#but ON THE CHANCE IT DOES: LET'S NOT BLATANTLY SPOIL IT LIKE OTHERS DID WITH FTF

[agrebel18]

it’s so funny to me that toh twt and tiktok have lied that “watching and dreaming” got leaked like several times and ended up being false every time, so if the finale ACTUALLY DOES get leaked (hopefully not!) then we’re not gonna believe it because of how many liars there are lol

[blues824]

Helloo can I just request the dorm leaders + ortho(platonic obviously) with a gn!reader like shuri from black panther.

Like how would they react to them using their inventions against an overblot and them just being really smart.

Thank you and have a good day/night!

Going off the Wiki, but I love Shuri so freaking much. Also, I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT MALLEUS’S OVERBLOT, SO DON’T SPOIL IT!

Riddle Rosehearts

Mans acts as formal as T’Challa, but is way more strict with the rules. Even though you joke around with him, he remains formal. Very rarely does he respond with an attempted joke of his own. However, you both have a mutual respect and love for one another.

You don’t stick to tradition very much, and that is something that tends to get on Riddle’s nerves because he’s very traditional. Well, that was at first. After his overblot, he learned that he needed to not be so stingy. So, you were the first to lead him through breaking tradition.

Speaking of, you assisted in taking him down when he overblotted. He knew that you were very intelligent, but the use of vibranium machinery to fight was a whole other level. Riddle stood no chance against your genius. It took a few seconds and an infirmary trip for him to really be amazed by your brilliant mind.

Leona Kingscholar

He forms relationships based on trust and respect, so you both are actually perfect for one another. It didn’t take too long for the two of you to get together because of this. He’s not at all formal and also uses sarcasm, so it becomes a love language between the two of you.

Neither of you follow tradition or have the desire to, so that also pairs up very nicely. Sure, you will if absolutely necessary, but you won’t do it by choice. However, there were a few times where you did dress up in traditional clothing so that you can feel the comfort of being back home, and Leona doesn’t comment on it because he respects and loves you.

When he overblotted, he also stood no chance against you or the technology that you made to prepare for situations like these. You were always 5 steps ahead, using vibranium since it was the strongest metal there was in existence in any universe. 

Azul Ashengrotto

He also acts very formal and professional, but not as much as Riddle does. Sarcasm is thrown a bit here and there, but he doesn’t attempt to joke around with you. Respect goes both ways, but at the beginning it wasn’t always that way. He tried to get you to give up the vibranium you had access to, and you blatantly refused.

Azul doesn’t follow the traditions of the Coral Sea, and you don’t follow the traditions of Wakanda. However, the two of you are interested in each other’s cultures. So, there was one day where you met him in traditional Wakandan clothing, and he was absolutely fascinated. 

You were prepared for when he overblotted, and made sure that the machinery you used would work underwater. Since you were intelligent enough to predict his overblot, you knew exactly how to fight him. What he didn’t know though is that you operated away from the actual fight, and were controlling your technology remotely.

Kalim Al-Asim

Mans is the least formal person you will probably see, but he doesn’t understand sarcasm at all. He will joke around with you though, and it’s refreshing for you to see someone so light hearted at this school full of depressed people.

I don’t think he’s too traditional, but I could be wrong. You, however, are not traditional at all until he asks if you could wear something Wakandan to see the contrast. So, you did at the next party he threw, and he was amazed at how cool you looked.

When Jamil overblotted, you were nowhere to be seen. Kalim thought you got hurt and he was extremely worried until your technology showed up. You, with a speaker, said that you were operating it remotely, and that you were alright. Bro let out a huge sigh of relief.

Vil Schoenheit

He’s definitely very professional, but he won’t hesitate to use sarcasm and wit to put someone in their place as a nonviolent solution. So, when you decide to joke around and be all silly, he will reprimand you by making a sarcastic remark.

Vil has had to wear all sorts of traditional clothing because of roles he was casted for in movies, so he understands if you choose to wear Wakandan clothing. When you do, he will compliment you on how it looks on you, but won’t give it too much attention.

When this Housewarden overblotted, he foresaw your using technology. However, after all the others, you were constantly making upgrades as you learned more about the technology in Twisted Wonderland and how you could use it to add an element of surprise. Needless to say, your tech was the victor.

Idia Shroud

Mans really wanted to ask you to marry him once you showed him that your technologically inclined mind matched his. He just about made a ring when you helped him upgrade Ortho time and time again. However, he gets so flustered around you, especially when you get comfortable enough to joke around with him. Don’t expect him to make a sarcastic remark.

He understands not wanting to follow tradition, but he’s kind of forced to because of the curse that was placed on his family long ago. But, there was one time where you showed up to Ignihyde in traditional Wakandan clothing and he was shocked since he hadn’t seen anything like it.

You both actually clashed together when he overblotted, but luckily you didn’t tell him all of your secrets. You had the element of surprise on your side, and you used it to your advantage. Since your machines were made out of vibranium (the little key secret), they were nearly indestructible. He wasn’t even mad in the infirmary room.

Ortho Shroud

You first became friends with him because he broke down due to a bug in his system. You took him to Ramshackle and gave a temporary fix that would last until you got him back to Ignihyde. Through that, you became very close, like siblings.

Ortho is aware of the Shroud family curse, and he followed in his brother’s footsteps as he followed the traditional route of the family. You had briefly mentioned your homeland of Wakanda, but nothing popped up when he searched the entirety of the internet. So he asked a bunch of questions as you helped Idia upgrade him.

During Idia’s overblot, the younger Shroud brother was also never informed of your technology because you did something special with it. It wasn’t connected to any Twisted Wonderland database, and therefore there was no way that Ortho would have known about it.

Malleus Draconia

He genuinely loves your company. Your mind is incredibly interesting, and while he has no idea what you’re talking about as you rant about how Twisted Wonderland’s technology backed by vibranium would be better, he sees the passion in your eyes. 

This guy is all about tradition, but he doesn’t mind straying away from it every once in a while. After all, tradition is the reason why he has retainers. You are not one to follow tradition, but there was one time where you donned your Wakandan clothing and wore it to reminisce about your homeland, and he was very curious about where you come from. He’s not as technologically inclined as you are, but he’s seen how you use your creations in battle against all of the overblots and he is very impressed. You seem to have a lot of experience… if only he knew…

[angstyantoinette]

Yandere!Howl Jenkins Pendragon x Reader Headcanons

Warnings: Slight NSFW [mention], kidnapping, manipulation, toxic relationships. 

We all know that Howl is very much a ladies man; he knows exactly how to pull women in, and captivate them so that they fall in love with him easily. 

For Howl, it’s all a game. He catches the eye of a girl, no interest on his part of course. She just happens to be in his line of the game. He knows what to say, how to present himself to perfectly fluster and simultaneously intimidate every other person there. He doesn’t venture outside the castle often, and when he does, there’s an air of fear; there’s such awe left in his wake. 

And he loves it. This drama queen feeds off it.

But we also know that Howl is a runner. He cannot commit to anything, hating the restricting nature of feeling tied down. I mean, he abandoned his apprenticeship. With this in mind, Howl makes the most unlikely yandere. But he actually is highly dangerous, although he doesn’t really look like it.

He’s afraid of himself in a way. He understands that he is quite powerful, and after practically going rogue, Howl gets his kicks with spontaneity, with the complete unexpected in life. 

When he meets you, he expects you to give him all your attention, like everyone else. But you brushed past him, looking at his fancy clothes, his blonde hair, sapphire eyes, green jewels swinging from his ears, and the beautiful pendant around his neck. He was picturing it now in his mind, getting ready for the look of adoration, the tense of muscles, the scarlet blush upon your cheeks.

But you looked away. You gathered your belongings, perhaps stowing them away in your satchel, and you just looked away.

What?

Is that it?

You weren’t even interested in him. Howl was still so stunned he had nothing to say, no suave and seductive voice to tempt you into his charms. He was in awe of you; you looked at him with such indifference it made his head hurt. Not with heartache or pain or anything like that. But he could not deny that he wasn’t curious.

Well, of course, not only does this not sit too well with Howl, he is very much a delusional person in this kind of state. However, he is incredibly smart and calculating and he balances these two personalities scarily very well. 

Like I said before, Howl is a very dangerous yandere, and he thrives on his blantant misinterpretation of a mere womanizer to scamper away, unsuspected, unscathed, and free to do what he likes.

Howl doesn’t really hold on to grudges that much, or anything; when he loses interest, he tosses things away. Not all though. 

You, you, YOU. 

Why won’t you leave his weary mind after days of being apart? Why is his  conciousness telling him to look for you, and not relent until he’s succeeded in doing so? Despite all the signs, all of the telltale signs that shows he’s just a little too invested in you, he writes it off as his bad habits resurfacing to play another game. 

And, of course, Howl Jenkins shall oblige!

Howl is a patient man, make no mistake. He finds it enjoyable to watch things go down for a while; no matter how trivial, poking fun in plain sight at innocent civilians never gets old. 

When he finally gives in to trying to find you and play with you for a little while, Howl pushes aside all distractions to do so. That means traveling through counties and villages, towns and cities until he’s found you again.

Howl is desperate for love and affection that isn’t because of his looks. He really wants someone to love him, not the image he puts across, not just above the surface with his tantalizing blue eyes that pull you in and trap you. 

You saw through that. You barely gave him a second glance and while it peaked his interest initially, it annoyed him for days on end. Usually being teasing and indifferent to Calcifer’s complaining, he found himself snapping and getting easily annoyed. Markl began to subtly keep his distance on bad days. 

Now, though, he’s become delusional. In Howl’s mind, you are to blame for his interest, for his inability to keep his mind off of you. You are the sole reason for his burgeoning obsession that seems to be running the show. He tells himself that when he finds you, it’ll leave. This painful, utterly agonising sensation of having you in his grasp, playing his game will go far away. He’ll seduce you, definitely, take you to bed and have a good time and his obsession and all-consuming desire to play the game, just you and him will just...go. Poof.

Except when Howl does find you, he doesn’t feel like letting go of you. 

Ever. 

And while this does take him by surprise, it all starts to make sense for him. 

Because looking at you now, bundled up in his arms, crying in anger and confusion, he sees in the stars that this was meant to be. 

He waits until he’s sure you’re asleep [more like passed out from exhaustion-] to really, really get a good look at you. He notices for the first time your cheeks and how they’re squished against his pillows and wrapped up in his sheets so perfectly, it’s like you’ve been here many times before. He notes how relaxed your closed eyes seem to be, no furrowed brow or scrunched tight eyelids; just complete and utter serenity. 

You’re just so perfect. Could you be a god, some kind of deity perhaps?

He’s in love for the first time in a long time. He may have let it slip by then, selfish and uncaring, but now?

Oh no, Darling, you don’t stand a chance. Howl will do anything to keep you hidden from those bastards’ eyes  protect you, to love you and most of all, make you see that he’s the one for you.

 Always.

You sat in the boiling water filling the bathtub, limp and tired, unresponsive as Howl bustled around you, his task completely focused on getting you ready for bed. Once upon a time, you would have refused to call him by name; instead you settled for ‘bastard’, ‘prick’, and ‘I hate you’. 

You even tried to sleepily mutter these things under your breath, not caring now that you were being lifted out of the bath, and dressed in a white gown. You cared even less when feeling your mind slip away into a soft sleep, curling into your body with comfort, clinging onto Howl’s pillows.

However, in front of his ‘housemates’ [ you could only guess what a talking fireplace could have to do with his wacky moving castle ], you were frightened. Howl didn’t even have to say a word; he had you smiling and  acting somewhat normally in front of ‘Calcifer’ and the little boy, Markl, you thought his name was. 

But you could always feel the sliver of magic take a hold of your wrists from behind, a little voice telling you that staying here was for your best interest, what more could you want? It promised you eternal love, devotion and affection, coated with a sickly sweetness only Howl could pull off. 

All in all, you stopped resisting after a while. Howl was annoyingly patient it seemed, and it frustrated you to feel as though you were a child all over again. He smothered you, insisting on doing the most trivial of things for you, never snapping back at you, never doing anything to remotely answer back at you in the same manner whenever you resisted his help.

It didn’t click until you had cursed at him mercilessly, screeching and crying, pulling at your combed hair, that by acting like this; he looked better than you. He looked above you. Compared to your tantrums, Howl looked calm and collected and completely willing to help you in any way possible. 

But why was he doing all of this? 

Why did you wake up in his bed, with his lanky arms draped all over you as if you were lovers? Why was he spoiling you, letting you wear his clothes, feeding you? What was he trying to convince you of? 

“Darling, I have some new nightclothes for you. Do you want me to help you into them?” He was slower, more gentle tonight as he strolled around his room. He was delberate though, not forceful exactly, but it was more of an atmospherical warning. You could just tell; if little Y/N tried anything, something would happen. 

Some kind of spell, or perhaps even a curse to teach you a lesson.

Ah, there it was. Another gift. 

Did he think you’d simply tolerate him because of his lavish, his blatantly excessive gift-giving?

Why did he look at you with such sickening adoration on his flawless features? 

At last, his bustling seemed to cease and he took a longing glace back at you. He probably only meant it to last a few seconds but the longer he gazed, it just became a cold and glassy stare. 

You knew the feeling of ‘zoning out’ well, but his eyes became darker and darker. Some kind of shadow must have passed over him or something, because he snapped out of his eerie trance and threw himself onto the bed. 

You yelped in surprise, pulling your hands to your sides, hastily spreading them out on the soft quilt like spiders, your legs pushing your body back ever so slightly, eyes wide. 

Howl chuckled, but it was filled with a sinister undertone that you weren’t used to at all. He snapped his head to the right, his hands already unraveling a silk-encased package. 

“I saw these while in the town today and couldn’t help myself.” 

Pulling out the brand new nightclothes, you unwillingly let out a pleased gasp. It was a set of matching pyjamas. They were satin, smooth to the touch and a beautiful shade of emerald, not too bright at all, but not dark either. 

Sometimes, you enjoyed this sort of treatment from Howl, albeit, very guiltily. He was always polite, courteous and kind, willing to help you with anything, but you also couldn’t help but feel a sense of horror, lingering long after you fell asleep. As if it were some kind of parasite. You just couldn’t for the life of you place your finger on it. 

You had learned to never keep him waiting for anything; he was a busy man and as much as he liked to have free reign of his work, he liked to be organised too.

This time you had apparently spent too long admiring your gift rather than answering him.

“Isn’t it lovely, Y/N? I thought it would suit you divinely.”

“Y-yes, it’s beautiful, thanks so much H-Howl.” 

Not wasting any more time, he sat up from his previous position on the bed, and somehow managed to gracefully snatch the nightclothes away from your trembling hands, and shooting you a look as if to say, well, take your clothes off. That was the less sinister version. Howl’s eyes took on a new darkness that growled, or I’ll do it myself. 

Your hands flew to your neckline, undoing the small ribbon that held the soft cotton on you, and allowed Howl to thread his fingers through the material, travelling towards the bottom of the garment and pulling it over your head whilst you lifted your arms, feeling the comfort of the soft sleeves peel off your arms. 

The blush on your face was unmistakeable. It was another embarassment being bathed by him, but this? Stripping you out of your clothes? It didn’t help that he was aware of your inner battle, and having an annoying, but otherwise barely noticeable smile on his face. 

His hand reached over with the satin nightclothes, urging you to take them. You did, carefully so, slipping them on against your flushed body, his cerulean orbs watching intensely. 

As if he didn’t want the image to go away. 

When you had finished dressing yourself, you stood up and  tentatively walked to the mirror, even slightly stumbling on your feet, and gasped in pleased surprise. You looked...beautiful in the nightclothes. The satin felt so smooth on your skin, and the emerald shade brought out your e/c eyes nicely. 

A few moments later though, you gasped for a whole different reason. Howl slipped his hands around the front of your torso, letting them wander further and further down, reaching your thighs with a renewed urgency, pressing you back against his body.

“I didn’t hear a ‘thank you’, darling.” His tone was teasing, but you could detect a hint of anger, annoyance was it? As quickly as the shadows came they departed, leaving you at the mercy of the wizard Howl. 

“No matter,” he rasped against the nape of your neck, placing soft, heated kisses against your skin,”You can say thank you, whilst begging on your knees.”

----------------------------------------------------------

sorry about that ending, it just needed to come to an end before i drove myself mad with the procrastination :)

but what did you think of it?? there really isn’t enough Howl’s Moving Castle fics, let alone yandere ones, but i like how it came out. 

to the person who requested this, Howl, is 100000% the gentle dom we ALL NEED OKAY

[bokukawas]

Drunken Mess

pairing; Kuroo Tetsuro  x Reader

warnings; alcohol, suggestive in the end, some grabbing from some random stranger

a/n; ok guys, enjoy, this took me forever to write and idk, i just hope someone here likes it ♥

summary; when you have a shitty day and then your boyfriend presses all the wrong buttons upon his return , you just need a little alcohol to keep your sanity… and maybe have a drink too much

word count; 6k, I actually planned to keep this short. WELL HUH jokes on me, right? 

The only thing that got you through the day was the thought, that when you came home later, your boyfriend would be back from his training camp with his team. Because, seriously, today had sucked. You had to take a double shift at work, because a colleague had called in sick and all the customers had just been annoying and rude. You had expected working in retail to suck, but compared to the reality your imagination was a fucking dream come true. Retail was the worst. The absolute fucking worst. And no one could truly understand it if they haven’t worked in retail at least once in their life.

By the time you could clock out, you were nearly crying from frustration. You were so eager to see Kuroo and leave your work; you nearly ran the whole way home.

When you finally arrived home, you could already see light seep out from under the door, which meant he actually was home already. Your heart made an involuntarily somersault as you pushed the door open and yelled “I’m home!” with a huge smile plastered on your face. You had missed him terribly. Yet instead of your boyfriends loving arms around you, you just found the mess he somehow managed to produce in less than a day. Your smile slipped just as fast as it had appeared. “Kuroo, what the actual fuck!?” No answer to that.

You could see him, lying on the couch, one leg slung over the back of it, controller in one hand, a piece of pizza in the other, headset on his head, while he cackled. He didn’t even seem to hear you. And damn it stung. You waited the whole day with dinner so you could eat together with your boyfriend. And not only that, you had cleaned the whole house before he returned, so you could just relax together once he was back, hell, you even dumped your friends who wanted to go out and have a girls night, and this was how it turns out?

With watering eyes, you inspected the spectacular mess in front of you. Eyes flicking from the kitchen, where he obviously already made ramen before he ordered pizza, to the living room where the whole content of his sports bag seems to just have been dumped on the floor. Then to the bathroom, where the door was open and showed the still wet tiles and a towel carelessly thrown in the middle of it, fog still clinging to the mirror, because he once again had not opened the goddamn window.

In that moment all you could feel inside of you, was burning anger and huge disappointment. It was not the first time you had asked him to just please be a little bit more considerate of you. Why didn’t he fucking get it? The damn flat didn’t magically clean itself; it was all you who did it. The mess he made in literally only a few hours felt like a punch in the face.

Clenching your fist, you angrily throw your bag into the mess he already made, which seemed to finally get his attention. Head popping up from the couch, he pulled down his headset a bit and looks over to you: “Oh hey kitten, didn’t hear you come home.”

“Yeah never mind”, you spit, “continue your thing there, I’m gonna be gone soon anyways.”

You slip out of your sneakers, phone already in your hand to call one of your friends.

“S’ something wrong, kitten?” Kuroo sets down his headset, mustering you with concern in his eyes. Obviously something was wrong, but his brain still felt foggy with exhaustion from all the training he had pushed himself and his team through this week.

The answer came in the slamming of the bedroom door, where you had disappeared.

He sighs and briefly puts his headset back on to give his friends a heads up: “Guys, I’ll be back later, seems like somethings wrong with Y/N”, then he left the game and stood up, slowly walking to your shared bedroom, before he tentatively knocks on the door.

“Y/n, what’s wrong? Did something happen at work? Are you alright?” Upon not getting an answer, he pushed down the latch, only to find that you had locked the door. He silently swears. It had to be bad when you actually locked him out. “C’mon hun, don’t be like that. Talk to me.” Door rattling followed, which you blatantly ignore.

You were sitting on the bed, which was, of fucking course, not made any more and stripped out of your work clothes, throwing them carelessly on the floor. The damage was already done, what bad could your few clothes be then, right?

It was then, that Miwa finally picked up. “Oh hey, Y/n, whats up? I thought you were having some quality time with Kuroo?” You could hear loud voices talking in the back; she must have gone outside to answer your call.

“Yeah you know what? I thought so, too. Plan has changed, though. Where are you? Mind if I join you? I need a drink.”

“Are you alright, Y/n? You sound a little upset?”

“Miwa, for god’s sake, just tell me where you are so I can join you. I’m going to explode if I stay here any minute longer.”

You could hear Miwa sigh into the phone. “That bad, huh? We’re at our usual place.”

“Good, I’ll be there in twenty.” You hang up and throw your phone into the pillow and start rummaging through your closet, finding one of the dresses you like very much, but never actually wear, because it is actually very short. Well, fuck it, you think to yourself and put it on, together with your new high heels. Quickly freshening up your smudged make-up, you grab your keys and your clutch and brace yourself for your escape. Because that was exactly what you were doing: escaping from this whole mess.

Then, you unlock the door and push it open, marching straight for the door, which was, of course, blocked by your boyfriend, who was leaning against it and now eyeing you from head to toe. He probably had heard you talk to Miwa and taken his position at the door right away. He did not comment on your outfit though, having the good sense to know he was walking on very thin ice.

“Going somewhere?”

“I’m going out with my friends. At least I would like to, but someone is standing in the way. Do you mind?” You look up at him and give him one of your perfect angelic smiles as you try to squeeze through. Even though you were wearing your heels, your boyfriend was a goddamn giant and he somehow managed to still be taller, which was mildly frustrating at the moment.

He does not budge; not even an inch.

“Are we not going to talk about what is going on? Because something clearly is going on.”

“I’d actually rather go right now.”

Kuroo could basically feel the passive aggressive energy radiating from you, but still, he didn’t budge. He didn’t even have the chance to talk to you yet, what could he possibly have done to upset you so much that you could not even stand to be in the same room as him? It was a mystery to him.

“Y/n, please.” He reaches out a hand to brush a thumb against your cheek, because he knows how much you always enjoy these little affectionate gestures, but he stops right in his tracks, when he found you staring at him with barely withhold anger. He was surprised that you did not swat at his still outstretched hand.

“Move Kuroo, I mean it.” And when you try to squeeze through this time, he lets you.

