#but the fact of the matter is black butler makes bad bitches

[nullbutler]

I have literally never met a black butler fan who wasn't in some way aesthetically really good looking or hot or handsome or cute or some other statement of beautiful. its all in the eye of the beholder- SHUT UP LIKING BLACK BUTLER MAKES YOU GORGEOUS AUTOMATICALLY

[robin-the-enby]

Hey! I love your matchups and I really want one with on the black butler characters.

I am ISTJ and even though I was born in America I come from a Mexican family. So I am fluent in Spanish and English. Along side of Mandarin Chinese (still learning) and Japanese (still learning)

Appearance wise, I have olive skin, long wavy/curly hair that reaches my tailbone (i like putting it in side braid). I also have long bangs that quite often fall over my glasses. And just too lazy to move them. I also have dimples when I smile. I will bite anyone who try poke them.

Personality: I can get hard to know at first because I have trust issues (my heart has been broken okay) . Not too mention people don't try to get know me because of my major Resting Bitch Face. They think I am judging them or that I am scary. But I am not... I am attentive so I will stand up for myself and anyones else. I am patient. Also, after you get to know me you will realize I am a chaotic crackhead with a melodramatic persona. Like "your star is here!" "The stage is calling for me. Move out of my way" "the spotlight is on me so could you move you crusty face?" I like to tease and flirt with the people I am close to. I zone out or daydream a lot. And in the worst times. It could be a serious meeting and I am chuckling because of something in my head. Which have scared people. It could be during a conversation and I will stop listening. But I will always feel bad and apologize.

I also like to scare people. Like tell them the unsolved cases or horrific cases that I know (I love unsolved cases) . This is also why my little siblings hate me. Turns out talking kids murder cases and disapperinv cases was not appropriate for bed time story... woops.....

I like to pop out of nowhere and either flick or playfully punch my friends and say boo. I do accidentally roast people. I don't think before I say things. And don't realize until hours or days later. And I am like "shit"

I am sarcastic and that has gotten me in trouble before. My friend asked for my advice and I didn't know she was being serious. So I gave her a sarcastic advice and she came back to me mad. I was like "shit you believed me?"

Likes/hobbies: i like my anatomy class and I like to read, write, meditate (because I get stressed a lot). I really like to dance and listen to music. Which my music taste is everywhere: Kpop, classical music, jazz, jpop, Spanish songs, rock, metal. Every music genre except for country. I like to play the violin.

My passion lies in the arts and crafts. I would like to do illustration and photography. More specifically street fashion photography and and event photography. Like weddings and funerals. Yes funeral photography does exist and I will like to do it. Since it is also special event. I draw a lot of portraits and landscapes. I have been told that my art is either scary or mysterious. Though I can get a little caught up with my passion. I practice to get better with no rest.

Flaws/toxic traits: I am not empathetic or sympathetic. People always thought I didn't care about my friend's issues. I do i just don't understand them. My compassion does make up for this and will give advice. My other flaw, is the high walls I build to protect myself. I am there for other people. But people were never there for me. People have manupliated me and that cause me trust issues. I don't know how to handle negative emotions like depression, anxiety, self doubt, procrastination. So I just isolate myself in these moods. They really take a toll on me and make me think I can't do my passions. I am afraid of commitment because of toxic relationships i had before.

Love language: I am not obvious with affection. (Because no one ever gave me it). I show it through my teasing and flirting. My love language is however Act of Service. I will help my s/o with anything they need. Chores, work, advice, etc. Sort of the mom of my friend group. But a Savage mom as I have been told. "Stop crying, here I made you a cookie" "do I need to hurt someone" "don't worry I can get coffin with a lock in it". I am also an aggressive supporter. Like "No YOU are beautiful. YOU are gorgeous!" (This happened when someone gives me affection and time try to turn the attention to them as way to hide my fluster)

I will call my s/o like "stupid" "idiot" but in a endearing way. Okay. Occasionally I will use "beloved" and "Cariño/cariña"

I am not good receiving verbal affection or physical affection. I was never given affection so I am not used to it. I will start blushing and stop working. I will also probably say "idiot" or turn the attention to them like "no.. u" but I think fails because I am terrible at hiding my blush. I get easily flustered with affection okay. But I won't ever admit that I like it. Though it is obvious.

Sexuality: i am bisexual so it doesn't matter what gender I am paired up with.

Funt fact i guess?: I love small plants, plushies, and banana milk. Like I have hundreds of different kinds of plants and they each have their own name. Like GGmo, Lily, Melody, Edward. I love Banana milk as I said. I drink it every evening. It always get me happy so when I am sad or had a bad day. I drink banana milk and I am happy. It is also to make up for my coffee addiction. I am addicted to coffee. My friends said no coffee and I was like fine banana milk then :)

This is getting long now... bye.

I'm glad that you like my matchups, I'm trying my best tbh😅 I match you with:

Sebastian Michaelis

Sebastian is very curious in nature, so he definitely wants to know what you're really like, not the front you put on.

He's also very charming when he wants to, he makes it very easy to open up to him and get comfortable around him.

Sure, he, as a demon, doesn't really care much for humans, so when he doesn't have to play the polite, kind butler, he probably has a RBF as well, however, I think that changes when he's interacting with someone he loves.

His sweet words may have been a mask at first, so he could see the real you, but the closer you two become, the more he means every word of praise, encouragment or comfort he utters.

He would most certainly be amused by your crackhead self once you do get comfortable around him, but it's not really his vibe. He wouldn't scold you for being loud, brash or inapropriate, like he does the other servants.

If he's in a really good mood or when the situation calls for it, he can be dramatic as well. Sometimes he'd do it just to get on Ciel's nerves XD

One big pro of being with Sebastian is that he lets you off the hook a lot. If he was talking to anyone else and they'd space out, oh honey, he would stare them down so hard, it's sending chills down my spine just thinking about it. But if it's you it's like a complete 180, Sebastian can't possibly be mad at you, everyone spaces out sometimes, those things just happen.

The other servants make sure to be on your good side so that you could intercede with him on their behalf.

You can't scare him with your true crime stories, but you sure as hell can scare the others. And you can bet your ass Seb's gonna help! The plan is: You tell the story and then he's gonna pop up out of nowhere behind them, giving them mini heart attacks.

If you try to scare him though, you'll need to be on guard 24/7 until he gets you in return. And even if your on guard all the time, he finds a way to scare the life out of you.

Your humor is practically the same, I mean, Sebastian is great at off handed remarks/roasts and sarcastic comments that you have to look for to really see them. You two could be talking shit about anyone and everybody would be like "Oh yeah, normal conversation, yes"

Sebastian would love to dance with you. And trust me when I say this, he is good at any type of dance. If you two are ever at a ball, prepare your feet, because he's not gonna let go of you the whole night (unless his master is in danger of course).

He would be your #1 supporter, he'd go with you out to take photos, and if you asked him to look at some, he'd take a good long look at each and every one of them and describe in detail how he feels about them. Also would go to any art shows you'd host if it came to it.

When it comes to sympathy and empathy, Sebastian also has a hard time showing these feelings. He's been alive for far longer than any human on Earth and he's a demon. He's never had any of the problems humans have, so naturally he doesn't kniw what it feels like to have them. Plus, before you came into his life, he didn't care much for them either.

However, he's gonna be there for you whenever you need him, emotionally or practically, even though he doesn't get your feelings.

You both have walls put up, you because of bad past experiences, him because as a demon, he has major issues with being vulnerable in any way. And I'm not talking just emotionally here, but demons are almost undestroyable, yet they have very few weaknesses that they just need to hide away.

It's rare Sebastian has a problem, but even if he had, you wouldn't know, because he thinks you, as a human, wouldn't understand and so he won't burden your mind with it. However, he's very perceptive and so if your behaviour changes, be it due to anxiety or a depressive episode, he'll know.

Now, he's not the type of person to try and break down your walls by force, but in situstions like these, where he's not sure how to help, you gotta talk to him and he won't leave you alone until you tell him how he can help.

He's not above carrying you around and doing everything for you until you're embarassed enough to tell him

He is very appreciative of your help around, since the other servants are good at everything but what they're supposed to do.

You with your tough love and Sebastian with his teeth rotting compliments and affection, it'd be honestly really funny to watch. He adores how you show affection, because it's different from most people he's known. But on the other hand, you can't expect him not to spoil you afte all the hard work you do every day?

He would really shower you in love and affection, because you deserve it and because it makes you flustered XD

[fallenangelontheceiling]

Thoughts on The Finale

Pros & Cons

CONS:

Most of these can be categorized as problems with tone. This has been a problem throughout the series and unfortunately it was most clear at the finale.

John Walker's Character Arc - I guess I can buy that he didn't want a truck full of people to die instead of taking revenge... but it feels too quick. In 1x04 there was blood on the shield and the stinger for 1x05 (the thing that primed us for this episode!) telegraphed him as unhinged. Now he has Sam and Bucky's reluctant approval. Talk about tonal whiplash.

And then at the end - were we supposed to think it was cute that this mentally unstable man is all excited to go out in the field again? I think we were. And I kinda hate it because he'd be a great villain. He went from Everything Wrong With Entitled White Men to an insecure doofus who happens to have the strength to lift a car. I think that was a very sanitized decision.

Ironically I think the reason behind that decision is because they didn't want Lemar to just be the Dead Black Dude. John is the one that gets to tell Karli the truth: "Lemar mattered," and by saying that he illuminates everything wrong with Karli's fight. And I guess he really did care about Lemar as a person (on some level, at least - everything else about John points to narcissistic tendencies imo).

Bucky's Confession - Felt rushed. We didn't see Yori get any bittersweet closure. I don't understand what the last shot with Bucky, Yori, and Leah was trying to convey - especially Leah's little nod at him. Look, I appreciate how this show doesn't always spell everything out, but all that shot did was take me out of the scene - does Leah know he was the Winter Soldier now? that he killed Yori's son? and at the minimum shouldn't she feel mad or awkward about the way Bucky ditched her lol?

And now I'm gonna sound like a real bitch... but because that scene didn't hit the right amount of bittersweet Bucky's happiness at the party later doesn't feel earned enough for me. I love smiley SebStan as much as anyone, but facts.

[In retrospect, one interesting thing about the confession was that Bucky said "I was forced to do it. It wasn't me." That's character growth. I wish we had seen the journey to that realization more, but I'm okay with that likely being incited by him being able to actually rescue civilians of his own free will for a change.]

This is more of a personal belief creeping in: Bucky, just because you're done with the book doesn't automatically mean you're done with therapy lol. I think Bucky should need therapy for the rest of his over extended life, and that is not a sign of weakness or infantilization. I think that would be a far better message for the show to give about mental health. (And I was sent out of the scene AGAIN because I was wondering um, isn't that still court mandated?? I thought the schedule was just more flexible, not terminated.)

Karli - Isn't it weird how I can agree with a villain's motives so much but not find them interesting at all as a character? Like how lol?? I think if they had fleshed out her and Sharon's relationship she could have been a very tragic figure. Or her relationship to Mama Donya, for that matter. Instead we get her with mostly nameless Flagsmashers that narratively operate more like goons than comrades.

Sam - I started this series pretty convinced that Sam should get rid of the Cap mantle and shield due to racism, nationalism, populism... a few other -isms that I am not smart enough to elaborate on. But after episode 5 I was on his wavelength. I was hyped by his training montage! I screamed for him to put on his sexy costume uniform!

And then the costume sucked. Okay it definitely didn't totally suck (more on that later), but the colors and goggles look horrendous.

Maybe I'm just in too jaded a mindset to enjoy a superhero show but I rolled my eyes that an impassioned speech would make any difference. I hated that the senator looked ashamed, like that would never happen, especially not in public lol. I wanted him to do something a bit more subversive -what exactly I can't put my finger on, but this was too much of a buy-in that powerful institutions work. I thought it was really corny how suddenly everyone started listening at the exact same time. I know throughout the show we've seen civilians constantly monitoring with their phones in the background, but the way this was shot was too on the nose for me. Maybe if it had been just one news camera nearby? Idk idk...

The Power Broker - It could have only been Sharon so I didn't really care.

PROS:

These are shorter because I'm tired and it's always easier to say more about things we dislike lol.

Sam's Utilities and Fight Scenes - The costume looked awful but it worked great! Loved the two redwings and what they can do, the way the wings and jet back move when he fights, and I have to admit I like the angelic look of the wings.

I love that Sam still takes more punches than nearly any superhero in the MCU but he doesn't let that stop him. "I can do this all day!" is very Cap. I adored how he collaborated with the civilian (senator?) in the helicopter to get everyone to safety. That also felt very Captain America and in line with Sam's strengths. That scene worked as a strong opening.

Isaiah Bradley - Just. Carl Lumbly needs an Emmy. I kinda love Eli as well.

Sarah Gazes Up at Bucky as He Shows Off and Plays with Children and Brings What is Clearly a Costco Cake to the Cookout - Same, girl. Same. I want a slowburn Hallmark movie about them.

