#but spoiler alert bad things have already happened for this family

[fireflysparks]

Rainelle Neengia has been given a second chance.

She's currently living with Chester Gieke, his wife Tina, and their baby boy, Cloud.

(Of course Chester named his son after a Final Fantasy character.)

Rainelle is a bit of a part-time nanny for them. And she's really good with Cloud. But will her presence bring misfortune to the family?

Tune in next time to find out!

[reputationmunson]

Crossing Lines | s.h x fem!reader

part one | part two | part 3 | part 4 | part 5

series summary: steve isn’t your biggest fan, so why does he ask you to be his date to a wedding? | enemies to lovers, fake dating

chapter summary: things take a turn the night of the wedding. what happens when you’re back in Hawkins and no longer have to pretend to be steve’s girlfriend?

content: arguing, drinking, kissing (yes you read that right), a few confessions (yes you read that right, too), she/her pronouns, use of y/n, swearing

word count: 3.7k

a/n: THINGS ARE HAPPENING! BUCKLE UP

_

The sound of clanging cutlery makes your head throb due to the cruel hangover you woke up with. You were currently eating breakfast with the Harrington’s and not to sound rude, but it was the last place you wanted to be right now. 

After the events of last night, you couldn’t get even a blink of sleep. It was already bad enough you told Steve that he shouldn’t kiss you because you wouldn’t be able to sleep, but him agreeing made it even worse. 

It makes no sense to you. 

He must be playing some sort of cruel game, right? He’s probably just stringing you along trying to make you fall for him and when if you do, bam, you’re left heartbroken. 

Steve Harrington can suck it. There’s positively no way you’re falling for him. 

“You alright?” he whispers to you when he notices you moving the food around your plate instead of eating it. “m’fine” you shrug. “Just don’t have an appetite’’ you explain. “Eat something. We have a long day ahead of us” 

“Why do you care?” you snap and his eyes widen. Luckily, his family was too immersed in their  own conversations to pay attention to either of you. “Let’s not do this here, okay? Yell at me when we get back to the house if you want”

“What’s the point? You never listen anyways” you huff. 

This morning was a tad awkward between you and Steve. When you tried to talk about it and clear the air, he just grunted and wanted to brush it under the rug like he always does. Safe to say you were frustrated with him. 

“Whatever, y/n. Just promise you’ll stop acting like this when we’re at the wedding”

“Only if you promise to stop being such a dick”

“Fine”

“Fine”

Spoiler alert: It wasn’t fine. 

_ 

When you had gotten back to the house, neither of you spoke a word to each other. You took a much needed nap while Steve left the house. He didn’t tell you where he was going and frankly, you didn’t care to know. 

Okay, that’s a bit of a lie. You cared a teeny tiny amount. 

These past few days have felt so back and forth. Every time you think you’re making progress to the possibility of being friends, there’s a small hiccup and you’re back to square one. You feel like you’ve gotten a glimpse of Steve that you haven’t gotten in a long time, but then the glimpse is overshadowed by him going back to acting like an ass at the drop of a hat. 

Your rumination is interrupted by the sound of the front door closing, alerting you that Steve is back. You go back to doing your makeup until Steve knocks on the bathroom door. “Come in” you answer and he opens the door. 

“We’re leaving in an hour” he states “Then why aren’t you ready yet? You were gone for two hours” 

“I went to my parents to call Robin” he answers. “We have a phone here” you counter. “Thanks, sherlock, but I didn’t really want you snooping in on my conversation” 

“I have no interest in what you have to say considering you have no interest in listening to me” you sigh heavily. “Is this about last night? Can’t you get over that?” You angrily set your mascara down and turn to look at him. “No, it isn’t just about last night. It’s about the entire time I’ve known you, Steve! You are such an asshole to me and I’ve done nothing to you and yes, I wanted to kiss you, but you wanted to kiss me too and it’s driving me fucking mad because you want to act like this whole weekend hasn’t even happened!” you exclaim and hold back a sob. You’d always been so utterly confused about his hatred towards you and this trip has made it even worse. He gives you no explanations, no communication, just avoidance. 

“I have to get ready” is all he says before exiting the room and you groan in frustration. All you want, all you need, is for him to talk to you. It’s like trying to get through a brick wall. Impossible and not worth it. 

You’d never been more grateful for a weekend to almost be over.

_

The wedding ceremony had been uncomfortable, to say the least. You and Steve were squished together in a church pew, leaving no room for distance between the two of you. It was hard to focus on the beautiful event taking place in front of you when Steve’s thigh was pressed up against yours and he had to put his arm on the back of the bench and you had to lean into him for appearances. 

The reception was going better though, partially because of the open bar. You’re currently stood there waiting on your third drink when the bride herself comes up to you. “What did Steve do now?” she asks you. “What do you mean?” you play dumb. “You two have been so lovey dovey this whole weekend and now you haven’t spoken a word to each other tonight. Spill”

“I don’t want to burden you. It’s your wedding night!”

“Consider it a wedding present. Tell me everything!”

That was easier said than done. You couldn’t exactly explain that this entire relationship is fake and Steve has been sending you mixed signals, absolutely doing your head in. “Just a silly fight, I suppose. Nothing serious” you reply. “Alright, I won’t bother you for juicy details, but tonight is all about love and that boy loves you. He’s outside. Go find him, okay?” 

Before you go and find him, you make sure to get him a drink to break the ice. As frustrated as you were with him, you weren’t going to sulk at someone's wedding over it.

“Hey” you mutter when you find him alone outside. “Peace offering” you say as you hand him a drink and he accepts, chugging it rather quickly. 

“Look, I’m sorry ab-”

“No, I’m sorry.” he interrupts “I was an ass and you didn’t deserve it”

“Thank you, but you’ve been really off all day. Is something else wrong?’’ you question and he sighs “My dad keeps harping on me about my job, my apartment, and basically everything else. Says you’re too good for me. I don’t even deserve my fake girlfriend” he chuckles, humorlessly.

“Steve” you whisper, stepping closer to him and putting your hand on his arm “I know we’ve had our differences, but you should be proud of yourself. You could’ve easily had everything handed to you, but you decided to do everything on your own. I think that’s very brave of you”

“You think I’m brave?” his eyes meet yours and you swear there’s a sparkle in his golden irises. “yeah, i do, but don’t let that get to your head, alright?” you joke and he smiles for the first time today. “too late” he smiles. “So we’re okay now? ya know, until you start acting like a dick again” you joke. “Yeah, we’re okay. until you do something annoying again”

You both chuckle and you can’t deny this moment feels nice. Steve seems different, apart from the few arguments you’ve had over the weekend, it feels like there’s a possibility for an acquaintance. Maybe even friends, but you don’t wanna get ahead of yourself. 

“Hey, lovebirds. Get in here, everyone’s lookin for ya” one of the groomsmen says when he finds you and Steve outside. “we’ll be there in a sec” Steve tells him before he disappears. 

“ready?” he asks and you nod, both quickly finishing your drinks before facing the crowd inside. Steve takes your hand and leads you back into the reception. 

Once you’re back inside, you feel a gentle tug on your dress. When you turn around and look down, you’re met with a friendly, familiar face. “hi, penelope! you look so pretty!” you exclaim and she twirls to show you her dress. “you look like a princess! will you dance with me?” she asks. “I’d be honored!” 

“I’m gonna go get us a couple more drinks, okay?” Steve tells you before you’re escorted to the dance floor with your new best friend. 

While Steve waits to order at the bar, he watches you and penny absolutely steal the show. You’re holding hands while twirling around the dance floor and laughing. He notices everyone admiring you, much like he is right now. 

“She sure is lovely, Steve” his mom says when she approaches him. “she is, isn’t she?” he replies and he means it. You have this way about you that makes everyone swoon over you. At first, he found it annoying, but now he might say he finds it endearing. He’s starting to understand why everyone likes you so much. 

As ‘open arms’ by Journey starts to play, he watches your eyes light up and you say ‘I love this song!’. He decides the drinks can wait. 

“Care if I steal my girl for a dance, penny?” he asks, fully expecting her to say no. “fine, but only one dance, mister” she points her finger at him and you both laugh. “I’ll hand her off to you in no time. I swear” he promises before she walks back over to her parents. 

“So, I hear you like this totally cheesy song. Can’t say I’m surprised” he teases and you playfully roll your eyes. “And you wanna dance with me to this totally cheesy song” you rebuttal. “touche” he chuckles. 

Your arms wrap around his neck and his hands fall to your waist, pulling you slightly closer to him. “I believe I was promised a drink” 

“Got distracted, plus I don’t need you getting sloppy and stepping on my toes”

“Sloppy?! If anything, my dance moves are even more impeccable when I’m drunk. Did you not see my moves earlier?”

“Oh, I did, unfortunately. You’re really great with Penny, by the way. Must be because you dance the same.” he torments you. “Okay, I’m ignoring that. She’s a great kid, though. Hard to believe you share genes” 

“How would we share jeans? She’s a toddler” 

“Steve” you deadpan, waiting for him to get that you meant genes, not jeans. “Oh” he nods his head once he understands and you both laugh. 

“Do you think that maybe after all of this we could be friends, maybe?” you ask, shyly. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but yeah, maybe” he answers before continuing “you aren’t completely awful and besides us fighting every other hour, I’ve had fun with you.”

“I’ve had fun with you too, but if you tell anyone I said that I’ll deny it” you jokingly respond and he agrees. “I don’t entirely hate being around you” he whispers. “I don’t either”

Steve’s eyes flick down to your lips and linger longer than you expected. “stop looking at my lips!” you quietly exclaim. “I'm not! Your lipstick is smeared!” he defends.“I’m not wearing lipstick, Steve” you clarify and his cheeks turn pink. 

“You’re blushing! you were totally looking at my lips!”

“I was not. If I get you a drink will you stop berating me?” he bargains. “Hm, I don’t know. Get me a drink anyways and let's find out.” 

Steve keeps his hand on the small on your back the entire time you stand at the bar. You lean your head on his shoulder, claiming that it’s only because you’re sleepy, but deep down you feel the need to be as close to him as possible. 

“Wanna go back outside? It’s kinda hot in here” Steve asks once you get your drinks. You nod and follow him, lacing your hands together, mostly for support as you're tired and you feel like your feet might actually fall off from your heels. 

You and Steve don’t bother finding any chairs, opting to sit in the grass instead. 

“It’s so beautiful out here” you sigh dreamily as you look at the stars in the sky. Steve turns to look at you while you admire the view “yeah. it really is”

A night breeze causes you to shiver, so Steve takes off his blazer and places it over your shoulders. “Thanks, Stevie” you smile at him and he hates how the way your nose scrunches as you smile makes him feel like a damn teenager with the butterflies he gets. 

“Can I ask you something?” you ask, looking back at the sky not really wanting to look at him when you ask what’s on your mind. “go for it”

“Why did you hate me? I mean, I hope it’s past tense because you said we can be friends now, but I’m just curious” you nervously pluck grass out of the ground, still avoiding eye contact. “I didn’t hate you” “Steve, that’s a lie and we both know it. Be honest, I can take it”

Seconds pass before he speaks again, letting out a big sigh before doing so. “You’re too perfect”

“What?” you scoff. “You’re just so…unreal. With the way you laugh, the way you’re nice to everybody, and the way you could wear a trash bag and still be unbelievably beautiful. It just makes me so mad because I can never have you” he confessions and you’re stunned, to say the least. 

You don’t say anything for a good minute and a half, unable to think of anything to say. Steve wishes he had a time machine so he could go back and say literally anything else. He takes your silence as rejection.

“why can’t you have me?” you whisper “it’s stupid” he grumbles. “tell me. please”

“Robin told me that I wasn’t ready for a girl like you and truth be told, I don’t think I ever will be” he tells you. You scoot closer to him, locking your eyes with his. “you can have me tonight, Steve, while we’re away from home. No robin, no hawkins, just you and me and not a care in the world”

“Can we really do that just for one night?” he wonders, eyes scanning over your face to see if there’s any detection of you just messing around with him. “that depends…do you wanna kiss me?”

“yes”

Neither of you waste any time. His lips hungrily chase yours and you sigh into the kiss as you both lay down on your sides in the grass. Your hand grasps the back of his neck to keep him in place, making sure this moment lasts as long as possible. Warmth spreads throughout your body and you feel like your heart might beat out of your chest. 

One of Steve’s hands tangles in your hair while the other rests on your waist. It’s so quiet outside that all you can hear are the sounds of your kiss and you can’t be too sure, but so far you think it’s the best thing you’ve ever heard. 

Steve is the first to pull away, but not too far. He rests his forehead on yours and he keeps his eyes closed. “Can we go back to our place?” he asks and you let out an ‘mhm’ before you both stand up, going back inside to quickly say your goodbyes. 

_

Steve presses kisses to your forehead, cheeks, and lips every five seconds in the back of the cab and all the way to the front door. He knows he won’t be able to do this once you go back to your lives in Hawkins, so he uses this opportunity as best as he can. 

For tonight, you’re his girl and he can kiss you silly if he wants to. 

