack's hands moved to the small of your back, pressing you closer to him, your bodies fitting together like two pieces of a puzzle that had finally found their place. The music swelled around you, a cacophony of sound that seemed to be playing just for the two of you.

You could feel his heart racing, echoing the tempo of the music, as your chests rose and fell in sync. The world outside the confines of your embrace was a blur of colors and shapes, a distant reality that couldn't compare to the intimacy you shared.

You couldn't help but wonder if anyone had noticed the two of you in the secluded corner, but the truth was, you didn't care. The connection between you was magnetic, drawing you closer with each passing second. Your breaths melded into one as the kiss grew more intense, your bodies swaying to the rhythm of the music that played softly in the background.

Reluctantly pulling away from the kiss to catch your breath, you looked into Jack's eyes, which had darkened with passion. The music swirled around you, a symphony of love and longing that seemed to be playing just for the two of you. His thumb traced the curve of your cheek, and you leaned into his touch, feeling the roughness of his skin against yours.

"That was…wow," Jack murmured, his voice hoarse with emotion. He was usually well-spoken and eloquent with his words, but in this moment, he seemed to have been rendered speechless by the intensity of your kiss. The look in his eyes was one of pure amazement, as if he couldn't believe what had just happened between the two of you.

"You weren't expecting that, were you, Draper?" You teased, a smug smile playing on your lips.

Jack chuckled, the sound rumbling in his chest, his hands still lingering around your neck. "No, I wasn't," he admitted, his voice low and husky. "But I'm not complaining."

The sound of distant laughter and clinking glasses brought you back to reality. You were at Lizzie's wedding, in the middle of a crowded reception, and you had just shared a kiss that could have set the whole venue on fire. You felt a warm blush spread across your cheeks, but instead of pulling away, Jack leaned in closer, his forehead resting against yours.

"What? Can't I surprise my boyfriend with a little spontaneous romance?" You quipped, your voice filled with mirth.

Jack's grin grew wider, his eyes never leaving yours. "You always know how to catch me off guard," he said, his voice filled with affection. "But I like it."

You both took a moment to breathe in the cool evening air, your hearts slowly returning to their normal rhythm. The scent of the garden's blooming flowers wafted around you, mixing with the faint scent of Jack's cologne. It was a heady combination that made you feel light-headed and intoxicated.

"We should probably get back to the party," you murmured, not wanting to break the spell that had been cast over you.

Jack nodded, but his arms didn't move from around you. "In a minute," he whispered, his breath warm against your skin. He kissed you again, more gently this time, as if he was savoring the taste of you. The world around you faded away once more, leaving only the sound of your hearts beating together.

[bethanydelleman]

Wow, I really enjoyed your Darcy list. Can you do a Lizzy list too?

If I must. Darcy List.

To be honest, I think Elizabeth has been portrayed a bit better than Mr. Darcy. I find that different adaptations play up different but often not incorrect aspects of her character. However, unsurprisingly, my favourite is:

#1. Celia Bannerman, 1967 BBC miniseries. The thing that totally sold me on her is when she says the line about understanding Bingley perfectly, she does this very cute wink. I think they really captured the playfullness of her manners. She was also 23 years old, which is very close to Elizabeth's real age.

#2. Elizabeth Garvie, 1980 BBC miniseries. This one also struck my with Elizabeth's joyfulness. Also, she's less hot than Jane, which is very important to me.

#3. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Bride & Prejudice film. I love the way she's not afraid of Darcy, the way she supports Jane, she also seems joyful, and her embarrassment with her family is also good. I think they might play up a kind of activist rage that isn't so much in line with Book!Elizabeth but it makes sense in a modern context.

#4. Greer Garson in the 1940 film. The way the women float in this adaptation! We do not walk like that anymore! This adaptation played up the witty banter aspect and Elizabeth's ability to make very subtle insults. She was also so graceful.

#5. Jennifer Ehle, 1995 BBC miniseries. I find her too serious for the role to be honest, but I think they capture her thoughtfulness well. I don't get that "easy playfullness" from her which is, in my opinion, Elizabeth's most captivating feature.

#6. Keira Knightley 2005 film. This adaptation also plays up Elizabeth's rage, though she does have some fun light moments, but the biggest problem is her styling as a tomboy. This is not accurate at all. Also, Elizabeth Bennet would never wander randomly through Pemberley and peek through doorways, she felt so awkward being there in the first place!

Honourable Mention: Lily James in Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, look, whatever else you want to say about this Elizabeth, she should be able to sword fight Darcy during his horrible proposal. I thank the movie that gave us that.

(The Lost in Austen idiot doesn't count as Elizabeth, so she's not included.)

[dragonfly0808]

The Trix’s Fates

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE END OF SEASON 3 AND WHAT HAPPENS TO THE TRIX

Well well well… I’ve got some explaining to do.

I knew from very early on that I wanted the Trix to have a tragic ending, with one of them dying, one of them going crazy and one of them just being utterly defeated at the loss of the other two. After some debating, I pretty quickly knew who would end up with which fate.

So… I’ll go by parts, going from oldest to youngest, starting with:

Icy

Icy is the one who goes crazy, losing her mind.

I chose her for this since she’s the leader and the oldest, and losing one of her sisters leads her to fully going off the deep end, she goes too far, gets in too deep.

At the beginning of her story, Icy is very controlled, very paicient and has a full plan. She’s crafty, resourceful and has a family history with dark magic and the dragon flame.

But what sets her off the road is no longer fully being in control due to being out of balance after losing a sister and no longer caring about what happens to her. She has no real end-plan, she has no real goal other than to get back at the Winx and hurt them as much as she can. She was no longer interested in the Ancestral Witches until her plan of collapsing Andros was thwarted.