Sharon - I enjoy Emily VanCamp getting ~revenge~.

Zemo's Butler (Of All People!) Taking Out the Last of the Super Soldiers - Is it bad I cheered? This is what creepy Batman-esque butlers are for, yes?

[cheyj05]

WKM Reflections Part 1 (Final edit I promise)

(Hello, this is the first fanfic I’ve ever written. Please tell me if there’s anything wrong with it. It’s just Who Killed Markiplier but with my DA, Eve.  Please enjoy!) ( Edit : I fixed a few parts now that I have a better idea of Eve’s personality) (Edit: last time I promise) @superyummysandwich

 Eve was late.

 They weren’t normally the type to be late. Not to a party, especially not to one thrown by one of their best friends.

 They anxiously fidgeted with the invitation they had received in the mail, some irrational dread whirling in their stomach.

               “It’s fine,” they thought “it’s just a poker night, nothing bad is going to happen! This is a completely irrational feeling.” They repeated that to themself to calm themself down. It wasn’t working. They considered turning back. But they couldn’t, not when this was the first time Mark had been heard from in nearly 2 years. So they marched forwards anyway, they couldn’t just ignore their friend like that after all.

   Eve snapped out of their thoughts when they realized they had arrived.

 The House was grand and old and absolutely set them on edge. They weren’t intimidated by the size of the house, they weren’t intimidated by anything really, something about it just felt...off like white noise, there wasn’t anything obviously wrong but it still made them sick to their stomach. It was the reason Eve had arrived so late. They had gotten ready to leave but the thought of going into that house filled them with so much dread that they reorganized everything in their new office (having recently become the DA and all, not to brag) and by the time they checked the clock ( okay, asked their secretary, they have one of those now, the time) again they were late.

   They ventured forward , reassuring themself that they could always leave the party early if something bad happened. Eve checked their watch, just as they suspected it was… whatever time it was, they had never figured out how to read a clock. They briefly took in the manor, assuring themself this would be fine. They then noticed a man walking up to the doorway and let out a brief sigh of relief that they weren’t the only late one.

     This man wore a military uniform and had a fantastic mustache. As they walked toward the doorway, they wondered if they should talk to him or just walk past him without a word. The man was standing outside the door, looking as if he was considering whether he should go in or not. The man  looked over the building, shaking his head. He then noticed Eve’s presence noticed them right behind him and said 

        “Oh, bully! And here I thought I was gonna be the last guest to arrive.” He smiled at them. Eve wasn’t sure whether they should smile back. “Um.. hello.”. They cringed at their own awkwardness. A  voice in their head that sounded a lot like their mother scolded them for giving such a lackluster greeting.

        “My friends call me The Colonel.” He said then gave a bow “You’re welcome to do the same, should it please you.”. 

Eve gave a strained smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you then, Colonel.” they said, trying to sound happy, Not that they weren’t thrilled to meet him, far from it actually! He was one of Damien’s closest friends and Eve has heard wonderful things about him! It was just... Nothing it’s not important.

         ‘But uh-” The Colonel gestured to the door “-after you.”

 Eve nodded in acknowledgement of his politeness and stepped inside. They were immediately greeted by The Butler- Benjamin, they think his name is Benjamin.

         “Ah, bonjour! Welcome to Markiplier Manor. Your invitation, please.” Eve handed him their invitation, hoping he didn’t notice how crinkled it was. 

         “Very good, very good. Right this way.” he said leading them into.. whatever this part of the house was. “Good luck at the table tonight. I shall fetch you a drink forthwith,” he said. Eve thanked him and then the servant left, presumably to get Eve a drink.

     They were confused on what to do for a split second, until they saw their friend, The Mayor, Damien speaking to a man who looked to be a detective of some sort. The man left the moment he saw Damien turning to his old friend.

     “Oh! There you are, old friend.” Damien visibly brightened at seeing them again, which made Eve feel itty bitty butterflies in their stomach. “How are you settling into your new office?” he asked

     “Good.” the new District Attorney said, understatement of the fucking century. They were the DA for only a short time now but they could never get tired of hearing their new title. To them it was reward for all the hard work and struggle they’ve been through.

    “Now I know it’ll take some getting used to, but there’s no one I would rather have alongside me to protect this great city of ours.”. Eve felt their ears go pink against their will upon hearing that, even though he’s said stuff like that many times before.

    “Now, I’ll see you at the table soon, but try not to rob me blind again.”.

     “No promises.” they smirked, their poker face was undefeated. They’d had a lot of practice hiding their emotions

      “We’ll catch up,” Damien said walking past them, Eve awkwardly waved in a stupid, lovestruck way and then immediately scolded themself. No matter how they felt Damien could never reciprocate, for a variety of reasons. Knowing this didn’t make the feelings go away, if anything it gave them sort of a dull ache.

    They turned a corner, just wandering with no clue where anything was in this house, and seemed to enter the dining room. In which there was a man with a soup ladle picking up a tray-he was The Chef, probably.

    He noticed them approach “If you’re looking for hors d’oeuvres, I’ll get ‘em when I’m good and ready!” he growled, despite Eve not saying anything. 

    “And stay out of my kitchen!” he added, shoving his ladle in their face threateningly.

    “Okay then!” they responded with trying to keep their irritation out of their voice.

 “Now, now.” Eve turned around and saw The Butler, holding a tray of drinks. “Let’s not be rude to our guest.” he glared at The Chef.

     The Butler looked at the DA, “So sorry about that.” he handed them a drink “Here’s your champagne.” Eve smiled, they hadn't gotten properly drunk since their college days.

    “Enjoy your evening.”.

      “Thank you very much.” The butler then left, presumably to deliver drinks to the other guests.

    Eve momentarily wondered where Mark was, he was the host of this party after all, but they did not have to wonder for long as Mark, their friend, The Actor appeared on the stairwell in front of them.

   “Welcome, welcome, one and all!” he said, like the dramatic bitch he was “My name is Markiplier. Thank you for joining me on this auspicious evening. So good to be surrounded by such close and trusted,” he seemed to look directly at the DA at that, which gave them a bad feeling “friends.”

    “Now, this evening, it’s not all about the poker. It’s not all about me. It’s about you.”

   “So drink up and be merry! Life is for the living! And who knows? I could be dead tomorrow.” he then laughed, despite the fact what he was saying wasn’t actually very funny.

   Eve couldn’t help but feel that something was off, it wasn’t the same feeling of dread they had outside the door but something still felt wrong. They repressed that feeling, they were going to enjoy this party regardless of any stupid suspicions. And drank their champagne, while Mark's laughter faded in the background.

  The next thing the DA knew it was 8:30 in the morning, they had a pounding headache, their jaw hurt, and they were in what was presumably a guest room. Their headache was not helped by the alarm blaring in their ears. They quickly  shut it off. Eve yawned and tried to remember what happened last night. They were all playing beer pong, someone was playing russian roulette (who brings a gun to a party?), Eve got punched in the face ( a common occurrence at parties), Eve blacked out (another common occurrence), and Damien helped them into this room (because Damien is awesome.).

   They got out of bed and lamely attempted to smoothen their hair and suit out. After a while they abandoned that fruitless endeavor, they didn’t look all that good in the first place. Their hair was long and drooped over their face and their suit jacket was way too big for them. Eve had attempted to look androgynes but instead came off as a child wearing their parents’ clothes. Had they known what was going to happen, they would have crawled back into back until the sun went away. But they didn’t know what was going to happen, so they left their room

 End of Part 1

Part 2 

[tfw-no-tennis]

hxh RESUME

back at it again w/the hxh, heres my recap of the last few eps 

ok so i totally forgot to recap that one ep at the end of the hunter exam arc lets see what i remember from like 3 wks ago lollll

i thiiiiink i left off in the middle of ep 21 lol. i really dont remember much tbh so im gonna skim the ep to refresh

exposition time! its so wild that if you lose ur hunter card That It like u cant get another or retake the exam hgabjdfuhasjf Ls 

also the fact that you can sell it is rlly interesting 

leorio & kurapika backing up gon as he confronts illumi again :’) good lil family 

illumi u fool. gon is a shounen protag. he can do anything he sets his mind to

the fact that gon thanks illumi for telling him where killua is....hes literally THAT polite like...what a perfect boy 

hisoka just fuckgin stepping out of the shadows....ok bitch 

the fact that gon fucked up illumis arm that bad with one hand....boi is STRONK 

AUGH AUGH AUGHHHH HISOKA IS SO CREEPY AUGHHH I HATE THIS BIIIITCH 

ok but like is illumi implying that hisoka is a fr p*do bc uhhhhh thats so nasty oh lord. pls stay away from gon, and killua, and like everyone as a matter of fact 

EWWWWWWWWWW I HATE HISOKA HES SO NASTY. PLS STOP MAKING P*RNO FACES IN RELATION TO 12 YR OLD BOYS. 

no but rlly what IS hisoka gonna do now. im assuming he’ll show up p soon (tho probs not in the zoldyc arc like i thought bc its shorter than i thought) 

ok the fact that they have the internet is hilariously wild to me for some reason....it just seems like this would be one of those fantasy shounen worlds with very little tech (a la one piece) but lol nope we can just google shit hvbhjdhjdfks

gon: it was fun when you beat me up for 3 hours and broke my arm! seeya dude!

i love gon he is so chill and doesnt seem to hold grudges except when it really matters (like hisoka and illumi) 

hanzo has.....ninja business cards....thats amazing hvbhsdjkujfnd

dont worry pokkle, leorio was basically carried thru the hunter exam by various people and also won by default. he still deserves his license tho

an exotic game hunter sounds pretty cool! i wonder if we’ll see pokkle again. kinda doubt it? that sounds pretty firmly non-combat based, and therefore probably pretty far from any plot lol

so gons dad is a bigshot huh.....whatever hed be a bigger deal if he didnt abandon his son tbh 

gon swinging his feet on the bench....sooo cute 

so ging could restore a bunch of ruins but he couldnt raise his son...ok

im just gonna be bitter at this guy for abandoning the most perfect boy vhbhjfbsjhdhbfsk sorry dude but being a good hunter doesnt make up for being a shit father 

gon is so precious ;_; 

WHAT WAS SATOTZ GONNA SAY TO GON???

why does it look like theyre googling things on MS paint 

ah yes, padokea, on the continent of Africa But Sideways 

idk if i talked abt it before but the world map is WILD lmao i love how its all the continents/landmasses scrambled around.....im super curious abt that weird island in the top center of the map, thats the only thing that immediately sticks out as not having a real life equivalent 

the music in this show is so charming :’) i love the main theme sm 

gon is sooo precious i literally cant get over it. and his hurry to rescue killua is so sweet....and i love how naturally charming/charismatic gon is....pretty much everyone he meets likes him, especially leorio and kurapika, who basically adopted him after knowing him for like a day, and continue to be completely taken by him

ok wtf is satotz & co talking abt......do they know something abt ging that they arent allowed to tell gon???? shouldnt gon have access to the same info now that hes a hunter? i need ANSWERS

i bet this whole thing abt the hunter exam not rlly being over is a metaphor abt the hunter exam NEVER truly ending bc youre always being tested, or st

ok the ED continues to be So Much like especially the last shot where the 4 main characters look like theyre posing for a JC Penny catalog while the singer goes FULL metal-screamo

ok ruth and i just rewatched the next two eps woohoo

i love that there are tourist busses that take people to the front gates so they can like pose for pics and stuff vhbhjafdsfkj and its like ‘ah yes here are where the local assassins live!’ thats so funny yet it makes so much sense

i love that leorio passed tf out during the bus ride. big big mood 

gon is so cute...hes like ok yes i understand that we’re not supposed to go in but i think they can make an exception for me bc im very polite. 

those 2 dudes r so ugly and so dead god bless

that bigass buster sword....sir please 

ruth and i rlly thot that the old guard guy was gonna turn out to be grandpa zoldyk or st lol

the fact that the dog managed to eat All their flesh but left some clothes....skill 

also the dog is named mike but it sounds like the guy is calling him miku hvbjdfssk

this cant be the first time some morons have been killed here likeeee 

i cant believe nobody has visited the zoldyk estate in 20 years damn they all rlly b havin no friends. depressing 

the whole gates thing is wild. also that part where gon gets the math wrong on the weight.....BIG mood kiddo 

ok the part where gons on the phone w/the butler is soooo good oh man. i love how gon just calmly dials the phone again after hes hung up on the first time and then YELLS....and leorio and kurapikas faces r so good 

also the butler guy unfortunately has a point, it isnt foolproof that gon is here Legit....but he IS let him see his tiny bf :( 

as ruth pointed out, the butler guy is reminiscent of kuro from one piece. same vibes 

maybe if leorio was jacked like he is in the manga/1999 anime he couldve opened the gate that first time around....Ls 

god i love this shows approach to Everything so far,....as ruth put it, half the time its like ‘oh wow they should do [x]/i wish theyd do [x] but ofc they wont cause its a shounen’ but then they DO do [x] and its like damn thats dope 

anyways i love how gon is increasingly approaching situations with his Plucky Shounen Protag Attitude in full swing, and he pretty much gets shot down every time. BUT his general determination to see killua bc killuas his FRIEND and hes gonna RESCUE HIM is still a good and pure motivating force 

like here, when hes climbing over the wall and hes like whatever i dont wanna have to deal w/being tested thats bullshit, i wanna see killua, my intentions are pure, im gonna try my luck with the dog....i was like ok yeah he’ll get over and like tame or defeat the dog and the guard will be suitably impressed bc nobodys ever done That before, and then gon will continue on to get killua 

but NOPE instead the guard calls him down and explains that gon Will Die if he tries that, and then the guard will die too for letting that happen. and gon is like oh shit my actions have consequences for people other than me, wow. 