You were rarely in such a bad mood and he knew when he needed to let you cool off, first. As you walk by him, he catches your wrist in the last second, holding you still for a moment. “At least send me a text when you get there, alright?” he whispers while brushing his thumb once over your veins and then lifting your hand up to press a soft kiss against the palm of it.

The urge to just turn around and press your head into your boyfriends’ chest right then was overwhelming, but you were still so mad that you stubbornly continued on your way, leaving Kuroo standing there, watching you go.

When he turns around to go back into the flat, he feels like a train hit him as he takes in the mess he made. “Oh fuck.” He groans as he ruffles his spiky hair, because how could he be so stupid. Of course you would be mad if you came home to such a mess. The worst part was, that he didn’t even contain his chaos in one room, no, he seriously fucked up the whole flat, which by second thought, you had probably cleaned just hours before. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

Your foul mood suddenly made sense to him. Groaning again, he closes the door behind him and goes to the kitchen. He better gets rid of this whole mess before you come home later. But first, he wants to apologize. Fishing out his phone out of his joggers, he opens the chat with you and freezes all over again. There it was, black on white. Dinner later, Tetsu? We can order from your fav restaurant if you like ♥

Oh sweet fucking hell, he was the biggest douche in the whole wide world. How could he forget that you two wanted to eat together? “Ah shit.”

He types out a quick message to you. Y/n I’m so sorry. I’m the biggest idiot in the world. You can punch me later if you still feel like it. I sure as hell deserve it. Pls text me when you get there safely. I love you.

Kuroo really wants to kick his own ass in that moment. You were always so good to him, going out of your way to make the time you got to spend together as pleasurable as possible, taking time where you actually had none to spare and just simply spoiling him in any way possible and this was how he treated you? He didn’t even kiss you when you got home, which was funny, because it was one of the only thoughts in his head, besides volleyball this whole past week. The feeling of your soft lips against his.

He was not surprised that he didn’t get a message back, but he still unmuted his phone, just in case you called him when you had enough and wanted to go home.

Then he starts cleaning up his mess.

You on the other hand nearly arrived at the bar where you and your friends usually met up once a month to keep in touch. You already regretted wearing your new heels. As you turned the next corner, you could already spot the bar and with it, a whole lot of people standing outside at high tables. Your friends amongst one of them.

“Hey ladies”, you call out as you get closer. “Long time no see.”

Fighting a smile to your face, you found your place right next to Miwa, who gently nudges you in the side.

“Stop that grimace and tell us what happened.”

Alisa, who was standing in front of you, just reaches over the table, takes your hand in hers and squeezes it softly.

“Actually, I think I’d rather have a drink first”, you moan.

One drink followed the next and your friends realized later, that they probably should have stopped you after your 5th cocktail or so. Which they didn’t, because you spilled your heart out to them, nearly crying a few times, which was rare to see, because usually you managed to keep your cool in front of others, even your own friends. Moreover, the drink in your hand seemed to be the only thing holding you together. They were a little taken aback, too, because you usually were a very good drinker, and could handle alcohol very well; but by the time you went inside to dance and just bumped into stranger after stranger while trying to walk a straight line, they figured you probably had not eaten anything before coming here.

Miwa squinched up her face. “She’s gonna feel even worse tomorrow. We should probably get her home.”

Alisa just nods, before sprinting in your direction as she witnessed you tumbling into a group of men, of which one luckily caught you in his arms, before you hit the floor, but then couldn’t keep his hands to himself. You just laughed, not realizing what was going on and not feeling the hand, currently sneaking up your leg. Everything looked dizzy and swayed and you felt a little funny in the head. Vaguely you realize that Alisa was arguing with the man who stopped your fall and then her face popped up in front of you, asking you were your phone was.

You look at her irritated, not quite understanding what she wanted.

“C’mon y/n, where is your goddamn phone.”

“My clutch?”

Miwa suddenly popped up next to you, steadying you and gently guiding you to an abandoned empty chair. “Sit.”

Alisa rummaged through your clutch, only to find your purse and your house keys…but no phone.

“Your phone is not in here y/n. Are you sure it was in your clutch?” she looks at you questioningly, with her big green eyes, which were all you could focus on. She always looks so pretty.

„Focus y/n!“

You thought back to when you left the flat… “I think I …left it on the bed”, you mumble, eyes suddenly growing very heavy. Leaning heavily against Miwa, your head lolls against her shoulder. You inhale deeply. Miwa always managed to smell so good; you wonder how she does it. The girls just shared a concerned look. You couldn’t even sit upright on that damn chair, how were they supposed to get you home.

“We need to call Kuroo”, Miwa states, while brushing some strands of hair out of your face. You didn’t seem to notice.

“That was my plan. But I don’t have his number… do you?” Miwas face was answer enough. That’s when Saeko popped up next to them. “Hey girls, I made it after all.” She grinned happily at all of you. “What’s wrong with this one here, though?” She nudges you in the side, which was rewarded with a lazy grunt from you and a silent curse from Miwa as you tipped dangerously to the side.

“Is she drunk!? I don’t think I’ve ever seen her drunk. What happened?” Saeko seemed mildly concerned, which leads to Miwa and Alisa freaking out a little. Saeko usually doesn’t show concern, so it must be just as bad as they imagined.

“Do you have Kuroos number?” Alisa asked her without answering her question in return, not letting her eyes stray from your face, as you looked ghostly white at the moment and started mumbling random things under your breath.

“No? But you have? Right?”

They both shake their heads. Saeko sighs and mumbles something under her breath, which rather sounded, like ‘I should’ve just gone straight home’, before facing Alisa.

“Call your brother then. He must have his number.”

“Oh my god, Saeko you are a genius.”

“Thanks, I know.”

With another concerned look your way, Alisa left your side to go outside and call her brother. She just hoped he would pick up, since it was already the middle of the night.

Meanwhile Kuroo was sitting on the couch, worriedly glancing at the clock all few seconds and constantly brushing his fingers through his hair. No wonder you hadn’t texted him back, he had found your phone lying on his pillow as he had made the bed again. This meant, you were out, with no phone and no means to contact him if something was wrong. He didn’t like that one bit. The worst part was that he couldn’t even blame someone for it, besides himself. This was his fault and he knew it all too well. Scratching at his scalp, he tried to calm down a bit. He knew you could take care of yourself; your small figure belied the strength you actually had, but still. There was always a chance that something happened. So when his phone started ringing he answered it in seconds, without even looking who was calling first. It just had to be you, right?

“Y/n?” he nearly yelped in the phone.

“No, this is Lev.”

Kuroo nearly lost it then, breathing heavily and punching the pillow right next to him, he thought he was going to combust any second.

“What is it Lev? It’s the middle of the night!”

“Yeah, I know, I was sleeping until my sister called me.” Now that he mentioned it, Kuroo could hear the slight strain in Levs voice, as if he had just gotten up.

“It’s about y/n, though. They are worried and would like you to come and pick her up. Apparently she didn’t have her phone with her and got stupidly drunk.” He paused. “…did you have a fight? Are you alright?”

Kuroo swallowed.

“Just tell me where they are, please.” And so Lev does.

“Tell your sister I’ll be there soon… and thank you, Lev. Sorry that you got involved in this.”

“Yeah, yeah. G’night.” with that, he just hung up on Kuroo, probably eager to get into bed again. Kuroo couldn’t even blame him for that, he was tired, too, but he swore he wouldn’t go to bed before you got home safely.

He gets up, just grabs his wallet, keys and his sweater and was out the door in seconds, running all the way to the bar. Never before had it been so bad, that your friends were concerned about you. You had always gotten home on your own, or were sober enough to just give him a call, or get a taxi. Your alcohol tolerance was quite high, too, but alas, you hadn’t eaten today. That was probably the problem.

Alisa spotted him from afar and just starts waving. She was impressed at how fast he was, it hadn’t even been 10 minutes since the call. When she saw him up close though, she realized that he was sweating and breathing hard. He must have run the whole way here.

“Jeez, Kuroo you look like you might pass out any second.”

“Thanks, it’s nice to see you, too Alisa. Now, where is she?”

He didn’t even look Alisa in the face, his eyes scanning the crowd around them, searching for your face.

“Inside. C’mon.”

He follows her tall blonde form through the masses, until she stops in front of a chair. An empty chair. He could barely hear her curse under her breath.

Kuroos head snaps up, when he could hear a commotion start on the dance floor.

There you were, the hands of some random stranger draped across you, while you danced as if you didn’t even notice. Which of course, you didn’t. Not really. You just enjoyed the lights and the music and silently swayed to the rhythm of it, being a little surprised that the world suddenly didn’t seem so shaky anymore. Your back felt warm, too, which was at the same time pleasant and very unpleasant at once. Something somehow felt wrong, but you couldn’t pinpoint what it was. You were just happy that you somehow managed to get yourself drunken enough, to stop thinking about how little your boyfriend seemed to care about you.

Kuroos eyes wander to the two females next to you, desperately trying to pry the hands off that damn stranger of your dancing form, but they were both so small compared to the guy, it was useless.

He lost it the moment said stranger seemed to thrust his hips into your back. Miwa and Saeko spotted him just the second he lunged at the person, shoving him away.

“Get your filthy hands off of my girlfriend!”

The guy of course didn’t like being handled that way and was in Kuroos face the very next instance. “What’s your problem man? It didn’t seem to me that she didn’t like it.”

Miwa winced. She had seen Kuroo lose his cool once before, and it hadn’t ended very well for the other dude. He had him up by his collar at once, sneering in his face “she’s so drunk she probably doesn’t even remember her own name and you want to tell me she liked it?” He shook the stranger, muscles flexing under his T-Shirt.  “Get the fuck out of my eyes.”

With that, he shoves him so hard that the guy loses his balance and falls face down onto the dance floor.

Your world had become very wobbly again, as soon as the somewhat steadying hands had left your hips. Tumbling to the side, you were caught in strong arms again. Your boyfriend’s arms.

“C’mon kitten, we’re going.”

“Wha-? Kuroo?” Were you hallucinating now? “No I don’t want to go. I want to dance.” You wind your way out of his arms, only to stagger once again.

Kuroo exhales once again and tries to pull himself together, looking at your friends who all watch you with deep worry in their eyes. “How much exactly did she drink?”

Alisa nervously twirls her hair around her finger, not wanting to look him in the eyes. Your boyfriend could be scary, especially if he was worried about you. “Don’t know… I kinda lost count after her 5th cocktail or so… she might have had some drinks on the dance floor, too.”

Kuroo breathes in deeply, watching you as you tried to dance, which was actually just staggering from one side to the other, trying not to fall on your face. He was low key impressed that you had not already broken your ankles in those heels. Trying to remain calm and reminding himself that in fact, this was his fault and he couldn’t get angry with anybody else, he sighs again, starts fumbling in his pocket to get his wallet out and pushes some money in Alisas hand.

“Here, for her drinks. I’m pretty sure she didn’t pay for them herself, did she? Well, never mind. We are going now. Thanks for reaching out to me.”

And with that, he appears next to you again, draping his sweater around your hips to keep your very short dress from flashing anyone, before crouching down and just throwing you over his shoulder.

“Hey, what the hell!? KUROO! Put me down, I don’t want to go!” you slur, as he starts to push his way through the crowd.

“Good thing I’m not asking then.”

Your friends watch as your boyfriend singlehandedly maneuvers you two outside, sighing in unison as you leave the club.

“Wow. That was intense”, Saeko deadpans.

Miwa nods. “He was so calm, though? The last time I saw someone touch y/n with Kuroo around, the guy had a broken nose afterwards. I was a little scared for a second there.”

“He must have been really worried. Lev told me he seemed really agitated, which is rare for him. He’s usually very composed.”

They sigh in unison again. “We better call her tomorrow and ask if she’s alright”, Miwa states, to which the others all nod. Saeko starts grinning a moment later. “I’m pretty sure Kuroo is gonna take good care of her now, so let’s not worry. The night is still young.” She throws her arms around the waists of her friends and pulls them all in direction of the dance floor.

 Meanwhile your world shakes violently with every step your boyfriend makes and your hair was jumping in tact with it. His shoulder blade pressed very uncomfortably into your stomach. You could feel the warmth radiating from his hand at the back of your knee, where he gripped you softly to keep you steady.

You hadn’t spoken to him since he had thrown you over his shoulder and just marched out of the bar. In fact, you felt a little ashamed. It had been years since you had gotten so drunk you could barely stand. It was a mystery to you, how he even knew where you were.

Another step, another bounce, another uncomfortable press against your roaring stomach. You clutch your hands into the hem of Kuroos shirt, trying to steady yourself a bit, inhaling his familiar smell and focusing on that, instead of the turmoil in your stomach and your head.

Kuroo of course feels you clench fistfuls of his shirt and slows down a bit, throwing a glance over his shoulder. “Kitten, you alright there?”

The fresh air had sobered you up quite a bit and you were fully aware of the gentle grip your boyfriend had on you, same as the every so often brush of his thumb across your thigh.

Since you didn’t answer, he just presses a quick kiss to your leg and then continues on his way, a little more slowly, but still persistent. You groan, as the nauseous feeling in your stomach got overwhelming. Not only that, but you could also feel your feet burning and hurting. Those heels were really not the best choice for tonight.

“Y/n?” he stops once more and tries to look over his shoulder again.

“First of all Kuroo, I’m still mad at you, secondly I feel like I might puke any minute if your shoulder is gonna press in my stomach again and last of all, my feet hurt.”

It occurred to you that you were whining, but how could you not? Today has been hell and now everything hurts and you couldn’t even just press your head into your boyfriends’ chest because you were supposed to be mad at him.

“Hold on a sec, hun.”

“I mean it Tetsu, I’m gonna puke.”

Kuroo smiles at that, not because it was fun to him that you had so much to drink that you felt like puking, but because you used his first name…which in conclusion meant you weren’t in fact as mad as you tried to be.

He could already see his target at the end of the street, so he just ignored you and walks on a few minutes longer.

“Ok, I’m going to put you down now, be ready.”

He slowly lets you slide down on his front, so that you were now standing in front of him. His hands were on your hips, steadying you slightly in case you still needed it. You wince as your feet hit the ground, your heels pressing against every sore spot on them. Kuroo could tell you were avoiding looking in his face, even though he stood right in front of you.

Sighing, he puts his slender index finger under your chin and lifts your head up, so you had no choice but to look at him. “I’m sorry Y/n, I was a total dick earlier and I didn’t even realize it. But for now, can we ignore that so that I can take care of you properly? Please?”

Damn it, it wasn’t fair. As you look into his catlike, earnest eyes, so full of love and concern for you, you could already feel your anger melt away. “You’re the worst, Tetsu.” Your words significance was betrayed by the fact that you leaned your head against his shoulder the exact same instance and inhaled deeply. He chuckles deeply at that and presses a soft kiss against your neck, holding you a little while longer.

“Sit down here for a bit kitten, I will be right back.” He guides you to a bench right in front of the 24/7 he had aimed for, noticing you were still very unsteady on your feet and actually limping now. After you sat down, he squats down in front of you and takes your foot in his hands. “Let me see.” He slowly peels off your shoes and inhales sharply through his teeth. “Damn hun, you really butchered your feet.” You decided you didn’t even want to see it and just wriggled your toes at the new found freedom.

“Yeah, I’ll be right back”, and with that he rushes into the store behind you.

After a few minutes, you feel something cold against your cheek. “Here, drink.”

You take the bottle of water out of his hands, suddenly feeling very thirsty and drink a few mouthfuls, as he squats down in front of you again, inspecting your feet once more, before applying patches at the worst spots. When he was finished, he just looks up at your exhausted form in front of him, bracing his hands on your knees, his thumbs already drawing gentle patterns across your skin. It seemed cold to you suddenly and you shiver, which leads to Kuroo taking off the sweater he had put around your waist and pulling it over your head.

“C’mon, let’s get you home.” He grabs your shoes, and turns around, squatting again in front of you, his back muscles flexing under the shirt as he motions for you to get on. With a sigh you did exactly that. No way in hell would you walk the next 10 minutes home on your own two feet. You put your arms around his neck and try a weak little jump to get on his back, which was rewarded with an amused chuckle by your boyfriend. Luckily, he caught your legs just fine and adjusted you on his back with a little wiggle, so that he now could give you a proper piggyback ride home.

“Y/n?” he asks as you got closer and closer to your home, already walking up the stairs to your shared flat.

“Hm?”

“I love you.”                            

Ah damn that bastard really knew how to play you. Even though you could feel your insides warm up at that, you thought he could feel bad a little more, so you didn’t comment on it, as he puts the key in the locker and opens the door.

The moment he switched the light on, though, you couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Ah fuck Tetsu, I love you, too. Asshole.” That made him laugh in return. It seems like he had cleaned the whole flat after you rushed out to drink yourself stupid.

“I realized why you were so mad the moment I turned around to go back in here”, he confesses and slowly lets you down from his back. “And as I said before, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I was a total douchebag.” He comes to stand in front of you and puts your face into his hands. “Can you forgive this asshole?”

You punch his chest in return. “Stop being cute!”

“Can you forgive me? Pleaseee?”

He actually pouts as he squishes your cheeks, already knowing he had won. You tried to fight the smile that wanted to spread on your face at the ridiculous show of your huge boyfriend pouting in front of you, but you fail miserably.

“Just kiss me already, idiot.”

So he did, his one hand sliding from your cheek to your neck, as his lips press against yours in a feather light touch. Your own hand finds its way into his hair at once, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss, as the other steadies you against his hips. He sighs contentedly in the kiss, brushing his lips against yours as he mumbles “I missed you so much”, before kissing you again, this time a little more hungrily. Your lips move eagerly against each other and after a little while, you feel his tongue grace against your lips, which makes you shudder. Your knees started feeling dangerously wobbly again. Luckily, he had already pulled you flush against him and now lifted you up by putting his hands under your ass to carry you to the bedroom, where he gently lays you down on the bed, before slowly climbing on top of you.

You smile fondly at his expression as he kisses you repeatedly, every kiss getting a little rougher than the last one, moving your lips in time with his and then there was his tongue, finally in your mouth. He could still taste the alcohol on your lips.

When he finally breaks away from you, you were both panting. Your hands were gripping his shirt greedily and you were already pulling him down on you again, wanting more. God his kisses gave you life.

“I’m not sure we should go there today, kitten, as much as I’d like to. You’re still very much drunk, and I’d like you to feel and remember all of what I plan to do to you.”

He smirks and plants another kiss on your lips, teeth grazing teasingly against them as he did so, then snorting at the bewildered and somewhat outraged look you gave him when he pulled away. You were clawing at his biceps the moment he starts to get up from you, trying to pull him down again and groaning when you realized you were going to lose against his strength.

“Tetsuro”, you moaned in a last attempt to get him back to you, which made him freeze on the spot. “Wow you’re mean, kitten, but still no.”

And with that, he simply helps you get out of his sweater and your dress, always swatting your grabbing hands away, before he manhandles you into the bathroom to get you ready for bed.

You were getting pissed at him again, because first, he got you hot and bothered and then he didn’t want to do something about it. How rude. That would get him payback, you swore to yourself.

Still, not even your naked form had him thinking twice about his choice, he simply wrangles one of his tees over your head and pulls you flush against him in your shared bed, having a death grip on you, so you couldn’t even move around, as much as you tried.

“Sleep now kitten, and then maybe tomorrow I’ll give you what you want so desperately right now.”

He runs a hand down your side teasingly and you could feel his smile against your forehead at the way your body quivers against him.

“On second thought, I think I’m not able to forgive you yet, you are actually the worst”, you mumble against his chest. He only acknowledges this with another kiss against your forehead. Still, somehow your boyfriend had made the right call, because it only took you seconds to fall asleep in his warm embrace. 

He watches your sleeping form on his chest fondly, pressing little kisses to your face from time to time and thinking to himself, that he deserves a price for self-control, because he seriously had not wanted to restrain himself at all.

Groaning, he presses another kiss to your face as he sleepily mumbles, “I love you, Y/n.” before squishing you even more against his chest. This was what he had longed for all week after all, he thought to himself, as he tried to ignore the bulge in his pants. This was going to be an extremely long and very torturous night for him… he just hopes he would fall asleep just as fast as you did. Morning could not come fast enough…

[agoddamn]

Oh, it's that little Bonteri shit again. Wonder if we're at any time gonna talk about his mom's support for Care Bear genocide or the hilarity of her whining about her husband killed by clones (people with no rights)?

Star Wars is doing that funny thing again where we are TECHNICALLY portraying a democracy but it populates it with characters that run on dynastic inheritance; this Bonteri brat is LITERALLY just Some Fuckin Kid to a bunch of politicians. His mom being a politician is completely irrelevant to his qualifications to be here. But, y'know, The Drama

"We can't just let them take him! He'll be killed!" well maybe if you didn't let RANDOM FUCKING CHILDREN into critical negotiations...

Hang on, why did the droids drag him away anyway? This is being hosted on Mandalore BECAUSE it's neutral. That means that Mandalore's security is supposed to be enforcing the rules.

Am I gonna have to put up with comphet again?

Wait, he ACTUALLY has the title of senator? Even though he's like fourteen? How--ah, what the fuck ever

I do like how Ahsoka has these consistent little...gremlin animations

The backs of these purple senate guards are identical to clone trooper backs (rectangular pack with two lines and a circle on it, cylinder in small of back) because mold reuse is the true king of design

This is legit How You Can Tell how much a series's sense of design leans towards the toyetic; characters designed around being able to share the same mold for major body parts. You also see this a lot in Kamen Rider and Super Sentai, where goons will tend to have a copied chestpiece with unique helmet.

Is this sword logo on the chairs Mandalore's? This ship doesn't look all that art deco, and it was being run by R2, and the senate guards were outside it

This kid is not very smart huh

"There is another option" is it terrorism?

"Like [the Republic] helped my mother?!" you do remember that your mother was not part of the Republic and killed by DOOKU without any chance for the Republic to do anything, right...?

Like, this is a perfectly normal way to process grief but I'd appreciate it if someone pointed out how irrational it is

"a group who are noble and allied with my cause" ah yes, terrorism

How much longer til this little shit dies

[fake shock] Oh my goodness, terrorists!

Ahsoka's winter hood with the montral pockets and little puffballs is really fucking cute

There's often an implication/outright statement in fic that Mandalorian armor is androgynous but that is definitely not the case with what I'm looking at

There's not a whole lotta consistency with Mandalorian names, is there? "Satine" and "Bo-Katan" don't sound like they came from the same planet

Why do I have to deal with a fake relationship plot with Ahsoka and some walking, talking spoiled milk rather than literally anyone fucking else

.............so Bo-Katan's a lesbian

>Mandalorians are bullying droids and this is supposed to be ominous regardless of the fact that our heroes bully droids 24/7

WHATEVER

Death Watch doesn't recognize Ahsoka? Wasn't she pretty publicly involved in ruining their plans?