Icy has a lot of warnings, the very first being when Darcy decides to leave, refusing to stay and watch Icy get herself killed. Instead of letting go and running away like Darcy begs her to do, Icy chooses revenge.

She goes to her home planet, her uncle tries to dissuade her, to warn her of the dangers of the magic that has taken the lives of too many family members, she kills him in order to access that same magic.

She has chances to stop, but she chooses revenge, she feels like she has no other purpose, no other road to take other than to finish what she started the very first time she attacked Bloom.

Icy goes crazy and loses control because it’s the complete opposite of who she was when the story started, she loses everything, included herself.

She choses revenge, choses to continue her family’s mistakes, choses to take the risk of awakening the Ancestral Witches but in the end, she loses it all to those very choices.

Stormy

I went a bit deeper into Stormy’s fate in another post but I chose Stormy to be the one who dies to show her being a bit of a self-fullfiling prophecy, her rage, the very thing that often gives her an edge in battle and helps her in her power to become stronger, is the very thing that kills her.

I chose Stormy to be the one killed also because I had very specific storylines in mind for Darcy and Icy but as for Stormy I just felt like dying would actually be the most interesting, unexpected thing I could do with her.

I thought it could be a very tragic thing to see Stormy, who we know to be fearless and brash and impulsive… die due to a mistake, die in fear of something that she created.

In case you somehow haven’t noticed, I love angst

Darcy

Darcy is the last one standing… well… ‘standing’. I thought that my version of Darcy would be the most devastated to be left alone.

Darcy in my rewrite, has never really been alone. At first she had her brother, then she had Riven, then she had the Trix.

She’s the youngest, the one that they want to protect the most.

To her, being alone is truly the worst case scenario, which is why I chose her to have that fate cause I am cruel. Darcy herself tells Riven in their final goodbye that she’s not used to being alone and that she isn’t good at it.

She gives up. A big part of her dies with her sisters and she turns her back to the ideas of revenge and dark magic.

She was always the ‘lesser evil’ of the Trix, which I feel makes it even more tragic that she ends up so very alone.

Darcy is betrayed once by her brother, being left alone, then she betrays Riven, leaving him on his own, and in the end, Stormy is killed and, seeing Icy is heading down a road that will end in death or worse, Darcy can’t bring herself to watch, to keep going.

————

The reason why I wanted to overall make the Trix’s fates so drastic and tragic was for 2 main reasons.

First off, as a contrast. We see the Winx keep growing and becoming more powerful, while the Trix, as a commenter once said, peaked in high school and have just been going downhill, not truly developing their power after becoming convinced they were at the top of their game in s1.

The second was to show consequences and how high the stakes were for s3. To go all in with the angst and show how, the very first villains of Veiled Wings are destroyed by s3, while our heroes are very much affected and nearly destroyed by s3, but manage to prevail.

[romanoffsbish]

Mind Games

Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader

Darcy x F!R (if you squint)

Prompts

"Please...say something." (26)

Warnings: Gaslighting, Trauma, Jealousy, Fighting. (Happy ending tho)

18+ | Minors DNI | Alluded to SMUT

Natasha was pacing around the expanse of the common room, you'd just uttered the words that held the power necessary to break her. There was no denying Natasha and you were in love, but somehow it is all the woman ever did. After every hookup she'd reiterate that you and her were just helping one another manage your stress, but then she'd ask you in a whisper to stay, and you always did, because deep down this relationship meant more to both of you.

The team knew, and they were all actually rooting for you, Tony even called you his OTP. Natasha would roll her eyes, deny the claims, then fuck you so good that night you let it go. This went on for two years, the both of you were basically inseparable; until you were.

—————

This last month you'd mistakenly said it, those three words that she conveyed with a lingering kiss came out of your mouth like word vomit. Everything changed, she stopped answering your texts, switched out from being your mission partner, and even flirted with others on the team to make her point to you crystal clear that this whole shebang wasn't real.

Except it was real, that was the problem, the woman spent her whole life living in fables. Every night a new persona, a new mark to hit, nothing ever stayed the same for long with her. Change was ironically her only constant, so to suddenly have this beautiful, bubbly woman taking the space of the cobwebs in her heart was foreign. Not necessarily unwelcome, but for the time being it felt that way to her, and now her tactics to keep you at arms length worked, but fuck if she wasn't regretting it all now that you were willingly moving on.

Her eyes stung with the tears she'd been holding in since the night you walked out of her room, and she pushed you out of her life. She felt like she couldn't breathe, as if the walls were truly closing in on her, and trapping her in with her pain. As she'd watched you head off to get ready for your date, without even sparing her a glance, she knew she was losing you.

Fear still held her tightly in it's grasp, but you were more than worth the risk of venturing into the unknown, because truth be told she's already fallen, and she didn't take a parachute. Without you there to catch her, she'd likely crash and burn, as she honestly deserved. However, she wasn't one to give up easily; if this was truly her last chance she'd take it, and most importantly she wouldn't squander it.

"What are you waiting for?," Tony snapped at the still woman, and Natasha shook her head to bring herself back to the moment., "Go!," he instructed, then as if she were a mindless robot her legs moved her out of the room, and up many flights of stairs to get to you, arriving just in time as you exited your room in a stride.

The woman was already winded from the trek up, but once she saw you in that dress, you genuinely took her remaining breath away. She'd grown so used to seeing you in your mission suits, and lazy day sweats that she'd forgotten just how good you looked in a full on get up. Not that you were not pretty enough otherwise, because you were, but this specialty look really accentuated your natural beauty.