and THEN the guard takes them in to meet the dog. and hot DAMN that is a scary creature. not even really a dog tbh. they did an excellent job making the dog Legit Scary and not just like, big and flashy looking....those eyes are so soulless, and the proportions are freaky 

and the guard says exactly what i was thinking - that gon would use his Country Boy Woodland Creature Skills to workaround the dog....but then the subversion - this creature is NOTHING like the woodland critters gon is probably used to dealing with. theres no way gon stood a chance here. the guard just saved him from a really unfortunate death 

i love all the Super Heavy Stuff in the servant house that seems so inconvenient vbhjdkfasjfld. also forgot to mention earlier but the guard guy being Absolutely Ripped was wild and kinda funny 

training montage! gon continues to be so cute. and i love so much how leorio and kurapika are like no, you rest, we’ll take care of this. good parents!!!!

and then!!!! they sync up and use the power of gay love to almost open the gate. but then gon uses the power of Improbable Shounen Protag Healing Speed to toss that arm sling off and help out

i feel like leorio was side-eyeing gon like w8 a sec u broke that arm like a few days ago that aint right.....

oh man i almost forgot abt that scene with the zoldyks torturing killua :( :( this poor kid he doesnt deserve that 

also mom zoldyck seems truly awful but i must say her aesthetic does fuck. the victorian-lookin outfit paired with the futuristic cyclops visor thing....excellent. also im betting this face bandages are from killua cutting her face 

this family is so fucked up hvbsjdhjfbakdfn

killua telling his mom that gon is definitely gonna make it there :’) hes got such unshakable faith in his bf thats so good.....

back w/the gang, and immediately they run into more trouble in the form of the young girl butler, whose name i dont know, but i love her....her design is SO good oh man. a non-caricature black person? who also isnt sexualized? in MY anime??????

 i love how gons approach to conflict is currently ‘let more powerful person beat me up for hours straight in hopes that they get tired or something idk bro’ like....i love him lol, is it in an effort to show how determined he is? he doesnt even try to dodge her blows or get around her....id be tryin to hop that fence lol 

oh shit the tiny zoldyk kid from earlier is spying on them....she was w/the mom so im sure thats not good

when he punches the rock part and it breaks....strong boiiii 

oh man that little flashback from when killua first came back and told her that he made a friend ;_; bruh 

i love butler girl :( she wants to let gon but knows it isnt allowed....and as soon as she starts to waver BAM here comes mom zoldyck JFC that was so sudden and jarring....im assuming butler girl isnt dead cause that would be lame and anticlimactic 

also IS THAT NEN??? NEN>>>??? NEN??? HM? NEN????????? 

im so annoying abt nen i need to make one of those ‘is this a pigeon?’ memes w/’is this nen?’ bc thats me anytime anything remotely weird happens lmao

i do think its rlly nen this time tho

anyways shit is wild, cant wait to meet the full zoldyck family 

PREDICTION CORNER: 

as i said above i doubt hisoka will show up now bc this arc is a lot shorter than i anticipated. also im doubting that illumis even gonna show up honestly 

i think we’re gonna have this OP for a while, as the part just at the end shows gon and hisoka fighting in what looks to be an arena, and ik the next arc is the heavens arena arc, which im assuming is the tournament arc....

also i have no idea what that weird building in the OP is but my guess is that its the building w/the heavens arena in it bc its tall and,,,,heaven 

i predict there wont be much fighting in this little arc bc how tf else is it so short. at this point i rlly think gon is just gonna grab killua and go lmao. im super curious abt how thats gonna go down, considering that killua is currently strung up just bc he wont apologize...so i cant imagine his family would just let him leave w/gon. i wonder if killua will fight them, or if gons determination will impress them and then theyll let killua go (doubt it)

thats basically it....we’ll see abt the next few eps holla

[wlw-for-elliot]

It Doesn’t Matter

Paring: Vanya x Reader

Requested by: @steampowerednightvaler

Summary: Vanya decided that it’s time to introduce you to the family, but not everything goes as well as one would expect...

Warnings: Luther’s a little bitch

Word Count: 1,323

--- 

   Vanya hesitantly lifted her hand to the door, prepared to knock, before pulling away. She huffed angrily, bringing her hands to her face and silencing an anxious scream. A few passerbys looked cautiously at you two, you sent them an apologetic smile before turning to your fiancée, enveloping her body in a warm hug. She had decided that after three years of secretly dating and then a few month of being secretly engaged, she wanted you to meet her family. She had told you all about them. Luther, the giant. Diego, the vigilante. Allison, the silver tongue. Klaus, the human ouija board. And Five, the child assassin with a grown man's conscious. She had also warned you of the monkey butler Pogo, and the robot mother, Grace. Vanya gave you lessons and a layout of the manor, so you knew where all the rooms were and how to best get along with each sibling. She seemed so ready for this, so secure, finally ready to be out to her family. But here she was, in your arms, frustrated to the point of tears.

   “We don’t have to do this today, Vanya. It can be tomorrow, or in a week, or a month! I just don’t want you to feel uncomfortable, sweetheart,” You soothed, running your hands through her hair, which she had left down, and rubbing circles on her back. Her breath hitched, a small sniffle coming from the mass of dark winter clothes she had on. She drew back, meeting your eyes and holding your hands.

   “No, I want to do this, (Y/n) I just… Didn’t expect it to be so scary,” Vanya sighed dejectedly, looking up at her childhood home. The aura overwhelmed her.

   “I understand, but sometimes the scariest things in life end up being the most fulfilling,” You said, placing a reassuring kiss on her forehead, “And just remember, I’m here, and we can leave anytime,”

   “Yeah… yeah! You’re right!” She said, knocking furiously on the door, only to realize what she had done, “Oh god what have I done,” You squeezed her hand as the door opened, someone who you could only assume was Pogo, behind the massive door.

   “Ah, Miss Vanya…” He saw you, “and a friend?”

   “Pogo, this is my…” She fiddled with the ring on your entwined finger, “This is my fiancée, (Y/n)” Pogo had a look of surprise as he scanned you, but it was overtaken with a look of content,

   “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss (Y/n),”

   “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Mr.Pogo”

   “Pogo is just fine, Miss (Y/n),”

   “Than just call me (Y/n),” You smiled, extending a hand. He shook it, opening the door wider for you to go inside. Thanking him, you both took off your coats, scarves and gloves, “Honey, shoes on or off?”

   Vanya looked at Pogo for the answer,

   “Whichever you would like, (Y/n),”

   You took your shoes off.

   “Your siblings are downstairs in the kitchen, Miss Vanya, I’m sure you’d like to tell them something,” Pogo said knowingly, looking between you too. You both thanked him, and headed downstairs to a large kitchen. It was warmly lit with a large, mahogany table in the center, knives and forks in a small basket. Stoves, counters, and ovens lined one wall, and the back wall was all fridge space. Five people were at the table chatting. Vanya pulled her hand from yours self consciously and coughed to get everyone’s attention.

   “Vanya?” a rough voice asked, a man in all black with a scar on the side of his head called accusingly, “Who’s this?”

   “I- um… I have something to tell everyone,” Vanya squeaked out. Everyone in the room was silent. You could easily pick apart who was who. Diego was the man who just spoke, Luther sat next to him, and on Luther’s other side sat Allison, Vanya’s only sister. Five sat to Diego’s left, you knew it was Five because he was the only child in the room, and Klaus, instead of sitting in a chair, was sitting on the table, a bright colored boa around his neck.

   “This is (Y/n)... My fiancée” Nobody spoke once those words were out in the open. Luther’s gaze hardened, as did Five and Diego’s. Klause? Well… you couldn’t tell what Klaus was feeling, his eyes were a bit hazed, and Allison’s look felt skeptical. Like you shouldn’t be here. As soon as the silence came, it ended, questions and shouts ringing through the kitchen. You couldn’t hear what anyone was saying, until one voice shouted over them all. The giant spoke.

   “Remember what happened last time?! She’s probably using you!”

   You heard it. Vanya heard it. Everyone heard it.

   You froze in shock, no words coming out of your mouth, gasping like a fish. A sob broke out through the kitchen, Vanya’s cries echoing. You turned to her impulsively, reaching out to grab her hand, but she turned and ran. She ran up the stairs and out of sight, tears dropping to the ground where she once stood. You arm frozen in a reach. The room was silent again. Your fists clenched angrily as you brung down your arm, head swiveling to the table full of people who dared call Vanya family. You knew who said it.

   Marching up to Luther, you slammed your fists against the table, Leaning in so close you could see the malice in his frown and the wrinkled in his forehead,

   “How dare you,” And you ran, you ran and ran, up the stairs, through the lobby, and towards the bedrooms. A soft crying sound growing louder. Pushing the old door of Vanya’s room open, it made a creaking sound and the cries stopped. Huddled in the corner, between a wall and a chest of clothes sat Vanya. Her hair tangled and sleeves wet from tears. Her eyes were red and puffy and brimmed with water, her nose runny and her skin blotchy. You were immediately at her side, the floor boards creaking beneath you. Scooping your fiancée into you arms, you crawled onto her small twin sized bed and cradled her. She liked to be held when she was sad, you had learned that after one-to-many bad orchestra rehearsals.

   Vanya nuzzled closer to you, the warmth radiating off of you was too good to pass up for how utterly cold and afraid she felt in that moment. She wrapped her arms around your torso and leaned her head against the curve of your neck, sniffling as smalls bouts of tears ran down her face.

   “It’s ok sweetheart. Everything is ok, everything will be ok,” you repeated, rocking her slightly. Kissing her head softly and repeating soothing whispers continued. Both of you falling asleep together on the old bed which creaked under your combined weight.

---

   The five Hargreeves siblings watched silently from a crack in the door as you both dozed off. Allison sighed, before hitting Luther harshly in the arm,

   “Way to go, Jackass” She whispered angrily,

   “I’m sorry okay? Stop hitting me!”

   “No! When they wake up they deserve an apology, both of them!” Allison scolded.

   “Allison’s right, we were too harsh,” Diego agreed, surprisingly. Klaus started to give a loud whoop of celebratory glee but was immediately shushed, to he let out a quieter whoop. Five rolled his eyes at his siblings antics, but peeked back inside the room to see you two snuggled up on the bed. Glad that his favorite sibling had finally found someone to cherish. As the rest of the group filed down the stairs to make an apology dinner. You opened yours eyes, smiling at the fact they had accepted the love of your life. Gazing lovingly at Vanya, you pushed a piece of hair out her mouth, that was snoring slightly, and dozed back off. Both of your hands clasped each others tightly, your engagement rings shining in the late afternoon sun.

[akria23]

Okay let’s talk about it:

Some people might not understand why others are stepping back from David after recent events. I cannot speak for anyone else but there is a general weariness when tilts comes to black men and romantic dynamics (interracial and none interracial) because of the history of antics that’s been established when it comes to such things. I do have that fear that David is such men - some of because of how I look at the world and in part because of some of his own behaviors (saying Ana’s racial identity is his weakness, the fact that kemi was really the only person he didn’t talk game with other than to tell her to make herself easier to be around [like him and Ovi doing], his playing the butler mentality - But he hasn’t said anything to disrespect the black woman in the house (as far as I know) so I’m not gonna judge him on that or pretend like he’s this type of guy when he hasn’t shown that hand yet.

I personally don’t have a problem with interracial interest/dating but I do think that most blacks who date interracially aren’t vetting their counterparts enoughs - often times because they themselves have inner issues when it comes to anti blackness. So I don’t have an issue with David being interested in a white woman - I have a problem with it being this kind of white woman.

I feel like I’m the only one in the tag that does not rock with Kat or fall under her dizzy/savage girl routine. She’s one step below (if not above) Jack and Jackson for me. She’s not only say around and listened to the things they’ve said, enabled them by saying what they’ve said/done wasn’t that bad but (and this is the important part for me) she has said her own things about Kemi that presents her as being the type I’d never cap for. Do I think she’s do a showmance with David? Yes. She’d probably sleep with him, date him, have kids with him, marry him and all that Jazz. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have her own prejudice. Often times some white women (and other nonblack women) will get with black men (say they love black men) and yet with spew shit at and on black women. Prime example of this are the Kardashians. Kat has no valid reason to dislike, down talk, or even want Kemi out (just like the jacks) but there is this apparent dislike all the same.