"Tell your woman to leave us" oh these guys sound VERY egalitarian and not sexist at ALL

Love how these guys are bragging about having Dooku's location as if that information isn't several hours outdated by now and Dooku isn't a guy who moves around a lot

"We are battle droids no longer. Now we are slaves." NOW? Oh, whatever

These guys look vaguely Mongolian? The girl's facial decos made me think Mirialan for a second, but I think they're new. In a very weird cultural appropriation boomerang, this dude's hat looks like Amidala's

"You have taken our women" ...oh, I was not expecting the rape implications to be that, uh, not-implied

So traditionalist Mandos are DEFINITELY pretty fucking misogynist

>there's not even an animation of Ahsoka taking her coat off, it just vanishes between frames

Goddamn, this really does drag when everything that's going to happen is so blatantly choreographed

I'm tired of Deus Ex Artoo

What kind of shitty terrorists don't even bother to take a ship that was parked on their front lawn?

"You know I can't go with you" LITERALLY why??? He hasn't committed any crimes by Republic standards. He's got valuable info on a terrorist group. He has similar goals to Ahsoka and he's just proven himself quite fucking incompetent on his own.

"We could try to change things from the inside" LITERALLY WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?? Dooku is a SITH, there is no "changing from the inside" with that shit!

"We make a pretty good team, don't we?" No

"We'll see each other again" FUCK

[leonardhoee]

Matchup #2

Thanks for the request @aurora-morning​ 💜💜

So I match you up with...

Comte!!

Your Song

Okay now this man is a complete gentleman but he's also very secretive so it’s hard to tell what he’s thinking at first.

He was in love with you pretty much since you arrived but you would never be able to tell. He spoils you and takes you out shopping almost every week. He brings you to the finest restaurants and brings presents back for you from various business trips. 

However, you think all of this is because he's just being nice. Truth is, with all the life experience he has, he doesn't really know how to handle his feelings and he deals with it in the best way he knows how. By spoiling you.

Your awkwardness isn’t a problem for him. If you think you did anything that might seem weird don’t worry he’s definitely seen worse (he’s seen naked, drunk Leo on a roof and he had to bring him back down, it doesn’t get worse than that)

He thinks that maybe you're better off not knowing about how he feels for the whole month you're there, because it might be scary being with a pureblooded vampire that's as powerful, and has as many secrets as he does. 

But he tries to spend time with you every chance he gets and he secretly asks Sebastian to ask you to bring his rouge and tea to him so he gets to see you. 

“Oh what a coincidence you're here Ma Cherie, why don't you stay a while and maybe help me with some paperwork? We can go to dinner together afterwards”

Speaking of dinners, he will leave a dress on your bed (that he designed specifically for you) with a note telling you to be ready by a certain time and he will take you to the best restaurants in Paris. Before you guys go home he takes you to his favorite bakery and gets you the best strawberry shortcake in the city.

“No of course its not a date I just didn't want to go to the restaurant alone” *nervous laugh

He is absolutely willing to make the first move. He’s a very perceptive man and can easily tell if social situations give you anxiety. He’s more than happy to be social for the both of you.

He thinks your glasses are adorable and sometimes he tries them on when you’re not around.

Both of you are basically flirting with each other by trying to impress each other and it’s quite hilarious to watch as a third party. (Pleaseee just admit your feelings already dorks)

It gets to a point where his feelings are blatantly obvious to Sebastian and Leonardo and they both encourage him to just tell you how he feels because he’s going to regret it if he doesn't. (Thats rich coming from you Leo)

He finally decides to do it and he brings a bouquet of Roses to your room and takes you on a walk in the garden where he had Sebastian plant your favorite flowers. (He figured he shouldn’t go TOO overboard but after that be prepared for the most extra dates ever.)

He is actually incredibly nervous but he looks perfectly calm on the outside as he tells you everything he loves about you and asks if you’d do him the honor of letting him love you as you deserve to be loved.

Doesn’t know how to tie a tie (hence all the clip on ties) and he’ll ask you to tie it for him.

He is a Feminist™ and he will never look down on you or talk over you. He values your intelligence and your opinions and he’ll always ask for your advice. He doesn’t just consider you his girlfriend, you’re his partner in every aspect of his life and he will treat you with the respect you deserve.

He is protective but he respects your independence and won’t overstep his boundaries. He just wants to support you in any way he can.

He is your number 1 fan and will be the first person to encourage and support your hobbies. He is so proud of you and will definitely brag about you to everyone.

He loves your voice and asks you to sing to him every night. He likes to lay down in your lap and have to stroke his hair as you sing to him. It’s his favorite thing to do to relax, he’ll usually fall asleep after. (Please do this, he desperately needs the sleep)

(One time neither of you realized Leo was sleeping under Comte’s desk while you were singing to him and both of them ended up falling asleep. You only found him after you hesrd a loud thump under the desk.)

He is incredibly affectionate and he hugs you and kisses you on the forehead and tells you he loves you every time he sees you. Everyone teases him for it but he couldn’t care less. He’s so whipped for you and he wants you to constantly feel how much he loves you.

As the two designated Mom Friends, you guys become the mansion’s parents. Congratulations!! You’ve just adopted 11 kids so have fun with that! Arthur will definitely come to ask you stuff Comte would otherwise say no to because he knows you can convince “dear old daddy” to do anything.

Gentleman in the streets but he’s a freak in the sheets. He is utterly devoted to your pleasure as you are a goddess in his eyes. Secretly loves to be bossed around by you and tied up.

He is incredibly romantic and he will send you love letters. He’ll speak French to you in bed if you want too. He quite literally treats you like a princess.

Being the person he is, he’s well versed in many subjects and will patiently listen to all your theories and will even give you more information on any of the subjects your desired. He’ll even teach you alchemy if you ask him.

He’s traveled a lot and tells you about history from all the different times he’s visited Philippines. He would love to take you there if you want to see what it looked like in this time period! He loves learning about other cultures and can actually speak a bit of Tagalog.

Your wedding would be a big deal (like inviting royalty kind of big deal. After all they ARE Comte’s friends) and will have multiple events. You’ll have two wedding ceremonies (one of them is a typical french wedding and the other one is a Filipino wedding ceremony) and he will host a ball at Versailles for your reception. (You already KNOW Leo is gonna roast tf out of him in his best man speech)

Anyways you guys are adorable!! Please adopt me.

Hope you enjoyed!!💜

Here’s my Comte playlist!

[princeindisguise]

The Heirs of Auradon: Chapter 2

It took Nefaria a moment to realize that the young man was prince Beau. Everything about him was sleek and shining – his hair, his clothes, his skin. He was dressed in a golden cloak and had a crown on his head. He was wholesome, handsome, smiling with empty eyes. Nothing like the shy, hunched young beast she had met four years ago.

He looked a lot more foreign to her like this.

This story is inspired partly by Disney’s Descendants movies, but most of the names, ideas, clever details, and so on comes from Droo216 and his incredible Descendants AU.

Here’s the second chapter. (And here’s the prologue and the first chapter!)

Chapter 2

That spoiled, self-righteous little prince, Nefaria thought. I should have taken his stupid rose petals.

Her horns and her senses were sharp, and she was ready to go to Auradon. Silently in her head she had been plotting constantly, ever since she first heard that they were going. She had watched the people of Auradon for years. They weren’t hard to grasp. She wasn’t as worried as Vladimir – they loved to forgive in Auradon. They loved feeling noble and merciful. Tricking the inhabitants wouldn’t be a problem.

But tricking Beau would. He was the only one there who had met her before. Nefaria had been too young to understand she couldn’t show her real self to him. And now he knew too much about her.

Nefaria felt more at ease when she thought about what her mother had said.

There’s always another plan: Do as much damage as you possibly can.

Of course, her mother was right. That was one of the first things Nefaria learned about the world. Building is the hard part. Destruction always finds a way.

At first, her mother had just told Nefaria, Rizal, Angelika, and Vladimir they were going to school in Auradon. It wasn’t until Nefaria had read the letter herself that she was informed about a “possible summit”, where ambassadors from all ten kingdoms would come together and negotiate the future of the Isle of the Lost. If the summit came to be, Nefaria, Rizal, Vladimir, and Angelika should be ready to play the part of the ambassadors from the isle. Until the summit potentially started, and if it did, while the negotiations were going on, they were supposed to study at the finest school in Rosencourt. There, they would educate themselves on topics of their choice, to be able to put their thoughts into words during the summit, bring forth their own arguments. That’s what the letter said.

Nefaria saw why her mother hadn’t mentioned it – it wasn’t important. It was nothing but empty words. Obviously, heirs from all the kingdoms of Auradon wouldn’t drop everything to come together just to make the lives of the inhabitants of the isle better. They didn’t care. They would come up with some excuse not to have one, and eventually, they would send Nefaria and her friends back to the isle. If they didn’t take matter into their own hands, that was…

If the Auradons wanted peace, they could forget it. In this story, the villains would win. They would take what they wanted, and they would take it the only way they could – not by following the rules, but by breaking them.

But her mother’s plan had seemed underwhelming to Nefaria. Nefaria had always been convinced their parents had a plan. That they had plotted for the last twenty years about how to get out of the Isle of the Lost, so that when the opportunity finally came, they would be ready. Maleficent, Jafar, Grimhilde, and Cruella had private meetings at least once a month. They had to have talked about escaping. A lot.

Maybe they’d never thought about an opportunity as good as this one.

When Nefaria thought about herself and her three closest friends, she realized something. Maybe their parents wanted to test them. Why would they give them more specific instructions? Why would they think they needed them? Nefaria had been able to transform into a dragon since the age of seven – for ten years – and she had flown over to Auradon regularly ever since. Angelika was a magical prodigy. Vladimir was almost as accomplished in making business as his mother, even though he was only seventeen. Rizal was brave, or foolish, enough to do just about anything.

They all had their strengths, and they were powerful. There were ways. They just had to be sly.

Especially if the Auradons were so stupid, they let them come there regardless of the risks.

She stopped herself. It wasn’t “the Auradons” who had decided that she and her friends came there.

It was Beau.

She had thought about their meeting many times, but somehow, she had never really thought about the last things he had said to her.

“When can we meet again?”

Impossible.

He couldn’t possibly be risking the safety of his entire kingdom just to be able to see her again.

Could he?

Of course he could.

Realizing this made her angry. She had always wanted herself and her friends out of the Isle of the Lost, but not like this. Not with his help.

  A brown carriage was carrying Nefaria, Angelika, Rizal, and Vladimir to Auradon. The journey went underwater, the walls strengthened with magic, the carriage pulled by brook horses, and steered by a coachwoman with gills. Angelika, Rizal, and Vladimir had never seen anything but the isle before, and Nefaria had never been under water. None of them could stop looking at the windows. Everything seemed tinted a greenish blue – the sunlight reached all the way to the sea floor – and the seaweed moved slowly, as if from a gentle breeze. They even saw some merfolk, who stopped to look at them and even giving them a smile, waving, unaware of who they were.

All of it reminded Nefaria of Tallulah. The two of them had used to say they fit so well together, complemented each other; fire and water, merfolk and fairy. Under the sea, up in the air – none of them were bound to stay on the ground. Or inside the barrier, for that matter. They could both get through it whenever they wanted.

It had been over a year since they’d last seen each other. Nefaria wondered where Tallulah could be. Probably out on the ocean somewhere, with a ship of her own. If Nefaria knew Tallulah well – and she knew she did – Tallulah wasn’t sailing around without direction. When Tallulah had told Nefaria she wanted them to leave the isle together, she’d had a plan. A plan for where she was going and why. She just never told Nefaria about it.

When Nefaria said she couldn’t come with, Tallulah had given her one last kiss, and left on her own.

The carriage went up a slope, that led them out of the water and onto the docks of Auradon. They hardly had time to look around before being guided into another carriage. To her three friends, Nefaria thought, the steps from the first carriage to the second one could have been nothing but a jumble of light and colors that they didn’t have time to take in.

The last carriage had been brown and plain, but the next one was made of gold and covered in ornaments. It was pulled by regular horses, white and unnaturally clean, and the coachman was human. Thick curtains covered the windows.

They were on land now, officially in Auradon. If they spoke low, they could be completely sure the coachman wouldn’t hear them.

”Now,” Nefaria said, lowering her voice, leaning forwards, closer to the others, “we plot.”

“No, we don’t,” Vladimir hissed, looking around the wagon, his eyes saying: We don’t know who might be listening.

“No one can hear us,” Nefaria whispered tiredly. “We’re in Auradon now. No magic is allowed here, as you might remember. If there had been any sort of magic near us, I would have felt it.”

Vladimir rolled his eyes.

“Whatever you say,” he said, leaning back against the cushions, blatantly ironic. “You’re in charge.”

Nefaria ignored him.

“This is our one chance to prove ourselves to our parents,” she said, turning to Rizal and Angelika. “Why do you think they gave us such vague instructions? We’re not little children anymore. We’re almost adults. We should be able to come up with something on our own.”

“So what is your big plan?” Vladimir said, and Nefaria looked at him again.

“To begin with,” she said, “we’re going to use that limp of yours.”

First, Vladimir looked like he was about to get angry. With controlled irritation, Angelika said:

“So that’s why you didn’t want me to heal that really nasty wound your mother gave him?”

Nefaria nodded. Vladimir nodded, too, snickering.

“I thought you were just in bad mood,” he said.

Nefaria frowned. “I’m not in a bad mood.”

“Yes, you are,” Rizal said. “You have been ever since you heard we were going here.”

“I have not. I’ve just been thinking a lot.” She didn’t like this, this sudden, intense need to defend herself.

So she changed the subject.

“The point is, they’ll like the vulnerability,” she said. “They’ll underestimate you, Vladimir. They won’t realize your best weapon is your brain.”

Vladimir’s facial expression softened a little.

“That does seem kind of reasonable, I guess,” he said.

“And the rest of us?” Rizal asked.

“We will use Angelika’s intelligence, and your bravery. Angelika will do extraordinarily well in school and make them think it’s thanks to them.” She turned from Angelika to Rizal. “We’ll find a scenario where Rizal can show his skills, maybe rescue one of the Auradons from some kind of dangerous situation.”

“What if we don’t find such a scenario?” Angelika asked.

“We’ll create one,” Nefaria replied, grinning. She hoped they wouldn’t find one. The second option was a lot more fun.

Vladimir scoffed. “And you? What will you contribute with?”

Hearing Vladimir saying that made her feel threatened in a way she wasn’t used to. On the isle, she was obviously the most powerful of the four, because she held the strongest magic in her. In Auradon, magic wasn’t allowed. Everyone who practiced magic must register and they were watched strictly. Her biggest strength – which she sometimes thought of as her sole strength – could only be used with extreme caution, if at all. She wondered if that thought had crossed Vladimir’s mind, or Angelika’s or Rizal’s, for that matter. Anger rose within her.

“I’m the one making the plans, as usual,” Nefaria said. “Since none of you seem to have one, as usual.”

As she spoke, she raised her hands and released her hair from the strict hairdo. Angelika looked at her in disbelief, unfolding her arms and gaping slightly.

“Why on earth did you do that? We spent two hours on your hair!”

“I know I’ve just wasted several hours of my life in order to look presentable to this pathetic boy king and his little royal friends,” Nefaria said. “But it doesn’t have to be that obvious.”

“Are you insane?” Angelika was almost yelling. Then she remembered the coachman and lowered her voice. “We are meant to play a part, remember? We’re supposed to trick them. We have to look the part. We have to look like we’re grateful to be here. Like we want to be here.”

“Well, I’m sorry I’m not a very good actor,” Nefaria replied, throwing her head forwards and back again, setting her hair completely free.

“And don’t fling your horns around like that, unless you want to take someone’s eye out!” Rizal said, trying to sound angry.

“I’m hoping on it,” Nefaria replied, sounding so solemn, Rizal couldn’t help but laugh.

Letting out a groan, Angelika gave up. “You’re both hopeless.”

“At least we don’t take ourselves too seriously,” Rizal said. “You should try it sometime. You might like it.”

“Maybe I will, but this is not the right time.” Angelika looked out the window, signaling that the conversation was over. For a moment, she looked like she could cry from frustration. The look on Vladimir’s face told them he agreed with her.

Nefaria almost felt bad, and she was worried, too. She could tell Angelika noticed she was acting strangely. They had all noticed.

You’ve been in a bad mood ever since you heard we were going here.

For some reason she hadn’t thought they knew her that well.

  When they stepped out of the darkness of the carriage, they were met with so much light and color, they could have stumbled backwards. Nefaria had never been to Auradon during midday before, and the other three had never been there at all.

Right in front of them was the Beast’s castle. Around them were crowds of people, countless faces staring at them. A crier presented them as they smiled uncomfortably. The only one who seemed to enjoy the spotlight was Vladimir, which came as no surprise to Nefaria.

Then, they started walking towards the gates of the castle.

“All the colors are so bright,” Vladimir whispered, making an effort to hardly move his lips at all. He was trying to sound irritated, but there was something resembling excitement in his voice as well. Leaning towards Rizal, squinting, subtly opening his coat wider, he continued: “They’re going to damage our eyesight.”

Rizal laughed discreetly. “Just as well. At least we won’t have to see all of this garbage.”

But she could tell they were fascinated. She was, too. Fascinated and equally disgusted. Angelika laid her fingers on Vladimir’s arm and whispered:

“It’s so warm, but without being sultry. It’s strange, isn’t it?”

Vladimir nodded, eyes forward, towards the gates at the end of the royal blue carpet, laid out in front of them like a trail to a new world.

None of the people facing them could hide their fear nor their interest. Nefaria was dressed in a long, white dress – her mother’s suggestion – and though she felt uncomfortable wearing anything that wasn’t black, she liked the feeling of being in disguise. Angelika’s dress was blue, flowing around her like water when she walked. It contrasted to Rizal’s red cloak, embroidered with patterns in yellow and orange, dancing in the wind like fire. Under his coat, golden for the occasion, Vladimir was wearing a dusty pink gala suit from the tenth kingdom. Nefaria had convinced Vladimir not to wear fur, and Rizal to shave his mustache, as she wanted them to look as different from their parents as possible. In a way, letting her hair down had been a wise decision. Maleficent never used to show hers.

The gates were opened in front of them and they stepped inside.

In the grand hall, they were met with the sight of two thrones, and two women and one young man standing in front of them. The women were the two most powerful people in Auradon –  Belle, the High Queen of Auradon, and the Fairy Godmother, the Arbiter of Justice.

It took Nefaria a moment to realize that the young man was prince Beau. Everything about him was sleek and shining – his hair, his clothes, his skin. He was dressed in a golden cloak and had a crown on his head. He was wholesome, handsome, smiling with empty eyes. Nothing like the shy, hunched young beast she had met four years ago.

He looked a lot more foreign to her like this.

She curtsied deeply, and raising up again, she said:

“Your highness. We are not worthy of the generosity that you’ve shown us. Without your honor and kind heart, we would still be on the isle with those… loathsome miscreants.”

Only her friends could spot the irony in her voice, and only she could make out the amusement on their faces when their smiles widened.

Beau smiled, too, and after welcoming them, he said:

“We are the ones who should thank you, for agreeing to this opportunity to negotiate the future of Auradon and the Isle of the Lost. We know how much talent, intelligence, and ambition the inhabitants of the isle possesses, and we hope that this will be the beginning of a process of sending even more of them over.”

Now that she was close to him, she could see his eyes. They were still the same. Realizing that soothed her. Big, dark blue eyes. Up close, his look didn’t seem empty anymore. It felt like he saw her. Then, she noticed his hands. They were trembling. She smirked. Maybe he hadn’t changed as much a she’d thought.

She realized what he had said. Could it be true? Could he actually be planning on letting more people out of the isle? She looked around. Everyone from the court, everyone who seemed to have power in Rosencourt or be close to the royal family, seemed to be gathered around them. Could he really be saying something like that so publicly if it was just empty words?

“It is my greatest pleasure to introduce four young ambassadors from the Isle of the Lost.” He took a step forward and presented them all, Nefaria first, then Rizal, then Vladimir, then Angelika. As he did, he made them sound like royalty.

  Afterwards, they found themselves at a welcoming ball. They had all known about it, but it still felt overwhelming, at least to Nefaria.

After watching the people around her for a while, she realized she had seen a lot of them before, on her flights over to Auradon. Knowing that she had the advantage of knowing them, even if it was just for a little, made her feel smug. Things were going well. Vladimir walking around, his limp just visible enough to gain attention, greeting everyone he met with the same graceful courtesy and responding to comments like “Oh, you poor thing! What happened to your leg?” with heroic answers like: “Don’t worry, it’s just a scratch.” Rizal subtly flirting with basically every person the same age as him at the ball, making one of them after the other laugh at his jokes. Angelika, wanting to take in every inch of the room, probably analyzing everything she set her eyes on, but never leaving Nefaria’s side.

Nefaria looked across the room, where Beau was talking to princess Lilith. The breathtakingly confident, well-educated, immensely wealthy, perfect daughter of Queen Aurora and King Philip. Ever since Nefaria first saw her, jealousy had been boiling in her stomach. Now, as she saw her talking and laughing with Beau, the jealousy boiled over to hate. Princess Lilith’s arrival had been more excessive and pretentious than Nefaria could have ever imagined. It had been a parade of horses, knights, servants carrying squirrels, rabbits, songbirds, and owls in gilded cages, a huge carriage lead by four black unicorns, and even more than that, that Nefaria didn’t even have the energy to remember.

In a way, it made her glad. Beau couldn’t possibly be impressed by someone who presented themselves like that. Or could he? He seemed to be having a good time with Lilith, at least from afar.

Nefaria had good reasons to have a chat with Lilith. Why not walk up to them and interrupt their little conversation?

Before she could take a step, Angelika had grabbed her arm.

“Don’t even think about it.”

Nefaria pulled her arm loose.

“Look at me,” Angelika said. Reluctantly, Nefaria did as she asked.

“Now is not the right time,” Angelika whispered. “I could tell how upset you were when you saw her. It’s understandable. You two will have your little talk about your parents and the past, but not right now. Right now, we need to be polite and charming and not take any risks.”

“I should at least get to introduce myself,” Nefaria growled.

Just as she said that, Lilith turned and looked straight at her. Then, she and Beau walked up to her and Angelika.

“Remember, stay calm,” Angelika whispered. “Please.”