Natasha was so enamored by said beauty that she narrowly missed her window to stop you. The familiar dinging of the elevator pulled her from her stupor though, and with all the speed in the world she made it through the closing doors before you could safely descend in peace. The redhead cringed at your cold demeanor as she brought her eyes up to look into yours, but with the sudden drop of the machine she was aware she was on borrowed time., "Y/N..."

"Save it Natasha.," the bite in your tone was so out of character for you, it truly shattered her heart to know that she'd hurt you this badly., "Y/N, please..," she was desperate to explain herself, to tell you she was ready to love you how you truly deserved, but the valid anger was rolling right off you as you shouted., "No!"

"I fucking need you to listen to me, please!," Natasha yanked on the emergency button as she saw you staring in relief at the single digit numbers., "Natasha, what the actual fuck?!," she simply shrugged at your angered words, then she swiftly grabbed your outstretched hands, twisting you about until your arms were crossed over your body, and your back was slammed into the elevator wall., "Natasha..."

"Stop being so stubborn Y/N, and let me talk.," she shut your attempted warning down, and in a moment of calm before the storm you nod, far too curious to see where she's going with this elevator ambushing to not., "Thank you."

"I-.," she paused as she finally met your eyes, this is the closest she'd been to you in over a month, and that knowledge nearly causes her to crumble. The woodsy smell of your cologne, her favorite from your vast collection, hits her nostrils and tears brim in her eyes at all the associated memories that come with the scent., "Nat?," you were rightfully furious, but that didn't mean seeing her on the verge of tears didn't hurt you just the same., "What is it?"

"Please, don't go out with them...," her words are hardly even a whisper, but the closeness of her face to yours allows you audibility, and the settled anger brews with a renewed passion., "You can't be fucking serious right now Nat, you have no right to ask such a thing!," it hurt to see her flinch at your unfamiliar tone, but fuck if it didn't also feel good to air it all out.

"You're the one who ended this, actually no, you fucking iced me out like I was nothing to you, I was just a hole for you to fill until it got too fucking real for you.," your harsh words truly upset the redhead, because never in this entire time had she sought out to use you. Sure, she might've recently reacted adversely with all of her baseless flirting with others, but up until she got freaked out, she'd been only yours. She'd never even so much as looked at another person; how could she when you were always stood in the same room for her to gawk at?

Natasha watched with a blank stare as you suddenly made limited hand gestures before continuing on., "This was nothing, now move out of my way.," you attempted to shove her off, but she slammed you back into the cooled metal, causing you to involuntarily huff., "I said listen to me, not to speak out of turn.," you glared at her attempts at dominance, but you reluctantly gave into her as her hold tightened.

"This.," she dropped her hold on your hands to convey your message more clearly, her pointer finger pressing into your chest before her own., "Was far from nothing, and you know that!," she took in another shaky breath, hearing you say what you did really left her feeling broken. The anger you felt was valid, she even knew she deserved to be shamed, but that didn't stop the feelings of insecurity and pain from festering; holding onto her tattered heart without mercy.

"It was stupid, icing you out, but it happened. There's no undoing the past, no one knows that better than me Y/N, but fuck, hearing you talk about your date awoke something within me.," the truth in her gorgeous green eyes was far too overwhelming for you so you dropped her gaze, but she quickly remedied that by lifting your face back up so she could look into your eyes., "I already knew it was love when I couldn't fathom sleeping alone after having the pleasure of your warm body up against mine, and I can't go on another day pretending it's not all that I want or need, because I fucking need you Y/N."

The confession was all you'd ever wanted from her, the truth you'd always felt in her lingering touches, but were never likely going to hear. Finally hearing it though was bittersweet, to have needed some adverse cause to leave her lips made it hard to appreciate the sentiment. It left you at a loss for words, and Natasha even more desperate., "Please...say something."

"I-.," your lip began to tremble, the words you wanted to say hanging in the thick air as you lost all of your resolve. Crying for the first time really since that first night when you initially cried yourself to sleep; being angry was easier, but now, with her looking at you so tenderly, it was all you could do to breakdown before her., "I'm so sorry, I-I—fuck I can't believe I hurt you like this, please forgive me detka, please."

Natasha pulled your trembling body into her own, guiding your face into her neck, and she felt a bit better when you desperately wrapped your arms around her waist to pull her closer., "I'll do anything you need moya lyubov'.," she whispered, placing a shaky kiss to your temple, "I love you more than my access to words can explain, I need you more than Tony needs his Whiskey, or more than Steve needs an enema."

"Natasha, for the love of God.," you groaned at the mental image now flashing in your mind, but the lighthearted tone made her heart calm., "What? You always say he needs to pull the stick out of his pompous ass, I'm agreeing.," you giggled as she offered further explanation, then after a few short moments of that it was back to the tense silence, but she still felt relief as you hadn't shoved her away from you yet.

"Natasha?," she tensed at the use of her full name, but she pulled back slightly to face you, and the daunting symphony of her mistakes., "Yes detka?," you melted into her hands as they held your face so softly, even more so as she used the familiar Russian pet name for you., "What took you so damn long? Why couldn't you love me back then too? Why only now?"

The redhead sighed, but it didn't stop the sound of her heartbeat pounding in her ears., "I've never been good with consistency Y/N/N. All I've ever know was constant change, and how to hurt the people I was meant to love.," hearing her own words led to tears falling as she recalled Yelena, the first person who'd been broken by her selfishness, then she remembers her sisters forgiveness, and this all starts to feel a whole lot less intimidating for her.