So no I’m not about to bad talk him because he’s interested in a white woman but he does not seem like the type to vet the counterpart. People think because someone is not a Jack, or the type to stand on your lawn with a lit cross then there’s no real problem and that a falsehood. I keep pushing for black people to stop looking at others as individuals and instead look at them with the reality that racism is a system that is interwoven into every aspect of life (from the schools we went to, the media we watch, the people we interact with, the policing and prison system...everything) and thus people (including blacks) have to unlearn these teachings and if the person you’re laying in bed with is not unlearning those things - def if they’re actively denying the existence- then they’re a part of the problem. If your black and you’re dating someone out your race you need to realize you then have the job of educating them, checking them when they’re out of pocket, and being held accountable for what they pass onto your children.

And it’s not just black men that comes to black women as well - when Kemi says dumb shit like she loves Paul and he’s so great that’s a slap in Dom’s face. When she says Jackson is attractive it’s like she’s drinking dumb bitch juice because Jackson not only looks like a racist he radiates racism 😪. While she’s over here saying that David is two short, to weird, to this/that - he’s been the most respectable in the house and hasn’t sprinkled her in hate in some way (yet) but this concept of putting others above no matter if your attracted or not attracted is crazy’s it was the same with Bay, and Dom and Z. I had to learn my lesson with Z because I stupidly shipped them and then was like 😰 when them colors started to show but still wanted him to be the good guy. That’s bullshit yo. Learn from the past season. After the Zaulie thing and then Dom not even getting friendship from Mark - and Tyler being a fake fuck while trying to back stab and play games...these people should be looking at these others like 😒 I need to know your history and test you before I even put in any work. Even with Dem Ika takes the role of educating him, explaining things to him in the moment, and it works because he admits that he is naive to our world, he did have the privilege to be blissfully ignorant to our world because it didn’t effect him, and then apologize for any missteps he does make. If your partner isn’t one that level then you’re already in trouble.

Like I said - I’m not sure David is that guy and last night some of the things he was doing like the running around to find something to cook for the house really made me go 😬 he’s not cleaning cause he likes a clean area - he’s really out here thinking servitude will win these people over. He really thinks that he can get the jacks to let him in. It was just very...delusional black to me. Until that moment I thought like Kemi he felt the racist undertones of the house, that when he said cliques he didn’t mean grouped up but again like Kemi interpreted that as “racist” but his behavior say he thinks he can get in and that they just have him on the outs because he was the first to leave. He looked like a more observed Ovi in that moment and it was a real disappointment I ain’t even gonna lie. And then the thing with Kat happened (him getting mad)...He just went back on my “be weary” list.

[charminglatina]

Riverdale Characters as Tropes (Part II) ⭐️.

#9. Hiram Lodge (Main Trope: Fiction 500; Secondary Tropes: Big Bad, Evil Overlord, 0% Approval Rating, The Don, The Patriarch, Bad Boss, Corrupt Corporate Executive, Magnificent Bastard, Sharp Dressed Man, Badass In A Nice Suit, Man Of Wealth And Taste)

Fiction is loaded with Wish Fulfillment, and being rich enough to bend reality is one of them. These are characters whose wealth is almost impossible to quantify. More Money Than God is the bare minimum. Now this could happen in Real Life, like royalty who owned literally thousands of Pimped Out Dresses, or a man in India who built a private skyscraper for his family, staff, and fleet of cars, or Marcus Licinius Crassus, who had three times as much money as Bill Gates and personally funded the reconstruction of the Roman army. But in fiction, that's on the lower end of this scale. Stuff that generally does not qualify you to be a member of the Fiction 500: Big Fancy House, Cool Chair, Cool Boat, Cool Plane, Cool Car, Battle Butler, Maid Corps, or even simply having assets in the billions.

Stuff that generally does qualify you to be a member of the Fiction 500:

You have become a cultural symbol for absurd wealth, and the story leaves no doubt your reputation is completely justified.

You routinely spend money on a scale normal super-rich people might do once or twice in a lifetime, whether it be major investments or mere Conspicuous Consumption. If a real amount is given, even if in the hundreds of millions, or billions, it's chump change to these characters.

You personally fund projects associated with major corporations, governments, aliens, etc. This includes Crimefighting with Cash.

You have the resources of a global superpower without yourself ruling a global superpower.

You personally fund projects that apparently break the rules of physics using only wealth and the Rule of Cool, or sometimes Rule of Funny. In other words, Screw The Universe; I Have Money! But if some other convenient fictional trope makes something possible, it doesn't count. You don't buy sound in space when Space Is Noisy. It's not impressive to have Infinite Supplies when everyone else does. Building a Humongous Mechais not noteworthy when any random scientist can make five in a weekend.

You're surprised to discover your latest project's market success has not increased your net income because you have a monopoly on the product it's competing with.

You can do any of the above without leaving a paper trail or an electronic footprint. Many of these Fiction 500 rich characters operate either clandestinely or under a secret identity, especially if they are Crimefighting with Cash, The Chess Master or Evil Mastermind types. They must have methods for secretly diverting hundreds of millions or billions of dollars to their schemes (like building that army of Mooks, Elaborate Underground Base, Bat Cave, or Batmobile) while making it seem like a legit and legal expenditure or keeping it out of the books. It should be noted that even if a character uses their personal fortune, these transactions would still typically have to show up somewhere when tax time comes.

Now personality doesn't really matter. You could be a Rich Bitch or Uncle Pennybags. You could be a law abiding citizen and even be Batman, or instead think you can screw the rules. Name is based on the top 500 grossing companies annually compiled by "Fortune" Magazine. And despite the name implying otherwise, there can be any number of characters here. Also, there is almost no way to objectively rank them, although Forbes tries with their "Fictional 15" list. Compare Arbitrarily Large Bank Account, Conspicuous Consumption, Undisclosed Funds, Organization with Unlimited Funding, and N.G.O. Superpower. For real people who are considered the richest in the world, see The World's Billionaires, an annual ranking made by Forbes (which has its own article on The Other Wiki, BTW).

The cause of all bad happenings in a story. A Big Bad could be a character with Evil Plans or it could be an omnipresent situation, such as a comet heading towards the Earth. In a serial story, the Big Bad exerts an effect across a number of episodes, even an entire season. This trope is not a catch-all term for the biggest, ugliest villain of any given story. In fact, it doesn't have to be a villain at all, as we just said. If it is a villain, though, it should be identified correctly; the badass leader of the outlaw gang that causes the most personal trouble is not the Big Bad. The railroad tycoon who is using the gang as muscle is the Big Bad. The Man Behind the Manis very common for this trope, leaving the reveal of the big bad as The Chessmaster behind it all and proving themselves far more clever and resourceful than the Villain of the Week. Sometimes the Big Bad is the grand enemy of an entire franchise as an Overarching Villain. At other times, the Big Bad is an Arc Villain who causes trouble for a period of time only to be replaced by another Big Bad. When you look at a season-long story or a major Story Arc and you can identify one problem being the cause of everything, that is the Big Bad. In its most general form, a Big Bad will be at the center of the Myth Arc rather than just any Story Arc. The term "Big Bad" was popularized in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was characteristic of Buffy's Big Bads for their identity or nature, or even the fact that they are the Big Bad at all, to remain unclear for a considerable time. Occasionally, characters would even refer to themselves as "the Big Bad". Whether or not they were, though, this is a Big Bad Wannabe. The structure of Buffy placed the Big Bad as being crucial to the Half-Arc Season, half the episodes are filler dealing with unrelated enemies while the other half involved the ongoing Myth Arc with the Big Bad. Each season can easily be defined by who the Big Bad was. If a show has a series of Big Bad jeopardies, they can function like a series of Monsters of the Week that take more than one week to finish off. If there is a Legion of Doom, you can expect the Big Bad to be involved somehow. They're probably sorted by power, with the strongest for last, following the Sorting Algorithm of Evil. Evil Overlord, Diabolical Mastermind, The Chessmaster, Arch-Enemy, The Man Behind the Man, and often Manipulative Bastard are specific types of villains who are liable to show up as Big Bads. If they're a Magnificent Bastard or Hero Killer, the good guys are in big trouble. The heroic counterpart of this character is the Big Good, who will very often be the focus of this character's attention over The Hero at the beginning of a series. If a work of fiction is conspicuously lacking a Big Bad, it may be a case of No Antagonist. See also Big Bad Duumvirate for two (or more) Big Bads working together. Sometimes a Big Bad will get their start as a servant to another villain — if that's the case, they're a Dragon Ascendant. If the character who fills the role of Big Bad in most meaningful ways is nominally subordinate to someone else (someone significantly less menacing by comparison), they are a Dragon-in-Chief. If the story has many Big Bads at once who don't work together, see Big Bad Ensemble. The Big Bad Shuffle occurs when there are multiple candidates for the Big Bad position. If the Big Bad doesn't start out as bad but develops over the course of the story, it's Big Bad Slippage. If the Big Bad of one section of a work doesn't die on being defeated and stays around as a character in a different plot role (reformed or not), that's Ex-Big Bad. The Big Bad of a story is not always the most powerful or oldest existing evil force. Perhaps an evil presence along the lines of an Eldritch Abominationovershadows the work's setting, but is mainly divorced from the story's events — that would be the Greater-Scope Villain.

#10. Hermione Lodge (Main Trope: Femme Fatale; Secondary Tropes: Iron Lady, Proper Lady, Spicy Latina, Gold Digger, Corrupt Politician, Grande Dame, Silk Hiding Steel, The Woman Wearing The Queenly Mask, God Save Us From The Queen, Sugar-And-Ice-Personality)

First, she turns you on. Then, she turns on you. The typical client in a Hardboiled Detective story (French for "fatal woman," idiomatically "woman to die for"). You know the type. Dressed all in black with legs up to here and shady motives, she slinksinto the PI's office, sometimes holding a cigarette on a long, long holder, saying "Oh, Mr. Rockhammer, you're the only one who can help me find out who killed my extremely wealthy husband." Did she do it? Do I care? Wait, where'd that saxophone music come from? Whatever her story is, whether she did it or not, she's definitely keeping some secrets. The Femme Fatale is sexy and she knows it. Made famous by Film Noir and hard-boiled detective stories, she manipulates and confuses The Hero with her undeniable aura of sexiness and danger. Unlike the virginal and sweet Damsel in Distress (or possibly Action Girl), the Femme Fatale exploits with everything she's got to wrap men around her finger. (In some eras, use of make-up is a tell-tale sign.) He knows that she's walking trouble and knows much more about the bad guys than she should, but damn it if he can't resist her feminine wiles. If the Femme Fatale is vying for the hero's romantic attentions she will likely have a sweeter and purer rival. The hero might decide that she's not worth the trouble she causes, but if he doesn't, then they might become an Outlaw Couple. While related to The Vamp, the Femme Fatale is not just any seductress; she has a distinct look and feel. The main distinction is how she presents herself. If you know she's dangerous from the start, but she's sexy enough that you don't care, she's likely a Femme Fatale. On a lesser note, the Femme Fatale generally uses sensuality instead of upfront sexual advances. She may implythat you could have sex later, but she'll never promise it, not even say it—that would decrease her air of mystery and power. Her wiles may include apparent helplessness and distress, and appeals to the man's greed, desire for revenge, or gullibility, as well as the implication of possible romance or sexual rewards, while The Vamp more often reliances on raunchy sex or the promise of it sometime real soon. The Femme Fatale is generally villainous, and heroic exceptions—in an artificial context to snare the bad guy—are closer to Heroic Seductress. Frequently, she is a Wild Card, changing sides according to her own desires and goals; she does not often go through a High-Heel–Face Turn. If she's actually a kind-hearted person who puts on this facade just for fun, this is Trickster Girlfriend. She's often the Lady in Red but possibly dressed like everyone else so as to not be Colour-Coded for Your Convenience. The Femme Fatale is one of the female character types that can often be seen wearing High Class Gloves, especially in conjunction with her sexy evening gowns, and, during the daytime (particularly in old Film Noir movies), is often seen wearing a "fascinator" or "pillbox" hat with a partial- or full-face veil. She's definitely not above using the Kiss of Distraction. If she can fight, too, then she's really going to be trouble. Subtrope of Manipulative Bastard. The younger version of this is the Fille Fatale. The spy version of this is Femme Fatale Spy.

#11. FP Jones (Main Trope: The Casanova; Secondary Tropes: Action Dad, The Alcoholic, Alcoholic Parent, The Good King, The Quarterback, The Sheriff, Dirty Cop, Reasonable Authority Figure, Jaded Washout)

The (legal, and less repulsive than the better-known types) sexual predator — a man who relentlessly pursues, lands, loves, and then abandons members of the opposite sex, a skill bestowed upon him to demonstrate what a badass he is. Sometimes comic, sometimes a monster, always successful, this character leaves behind a string of broken hearts, and occasional vows ofrevenge that are rarely fulfilled. Casanova's only motivation is indulging his lust and desire, sating them with the bodies of his conquests.