Lilith was as tall as Nefaria, and so beautiful it would have frightened her, had she been someone who was frightened easily. There was something eerie, almost supernatural about Lilith’s beauty.

”Nefaria, Angelika,” Beau said. “I would like you to meet Crown Princess Lilith of Fairedge.” The princess curtsied, looking at Nefaria with a stare that was so intense, Nefaria for a moment almost was frightened. The look in Lilith’s eyes was the exact look that had drawn Nefaria to Tallulah – and pushed her away from her. A dangerous confidence, a beauty to be feared.

Lilith’s smirk widened. Ignoring Angelika, she stared Nefaria down, saying: “It Is truly lovely to finally meet you in person. Beau just told me the most wonderful things about you.”

Forcing a smile, Nefaria said: “Really? I’m delighted to hear that.”

“I think we will have lot to talk about,” Lilith said.

“I think we will,” Nefaria replied.

Nefaria thought she was handling the situation well, but suddenly, she noticed how Beau was looking at her. There wasn’t just suspicion in his eyes – it was like he knew exactly was she was thinking, could actually feel how much hate that was filling her.

Even though not even Lilith seemed to have caught up on it.

That must have been why Beau was so quick to lead Nefaria and Angelika away from Lilith, saying he wanted to introduce them to two of his closest friends.

“They’re the only ones except for Lilith and yourselves who are already here for the summit,” he said. “The others will arrive shortly.”

“You mean, the summit will actually happen?” Angelika couldn’t help but ask.

“Why, yes, of course,” Beau replied. Leaning closer to them, he whispered: “The only one really hard to get here was Lilith, and, as you can see, she is definitely here now.”

They were introduced to a young man and woman with long, brown hair and smiles like sunlight. Their hair was the exact same length, and their facial features were so similar, they had to be twins. The woman had her eyes closed and were being led around the ballroom by her brother.

“Viola and Sebastian, I would like you to meet Nefaria and Angelika, two of the ambassadors from the Isle of the Lost. Nefaria, Angelika – Viola and Sebastian of Corona.”

Talking to Viola and Sebastian seemed to melt away at least some of the cold feelings Lilith had made Nefaria feel. Both Viola and Sebastian had such a calmness and softness about them, and Nefaria quickly forgot Viola couldn’t see. Because she hadn’t felt so noticed in a long time. Viola seemed to understand her and Angelika, in a way that only someone who actively questions their own prejudices can. Nefaria felt like she could have talked to Viola and her brother for hours.

  After the ball and the following dinner, Nefaria, Angelika, Rizal, and Vladimir were led to their rooms. The room Nefaria and Angelika shared was pink and white all over, the bedsheets, canopies and tablecloths all decorated with lace.

Finally, they were alone. Finally, Nefaria could tell Angelika the one thing she had wanted to say for several hours.

“This won’t work. I can’t play a part – prince Beau will know if I do.”

Frustration and surprise were beaming out of Angelika. “Why?”

“I don’t know. I could just tell from the way he looked at me.”

Angelika folded her arms. “There is something you’re not telling me.”

Almost losing composure, Nefaria wondered what to say. She hadn’t expected Angelika to figure that out, at least not so quickly.

“No, it’s not,” Nefaria said. “Why would you think that?”

“You’re hiding something.”

“No.”

”What are you hiding?”

Nefaria sighed. Usually, Angelika wasn’t very stubborn. When she was, there was no use trying to argue with her.

”I’ve…” After a short hesitation, she continued. “I have met the prince before. Once. It was four years ago. He got to know me a little, I guess. We talked for a while.”

“Talked? About what? Why?”

“He told me he’d give me the petals of the enchanted rose if I talked to him, so I did. He saw me when I flew here to take them.”

Angelika snorted. “Why didn’t you take them, then?”

Nefaria had wondered that herself for a long time. Without understanding why, she hadn’t wanted him to think she had talked to him all night because she wanted the petals.

“I had to escape quickly,” Nefaria lied. “We heard someone coming. There was no time.”

Angelika thought about it for a moment before speaking again.

”I don’t see how this can be anything but a good thing, though,” she said. “If anyone can gain his trust, it’s you.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Do you have a better suggestion?”

“Of course I do. Did you see Vladimir limping, those faces of pain he made? He’s playing his part perfectly. Now we just need to let people see the wound and let them know my mother did it to him. Not only will they pity us, but they’ll be convinced we’re not on her side. As for Rizal – he is strong, he is brave –“

“You mean dumb?”

“I mean that it’s the same thing to these people. I’ve seen what the girls in Auradon act like. They think being a damsel in distress is the best way to find someone to fall in love with, and that’s what they all want, to fall in love. Rizal could win over one or more of the powerful young women around here easily. We will make sure he gets the chance to rescue a girl, which won’t be that hard, consider the girls around here seem to try to get themselves in trouble.”

Angelika squinted with her left eye. She always did that when she wasn’t buying something someone told her.

“That seems a bit like… simplifying things,” she said.

“No, it’s not,” Nefaria said. “Trust me.”

“The Auradons shouldn’t underestimate us,” Angelika said. “But we shouldn’t underestimate them, either.”

“I’m the one who has actually been here before!”

“And I’m the more intelligent one,” Angelika replied, smiling sweetly.

It annoyed Nefaria that Angelika wouldn’t listen to her. She wasn’t going to show it, though – it wasn’t the right approach.

“And what will I do, if doing well in school isn’t enough?” Angelika asked.

“You’ll come up with something,” Nefaria said. “You’re the best witch on the isle, and thereby in the entirety of the nine kingdoms.”

“You know flattery doesn’t work on me, Nefaria. Especially when you tell me things I already know.” Angelika folded her arms. “I still think you have to use your relationship with the prince. I’m beginning to think you’re the reason he brought us here in the first place.”

Nefaria shrugged and shook her head. That wasn’t something she wanted to talk about, not right now. Instead of answering, she looked past Angelika’s face, out the window. On the horizon, she saw a ship, and she thought about Tallulah again.

She missed her.

Someone knocked on the door. Nefaria turned her eyes to Angelika, who was smiling victoriously.

“It’s the prince,” she said. “I guarantee it.”

Nefaria shook her head. “No, it’s not. It’s probably Vladimir or Rizal. It’s not him.”

Angelika opened the door, and she was, as usual, completely unsurprised to discover she had been right.

It was Beau.

“Good evening, ladies,” he said. As he spoke, he turned from Angelika, to Nefaria. “If you allow it, Angelika, I would like a walk with Nefaria. Alone.”

[amostimprobabledream]

Why I hate Grace.

I was giving my thoughts on Peaky Blinders a few weeks ago and I danced around the subject of my dislike for this character but didn’t have time/room to get it all out. So here it is! Grace fans, you probably want to look away now. So to me, Grace is kind of symbolic of the bad writing on Peaky Blinders, which is especially egregious because usually the writing of the show is good. But right off the bat, her arrival creates a number of plotholes that don't resonate with Tommy's character. Just for a start, nobody seems to find it suspicious that an apparently attractive woman (seriously, people go on and on about how pretty Grace is and while it's not as though she's ugly at all, you can't help but wonder if the Peaky boys merely think so because she's the only woman of significance not related to them) is so determined to be a barmaid in The Garrison, where Tommy, upon seeing her, immediately asks her if she's a whore. Grace is understandably offended by the question, which again makes you wonder why she'd want to work somewhere where such a question isn't just an assumption, but the first thing Tommy asks - we know she's a spy, but the other characters don't.

Then, Tommy corners Grace and starts asking why she keeps being so nosy about the Blinders and their business. They go for a walk and Tommy asks Grace if she's a Catholic. She says she is, but when Tommy points out that no good Catholic girl would walk into a church without making the cross, he immediately exposes her as a liar and points out he also knows that she lied to him about what town she was from, because he asked around and nobody had ever heard of her. So what does he do? He...promotes her to being his secretary? What?

Okay, so you might argue that Tommy puts her in said position to keep an eye on her, or thinks she might be useful if she has the balls to lie to him, but she tells such an easy-to-unravel lie and her excuse is because she wants to "fit in". Again, he lets her off the hook but she covers up a lie with an even more obvious one  - if Grace cared about fitting in, she'd make more of an effort to do so, but she keeps demanding Tommy let her sing in the pub and asks questions above her station to Arthur, which got reported back to Tommy. Sure, it's her job to spy on the Peaky boys, but she's so transparent about it that it's honestly ridiculous that Tommy would ever put her in a position that close to his personal affairs. Not to mention, Grace is so inexplicably haughty towards Tommy, telling him, "You disappoint me" when he kisses her. You'd think if she was good at her job, she'd learn to shut her mouth and keep her head down like a decent spy, but she always acts as if she's better than Tommy because, like Polly points out, she's a spoiled little rich girl at heart and she does think herself above the Shelby's.

Then Tommy completely inexplicably chooses to give Grace a fucking gun and tells her some men are going to come in and try to kill him and he's relying on her to bail him out. I know the cops were meant to come in at the stroke of six and they fuck up, but WHY would you ever place that level of trust in someone you already know is a liar? Sorry, but I just don't buy that Tommy was blinded by "love". I can buy that maybe he was curious about Grace, possibly even fancied her a bit, but definitely not so stupid that he thinks it's a good idea to put his fucking life in the hands of a woman he knows basically nothing about. She could have fallen out of the sky for all he knows. Tommy even continues to trust Grace after she kills an IRA guy right in front of him because she sobs, "I didn't know I had it in me like that", yet she disobeyed his instructions and whenever Arthur or John do that, Tommy gives them a bollocking. He lets Grace off, again, for seemingly no reason other than she played the damsel in distress role and he buys it. This doesn't make Tommy look like a smart man blinded by love, it just makes him look like an idiot around Grace.

Also, there seems to be an uncomfortable level in Tommy/Grace of Tommy getting a kick out of using Grace to piss Campbell off. It's pretty obvious Campbell has a creepy crush on her, and Tommy exploits that for all it's worth when he explicitly rings Campbell to inform him that he's going to bang Grace. (Incidentally, their sex scene made me go, "Oh, I guess they're gonna fuck now. Yup." It was like they did it because the screenwriter said so.) He's basically cucking Campbell and I think it's a big reason why even Grace fans admit that she's "not as good" in Season Two - Grace just doesn't work without Campbell around. At least in Season One you can argue that every shitty thing Grace does to Tommy/the Peaky Blinders is partly because of her job as a spy and Campbell is her boss. In Season Two, there are no excuses for the way Grace acts. She's a selfish, self-righteous hypocrite. She jumps at the chance to go to Birmingham on the offchance it was Tommy who called, then acts all offended when he assumes she came to sleep with him, to the point she actually smacks him in the face. What does Tommy do about this? Nothing. When Grace complains they could have run away to New York together, all Tommy says is, "I had things to do", instead of asking Grace why she thinks he'd abandon his family, business, friends and country all to chase after the woman who sold him out to his worst enemy. Grace honestly expected Tommy to put her first after everything she did to him. I won't act like Tommy is a saint in this - he did nearly pimp her out to Billy Kimber - but at least he acknowledges it was wrong of him to do and he never acts like he occupies any moral highground like Grace does. When Grace admits she sold Tommy out, she sobs she "did a terrible thing," yet never tries to actually help him out in a way that would put her at risk - she quit her position, sure, but Campbell's creepiness had gone so far as to propose marriage to her, Grace was still looking out for herself when she left, because it got her away from Campbell. She asked Campbell to spare him, knowing full well that Campbell has wanted Tommy dead since day one. She plays the damsel in distress again and she's pissed when Tommy doesn't fall for it a second time. Then when she talks about her husband, she tries to rub it in Tommy's face how he's “a good, kind man”, but then quickly backtracks on that to fuck Tommy anyway because her husband is impotent - and Grace just can't deal with not getting what she wants. Tommy's rich enough to afford to buy a house for Ada and Polly by this point, he's running Birmingham and seeking to expand into London, so Grace pulls the oldest trick in the book and gets pregnant - then Tommy has to do the responsible thing and marry her, because the baby is his and it's literally the only piece of leverage she has over May. (May even points out that she's been stringing Tommy along and all Grace can do is throw the fact that "Grace's Secret" is the horse's name at her. Again though, did Tommy call it that to piss off Campbell? This was before Grace returned to Small Heath but after Campbell had, so I think yes.)

Then in Season Three, again, Grace is pretty much a pointless character, because she has no purpose anymore outside of being "Tommy's wife". Campbell is dead and so the conflict of her character in Season One, as contrived as that was, is gone. People complain about Grace being stuffed into a fridge and whatnot, (and tbh, you could say that about Freddie, but Freddie also served his purpose in Season One after he buried the hatchet with Tommy), but honestly I think that it was all they could think to do with her because Charlotte Riley was unable to pick up her role as May for Season Three, so they had to work around it. It's the only explanation I can think of about why Grace is just such a blatantly awful person in the Second Season - I've heard people say before that Tommy leaving the field after his assassination was prevented would have been the perfect ending to the season, but that scene at the end where he returns to The Garrison and announces he's getting married seemed really hastily tacked-on - I feel like it was added because they were forced to rewrite the drafts for Season Three and put whatever plans for May they had on the shelf. Not to mention, Grace's actress Annabelle Wallis has apparently stated she hates May because she's "annoying" and "gets inbetween Tommy and Grace". No, Grace got in the way of Tommy and Grace - she's the one who chose to leave Birmingham after she got exposed as a Mole instead of taking the consequences! And also, how is May the annoying one? At least she doesn’t whisper all her lines. It's just so immature of the actress to bash on the character and encourage ship wars, especially considering Grace comes out the winner of the love triangle, so what's the bitterness about? (I've not heard what her opinion is on Lizzie, but I doubt it's as hostile, because it's made obvious in the show that Tommy doesn't love Lizzie the same and the poor girl is constantly competing with a dead woman for her husband's love.) Plus, in Season Three, the wedding is all about not upsetting Grace, Tommy's family have to play nice with Grace's family, and Polly is once again the only person who knocks Grace's smug ass down a peg by reminding her that the family haven't forgiven or forgotten Grace's crimes against them - the only reason they're putting up a pretence of tolerating her is for Tommy's sake. Not hers. Not everybody in the world wants to accommodate Grace. Killing Grace was honestly the highlight of the entire Season, because I couldn't stand watching her smirking over how she got everything she wanted when she didn't pay for any of it. (Polly is also the only one who comments on how Tommy has conveniently forgotten all the shit she pulled on him and Tommy acts like she was a totally innocent bystander when she got killed and it’s like, no, Tommy, baby. Grace knew what she was getting into when she married him and he knew that - it’s pretty much common knowledge that everybody who is even tangentially associated with the Peaky Blinders gets hurt eventually, just look at how Ada was nearly gangraped even though she hadn’t been involved with the family business for two years.)

Come Season Four and Five and there's already a problem here - there is still more to talk about with Grace, even though she’s dead and Tommy spends most of Season Three rampaging over her death. But he just inexplicably won't let go of her. And again, this doesn't come across as Tommy being so in love with Grace he can't fathom a world without her, it comes off like her actress has dirt on the director or something. He constantly hallucinates the bitch, we hear her singing all the time, it's kind of implied that Tommy prefers Charles over Ruby because Charles a boy and has a saintly dead mummy while Ruby is the daughter of a former whore (not that Tommy doesn't love Ruby, obviously, because he absolutely does), and what really annoys me about Tommy hallucinating Grace is that she's the only character he does this with. He doesn't dream about Greta, his first love, he doesn't dream of Danny or Freddie or his mother. He doesn't even fucking dream about John! Remember John, Tommy's little brother he knew his entire life? Apparently nobody else does! No, it's always all about Grace, who keeps helpfully telling Tommy to hurry up and kill himself so he can be with her again. This doesn’t seem like an out-of-character, guilt-induced vision - it mimicks her attitude in Season Two, that nothing else in his life can be as important as she is.

And that's why I hate Grace. (Please don’t send me rude or hateful messages over this post, it’s just my opinion and it’s pretty much irrelevant anyway since I doubt Stephen Knight is going to stop using Grace up as some kind of martyred dead saint anytime soon. I just wanted to get this rant out of my system.)

[bladekindeyewear]

Bloggin’ thru new Homestuck^2 bonus, The Influencers part 2.  Kinda got my gears ground during part 1, but that largely wasn’t this sideplot’s fault, so I should still be able to enjoy it.

Reminder, bonus update blogging is always light on detail because I don’t wanna spoil all the paid content, but I’ll give the gist of my reactions and go into anything plot or character related that helps understand the main story, as well as giving you a real top-down view of “what happens” so you know what it’s about and whether or not to invest in looking yourself.  (And I don’t necessarily have to give you anything that isn’t main-plot-relevant.)

So where are they going to follow the main party?  They shouldn’t need to record the funeral I’d assume, because that already would have been televised (and awful for Jane’s PR)...  *click*

9/28/2020 - The Influencers, Part 2

TEACHER: Time’s a-ticking. TEACHER: The next plot point is yours to change, if you want it. Don’t you feel it calling to you?

Yeah, just hanging a lampshade on this whole parallel sideplot I guess.

> (==>)

Whatever it is, Imode feels it. A tiny string of relevance spooling out from their belly. They want to follow it.

That’s pretty Lighty and/or Seery.  I’ve used that terminology to describe the pull of Light and its “relevance” connotations even since the only fanfic I’ve ever written, back in 2011 during Homestuck’s run, and it’s obvious enough terminology that I think Rose later mentioned it somewhere like in the Epilogues.  Are these three kids perhaps going to get a fourth, and become their own session by the end of this like Harry, Vrissy, Tavros and Yiffy might?

They can’t stop picturing their friend, Harry Anderson, arrested or tortured or worse. They’re not sure what there is to be done to stop this chain of events, but they’re sure as shit gonna find out.

(”They” is almost certainly referring to Imode here, not all three, since Imode uses they/them.)

Alright, self-aggrandizing used for good.  Show off the sort of thing that Vriska could have accomplished if she actually used her talents for her team for once.  (Besides, like, the similar thing she did just recently by making a scene.)

> (==>)

Imode is the first to choose pursuing this path over bootlicking, and the others are sure to follow.

> (==>)

Yup, Avril and Silas follow.  (Had to be reminded of ALL of their names, it’s been months since their single named appearance.)

> (==>)

Crockercopters overhead but none taking note yet, just ominous setdressing

> (==>)

IMODE: lemme take a ⏱️ to 😮‍💨 before we figure out where to go next. AVRIL: wait don't you know? IMODE: Huh? AVRIL: we were following YOU this whole time.

Oh, that answers the first question I asked.  They have NO clue where they’re going.  Let’s see if they luck out and find the clock tower.

IMODE: You 👂 what he said about the next step 📞 to us, same as i did. Don't you feel it pulling at you?

Literal pull? Powers? Future player?  --All baseless speculation of course.

SILAS: Woah are you seein’ this.

Vriska’s probably putting on her very public display now.  (This is a bonus so I’m skipping lots of banter and arguing.)

> (==>)

Oh, they just saw John flying up to the clock tower in his outfit.  And catching sight of him fly is rare celebrity gossip stuff so of course it’d stand out to them, apparently.  (Only one of them is athletic apparently, the other two are groaning at the prospect of more running.)

> (==>)

Avril always enjoys running, but there’s something else thumping along to the rhythm of the thuds of his feet and beat of his heart. He’d thought Imode was nuts for feeling it just a minute prior, but now he’s realized he isn’t deadweight, that he hasn’t fucked up someone’s life irrevocably, and it pushes him faster and faster as he tears ass toward the belltower.

(Did we know Avril was he/him before this?  Probably but if so I forgot.)

Okay, since we’re getting glimpses into each of their headspaces narratively that BOTH have had some oblique aspect references, I have to at least OPERATE on a guessy assumption that there’s a sort of classpect-for-each-of-them thing going here.

I’ve quoted both those whole paragraphs here... so what do I see?  This is going to be a bit tougher because I don’t care as much to remember these characters...

Imode had some Lighty-or-Seery language, and then could not stop picturing bad things happening to Harry, wanting to avert that chain of events.�� So something of a Seer or Mage would make sense.  But given how easily Lighty stuff and the Understanding classes (or at least what we think those are) can be conflated, Mage of Light seems a bit of a premature jump.  Heck, I’m only saying Mage because a Seer of Light already occupies a starring role, and because her first act on that feeling was to jump after it herself and tell the others:

IMODE: Stay here and 👢👅 your way into fame if that's what you really want. IMODE: I’m ✈️. Follow me if you’re not 🐔💩.

--leading by example rather than directing the others into battle.  Only half-caring if they followed, willing to pursue it herself if necessary.  So, potentially more “Active”.

As for Avril... the word “heart” is mentioned there, sure, but the full context is “there’s something else thumping along to the rhythm of the thuds of his feet and beat of his heart”.  I’m inclined to think that the rhythm/beat references, especially the even footsteps and heartbeats hitting like a metronome, might be more tied to Time?  But if so, I don’t see anything class-related.  (Could also be Blood, and him thinking of what he owes in the last sentences could be reinforcing that?  Big question marks for now.)

> (==>)

Door to the belltower’s locked.  The kids figure John’s forgotten that his son can’t fly.

AVRIL: this is it, this is the thing we can help with! #feelinit #vibes IMODE: OK I'm excited that you believe me now, but what are you gonna even do? IMODE: use your big all-star 💪 to break down the 🚪?

--so they think they can “resolve a missing plot point” by getting the way into the clock tower open?  Is this going to be a theme or running joke of the Influencers sideplot, showing plotholes resolved in bonus content like how we finally saw how Gamzee’s body was relocated last time?  When I was explicitly mad about that?  (This seems like a much smaller one though.)

Apparently in HS^2 proper they remarked that the door SHOULD be locked, but Vriska just opened it anyway and wasn’t surprised it was unlocked, which she would’ve ascribed to her luck -- how the universe just makes way for her.  (And we’re literally seeing HOW the “universe” “made way” for her this way, through these Influencer kids.  Even though Vriska could have broken down the door in a second and it’s practically meaningless.)

> (==>)

Avril just has the key!