“Stevie, can I sleep in your sweatshirt? it gets cold at night”

“Here. I’ll get out of your hair” he says before leaving the room so you can get changed. His sweatshirt smells like him and you smile as you put it on. 

You change in record time so Steve can come back in. You know this is a terrible idea. You shouldn’t want to kiss him this badly, you shouldn’t hope you sleep in his arms tonight, but you do because you don’t know if you’ll ever get the chance to once you’re home. 

“I’m done!’’ you shout and Steve returns, also changed into comfy clothes. You both climb into bed after turning off the lights. His arm wraps around your shoulders and pulls you into him so your head lies on his chest. 

You’re both utterly exhausted, but don’t go to bed before sharing more giggly kisses. You each dread when the sunrises, meaning your time together is up. 

It was nice while it lasted. Even if it was only for a few hours. 

_

In the morning, there’s no regrets or arguing, like what both of you expected. Instead, there was a feeling of misery. If Steve knew he could’ve had you for this whole weekend, he wouldn’t have wasted a second. 

How is he supposed to act once you’re back in Hawkins? Does he go back to being an asshole or does he stick by his promise of being your friend? Is it even possible for him to be your friend at this point?

You don’t speak much throughout the morning, apart from when you’re at his parents’ to say goodbyes. “I can’t wait to see you again, dear” his mom had told you and you felt an odd feeling in your chest at her words. 

Steve loads up all of your things in the car for you and you mutter a ‘thanks’ before getting in the passenger seat. 

“Ready?” Steve asks when he gets in the car. “yep. let’s go home” you exhale a deep breath. 

You fall asleep almost as soon as you’re on the road and Steve sighs in relief. He doesn’t think he could take the silence. 

_

The ride home goes by fairly quickly. You wake once you feel his car come to a halt outside your house. 

“I’ll get your bags for you” he offers and you shake your head “no it’s o-”

“y/n, let me get your bags. It’ll be my final job as your fake boyfriend” he jokes and you let out a fake chuckle. Why does the thought of this being over hurt so much?

“Well, guess we’re broken up now, huh? Longest three and a half days of my life” you jest. “Right back at ya. Pleasure doing business with you” he holds his hand out and you shake it like you just got finished with a business meeting. “Until next time” 

“Until next time” he repeats your words and heads back to his car. 

You watch him drive away through your living room window, hoping he’ll turn around to give you one last kiss, but he doesn’t. It’s probably for the best anyways. 

_

It had been two weeks since returning to Hawkins and Steve couldn’t shake the feeling he had. It was the heart wrenching feeling you have when you miss someone, and he didn’t want to miss you, but he did. Severely.

Somehow, his apartment had felt lonelier. His bed felt colder as he grew accustomed to sharing a bed with you for only three nights, despite the gap that was left between you and him the first two nights. 

He hasn’t seen you since he dropped you off two weeks ago and there’s nothing else to say except that he misses you. 

He misses your laugh, he misses your banter, and he misses the way he felt when he kissed you that Saturday night. Like it was something you should’ve been doing this whole time. 

The clock on his bedside table reads 12:48 and he decides he can’t take this anymore. He can’t go through another sleepless night feeling like this.

He throws his blankets off his body and gets dressed, putting on the first thing he could find and running out the front door. 

He didn’t care anymore. 

He didn’t care about what Robin would say, or that you and Eddie used to be a thing, or that this could end in complete fucking disaster. 

All he cared about was what he wanted and that was you.

_

A series of knocks at your door wasn’t what you expected at one in the morning. 

Obviously, the first thing that came to mind was a murderer, but when you looked through your peephole, you saw a very frantic Steve.

“Steve? Are you okay?” his eyes were wide, his hair was a mess, and he was clearly jittery. 

“No, actually, I’m losing my mind. I mean, you tell me I can have you for one night and you thought that I could go back to normal after that?”

“I’m…sorry?”

“No, listen. I can’t go back to normal. I have wanted you for as long as I’ve known you and then we finally fucking kiss and I have to pretend like it wasn’t the best thing that’s happened to me a really long goddamn time. I want you and I can’t act like I don’t’’

You practically throw yourself at him, quickly crashing your lips together and pulling him inside. you’d been waiting so long for this.

“We can't tell any of our friends about this” kiss. “Agreed” kiss. “I mean this could totally blow up in our faces, there's no reason to tell them, right” you state, pulling away from his lips.“Uh-huh, right. Now shut up and kiss me again” 

You stand in your living for at least ten minutes, kissing him like it’s the only thing you’ll ever do again until exhaustion hits you both.

“do you wanna stay tonight? I don’t want you out driving this late”

“I wouldn’t be able to leave anyways” 

It feels weird at first to be cuddling Steve. Just a few weeks ago you swore up and down he hated you, and now you’re both curled up in your bed, clinging to each other like your life depends on it. It doesn’t feel wrong, though. It feels natural. Like, you’ve figured everything out. Well, almost everything. 

What else did you need to figure out? How the hell you were going to keep this from your friends.

_

taglist: @nix-rose-q @eternallyvenus @freezaz123 @whisperingwillowxox @buckysmetalhand @x-theolivia @realsuper-dark @eddiesguitarskills @megxplryxb @alicetweven @calmoistorm @impossibelle @k-k0129 @moonofthedevil @tinakham @kennedy-brooke @enco12e @sierrahhh @meet-me-backstage @whoringtonmunswhore

(a few blogs i was unable to tag :( i’m not sure if that’s an issue on my end or not but i’ll try to figure it out!)

[sunflowerharrington]

@steddiebang2024 project reveal!! This is not a drill!

I’m so so excited for this year’s Steddie Bang! I’ll be collabing with the amazing @mvnsvn6 for this project! Forget everything you know about Stranger Things and Saltburn and dive into this adventure with us. You can find the summary and a little excerpt will be under the cut.

Looking forward to posting this Fall :)

Summary:

Eddie Munson knows he won’t make any friends at Hawkins University. He knows it. He knows it… Until he crosses paths with Steve Harrington; a hunk who’s got it all: the looks, the ladies, the money, and a mansion way too big for an eccentric family of five and a butler. He’s got a mansion.

He’s got a mansion.

or, Eddie Munson is twenty years old and enrols at Hawkins University. He falls in love with a guy from university, falls out of love with the same guy, grows to resent him — even though some feelings still lie at the bottom of his heart — and the aftermath of it all.

Excerpt:

The sun shines bright, the grass is greener than ever and the skies are pure, perfect blue, with no clouds in sight. Shadows follow Eddie as he cycles along the road by the crystal-clear river, and he breathes in the fresh air. Today’s going to be a good day.

A buzzing atmosphere flutters around him like butterflies, but it’s pretty bittersweet. Why? Because some god-awful racket is disrupting the peace. It’s Steve, sitting on the verge up ahead, cursing under his breath as he kicks his bicycle. What ever could be the matter? Did he wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?

Eddie smirks as he passes, but stopping to help might get him on a page in Steve’s good book. He breaks to a halt in front of Steve.

“Hey, what happened?” Eddie asks, as if he doesn’t already know the answer. It’s a flat tire and the chain is looser than it should be. Steve has the bike upside down, trying to fix it by staring at it, hoping it’ll do something. Spoiler alert: it won’t.

“I’ve got a flat tire.” Bingo. “Chain’s loose too.” Double bingo.

“That’s bad luck,” Eddie says, and for once, something truthful comes out of his mouth— Eddie stops. For once, uh… he says something useful? Maybe? Eddie rolls his eyes. He has to stop changing his story! He was doing so well.

“I’ve just been trying to fix it,” Steve says, looking down at his feet. “Of course it’s when I’m already ten minutes late for my tutorial.”

Ooh, a tutorial. Eddie rolls his eyes. So posh. Jesus H Christ.

“Where is it?” Eddie asks.

“Just off Cherry Lane.”

“Oh shit.” That is pretty far away. Poor boy’s gonna have to walk all the way there on his own like half the people in college, probably. Eddie scoffs, it’s nothing. A walk is nothing. A run? That’s hard sometimes. Walking’s easy, and a good time to have a cigarette. And it’s less dangerous, and a lot easier, to smoke while walking than riding a bike. The scar on Eddie’s right arm is proof of that.

“Yeah…” Steve trails off, pouting like a kicked puppy. Jesus Christ, and Eddie thought he himself was dramatic.

They both look at the bike at the same time. It’s pretty much a goner. There’s no way to fix it in time for Steve to get to his stupid fucking tutorial before it’s over.

“I skipped last week to go- don’t tell anyone- but I went on a date with uh… Can't remember her name, sorry. Heather, or something. And I’m already in trouble with my parents for scratching some of the paint off it, so…”

Oh, poor, poor baby. Eddie internally rolls his eyes. Is Steve seriously trying to make Eddie feel sorry for him? Eddie’s pretty sure Steve’s parents could buy him a thousand bikes if he asked. But… He wants to get on Steve’s good side. He’s definitely popular around campus, and having that under his own belt could be good. Might get Eddie laid by a pretty girl if he’s lucky.

“Look, I’m not really going anywhere,” Eddie says, smiling at him. “Just taking these back to the library. So you can take my bike if you want?”

“No, no, no, I couldn’t. I mean, it looks like rain, I wouldn’t want to—”

Eddie can’t help but melt under Steve’s gaze, and that smile. Jesus H. Christ. “I’m not really going anywhere anyway. I can just get it back from you later. You’re in my college, so…” Perfect. He’ll get to see Steve again. One point for Munson.

“Am I?” Steve asks, keeping his gaze trained on Eddie.

Eddie sighs, his eyes downcast. “Yep.”

It’s a big college, sure, but how has Steve not seen him around before? Has he forgotten about their exchanged looks and smiles around campus whenever they cross paths? Does anything even really matter to him?

“That’s so kind, are you serious?” He asks, getting up from his spot by the tree. “That’s so kind, man. Are you sure? I mean, it’s a long walk back to college and I don’t want you to feel like you have to wheel it back.”

“You want me to take yours back?” Eddie asks. Oh what, so this douche thinks he can tell Eddie what to do now? He doesn’t even know Eddie’s name and he’s already giving him orders. Maybe it’s because Eddie looks easy to manipulate into doing whatever he wants.

But that’s what he wants Steve to think.

Eddie likes to think of himself as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. That’s the strategy in life that gets people everything they want. And what is it Eddie wants? More. More. And even more. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to get that, and so far it’s taken him right to Steve Harrington by a tree just outside of Hawkins University.

It didn’t exactly take much for him to get accepted; a carefully curated persona full of smiles and the story about his upbringing. That, and all the little extras: no criminal record—that the police know of, he knows how to make people take the fall for him. Bless Gareth, Frankie and Jeff—no drugs in his system, and a willingness to go down on anyone in any room to keep up his good GPA score.

Bedroom eyes go a long way, and the lack of a gag reflex goes even further. He’s willing to become the local slut to get what he wants. He doesn’t even have to try hard. Eddie is a slut and he’s damn proud of it.

“Oh, no, no, no!” Steve starts. “I’m sorry, I just thought that since I have your bike, you’ll take mine?” Eddie’s works, Steve’s does not, it makes little to no sense.

“I mean, I can wheel it back to college for you, it’s not that far away,” Eddie proposes… to get on Steve’s good side, of course.

“Thank you.” Steve takes Eddie’s bike from him.

He must be so used to people bending over backwards to help him.

Steve grins. “Oh, thank you. Thank you… I’m sorry, I don’t know your name. I’m Steve,” he says with an apologetic look. Oh, but is it fake? Who knows? Everything is fake around here. And posh, rich boys like Steven Otis Harrington are no exception.

I already know your name. And you have no idea just how much I already know about you, Steve.

“Eddie. It’s Eddie.”

“Eddie. Eddie, I love you.” Eddie’s eyes widen as Steve grabs him by the shoulders, planting a kiss on the top of his helmet. Even though he doesn’t want to play it safe in college, he also doesn’t want to get a concussion. So the stupid helmet will have to stay on. “I love you, I love you. Seriously.”

“Like I said, no big deal.”

“Thank you so much, Eddie,” he says with a wide smile, hopping onto the bike, swinging his leg over to put one of his feet on the pedals. “So kind. You’re a fucking lifesaver, really. Thank you.”

Eddie scoffs. Yeah, sure. He’s so thankful for it. Sure. Eddie rolls his eyes when Steve isn’t looking, too focused on pedalling to look back.

“I’ll just leave yours in the bike shed, yeah?”

“Yeah, fine.” If Steve even so much as scratches the bike, it’s over for him. No more talking, no more looking… Eddie will just have to find a new friend, or else pretend to forgive him to stay on his good side.

“Thanks, Eddie!” He calls over his shoulder. “I love you!”

Wow. Does love even have any meaning to him? Does Steve even know what love is? Surely not if he’s telling a fucking stranger that he loves them.

Eddie watches Steve disappear around the corner, leaving him standing alone, holding the broken bike. This is so stupid. He’s gonna look like a fucking idiot walking a bike all the way back to campus. But who cares? It’s not like anyone’s even going to pay attention to some small-town boy anyway…

But Steve might.