This trope tends to suffer from three double standards when portrayed in media;

The first is that the Casanova is always male, given that women are usually shamed for having an active sex life. The comparatively rarer female version is an "aphrodite", but she’ll likely be portrayed as an evil character who exploits her sexuality to manipulate innocent men. The womanizing skills of the Casanova, on the other hand, will almost always be granted to him to make him look like a champion.

This trope also applies almost exclusively to straight men, given that queer people with an active sex life are usually villainized in media. Meanwhile, straight men get to be portrayed as badasses for having multiple women at their beck and call. Bisexuals or demisexuals are even rarer, though not unheard of; for example Oberyn Martell.

The Casanova trope is also usually only applied to Caucasian/white men. Non-white men having, expressing or giving into their sexual desires is often portrayed negatively or Played for Laughs. Also, while white male Casanovas being with non-white women is generally portrayed as fine, men of color are often limited in a work to dating, having sex, marrying or even flirting only with women of the same nationality or skin color as them. If they do have a romantic relationship or sexual encounter with a woman of a different nationality or skin-color, it is usually held in scorn by some in-universe (and sometimes out-of-universe, unfortunately).

Contrast with the unsuccessful Casanova Wannabe. Compare with the inexplicable Kavorka Man. A guy who gets the girls like a Casanova, but unintentionally, is a Chick Magnet. If kind-hearted, may overlap with Chivalrous Pervert. The Charmer is equally charming but less sex-obsessed. If they really get around but want to settle down, it's Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places. A Handsome Lech has more negative connotations and a sparser scorecard than the Casanova. The trope is named for Giacomo Casanova (1725-1798), a soldier, spy, diplomat, adventurer, and librarian whose extensive but unreliable autobiography (in which he almost literally described himself as God's Gift to Womennote ) established his eternal fame as a lover. It should be noted that the historical Casanova was closer to a Chivalrous Pervert who really was looking for love... just with women who were locked in loveless political marriages — and also gained his successes famously ugly. (Definitely◊ he was no Heath Ledger◊.) Interesting and prone to be noted for his modern wannabes, he was one of the few 18th century men who bathed almost dailyand asked the same thing from his partners. Many films, TV movies and TV mini-series are named for and based on that person. The best known are Fellini's 1976 film, the 2005 film starring Heath Ledger, and the 2005 BBC drama mini-series starring David Tennant. The latter is considered one of the more faithful adaptations of Casanova's memoirs, while Fellini's... wasn't. For the juvenile version — all of the above without the sex — see Kid-anova. Contrast the Serial Romeo (who falls in love with a long succession of women, one at a time and for reasonable periods). If the guy is actually only rumored to be a Casanova and has no evidence onscreen, it's the Urban Legend Love Life. If he develops feelings for one of his conquests (or someone who refuses him), he's a Ladykiller in Love. See More Friends, More Benefits for when the mechanics of a game encourage the player character to act this way. Note: It should be mentioned that even after the affairs were over, most of Casanova's ex-lovers still liked him, and he was reputedly quite the gentleman. This trope would probably fit (the fictional) Don Juan better.

#12. Gladys Jones (Main Trope: Evil Matriarch; Secondary Tropes: Dark Is Evil, Parental Abandonment, Action Mom, Drugs Are Bad, Bitch In Sheeps Clothing, Bait The Dog)

A mother is one of the most central figures that a character can have growing up, and her influence can have an impact on that character even as an adult. If the character is lucky, that mother will be a loving one, and if he or she is really lucky, she'll be an Action Mom who can kick ass and take names if the character is ever threatened. But if the character is really unlucky and isn't suffering from Parental Abandonment, the character's mother will be an Evil Matriarch and chances are, she will make that character's life a living hell.

The Evil Matriarch comes in two forms:

Comedic: Usually used in the Dom Com, this variety is usually the mother of one of the two parents on the show who comes to visit every so often, and someone on the cast dreads it. Usually (though not always) this variety of Evil Matriarch is a meddling parent, often to an irrational extreme. Classically, this is a Mother-in-Law situation, but from time to time, the kids themselves, or even the child of the mother is the one that dreads it. In some cases, everyone hates the Evil Matriarch, like in Malcolm in the Middle where everyone dreads Lois's mother coming to visit. In other cases, her visit is appreciated by everyone but the daughter or son of the Evil Matriarch, like in Family Ties, where the matriarch is evil because her daughter feels she can't live up to mom's perfection. Expect this variety of Evil Matriarch to have Power Hair and other Fashionable Evil.

Dramatic: This variety, which shows up in more dramatic media, is truly evil in a traditional sense, and is one of the worst villains one can face, especially if one of the Heroes or Love Interests is one of her children (or if she's married into his or her family as a stepmother). Many such Evil Matriarchs are completely convinced that they, and only they, know what's best for their children, and can be very controlling, manipulative, and perfectly willing to do anything they deem necessary for their children's sake, no matter how evil or destructive it may be. The most vicious examples of this variety of Evil Matriarch despise their children (or at least the one they've singled out as The Unfavorite) and are often physically or emotionally abusive towards them, and many of them are not above Offing the Offspring.

If she's not entirely human, then expect her to be a Hive Queen. If she is also the Queen, expect God Save Us from the Queen!. The Spear Counterpart of this character type is Archnemesis Dad. The inversion is Antagonistic Offspring. See Abusive Parents and Parental Neglect for the more mundane versions. See Offing the Offspring and/or Matricide for what this might lead to if the kids fight back. If it's not your mother but her replacement who's making your life a living Hell, see Wicked Stepmother.

#13. Hal Cooper (Main Trope: Ax-Crazy; Secondary Tropes: Serial Killer, The Bluebeard, Malevolent Masked Man, Knight Templar Parent, Insane Equals Violent, Light Is Not Good, Icy Blue Eyes)

An "ax-crazy" character is someone who is psychologically unstable and presents a clear and present danger to others. They are capable of extreme violence, whether carried out with a Slasher Smile, insane laughter, speaking in a Creepy Monotone, or out and out murderous rage, and with no way of knowing just what will set them off, which makes them extremely frightening to deal with. This mainly differentiates them from other eccentric characters who may themselves be obsessive, weird or seemingly crazy, but use this condition hand in hand with doing good, or at least not being in the way. However, some formerly established heroes can go through an episode of ax-craziness and still retain their heroic mantle. Despite the title, ax-crazies aren't limited to wielding axes. Any instrument of death will do, from knives or straight razors to swords to chainsaws and beyond. A good number of other ax-crazies are also Trigger Happy, preferring either Hand Cannons that blow really big holes in people, or weapons that allow them to kill lots of people with reckless abandon, such as any automatic weapon. And for the truly psychopathic among psychopaths for whom the above just won't do, a heaping helping of high explosives or a good-sized flamethrower will do quite nicely. Sometimes, they don't even need weapons and just use magic spells or other powers if they have them. There are also plenty who are just as happy to beat people into an unrecognizable pulp-like mass with their bare hands. It is rare for a truly Ax-Crazy character to be a protagonist, largely due to it being a Sub-Trope of Obviously Evil, and most Ax-Crazy characters usually are Obviously Evil. They're common as the antagonists in Superhero and Crime and Punishment Series, often serving as a Psycho for Hire. If they area protagonist, they will most certainly be a Nominal Hero or Villain Protagonist. The difference between them and Blood Knight is this trope is all about killing while the Blood Knight is only interested in fighting. There is, of course, plenty of room for overlap. See also Insane Equals Violent, The Butcher, The Dreaded, Mad Bomber, Cute and Psycho, Blood Knight, Psycho for Hire, Yandere, The Sociopath, Mad Doctor, Pyro Maniac, Hair-Trigger Temper, Colonel Kilgore, General Ripper, Insane Admiral, and Sociopathic Soldier. Compare and contrast Mama Bear, Papa Wolf, Big Brother Instinct, and Violently Protective Girlfriend, who may be capable of temporary Ax-Craziness when their kids, younger sibling(s) or mate are under threat, but are often played sympathetically. Contrast Suicidal Pacifism, when a character never, ever resorts to violence even if it is necessary; and Extreme Doormat, when a character is a complete pushover unable to fight back. The canonical Character Alignment for most Ax-Crazy characters is Chaotic or Neutral Evil, though a couple of Chaotic Neutral examples exist. Sometimes The Unfettered, depending on whether they feel freed or enslaved by their bloodlust. At least one or more examples are an Anti-Villian, where you kinda feel bad for them since their enemies pushed them too far with actions such as killing their family, their friends, or even the enemies trying to kill them, making them go Ax-Crazy. It's very common to be Played for Drama, usually as either the Big Bad, or The Dragon to the the Big Bad. It is far less common, but not unheard of, for it to be Played for Laughs; this is most likely to be seen in a Sadist Show, especially one featuring a lot of Comedic Sociopathy and/or heavy Satire, with it appearing most often in humorous comic strips, Anime, Web Originalworks, and the more adult-oriented Western Animation of the Renaissanceand Millennium periods. A very large number of pages link to this when they should link to An Axe to Grind. This page is about violent crazy people, not people whose Weapon of Choice is an axe (despite the potential for overlap).

#14. Alice Cooper (Main Trope: Ice Queen; Secondary Tropes: Education Mama, Control Freak, Former Teen Rebel, Female Misogynist, The Fundamentalist, Holier Than Thou)

Much like a Tomboy, the Ice Queen is a major character archetype which is somewhat hard to define. Her signature characteristic is that she is cold; the ambiguity comes from what "cold" means. She has a cold heart, a frosty demeanor; she attracts but will never be wooed. Scorned men are likely to call their failed conquests Ice Queens (after all, normal women would have given in to them). Due to the Double Standard, the Ice Queen is (almost) Always Female. The Ice Queen is considered dangerous to love because she will not (or cannot) love back. She's not much for friendship either, preferring to be alone. Situations where an Ice Queen "thaws" and learns to enjoy the company of others are so common that they have their own trope. Being an Ice Queen is purely about personality; having ice-related abilities does not make a character an Ice Queen. That said, it's not at all uncommon for a character with a cold personality to be given cold powers. Not to be confused with a character who has a royal title associated with ice or snow, though they two may overlap (and often do in more magical settings). An Ice Queen requires at least one "cold" personality trait that gets her labeled as an Ice Queen. 

#15. Fred Andrews (Main Trope: The Heart; Secondary Tropes: Like Father, Like Son, Betty And Veronica, Family Man, Standard 50′s Father, The Conscience, Big Good, Good Parents)

The Heart is a personality aspect that comes up in just about any ensemble. Their personality is based on getting the others to recognize that there are more things at stake than their personal vendettas, especially if The Team is becoming a group of Knights Templar, or if any individual becomes a Well-Intentioned Extremist. This is the person who will argue and fight against the justification of "I Did What I Had to Do". Quite often The Heart character will also be an All-Loving Hero, where they go out of their way to help all of the little people. Within the ensemble this character will most often be merged with the role of The Chick. Like The Hero and The Leader, they aren't one and the same, but they often overlap since they are a good fit. If The Chick is usually a non-action character, having personality traits of The Heart will give them more to do, especially if the team is always at each other's throats. For the same reason, The Heart can also be The Hero (in the case of the Magnetic Hero) or The Leader, as their leadership skills keep the team from falling apart. May be part of the Command Roster. The character whose death or loss is most likely to trigger Losing the Team Spirit. Where Elemental Powers come into play, other characters may be in for a Heart Beatdown. Due to their usual relative introversion, and tendencies towards pacifism (whether technical or actual), this character is sadly often C-List Fodder and a prime target for a single-character (rather than the entire show) version of The Firefly Effect. Many series will start out with a Heart character, but the writers will begin to view them as boring and impossible to write for, so they end up being either Put on a Bus/kept Out of Focus at best, or Character Death at worst. This also tends to happen when studio executives want to replace the character with a more talented or physically attractive character, in an attempt to boost ratings. Given that said characters are usually sweet types (and peacekeepers), this also tends to seriously anger a certain portion of the fanbase, but because the studio executives care more about ratings than they do about upsetting what is normally a minority, the character will stay dead. If fan outrage is sufficiently vocal, and the executives haven't managed to completely alienate the actor, then the character may come back periodically as a ghost or a clone. Compare The Face who does the talking on The Team. See also Restored My Faith in Humanity and Morality Chain. Compare The Conscience, Token Good Teammate. Not to be confused with What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway? or Heart Is an Awesome Power though this trope often overlaps with them. Contrast with Lack of Empathy.