"Please, do understand that just because I never said it before, that I've still loved you all along.," her rough thumb brushed away your steady stream of tears, while she continued telling you her truths., "I've needed you from the very beginning, it was an instantaneous feeling, I'd never experienced it before, and it scared me so much that it was now my truth."

"I've never needed anyone before, but when I lost you it was like everything around me was dulled.," her eyes matched her sentiment as you gazed into them, the light all but gone., "The warmth of the sun turned frigid with everyday I woke up without you by my side.," she shivered as if remembering the way it felt., "Coffee became bitter without your laughter filling the kitchen in the morning to sweeten it up as we ate our differing breakfast together.," you instantly smiled, remembering how she ate her boring toast and oatmeal with a black coffee, all while taunting you for using all the creamer in the place, essentially "tainting" the coffee, and your dental health as you usually coupled it with sugary cereals or confections.

"Nothing work's right without you Y/N, I'm bombing all my missions, I am not sleeping much or eating, I am unable to even think about anything else but how I hurt you.," she leaned her forehead to yours., "I'm in love with you, wholeheartedly so, and I will do whatever it takes to win you back Y/N. All I ask is that you don't see her tonight, cancel the date, and accompany me up to the rooftop instead."

Natasha pushed the emergency button back into the slot, falling into you briefly as the machine jolted, and in a moment of weakness both of your lips collided for a short embrace. Once the doors dinged the redhead pulled away from you, making quick steps to get to the exit., "Please consider it, I know I don’t deserve to be forgiven, but I'll be waiting up there until eight just in case Y/N.," and before you could even so much as think, let alone respond, she was gone, much like she'd been all month long.

The doors closed as your body didn't move to leave the elevator, instead you slid down the wall of it while tears fell down your cheeks., "Friday, take me back up to my room please.”

As soon as you entered your safe space you fell into the bed, screaming loudly as you thrashed. On the one hand, your heart only beat for that infuriating woman, but on the other hand you never know if it could beat for another if you had no choice but to move on. Except, you no longer found yourself forced to move on, all you’ve ever wanted was waiting on the rooftop, so you’re not sure why you couldn’t move.

The clock beside your bed read 7:45pm when you finally glanced on over at it, both of your offers for the night expired at 8pm, and so you got off the bed, fixed yourself up at the vanity, and once again entered the elevator, shakily telling Friday to take you to the desired floor.

When you made your way to the common room you saw Darcy looking a little hopeless, and it all faded away when she looked up at your face. A bright smile adorned her face now that you’d arrived, but she failed to see your sad gaze., “I’d thought we were going to miss the movie, but I think we’ll still make it if we leave now.,” her hand reached for yours, but when you were hesitant to grab hers she already knew., “Oh.”

“Darcy, I’m so sorry.,” she gently squeezed your hand while smiling at you., “Hey, don’t do that, I knew what I was up against when I asked you out, and I still tried because you’re worth it.,” she pulled you into her arms for a hug., “I’m just happy to know Romanoff finally figured that out, but don’t make it too easy for her either.,” she pulled away, chuckling along with you., “Wouldn’t dream of it.,” you two shared one more squeezing of your hands before she left out the door, and you made your way to the elevators to see about mending the past.

Natasha sat on the decorated floating bed with her head in her hands, the clock having already surpassed eight about fifteen minutes ago, and her body deflated with each minute that went. Pain began to gnaw at her chest once more, and the sobs she desperately tried to fight off came tumbling passed her trembling lips. It wasn’t anyone else’s fault but her own that you chose the likely safer bet of moving on, still she was cursing the gorgeous scientists name as her body shook so violently that the ding of the elevator went completely unnoticed by her.

Though she’s a spy, she failed to see you at all, so she gasped when two hands adorned with silver rings settled over her thighs, looking up with red eyes, and a torn up lip she saw you. Her hands reached out to ensure you were real, and not just her fucked up mind playing tricks on her, and when you settled your warms hands over her frigid ones she knew it was you., “Y-you came? What about Darcy?”

“Darcy’s amazing—truly, and she’s got never breaking my heart on her side.,” you noted the obvious and the woman bowed her head in shame., “But my God Nat, your touch alone ignites something within me that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to find elsewhere.,” you took her hands off your face, maneuvering them until they were on your hips as you moved to straddle the woman on the floating bed.

“You’re like my soulmate or something Natty, I’d never believed in that kind of thing before this, but now I know it’s not only a fairytale.,” your fingers lifted her face up to meet yours, her emeralds glossed over in pain, but still as beautiful as ever as you gazed right into them., “I love you Natasha, with all my heart.,” her lip caught between her teeth to hold back a sob., “More importantly though, I forgive you.”

Natasha couldn’t bare it, your forgiveness was not deserved, but she was incredibly grateful. Her arms were tight as they wrapped around your waist to keep you close, and she began to whisper that same tired phrase., “I love you.,” over and over again. Increasingly afraid that if she didn’t say it, like all the times before, that you’d leave her alone in her deserved misery.

“Don’t say another word.,” you cut her off with your lips slamming to hers while you pushed her into the mattress., “Show me instead…,” Natasha wasted no time as she flipped you over, pressing you into the firm mattress, your reality soon began to blur as you were made to gaze up at the stars. The woman who owned your heart did as told, using her hands she loved you as she always should’ve, your mind slipping away from you as she never slowed down, you began to see beautiful constellations of your very own making as you closed your eyes, and gave Natasha all of you—for good.

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3,063 Words

❤️ Kaitlyn 😳

[lokisprettygirl]

Under his influence (Post Avengers! Loki x female reader)

Read chapter 17 here // Series Masterlist

Chapter 18

Summary : You visit NYC for Jane's birthday where you bump into the love of your life again.