He just might. Because that’s all Eddie’s ever wanted.

Attention.

And he’ll do pretty much anything to get it.

[doors-to-infinity]

A DP x DC crossover. A what if went through my head. What if somebody from the DCU gets incomplete information about a Halfa, wants one, can’t reach them because they’re too far away in a different universe?

And decides- then we’ll make one (with the incomplete information they have) and control them! Because they come to the conclusion that halfas are pretty powerful. (Spoilers: They are in this AU!)

So the prompt:

Somebody from DC researching different universes finds out about halfas - specifically the most recent entity (Danny, not that they now that) - ghost portals, the Infinite Realms, while lacking crucial details. What they pick up leads them to the belief that they could turn a human into a monster capable of adapting their strength and powers to anything.

So they kidnap Batman - as one epitome of what an average human without modifications., enhancements, metagene, etc. can achieve - and somehow brute reverse-engineer the transformation via ectoplasm. (Not Lazarus Waters.)

'Somehow' means that they don't replicate the exact details of Danny's accident. It’s simply impossible because they're in a different universe with different rules and there's various differences between Bruce and Danny.

He 'survives' as a halfa, because he clings to his love for his family and friends. He doesn't want to leave them hurt again, his children orphaned (once more) and his father lost of his son. That lets the universe-boundary-shattering metamorphosis take hold. His body is torn apart and put back together, ectoplasm infusing him.

It also fries his memories (temporarily). He only remembers that he has to 'protect' someone, with his focus being on the outcast and children. It’s not an obsession, more like the only lead he has in his worries. (There are no ghost obsessions in this AU.) He flees, frenzied in pain and lack of memories, and believing for the short-term future that he's dead so he's stuck in ghost form.

Not that anybody has these details at first because their experiment goes horribly wrong for these people as well as Bruce. Their memories get fried as well that they don't even remember their research on different universes or that they had Batman kidnapped. Any records were destroyed. The portal blew up.

Unfortunately it’s enough for those who paid for them to keep looking for Bruce.

It leaves Bruce's loved ones believe that these people might've killed him. There's simply too much of his blood on the scene and everything points to human experimentation.

Bruce drifts in the physical world and feels drawn to Gotham, where he becomes a helpful, protective cryptid.

Danny, in the ghostzone, feels a full-body shiver. He’s no Ghost King, will never be, but somehow he senses that something has happened.

Clockwork’s senses have alerted him to this and he’s grim.

Remember - halfas are powerful in the AU. Bruce has no idea what happened to him and is in a bad mental state from his half-death on top of his already existing trauma. He fears that his family is dead but doesn’t know and the uncertainty makes things worse for his mind.

Nobody has idea what he’ll be able to do because the way he became a halfa, his mental state, his experiences, his age, all differs from Danny.

I promise for this would be a happy ending, if bittersweet. Bruce died - he was changed in a way that can't be undone. Not to mention the side-effects as well as adapting to that he's a new species. His loved ones at least thought for a few weeks that he was completely gone.

[ginsoakedgirl80]

I'm feeling like doing a public service today, so if you want to watch the mess that is Fighting for Love for Wang RuiChang or because of two women get married for plot reasons, I got the what to skip for you since I was stupid enough to watch the whole thing

For starting out: This drama is about Mai (Zhang TianAi), who is a poor orphan who wants to avenge her parents, living in Shengdu, the capital of Nanxia. She watched them get killed by henchmen and her adoptive brother Chen Qi 9 years ago. To move freely in the world, she disguised herself as a man since then. My Drama List is not representing her life well since she is in fact not roaming the martial arts world when we meet her but doing petty crime to fund her life and revenge quest. For plot reasons she saves the life of male lead Shang YiZhi (Zhang HaoWei), a silly son of a Marquis. He invites her to stay at his house where he sees her back when she takes a bath and finds out that she is actually a woman because heavens beware of a man falling in love with another man. He doesn't tell anyone that she's female though so it's funny to see people react to him being overly protective of Mai. (Seriously the amount of times his attendant steps out when those two hang out. Mu Bai is an ally)

His father, a general, dies from a bad medicine prescription upon returning from the border. His mother is the sister of the emperor and fears for his life so she uses her sisterly influence to send YiZhi to the border to take over his father's army. We also find out that his mother is actually his aunt because he is the son of the late crown prince. This is why the emperor wants to kill him, though he doesn't know his real identity. See the emperor is a paranoid cuckoo bananas dude and likes to have cleavage and dance and get people killed and look at the sun through his fingers.

Also for all the things this drama probably cut to get to the 36 episodes they really HAD TO keep in every time the 700 sliding doors between his living and office quarters are opened and closed to emphasize how removed from the world he is. The things those sliding doors operators have seen!

Meanwhile Mai travels to a border city to meet a man who knows where Chen Qi is. To get into the border city, she steals a passport from Chang YuQing (Wang RuiChang) who is from the enemy country Beimo and happens to be on a spy mission.

So if you only watch for Wang RuiChang, enter at episode 3 at 35:00.

But be warned, his character is minor and if there was ever any more backstory to him shot to explain his motivations, his sworn brotherhood with Cui Yan and the trouble of the Chang family at the court of Beimo or why Chen Qi hates the Chang family, it was all cut (or I already forgot about it). I told you this drama is a mess.

This is also a good time for the people who want to watch for the two women getting married (spoiler alert: it's one sided love and a marriage to proof that Mai is a man) because YuQing and his army sack the city and this is when Mai rescues teenager Xiu'er (Jiang YunXi) as a promise to a prison guard. Xiu'er got a crush on her and has no clue that Mai is a woman until they get engaged. For Mai she is someone who needs to be protected and she wants to marry her off to her bestie before.

Also pictured next to Mai feminist icon Tang ShaoYi a true dage who got no problem with Mai being in the army once he finds out and just wants to be bros with her.

Mai finds out that Chen Qi is actually the marshal of the Beimo army that is attacking Nanxia's border so she decides to enlist to fight him on the battlefield. Her father actually taught her battle tactics and she read the art of war so obviously she rises through the ranks despite going absent without leave and other things that would get you executed if the general of the army wasn't in love with you.

Plot (which I won't spoil) that includes Wang RuiChang sometimes more and often less happens until ep 22, when Yizhi gets summoned back to the capital and Mai joins him with his other trusted guys and Xiu'er (she is an afterthought mainly). This is also when the screenwriters or the editors lost any interest in Beimo apart from some captive prince stuff, so if you are only watching for Wang RuiChang you can skip ahead after his (great) scene in ep 22.

In Shengdu too much time is spent on Yizhi and his court stuff, like I want this to be about Mai doing cool army stuff not some badly written and edited succession to the throne plot. She does use her plotting skills for him to survive because dude is a silly jerk who is not worthy of her and yet she loves him. sigh.

queer intermission

Due to something that happened before ep 22 the rumor that Mai is a woman spreads in her army causing unrest which leads to Xiu'er proposing marriage to her.

(THEY NEVER SHOW THE ACTUAL DIVORCE???)

This is shampoo commercial territory. Just that for censorship reasons Xiu'er emphasizes that Mai is too important for the army and therefore the whole country to get executed just for being a woman and also she still owes her for saving her life back in the day.

Tang dage gets it with her reasoning.

They're having the cross-cupped wine on camera but not the bowing to heaven, parents and each other to not piss off the censors.

Once they are in the bridal chamber/tent someone spies on them and sees Mai without her binder so he gets killed. End of wedding. Why is Xiu'er in the army camp in the first place? During the border defense arc she heard that Mai got wounded and went to tend to her and never left.

Xiu'er is plot relevant again in ep 32 and is in the final episode but apart from that she is little more than Mai's attendant.

Mai continues to wear male attire most of the time, after she stopped being undercover, apart from the time she actually had to be in the harem and hated it.

end of intermission

ok back to the Wang RuiChang scenes

What is relevant for getting what is going on once you jump back in:

Yizhi's mother didn't go through hiding Yizhi from the emperor for Yizhi to not become emperor so she throws him into the struggle for the throne against his will. He does not want to do that and just be with Mai. (the good old putting the greater good above ones personal desires it never gets old. Of course his mother wins by guilt tripping him into becoming emperor by getting herself killed.) People get kidnapped, people get killed. Mai becomes the master of the emperor's grandson.

Yizhi's mother had made an agreement with the prime-minister that he would help Yizhi to the throne and in turn Yizhi would marry his daughter further increasing the prime-minister's influence in court. (like me you will think dude you are already having the highest office under the emperor what is your deal, well he wants his family to be the rulers of Nanxia eventually. dude likes to draw tigers in his spare time so you know his deal)

So who do we need to show up? Yuqing! So Mai can be implicated as a Beimo spy by the prime-minister. Luckily Yizhi had killed Yuqing's sworn brother earlier on so Yuqing had a reason to sneak into Shengdu to make an attempt on Yizhi's life at the beginning of episode 30 (it was only 8 episodes without him but it felt like eons).

We do get a little of him being cheeky in ep 31

He leaves in ep 31 and shows up again in ep 35 (starting ~min 15) and 36.

ep 31-35 So after Yizhi married the prime-minister's daughter and she becomes empress, Mai was devastated and went on a bender. The prime-minister turns the court against Mai so she loses her general job. She asks Yizhi for the mansion of her father and lives there, wallowing in lovesickness, grief and childhood trauma until Yizhi sends the edict to make her his honored imperial consort. She reluctantly lives in the harem but hates being locked up (she is a general gdi), dealing with the jealous empress and also refuses Yizhi so they strike a deal that allows her to live outside. More palace stuff happens with the prime-minister.

When the Beimo army invades again, she is the most capable to do it, so she gets her army back and sets off to fight against Beimo in episode 35.

I think there must have been more filmed and then cut for length because some things are alluded too that would have required some scenes beforehand. Ultimately this drama feels rather lifeless and is just going through the motions apart from some characters adding some sparkle.

The ending does make sense, gotta love that she didn't let herself get locked up in the harem for that loser.

I need to stop watching ascending to the throne dramas that are not well written, why do I keep doing this to myself? Oh right, because I thought that this would be about a female general and ignored that he is the son of the legitimate crown prince. Of course he had to become emperor xP

[punkranger]

High Waters

Part 2 of this

Antoine is working on a task Hollow Ground set him on, something more personal than he had bargained for, as well as more difficult.

What to expect: Retribution spoilers and Revelations hypotheses, kidnapping and intimidation, violence in the form of police brutality

You remember that face. It stared back at you in the opaque glass windows of the lab as they put needles in your arms and talked over your head about numbers and values and other things you didn't understand. Head shaved for easy maintenance and skin paper-thin and pale – locked up inside all day for testing and training, too new to go out on missions. Even the bruises are the same, in your memory at least. You were always one step away from not making it during training. Still, no leeway was given to you despite the fact you lacked the boosts in strength and endurance that the others had. You just had to learn to keep up anyway, or you wouldn't be here now.

Shaking your head you look away from the picture, checking the name one more time to be sure. The last name is erased, but the first name is the one you were given, and there's no doubt about it that this is the person you are looking for. 

Dead, long ago. Same as you.

You flip the folder open, read the list of charges: vandalism, theft, assault… All too familiar to you, but there's something distancing about these formal terms that also make them seem more serious. You look back at their age – you were only a year older when you killed a person for the first time, and two years after that you were free, seeing Los Diablos for the first time. 

Shaking your head, you close the folder. It doesn't matter now, what matters is that you finish this so you can go back to important matters, present matters, and most importantly your matters. 

You look at the man tied up in a chair beside the table the folder is on and take a step towards him. He flinches as your armored boot falls on the concrete and looks up at you while tremors travel over his whole body like he's been electrified. 

"Where is the rest?" You wave the folder in his face, it's lacking any details of what happened after the arrest.

"I-I-I don't- I d-don't know! I just archive them! N-no one else is supposed to be able to remove anything without my knowledge, b-but there's no rec-cord of anyone taking it. There's not even any record of it even existing in-n the first place!" He sounds nearly hysterical and you feel a bit bad, but you're in a hurry and you don't have time for coddling civilians. 

"But there was something?"

He nods. 

"And his body disappeared?"

"How-?"

"Just a guess. Now, what about his family?"

"I don't know!" He moans, miserable, probably thinks you're going to kill him. Idiot. "I-I mean this was two decades ago, I don't remember, I assume they were contacted at some point after his arrest, but as you can see his name is gone now so I guess whoever was in charge of the case gave them some excuse and swept it all under the rug."

"Who was this, there should be record of that right?" You realize you've stepped closer, practically leaning over him, because he recoils as much as he can in his bonds. Leaning back, you blame the helmet and vocal distorters on his reaction. It's not like you care about this, it's just a stupid job Hollow Ground is making you do. 

He watches you warily for a moment, then licks his lips and says hesitantly, "I could look it up if you want…"

Unspoken is the request to release him. You nod, cutting the ropes. It's not like he could get away from you, you just didn't want to accidentally break his arm or something if he tried to run. You doubt he understands the distinction to appreciate it. 