AVRIL: so like my photoshoots are like, #modernfashion #myworkout #urbexp IMODE: Yea, your 📸 are why we’re all in this mess. We know. Get to it. AVRIL: fair. ok well this is the urban exploration part. AVRIL: a lot of the public infrastructure buildings in the kingdom have the same weird, shitty deadbolts on them. AVRIL: its like they were mass-produced for ease of access or something. AVRIL: none of the deep crockergov stuff, but a lot of the kingdom maintenance buildings. AVRIL: so once you swipe one key, you got access to it all. AVRIL: that’s how i get a lot of my hard-to-get shots #tradesecrets #tellnoone

Hhhmmmmm.  So what does this tell us about his potential role?  Getting places you’re not supposed to is associated with the Thief, Rogue, Bard, and sometimes Knight classes... as well as the Time/Space aspects, or the Void and Breath aspects.  A Thief or Rogue of Time could do the trick, and fit with the rhythm paragraph earlier... whereas Space doesn’t have the same rhythm associations even if it is “places” he’s getting into for these shots.  And photography, snapshots still in time, is something Dave was also explicitly into.  Plus, this exploit he’s showcasing is specifically for older buildings, playing into history/archaeology from an urban perspective.

So, Time is looking like a safer and safer bet for him.

> (==>)

lock click

> (==>)

long-hair swoop, cheer

SILAS: Yeah, I’m tickled a near-disproportionate amount by the unlockin’ of a door, so I’m inclined to believe you were onto somethin’.

Still no real hints about Silas, yet.

AVRIL: ok so. we did it, right? #missioncomplete AVRIL: feels a little anticlimactic #tbh IMODE: idk, I think so? whatever I was feeling doesn't seem so immediate anymore. IMODE: I wonder if-

Okay, that’s some near-confirmation that Imode was LITERALLY FEELING the plot or some such.  We’ll probably end the Influencers sidestory eventually with at least solid GUESSES blatantly obvious for their potential Hero Roles or the like.

> (==>)

Ah, Vriska and the kids are coming-- and we get the Silas paragraph(s)!  Silas is green-themed with green text, and a session with a Time player has a good chance of having a Space player too, so let’s see if...

Silas doesn’t know what being spotted by the other kids might mean, metaphysically or logistically or legally. She’s not particularly pressed by that sort of thing. But this is a day that’s come with more introspecting than she’s used to having to endure in a year, so she's ready to get moving before it becomes an issue.

As Harry Anderson, Vrissy, Vriska, and Tavros proceed to have this conversation, Silas pushes to catch up with Avril’s pace. She’s not sure where they’re headed, and has no clue what all this means for her. She knows the step she’s taken isn’t one she’ll be able to backtrack from, but she’ll figure that out tomorrow. For now, one foot in front of the other.

That...

I mean there’s a lot of talk of time-FRAMES, from a lazy perspective, but just-pushing-forward-in-the-here-and-now is reasonably Spacey? ...hm.  I was excited for the Silas paragraph(s) but I don’t see any immediately-apparent pattern meant for us to discern classpect info here.  Maybe a female Page example (since we could use one), propelled along by events without knowing what’s going on at first, too early in her journey to have taken more than her first step up the gradual incline of her long-term potential?

I really don’t know I guess.

Anyway, that’s the end of the bonus upd8!  See ya in a while.

[starcrossedyanderes]

What if Xavier had to deal with someone he definitely does not want to be around? Like an annoying relative of a noble who is going to sell some country? Perhaps they are either super mean to or super flirty to Xavier? What if that annoying relative starts picking on his Darling?

Xavier despises having to deal with other people like this.

He only brought you since you were his newest ‘toy’ and since you were so new to the public he wanted to show you off some.

He didn’t mind the leaders all too much. Just some royal family of some small nation that had some good resources or whatever that made them valuable enough to mention.

But it was also their heirs that annoyed him to no end.

They are almost always the obnoxious spoiled brats that still called their fathers ‘daddy’ and are in over their heads. The girls especially.

Yes, he knows exactly how spoiled he is. But the thing is is that he actually works a good bit for his country plus he might act like he’s better and higher up than everyone, but that’s because he is. 

The boys he can tolerate a bit more but the females always grate on his eardrums and patience to no end.

The main reason they annoy him so much is because they think they’re more important than him or they want to marry him. He hates both.

Unlike other nobles before him he can choose whoever he wants to marry. The Devorsky’s don’t do incest. Sure his parents can influence his choice, but at the end of the day it’s up to him.

And since he’s so perfect he knows how much women are tripping over him. He understands, it’s so hard not to fall for him.

But these females just don’t get it, do they?

He was sitting at a table next to you with another noble family sitting across from you. The deal was the usual one, he buys the country, the become a providence of Colvakia, the nobles still have some form of power, all is happy. But the daughter of the other country’s leader just WOULDN’T SHUT UP.

She wouldn’t shut up about all the stuff great about her and she just kept batting her eyelashes at him and he could feel some throw up in his mouth.

What a wretched girl.

“Oh yeah, I won this beauty pageant” 

Countless words of nonsense sprouted from her lips talking about how great she is, complementing him and he didn't spare her a lick of attention.

She was getting so fed up about being ignored she had the audacity to bring you into this.

“Who’s that and why would a prince like you bring her here? Oh, wait, did she win one of those sweepstakes things where commoners get the chance to win some experience with a celebrity or something? Seems like a pretty sucky one if she is just brought to a meeting,”

Xavier felt his eyelid twitch.

One more word about you, and it’s over for her.

Her father spoke up.

“Dear, that’s the royal highness’ guest. I believe that she comes from America.”

A noise that could only be compared to a pig snort came from the girl.

“America, really? Not only a street rat, but an American street rat?! Ha, that explains why I’ve never heard of you before!”

Xavier had enough.

He wrapped a hand around your waist and stood up, his body towering over such a pathetic noble.

“This is my consort. She vill not be talked to or about in such manner. Now, street rat, because of you I’ve decided to change the deal of purchasing.”

Her father quickly stood up to reject this idea.

“Wait! Your highness, please reconsider! I apologise for my daughter’s actions, for my wife and I encourage her. She hasn’t been arranged into a marriage yet and we-”

Xavier’s emerald glare could cut diamonds and slammed his hands on the table.

“How DARE you blatantly refuse to respect my consort. Vhy, the nerve to blatantly ignore her presence is just baffling to me. Oh, and let me guess, you vere trying to get your daughter married to an already engaged prince to save yourself from personal debt. If you excuse us, ve vill be taking our leave.”

Xavier turned around and was ready to walk away before he heard the man’s pleas to continue with the purchase.

Xavier agreed after a while of discussion with the compromise being that all titles will be stripped from their name.

Why, the nerve of some people-

[astroninaaa]

clarke griffin sucks here’s why

Hi! I’ve wanted to actually write some anti-Clarke discourse for a while now, specially because I’ve hated her since I first heard her talk to someone else in the show, but I was always hesitant because of blorkes and Clarke stans and all that. Well, I’m doing it anyway.

(DISCLAIMER: all this comes from her depiction in the show. I have no idea how book Clarke is, since I’ve never read the The 100 books. Now buckle up and enjoy my angry and not-that-thought-out rant.) (And I’m putting it under the cut because it is... a lot.)

I know many people started to dislike Clarke after season 3 or whatever, but I believe she has been problematic since the beginning. 

For starters, she put herself in a position of power during season 1, and that’s a fact. People say she “had no choice but to become a leader”, but that’s a lie. Just like Bellamy did, she made the decision to bear leadership: from the moment they arrived, she was already making orders and trying to boss people around. Was she wrong? No, she wasn’t! She wanted to keep herself and others alive, which is a good thing. But she didn’t have to. Btw, if she had never done anything things wouldn’t have change, to be honest, since they did not get to Mount Weather and built their little cute camp around the dropship. I mean, Jasper wouldn’t have been speared and they would have found out about the Grounders a bit later, but I think nothing much would’ve happened. Actually, maybe things with the Grounders would have been easier, considering I firmly believe the theory that the only reason they attacked Jasper in the first place was because he was all happy about finding Mount Weather, the place that had been kidnapping and killing Grounders for a long ass time. 

My point is: I believe Clarke wasn’t actually needed as a leader when they first came down to Earth. I think she was just a spoiled priviledged girl, just like Bellamy said she was, who could not get around to letting go of the power she held. There was no more priviledged and non-priviledged, so she secured her influence by becoming a leader. 

An important statement that people tend to forget: she was just as guilty as Bellamy was for Murphy’s hanging, if not more. She was always talking about justice and whatnot, but when she had the chance to be just, she wasn’t. A knife is not enough evidence to fucking accuse someone of murder — during 1918 and 1919, there was a serial murder going around called “The Axeman of New Orleans”, who used axes he found in people’s houses to kill them (I’m a fan of true crime sorry not sorry). If police went by Clarke’s logic, the dead would’ve been the murderers, which certainly does not make much sense. The least she could’ve done was talking to him separately, conducted a trial or whatever, anything but accusing Murphy of murder before the whole camp. She knew they hated him, and so did Bellamy, and that’s why Bellamy didn’t want her to tell everyone about Wells’ yet. And yes, sure, she was grieving, but grief is still not an excuse for what she did to Murphy, it isn’t. She might have tried to stop the hanging later or whatever, but it was still a direct consequence of her actions and would not have happened at all if she had stopped to think for even a moment. The truth is that Clarke does not comprehend that she can actually be wrong, a fact that repeats itself multiple times throughout the series.

(There are other times she fucks up during season 1, but Murphy’s hanging is what stands out the most to me, so I decided to leave it on that. But don’t worry, I have many other examples!)

I can’t even express how much she pissed me off during season 2. Yes, Mount Weather was a very suspicious place and she was right to be wary, but how could she leave her people and escape? She wanted to get help and all that, but she fucking knew they were bleeding out the Grounders and was definetely aware they would soon try something alike to the 48, and she still left them. She left them alone and clueless to the danger they were in, and she didn’t even know if the Ark had come down alright or if there were other survivors. Mount Weather was lying to them about not finding anyone but she couldn’t be sure of that — everyone could have been fucking dead and she would have left her “people” to die too.

I’m not even gonna talk about Lexa’s betrayal because that wasn’t actually her fault, I admit that. Was she stupid to trust a Grounder? Yes. Should she have considered the fact they tried to kill Raven the first opportunity they got (when Lexa’s cup was poisoned) and the fact that the Grounders did not trust them because of Finn and wrongly Raven? Obviously. Does that make Lexa’s betrayal her fault? No, but she should have seen it coming, tbh.

And, again, she put herself in a position of power where she wasn’t needed. There were actual adults ready to look for a better solution, but she didn’t let them. Of course she didn’t  — how could Princess Griffin let go of her power?

Letting Mount Weather drop the bomb on TonDC was... horrible. It was not the act of a leader and it was not the act of a good person. It was selfish, it was the act of someone who leaves their people to die with the excuse of “looking for help” without even knowing if there is help waiting for them at all. It would have revealed Bellamy’s position, yes, but Bellamy would have preferred that than letting people die like Clarke and Lexa did. THEY LET PEOPLE DIE. Hundreds of people! God, they didn’t save the Grounders and the Skaikru that had come for a DIPLOMATIC AND PACIFIC reunion, but Clarke really thought her deal with Lexa would mean something if a better deal appeared, right? Damn, that was naive.

And then she left her people again by the end of the season, of course. “I bear it so others don’t have to” my ass — Bellamy still went apeshit and Jasper still got depressed and no one actually saw her bearing it, so they bear it too. The only thing girlie did was leave behind responsibility and betray her friends so she didn’t have to face regret for her actions. Meanwhile, people needed her, since she had put herself in a position of power for so long that everyone actually looked up at her, for some unknown reason, since she mainly fucked things up.

I don’t remember season 3 that well, but I know that Bellamy’s rant to her when she came back and was trying to be his friend was absolutely reasonable and true. She fucked off into the woods, represented Skaikru in Polis without them knowing for a while, came back to Arkadia and tried to get some power again, but then no one cared about her. Bellamy was too busy making the wrong decisions because of his emotional pain and sorrow to actually give a shit and they had greater things to solve than filling Clarke’s need to be worshipped.

Also, the whole “blood must not have blood” shit? Funny, real funny. It’s just like Lexa pointed out: “blood must not have blood until it applies to your people”. She is SUCH a hypocrite it pains me. And she did not spare Emerson for “blood must not have blood”, she did it because she knew it would make him suffer more and that came back to bite her in the ass. Karma’s a bitch, I guess. And she tried to make Luna become Commander against her will, which I’m not gonna talk about, but was just really fucked up.

I think my hatred for Clarke peaked during season 4. First, she didn’t want to tell the Grounders the world was about to end again and was apparently okay with letting them burn, until Roan found out and got mad about it. She tried to become Commander, blatantly disrespecting Grounder culture just so she could boss all the people in the world around. “She wanted to help!” “She had no choice!” Yes, sure, she had no choice but lying to everyone and disrespecting a whole nation. She couldn’t, you know, talk about it. Okay. I mean, that’s how Clarke does things, right? Kill and deceive first, give a half-assed apology later. It has been working so far, there’s no reason for her to stop.

Forcing Luna to give them her bone marrow? Very problematic, but “Welcome to Mount Weather” was one of my favorite Raven quotes. Abby was also a fucking bitch for being alright with killing Emori but throwing a tantrum when Clarke finally came to her senses and decided to test Nightblood on herself instead of murdering people who went all the way there to help her, but that’s not what I��m focusing on.

Locking Murphy up while she attempted to kill Emori? Not good. Emori knew from the beginning she would be chosen for testing Nightblood — she is a Grounder, and Clarke’s disregard for Grounders has been made very clear before. (And no, having a Grounder girlfriend in a very unprofessional and non-diplomatic way does not excuse her from discriminating against Grounders.)

And then she took over the bunker, disrespecting Grounder culture once again by betraying the conclave and, well, many people. (I know Echo did it too, but I’m not talking about Echo right now so if someone brings this up I’m gonna riot.) I also think it’s funny how she was always talking about saving everyone and all that shit but was so fucking fast to leave Raven, Octavia, Monty, Harper and Kane to die. You know, the people who were supposed to be her friends and all that. Oh, well.

Then Octavia won. And she still did not open the bunker. Man, opening the bunker would save so many lives, including the life of her oh-so-called best friend’s sister, but she still didn’t do it. Classic Clarke God-complex: she decides who is worth saving, and the Grounders aren’t. Then there’s the whole thing with holding Bellamy at gunpoint and then using “but I didn’t shoot!” as an apology. Bitch, it isn’t about shooting, it is about the fact you looked your supposed best friend straight in the eyes and pointed a gun at him, threatening to kill him if he dared to try and save his sister and many others of certain death.

She sacrificed herself by the end of this season, great. I mean, yeah, that was nice of her. Congrats for doing a good thing for once, I guess, even though she knew she probably wouldn’t be able to get back in time anyway so the least she could do was making sure the others lived. I wish she had actually died then, it would’ve been a great end to her arc (finally saving her friends at the cost of her life after betraying them and leaving them to die repeatedly — damn, I might had even started to like her a bit after that) and I would be able to stand the worshipping of her done at the start of season 5, since she would be, yk, dead. Sadly, that did not happen.

She was a villain during season 5 just like Octavia and I wish she had been depicted that way. She wanted to kill Blodreina (because just overthrowing her wouldn’t do) but she wasn’t okay with letting Madi take the chip. I know these are different things, but see it like that: killing Octavia was a way of taking control of Wonkru at the expense of a life. Madi becoming Commander was a way to take control of Wonkru at the expense of Madi’s childhood. Are any of them good? Not really, but Commander Madi does not envolve killing someone and even has a nice ring to it. Besides, Madi had given consent to taking the chip.

(Another point: Octavia was actually thrown into a position of power, just like everyone claims Clarke was. Octavia was the conclave’s champion and was expected and even obligated to lead, while Clarke simply decided she was more competent than the others and became a self-proclaimed leader. After that, she whined for all seasons about how she didn’t want leadership. Octavia never did that, despite being the one who became a leader unwillingly. Just like Raven put, Octavia and Clarke are the same, but Octavia doesn’t pretend to feel bad for empathy points. Damn, I love Raven.)

She left Bellamy to die in the fighting pit, because now Madi is the one she cares about so fuck everyone else. She gave over Raven and Shaw and let them be tortured for nothing. She betrayed literally everyone and was the one to put McCreary in a position strong enough he had the power to literally destroy Earth. Clarke Griffin was directly responsible for Earth’s end.

And then she said “sorry, I had no choice” and most characters fucking forgave her. I hate the way this series throws Clarke’s half-assed apologies onto us and expect us to accept them. I think it is very annoying, since Clarke would be an awesome villain, but they insist in making her one of the good guys, even with the whole “there’s no good guys” theme, which I wholeheartedly believe to be just a way to justify why Clarke needs to be forgiven again and again and again. It is not much more than bad writing, to be honest.

During season 6 she again becomes a leader without being prompted to. I loved Josephine and I think that the fact Clarke wasn’t actually Clarke was the only reason I didn’t absolutely despised her like I have done for the previous seasons. Again, I would have loved it if she had actually died then. Imagine Josephine becoming a main character for season 7 too? Amazing, brilliant, showstopping, incredible.

And she is not even there for season 7, at least until “The Queen’s Gambit” lol. Guess they finally saw how much of an annoying character she is. The only thing I remember of her is the “I don’t believe in Karma” thing, which was... expected. I mean, someone who has done as much harm as she has can’t believe in Karma anyway or she wouldn’t be able to sleep at night, and Clarke’s whole thing is about pretending to be sorry but not actually trying to change, so we can’t have that.

In conclusion, Clarke Griffin fucking sucks. She is a bad person and the way everyone always forgives every bad thing she does is bad writing. The series tries to sell her as one of the characters on the “good” side, but she actively works against it. She is not even a GOOD villain to watch, like Murphy was for many seasons. She is just an annoying character with a God complex who fucks things up, betrays her friends and lets people die again and again and then is forgiven because she is supposed to be an admirable main character. She is selfish and abusive and manipulative and power-hungry and fucking sucks, so please don’t stan her.

And that’s on that! Nice.

(DISCLAIMER PART 2: this blog DOES NOT support Eliza Taylor and Bob Morley, specially after Arryn Zech’s accusations. I know we cannot be sure of anything, but I prefer to side with a potential liar than with a potential abuser.)

[et-lesailes]

lily white in blood red // chapter three

series masterlist

pairing: curtis everett x reader

word count: 3540

chapter summary: reader experiences her first day of battle as well as a slightly intimate moment with curtis.

chapter themes: bloodshed, fighting, guns, masturbation

taglist: @viarogers , @evanstush , @chibi-crazy ,@songforhema, @sebabestianstan101 , @tanyam93 , @bval-1, @wonderwinchester ,@little-miss-exo, @poerebel , @pining-and-tired @gogomez-509 , @patzammit, @jbug491writinghelp, @honeyloverogers, @whores4thor, @jennmurawski13,@angrybirdcr, @mcueveryday, @scooby-doodoo, @peach-acid, @tansypoisoning, @quaideraid, @a-distantdreamer, @malthestorytellerblog, @rainbowkisses31,@melannie77, @gigistorm, @nsfwsebbie, @thisisjeany, @sadella-adams, @bookish-shristi, @avengerswon, @bangtan-serendipity, @space-helen, @strawberrylovessebby, @cptn-sgrogers, @allsortsofinterests, @xoxabs88xox, @firstangeldragonranch, @deidrashouseofpain, @rohaintahquil, @fantua, @tragicallydawn, @iloveyoucevans, @queensevansackles, @beardburnsupersoldiers, @troublermalik, @heyyouwiththeassbutt, @heyiamthatbitch, @teller258316, @lille-kattunge

notes: so sorry this took so long guys! i’ve had a little bit of a block and i’ve also been crazy busy. i hope you guys like this chapter!

You awake a couple of hours later to the sound of Edgar and Namgoong arguing, blinking sleepily as you slowly reach to rub your eyes. You see Curtis sitting a few feet away talking to Yona, clearly not interested in what Edgar and Namgoong are bickering about, but when he notices you are awake he immediately frowns in their direction. “Hey! Would you two shut up, already? Edgar, just let him focus on opening the damn gate.” He makes his way over to you, looking somewhat apologetic, his features already softening. “I’m sorry. I should have quieted them down earlier, but I guess it’s good you’re up now. Namgoong will probably manage to open the gate within the next ten minutes or so, he says this one’s a bit more tricky.” 

He can sense Edgar and Tanya staring holes into his back, and he knows why. He’s become a completely different person for you already, and while part of him wonders if he should stop acting so suspicious, why should he hold back how he feels? He can’t help but feel he’s waited his whole life for you without knowing it, and he’s not going to let his friends’ judgment change how he treats you. You’re special, and you’re his. 

“It’s alright,” you assure him softly, slowly sitting up and stretching your legs, your lips parting to let out a light yawn. He can’t help but stare at them, remembering how he had “marked” you earlier, wondering how patient he can be until your lips will consciously taste his seed rather than in your sleep. “You could have woken me up earlier, though, Curtis…”

“I wanted to let you sleep as long as possible. You’re not as… used to this as we are.” He figures this answer would at least make sense from Tanya and Edgar’s perspective, rather than making it too incredibly obvious that he’s spoiling you in every possible way he can. “Yeh, you’re a little fuckin’ princess, aren’t ya, sweet pea?” Edgar asks, though he sounds more amused than mocking-- for now, anyways. Curtis can tell he likes you enough to be somewhat playful with you in his naturally blunt fashion, but he can also tell that the young blond is wary at the same time. You blush slightly, shaking your head as you slowly stand up, wrapping Curtis’ jacket around your shoulders. “I don’t want to be, I want to help you guys.” You insist, and Curtis decides it’s time to end the conversation. “You will. Now stand back, Y/N, just in case there’s something on the other side of these gates…”

“There’s no one,” Yona confirmed, looking somewhat puzzled. “That is what I just to-”

“Are you almost done, Nam?” Curtis cut Yona off, looking to her father. The man gave a low grunt in response as he worked, and for some reason, you could interpret it as a ‘yes’. As the gates opened, you took a deep breath, ready to start your second day as a part of the revolution.

The first few carts were fine. You appeared to be going through the storage carts for the most part ever since Curtis had taken you, even a few kitchen carts where the chefs simply gave you weird looks before resuming their work. You notice that Curtis does not even stop to eat or drink any of the delicacies that are before him like the others do, yet he makes sure you are always fed any chance he gets. 

However, you know better than to expect this revolution to be easy, and sure enough, an obstacle is thrown at your team before you could even expect it.

“Stay back here!” Curtis demands gruffly as he practically pushes you back into the previous cart, and you widen your eyes as you watch him charge headfirst with the other tail section fighters, all sorts of weapons coming into play. You can barely identify who the enemy even is-- Yona has taken your arm and pulled you aside to hide behind a counter in the empty cart, both of you crouched low and breathing heavily. You almost let out a scream when you hear a gunshot, but Yona manages to cover your mouth before you can even make a sound, your body practically shaking from fear. She seems more composed than you, but you suppose she’s used to this.