Warning: mention of sex, mention of periods, heartbreak and angst, talk of murder and kidnapping, mention of psychological torture, angst, insecurities, self deprecating behaviour, panic attack, best friends to lovers who are also bestest of friends to just best friends to possibly lovers as well as best friends again, Melissa is mentioned

"What should I be wearing?" You asked Jane and she started to ramble on excitedly. You had to leave first thing in the morning for NYC. First thing first you were glad to travel the distance with an actual flight this time instead of Thor's Mobonil. It would be a hassle but at least the chances of a sudden heart attack risk would remain low.

You tried so hard to convince Jane that that you won't be able to come because it's been just two months since that night when Loki and you had decided to continue this relationship platonically and it's been three weeks since you have seen him last. Avengers were on a mission, something about a certain winter soldier, you didn't understand much when Loki was telling you about it. He wasn't your boyfriend and considering how busy he was with his new job as an Avenger, you didn't want to continue to pester him with every little thing that you wanted to share with him.

Everyday you woke up with a heavy heart knowing that your friendship with Loki would eventually fade with time and he'd drift apart. A week ago Loki had arranged a press conference to come out with the truth about Melissa and the whole farce. The response was her filing a FIR against him for domestic abuse but Loki was able to get away because the Avengers refuted any such claims. He was surprised he had their support, their attitude regarding him was starting to change, some people were shocked over the break up and you still remembered when he was asked about whether the story of him ending up in a woman's apartment was true or not, he looked right into the camera as if he was trying to deliver a secret message to you and said that everything was true and it was real for him and being cooped up in your apartment was the happiest he had ever felt in his life.

You were still in love with him and you wished for him to feel the same but deep down you knew you weren't anything special, you saw several pictures of Loki where he was surrounded by a herd of men and women alike, he wasn't really doing anything with any of them, he didn't even seem to flirt, he was just talking but those pictures were still scandalized because an Asgardian god was single and everyone seemed eager to try their luck with him.

A week ago you had called him after that video of him preventing a whole skyscraper from collapsing went viral all around the world, while he did that the Avengers were able to get everyone out safely. It was truly magnificent but the longer you stayed away from him the more phantomic he became for you, you started to see him the way everyone else was seeing him and it wasn't that much of a shock that he was being lusted after so blatantly by everyone around him and you knew one of these days someone will catch his eyes and he'd give into those feelings and then he won't even be your friend.

No woman would ever want her man to be friends with his ex this way, especially a man like him, you'd be just another stranger for him. It's been six days since you had heard anything from him and it was starting to bother you alot.

You wiped your tears before you got up and decided to pack a little something for the trip. You'd leave tomorrow but you still didn't have any idea where you were going to stay, the day after her birthday Jane wanted to go sightseeing in New York City, then you'll return the next day.

She had just moved in the Avengers towards with Thor and her assistant Darcy, she was also an astrophysicist, you noticed her chatting up with Loki in one of the Instagram videos Jane had uploaded. Of course the focus wasn't on them but like an obsessed creep you downloaded the video, zoomed in and found them in the corner just talking and laughing with each other, you cried all night after that because you felt absolutely pathetic and scared about this development. He hadn't told you anything about her yet.

She was beautiful, funny and intelligent and she didn't seem to have a crappy personality like Melisaa so you couldn't even hate her. What else a man like Loki would ever need from a woman?

Did he even know you were coming there? You didn't tell him and he didn't ask either, maybe Jane hadn't told him yet. You felt nervous, your anxiety was over the roof, you knew there would be several high profile personalities there and you barely knew just three of them.

"Okay she's coming, now all we need to do is to hide her from him until the party" Jane said to Thor so he smiled.

"Oh that won't be a problem, I will take Loki somewhere"

Thor didn't know the full extent of what had transpired between you and Loki but it had something to do with the attack on Melissa. He did feel though that both of you were being really foolish about this situation.

He stepped out of his room to find Loki and located him in the living space along with Darcy, they were having a conversation about the alignment of the stars that he wasn't interested in participating in.

"Brother tomorrow you and me shall go see that statue everybody keeps hollering about" Thor told him so loki furrowed his brows,

"Really? It's Lady Jane's birthday. You wouldn't want to be here with her instead?" Thor gulped as Loki questioned him "Besides Darcy is taking me to the mall to buy presents for her" he said so Thor breathed in relief, he just wanted him out of the tower anyhow.

"Aren't you worried about being seen with a mortal again?" Thor questioned again so Loki smiled and waved his fingers, in a moment Loki and Darcy were turned into different people who had no resemblance to any of their real self whatsoever.

"Should I worry now?" Loki chuckled as he questioned.

"I suppose not"

The next day you woke up early in the morning to reach the airport on time, it took approximately three hours to reach NYC and it was around 2 pm when you landed, you called Jane immediately and she told you that there was a car waiting to pick you up so you found the person, hopped in and it took you straight to the Avengers tower, you kept your eyes on the road just enjoying the sight, you had never been to NYC before.

As you reached the tower, you were scanned and your belongings were checked carefully before they allowed you to enter. The place was huge and your anxiety was only bubbling more and more. When you reached the 18th floor Jane was waiting for you, she immediately pulled you in a hug and that's when you were able to calm down, even if just a little, Thor approached you as well and he grabbed the back of your hand to place a formal kiss. You wished her happy birthday and you could tell she was so happy, she was turning thirty and you couldn't help but feel envious about her accomplishments in life, you both were almost the same age and while she was on top of the world you had nothing going on for you.

"So ummmm where's Loki?" You asked them so they looked at each other.