He stands up hesitantly and you step back, letting him go over to the computer. You've already checked for any ways he could alert security, finding none. Supposedly people don't break into the archives often enough to warrant the LDPD assigning even a small part of their admittedly tiny budget for more security than the cameras you've already broken. 

Still, you keep an eye on what he's doing over his shoulder in case he sends an email for help or something. You snort at the thought and he jumps and turns around as your vocal distorters turn it into a growl.

"I'm working as fast as I can, I promise!" 

"Yes, yes, carry on. No funny business, though." You wave your hand at him to continue and he reluctantly turns his back to you again.

After a while the flickering of the screen slows down as he scrolls slower, before opening a tab.

"Here…" he trails off, then clicks a link. "Albert Ronalds, sergeant. Although…"

"What?" 

"He won't be much use to you, he's dead."

"Of course he is", you sigh and would have run a hand over your face if you hadn't been wearing a helmet. "How?"

"Died on duty, same year." He seems to have calmed down, his voice now more thoughtful than anxious, perhaps doing something familiar made him forget why he's doing it. 

"Still, it's weird", he continues, "apparently it was a traffic accident. No one else was hurt and his was the only vehicle involved."

Fuck. Fucking Hollow Ground. Why is he sending you on this wild goose chase decades after the person you're looking for died, and after he had already destroyed what little evidence you might have found? 

"Was it looked into?" You ask, but you already know the answer.

"No, or if it was it didn't go anywhere." Yeah, you know how it is. 

Well, there are other people who look into these things and now you have two names and dates to take to them. You leave the archivist with some incentive to not report this incident and head back to your improvised entrance in the floor. The sewers lose you quickly in their labyrinthine embrace. 

A few days later you've spent some time getting the word out to your contact that you're looking for information. Some got a bit cagey when they found out the LDPD were involved, but considering the incident happened a decade ago they were easily convinced it would have no repercussions. At least not from the police. 

You think about Hollow Ground. Vengefulness is of course befitting a crime lord, and you suppose at the time there were no loose ends other than the sergeant. Then you came along and suddenly there was something left to that business, to his sibling. 

You haven't dared look into his mind any more since that time, he's been more guarded, but you wonder how he sees you. An asset, in some way at least, but does he disregard the fact that you look like him or is he planning on using that somehow? The last meeting was weird, he wanted something from you, but what? Proof that you were there to infiltrate his organization as his dead brother? Sounds unlikely, or he would have already known what you looked like. Anyway, you've definitely proven you're not that person, or trying to be. You're not a person after all. Does he know about that? 

Scoffing, you get up to pace. All this sitting around and waiting is not doing you any good. You're in desperate need of some action. 

You wish you could talk to Ortega or Daniel. 

Shit. 

There's another thought you don't need. They're not on your side anymore, or rather the thin facade of your relationship has crashed and burned. Daniel may have helped you escape but he'd never help you with work related to Hollow Ground. And Ortega… 

You look around, suddenly paranoid. If he'd show up anytime it would be now, and he would not be happy with you to say the least. You wouldn't have minded seeing his stupid face, though. Maybe. 

Perhaps it's better this way, to not see the anger, the disappointment. It was bad enough in the car and when you were stuck in bed. You doubt things have changed. 

You rub a hand over your face, remembering other times when you've done that. Kinder, softer hands taking yours, brushing a thumb over your cheek. Warmth like the sun making you want to lean in. Kisses that leave you breathless, but floating light as air. 

Why are you never allowed to keep anything? Why are you always left alone and empty? 

Your jaw is clenched tight and you feel like you can't breathe for a moment. Digging your nails in your palms you try to focus on breathing. In. Pause. Out. 

Repeat.

Your jaw relents with a crack. Brush away the sting in your eyes. 

Someone's coming. Finally.

Doing this as yourself is a little awkward, but you make it work, making people see someone else is easy enough by now. You wouldn't want anyone to remember any resemblance to the person in the files. Going as Eden would have been safer, but that is no longer an option. You don't really want to involve your crew in this either, the less they have to do with Hollow Ground the better, so this really is the only option.

Not that you mind. Hollow Ground was right about one thing: you are interested in this information. You're not sure what, if anything, you could gain from it, but you do know you don't want to miss out on any of it. Because in some way you feel connected to this person – it could have been you, and you're not sure if you feel sorry or jealous. He may have died young, but at least he got to live as a real person, with a family who at least cared enough to try to look for him. 

You shake your head, focusing instead on your contact. They should have something, or else they wouldn't have called for this meeting.

Indeed, they produce a small parcel.

"Got a video you might find useful," they say without preamble, "unfortunately we weren't able to save everything, but some parts are clear enough. This is gonna cost you, though, considering who's involved…"

It must be the Special Directive then. You consider for a moment if you want to mention Hollow Ground to put the bill on him, which would only be fair considering he put you up to this. On the other hand you're not sure you want to tie yourself that closely to him by having your association known. 

"Fine, but this had better be useful then." Perhaps you can find someone more proficient who can glean more from it later, but you'd rather get your money's worth now. After all there's so many other things you'd rather spend it on, so many other things you'd rather do, every moment, every resource not spent towards the life you want, the life you deserve, feels like death. Why should you give anything in exchange? Haven't you given enough away? You could just take it. Take what is owed you. Take like they took from you. 

You reign yourself in, barely. Can't afford to lose this contact, there aren’t that many you can go to that are both competent and not working for someone you've made your enemy. Concealing a shudder, you take the parcel and hand over the money. It still feels like pulling teeth. Sometimes you wonder if you should talk to someone, these thoughts are starting  to become more of an impediment to attaining your goals.

Later, at your base you've set yourself up at your computer, a cigarette trailing a lazy pattern of smoke towards the ceiling. You look at your hands, eerily gray from the blue light of the screen and wonder why you're hesitating now. 

This shouldn't matter to you. It's just a random person. So what if you might share DNA? You know plenty of people who have nothing to do with their family. And it's not like it would make you any more real, knowing about your unwilling donor.  You don't bother hiding the grimace from the empty screen in front of you. Yeah, that thought doesn't make you feel better, you have to fight to not rub at your arms in disgust. How many more were sacrificed to create you? 

A lot. 

Many of whom you killed yourself. It was that, or be recycled. They would have done the same, if they had been good enough. You're not going to feel sorry for winning. For surviving. 

You turn on the video. 

It takes you a second to recognise what’s happening, the footage is grainy and keeps glitching, and there’s just a mass of black-clad bodies on the screen. LDPD officers. They’ve gathered around something, someone, kicking, screaming – mostly insults from what you can hear. You’ve been there. Are there. On the floor, above the one on the floor… You shake your head and keep watching. After a while the mass disperses, like piranha after a meal. Leaving a mess behind, a single officer dragging the body away. Swallowing bile, you rewind, pause, zoom in on faces. The only important ones are the last officer and the person on the floor. The latter you recognise, even below the blood and bruises. It’s definitely the one you’re looking for. But the officer’s face is obscured. 

Swearing in frustration, you look for the parcel and shake out the notes you saw in it when you took out the tape.

“Except for the video, I have also found an audio recording related to the same incident, just outside the facilities. I can't include the recording itself, but here is a transcript. 

[Heavy breathing, dragging noises – a/n based on the context it must be recorded through the microphone of the officer who dragged the body away]

[Door opening, more dragging, then door slamming shut]

[Sounds of a motor running, a car door shutting]

Unknown: Quickly now. 

Officer: Yes, sir. 

U: Put him in the back. Then go back inside, we have arranged another transport for you later today. Go to [audio cuts off here]”

You stare at the paper for a moment. Then you slam a fist into the table with a curse. This is useless! If you could have listened to the recording you might have recognised at least one of their voices, but now… all you know is that someone took the body, but you have no proof of who or where, even if your suspicions are stronger than ever.

Sighing, you put your head in your hands, resisting the temptation to pull at your hair. There's no way Hollow Ground will accept this little information, because even if you can connect the threads that lead to the Special Directive there’s no actual proof here. You rub your temples, there has to be something more you can scavenge from this old carcass of a case.

The sergeant in charge led nowhere, it’s likely he’d had a meeting in person with someone from the Farm who then made sure to erase this single trail. 

The person you’re looking into is also dead, the video is more than you expected to get, but still not enough. 

Even after watching the video ten times or more you can find no more clues about the fake officer who took his body, or the person who picked it up. They were too careful, had planned too well.

There is something, though. You sit up, the sense of despair suddenly dispersing. If they planned this, that means they might have had their eyes on this person for a while, maybe even arranged for the arrest, which means they might have left traces somewhere else. Even if it’s not enough on its own, these things might add up into enough pieces to at least point suspicions in a certain direction.

And Hollow Ground was right about one thing: this is of interest to you. If you play your cards right and make him interested as well… maybe you’ll have an ally, or at least an enemy of your enemy. Is that the best way to go about this? That would mean continuing working with him. For him. That thought chafes, you value your independence highly. 

But you value your freedom even more. 

If the Farm wasn’t a constant looming threat you would be free to act as you wished, and right now Hollow Ground is in the best position to help you. Probably the only one who would help you right now, as long as you make sure to drive home that he’d also benefit from it. 

Either way, you still have this task to finish, you can always decide later if continuing this alliance is a good idea. So, for now, you will need to set some people on some very old tracks and hope something turns up.

[stormxpadme]

AU Game. Scott/Logan. 1970s California road trip. No powers.

Let’s play a game. Send me a potential AU and I’ll tell you five fun facts that would happen in a story. Scott/Logan. 1970s California road trip. No powers.

Scott ends up in the worst bug-infested, grease-moldy truck stop ever that night, and he just about wants to walk back out the second he arrives but there's no alternatives for miles, and he's always gotta get his deliveries done in time if he wants to save up the buck for this damn private pilot license one day. And since he kinda sucked at being a teacher and regular flight schools won't accept him because of his damn eyesight condition, he's only got the road left. Which in this case means spending the night in this shithole and finding anything on the menu that won't give him salmonella, burn right through his digestive tract, or both.

That sleazy unkempt group of lumberjacks has already pissed him off with their digs about his glasses upon entering but he's only stepping in when one of them tries to get up and close with the shy and terrified waitress girl. Because Scott is an idiot who apparently hasn't gotten his damn ass beaten often enough yet in one orphanage after another after his whole family's died in that fucking plane crash. He's outnumbered 1:4 but he's taller and they're out of shape, so he's not worrying a lot. Not until the first switchblade comes his way.

If he's being honest, he's already had his eyes on the outsider of the bully group for a while, sitting there silently by the very edge of the table alone with a bottle of whiskey, because the guy is built like a fucking tree himself and has no interest in harassment or in like, anything at all, apparently. Somehow, Scott always happens to fall either for the red-haired mental cases or the emotionally constipated. It doesn't help his current infatuation that the guy steps in before Scott can have a couple of his arteries kebabed by those knives. He's visibly enjoying the brawl against his now-former workmates, moving fast and strong and obviously field-trained, trashing half the furniture so badly that they're being kicked out by the owner which is just as well because now neither of them has to pay. And because Scott is seriously horny at this point.

They end up fucking on the rest stop parking lot behind a dumpster after patching each other's cuts and bruises up and they're still laughing their asses off, with only that certain familiar hysteric undertone of having barely escaped death and the comfortable wordless intimacy of instant bonding, once you realize you've found a guy just as much a broken idiot as yourself.

Afterward, Scott is on enough adrenaline to drive through the night. Logan doesn't even really ask before he makes himself at home in the passenger seat, feet on the dash, hairy chest out and all, replacing Scott's favorite Johnny Cash cassette with a Rolling Stones tape Scott can't even remember having and silently humming along over the last bit of whiskey. He's been bored of cutting down trees anyway, it turns out. He doesn't even want to stop by his home for his things. Says, he doesn't need any of his shit, none of that stuff having any meaning to him after losing all his memories some couple of years ago, during some bad hit in Vietnam. Besides, there's only some violent, abusive perv of a step-brother waiting for him at home, and Logan's only been waiting for an excuse to lo leave that piece of shit behind. Sun's not even gone up before they fuck in the driver's seat again, by the side of the road, before they drop the delivery together, collect the buck and find themselves some nice burger joint for breakfast. And Scott wonders suddenly if this is what happiness feels like.

Additional Spoiler Alert: The asshole stepbrother will track them down eventually as they're dumb enough to stay in touch with Scott's trucker friends like Bobby, Sam, and Emma via his CB radio, and Scott almost ends up being kebabed again only a month later, because that Victor guy got issues. But the fuck in that cheap Vegas hotel afterward is spectacular, and since they're already in town, they miraculously find someone who doesn't care about gender and shit when he's marrying someone as long as he gets paid. It also soon turns out, it's so much easier, making a good buck on the road, working together. Scott is pretty sure he's still never going to get inside a damn cockpit but at least he doesn't need that stupid dream at night anymore, to no longer want to off himself on the next best highway.

[platonically-loving-alastor]

Hazbin Top 5

I was going to make a top 10 character list, but realized after the first 5 I didn't know where to place anyone- But in case you're curious, some contenders for the remaining 6-10, in no specific order, were Angel Dust, Charlie, Emily, Niffty, and Sir Pentious. Now here's my top 5 with reasonings and appreciation for them all!