You barely start to crane your neck to take a peek, but she shakes her head. “Don’t,” she whispers as she removes her hand, looking down at you. “You should not look. It will not be pretty.” You bite your lip but slowly nod, figuring she’s right. Still, your heart is pounding. You don’t even want to imagine that something could possibly happen to Curtis, or any of the others, for that matter.

The commotion goes on for at least a few more minutes, but you notice that it is gradually getting quieter-- most likely due to the fact that more bodies are dropping. Who’s winning? You can’t risk peeking in case it draws attention now that there are less people on the “field”. Who’s died? You’re not sure how you would feel if you were to lose your team leader already. However, you do not even have the time to think about it; your gaze is suddenly met with large black shoes standing before you, shoes that are far too clean and polished to be Curtis’. 

You and Yona look up to see a man in what would be a rather nice suit-- if it was not stained with blood. He is pointing his gun right at you, his face completely impassive. You are shivering now, partly because you’re rightfully terrified and partly because you cannot even fathom how… heartless this man is. What has he seen? What has he done? Not that you are dwelling on it too much, considering you might lose your life any second. For some reason, you are incapable of even making a sob. Yona is staring at the man with wide eyes, holding onto your arm tightly as if searching for one last action of comfort. 

And then in a split second, Curtis is there, grabbing the man from behind and shoving him roughly aside onto the floor. The assailant tries to aim his gun towards him, but Curtis kicks it out of his hand roughly before stepping on his hand entirely; you wince hearing the bones crunch. “Look away!” Curtis practically roars to you, and you do not even question it-- you immediately turn your head, now only able to hear the sounds of Curtis punching the man over and over and over again, the grunts of pain from the now victim becoming weaker and weaker...

He knows he could have simply just taken the gun and shot him.

It would have been more clean. More efficient. Less energy expended.

But when he saw that bastard standing in front of you, ready to kill you with no remorse whatsoever, he felt more rage than he ever had in his life. This man did not deserve a smooth death with a mere bullet. No, with every punch Curtis is throwing at him, he hopes each one hurts more than the last. Fuck this guy. 

The male’s face is practically unrecognizable at this point. It is a disgusting, gory sight. His hands are absolutely soaked in blood. And yet he keeps going-- the only reason he stops is when Edgar runs over, grabbing his arm and pulling him off. “Oy! He’s done for, Curtis, he’s feckin’ dead already! Chill out!” The boy’s strongly accented words bring him back to reality, the team leader blinking a few times before looking down at the body. Almost immediately after, he turns his head to look towards you. Thankfully, you are still looking away, though Yona is staring at him in horror. He sighs in relief. He does not want you to see these things. He does not even want you to see the mess of corpses in the next cart, but unfortunately, there is not exactly a way to dispose of them. But the battle is over now, and while there have been casualties on both sides, he still deems this as somewhat of a success.

“Namgoong,” he calls, breathing heavily. He is only now realizing how exhausted he is. “Open the gate. We’re moving forward.” He wipes his bloodied hands on his jacket, chest barely heaving underneath his thick clothes. “You. Come on.” He looks to you as he comes over, but before you can stand up, he has you scooped up into his arms. You blink in surprise, your cheeks barely turning pink. “I-I’m okay, Curtis, I can walk.” You insist, even feeling a little embarrassed upon sensing Edgar and Yona’s gazes upon you. “You will once Namgoong opens the gate and we’re in the next cart. But when we’re walking through, I need for you to close your eyes. Do you understand me?” The commanding way in which he emphasized his last sentence makes you immediately nod, biting on your lip. “Yes, Curtis. I understand.”

Edgar and Yona exchange glances, Edgar’s far more blatantly condemning. Curtis ignores this, instead silently appreciating how damn obedient you are, his mind taking him to slightly inappropriate places. 

The original plan was to keep moving, but the team comes across a sleeping cart sooner than expected. While sad, it is easier to accommodate everyone with the casualties that have happened earlier that day, and you try not to think about this too much. The others, while melancholy, do not seem too shaken up by this fact. You wonder how often they have to deal with death, how many people they’ve lost. You take a deep breath. It’s not fair.

“We’ll sleep here tonight,” Curtis decides, and there is a collective sigh of relief as everyone sinks down to sit. Thankfully, this cart is also heated, and you watch as the tail sectioners who are left begin to strip out of their heavy, dirtied jackets. You look down at your own lacy white slip, more or less completely stain-free, and you feel guilt. Why are you here? What is your purpose? You can’t help but feel self-conscious that the others must hate you. 

You’re suddenly distracted from your thoughts as you watch Curtis begin to peel out of his own heavy clothing. For some reason, it has not fully occurred to you that there is a normal body under those thick layers. It sounds ridiculous, but you cannot even imagine the man in a simple t-shirt let alone completely shirtless; and yet there he is, suddenly half naked before you. The others are looking at him too, but he ignores them. You allow your rounded eyes to flicker over his figure in curiosity. He is built-- not insanely muscular with perfect abs, but there is certainly definition in his torso and arms; you imagine that those in the tail section tend to gain muscle from the work they do. You can’t help but get a little red as your eyes drift down to his happy trail creeping up from the hem of his pants-- God, why are you curious as to what he looks like underneath them? You shake the thoughts out of your head almost immediately, suddenly feeling a bit hot.

He takes your hand, pulling you to the sleeping compartment in one of the corners of the cart. “You’re sleeping with me,” he states simply, and you blink but nod your head, actually somewhat grateful for this if anything. You are still feeling a little shaken up after today’s events.

He slides open the door of the compartment and helps you inside; you let out a slow exhale upon feeling soft mattress underneath you. He carefully gets in without saying a word to his friends, closing the door shut, the only connection left to the others being a small glass window on the door. You remembered your classmates always finding fabric or using their shirts to cover their windows when they did not want anyone looking in, and you feel a pang of sentimentality as you remember the acquaintances and even friends you had. What would they think of you now?

This feeling fades away as Curtis lays down with you in the limited space, his arms wrapping around your smaller frame. Your cheeks are more red than before, but you are not uncomfortable-- if anything, this feels good. You haven’t experienced much physical contact in your life. Sure, your mother gave you love and affection as a child, but when it came to touch between you and a member of the opposite sex? You could remember kissing a boy back in elementary school, but that was about it. You were not like your friends who explored their sexualities and snuck away to their sleeping compartments or even the shower carts with their male friends. You had just… never been interested.

And now, for some reason, everything has changed as you feel the heat on your cheeks as you consciously feel how close Curtis’ hands are to your butt, your head close to his bare chest. “What are you thinking about?” his deep voice suddenly breaks the silence, and you blush more. Does he somehow know what is running through your mind? You consider brushing the question off, perhaps answering with a lame “nothing” or making up something about simply feeling tired, but quite honestly, you’re not. No, you’re wide awake now, and you have an entire list of questions in your mind now that you’re finally alone with this man.

“What was life like on Earth?” you suddenly end up blurting out, tilting your head up to look at him with curious eyes. He blinks, adjusting his own positioning so that he can look down at you more properly. He is silent for a few moments, almost searching your facial features in a way as though wondering if he should answer or not, if it is worth it. He finally sighs softly, moving one hand up to run his fingers through your hair. You shiver. It feels good. 

“I don’t remember it.” He says, and you find yourself barely frowning. You’re not sure how you know, but he’s lying. “Yes you do,” you insist, surprising even yourself let alone him. This is the first time you’ve “talked back” to him, and you have to admit you’re suddenly feeling nervous. You’re about to apologize but he slowly chuckles, the deep rumble husky and musical at the same time. “You’re right, kitten. I do.” He murmurs, and you widen your eyes slightly upon the sudden pet name. Where did that come from? And why do you like it so much? “Earth was… vast. Bigger than anyone on this train can ever know, no matter how many places they traveled to.” You think of the stories your mom told you, but you’re now more interested in his. “What was your life like?” you question, and he barely furrows his eyebrows. “Normal.��� He answers somewhat shortly, though he does not seem irritated or dismissive. It seems as though he has not talked about this subject in a long, long time. “It was normal. I had a mom. A dad. A sister. They’re dead now.” You wince slightly at the sudden unfortunate ending, but he does not seem affected in the least. You suppose it’s been years since they passed.

“What did you do for fun?”

“Played ball. Sports like baseball, football. Rode bikes with my friends. Went to school. Had some family vacations.” He looks down at you suddenly, barely raising an eyebrow. “Dated girls.” You don’t know why, but you’re blushing again. God, what was wrong with you? And why do you want to know more? “Did you… ever have a serious girlfriend? Someone you loved?” you ask slowly, hoping it’s not a touchy subject or too invasive of a question. He still seems unfazed, shaking his head. “No. Nothing serious. I was still pretty young when I boarded the train. Barely twenty, or early twenties, I don’t know. It’s all a blur now.” You’re about to ask another question but he suddenly gives your hips a light squeeze. “And how about you?” he asks, deciding it’s his turn to do the questioning. “You’re a train baby. Like Edgar. What have you been up to all this time?” He leans down, murmuring in a playfully mocking tone, “Any serious boyfriends?” You blink but slowly giggle, then realize it’s the first time you have in a while. His expression changes for a split second, suddenly becoming more serious, a look in his eyes you cannot decipher. His grip on you tightens and he pulls you closer, but in the blink of an eye, he is back to his regular countenance, though even just barely smiling. 

“No. I… I’ve never even kissed anyone, really.” You admit, teeth pulling at your lower lip somewhat in embarrassment. “I mean, I did when I was like, eight. But, you know, it wasn’t… real.” He blinks as he listens to you, and again, you can’t read what’s going on in his mind. Does he think you’re a child? Weird? Inexperienced? Is he judging you? “I’m surprised to hear that,” he says, and now you’re blinking. “I would have thought every damn front and middle sectioner there is would be lining up for you.” You blush deeper and he suddenly leans closer, his lips inches away from yours. “Can I kiss you?” You widen your eyes, your heart pounding. You’re not sure if you’re more nervous of the actual kiss itself, or of the fact that no part of you wants to tell him no.

“O-okay.” You manage to stutter, then silently curse yourself for sounding so lame. He does not seem to care, however, as his lips are suddenly pressed upon yours, his facial hair tickling the area around your mouth. You move your own somewhat slowly and hesitantly at first, not fully understanding how the hell to do this-- but he practically guides you. He kisses you with passion and intensity, and while you are overwhelmed at first, you are soon realizing that you love every second. You feel his tongue make its way into your mouth, pushing open your lips without waiting for permission, but you are more than happy to let him in. His tongue wraps around yours and you hear a low growl emitted from his lips, his body suddenly rolling on top of yours, one hand on the bed to support himself. 

He knows he’s getting carried away. He knew there was a possibility of that from the moment he asked if he could kiss you. But he can’t help it. Your taste, fuck, it’s already so addicting. His tongue is practically down your throat at this point, all blood rushing down south to his lower region-- when you move your hands to hold the side of his face, for some reason, he feels practically feral. This combination of lusty actions and sweet, innocent touches is too much for him. Even hearing you giggle moments ago had done something to him, had made him feel things he had not felt in a long, long time. 

But he knows he needs to control himself. Yes, he can be the one to guide you on this journey, but he has to take it slow. He needs to earn your trust. He needs you to want him, to crave him. Besides, he’s not so sure if he wants to take all of your innocence just yet. The fact that you are untouched and only for him to touch-- he wants to savor this for a bit longer. He finally pulls back, panting. You are staring up at him just as breathless, your wide eyes locked onto his piercing blue ones, and he almost groans at the mere sight in itself. He leans down and buries his head in your neck, covering it with frustrated kisses before forcing himself to pull back once again.

He returns to lying by your side, wrapping his arms around you. You aren’t sure if you’re disappointed or relieved. You certainly liked what just happened, but you also have no idea what you’re doing. Maybe it’s for the best that he’s stopped, but you have to wonder why he did-- did you do something wrong? However, he seems to sense your confusion. “It’s been a long day, Y/N. It’s best if you get some sleep.” His voice is even huskier than before, almost as if he’s straining himself, forcing himself to behave. “I hope that was a good first kiss, though…”

“It was,” you reply, suddenly cuddling closer to him, feeling a bit more secure and confident. “Thank you.” He blinks, almost amused by your manners, but more so… aroused.

Once he’s certain you’re sleeping, he pushes a sweaty hand into his pants. Just like the previous night, he lets himself come, chest heaving as he tries to keep his heavy breaths silent. He paints your lips lightly and delicately just as before, watching as you subconsciously lap at the saltiness with your tongue. “Good girl,” he mutters lowly, barely smirking, even chuckling slightly upon the way you barely smack your lips in your sleep from the unfamiliar taste. “I’ll teach you more tomorrow…”

[seyaryminamoto]

I recently saw a heavy criticism of The Beach saying "it's the single least realistic portrayal of teenagers on television: spoiled, rich kids don't actively shun Zuko for having a disfiguring scar on his face, no one tries to start shit with Azula over the volleyball game, teenagers referring to themselves as teenagers, a teen boy tells people not to make a mess, a bunch of 14-16 year-olds sit in a circle and psychoanalyze each other, everything else about the campfire scene." Your thoughts?

:’) that someone looks at the Beach and dismisses it for being “unrealistic” by whatever their cultural standards are is probably enough of a sign of the irrelevance of said person’s opinion. I mean, obviously they’re free to think what they will, but...

Fire Nation society is not American society. I’m going blind here, maybe this person isn’t American at all, but somehow I mostly see such kinds of narrow-minded criticism from first-worlders who are seldom exposed to lifestyles outside their particular, contemporary bubble of experiences. 

Now then, let’s get into the actual debate: Fire Nation society values violence quite a lot. Fire Nation society is full of people who saw Zuko’s literal Agni Kai burning scene, and didn’t look away: the only character who does is Iroh, a very obvious hint by the writers that Iroh has discarded the cruel moral values the rest of the Fire Nation upholds.

With this in mind, a boy with a scarred face might earn all sorts of “ews” from our societies, damn right. From Fire Nation society, though? If even watching how the burn is inflicted didn’t bother most of them, why would the result be a problem? If anything, I wouldn’t be surprised if people with burn scars are even seen more attractive because it implies they were caught in violent scuffles with fire and still survived? Of course, the argument might go that Zuko’s burn is meant to be a mark of shame... but it’s a mark of shame for PRINCE Zuko. For that mysterious boy with the emo haircut in Ember Island, whose real identity is a mystery? It is shown, instead, to result in this reaction:

Now then, we could say that this is meant to be a jab by the creators and writers at Zuko’s hordes of fangirls, because frankly, Book 3 has several instances of groups of girls swooning over Zuko and it might be what they were going for. In this case, though, they’re swooning over him WITHOUT knowing who he is, as opposed to the fangirls in Nightmares and Daydreams. So, while it absolutely can be inspired on the many Zuko fangirls the staff knew about, this actually ends up serving to characterize a society, a culture: they don’t think his scar makes him unattractive. It’s blatantly stated that their reaction is the opposite. So, instead of thinking “oh god that’s so unrealistic”, how about we actually stop trying to measure everything by our standards and consider that this could be an element of WORLDBUILDING...? :’)

(Also, I’m pretty sure there’s a fair share of privileged young women in our current society who think Kylo Ren was hot as hell with a huge scar across his face... are those people not real, by any chance? :’D If anything, they’re living proof that girls swooning over a scarred boy in ATLA are absolutely feasible, no matter if not everyone shares their opinion)

Continues under the cut becasue this got long....

Now then, Azula is shown to take the Kuai ball game too far. She outright causes the ball, in the final kick, to burst into flames and burns the net. Going by Chan and Ruon Jian, these kids are privileged idiots, why lie... but are these privileged idiots stupid enough to see a girl flying three feet into the air, kicking a firebent ball and then giving a foreboding speech, and say “OKAY WE’RE GONNA PICK A FIGHT WITH YOU FOR BEING SO COMPETITIVE!”???? I mean... honestly. Why would anyone do this? Azula turned an inoffensive Kuai ball game into a battlefield singlehandedly: THIS, as well, is meant to be a display of characterization. That people don’t take the game so seriously, that they wouldn’t pick a fight with her because she’s dangerous or because they just don’t care as much as she does... it’s characterizing Fire Nation people every bit as much as it characterizes Azula.

Azula and Zuko are both shown reacting in ridiculous ways to casual things in this episode: Azula takes the game too far, potentially stages the burning down of a house in retaliation for being rejected by a boy, Zuko is hysterical and jealous and snaps at Mai over stupid things... it’s, again, a matter of showing how poorly adjusted these characters are. They’re not normal kids. They DON’T behave like normal kids. Normal, privileged kids in the Fire Nation, are kids like Chan and Ruon Jian. The episode literally gives you the chance to see Fire Nation society for what it is, in a way no other episode does... and because it’s not like our societies, it’s somehow wrong?

... Also, teenagers referring to themselves as teenagers is somehow unrealistic? I mean... is it nowadays? I don’t think any teenagers had a problem with saying they were teens in my youth :’DDD literally remember MCR released a song called Teenagers and a lot of us loved it to pieces. What exactly is so outrageous about it? Might be that this worked better in the mid-00′s, but I hardly think this makes no sense? Aang refers to himself as a kid earlier in the show, is that unrealistic too and worth rebuking a whole episode over? Are all teenagers supposed to be pretending to be grown-ups, like so many 16-year-olds on Tumblr who always talk like they’ve figured out the world and try to impose rules on fully-grown adults upon whom they have absolutely no power? :’DDDDD Yeah, I think this particular point is a stupid thing to make a fuss over. Honestly, it is.

Chan tells people not to make a mess = unrealistic. Ha. Did this person ignore his reactions at the chaos Azula, Zuko, Mai and Ty Lee caused in his house? “YOU BROKE MY NANA’S VASE!!!”, anyone? Like... I’m sorry, but this IS characterization, yet again! This shows Chan is a spoiled brat who wants to stay in his family’s good graces. The party isn’t at all as crazy and wild as you’d expect from, again, an American teenage party... and why? Because, for one thing, Chan is clearly afraid of the consequences of too much chaos in the beach house: this implies fear of authority, of his parents, perhaps even his grandparents. 

For another, again, FIRE NATION SOCIETY: what does this clever critic know, by any chance, of Nazi Germany’s Hitler Youth? I’ve watched a few documentaries about it, and basically if you were a boy and you weren’t in Hitler Youth, you were no one. You were worthless. And what happened in Hitler Youth? Conditioning to the extreme. These kids were taught all the alt-right ideology that Tumblr despises, and they were made to believe it was an undeniable reality. Were there cases of kids who didn’t like it, kids who didn’t approve of it? Surely. But the general idea of Hitler Youth was to educate every kid to behave in the way Hitler considered appropriate, to the point where “the notion "Germany must live" even if they (members of the HJ) had to die was "hammered" into them.”

This is, of course, an extreme example and I’m sure Fire Nation education wasn’t that extreme because we saw it for ourselves, it’s not. But a slightly milder version of it? That’s absolutely feasible and consistent with what we see in The Headband. Therefore, kids getting high and drunk at a party? Maybe that kind of thing simply DOESN’T happen in a Fire Nation party? :’) Maybe they’re taught that those kinds of things are off-limits to anyone under a certain age (or outright forbidden, might be the case with drugs), and as they live in a tyrannical society that priorizes the Fire Lord and his decrees above all else, where his word is treated as that of a god, even mischievous teenagers refuse to act out? :’D oh, what an implausible concept, this just can’t possibly make any sense! Hitler Youth is unrealistic too!

Lastly, that a bunch of kids would sit in a circle psychoanalyzing each other seems implausible to this person is actually laughable for me. Not only have I constantly found myself, from my early teenage years to current days, serving as some sort of unofficial therapist for many of my friends, who share their woes and ask me for advice (whether they’ll heed it or not), most importantly, I once had an experience with a friend, back in high school, much like what happens with these kids in The Beach, after I’d spent years doing a lot of post-depression introspection. I shared a lot of stuff I didn’t often talk about, and beats me WHY I felt completely comfortable sharing it with my friend that day, but I did. She understood me, listened, offered her opinion, and we talked about her problems too. This happened when I was 15-16. If this person has never experienced such situation... why, that’s not anyone’s business. But it’s certainly not their business to determine this just DOESN’T happen, to anyone, ever. I can safely say it does, to people who do have problems and who sometimes just need a friendly shoulder to rely on. Maybe this critic’s life is just so perfect they’ve never had to share their woes with anyone else :’) I’m afraid that doesn’t invalidate those of us who are different, and it doesn’t invalidate the possibility that those four could talk, as they did, without breaking characterization, in the scene of the fireplace at the beach.

ANYWAYS...

Saying that a show about a group of kids who save the world and then effectively become leaders of such world, facing very little opposition in the process, is unrealistic because “teenagers aren’t like that becuase I wasn’t like that as a teenager” may be one of the most ridiculous and shortsighted things I’ve seen in this fandom, AND I’VE SEEN A LOT OF RIDICULOUS AND SHORTSIGHTED THINGS. A person’s experiences are NOT universal, regardless of how widespread their culture may be. More importantly, fiction does NOT have to abide by rules established by our current society’s state and cultural values. ATLA, as it is, is a completely different world from our own, regardless of its inspiration in many Asian cultures.

I, personally, find it a lot more unrealistic that Fire Lord Zuko can become Fire Lord without much in the way of visible protesting or boycotting when he was a banished prince who didn’t even win in his Agni Kai against Azula since it’s Katara who ends up defeating her and, as far as the rules go, Azula technically won even if not in the most dignified of ways. I find it even more unrealistic that LOK tells us Zuko was Fire Lord successfully for 70+ years and the Fire Nation has been fully reformed into a non-warmongering country despite the 100+ years of indoctrination started by Sozin’s rule. That this gets swept under a rug, not only in the neatly wrapped finale that leaves a thousand unanswered questions, but in the sequel show that merely confirms Zuko succeeded and shows NOTHING of how he managed to reform such a fucked up society...? That is a thousand times more important to me than “privileged kids aren’t acting like privileged kids OMG!”. Honestly, you want privileged kids abusing all their privileges in our society? Go watch Gossip Girl, I genuinely recommend it. You want something that proposes a completely different possibility and a glance at what a society guided by a tyrannical dictator looks like? Feel free to watch The Beach again with a completely different focus and MAYBE you’ll understand what the writers were going for.