#16. Mary Andrews (Main Trope: Fiery Redhead; Secondary Tropes: Missing Mom, Mama Bear, Heroes Want Redheads, Almighty Mom, Brutal Honesty)

A Fiery Redhead is a red-haired character who is strong, Hot-Blooded, out going, usually outspoken, and (if a love interest) often female. She has a big personality and she's not afraid to use it. Whatever you do, don't get on her bad side, or there will be hell to pay. (Especially if powers of personality and/or elements are present: she likes Playing with Fire. Thus, in a Four-Temperament Ensemble, expect her to be Choleric.) She will be unladylike unless it's the case of a redheaded Spirited Young Lady. She might be One of the Boys, a tomboy, or a lad-ette. Heroes do like redheads after all. This hair-color stereotype probably developed since red hair was associated with the Irish and Scottish (and before this, Horny Vikings) for a long time, and they ended up being stereotyped as loud, strong, and passionate (see the Fighting Irish and Violent Glaswegian tropes for more info on that). On the other hand, it's even found in Eastern Europe where any association would have been with Russians or Swedes, and these are nationalities not generally stereotyped as hotheaded. In addition to this, it extends even into ancient texts from Babylonian and Scandinavian Oral Historian. In the Prose Edda, Odin is depicted as blonde, green-eyed, cool, and calculating—while his son, Thor, is a redheaded, blue-eyed (something of an omen of war/perfection in Scandinavian culture) fire-breathing stereotypical Viking (the raiding kind) who treats Earth as a giant freshman mixer. Gilgamesh is also a Fiery Redhead with blue eyes whose duties include being a good precursor to Thor, for the most part—though with more reservation and a cooling trend near the end of his life (this makes both an eerie paradigm of Fiery Redheads at the creation of their respective people's writings). The whole "red-haired, blue-eyed" thing is usually split in Japan between two people. Although real redheads can have tempers like everyone else, this trait is exaggerated in fiction. Also, they can have Green Eyes and this association is also exaggerated in fiction. Compare Heroes Want Redheads, Dark-Skinned Redhead, Evil Redhead, Rose-Haired Sweetie, Red-Headed Stepchild, Redheads Are Uncool, Redheaded Hero. In anime, could be a Shana Clone. If you have a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead in close proximity (i.e. in the main cast), it's Blonde, Brunette, Redhead. Contrast Shy Blue-Haired Girl for Red Oni, Blue Oni and Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette for the realistic opposite hair color and personality. Please do not confuse this with a redhead being literally fiery, or having literal fiery head, although these tropes may overlap. And a red who's literally firey does have their hair color fit their elemental powers. See also Red Is Violent (in this case, the hair color).

#17. Clifford Blossom (Main Trope: Abusive Dad; Secondary Tropes: Archnemesis Dad, Faux Affably Evil, Offing The Offspring, Mean Boss)

Parents are supposed to be the protectors of children, but these parents are either so damaged themselves that they can't do the job, greedy or villainous to the point that they never had any interest in doing the job properly, or would rather use the child as a means to an end. Sometimes they're just sadistic assholes. This includes parents who are emotionally, verbally, physically, or mentally abusive, or who neglectfully allow their children to be abused by others if they don't abuse the child themselves; sexual abuse is typically treated as a special kind of evil. Sometimes, the abuse at the hands of their parents becomes a Freudian Excuse for a villain. Other times, the character manages to not grow up broken, bitter, and hateful, and instead a different and better person than the upbringing would incline one to think. Troubling Unchildlike Behavior is often a tell-tale sign that things are not right at home. Abusive Parents are commonplace in fairy tales and Classical Mythologywhich makes this trope Older Than Feudalism. Note that The Brothers Grimm, when they collected European fairy tales, were uncomfortable with the idea of Abusive Parents and so frequently changed the Abusive Parents in the traditional stories into abusive step parents. Sometimes, a parent will go as far as to kill the child in question, in which case this is Offing the Offspring. In other cases, the parent's abuse occasionally drives the offspring to snap, commit Revenge and finally kill them, thus becoming a Self-Made Orphan. Calling the Old Man Out occurs when a fed-up child retaliates with a "The Reason You Suck" Speech. If the child gets out of the broken family and forms healthy friendships, but reacts badly when their abusive parents show up again, well, Friends Are Chosen, Family Aren't. Bear in mind that not everyone agrees on the line between actual abuse and merely heavy-handed parenting (or even normal parenting). Is Moving the Goalposts merely inspiring the child to achieve more, or the most insidious form of abuse to instill mistrust and paranoia to the children? Some include spanking as abuse; others think it's appropriate given certain guidelines. Some believe it's okay to make a kid go without a meal (they won't starve that easily); others disagree. Making a kid miss a friend's birthday sleepover — is that emotional abuse? Raising a kid without exposure to TV? Telling your daughter she's getting fat? A little friendly name-calling? There's a line here somewhere, but not everyone agrees on where it is. If a parent has just dumped the child, for whatever reason, that's Parental Abandonment; if they aren't paying attention, that's Parental Neglect. If the parents refuse to discipline their kids, they are Pushover Parents. Contrast Mama Bear or Papa Wolf (where others abuse the children and the parents abuse the abusers), and the more extreme variant of Knight Templar Parent, where the abusive parent is violently overprotective. Abusive Precursors can be considered this on a metaphorical level. See Hilariously Abusive Childhood for when this is cranked up to absurd levels and played for laughs. Black Comedy is often connected in the comedic aspect of it, and a Big, Screwed-Up Family may be involved if it is adult comedy. In keeping with the above note, some may call the show on it and say Dude, Not Funny!. See Evil Matriarch and Archnemesis Dad for characters who are beyond abusiveand outright evil. For parents who are mostly abused by their children, see Pushover Parents. While they do not have to be the child's actual, technical parents to be part of this trope, it's pretty important that they are closely related and live together, like a Wicked Stepmother or an Evil Uncle taking care of the Parentally Deprived. After all, it's much more disgusting that somebody related to the child could bring themselves to hurt them, rather than a mere foster family. The polar opposite, of course, are Good Parents.

#18. Penelope Blossom (Main Trope: Black Widow; Secondary Tropes: Evil Redhead, Widow Woman, Straw Feminist, The Vamp, High Class Call Girl, Dark Mistress)

The man-eater, the woman whose husbands/Love Interests keep on dying. Usually, a Black Widow is a cross between a Con Artist and a Serial Killer, a woman who seduces, marries, and then murders men for their money, always using a different name and identity each time to keep the police and her intended victims from twigging to her real identity. She's very much a highly successful vamp. Black Widows' methods may vary, but poisoning is often favored: it doesn't demand superior strength or leave obvious marks, and it's traditional for wives to do the cooking for their husbands. Also, many types of poisoning can have symptoms similar to those of common illnesses, which makes it easier for a Black Widow to collect life insurance money (a very common motivation). There are too many Truth in Television instances to count. Occasionally there are more nefarious methods. The name "black widow" comes from the official FBI designation for this kind of killer and from the black widow spider, which is so named because of the occasional habit of female black widow spiders (particularly the Australian redback spiders and the southern black widows) to devour their mates after mating. For this reason the trope may be paired with Arachnid Appearance and Attire to really drive the spider metaphor home. A Sub-Trope of Sleeping Their Way to the Top, Murder in the Family, and Gold Digger (this one prefers to kill her Meal Ticket instead of living with him). A Sister Trope to The Bluebeard (the Spear Counterpart). Compare Yandere, Comforting the Widow, Widow Woman (for other widow tropes), Will and Inheritance Tropes and Cartwright Curse. When a pregnancy is involved, this intersects with Conceive and Kill. See also Literal Maneater, which is an actual monster that uses the disguise of a woman to lure in its prey.

Look out for Part III!

[alone-forgotten-and-lost]

Supernatural Rewatch

Season 1 Episode 12 “Faith”

Plot/Summary: Dean gets severely hurt while on a hunt with Sam resulting in a fatal diagnosis at the hospital. Unable to accept it, Sam searches for alternatives and ultimately decides to take Dean to see a so-called faith healer. Despite his outright skepticism, Dean is chosen and healed, but a suspicious occurrence during the experience leaves Dean questioning whether the Reverend’s practices were pure. Sam and Dean investigate and the more they dig, the more they realize that faith and the Reverend aren’t doing the healing. They soon discover that it’s Rev. Roy’s wife, Sue Ann, who is harnessing dark magic and forcing a reaper to do her bidding; taking the lives of those she deems immoral in order to heal those in the congregation. Sam and Dean race to stop her, even if that means hindering the healing of a new friend.

Do we ever find out what kind of monster they hunted in the beginning of this episode? I know the focus was supposed to be on Dean’s faith and the reapers, but I don’t ever remember learning the kind of monster that was.

Dean says he wants “this rawhead extra crispy” when Sam asks about the voltage of the weapons. Is that just Dean calling the monster a name or is that what those are called?

We know that nurse. You can’t trick us Hannah lol. I know that Supernatural loves to reuse extra’s as characters later on, but I wonder if in some world, angel Hannah just actually took over this specific nurse’s body. Do we ever learn any background on the vessel Hannah overtook? I know the woman speaks to Cas at some point in later seasons after Hannah chooses to leave that vessel.

OPINION WARNING: This may be an unpopular opinion but please don’t drag me. Before I express my thought, please know that I LOVE Jared, I think he is a great actor and person, this means absolutely no disrespect, and also, keep in mind it is just a personal view, not fact. So now that we got that down: I think Jared’s acting was or appears to be better in earlier seasons. Or at least it seems that way. But I have a few theories/points on why it may seem like that to me. This is something I have been thinking about lately and may even make it its own post at some point.

Why did Dean want to murder the Snuggle® bear? Damn, this show and teddy bears, or stuffed objects for that matter lol

Aw, Dean trying to ease and comfort Sam (and himself I feel) with dark humor. Then he quickly gets very guarded of his emotions, ouch.

The first of the many “I’m going to die and there is nothing we can do” lines

Yo, it really hurts me that John wasn’t even going to go to Dean on his damn deathbed. If I’m missing something from later episodes that I don’t remember, please excuse the rant. The picture that’s painted of John for us is mostly through the boy’s eyes, and occasionally some other characters later on, but it never seems to be all that good. I kind of wish we had more on his side of things because I don’t like John’s image as a father.

The emotion in Sam’s voice and on his face breaks my fucking heart

Ugh, all that squishy mud. Looks fun to play in but not to walk in with dry clothes

Dean looked horrible when he came back from the hospital, but he is looking almost normal, dare I say handsome AF, talking to Layla

We know that mother too. Guess Dr. Hess moved, changed her name, and had a kid, but didn’t do too well after her daughter died and returned to the torturing.

These comments Dean made somewhat frequently in the first seasons make me uncomfortable. The one in this episode wasn’t too bad, but some of them.. whew. I mean, I understand trying to convey to the audience Dean’s character, but some of those comments just made him seem creepy. I just think they could have conveyed the same character element by using different wording.

That little face Sam made when he noticed the small cross on the table was so cute.

I just realized that we know Rev. Roy, too. I guess he got his sight back and relocated to become a butler named Phillip.

The barely-there scruff on Dean’s face is not a bad look

“I didn’t pick you Dean, the Lord did”. If only he knew how true that was.

Mrs. Burke is NOT liking that Dean was chosen

“I’m not exactly a believer. “You will be, son. You will be.” Again, if only he knew.

Did the show ever explain why the reaper looked like that but other reapers look like regular humans?

Sidenote: I feel like I recognize the reaper but it could just be because I’ve watched this show so many times.

I feel like Sam just really wanted to have something/someone permanent and that’s why he didn’t want to investigate initially when Dean brought it up.

Even back when I first watched this episode, Sue Ann was way too smiley for me. I always felt like she was holding back a secret with those teeth.

Since I already know how this episode goes, my question is why did Sue Ann never help heal Layla. Her and her mother went to every service before Dean and Sam arrived. Sue Ann and Roy clearly knew them by name. They even healed an old man before even trying to heal her. Why did she not help them at all before?

For having an inoperable brain tumor that would kill her in roughly six months, I’m surprised she isn’t showing any symptoms at all

Season one and two were very blueish- grey and dark. It fits with the trend of filming around that time. It kind of reminds me of Twilight.

Those stickers on Sam’s laptop crack me up.

That tarot card was beautiful. So intricate.

That slow camera span moving over the books so you notice the dust is missing in one area just as Sam realizes how dusty the shelf is.

Harnessing black magic to kill a gay teacher and a healthcare activist, how very Christian of her.

Ouch, the expressions Dean makes knowing what he’s doing to Layla

“You said it yourself Dean – you can’t play God.” But, damn, he sure can play you. (Sorry, I’m still shook from the most recent finale)

Animals have a tendency to scare Dean lol

Even though it’s terrifying how the life is being sucked out of Dean right before our eyes, the color it turned his eyes was kind of pretty.

A bitch is frightened now isn’t she.

So, did the Rev. really not know? You’re telling me he never heard her whispering in another language while the rest of the congregation silently prayed during all those healings, even though he was able to hear Dean whisper that remark while the congregation was talking? He even called out for his wife when the healing wasn’t working on Layla. Now, why would he do that? If he didn’t know, what was she going to do in that moment to help?

“Must be rough. To believe in something so much and have it disappoint you like that.” OMG .. I know I keep repeating myself but If you only fucking knew Dean.

Ugh… Jensen is so pretty it hurts.

[notjanine]

2018 pop culture ranked

(highly subjective!)