5. Lucifer

Obviously bro is relatable, not only for his awkwardness and hyperfixations, but he also happens to be the same height as I am at about 5'2" (according to the sources I've seen). Being the same height as Lucifer is my biggest flex lmao- I still have no idea why his hatred of Alastor seemed so instant. Like yeah, Alastor was trying to annoy him by being a better dad to Charlie, but the whole 'fuck you' moment happened before any of that started. Did he just sense the bad vibes off of him or what? Anyway, his awkwardness and desperation to connect with his daughter make for probably my favorite lines of the episode, such as the "Hey bitch!" and the whole "You like girls? So do I!" situation followed by him being so distracted he called Vaggie by the wrong name. Perfect comedy

4. Lute

I love her an insane amount for someone who shows up so relatively little with so few lines, but here we are. I've already made an entire post about her, here it is if you want it, so I'll keep this short (Spoiler alert: I failed). I actually don't think I mentioned just how attractive this woman is, so let's get that out there right now. I know I'm not the only one who thinks this, about half the people I've seen react to Episode 6 have seen Lute without her mask, took a pause of recognition, and we all knew what they were thinking before the pressed play. Istg my taste in women (and sometimes even men, thanks Vox) is just "Can they murder me without a second thought? Yes? That's hot". My favorite line of hers is when she's hyping up the army with Adam and says "Rip Vaggie's cunt mouth out her ass!" and even Adam has to be like "damn girl chill what the hell-" She's so feral I love her so much

3. Rosie

Everyone needs a Rosie in their lives. I don't just mean a regular therapist, I mean a person in your life, friend or family member, who will talk you out of your downward spiral and gently call you out on why those paranoid thoughts are actually pretty unrealistic (the other side of the same coin would be Husk, he's just more blunt about it). I'm also still completely convinced she has some interesting and sad backstory based on how she was talking to Charlie and I need to know about it so bad. "It can be difficult to admit to things you're not proud of, especially if those things hurt the ones you love" Ma'am what did you do? I find it hard to believe it's just about the cannibalism. I don't know if in this instance, she's the one who hurt someone or someone else hurt her and she was the one who failed to forgive them, but either way I need answers.

2. Vox

Y'all know I love this man in more ways than one, he one the hottest Hazbin character poll for a reason. But I swear everything about this man makes me love him as a character more. First, I always love a technology based character, his electricity powers and literal screen head are the coolest thing in the world to me. He's voiced by Christian Borle, which was a fantastic choice, along with the glitched effect his voice gets when he's mad, I love to see it. Apparently it's also canon he can fly (with rocket shoes)?? He just keeps getting the best character design choices possible, this can't possibly be fair- The fact his first introduction was being done with Val, telling him to call tf down, and treating him like a child ("Now that's why they pay you the big bucks!") was a pretty good first impression for me lol, made even funnier when it was followed by him losing all sense of rationalism when Alastor entered his line of sight.

1. Alastor

The character my blog is named after, this should not be a surprise. Shockingly enough, despite my obsession for him and acknowledgement of his charming nature and generally attractive design, I' do not simp for him in the slightest'm not personally attracted to him in the slightest. I simp for a TV and yet apparently deer man with permanent smile is where I draw the line idk- The most I want from him is to be as good of a friend to him as Rosie is (well that and to touch his ears but that's a given). But this is another character I love literally everything about. Who would've thought the concepts of 'radio host', 'serial killer', and 'literal deer' would work so well together to create this dapper yet terrifying fucking cryptid. Not only can he be either incredibly scary or a silly guy, he can and has done both at once. Example: Episode 3 when he's just casually eating a deer carcass in his room (in which he summoned a whole ass bayou). I was genuinely so glad when the 'this face was made for radio' thing happened in episode 1, confirming that they were still gonna lean into his creepy-as-fuck distortion and general vibe he had in the pilot. He's horrifying and evil and I love that about him. Meanwhile he also says shit like "Now he's pissy, that's the tea" (definitely taught to him by Rosie) and kicks his legs on the bed like a schoolgirl as if he hasn't committed countless atrocities. My favorite character, everyone-

Wow I wrote more than I meant to for this, sorry about the essay-

[spurgie-cousin]

Yes do tell the story of the ring! We are a bit behind in Holland (sister wives-wise lol) but from what I've heard Christine told a story about Meri and now Meri is pissed?

Yea so Christine recently told this story in one of the "one on one" episodes (I wish they'd just call them Tell Alls but w/e) and Meri got mad because she said it wasn't a story she wanted to be public. But people realized afterward that this story had also been told by the lady who catfished Meri and Janelle, who mentioned it in an interview before Christine so.........idk if she just didn't know about that or she just needed to take some of her anger out on Christine or what.

Here's what happened: So when Kody and Meri first got legally married, they exchanged rings as one does and Meri got Kody a gold band with maybe some diamonds in it? And he wore it for years, even after he married Janelle and Christine, it just kind of functioned as his all-inclusive wedding band and he and Meri considered it to be a special symbol of their relationship.

So this next part is the version told by Christine and Meri and disputed by Robyn: Apparently around the time Kody was getting ready to marry Robyn, he just stopped wearing the ring all of a sudden, and when Meri noticed she understandably was like "hey where the hell is my ring" to which he said, "oh, I melted it down and saved the gold and the diamonds". Robyn says this happened waaaaay after before (i had to edit that my bad) she came into the picture though (spoiler alert, you can see Kody wearing the ring in the first episodes of the show while he's dating her so. She's lying.)

Christine says he told her that he did this because he "didn't want to feel like Meri had any power over him" anymore (which ??????). Another way Meri phrased it was that he didn't want to feel like she had any "claim" on him, and that was all the detail they went into. But according to Janelle, he used the gold and diamonds to make rings to give to some of his daughters, idk for what occasion. All of this was seven years before Meri's catfishing incident btw, and she insinuated that it really contributed to her feeling lonely in her family.

So Meri was obviously extremely hurt by that because he didn't ask her or even warn her he was doing this, and each wife had their little special things with Kody and that one was hers. After that they started the Claddagh ring tradition where Kody wore one and so did all the wives, but according to Christine at some point before she left Kody stopped wearing the Claddagh ring and he and Robyn went out and designed a new one? So he wore that for a while, and then most recently he and Robyn were out shopping and he saw some ring with a horse on it and now he wears that one, which he's explicitly said is only a symbol of him and Robyn's commitment.

I think a big reason Meri got mad is that before Christine told the story, she and the interviewer (Suki) were talking about the aforementioned stupid horse ring and laughing at it, and Meri for some reason took that as Christine laughing at her (imo she wasn't at all). Christine was already being asked questions about rings and probably though the story was fair game since it's been told before.

Anyway, I just think Meri was really embarrassed/hurt and didn't know what to do with all of it. And honestly, for me, it's hard to fault her for that because what a fucking awful, humiliating, belittling thing to do to someone who's supposed to be your spouse.....just from the stories we know about, Kody has treated her like absolute garbage and I think any sane person would have a hard time knowing how to deal with that.

I'll post the video though so you guys can see for yourselves and let me know what you think.

[nahisummerhold]

(Little hints at upcoming War Within events. Trying to not give spoilers but this needs to be written before it)

TW: Dementia

Dancing on the bench where she had been sitting with Cam and Jace earlier, nowhere close to the mosh pit, it looked more like a combat sport than the movements she preferred. Dancing was a great way for her to actually lose focus on the moment and reflect, any good workout would do, but movement to a beat  always felt like a true connection of mind and body.

She hadn’t been nervous before the show, just on the cautious edge of her confident nature. Nahi knew her performance was solid, she just wondered if this was stepping too far off the path of her musical spectrum. If she hadn’t been skipping a path along that razor’s edge of hyperfocus and relaxed quiet before a show, she would have asked Jace about some of the bluegrass places to enjoy since he knew about them, or maybe she could talk to him about anything. Talking to creative people, no matter what their discipline, was a favorite pastime and he was more than qualified at least twice over. Meeting him had been one of the highlights of the night as he had intrigued her since the first notes of  his performance at HoTFest.

As she was moving, the one thing that almost always drew her attention pulled her from that trance-like headspace and down off the bench to jog outside. Tapping her comm that was going off on her family's alert frequency, “What’s wrong?” No one ever called her with any good news, not on this channel.

Alizabetta, her mother’s temporary night nurse while her permanent one was on vacation, spoke with mild panic in her tone, “Miss Nahi?” 

Nahi didn’t tell her to not call her miss in the moment, the woman had been told it multiple times now, a term of respect she said. “Who…” patience, asking her who else might be answering her private comm connection was a waste of energy and time, “Yes, go ahead Alizabetta.”

“Well you see, your mother is missing.” It sounded like the woman was about to cry if anyone raised their voice at her, or maybe even gave her a stern glance.

“I will be there in fifteen seconds.” Already her hand was on the hearthstone bound to the portal in their garden.The instant the spell finished the performer was on her way to the door where the nurse stood wringing her hands, no wonder her mother was still missing if this woman wasn’t even looking for her. “What happened?” 

The young woman, a nurse that worked with her step-father at the hospital, cleared her throat, “You see, your mother was asleep and I went to make tea to help me stay awake. When I returned she was gone.”

Nahi was confident in everything in her life, and directing her mother’s caretakers had become like a vocation for her. “And… you didn’t lock the door because she was asleep. And… you didn’t want to spill the tea by getting the keys to unlock the room so you figured it was best just to leave her alone, in an unlocked room.” As her mother’s dementia was getting worse they had to add more locks and now they had three so the woman actually would have struggled if there wasn’t a damned table right next to the door for such purposes. Again, a mistake that would not help Nahi in the moment, she could have a discussion with the nurse later.

“Yes, Miss.” Alizabetta lowered her eyes, then bowed her head in shame.”I have looked in the house, you know she likes to hide like a child.”

“My mother’s mental capacity makes her childlike almost always, you are as much babysitter as a nurse.” There was an edge like broken glass to Nahi’s tone. “So you have looked inside?”

The nurse nodded her head, and looked up, her eyes wide and shoulders drawing her back like she might be struck. “The house, the gardens, I didn’t go out in the city in case I missed her inside.”

Good and bad news she guessed, “Go back inside, check everywhere again.” Her mother had always been good at escaping her rooms, but the new locks prevented that, until now. “I am going to check the street. How long has she been missing?”

“About an hour, miss, I was trying to handle it on my own.” There was a slightly defensive tone to the other woman’s tone.

Nahilvi might be submissive sometimes (most often) in bed, but she was not even close to that when it came to her mother’s care. She might not be able to be in the same room with the dementia inflicted woman because it just hurt too much, but she always ensured her care. “An hour? So you didn’t call me until you began to assume she was on the streets?” There was more than a hint of anger in her voice now. 

The nurse didn’t really look chagrined, she was sure that her position was safe because Nahi was normally a nice woman who treated all their staff as equals and fairly. “This level of incompetence is mind blowing to me, once my mother is found you will spend the rest of your shift in her suite with her to keep her calm and safe, then tomorrow I will find a replacement for you. If you choose to leave while I am out looking for my mother, I promise that I will ensure that the hospital’s staff knows about your poor performance. I might be reasonable with people that work here, but if you even think that I will not follow through on that, you are welcome to test how much weight I put into keeping my word.”

Nahilvi took a few moments to go throw her bag upstairs and change into some leggings and a loose shirt. She could only cringe at the thought of chafing if she chose to go running in the streets in her performance gear. By the door to her room she slipped her feet into sneakers that had neon paint splatters on them then stepped out, quickly checking the rooms in her hallway.

Running down the stairs, she went out the front door and through her garden before taking a left hand turn. Nahi almost always moved left first if given a choice, maybe it was because she was left handed, but she had never thought much of it. Her rubber soles slapped onto the streets of Dalaran, the stone pathways were not as nice as when she went to run in the country, or through the woods, but it was not like this was a pleasure jaunt.  

Luckily, she did not have to go far because a couple streets over she could hear her mother screaming, “You don’t understand, they are keeping me locked away and the city is about to fall. I need protection and someone to take me to my estate on Quel’thalas.”

Nahilvi slowed to a walk and nodded to a guard nearby, it was not like this was the first time her mother had been located on the streets, nor the first time she had accused her family of holding her hostage. In truth, she was not a hostage, she was jailed, but that was of her own mind’s trauma, not anything Iren, Nahi or any of the nurses did. “Sorry Redmun, I will gather her up.”

“Take care lady, she is feisty tonight, already tried to hit Kallie when she tried to take your mom home.” The guard said, just watching and making sure that there was other trouble coming from this.

Shaking her head, Nahi sighs, “I will bring some double chocolate caramel brownies by the station tomorrow and Kallie’s favorite cookies. You all do an amazing job, you know.” The fact that they protected her mother but didn’t take action was appreciated, especially after she tried to assault one of them.

“Much appreciated, we love your baking.” He dipped his head and lifted his chin to point where Kallie was trying to calm Acenadalia. 