If this person happens to see my answer, I hope they learn that worldbuilding, for a storyteller, entails CREATING a world that isn’t necessarily like the one we’re familiar with. There are multiple layers to such a world, and society and culture are some of them. Not all cultures and societies work the same way, which is part of why sometimes you’ll find behaviors from people who belong to wholly different cultures and wind up perplexed because whatever they’re doing is completely unfamiliar for you. Are there any universal behaviors in humans? Maybe! But in a work of FICTION, even the most universal of behaviors can be changed, deleted, altered however the writer sees fit! :’D it’s not a novel concept, and as far as logical fallacies are concerned, this show features a whole slew of those that have nothing to do with this peculiar sense of “realism”, fallacies that absolutely can and should be called out. Namely, things that contradict the internal logic of the show, rather than things that are incompatible with OUR world. Portraying a world that’s very different from ours, on virtually every level you can think of? That’s called creativity, not lack of realism. Please learn the difference.

[clovermunson]

Fluff Alphabet- Charlie Weasley and Emma Galloway

A = Attractive (What do they find attractive about the other?)

One thing Emma finds most attractive about Charlie, oddly enough, are his freckles. In a weird way, it’s like they accentuate his facial features. Another thing is his personality, how he’s very laidback but he’ll always come through for her.

When it comes to Emma, there isn’t much that Charlie doesn’t like, if there’s anything at all. His favorite, by far, are her eyes. They’re always so expressive and hold so much hidden emotion that he wishes he could just understand the half of.

B = Baby (Do they want a family? Why/Why not?)

At first, they were both very hesitant about ever having children. Emma choosing to be a Healer was a safe, reliable choice of profession, but Charlie choosing to be a Dragonologist and Emma taking it up as a second profession proved to be tricky for them to feel comfortable having children. About two years after their marriage in 1994, they’d finally decided to start trying to have a child.

C = Cuddle (How do they cuddle?)

Charlie is usually the big spoon, but sometimes they’ll cuddle face-to-face, with Emma’s face buried in Charlie’s chest.

They’ll cuddle nearly anywhere they can comfortably fit.

D = Dates (What are dates with them like?)

Most dates are adventures for these two, starting out with them searching for dragons near Hogwarts as teenagers, taking trips to the Black Lake for a swim, and Charlie flying them around on his broom. Sometimes, there’s the romantic, formal date.

E = Everything (You are my ____ (e.g. my life, my world…))

Emma is Charlie’s everything. He nearly made the mistake of losing her once and he wouldn’t dare even try it again. He couldn’t lose her because then he’d be lost.

Charlie is Emma’s life, every choice she makes is with him in mind, and she’s very thoughtful in thinking of how he’d feel about certain situations.

F = Feelings (When did they know they were in love?)

Emma knew she was in love the moment she looked into Charlie’s eyes on their first official date. She knew from that moment on, she was done for.

When Charlie saw Emma at the Celestial Ball in her light blue dress, perfectly curled hair, very little makeup, and her always radiant smile, he was immediately love-struck. He knew she was beautiful both inside and out, but he never thought he’d see her in a dress.

G = Gentle (Are they gentle? If so, how?)

They’ve very gentle with each other. Charlie has a lot of natural strength and some built-up strength from working out for Quidditch and to work with dragons in the future, so he’s always very careful to make sure he doesn’t hurt Emma. Emma, according to Charlie, is just naturally gentle without even trying.

H = Hands (How do they like to hold hands?)

With their fingers interlaced, Charlie’s thumb over Emma’s. They’ll hold hands all the time, studying in the library, the common room, or the Great Hall.

I = Impression (What was their first impression?)

Emma first noticed Charlie’s affinity with dragons and his smile. Both of these things caused her to take a liking to him. At first, Emma was a little wary of the second oldest Weasley, but she quickly grew to like him.

Charlie noticed Emma’s smile before anything else, which seemed infectious to him. How she lit up a room was evident to him, and left a good impression on him. Soon after, every time she smiled, he was smiling.

J = Jealousy (Do they get jealous?)

They both can get very jealous at times.

Emma doesn’t like when other girls with blatantly stare at Charlie, even when she’s sitting right next to him. She’ll scoot closer to him and hold his hand, or plant a kiss on his cheek.

Charlie, if another guy even so much as glances in Emma’s direction for a second too long, will wrap his arms around Emma’s waist and pull her closer to him, kissing the top of her head.

K = Kiss (How do they kiss? Who initiated the first kiss?)

Very soft, gentle kisses are the norm for them, and it’s usually Emma who will initiate them, sometimes Charlie will surprise her and quickly peck her lips. When it comes to the more heated, nobody-can-see-us-so-lets-go-for-it kind of kisses, Charlie initiates them every time.

Their first kiss was more of a mutual thing, with the both of them kind of having a sense that it was about to happen, though it was initiated by Charlie in the Gryffindor common room in 5th Year while nobody was around. This was their first passionate kiss, and it just had to be interrupted by Bill, much to Charlie’s annoyance.

“Dammit Bill, do you ever knock?”

“What do you mean? This is the common room, you git.”

L = Love (Who says ‘I love you’ first?)

On a technicality, Charlie. Though they both said it at the same time during a swim in the Black Lake, where their first kiss almost happened. Leave it to Bill to ruin that moment too.

M = Memory (What’s their favourite memory together?)

Their first dragon-hunting date. They went out by the Black Lake, where Charlie had sworn he’d seen a Norwegian Ridgeback. Though they never saw a dragon, they spent most of the night talking to each other and laughing at each other’s stories and jokes.

N = Nickel (Do they spoil? Do they buy the person they love everything?)

Charlie spoils Emma more than he should, honestly. Every time he sees something that he knows Emma would love, he just has to buy it for her.

Emma will sometimes buy little gifts for Charlie, and sometimes she’ll spend just a little too much to get something she knows he’ll like.

O = Orange (What colour reminds them of their other half?)

Charlie: colors like yellow and red remind him of Emma. Yellow because of how she’s always in a cheerful, playful mood, and red because of how passionate and determined she is to always prevail in her journeys.

Emma: orange and red remind Emma of Charlie. Orange partially because of his wavy, long hair, and because of his energetic nature and creativity. Red because his passion matches hers and his unyielding courage. It takes a lot of courage to willingly want to work with dragons, and Charlie has just that and more.

P = Pet names (What pet names do they use?)

Charlie: Princess, Babe, Baby, Honey, Darling, Love, Sweetheart

Emma: Honey, Love, Sweetheart, Babe, Baby, Dragon Tamer

Q = Quaint (What is their favourite non-modern thing?)

Definitely vintage things like vinyl records, old payphones, and antique items

R = Rainy Day (What do they like to do on a rainy day?)

During their Hogwarts years, they’ll sit in the common room together and enjoy a cup of tea while they’re studying together. When they’re in Romania, they’ll cuddle up on their couch or bed, listening to the rain pelt against the roof and windows of the small cottage, eventually falling asleep in each other’s arms.

S = Sad (How do they cheer themselves/others up?)

It comes down to them usually having to cheer each other up, because either they can’t cheer themselves up or their friends can’t. More often than not, Charlie can cheer himself up with just the mere though of Emma, and she can cheer herself up with just the thought of Charlie. But to cheer each other up, they’ll always make dumb little puns and jokes to each other, and words of affirmation are a key point.

T = Talking (What do they like to talk about?)

Anything about dragons

Their future

More often than not, each other and how much they love each other

How Bill can be a bit of a nuisance to them

Care of Magical Creatures

Who is the better student (usually relating to specific classes)

Who is more deserving to be a Prefect

Who’s family can be more annoying (usually Charlie wins this argument)

U = Unencumbered (What helps them relax?)

For Charlie, during his Hogwarts years, it’s being able to crash and take a nap in his dorm, or on the common room couch. Sometimes Emma will be on the couch, so he’ll just lay his head in her lap and mentally clock out for the day while she’s playing with his hair. After, it’s being able to come home to Emma and just kiss her for as long as he wants. Sometimes he’ll try and get it to become something more, and he’s almost always successful.

During her Hogwarts years, Emma is most relaxed by being alone in her dorm and lighting a candle if she’s not able to crash on the common room couch with Charlie. After, it’s lighting a candle and taking a warm bubble bath, that Charlie will sometimes ask if he can join but will never admit that he likes because Bill would give him so much shit for it.

V = Vaunt (What do they like to show off? What are they proud of?)

Charlie absolutely loves showing Emma off to everyone and he 100% will ‘my girlfriend’, ‘my fiancée’, or ‘my wife’ someone to death. He just can’t believe out of everyone she could’ve had, she chose him.

Emma loves showing off all of Charlie’s dragon drawings, notes, and dissertations, as well as his Quidditch accomplishments and not to mention, his well-maintained athletic figure.

W = Wedding (When, how, where do they propose?)

On his birthday in 1993, Charlie proposed to Emma at the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary. They had been working with a nursing Romanian Longhorn, and Emma had her back turned to Charlie to tend to the dragon chicks, and he took his chance to get down on one knee and ask for Emma’s hand in marriage. When Emma turned around, she was surprised to see Charlie down on one knee. Emma didn’t even think about saying yes, and instead just pulled him into the most passionate kiss they’ve ever had, when they pulled away from each other she had the most playful smirk on her face as she asked, “does that answer your question?”, and Charlie already knew that he had a definite answer.

On December 28th, 1994 Charlie and Emma got married in a small ceremony at the Burrow, with their families and friends in attendance. Emma ended up taking the Weasley name, as she was proud to become a Weasley. Charlie chose Bill as his best man even though he tried to act like he didn’t want to.

X = Xylophone (What’s their song?)

There’s a few that come to mind

Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper

Hooked on A Feeling by Blue Swede (Charlie actually played this song a lot when he first realized he liked Emma, and then Bill told Emma about it)

Right Here Waiting by Richard Marx

My Girl by The Temptations (this one was found by them playing an old record, and Charlie acted like a complete goof about it)

Y = Yes (Do they ever think of getting married/proposing?)

Marriage is often talked about in their last year at Hogwarts, as they’re both so set on being able to move in with each other as soon as they can. Charlie was surprisingly the first to bring up the topic.

Z = Zebra (If they wanted a pet, what would they get?)

Ideally: a dragon.

Realistically: dogs and/or cats

[zamorawrites]

I suspect that Prince Megamind is responsible for many religious conversions. Megamind is born and invents dehydrated stasis for 100X-the-storage-capacity, 3000-gallon Water Purification Tablets, Invisibility Coating, planetary-defense portals, AND Bryse Cyborgs, and also kills a rapist... RIGHT when they needed to pack up literally everything & flee to the planet of polluted waters and hostile, non-monogamous natives. That's GOT to be a sign from the gods, right?

I really love this question! Especially because I haven’t really had much of a chance to dive too deep into the religious aspect of OWBP yet (other than that the governmental system is a mixture of a Monarchy and a Theocracy, considering that the Monarch’s in command are seen by some as demigods. Ergo, the translation in Chapter 9 of Aevurlla meaning Divine Guidance. The leaders of a branch are seen as divine beings by the majority of the population.)

I’m really excited for some of the upcoming chapters because we do get to see a bit more of the religious side of their culture. (In the next chapter Roxanne goes out with Megamind’s parents. There’s a scene that starts out the chapter where she’s literally just walking through the ship with them and when people realize who Megamind’s parents are, suddenly hundreds of people are holding a fist to their chests and taking a knee as a show of respect and loyalty.) (Needless to say Aevurlla’s normally have someone else run the weekly errands, because talk about making a scene.)

(I’m gonna take a rabbit trail for a little bit here.)

In the next chapter, Roxanne is talking with his parents over lunch and Megamind’s father tells her; “He’s a genius even by our standards, let alone human ones.” and then blatantly just upright admits; “If he hadn’t have been born and accomplished everything that he has, none of us would have survived the black hole. Our whole species would be dead.” Which is, a lot to get hit with over lunch. (Of course then he goes on to explain why that’s true.) 

Now, Megamind, having spent the last 15 years of his life under house-arrest honestly doesn’t have that great of a feel for his own society. He’s not particularly interested in politics, and when he had the choice to go invent something or watch the news, he chose the prior. He’s the next in line to lead, and he’s lost when it comes to leading. He doesn’t even really know how his people see him.

In reality, people either love him or hate him. The number of people who are neutral towards him is so small that there’s not really a reason reporting the figure. And even then, out of the of people who hate him, the main reason is that he’s being seen as such a powerful religious figure, and it’s not like he’s a saint with a perfect record. He’s killed before. And no one wants a wrathful God running around. 

The religious adore him.

The non-religious see him as a threat, because religion gets people killed. It justifies terrible wrongdoings. It starts wars. ‘You can do no wrong if the God you worship mandated what you did.’ It’s dangerous. (But they’re the minority, now more than ever.)

Meanwhile, Megamind is over here throwing around the sentence; “I’m a man, not a God.” nearly every other chapter.

Roxanne is interviewed during the next chapter, and the reporter gives her a quick run-down before giving her an interview; “So, I’m gonna start by asking you what it’s been like here and how you’ve liked it. Let’s try to keep it positive, given the current climate. Then, I’m gonna ask you how the third day has been going, how you’ve been enjoying meeting your future in-laws. Make sure you keep that one very positive, everybody adores those two. Then, I’m gonna ask how things have been going with Mehkean.” 

To which Roxanne has gotten the idea already, and she says: “Keep it positive, I take it?” 

And at that question the reporter suddenly gets really damn serious and tells her; “You don’t just keep that one positive. You act like he invented the god-damned sun. Do you understand?” And when Roxanne asks an incredibly justified ‘what?’ she’s quickly told; “People are going to kill you if you say he’s a jerk. So act like he makes this fucking planet spin.”

Megamind hasn’t just converted non-believers to religion or restored the weary’s faith. He’s starting to be seen as The New God. 

After all, did their Goddess not die with their planet? And was he not the one who led them into a new life on a new planet? 

Was that not the end days? And did he not save them all from certain death, and lift them up from a dying planet, and provide them with a new one? 

Is he not their savior?

Like Drarro says next chapter; If it wasn’t for what Megamind accomplished in the twenty-seven years he had on his planet before it was destroyed, their species would no longer exist.

And sure, the new planet he led them to isn’t perfect. It’s polluted, not that he couldn’t fix that. And it is already inhabited with primitive, seemingly bloodthirsty creatures. 

However, he seems to be willing to give them a chance. Perhaps they all should too. He clearly knows what's best, right?

I’m really excited that I’ve finally gotten a lot of the political stuff out, because now I can start delving into these religious intricacies. 

In an upcoming chapter, Roxanne asks him what his view on religion is. Does he worship their Goddess? Is he an athiest? What are his views there? To which he says; “I have a hard time dedicating myself to something that I don’t know exists. And... scientifically, I have no proof that there is a higher power. It’s a nice thought, but... where’s the proof? People like to go preaching about this all-powerful and all-knowing being and... no. Just no. Maybe there is a Goddess or a God, but I refuse to accept that there’s a higher power that’s both all-powerful and all-knowing, because if there is, that person is a tyrant. If you know everything that’s wrong, and you can fix it all with a snap of your fingers, and you choose to let people suffer, then you don’t deserve worship. I could understand worshiping an all-knowing God or an all-powerful God, but not one that’s both. I just... I’m rambling... sorry. I suppose the answer you wanted was, I’m not particularly religious myself, but perhaps I could be if I knew there was something out there worthy of my worship. For now, let’s just say science is my Goddess.”

In a few chapters Megamind is going to be hit with the reality of what he’s become to his people, and it’s going to be an internal battle. Because he’s not a God; he’s lost, and confused, and terrified, and he just wants his mother to stay in charge. But people want him in charge.

There is going to be a metric fuckton of character development coming up for him. He’s going to struggle with trying not to fall prey to the power that comes with being seen as a literal God. Thankfully, he has Roxanne to put him back in his place and smack some sense into him when he gets out of control; but like he thought in chapter 10, ‘Power was a very addicting thing.’

Anyways, if you’ve read this far I’m amazed! lol. Here’s my favorite ‘Megamind being forced into God-hood’ line:

“I know you’re all angry, you want revenge, but what kind of a God would I be if I wasn’t a merciful one?”

This got out of control and I’m going to end it here before I spoil the whole damn story lol.

Thank you for the ask Elf! :D 

[chickensarentcheap]

Sanctuary -Chapter 16

Fandom: Extraction, Tyler Rake

Tagging:  @c-a-v-a-l-r-y, @alievans007, @innerpaperexpertcloud, @valkyrie-of-the-light

If anyone wants to be tagged, please let me know. I know there’s quite a few reading this ;)

Warnings: none really. Maybe some bad language.

“You're a natural,” Esme comments the next morning, as she and Nik lounge on a park bench; Yaz keeping the kids busy and laughing hysterically over his antics on the playground equipment.  

 They've all become restless being cooped up in the house with nothing more to do than count down the hours and minutes before Tyler leaves for Ireland. Opting to head into town for a late breakfast and some window shopping before taking the kids to burn off some of their excess energy. Tyler and Ovi had been gone for better part of the morning and wouldn't return to some time in the early afternoon; time at the shooting range, lunch, and long overdue talk about his expectations for the teenager while he was gone.

 “I've never been told that before,” Nik laughs, as Declan bounces happily on her lap; tiny feet planted on her thighs, hands on her shoulders, her own resting on his hips to help keep him steady. He's a cute little thing: strawberry blond hair (inherited from Tyler's mother), huge, brilliant blue eyes, and quite possibly the most adorable smile and giggle she's ever seen or heard. Out of the four, he'd been the biggest: an impressive nine pounds, ten ounces.  “Normally I'm told how uncomfortable I look.”

 Nik remembers when Tyler had to actually teach her how to hold Millie. Back in nursery in that little apartment in Australia. How nervous she'd been when that impossibly tine baby had been placed in her arms. Never had she held something so fragile. Helpless. Priceless. A little human being that depended solely on her to keep them safe.

 She's perfectly content being 'Auntie Nik'; she can spoil them rotten and love endlessly on them yet hand them back to their parents at the end of the day. With each passing birth, she's gotten more accustomed to the actual nurturing parts. She can feed them. Burp them. Bathe them. Clothe them. And is now able to successfully change a soiled diaper without promptly vomiting.

 “You don't look uncomfortable to me,” Esme says, as she adjusts the snap closure on the back of Declan's baseball cap and then slips it back onto his head. “And he obviously doesn't think so either. Look how happy he is. He adores you.”

 As terrible as it sounds to even to Nik's own ears, Declan is her favourite. He's vibrant and full of life; always smiling or giggling and very rarely crying of fusing. Infinitely curious. Simply loving life and everyone and everything in it. The twins rarely bother with her; they're head strong and wild, whereas she's very strict and routine orientated. Millie is a character all on her own. Five going on fifteen, full of sass and attitude. Never backing down from a challenge and very rarely showing any signs of fear. Very much her father's daughter. Right down to the bad habit of immediately distrusting others and shutting them out.

 “You're a strong little thing,” Nik says to the baby, laughing and wriggling away from the hands that try to latch onto her sunglasses. “You're going to be walking in no time, I think. Those are some powerful legs you've got there! I remember when you were still in your mommy's belly and you would kick her hard enough to make her cry sometimes.”

 “There were a couple times he nearly brought me to my knees,” Esme recalls, shaking her head in disbelief. “Like he would just get all that power into that one kick and just let me have it. If Tyler was lying up against me, it would even wake him up sometimes. All the kicking and the rolling around. You've just never sat still,” she addresses her son, tickling his stomach. ���Always on the go! Even then. You never wanted to settle and now look at you. Still going about with your nonsense.”

  “You're going to grow up and be big and strong just like your daddy,” Nik says.  “You'll be able to put your older brothers in their places, that's for sure. And you'll be able to protect your sister from any mean boys in the neighbourhood. Or beat up any boyfriends that don't treat her right.”

 “Boyfriends,” Esme laughs. “Bold of you to assume that Tyler is ever going to let her date.”

 “Is he still bent out of shape over that? He's probably just worried because he remembers what he was like when he was a teenager. He doesn't want her bringing him any boys like him.”

 “I can imagine how my dad would have reacted to me bringing Tyler home. That would not have gone well. I'm the first girl after three boys. He would have taken one look at Tyler and the hair and the tattoos and promptly kicked him out of the house. Trust me, that is not what he wanted for his daughter. Someone with an edge. He would have taken one look at him and that would have been it. I love my dad, but he definitely would not have approved. He would not have even given it a chance to get to know him. My dad had a certain vision for how my life would go. And a guy like Tyler was not part of that vision.”

 “What kind of guy was he hoping for?”

 “None, preferably,” she laughs.  “He wanted the white-collar type. Boring. Simple. Vanilla. And as you already know, there is absolutely nothing vanilla about Tyler. In any aspect of his life. He's a little...”

 “Wild?” Nik offers.

 “Edgy. Dark. Dangerous. Fearless. A mystery. The type my father definitely did not want me to end up. I think once he realized I wasn't going to give in and stay away from him, he would have come around. Even teenage me would have been unable to stay away. I can't explain it. What exactly it is. But I felt it in Dhaka. Maybe I even felt it when I walked into his place in the outback. There was something different about him. Something irresistible, despite your brain and your heart telling you to just walk away. It was impossible. In Dhaka. I couldn't stop it. I didn't want to stop it.”

 Nik completely understands. She'd felt it too; the minute she'd met him a little more than ten years ago. He’d been a challenge. An enigma. And she hadn't been able to stop going to his bed even though she'd known he'd never want her for anything more than that. No matter how many times he told her, no matter how many times he insisted that he'd never want anything more, she'd held out hope. And sometimes she still did.

 She hates how it still makes her feel; the bitterness that eats away at her when she sees them together. It’s been a little more than five years and it is still so hard. To accept the way things are. Even when it’s so blatantly obvious how happy Tyler is. How much he relishes and thrives on being a husband and a father. How it has brought out a light within him; a sense of peace and contentment that had been absent from his life since his son died, and his first marriage disintegrated. And she should be happy about that. That he’s far removed from the Tyler Rake that existed in that little shack in the outback.  That he’d given himself the chance to actually be happy; that he’d let someone break down those walls and show him what it is like to be wanted and loved.  But it’s difficult. He hadn’t wanted that person to be her. And now she had to sit back and watch as his life went on.  A spectator to just how wildly and crazily in love he is with someone else.

 “Have you given it much thought?” Esme asks. “About having your own family?”

 “I have a family. I have Yaz. The team. All of you.”

 “You know what I mean, Nik,” she sips at a takeout cup of piping hot ginger and lemon tea; a rather potent smelling concoction that she swears help calm her stomach and her bad nerves.

 “I’m a much better Auntie than a mother. I’m too selfish. I enjoy what I do too much. I like being able to come and go as I please. Nothing tying me down. No one I have to answer to. That kind of life was never meant for someone like me.”