MOVIES:

10. hotel artemis- everyone who didn’t like this movie is wrong. i know they advertised it as a john wick, but it’s not and that’s okay! accept it as-is, and it’s Good.

9. sorry to bother you- do i really need to explain

8. hereditary- i’m STILL mad at those last ten minutes for scaring me! toni collette is god

7. overlord- exactly what i wanted it to be. gross and fun! uglass wyatt russell COULD

6. the favourite- pls never let yorgos lanthimos write a movie ever again just stick to directing good scripts buddy!! bc i loved this!

5. spider-man: into the spider-verse- lissen. i know this should be higher. it’s near perfect. but

4. mission: impossible- fallout- i’m glad tom cruise has some weird danger fetish so he keeps making these. and that bathroom fight?? i’m still [redacted]

3. widows- name one flaw in this movie, i’ll wait.

okay okay okay. we all know what belongs at the top of this list. we all know what the best movie of the year was. but. it’s so close for me i’m gonna call it a tie

1. black panther- obviously

1. U P G R A D E - the first fight scene alone is better than every other movie on this list? give lmg an oscar for this; he’s got a Face and he USES it. and the cinnamontography?? what even is everyone else doing with cameras?? fling them shits around to make it look cool ppl. NOTE: i went into this movie knowing only -not tom hardy is in it -something about cyborgs. that’s it. don’t watch the trailer. go in knowing as little about it as possible. as a matter of fact, forget everything i’ve said about it up til this point. blacklist it on here bc i’m gonna post about it more. just watch it.

honorable mentions: the night comes for us (hot), game night (fun, and better than it needs to be!), ant-man and the wasp (hella bad science, but i enjoyed it a lot anyway???), death of stalin (iannucci), pacific rim: uprising (boyega is a star. eastwood is a good token white guy. A+ villainy tbh)

ALBUMS:

(not including scores/soundtracks!)

10. starcrawler - starcrawler - cut the sleeves off your t shirts, let your black nail polish chip, don’t clean your apartment for a couple days, put this on and channel your inner amanda brotzman

9. nobody’s watching - steady holiday - i know we’re all sick of whisper-singing breathy ingenues, but she’s my fave okay. 

8. prisma tropical -  balún - don’t you wanna feel like you’re in like a digital caribbean dreamscape??

7. dirty computer - janelle  monáe - again, i know this should be higher, but. it just doesn’t have the hit rate i want it to. does have some instant classics tho. miss monáe invented pussy with pynk and we have to respect that

6. isolation - kali uchis - She!!! this album is a PARTY

5. 7 - beach house - when black car comes on my consciousness instantly leaves my body to undulate in some dark starlit ether until lose your smile gradually brings me back to earth but i’m only approximately 60% corporeal until last ride finishes and i go to bed (yeah this is a nighttime album only)

4. soil - serpentwithfeet - bruh i was like six months late to this but holy shit. like multiple times during my initial listen i had to be like HE REALLY. when he said “i’m annoyed with clothes today / i’d rather swaddle myself in sorrow today” i FELT that

3. smote reverser - oh sees - jams all the way down

2. tu - alien weaponry - BANGERS ALL THE WAY DOWN

1. hive mind - the internet - morgan rhodes said this whole album makes you wanna rollerskate and that’s it. that’s the feeling. so good. smooth. fun. perfect.

honorable mentions (be the cowboy (i know, i know), acrylic, saturn, the hex, el mal querer, mozaik, the calling, double negative)

BONUS- EPs: (all of these would’ve made in into the top ten if they counted as full albums)

- the beauty of everything pt. 1 - alex isley - what a follow up to luxury!! i put this on in the morning a lot, set a good vibe for the day.

- conexão - amber mark - so good so good. this is a self-care soundtrack. put it on. light some candles. do a face mask. take a bath. braid your hair.

- crush - ravyn lenae - bops on bops. listening to this makes me feel like a girl in a way that is inexplicable??? like night song comes on and i’m. oh yeah! being a girl IS good and fun!

BOOKS:

(these are NOT all from this year, but i didn’t actually read many from this year, so this is just ~1/3 of what i did read, my faves, and the order’s only kind of correct, i didn’t put a ton of thought into ranking them but)

10. the shadowed sun by n.k. jemisin - loved it, but has one trope i HATE.

9. the hundred thousand kingdoms by n.k. jemisin - loved it. and the whole naha thing... made me feel some type of way (that #5 reinforced)

8. consider the fork by bee wilson - look. it’s a book about kitchen utensils. not for everyone. but i thoroughly enjoyed it.

7. the haunting of hill house by shirley jackson - oh man!!! spooky (idk why but my brain automatically fancast eleanor - nikki amuka bird, theo - tessa thompson, luke - billy magnussen)

6. don’t panic by neil gaiman - i read it THROUGH getting a tattoo. like lying in an uncomfortable position, exposed in a public space, with lots of people chatting and loud music. it’s that interesting and amusing (esp considering it was written before the trilogy was finished). but i’m a douglas adams nerd.

5. all but the bloody mouth by becca de la rosa - i read this all in one sitting on a rainy day when i should have been doing other things but i could not put it down. and i cried and i don’t even know why?? p sure i just got possessed by a swamp demon or something. would recommend

4. kindred by octavia butler - auntie octavia was that bitch

3. of things gone astray by janina matthewson - i would literally die for this woman. between this book and wtw she’s gotten more individual shoutouts in my gratitude journal than any other person (i think she’s second only to gus for 2018) (seriously though listen to within the wires s1 might be my single favorite piece of fiction in the universe)

2. the killing moon by n.k. jemisin - this is everything i want a fiction book to be i think. i forced myself to slow down on this just to enjoy it for longer.

1. the cooking gene by michael twitty - i would make this book into a horcrux. 

honorable mentions: alice isn’t dead (great monsters!), gulp (gross but cool), the patternmaster series (wild seed is my FAVE, but i read that one last year), sing unburied sing (ghosts), children of blood and bone (fantasy!), the shadow cabinet (the shades of london is my ya guilty pleasure i just fucking love ghosts okay and the first one is legitimately Scary)

[hotelconcierge]

THE GENDER NULLARY

Trigger warning for everything that follows: the coddled, over-sensitive, “triggered” millennial crybaby does not exist. Hold your applause—the COSTMC is an oxymoron because coddling does not sensitize, it scleroses. Have you met these people? They can’t feel an emotion without an audience and a week to rehearse. The performative offense of this group results from high emotional tolerance, not low; sad-rage is heroin to everything else’s Motrin, and no matter how vast the safe space, some kids are gonna hang at the outskirts hoping to score.

Of course, even the phoniest opportunist has a few real triggers—the type that precludes rage because you’re numb in the fetal position. And of course, there are many uncoddled e.g. traumatized people who are genuinely vulnerable to the many, many instances of genuine cruelty and callousness.

Every community with a code of conduct is a safe space to some extent. My lawyer advises no comment on whether safe spaces are good or bad in principle, because it depends: who is being included, who is being excluded, where will they go, and who is enforcing the rules.

My concern is the way these debates are settled. And when the excluded protest against political correctness—that human resources plot to merge all safe spaces under one state capitalist thumb—they ditch culture war bushido and strike at whomever can be hurt the most.

What you have to understand is that the PC debate is a farce. When the public demands a witch for the stake, the NYTimes selects David Brooks,

perhaps the most balding, white, sanctimonious chump at a newspaper full of balding, white, sanctimonious chumps. Here are four critiques; don’t read any of them unless you still find it exciting to watch a strawman burn.

What’s more interesting is that while Brooks criticizes upper-middle-class culture for being “laced with cultural signifiers that are completely illegible unless you happen to have grown up in this class,” his article is nothing but illegible cultural signifiers. Which, duh, he’s writing for the Times. Brooks thus renders himself irrelevant (which was the point): his critics focus on his blunder of political correctness (the high school grad intimidated by a chicken pomodoro) and dismiss him as classist accordingly.

Lesson: Anyone who opposes political correctness from within will lose and be humiliated. Even without the unforced error, Brooks could have been dismissed as rich and white. His archives could have been mined for hypocrisy. Even a charged non sequitur would have crushed his argument: “So it’s no big deal that it’s legal to murder transpeople in all fifty states? No, I’m David Brooks, better focus on political correctness!” Of course, plenty of non-bourgeois oppose PC, but you’ll never hear that point of view in the Times because, yikes—internalized racism.

The result is that the anti-PC viewpoint is only taken seriously when it refuses the framework of PC. I don’t mean “taken seriously” like there is a meaningful debate. But when an internet troll calls you, say, “a fucking spic faggot,” you can’t reply “hah, well that just shows your heteronormative, colonialist assumptions!” without looking like a wimp. You have to reply with equal bile, which smells of hatred, maybe fear. And it’s no fun to be on the receiving end of hatred, but it’s better than being treated—like Mr. Brooks—with contempt.

Trolls, like catcallers, flashers, and school shooters, are men who ran the numbers and found: being hated > being invisible > being humiliated in the official channels. The first two go back to chimps, the third variable is society-dependent, and wowza does ours fuck it up. Men want to become masculine, citation needed, and when society shit-talks the honest path to manhood then it is inevitable that those foolish enough to listen will turn to the black market. And once that’s your game...

This blog is far from politically correct, but I try to mock only the deserving— bureaucrats, demagogues, cowards, and conformists—and for behavior, for the things people can change rather than those they can’t. But people tend to be insecure about the things they can’t change, and it just so happens that in America insecurity is always wound up in sex. Every debate about safe spaces thus devolves into a debate about gender: a catalog of body dysmorphisms, a who’s who of racial castrations, cuckold, bitch, cunt, whore, freak. You’d think everyone would be against this level of discourse, but gun control means one thing on Park Avenue and another thing entirely in Wichita. The law, in its majestic equality, forbids both the popular and unpopular from being unpopular. Calls for PC go nowhere because cruelty is the best weapon some people have.

Idiot [unemployed, probably no friends]: “So you’re sympathizing with racist, misogynist trolls. Wow. Just—I can’t even.” I didn’t say anything about sympathy. I said that a society gets what it pays for. IMHO, most shock-value trolling is both ineffective—it strengthens the case for Big Brother—and morally disgusting. But it’s a symptom, not the disease. Like oxycodone, trolling is recourse for people with nothing better to do, and like The Opioid Epidemic, the hand-wringing has less to do with fixing the problem than with making it so consumers don’t have to look at something ugly.

The content of trolling is thus extremely not the issue, but even so, I’ll take the bait. To accuse someone of failing at gender is the worst sort of punching-down. It’s not just hateful, it’s lazy, it’s bullying the foreign kid to make up for getting your ass beat at home. And it’s dumb. Forget about the moral argument—my critique is that the gender police are not even wrong.

Judith Butler (Gender Trouble), who coined the term “performative gender,” the antecedent to “sexuality is a spectrum,” has reached Antichrist status in some circles and in fact received a personal diss from Pope Benedict XVI. She’s good, and if you wanna throw down you gotta throw down with the best. So: Does Butler write like a pedant getting paid by the syllable? Does she open each topic with a chain of passive-aggressive rhetorical questions? Does she have the worst fanbase this side of Harris and Klebold? Does she have a point?

Hemlock time. How do you define gender? “Gender is a set of behaviors and attributes that correlate with sex.” Okay—what’s sex? “Aren’t you a doctor or something? XY and XX.” I’m flattered by the appeal to authority, but weren’t you the guy complaining when the CDC lowered the normal testosterone range? How do you feel about androgen insensitivity syndrome?

You can deny your eyes and insist that having an SRY gene makes Eden Atwood male, but from a medical perspective Eden is estrogenized, at risk for osteoporosis, and going down in the chart as an F.

“Look, fella, I know a dime-piece when I see one.” So modify your definition: hormone levels, fertility, waist-hip ratio, empathizing over systematizing, long bathroom lines, 10 Things I Hate About You...The first problem is that all of these traits exist on, sorry, a spectrum, from menopausal women to full-figured men. The choice of which traits to include—and where to draw the cut-offs—and if the division is binary or quaternary or nullary—is just like, your opinion, man (woman/they/them). The bigger problem is that now you’re defining sex as gender.

This reduces your original statement to, “Gender is a set of behaviors and attributes that correlate.” Which is true. And as far as stereotypes go, gendered ones ain’t bad, maybe even necessary to function, the guy wearing a V-neck probably does like shaving his pubes. But they are still stereotypes, man-made, imperfect, and punishing to those who do not conform. I’m no cultural relativist, some people suck and deserve cold and swift judgment, but is the presence or absence of armpit hair really the hill you want to die on?

There’s a practical argument to be made against fractalized gender: it’s confusing. With 3^^^3 possible sex-gender-orientation combos, how are kids supposed to know how to grow up? Aren’t imperfect gender roles better than 24-year-old otherkin? I hear you, guy wearing a Harley-Davidson jacket and listening to Mötley Crüe, but Tumblr semantics are a consequence of twenty-teen spirit, not the cause. If we weren’t arguing about the gender binary (and before we were) we’d be arguing about the range of femininity or masculinity; the crusade would be for pixie cuts and stick-and-poke tattoos to be considered as feminine as Brazilian butt lifts. Don’t be fooled by words—do you really want society to have one idealized template per gender? How would that ideal be decided? Majority rule?