Stepping between gawkers she realized why the crowd was so thick, her mother was naked, just holding a few books to her chest. “For Sun’s sake,” she whispered. Without even getting close, Nahi knew those were some of her mother’s books on music, two were her own compositions. “Mom,” she said, pitching her tone low, “let’s go home. The city is safe, you are safe, we can go and have some mint tea and those marshmallow treats you like.”

Her mother was having none of it and swung out with the books showing that even if her mind had aged too fast her body had not. She was built curvier than Nahi but then her mother never exercised even before she took a blow from a mace to her head. “You!” She turned on the guard, “Arrest her, it is all her fault they lock me in my room.”

It was not the first time her mother had said something like that, but it never stopped hurting to know her mother hated her, was afraid of her, or didn’t even recognize her. None of that registered in her voice, it was likely in her eyes though as the female guard looked to her and mouthed, “I’m sorry.” Nahilvi waved off the apology, she appreciated the help with her mother in these moments but she didn’t want anyone’s pity, this was just her life now. “How long do we have until it falls?” She asked, once more trying to distract her mother.

Acen’s eyes flashed, the gold of them as bright as the sun would be at mid-day, “You don’t care that we are going to die because we didn’t leave.” 

“I care mom, I don’t want to be here when it falls, I want us all safe.” Knowing her mother’s protectiveness of her music, and not above using those feelings against the wayward woman. “Especially your music, I know you want to make sure they are safe and that is not even half of your collection.” 

“My music!” The words were half wailed, “We MUST save my music!” She stepped towards Nahi, “You will help me get them out of the city before we die?” Well, that was charming, a new nightmare to torture her mother.

Nahilvi nodded her head, “We can find someone to take them until we can relocate. They are very protective of books, especially ones like your composition books.” Her voice cracked, and not in an emotional way,  she needed tea and lemon and to not talk for a while. The harder rock songs she had performed left her mouth dry, just another reason to get this situation handled quickly.

A Kul Tiran man in the crowd reached out and grabbed Nahi’s wrist, “Come on girlie, let the missus show off a little longer.”

Before anyone else could act, Nahi broke his hold on her arm and she took hold of his jerkin. A couple steps with her feet moving between his to make him trip further until his shoulders hit a wall. Both guards moved up to flank Nahi, “Can’t you see she needs help getting home, this is not some kind attention grabbing moment.”

He looked to the guards, hoping they would intervene but they just kept an eye on the situation. “Come on pretty, she is lookin’ quite good. Should let us take her for a drink.” 

The night had been too much already and she had kept her emotions in check for too long. Swiping her foot between legs, she hooked the back of his foot putting him off balance, the hold on his armor kept him from falling all the way back to the ground, controlling his momentum, though his weight was almost enough to draw her down onto him.

“Don’t you fucking get it? She is not looking for a good time, she is afraid.” Releasing his jerkin she brought her foot up between his legs and he covered his balls, she spit next to his head and just withdrew her foot. “Compassion is a gift, you just got a prettily wrapped dose of it, maybe pass it on instead of being a disgusting asshole.”

With the guard’s and Nahi’s attention on the large man they did not notice her mother running forward, with a wild yell she lifted the books and slammed his stomach with them causing him to curl up in a ball. Kallie reacted first, she did not touch Acen but put her body between her suddenly combative former singer, “Get her home Nahilvi.” 

Her mother tried to hit him again but Nahi caught her attention, “Come on, let’s go get the rest of your books to my friends so they can hold them for us while we look for somewhere to move to.” 

“No one touches my staff like that, I am going to have my husband challenge you to a duel!” She kept trying to get around Nahi but the younger woman had a quick step and her gold eyes focused on Nahi’s own glowing purple ones. “If the count were here he would never let that happen.”

A few more steps that kept the man from getting bludgeoned, though he deserved it, the focus of the event was now on Nahi. Many people were staring at her, not often a Sin’dorei could take on a giant of a man like that, plus the overall situation was attention claiming. She ignored it all though, if she took her attention off her mother worse could happen than just books behind slammed down. “You music is too precious, you and I will go and get them to a safe place, the. We can talk about what is happening in the city.”

“To the city, weren’t you listening?” Acenadalia angrily asked, then swung the books at Nahi’s head that she blocked with a forearm, a cracking noise could be heard and it wasn’t a cover to the book. 

The cry that escaped Nahi’s lips was not quiet, nor was it musical, it was an squished ugly sound. Kallie and Redmun rushed forward to take the books from Acen who tried to fight them as well but they were guards and broke up bar fights all the time. Kallie got the books out of her hands and Redmun wrapped his cloak around the confused woman. “Come on let’s get you both home,” the male guard said and walked the diva down the street.

Kallie looked over Nahi and the waxen color to her skin, Nahi’s arm which was now held to her chest was definitely broken. “Home, we will get your mom settled away and if your step-father is not home yet I will heal that arm.” She paused and looked at Nahi, “You have amazing patience, Nahi.” 

“Doesn’t feel like it at the moment,” the singer said through clenched teeth. 

“What did she mean by the city falling? Has she ever had a gift for foresight?” When you lived in a floating city, falling was a serious fear for most of them.

With a quick shake of her head, “No, it is probably some nightmare or something. Worse comes to worse with her fear I will rake the books to my friends. One loves books on the arts so I know they will be safe there. Maybe let them use songs for book rent.” 

Arriving home the night nurse met them at the gate wringing her hands and fussing. “Mister Irenthalas went out looking too.”

The nurse was oddly attentive to her mother and fussed over Nahi as much as she would let her.  A quick call to Iren had him returning home. He healed Nahi’s arm but she would still need it wrapped for at least a week. Luckily it is her right forearm so she can do everything where she doesn’t have to stop her preparations for ToA.

(Thank you @jacelandon for the RP. Thank you @ranekvilmas and @thecastcompany for Wings and Metal 🩶💜🩶💋)

[rosiewitchescottage]

The Chosen S4 - Finale

Some theories based on what we've been given.

Spoilers aplenty, so continued below.

Joseph of Arimathea - Yusuf's been a front runner throughout. But I think we can be pretty much certain now.

Even were a new character to be introduced in S5, why else would so much have been invested in Yusuf?

We even have his father as a family friend of Lazarus, sitting Shiva with Martha and Mary when Jesus arrived. He witnessed Lazarus coming out from the tomb.

And he was there to see Little Sister Mary anoint Jesus with priceless oil.

Which provides a segue into

Judas and Shmuel - "I have a bad feeling about this."

I suspect that these two will be working rather closer than is healthy, somewhere between the supporters of Jesus and those plotting his death.

No. I don't think that either wants Jesus dead. But they're so caught up in their own idea of what should be happening.

Judas believes in Jesus' Messianic status. But he completely misunderstands what it means, and is increasingly frantic to see it go the way he thinks it ought to.

Shmuel wants to believe. He's spoken with Jesus, prayed with Jesus and knows that there's something extraordinary about him.

But he's so hung up on the Letter of The Law that he can't see any other way than strict, unerring adherence.

Like Judas and many others, he believes that Messiah will defeat Rome, so that Israel can lead the world to God.

Both so close yet so far.

My theory is that they will plot to get Jesus to The Sanhedrin to force his hand.

Shmuel has heard Caiaphas (?) and Co saying that they will have to get Rome to dispose of Jesus.

So Shmuel and Judas will get Jesus to The Sanhedrin, so he will have to go face to face with and directly oppose Rome.

We know how that's going to go. 😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥

Joanna and Claudia - As Jesus rides towards Jerusalem on his colt, with the all important bridle in place, and The City is preparing to welcome him.

Joanna burns her final bridge, jumping from her husband's carriage to joyously join the crowds.

There's an unspoken understanding between herself and Claudia, that following Jesus will give them both the Faith that has the Jewish people making the arduous journey to Jerusalem to worship and celebrate.

Joanna has taken that first step, after all she was already distanced from her husband.

Claudia is another matter. I wonder if she will disguise herself to go and see Jesus enter the city?

She's already been dreaming of him, but she hasn't seen him in the flesh yet.

The fact that we learned of her dreams back in S3.

That makes me think that she might see that he is the man from her dreams, earlier than when he comes to trial before her husband.

If she sees him as soon as he is entering Jerusalem. Then we'll have the whole of Holy Week in S5 for the poor woman to wrestle with her knowledge.

She's heard Herod and her husband talking about Jesus. She knows that The Sanhedrin have him in their sights.

She has 'A Bad Feeling' about where it's all heading. And I wonder what it'll mean for her relationship with her husband?

The Centurion at The Cross - How they're keeping us guessing about this!

Will be be introduced to us at the start of S5?

With this rapturous procession about to enter The City. Pilate's troops will have to be on high alert for trouble.

And, of course there will be their centurions in charge of them.

I suspect we will be getting to know the soldiers who will be performing the gruesome work of The Passion. There's the flogging, crowning with thorns, driving Jesus along Via Dolorosa to The Crucifixion at Golgotha. 😥😥😥😥😥

(One hopes that they won't be the drunken,maniacally giggling cariacatures that we had in The Passion of The Christ. 🙄🙄🙄)

This said. I can still see possible ways for Atticus and Gaius to be at least involved.

Atticus has completely terrified Pilate by letting his cocky, self assured face drop, to show a man who's seen, with his own two eyes, things that he just can't explain away.

He's seen a Zealot have his sica thrown into the river, but kneel and pledge his service to the man who disarmed him.

A man whose crippled brother now walks and dances on his own two feet.

He's seen a man walking on the storm tossed Sea of Galilee.

And he's seen a man mourned as dead for four days, walk out of his tomb alive and well.

Atticus is frantic to find out what's happening, how, why and what it means for Rome.

Could he be there to hear Jesus speak words of forgiveness for the soldiers crucifying him, tell a guilty, repentant criminal that they will be together in Paradise, make sure his Eema will be protected, in the midst of his own agony?

Will this convince him that at least The Kingdom Jesus speaks of is not one Of This World?

Gaius is now being treated as a friend in Capernaum. All our Galilean Chums heading towards Jerusalem are asking if he and his family will be coming along too, seeing as most of Capernaum will be out of town.

Having his duties as Praetor, Gaius politely declines, but asks for his thanks to be passed onto Jesus and 'Shalom, Shalom' to Simon Peter and Matthew.

But what if he and his wife have a change of mind? Things are quiet and peaceful in town, Gaius can leave orders for what needs doing.

This is their perfect change to see this all so important city and The Temple.

Little do they know what they'd be present to witness.

[mins-fins]

ghosting — kim taerae

there is absolutely nothing y/n can do to go back, all he has is the ghostly memories of his first love.

tags :: kim taerae x m!reader , fluff start angst end , simply reader's inner most thoughts , mentions of homophobia , but they still love(d) each other , just super depressing , readers family are assholes , except his brother , horribly depressing ending , spoiler alert: one of them dies

lee y/n's life is a horribly written story.

tragedy after tragedy, that's it. whenever a good thing was about to happen, the opportunity easily slipped out of hands and seemed to explode into pieces.

he could just never win.

while it's true, y/n did try to improve his life, it seems that he and bad luck were destined to be together. he hates how every time something amazing happens, something else would always ruin it.

there was practically nothing that could save him from this constant loop of suffering.

then kim taerae came into everything.

y/n and taerae weren't complete opposites, but their life situations definitely were. compared to y/n's unsupportive, work oriented parents, taerae had supportive parents who made time for him, y/n could only wish for such things.

he seemed to have come out of the blue, but y/n couldn't have been more grateful. where could he even begin with taerae? he's so pretty, sweet, well spoken, lovely, he was like an angel, y/n feels as if he can picture a halo above his head whenever he speaks.

in all honesty, anyone would fall in love with him, but y/n fell hard, so hard that he probably could have bruised his knees. it appeared obvious to everyone that the two had a thing, even to y/n's younger brother, junseo.

"my brother likes you" he told taerae once, and the older simply chuckled, shaking his head. he already had a hunch of what y/n was feeling, his feelings already reciprocated.

"does he now?" taerae questions, watching as the young boy giggles in excitement. his hands are placed behind his back, as he patiently waits for the little boys answer.

"yeah! he always talks about you!" junseo says. "he says your super pretty, and have pretty eyes, and have a pretty voice and that he thinks your super amazing and—"

"what are you two talking about?" y/n comes out of nowhere, handing junseo the ice cream he wanted. the younger lee smiles and quickly started devouring his treat, taerae chuckling at how cute he was.

"junseo was talking about how like me, apparently" taerae says way too honestly.

y/n choked on his ice cream, looking over at the older, who was now dying of laughter. he felt his face heat up despite how he was eating ice cream at that very moment.

what an awkward confession huh?

you can't begin to even figure out how nervous y/n was to meet taerae's parents. he was so nervous in fact that he was biting the inside of his cheeks, but taerae would reassure him that he was fine.

"what if your parents don't like me?"

"y/n, why would they not like you? i told them about you and they already like you, no worries".

taerae was not wrong.

at first, y/n thought his parents hated him, due to how silent they were, but then mrs. kim squealed and ran up to give him a hug. "ah! he's so cute, taerae! you weren't wrong!"

he felt the woman pinch his cheeks, stretching them out. "honey! look at taerae's boyfriend! i told you he was gonna be cute!"