"I think he's away with Darcy, they had to buy presents for Jane" Thor answered you and Jane grinned like a cheshire cat.

"I'm getting presents?" She asked him so he kissed her softly,

"Of Course you are, it's your birthday my beloved" you stood there awkwardly at the interaction, just the thought of Loki not being here and worse him being out there with Darcy was enough to make your heart sink again but before you could sulk in self pity Jane grabbed your arm and took you to a room on the same floor, you passed by Loki's room and your heart clenched again.

"Ummm Jane, is this dress good enough for the party? Or I can go buy something if it's not, this is the fanciest thing i had in my closet" you pulled out a dress from your luggage, it was a black fit and flare sort of dress with once inch wider straps. The hem of the dress was flared and it gave it a sexy but elegant look. Though your elegance probably wasn't up to their standards so you just wanted to ask for her opinion first, she invited you, the last thing you wanted was for her to be embarrassed of you in front of everyone. You were so nervous to be in the same room as the goddamn Avengers but she assured you that the dress was perfect for her birthday party and you had nothing to worry about.

You also lied to your mom about the trip, you told her it was an old friend from college and not Jane Foster because your mother knew everything about Avengers and who they were dating. Her opinions on Loki had pretty much stayed the same.

Once you had showered Jane took you to get lunch, it was nice to roam around the tower without needing the cloak of invisibility. You had the cloak in your luggage, Loki never asked for it, thankfully the man at the security had barely picked it up so it just seemed like a fancy robe.

Around 4 pm while you were doing your makeup you heard Loki's voice echoing in the hallway, your heart sped at the sound of his voice but then you heard her voice as well, Darcy. They were talking and laughing about something you didn't understand but your heart broke into pieces knowing that it wasn't you making him laugh like that. He sounded…okay, more than okay, he sounded happy. Was she the reason he hasn't been in touch with you lately? Was he moving on and falling for her? Your eyes welled up at the thought. You heard a knock on the door and felt your gut sinking when you heard his voice,

"Is someone in there?" He asked but you were frozen in your spot. Just a few months ago you were hiding with him and now you were hiding from him.

This wasn't the first time you had been here at this very place in your life but it always hurt the same. He was supposed to be your best friend, you probably never should have taken it any further than that because those romantic feelings always complicated the friendship too.

"That room is vacant Kiki, you know Jane said she was having a friend over for the party so it's probably her..how did you know someone was in there?" She even had a nickname for him. Wow.

"I just… I just thought that…nevermind" you heard him saying before their footsteps faded into the hallway.

What were you thinking coming here? You just wanted to get out of here and run away but it wouldn't have been fair to Jane, she had gone through so much trouble for you, you didn't think you would have ever done anything like this for her.

The party was in the lounge of the 18th floor, you had noticed the directional map of the floor in the living room so you just followed that and you bumped into Thor as soon as you did.

"Norns are you alright lady y/n? My apologies" he apologized immediately

"It's okay I'm okay" you let out a nervous laughter so he smiled,

"Lady y/n, would you be so kind as to grant me a favour?" He asked you and you looked at him nervously.

"Ofcourse anything "

"Please can you just go to Loki's room and retrieve him, i wouldn't want him to be fashionably late as always" you nodded as he said that and turned around to leave the lounge and into the hall again. You probably should have said no but you knew Thor knew that you both were still friends at least and you didn't want to make it more awkward than it already was.

You walked towards his room and sighed before you knocked. At last you had come face to face with Darcy but somehow you managed to find your voice. What was she doing in his room?

"Ummm hiii is Loki here? His brother has been looking for him" You asked her so she opened the door all the way to the end and you were met with his pale but pretty as always face, he seemed shocked and taken by surprise of your presence there. He had a black blazer on with a white tee shirt underneath and a black fitted pants, he slowly walked towards you and past Darcy to reach closer to you. He looked devastatingly handsome and you were devastated by it.

"Y/n?" He gulped as he looked at you so you faked a smile.

"Hiii"

"I can't believe you are here" he smiled briefly before he pulled you in for a hug, the smell of his cologne immediately made you relive the memories you had made with him before everything fell apart. As he pulled away he cupped your cheeks and kissed your forehead.

"How come you are here? Why didn't you tell me?" He asked you so you looked at Darcy and then looked at him.

"It was so sudden..umm Jane invited me yesterday..I was going to call. I just thought you were busy" you said to him.

"I am never too busy for you, you know that. Right?" Your eyes teared up as he said that so you looked down and blinked rapidly in order to restrain your tears. You felt pathetic.

"Thor wants to see you in the lounge" you said to him so Darcy closed the door of his room and all three of you proceeded towards the lounge together.

"When did you get here and how?" He asked you so you told him. He looked at your room as you all passed by it and he had a sudden realization, his instincts were never wrong about you. He smelled you and he could feel you around him but he just thought he was overthinking as usual.

As you reached the lounge you got away from him to go be with Jane and it hurt him a little. Were you upset with him? You must be, he hadn't been calling lately but he had his reasons. This wasn't getting any easier for him by the day.

"Okay if anyone asks just tell them your name is Stacy" Jane said to you so you nodded, there was a woman you didn't recognise at the party and she was watching you like a hawk for some reason.

"Do you know all these people?" you asked Jane so she laughed.

"Not really but they all work for the Avengers" you nodded as she said that. You felt Loki's eyes on you and it made you feel nervous, you probably shouldn't have gotten away without saying anything but you just felt extremely hurt. Seeing another woman in his room had burned you with intense jealousy, there was probably nothing between them but you still felt bothered by their situation. When Jane took you to the open bar, you got a mocktail, you didn't want to consume alcohol and embarrass yourself any further. She had to go see other people so she left you on your own and that's when the woman who couldn't stop staring at you approached you.