 “Six years ago, you could have said the same thing about Tyler. That this kind of life wasn’t meant for someone like him.’

 “That’s different. He wasn’t allowing himself to have this life. He hated himself too much. He was a mess and didn’t want to bring anyone else into it.  But he thrives on this kind of existence.  And he needed it. The stability. Someone to come home to. Kids that love and idolize him. Things that give him a purpose. Could imagine where he’d be if you’d never come along? He would have let himself die that day on the bridge. I’m sure of that.”

 “Sometimes it seems like a lifetime ago,” Esme sighs. “And then there’s other days where it seems like it was just yesterday. I’ve made peace with it. I’ve put it behind me. But sometimes…I don’t know…sometimes it just creeps up on me. Something just brings it back to the surface. I try not to let it get to me. But it’s in there. I can feel it.”

 “You’re probably just on edge because he’s leaving,” Nik suggests, as she places the baby down on a blanket that lays spread out at their feet, then accepts the cup of coffee that Esme had been babysitting for her.  “Are you feeling okay? The way you’re drinking that stuff, you’re not…”

 “Oh my god no. There is no bun in this oven. Not yet anyway.  It is definitely just bad nerves. And stress. I am so stressed, Nik. Not just about this. This is just the icing on the proverbial shit cake.”

 “Talk to me. What’s going on? Are things okay with you and Tyler?”

 “For once, it actually has nothing to do with him. I mean, other than the fact he’s leaving in eight hours and I have no idea when he’ll be back. If he’ll be back.”

 The word ‘if’ hangs heavily in the air. It’s always a possibility that things will go to hell. That the job won’t go nearly as easily and seamlessly as hoped. It very rarely does.  And there’s always that possibility that this mission may be the last one.  That one bullet in the chamber with your named etched on it.

 “It’s just stupid stuff,” Esme continues. “It’s Millie and the way she regresses like she does. It’s my parents and the fact my stepdad has been cheating on my mom for years and now they’re not even living in the same house. It’s my brothers and their relationship drama. And my sister.  She’s met this guy and she’s dropped out of college and no one knows where the hell she is. And then there’s the ex husband.”

 Nik arches an eyebrow.

“I guess he’s been friends with my mother all this time. Since things fell apart. And she had the nerve to tell him where I was. Address and all. He showed up at the house, Nik. When I wasn’t even there. He actually spoke to Tyler.”

 Nik smirks. “And he lived to tell about it? Maybe Tyler is starting to slip.”

 “He should have just killed him. No one would miss Mark. Not even his own parents. Well maybe my mother would. How screwed up is that? That she’s stayed friends with him but she hates Tyler? That she holds Mark up on some kind of pedestal but treats Tyler like he belongs in the gutter? It makes no sense.”

 “She has it in her head that he took you away from her,” Nik reasons. “One day you left and never came back. You said you were going on a business trip and then you’re calling to say that you’ve met someone and you’re staying in Australia.”

 “It was nearly six years ago. She needs to get a grip. He’s my husband. Whether she likes it or not. And he’s the father of my kids. Her grandchildren. You’d think that would mean something to her. He’s not a bad guy. You know that, Nik. He’s a big, strong man with an even bigger heart.”

 “With the right people,” Nik stresses. “That’s the important thing here. Only with the people that he allows himself to be that way with.”

 “It’s just so frustrating. That she just can’t give him a chance. Even if it’s just for the sake of her grandchildren.  He went to see her the other day. She called him and asked him if he would drive up. Said they needed to talk,” she rolls her eyes at the last part, sips her tea.

 “About what?”

 “Who knows. Tyler came home and never even brought it up. And I know better than to ask. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past five and a bit years, is hat it’s better if you just sit back and let him decide when he wants to talk about things.  You know what he’s like. He likes to keep shit in.”

 “Until he snaps and it all comes out.”

 “Exactly. Which I’ve pointed out many times and you can imagine how well that went. He’s so stubborn! So goddamn stubborn and it drives me absolutely insane.”

 “Well…” she grins, and playfully digs her elbow into her friend’s side. “…now you know how he feels when it comes to dealing with you.”

 “I am nowhere near as bad as him. Nowhere.”

 “I’ll give you that. But you’re both horribly stubborn and you’re both enormous pains in each other’s asses. But it works. In its own way. Neither of you could live without the other. I’m one hundred percent sure of that. And he’s going to be okay,” she reaches out to rub her friend’s shoulder. “He’s going to come home. To you and the kids. I promise you. We’ll make sure of it. And I know you hate me. For putting him in the situations I do…”

 ‘I don’t hate you, Nik. I could never hate you. And you don’t put him in anything. Tyler manages that all on his own.  If anyone is an expert on getting himself caught up in wild and crazy shit, it’s him. I just wish…” her voice trails off, a frown curving her lips as she lays a hand over her eyes to shield them from the sun and peers into the distance. “…what the hell?”

 “What?” Nik turns her attention to what has caught her friend’s eye. TJ wandering away from the playground, towards a stranger waving to him from a cluster of bushes and trees fifty meters away. “Yaz!” she yells at her brother, whose completely oblivious as he busies himself pushing Mille and Tanner on the swing. “What are you doing?! You’re supposed to be watching that one too!”

 “It’s okay,” Esme assures her, and hands her the cup of tea. “Tyler’s fine. He won’t hurt him. He doesn’t hurt kids. Only women.”

 “You know that guy?”

 “Unfortunately,” she sighs, and slips her feet into her flip flops. “That’s my ex husband.”

 ***

  “Tyler James Rake Junior!” Esme bellows, as she stomps across the grass, to where her son is immersed in conversation with Mark. As if they’re long lost friends.  “Just what in the blue hell are you doing?!”

 “We’re talking about football,” her son informs her. As if it’s perfectly natural to be making friends with complete strangers. “But real football. Like daddy likes. Not the stupid NFL.”

 “You do not just go wandering off like that,” she scolds him, dropping to one knee in front of him, hands on his shoulders. “How many has daddy and I talked to you about that? That you stay where we can see you? That you just don’t go off on your own?”

 There are many reasons for their warnings. And their worries. Yes, there’s a lot of unsavoury and sketchy people out there that are just waiting to take advantage of a child. But there’s also the possibility of there being someone out there just waiting to exact revenge. It is a strange way to live: always looking over your shoulder, waiting for the other shoe to drop. But it’s the nature of the beast.

 “He’s fine,” Mark pipes up. “I wasn’t going to hurt him.”

 She ignores him and continues to address her son. “What did daddy tell you? About never taking off like that? About never talking to strangers?”

 His chin falls to his chest, a pout curving his lips. “That I should always be where someone can see me.”

 “You scared me. And Auntie Nik. Don’t go wandering off like that, okay? What if something happened to you? Mommy doesn’t want to lose you. She loves you way too much. Come here…” she draws him into her arms, a hand on the back of his head as he snuggles his face into her shoulder. “…I’m sorry I yelled. I’m sorry I hurt your feelings. But you scared me, Tyler. Please don’t do that again, okay?”

 “Okay,” he agrees with a sniffle, and when he pulls back, she uses gentle fingertips to clear the tears off his cheeks and the sides of his nose.  “I’m sorry, mommy. But it’s not a stranger. He’s my friend.”

 “No. He most certainly is not. He’s not your friend.”

 “But he came to the house and said he knows you and he talked to daddy.”

 “He is not your friend,” she stresses.

 “Everything okay?” a breathless Yaz inquires as he arrives on the scene. “I’m sorry, Esme. I just looked away from him for less than a minute. I was caught up with the other two and I just glanced away and…”

 “Everything’s fine,” she assures him, wiping grass and dirt off her knee as she stands up. “He’s okay. A little too fearless, but okay. Can you take him back?”

 “I want to stay with you,” her son argues, and wraps both arms around one of her legs.

 “Who are you?” Yaz addresses Mark.  No chill. Just straight to the point.

 “I’m Mark,” he steps forward and offers a hand.

 Yaz looks at his hand, then straight in the eye, and then back to the hand again. Giving a derisive snort as he turns to Esme. “Mark, Mark? As in…?”

 “Just take him back to the others,” she says, and pries loose little fingers from around her thigh. “Go with Uncle Yaz,” she speaks to her son. “He’ll take you down to see the ducks and the geese. Mommy will be there in a few minutes. Can you do that for me? Go with uncle Yaz to feed ducks?”

 He nods, and she takes his little face in her hands and presses a kiss to his forehead.

 “You’ll be okay?” Yaz asks. “If you need me to stick around…”

 “I’ll be fine.”

 He nods, then looks at Mark. “Just so you know, I know about fifteen different ways to kill someone without leaving any evidence behind. And my sister knows about five times more than that.”

 “I’m not here to cause trouble,” he promises. “I’m just here to talk.”

 “Yeah…sure you are…” Yaz mutters, and then takes TJ by the hand and hauls him off back towards the playground.

 ****

 “He’s a little cutie,” Mark observes. “Looks nothing like you though. None of them do.”

 “What the hell is wrong with you?” Esme hisses. “First you show up at my house and talk to my husband, now you’re following me around and talking to my three old? Are you following me?”

 “You never called,” he attempts to reason. “I gave your husband my business card and he said he’d tell you to give me a call and…”

 “He should have just punched you in the throat and threw your ass in a shallow grave. And believe me, he’s more than capable of doing it. And much worse things. What do you want? It’s been eight years. No contact. Exactly the way I like it. And all of a sudden you just show up out of the blue? Are you unhinged?”

 “I’ve kept in touch with your mom. She’s the one who told me where to find you.”

 “Oh, I know. And believe me, she’s going to be on my shit list for a long time. What do you want? Why are you showing up at my house? Why are you following me to a park and watching me with my kids? Do you realize how creepy that is? That you’re just hanging out watching us and talking to my son? That is creepy as fuck and that is a line you never should have crossed. My son, Mark? Are you serious right now?”

 “You’re making way too much of a big deal out of this, Esme. I guess some things never change, huh? You still overreact.”

 “Don’t even try that with me. I’m not the same person I was when I let you get away with all your crap. So don’t you dare try and gaslight me. For once just own up to your own shit. You never should have kept in contact with my mother and you definitely should not have shown up at my house. You talked to my husband? Like, seriously Mark?”

 “He’s a nice guy. Not nearly as intimidating as he looks,” her ex smirks. “He’s a big boy, huh? Strong as hell.”

 “Why don’t you show up at the house again and try your bullshit on him and you can see just how strong and intimidating he can be?  I honestly would like to see that. I’d like to see him just hand you your ass. You have no idea what he’s capable of. And I don’t think you really want to find out.”

 “I’m not underestimating him. I’ve heard the stories. They’re out there if you know the right people. I definitely would not want to get on his bad side.  I heard what he did to those guys back in that apartment in Dhaka. I thought maybe it was all just a bunch of bullshit. Did he really kill a guy with a garden rake?”

 “I’m not indulging you in this. I don’t care what you’ve heard. I don’t care who you’ve heard it from. You had no right going to my house and talking to him. And you definitely had no right coming here and talking to my son. How low are you willing to stoop? How much further down into the gutter are you willing to go? That is my child, Mark. My three-year-old. And you’re out here luring him away like some pedophile.”

 “I was not luring him away. He saw me and wandered over to talk to me. That’s it. I would have never hurt him, you know that.”

 “Because you only hurt women, right?” she crosses her arms over her chest. “Just tell me what you’re doing here. Why do you want to talk to me so badly? Can’t you just go back under whatever rock you’ve been living under for the past eight years? I have a life. One that doesn’t include you. I have a husband and kids. Can’t you just let me be?”

“I just want to talk to you,” Mark assures her. “I’m not here to cause problems. I just want to talk.”

 “About what?”

 “Can we go and sit down somewhere?  Get a little privacy?”

 “You either talk right here or not at all. I’m not going anywhere with you. So talk. Whatever you have to say, just get it out.”

 His eyes narrow as he looks over her shoulder. “Your friend is staring at us.”

 “That’s Nik. And she’s probably going through all the different ways she can kill you. You wouldn’t want to meet her in a dark alley, either. Stop trying to change the subject. What do you want? Why are you here?”

 “To talk.”

 “I got that already. About what? You’re testing my patience, Mark.”

 “First things first…” he reaches into the breast pocket of his golf shirt and plucks out a small, sparkling and shiny object, offering it to her.  “…you left it behind.”

 The engagement ring he’d given to her many years ago. When things had seemed normal. Perfect. When she’d been convinced she’d found the love of her life and she’d wanted nothing more than to devote her life to him.

 She slaps his hand away. “You’re lucky I didn’t shove it up your ass or down your throat. What is wrong with you? Why would you bring that? If I didn’t want it then, why would I want it now?”

 “Well I noticed you don’t wear one, so…”

 “So you thought I’d just take that one back and wear it? You really are a delusional, arrogant prick, aren’t you. You’re not part of my life anymore. You haven’t been part of my life in eight years. And I was perfectly fine with that. I don’t want your ring. I don’t want you showing up at my house. I don’t want you talking to my husband or my son. You’re messed up, Mark. You have serious issues. You need to just go. Go back to whatever cave you’re living in and…”

 “Denver,” he interrupts. “I live in Denver now.”

 “Oh, how convenient. Considering you hated Colorado when we were together. Well go back to Denver, then. Go back there and leave me alone. Leave us alone.”

 She attempts to turn on her heel and walk away, but he captures her by the wrist and turns her around to face him.

 “Don’t…” she warns, and yanks her hand out of his grasp. “…ever touch me like that.”

 He releases her and then holds his hands up in surrender. “Just give me a chance, okay? Let me just explain what I’m doing here. It’s just to talk, I promise. There’s things I need to say to you. To get off my chest. Will you let me do that?”

 She crosses her arms over her chest once again, head cocked to the side as she waits for him to continue.

 “I’m in a program. For my drinking. I know what you’re going to say. That it only took eight years for me to get to this point.  And that I should have listened to all the times you begged me to go and get help. That things would be completely different now if I had have.”

 She doubts it. Their problems extended far beyond his alcohol issues. Getting help for that barely scratches the surface.

 “One of the things I need to do…to make a clean break and start a new life…is to make amends for things I’ve done. It doesn’t erase what was said or what I did, but it’s an important step I need to take. For my own mental and physical health.”

 “Because that’s all it was ever about, right Mark? You. I was never really in the equation.”

 “Maybe it will give you some kind of closure as well. Maybe you need to hear these things just as much as I need to say them. So you can get on with your life.”

 “I’ve gotten on with my life. I met the love of my life. The true love of my life. I got married. Had babies. I love the life I have. With the person I’ve made that life with. I don’t need to hear anything from you, Mark. But I understand why you need to say them.”

 He gives a smile of appreciation, taking a deep breath as he nervously rubs his hands together.  “I know that I hurt you,” he begins. “I know that I wasn’t the easiest person to get along with. Live with. That there were things I said and did that were horrible. That I was a terrible person to you a lot of the times. Especially after the baby.”

 She nods in agreement, swallowing down the lump of emotion that has lodged in her throat.

 “I think we just got caught up in things.  I had just come out of a bad relationship and I was looking for someone…anyone…to fill that hole inside of me. And you were there. I met you and everything seemed right with the world again. And maybe it was wrong. Maybe it never should have happened. I was your commanding officer. But it did happen. And I don’t regret that. Because there were some good times. And when things were good, they were damn good. Weren’t they?”

 “I never denied there were good times, Mark. But there were more bad than good and you can’t deny that.”

 “And you can’t deny that those times weren’t all my fault. You’re not exactly the easiest person to live with, Esme. You don’t make it easy to love you. I’m surprised this guy’s held on as long as he has, to be honest.”

 She smirks. “And you were doing so well there for a minute. You almost had me feeling sorry for you.”

 “He must have a lot more patience than I do. Almost six years, right? And he’s still around? You must be doing something right.”

“I give amazing blow jobs and he gets laid nearly every day, twice a day,” she retorts, and he frowns. “You actually almost had me there, Mark. I was starting to feel sorry for you. I was actually starting to feel proud of you for getting help. And then you do this. You turn it around so you’re the victim.”

 “I’m only pointing out that things fell apart because of both of us. Granted, I was a lot worse than you were and you put more into it when it came to trying to keep things together. You definitely worked harder than I did when things were falling apart.  And I know I went off the deep end after the baby. I’m sorry. For the things I said and the things I did to you. The other women. The lying. The being a complete asshole.  And that’s what I came to say to you. That I’m sorry and I hope one day you can forgive me.”

 She nods, considering his words, arms still crossed over her chest, hands rubbing her shoulders.

 “You have a beautiful family, Esme. You’ve got a guy that’s obviously crazy about you. Amazing kids. And I’m glad you found that. I’m glad you found someone that loves you as much as he does. Someone that could give you what I couldn’t.  I’m sorry I couldn’t be the kind of man that you needed. I really am. Even now I wish things could have been different.”

 “Things happen for a reason,” she says. “Had we…had you fixed things…I wouldn’t have what I have now. I never would have met Tyler. And that was the best thing that ever happened me. Even if what happened afterwards was screwed up. I don’t regret meeting him. Or going through what I had to. He almost died. I almost lost him and I had just found him. But I don’t regret how I met him or how things happened between us. And none of that would have happened if things worked between us.”

 “Well I hope he appreciates it. How much you love him. How much you’re willing to go through for him. Because when you love, you love with your whole heart. Your whole being. And I just hope he realizes how lucky he is. I hope that you have a long life together. A happy life. And I really am sorry I couldn’t give you all that.”

 “And I’m sorry too,” she admits. “For not being the person you needed.”

 “That’s the thing. You were. And I was just too stupid to realize it.”

 “Mommy,” Millie appears by her side, tugging at the bottom of her t-shirt.  “I’m hungry.”

 “Again?” Esme laughs, and scoops her up into her arms. “You’re getting to be just as bad as your daddy and your brothers. Can you say hi?”

 “Hi,” the little girl chirps, and offers a hand. “I’m Amelia. But everyone calls me Millie. I like that better.’

 He smiles and shakes her hand.

 “I’m five,” she announces. “Those are my brothers...” she nods over her mother’s shoulder in the direction of where Yaz is helping the twins shake playground sand out of their sandals. “Tyler and Tanner. They’re twins. But they don’t look exactly alike.”

 “Fraternal,” Esme explains. “Not identical. But you’d never know it if you saw them side by side. It’s hard for people to tell them apart, isn’t it, Millie? We can because we live with them and see them every day. But to other people it’s hard.”

 Millie nods. “Sometimes, at school, if they have a new teacher or a new person watching them on the playground, they’ll pretend to be each other. Just to mess people up. They think it’s funny,” she rolls her eyes at that, then adds in exasperation, “Boys. They try at home too, but mommy and daddy know who is who. That’s my other brother,” she points in the direction of where Nik is buckling the baby into his stroller. “Declan. He’s just a baby. I like him better than the other two. I really want a baby sister. I’m tired of having brothers.”

 “Well that’s something your dad and I have to decide. Whether it be a brother or a sister.  We don’t really get to pick. It just happens.”

  “Do you know my daddy?” Millie addresses Mark. “His name is Tyler too. My brother was named after him.”

 “We met,” he confirms. “We don’t really know each other though.”

 “You know mommy?”

 He nods.

 “How?”

 “Your mom and I knew each other a long time ago. We met at her old job. Long before she met your dad or had you or your brothers.”

 “You were friends?”

 He smiles. “Something like that.”

 “Do you like dogs?”

 Mark blinks.

 “I have a dog. His name is Macaroni. But everyone calls him Mac. I try telling everyone that’s not his name, but…” she shrugs.

 “Welcome to the world of five-year old’s,” Esme grins. “Where your attention span is limited yet you can carry on six different conversations at the same time. I should go. The other three are probably hungry too. And we should get home before daddy and Ovi, right?” she presses a kiss to Millie’s temple.

 “Ovi’s my other brother,” Millie explains. “But he didn’t come from mommy’s tummy. Mommy and daddy didn’t make him like they made the rest of us. I’m only five, but I know how these things work, you know.  Ovi doesn’t look like me. But he’s still my brother.”

 “The drug dealer’s kid?” Mark asks Esme, and she nods. “Pretty admirable. You guys taking him on like that.”

 “He needed a family. Him and Tyler have a pretty tight bond. Even back then they did. And we couldn’t just leave him there.”

 “He never would have survived. If you hadn’t have taken him. You realize that, right?”

 She nods, then gives Millie a smile and a kiss on the forehead. “Hungry? Should we go and grab something to eat? Make Uncle Yaz pay? We should go. If all four of them start carrying on at the same time…”

 “Thank you, Esme,” he reaches out and rubs her shoulder. “For hearing me out. I know it wasn’t easy for you and I know you didn’t owe me anything. And I hope one day you can forgive me.”

 “Maybe,” she says. “I’m glad to see you’re getting yourself together, Mark. That you’re finally taking things seriously and getting the help you need. I really am. You deserve much better than the cards you’ve been dealt. You always did.”

 He smiles, then reaches out to tuck a wayward piece of hair behind her ear. “Your hair has always done that,” he chuckles. “I always used to fix it for you.”

 “Well, someone else does that for you now. So…”  she backs away. Far enough that he can’t reach her.

 “I really am happy for you. Genuinely happy. You got the life you wanted. Someone that loves you and can provide for you, give you children. He’s lucky.”

 “I’m pretty lucky myself. Even if it takes something like this to make me realize it. He’s a good man. Not perfect, but perfect for me.  And he’s a great father. Right, Millie? Isn’t he? Isn’t he a great daddy?”

 “The best daddy ever,” she gushes. “Even if he won’t let me paint his nails or wear the tiara.”

 “It’s a long story,” Esme says.

 “But he does take me fishing,” the little girl continues. “And hiking. Those are pretty cool too. Do you have kids?”

 “No,” he responds. “I was never lucky enough to have kids. Your mom’s a good mom, isn’t she?”

 “The best ever,” Millie says, and presses a noisy kiss to Esme’s cheek. “Even if she does keep giving me brothers.”

 “And that’s our cue to leave,” Esme laughs. “I need to get these guys fed and home. It was nice seeing you, Mark. For what it’s worth, I hope you got what you needed by coming here. I know it wasn’t easy for you, either.”

 “If you ever need anything, and I mean anything, don’t hesitate to call. I’ll help anyway I can. Maybe we can start from square one. Be friends again. We always worked better as friends. Would you at least think about it? Give it a chance.”

 “We’ll see,” she says. “If you don’t hear from me…well if you don’t hear me, just take care of yourself. You’re on the right path. Stay on it.”

 “I will,” he promises, and then she turns on her heel and walks away.