"he truly is adorable!"

y/n listens to his partners parents shower him with compliments and fiddle with his face. he looked over at taerae behind him, who gave a thumbs up, mouthing a "told you so".

y/n found himself so in love, even with how against queer relationships his parents were, that didn't stop him, he was happier with taerae than he ever was with his parents, he found himself and junseo spending more time at taerae's house than their own home, his parents were much more supportive than their own.

everything was fine.

"what do you wanna do after graduation?" taerae asked, looking up at his boyfriend, who was playing with his hair, his hands then moved to his face, squishing his cheeks.

"hm.." y/n thought for a moment, cupping taerae's face as he giggles at how cute he looked. "i don't know, you said you wanna major in music, right?"

"yeah right".

y/n thought again, smiling. "i'll probably major in art".

"oh! i remember you told me! you never showed me that painting you made of me though.."

"someday love, someday" y/n responds, and taerae laughs at the pet name, he hates how flustered it makes him.

everything was good. finally, lee y/n's life had taken a turn for the better. he had an insanely loving boyfriend, was able to take care of his younger brother and maintain his studies, plus, taerae's parents were supportive, and didn't find his presence annoying at all.

but, of course, the key word in that sentence is was, because the lee would unfortunately find all of that crashing down in the span of one night. just one night.

"your seriously gonna go? it's late" y/n can vividly remember telling taerae that, but the older just shook his head and waved his hand dismissively.

"it'll be fine, y/n, it isn't that far" taerae reassured him, that familiar smile coming to his face, with his dimples on full display. "seriously, babe i'm gonna be fine".

taerae looked at his partners empty wrist, his mind suddenly going to something he forgot to mention to his boyfriend. "oh, before that, i have something to give you".

he rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a bracelet he made for y/n, handing it to him. the lee freezes, not knowing how he could have responded to such a gift.

"taerae—"

"i spent a lot of time making it for you, see? it has moon charms, and your initials on it! junseo helped me too".

y/n let taerae put it on his wrist, not being able to focus clearly, he really couldn't focus, whenever this memory came back to him, he always remembered how there looked to be a universe in them.

"i hope you like it".

"i love it" he whispers, genuinely. he felt as if he was going to collapse, is that a taerae thing? having y/n think he was about to die? how ironic.

"anyway" taerae cleared his throat. "i should go now, it's late" he said, smiling once again at his partner.

"i'll see you tomorrow?" he said, and y/n curses at himself for saying that, for jinxing himself. why would he say that? he hates himself.

"yeah, i'll call you" taerae replied. he brought y/n's hand closer and placed a kissed his knuckles, causing for y/n's cheeks to heat up.

if present day y/n could talk to his past self, he would have convinced himself to continue talking, to stall, to be stubborn and hardheaded so that he could convince taerae to stay longer.

"you shouldn't have let him go lee y/n"

no matter how much y/n's thoughts tried to convince him that something was gonna go wrong, he couldn't listen, or rather, he didn't listen. what kind of an idiot is he?

of course there wouldn't be a happy ending, of course taerae didn't call him later, of course nothing went his way.

when would lee y/n's life ever be a good one? when would his story ever have a happy ending? what did he do so wrong in his past life that warranted for him to receive such a punishment?

he was right, so there is absolutely nothing that could stop his constant loop of suffering, no matter how hard he tries to change it, bad luck would always find a way to catch up to him.

taerae didn't deserve this, he should've been with someone else, someone who wouldn't have him end up with such fate. y/n could never get that thought off his mind, how he had practically ruined taerae's life.

he should've been wiser, he should've thought before he let taerae slip from his grasp so easily.

if he could go back, he would try to prevent such an event from happening, he'd rather be the one to suffer, not taerae, he didn't do anything wrong, yet he was the one who had to suffer.

as always, everything ended in tragedy, another thing to mess up something consistent.

lee y/n's life is a horribly written story.

and that horribly written story had an unfortunate ending.

AUTHORS NOTE — sooooo how's everyones day going so far? mine is going fine ^^

[voiceofthesilly]

Hullo! For the Scarlet Hollow ask game:

5, (the MC one, you’ve told us a bit about them but I’d love to hear more), 8, and 13

5.

Oh boy nothing i enjoy more than talking about my guy >:]

I do have a few mcs, but my main one is Sly, the worst guy you've ever met

His normal playthrough traits are Keen Eye and Street Smart, I just started a hardcore one with him though with extra Book Smart

He's a first year associate in a big law firm in Davenport, Iowa. Would leave tomorrow if he could — he might be good at reading people, but he's so focused on good impressions that he never really connected with anyone. So pretty much he's just spending all his time in a shitty job, sleeps two and half hours during the week and the entire day at weekends, and has no family or friends other than Truck. The first half day he spent in the Holler he almost considered moving there as soon as he paid off the debt. By now he's a wreck questioning all his morals (doesn't help that he was best at finding loopholes to let employers get away with shit! If he survives this week, as soon as possible he's switching to help the employees. Totally. Uh huh) and just generally trying to figure out if the two deaths that already occured are more of his fault or some outside force. He even stopped wearing clean clothes for gods sake. Will have to change that though because pretty sure those are a bit bloody now. From the matricide

It's uh. More complicated now

My other mcs are:

Cain [it/they/he] (dedicated hardcore mode guy), with mystical, powerful build and street smart traits. They live in a shack in someone's garden and don't know what it's studying at the community college . I think . It's been a moment . He prides himself in being sort of an asshole but they do ultimately do the right thing whenever it's possible

Ashton [she/her], powerful build and booksmart, lives in the flooding basement and works in a chain coffee shop. She'd love to move somewhere closer to nature, but for now La Crosse has to do — especially since she's already made plans to leave with Kaneeka

Last one is Seraphine [they/them] and they're my official asshole playthrough I just started. Speak with animals and hot combo, they do whatever is most entertaining to them because honestly if you speak with animals that's clear sign you're god's favourite. Unfortunately I feel bad about being an asshole so haven't gotten to the living situation yet

8.

For now — first episode Duke or Gretchen. That's mostly bc I played with a bunch of buddies after my first playthrough, so I've seen the aftermath of some decisions before I had to make them myself

In my original playthrough I only really had to make that first choice — keen eye spared me the mines (tbh would probably be harder for me), and bc rosalina was uninjured i didn't really feel it's crucial to save her house . And episode four I went in blind and really thought I could fix him (spoiler alert. Bad idea). So I didn't take the tranqulisers to not break Reese's trust, and just sorta didn't have a choice at last

A strong contender would be episode four in my latest playthrough though, I technically knew what was gonna happen but man locking him up sucked

13.

Just the pretty obvious ones tbh — the church and Tulip's imaginary friends being important, Avery's party going to shit, maybe perhaps a seal in the Tremaine household, since it was featured in the historical buildings

[wholelotofweird]

Meowdy, I hope you're ready to take a peek at all of the books I've read the last 3 months!

By read, I do also mean listened to. I'm a huge fan of audiobooks, because my brain is bad.

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone - Benjamin Stevenson

I love a good mystery book, and this is a good mystery book. The narrator has a strong voice and is up-front about their unreliable nature. This book does a great job of making sure you are on the narrator's side, it never feels like they are purposefully keeping readers in the dark in order to pull a gotcha.

Pacing and suspense are SO well balanced to the point where I devoured this book in a day.

Paladin's Grace - T. Kingfisher

I was so prepared for this book to lean way more heavily into a fantasy world where I'd have to learn more terms and how social systems work, and just 1000 other things that can put me off of fantasy books. It's part of the reason I put it off for so long after getting it recommended to me (sorry, Ben.)

THIS BOOK, THOUGH, is not that at all. We don't have to learn new names for "church" or "palm tree". The author manages to thread the line between assuming that readers know the world already, and not creating a bunch of buckwild new words. The handholding though the worldbuilding is so light that you almost don't even feel it.

The setting manages to feel modern and fantastic all at once, which is just... The perfect food for me. The pantheon exists, but it isn't the focus.

This is a romance novel but not a bodice ripper, or overly erotic. I feel the depths of the emotions between the two main characters, which is what I really want.

My one gripe is that the final resolution feels very deus ex. Now, if I was going to pull out my fancy degree and analyze this, I could make an argument that the ending is supposed to feel that, for [spoilers]. But... I'm not sure how true that is. Maybe I'll have to re-read the book and keep that argument in mind.

Even with the ending, this book is lovely.

The Cybernetic Tea Shop - Meredith Katz

This book is short and sweet and a lovely look at an ace relationship.

I haven't read a book sub 200 pages in about a billion years, so many modern books are 600+ pages. Some of them! So good! Others!! Painfully long! This book manages to build an amazing world, atmosphere, multiple characters, and a believable romantic relationship all in the space of a few hundred pages.

Not just that, but the story happens to be about grief, and life, and what it is a person really wants. There are a handful of books I've read in my life that I connect with on such a deep level that I feel seen and changed, Convince Store Woman is one, and this is one.

Cults - Max Cutler

Taking a hard swerve into some non-fiction. I'll be honest, I wasn't sure what I was getting into with this one. I'm not HUGE into true crime (anymore, 14 year old me S U P E R was), so I was a little concerned that I was signing up for some grim, overly detailed, look into the crimes.

What I got instead was a thoughtful look at the psychology behind cult leaders. Yeah, there are a few sections that are pretty grim, but the book doesn't revel in them, if that makes sense. There is never a point where I feel like I am supposed to be ENJOYING the crimes being detailed.

The focus on not just the leaders lives pre-cult, but the lives of the cult members does a ton of work to unmythologize (.... new word alert) some of these leaders.

House of Salt and Sorrows - Erin A. Craig

So... I don't know. I didn't dislike this book, but I'm not sure I'm a fan. I will read the second one when I have access to it, but I don't know that I'd read this one again.

Here is a true fact about me - I don't read summaries of books or horror movies. This, as you may imagine, leads me to having to some WILD times with media.

Anyway, the point is: I was expecting a mystery period piece. What I got was a fantasy mystery period piece. It was fun, it was a little overly complicated. At the end of the day, I was definitely not the target audience for this.

I'm Glad My Mom Died - Janette McCurdy

Jesus. Christ.

When i-Carly was popular I was juuuuuust old enough to say I hated it, while watching it with my younger sisters pretty frequently. I didn't make sure to watch any of the big event episodes. I didn't see every episode, but the show was a constant in my life.

To get such a raw look at someone's life who was molded to be a 'peer' was WACK. Jennette doesn't sugar coat anything. Her experiences are raw and honest and it is probably the only way these experiences could be expressed.

Paladin's Strength - T. Kingfisher

You may be asking "why didn't you put this up next to the first book?"

Great question.

I'm putting this list in order that I read them, so like. Ease off.

I equal parts liked this book just as much, and had trouble getting through it. I am once again in love with the world and with the characters. During some of the middle of the book it felt like the book was 600 pages just to be 600 pages, and not because things needed to be said.

When I was in college I was accused of writing too many "stage directions" in my literature. I blame my years of RPing on Gaia Online and fan-fic writing on that. There is a definite style that comes from those writing exercises, a style where you want all of the readers to know everything from point A to point B. The thing is, not all of that is needed. I don't need 200 pages of sexual tension and flirting to believe in the relationship of two people. It's the "show don't tell" rule taken to the extreme.

There are some times when it's okay to tell and not show.

I like this book, I wish it was shorter, I will be reading the next one in the series because, damn it, this series is fun.

The Curse of Chalion - Lois McMaster Bujold

I don't tend to read fantasy books Like This anymore. When I was younger this type of book was my bread and butter. I've found that a lot of them (to me, at my advanced age) are tedious. And I'm tired.

This book! Manages not to be tedious and absolutely cradled me in the arms of fantasy I loved when I was younger. The book isn't, plot wise, comforting and yet I felt comforted reading it. I understand that the sentiment makes little sense. I'll say, though, if you were like me and were/are a big fan of Tamora Pierce's work - I cannot recommend this book enough.

Mrs. Sherlock Holmes - Brad Ricca

What is more cool than a woman lawyer, investigator, and social rights advocate in the 1900s? Basically nothing. This is another non-fiction book that truly brought to life the folks it detailed. I am OBSESSED with this woman.

I had never heard of Grace Humiston, which seems like an absolute shame, not just because she was cool as all hell, but because she spent so much time and effort protecting the underserved classes of 1900s New York. She was a lawyer who often worked for free to represent folks who could either not speak or write in English and were being taken advantage of.

She became an investigator, basically, because she knew the police were not putting effort into it.

The Salt Grows Heavy - Cassandra Khaw

This was another one that I didn't read the summary for before jumping in. I knew it was a queer book and I knew there was a mermaid, I didn't need any other convincing.

Here we have another sub 200 page book that tells an amazing love story. A story of personhood and growth and revenge.

It is not an easy read either in content or syntax. I haven't really put any trigger warnings with any of the other books, maybe that's a system I'll implement if anyone is interested. But this one: Body Horror, and Gore. If you have a weak stomach I would, sadly, not recommend this to you.