"Hello" she raised her hand forward so you shook it.

"I'm Dalia, I'm their publicist" she introduced herself so you gulped nervously. You knew about her but you had never seen her. This was the same woman because of whom Loki wasn't able to get in touch with you when they had brought him here first .

"Ummm imm Stacy, Jane's friend"

"Really? So you're not Y/n Y/l/n?" She asked you and you looked at her a little shocked that she recognised you. She looked at you up and down before she started to speak again "Look.. nothing against you but I really hope you're not here to seduce Loki again, though I must say you're really fucking it up already with that dress" your eyes teared up as she mumbled. There was a smirk on her face that you just wanted to slap away.

"He's just a friend"

"Keep it that way..I mean I am glad you came. Now you can be around here and see that you don't belong with these people and especially not Loki" she walked away after saying that. You put the drink down on the counter as you had to get out of the lounge for a moment because you could feel the panic increasing in your chest. Your eyes met with Jane so you gestured that you wanted to go use loo and she smiled at you. How was she so much better at dealing with this stuff?

You walked out of the lounge and you wished you didn't have the stupid heels on so you could just run away but you were helpless, you cut the corner and braced yourself against the wall as the anxiety rose rapidly, your chest felt constricted again and you couldn't breathe properly.

You didn't belong here or with Loki, that was one of your fears coming here but having someone confirm it to your face was what tipped you off the edge.

You breathed heavily and hoped for the feeling to pass but it was only worsening every second. The tears rolled down constantly and you were so close to just burst into a fit of cries when you felt someone grabbing your shoulders, you looked up at him and it was Loki.

"Loo" you could barely whisper, you couldn't see his face properly because your vision had gotten blurry but you noticed those tears in his eyes "I can't breathe" your voice again came out breathless so he stepped closer to you, cupped your cheeks and you felt his fingers rubbing over your skin

"You can, just take a deep breath for me on the count of three alright, can you do that?" The broken look on your face clenched his heart. He hated himself in the moment, even more so than usual, he should have been here for you, he was supposed to be your friend, your best friend. You followed his instruction and the wheezing breaths were starting to diminish the longer he had you in his embrace,

"That's it, you're doing good my darling, you are okay i promise you are okay" he cooed gently before he pulled you into him for a hug. You cried as much as you needed to cry to let it all out but you had to pull away at some point.

"Thank you, and I'm sorry" you mumbled softly so he smiled.

"I am sorry too"

You shook your head as he said that.

"I shouldn't have come here, i don't belong here"

"Really?" He asked you as he was certainly offended so you nodded, he suddenly grabbed your arm and took you back to the party.

"See that lady over there? She's so inebriated you will find her hurling her insides out before the night ends" you looked at him a bit taken away by the sudden statement as he pinpointed towards a woman.

"Oh look at the Captain, he's drinking his sorrows away and once he's intoxicated he's going to embarrass himself by singing an old school love ballad" you looked at Captain America as Loki pointed towards him.

"See those two, they are publically having an altercation over something trivial" he gestured towards Tony and Pepper and you sighed, you knew what he was trying to say "These people are just humans like you, just mortals, they are not perfect or better than you, they could never be" you nodded as he said that.

"Thank you lo..thank you" he smiled as you said that.

"I have mis–" you cut him off before he had even finished his sentence. You wished later that you hadn't done that.

"What about her?" You hinted towards Darcy so he looked at her, he was confused by the question and the all the implications they carried..

"She's a friend, that is all" A friend, same as you two used to be?

You nodded as he said that. Things had gotten extremely awkward between you two, for once since you had known him you both felt out of sync with each other, the conversation just didn't feel natural.

The party went well and you couldn't have been more thankful for Jane that she invited you here but you shouldn't have come here because you felt as if this would ruin whatever friendship you had left between you two.

When you went back to your room that night all alone it was hard to fall asleep. It was even harder to not cry every other minute. You decided that you had to talk to Loki and see if you still had him in your life or not because if not you had to make sure you weren't hurting yourself like this every moment because this didn't seem healthy. You got up and walked into the hallway, halfway through you saw Loki walking towards you as well, as he stepped closer he seemed as if he had just showered.

"Hiii" you smiled at him, you just wanted to talk to him..

"Can we talk in your room?" He asked you so nodded, you both walked side by side back to your room, was he coming to see you as well? You truly hoped so.

As you reached there, you both sat down on the bed,

"I'm sorry if I have been weird today, I just.. it's hard, it's the most difficult thing I have ever done in my life" you said to him so he turned his head to look at you.

"It's torturous darling, I don't enjoy this and I apologize if I have been a bad friend to you but I just can't see you everyday because everytime i look at you I am only thinking of the things we'd never get to have with each other" your eyes welled up as he said that "I can't stop obsessing over the moments we have spent with each other, I can't stop thinking that I'd never get to kiss you again and I haven't slept in a month because all I think of as soon as I hit the bed is you. I stay awake all night just wishing for you to hold me again"

You felt speechless by the confession, you didn't know what to say to him.

"Lo, I miss all that too I really do. I was so scared coming here today because I felt as if we were drifting apart. Ten years from now I don't want to look back at my life and regret losing a precious person like you, ten years down the line I still want to have you by my side" he wiped his tears as he sniffled.

"I am upset you did not tell me that you were coming here" you placed your hand on his as he mumbled, he had every right to be upset with you. You would have been upset too if the roles were reversed.

"I am sorry, i should have, i should have told my best friend that I was coming here"

"Yes, you should have because If I knew I'd have come pick you up at the airport and perhaps we would have gone for sightseeing" he smiled and it was so infectious that you were compelled to do the same.

"I am staying tomorrow so we can go do that" he nodded as you said that. He brought your hand up to his mouth and gave it a few birdlike kisses and you hugged him as appropriately as you could. It didn't feel awkward now anymore, it felt perfect, all you had to do was communicate with him.

"We are definitely doing that" he got up and smiled again as he wished you a good night of sleep. But before he could step out of your room he turned around to look at you and smiled but his eyes were teary again.

"Darcy is just a friend, we have similar interests but she's not anything more than that and we definitely dont share the same affinity as both of us do" You gulped as he said that, he must have sensed your jealousy regarding her "No one could ever be you or take your place in my heart. I hope you will always remember that my sweet darling princess"

Your mouth stayed open in shock as he stepped out of the room and then you cried again. He still loved you and you loved him, then why weren't you two together? Why did he allow his fear of losing you to death win over his love? For once in your life why couldn't you just take a chance for the love you felt for him? What more did you have to lose here? You were pondering over this complicated situation when you remembered the saying on the knife he has gifted you.

"If you ever find yourself trapped by the twisted paths of uncertainties, remember that you can always cut through and make a new one" A new path, something in between, maybe tomorrow you'd be able to create that.

🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

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[puppyvenom]

crutchie - akb vs matthew duckett !!!!

alternatively titled - cast disabled people jesus christ

listen i am having so many thoughts and feelings about crutchie and at the risk of annoying the fuck out of my partner i am putting them on here instead!

prefacing this by saying:

i do not speak for all cripples

matthew’s duckett was my first real introduction to crutch and yes i am probably biased because of it (because matthew was an absolute sweetie when i met him)

i do not actually hate AKB as much as i dislike his crutchie

★

i think the main problem i have with his crutchie (and i understand that it is not entirely his fault at all!!!!) is that it’s so sanitised in so many ways. it is so of its time and not really in a good way, it came about in a period where representation wasn’t a big focus and i very much understand that, but i also hate it.

it’s so easy for disabled characters to fall into this weird ,sanitised, almost infantilising position, where their struggles are shown (abuse from the delanceys that was directly because of his disability, the fact he’s more likely to be put in the refuge because he’s seen as ‘weak’), but they’re bound by this kind of happy-go-lucky persona where they don’t show any real anger or upset. it’s fuelled by the abled need to see disabled characters as some sort of inspiration porn. “he’s crippled but look how happy he is despite that!!!!!! if he can do it i can too!!” he has this air of innocence and can-do-no-wrong that kinda falls a little flat compared to all his friends of the same age, and whilst this wouldn’t be a problem in itself, it fits a repeating pattern of the innocent, docile physically disabled person that is shown so much.

i loved matthew’s crutchie so much because he was so much more than that. he was happy, he was kind and an big laugh, but he didn’t shy away from being truly angry or scared (in the finale when he is brought back and cuffs snyder) and he was still a bit of a dick, he felt a lot more like he truly belonged. one of my favourite examples is at the start of the show the first time we see katherine, he helps one of the boys (i can’t remember which one) steal something from darcy and keeps it on him through the rest of the show. he’s as playful and annoying as the rest of them, shooting paper balls at them with his slingshot (especially during the finale, i love him so much for that). he has an attitude. he has the energy of a boy who was raised on the streets and knows what the fuck is what.

and thats what i think changes him the most for me. it’s all the same script (?) but it’s all so different when you think about how smart crutch actually is. i think the biggest change is my idea of him specifically when he’s being so nice to weasel at the beginning, when all the boys are being annoying and dicks, crutchie is so sweet. i don’t believe he’s doing that because he’s just such a nice guy who can look past weisel and the delancey’s being assholes to them, i think he realised quickly how to play the game. he’s gonna get sympathy, he knows that, and he knows if he acts all innocent and is overly kind, that they’ll somewhat pity him and he can use that to his advantage.

i hate being pitied by most people, i hate being looked at differently, like i’m almost helpless. but i also know how to use it to help myself, i know when i can play the poor little cripple card to my advantage. and i fully believe crutch does the same.

edited to add because i forgot to add this entire section in sorry!!

when i say sanitised i also mean literally. as in they made him cleaner. specifically in the finale again when he’s brought back from the refuge, broadway crutch looks way too clean. he’s a little bashed up but he’s not dirty. he doesn’t look like he’s been battered and then subjected to awful conditions. it takes away the impact of his time at the refuge. when he got back in the uk production they actively were disgusted by how much he smelled, because he’d just got out of a place where he couldn’t look after himself for a multitude of reasons. he suffered in there, mentally and physically, and in more ways than one. he was not given nice clean clothes and a pat on the back, he was taken out and put right back into the mess without much time to check himself over, without any time to process or heal.

i just think it has a much bigger impact when you can see, from his actual appearance and the other guys’ reactions, how much he actually struggled in there. they were glad to have him back of course, but it really drove home the point of how badly it affected him.

and once again in that scene, you could see the fear on his face and the anger when he faced snyder and when he made a move at him. he was fucking scared of the man that had subjected him to all of that. even when he was being a little goofy and put on the hat to handcuff him, there was still that fear, and there was evidence to why.

(end of edit)

but like i said, i don’t think it is entirely akb’s fault or his intention, he almost definitely wasn’t aware of the way it came off and how it perpetuates stereotypes. but it’s just another reason why giving disabled roles to disabled people is so important. plus we know how to use mobility aids properly

★

shoutout to my beloved partner who proof reads my shit and also is the reason i am into newsies . thank u babie @fizzloves-blog <3