That said, this book is one of the more poetic ones I've read in a long time. Every word feels purposeful in a way that I don't run into often. Keeping the book short works perfectly for that style. If it were any longer I could easily find myself getting lost in the writing.

Legends & Lattes - Travis Baldree

This book has been on my TBR for... A While. It took my friend starting it and sending rave reviews for me to pick it up.

Here's another fun fact about me - My brain is broken. I have a hard time engaging with media that I KNOW I will enjoy, simply because. Because why? I don't know. To be contrary? Because I don't want to be disappointed? Because I'm scared I'll like it too much?

Who knows, don't recommend shows or movies to me and expect me to get back to you in a timely manner. You have to wait 3-5 years.

So, knowing that, I am glad I forced myself to pick this up. This is the coffee shop AU that we all love. The creation of this AU was treated with such love and care, it's clear the author knows what's up. All I want is a big strong character to fall in love with a smaller, softer, character and also run a little shop.

This book delivers on that and more. I cannot WAIT for the next book.

Leech - Hiron Ennes

I'm going to start with the easy stuff - This is a wonderfully dark book. I'm not usually a gothic horror reader, but wow. This book is about horror, identity, reclaiming the self. My library had it miss-tagged as romance which??? It is SUPER not.

The harder part is putting into words how I feel about this book. I like this book, it is complex and poetic. There were times where I felt like I was about to crawl out of my skin, in a good way. Emotions are so viscerally described that I could feel them in my gut.

The history of the world feels so deep, and the author does an amazing job at making me feel like that there are things going on outside the view of the character. That is an amazing skill to pull on, making the world around the character feel truly alive.

I told my friends when I finished it that sometimes "u read a book and the book read u."

I haven't put on my literature analysis hat on in nearly a decade. I would LOVE to spend more time to sit with this book and peel back the layers and figure out all of the ways this book makes me feel seen as a queer person. I don't have the words for that right now. Just know that I felt it.

Ghost Eaters - Clay McLeod Chapman

I don't know how I feel about this book. I think, overall, I like it. I think the plot is interesting, but the book isn't really about the plot, it's about the character. It's about grief and relationships and healing.

I felt like the first 200 pages were a real struggle for me. Unlike some of the other books I've read on this list, I did read a blurb about this one. I wonder if that was why the first 3rd of this book was a struggle. I was waiting the hook to find me. Instead, I had pages and pages of character exploration. I don't hate character exploration! But it wasn't what I was expecting.

The end... Left me feeling sad, and a little hopeless. Which, I think is the point. I think is why I don't read a ton of horror books. I love horror movies, I don't mind if the endings of those are bleak and hopeless. I think the difference is time spent. Reading a book takes so much more time and dedication and like... I want to be happy, is the thing.

I like this book, I think it's a wonderfully written look at addiction and grief and the ways those can eat a person alive.

Paladin's Hope - T. Kingfisher

I devoured this book in 5 hours. I... I opened it and did not put it down. I think this one may be my favorite of the three. I think the author managed to strike the exact right balance of tension, romance, and action.

Unlike Paladin's Strength, I never felt that there were these big empty spaces -- There was momentum.

I want to once again say that I LOVE that the characters are into their 30s. As a person also into their 30s it's just nice to see folks who feel real. Maybe I've been reading the wrong books for years, I simply feel a deep connection for characters similar in age who are just so... Normal (ignoring that some of them are paladin's of a dead god... you know what I mean).

[archduchessofnowhere]

The Accidental Empress Reading Blog II: Feminist Duke Max and mandatory marriages by order of birth

Back with the end of the first part of the novel! I started writing this post about three weeks ago, and as of now I have already finished the novel. The next two reading blogs will cover part two and three, and I will focus less on the historical inaccuracies and more on the story itself, because spoiler alert, this just wasn't a good book period.

But first let's finish this part, which covers the weekend at Ischl in which our protagonist becomes engaged to the Emperor of Austria. This section is literally the 30% of the novel. That's right, it takes over a hundred pages to cover three days. And by God it just went on forever.

Sisi, her mother and sister left Possenhofen for Bad Ischl (in what apparently was an Odyssey of a trip because it took them weeks to travel 200 km). Now, the city only officially took the name of Bad Ischl in 1906, in 1853 it was simply known as Ischl. I'll forgive this mistake because biographers do tend to use the modern name of the city. I'm a bit less forgiving with the fact that Pataki refers to the Imperial family's residence at Ischl as the Kaiservilla. The Kaiservilla did not exist in 1853 (as we know it today, at least). They had rented the palace to spent the weekend, but it only became their property when Archduchess Sophie bought it for her son and daughter-in-law in 1854 as a wedding present.

In Pataki's novel, the weekend at Ischl is a restrictive formal gathering, in which the girls are told to drop their nicknames, court rituals are heavily guarded, and ministers and ambassadors are even invited. In reality this was a family meeting that allowed the emperor to meet his cousins in a relaxed environment away from court. I believe that what Pataki wanted to do was to give her protagonist and the audience a sort of "sneak-peak" at what life in Vienna was going to be for Sisi, which for me ended up backfiring, but I'll write more on this later. Unlike the real Elisabeth, her book version is very confident and witty, and quickly gains everyone's sympathy, outshining her shy sister, who is going through the trenches. The emperor, of course, is the first in being enchanted by the young duchess.

This is a romance novel, so of course Sisi and Franz get a lot of scenes together. While I'm incapable of shipping Elisabeth and FJ, I will say that I don't think their scenes were bad. They hit if off right away, have an unofficial date at the stables, go out riding and have a heart-to-heart conversation while they rest by a river (so kinda the same thing that happened in Sisi 2021 without the rebel attack scene). The problem of writing Sisi and Franz's meet-cute is that the only thing that happened is that he saw her and fell for her. That's it. So writers always must get creative and make them interact somehow because otherwise there isn't any story to tell, and I'll give this to Pataki: she made them interact enough so them falling in love didn't feel like it came out of nowhere (although in reality it did). I'm a slow burn girlie so this kind of romance isn't my cup of tea, but for this story it works.

Also during Sisi and FJ's "date" her education comes out in the conversation and we have this interesting piece of alternative history:

You know I complain a lot about this but I get that the myth of Duke Max being a dotting father (especially with Elisabeth) is so prevalent in pop history that it will keep popping out in media; now the idea that he had progressive ideas about women's rights is definitely a first. I can not stress enough on how ridiculous this is, this man treated his wife like crap and completely neglected his children; if he had a final say on the kid's education wasn't out of personal interest but simply because he was the head of his family. Also Elisabeth had the usual education a royal girl, and in fact she learned less subjects than her brothers. So no, there was nothing progressive about her education.

By this point we reached the moment in which Sisi realizes that she has fallen for "her sister's fiance". And we also reached the end of my patience. This novel ends with the 1867 Hungarian coronation, meaning that about fourteen years were going to be covered. And yet we were past the first hundred pages (of a four hundred pages book) and still in August 1853. This part is ridiculously long and yet it lacks of absolutely any sort of tension. You can not drag for over a hundred pages the whole "oh no I love Franz but he must marry Helene! What will happen now!" because WE KNOW what will happen. It is literally IN THE TITLE OF THE BOOK. THE SYNOPSIS SAYS IT TOO. The prologue is flashforward of the Hungarian coronation. We know Sisi and Franz are going to get married!! Why are you wasting so much time on this!!!

The first Sissi movie solves the problem of us already knowing the end by adding the tension of Elisabeth being horrified over the prospect of becoming empress and begging Sophie to not let her marry Franz Josef. In turn, Sisi (2021) and Die Kaiserin add the tension of Helene being angry/heartbroken over the emperor not choosing her. The Accidental Empress does neither: Helene does not want to marry FJ and pushes her younger sister into his arms, Sisi is more than happy to marry Franz and readily accepts him when he proposes. The only source of tension is that Sophie is really mad at her because *checks notes* the rules say that the elder sister must marry first??

Yeah that's the sole reason for Sophie turning evil. She is delighted with Sisi for the great part of the weekend, and even laments that her son has to marry Helene instead of her at one point. But then the moment she notices that FJ does want to marry Sisi... she just turn on her niece and starts treating her horribly?? Because she isn't the eldest??? Can someone please tell Pataki that although the eldest daughter tended to marry first there wasn't any actual law that dictated that all daughters must marry in order of birth.

Part one ends with a very angry Sophie telling Sisi that she will marry the emperor, and this absolutely demential dialogue takes place:

First what, why would anyone think that? There was nothing in Pataki's novel that could led people to have that suspicion, the times they met alone was outdoors. Second, that's not how it works, nullifying a marriage was extremely hard, specially for a catholic monarch. If it was consummated there was practically no going back, you were stuck together forever. And that's not even considering how taboo annulments were in the first place, no one wanted to go through one if they could avoid it.

Overall I found this part dull and uninteresting, since the romance wasn't one that I could enjoy, and already knowing the history meant that I was annoyed both by the inaccuracies as well as the complete lack of tension. By the end I just wanted it to be over already so we could get to the actually interesting events of the young empress' life.

(By the way we still have horribly forced expository dialogues:

"What the archduchess is speaking about is-" STOP IT STOP LITERALLY EXPLAINING EVERYTHING THE CHARACTERS SAY. The Crimean War isn't even properly covered in the novel anyways why did we needed this exposition?)

[cha-melodius]

RWRB and Man from UNCLE crossover... go! (Modern or Cold War AU!)

Hello anon, and sorry for taking forever to answer this. When you sent this ask back in last October I was in the doldrums of writing Nova, Baby, a little stuck. I'd shared some snippets previously, which might have been what inspired this ask, but I didn't want to dive into this ask knowing that I was nowhere near posting the story. Then I didn't want to answer it until I'd actually finished posting the fic so that people would have a chance to read it. Because this ask is a lot easier to contemplate when you make it a crossover between Alex and Henry as spies, rather than something like canon!

Ok, bumping UNCLE up to a modern setting and having Alex & Henry tangle with them on some mission would be fun for sure. For some reason I'm picturing the UNCLE crew as older in this situation though, like in their 40s or early 50s. They've been working together for at decade or two, been around the block quite a few times, and suddenly these two young agents show up in the middle of an operation, mucking things up. Maybe Alex has even heard rumors about an art-thief-turned-CIA-agent, but he didn't really think they were true. Also I'm amusing myself thinking about Waverly having some history with the Mountchristen family, having been British Naval Intelligence but not part MI6, so when he realizes who Henry is he's like "Oh Christ, NO." 😂 This would definitely happen sometime in the middle of the events of Nova, Baby, amongst A&H's various undescribed missions together.

I'm even more intrigued by setting this during the cold war though, which I guess makes the RWRB part an AU of an AU, lol. More thoughts below the break!

Ok, Alex is CIA, right? What if he's actually part of the extraction in Berlin? Not a big part, just one of the other agents hanging around at the safehouse later. Point is, he knows Napoleon. Not well, but he's familiar. Alex has mixed feelings about Napoleon because on one hand he's a very prolific criminal who got a pretty decent deal to get out of prison, but on the other, Sanders treats him like shit and from what little they've interacted he seems like an ok guy. This also means Alex hears about Illya and the chase through East Berlin and everything. Of course he's not part of the mission in Rome, and after that he loses track of Napoleon for a while, not knowing that he's now part of this independent spy agency, working with the very man who chased him down in East Berlin.

Ok, fast forward a few years. Alex & Henry have already been forced into a partnership. Napoleon & Illya are working together (with Gaby) for UNCLE. No one is together in any way, but safe to say there's some pining going on lol. In the midst of a mission in Bolivia, A&H end up at odds with a giant Russian agent—bad news. They didn't realize the KGB was involved (spoiler alert: they're not). It's a pretty bad misunderstanding, and thing go south VERY quickly. Then, suddenly, Napoleon Solo shows up, throwing himself in the line of fire, risking his own life to protect this Russian agent. Alex is completely befuddled. He thinks maybe Napoleon isn't CIA anymore (well, it's complicated), that he defected. It takes a while to convince him otherwise.

Turns out they've been following two different threads that lead to the same baddie, so they need to work together. Easier said than done—Illya is, as always around new people, grumpy and forbidding. Maybe Alex catches glimpses of him around Napoleon when they think no one is watching, and it's shocking (because he's secretly a giant Russian lost puppy, natch). Henry is pretty skeptical about all of this but he'll do anything for Alex (though not without complaining), so he goes along with it. Meanwhile, Alex and Napoleon kinda bond during this time. Ooh, maybe they cook together, both being really into cooking, and we get a very absurd scene of Illya and Henry both being jealous (for no good reason, of course) and trying not to show it.

More random thoughts: idk how it would happen but we definitely need Nora and Gaby to meet, because they'd get along like a house on fire. What if, in this universe, instead of playing James Bond, Arthur Fox was basically Ian Fleming? Maybe Waverly even knew him during the war!

Ok, I'm going to stop now, but thank you for the ask, anon, and I'm sorry it took me so long to get to it!