There’s a hilarious overlap between the people who get mad about preferred pronouns and those who call for a return to “traditional masculinity.” The idealization of some Hollywood-ified tradition isn’t the problem; if you want to roleplay a fursona, go ahead. No, what’s pathetic is the begging. Rather than be a man, in spite of the system, you demand validation from the system for aspiring to be a man. Being against identity politics is the new identity politics. That’s why right-wing culture warriors are so into the idea of crybaby millennials—it’s comforting to believe that you’re actually strong (since you don’t drink from plastic water bottles) and that anyone getting laid is actually xeno-estrogenized. Even if this was true, obsessing over it, masturbating to it, using it as an excuse for self-pity and inaction—that makes you a  _ _ _ _. Four-letters. Multiple choice. Maybe hangman will teach you something.

The foundationalist reasoning of identity politics tends to assume that an identity must first be in place in order for political interests to be elaborated and, subsequently, political action to be taken. (Gender Trouble)

My beliefs are no doubt way south of Ms. Butler’s on the political compass, but we agree about one thing: that ain’t a nice way to go out.

But this is precisely the way in which the laundry-is-a-social-construct movement has failed. I have held off on criticizing them because it’s too easy, when you mock Rachel Dolezal for being “transracial” you get to pretend your own self-image is meaningful, but no, all identities are power poses in front of the bedroom mirror, meaningful only insofar as they help you with the rest of the day. “Well, SCIENCE says that—” You sure you want to play that game? Again, I respect anyone who has the courage to defy their assigned caste. I have no purity objections to a transhumanist society where the tap water runs ecstasy and you can get augmented genitals at Starbucks. I don’t even mind Bushwick. The problem with the mad libs youth isn’t the slew of labels—intersectional, nonbinary, pansexual, curious kinkster, ethically polyamorous, empath, casual baby witch (mostly crystals, auras/energy)—the problem is, what are you going to do with them? And there’s a patriarchy-approved answer: buy shit and beg for validation.

If gender is performative, if identity is not necessary for political action to be taken, if the possibilities are infinite once freed from the bounds of phallogocentrism, then why is it that so many cultural subversives sound exactly the same? You know the stereotype. Bondage. Anxiety. Smoking when drunk. Circlejerks of praise for completing the most basic of tasks. Very, very bad poetry. Expensive fashion draped across waif-like models. Guilty pleasures: junk food, liquor, and problematic TV. Hated roommates. Emoji marxism. Twitter. “today i feel cute enough for a selfie, might delete it later.” “didn’t get out of bed until 2 i’m trash lol” “wow, some casual racism at work today. i’ll just laugh and someday burst because i hate confrontation. but whatever.” I’m not saying these traits describe anyone real, although they might. I’m saying: why is this the stereotype?

Discussion questions: When people type in lower case, what emotion do they hope to convey to the reader? The alt-right often asks if “liking feminine traps” is “gay”—is there anything more heterosexual than wishing you had a weaker male friend to validate your penis? Would trans rights even be an issue if the majority were FtM? How many modern protests can be summarized as “consumers demand product”? Who would win, every chafed masculinist and joyless academic or one flamboyant 19th century playwright? As Oscar Wilde put it: “Everything in the world is about sex, except sex. Sex is about power.”

Choose:

HYPOCRISY’S BAD, BUT YOU’RE WORSE

THE FALSE NEGATIVES

[superhusbands4ever]

10 Years of SteveTony Fic Rec

As I’m sure you all know by now, today (March 14th) is the 10th anniversary of The Confession and the 10th anniversary of the SteveTony ship!

Since my fic wasn’t done in time to post today (homework and midterms are a bitch), and I wanted to post something today for the anniversary of The Confession, I’ve decided to post a fic rec with my all time favorite stevetony fics of all time! Here we go! Hopefully my anniversary fic will be done by tomorrow lol

It’s long, you’ve been warned. Also, this is in no way an exhaustive list of my favs and when I think of more I might add them lol

Blue Lips, Blue Veins by romanoff - Explicit, 300K

Tony Stark is Iron Man.

Before that, he was an man with bigger heart than brain. Before that, he was an asshole with a bigger mouth than sense. And before that, he was was a scared little boy. Not that it matters. Stark's always have had iron in their backbone.

+ This is my absolute favorite fic of all time, honestly. It covers Tony’s entire life, literally from the minute he’s born and it shows, very well I might add, how Tony’s childhood and growing up affecting him mentally, emotionally, and developmentally. Maybe it’s because I’m a psych major at school, but this fic really got me. It is also the fic that started my headcannon of Tony as bipolar 2, and the portrayal of mental illness is so on point and accurate, I love it. It’s an emotional rollercoaster and you’ll cry a lot but it is soooo worth it. This fic is probably one of the best, if not the best Tony-centric and SteveTony fics of all time. I just love it so much.

The Last Love Song of Anthony E. Stark by jibrailis

After contracting an Asgardian virus, Tony starts forgetting things. And people. And Steve.

Winging It by arianapeterson19

The problem was that none of the important things - like life- came with a how-to guide. Everyone was just winging it and Tony wasn't entirely sure if he was okay with that.

Namesake by missbecky

An innocent question leads Steve to look up Edwin Jarvis, the former Stark family butler who gave JARVIS his name, and bring him back to New York to see Tony one last time.

When Life Becomes a Play (and I Don’t Know the Role I’m Cast) by firelord_zutara

Months after the Battle of New York, the team moves into the tower. Tony and Steve keep dancing around each other, but besides his feelings towards the man, Tony has enough to deal with, what with trying to come to terms with himself and his own, personal issues.  

He struggles through and through, but in the end, there's only one person who can save him -- the one person he hates the most: himself.

Deep in the Heart of Me by Finely Honed (jaqen_hgar)

There were days when the realization that he was someone’s father made Steve's head hurt, but mostly he was grateful that he could trust his instincts, because apparently Peter was what had been missing from his life. Yes, he still had lingering, unresolved issues from his time in the Army, and sure, he had what Bucky annoyingly referred to as a criminally untapped ass, and no life outside of work and Peter, but Steve was okay with how his life had turned out because of trusting his instincts.

Unfortunately, those same instincts had straight up betrayed him by going absolutely haywire upon being exposed to Tony Stark.

Veteran single dad Steve runs a tattoo shop. For his 40th birthday, Pepper arranges for Tony to get that tattoo he always wanted, and he winds up with the mother of all crushes instead. Jumping out of airplanes is one thing, but falling in love is something else entirely. Steve struggles with the idea of actually letting someone into his life. Tony is left trying to keep his heart from being broken while Steve figures things out.

But Loving Him is Red by theapplepielifestyle

"It is- it is not just destined, Steve Rogers. It will reach through the decades, through entire universes if it has to. It will scour the galaxies without rest until the two of you are standing next to each other. Migardians- Migardians call them soulmates, I believe."

-

Through the decades, through layers of realities, through superheroes and tangles of string- it will always be them.

Tales of the Bots Series by scifigrl47 - 487K

When Tony Stark was seventeen years old, he built his first AI.   On that day, he ceased to be his father's creation, and became a creating force in his own right.

That one act likely saved his life, and not always in the most obvious ways.

You Are My Sunshine by tonystarksnipples

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know dear how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away." Barely a week after he and Steve's wedding, Tony is diagnosed with lung cancer. Both Steve and Tony take it upon themselves to play the optimist, despite their true worry.

Sing the Body Electric by georgygirl - Explicit, 427K

When a well-meaning nutcase from the cosmos determines that Steve and Tony have one of the strongest soul bonds she's ever sensed, she takes it into her own hands to ensure that Steve and Tony are able to have what she believes every soul-bonded couple wishes — and is made — for.

Too bad she doesn't tell Steve and Tony about this before she weaves her little magic spell. Now, Steve and Tony are forced to come to terms with the fact that the week Tony spent as a woman was not as harmless an exercise as they'd originally thought.

And there's no easy way to fix it.

+ It’s actually part of a series, though it can be read as a stand alone technically, but you’ll get a lot more out of it if you read the whole series.

Say When Verse by ann2who - Explicit, 328K

A series rewriting MCU verse, beginning with an alternate version of Iron Man 2, in which, instead of Natasha, Steve got assigned to help Tony while the genius was slowly dying of Palladium poisoning. Continues there in unfolding Steve's and Tony's journey through acceptance, trust, and eventually love.

+ Covers through CACW

Awakenings Verse by Agent_Orange_III, Brooke_Lynn - Explicit, 351K

The Battle of New York is only hours past, but Steve Rogers’ battle to assimilate to his new world has just begun. Steve realizes his frosty existence since his awakening is every bit as debilitating as the Arctic ice he escaped. He sets upon a journey of self-discovery, even as the Avengers make rebuilding what the Chitauri destroyed a priority, encountering notions of friendship, home, family, and love he’d never considered. But Steve is not alone: Despite efforts to deny it, Tony Stark has to face the fact that his heart has awakened as well. Steve manages to rock Tony’s world in ways he’s never imagined possible.

Awakenings details the romantic, heart-warming, and sexy story of Steve and Tony’s emerging relationship. Their transition from teammates to friends to lovers is bumpy yet charming, exasperating and exhilarating. Simultaneously, Phil and Clint’s love overcomes life-threatening obstacles, Thor finds new amusements in his adopted world, and Natasha and Bruce discover unexpected aspects of themselves.

If you enjoy romance, drama, hurt/comfort, hot sex, emotional growth, humor, heroic friendships, camaraderie, and a sweet, new-fashioned wedding, then this might be the story for you.

Upon Waking by Winterstar

A story of recovery. In a world without superheroes, Tony Stark, the disinherited son of a billionaire, goes to Afghanistan as an embedded media star, only to be held hostage for months until he’s rescued. During his recovery, his therapist Doctor Bruce Banner prescribes an unusual treatment; volunteer work at a rehab center. He meets an eclectic assembled group including a vet who thinks he’s Thor, a physical therapist who might be a spy, and an all American hero, Steve Rogers. It is Steve Rogers, the soldier in a coma, who captures his interest and, eventually, his heart.

Before the Darkness Swallows You by Veldeia

 Steve was gone.

 Tony was all alone in the dark, the blackness of the damp, rock-walled corridor only occasionally broken by the fluttering fluorescent lamps in the ceiling.

 He wasn’t afraid of the dark. An abandoned mine was by no means the scariest environment he’d ended up in. Still, he’d have been crazy not to be afraid of what lurked in these shadows.

Toaster Verse by scifigrl47 - 343K

Steve takes things like personal responsibility and respect seriously.  Tony's got people he pays to take care of that kind of thing, and anyway, he's pretty sure that he's going to die of some exotic disease in his workshop, because Dummy's still a little spotty about what is 'clean' enough to put on an open wound.  The rest of the Avengers are in this for personal gain, except for Clint, he just enjoys being a dick.

And some things shouldn't be a chore.

Saving the World (Is Totally A Date) by Wordsplat

Tony discovers Stane's betrayal while he's still being held captive. When he escapes, he sets out to ruin Stane as completely and ruthlessly as he can, playing up his PTSD and quitting his job to destroy Stane quietly from the outside. He also picks up a teaching job-all Pepper's fault-and oh, right, becomes a supervillain. Okay, that one was Tony's fault, but it was totally an accident.

In the meantime, a certain Capsicle is defrosted a year early, and is assigned the task of capturing the notorious Iron Man. It's not going particularly well, if the embarrassingly high number of times he's been kidnapped in the past six months is any indication. When SHIELD decides to help him "adjust" by getting him a teaching job, Steve is skeptical; but then there's Tony, and Steve finds he doesn't mind the 21st century so much after all.

[lumiolivier]

Chapter Thirteen:  Meet Me on the High Dive

Word count:  5502

Chapter No. 13/36

Notes:  It’s been a while since I last posted any of my NaNo project.  Last week, I had a perfectly good reason for that.  I decided to write some Royai instead.  I’m sure the MCs would be able to forgive me for that.  But all that aside, I do have some pretty in depth analysis of Black Butler in this chapter.  And a little of some feelings on Shou Tucker.  So, new chapter?  Shall we?

Chapter Twelve:  The Birth of Russell

Home sweet home.  I got out of Julian’s car and kicked my black ballet flats off at the door.  I couldn’t believe he was actually coming over.  I didn’t understand why he had me so nervous.  It was just Julian.  The just as weird as me otaku with an amazing cosplay collection and really pretty eyes…and a warm, loving personality…and a body that just won’t quit…

 Dammit!  It was happening, wasn’t it?  I wanted to stand on my rooftop and scream obscenities at the top of my lungs.  Fuck…That son of a bitch was making me fall in love with him, wasn’t he?  Relax, Mimi.  You’re overthinking things here.  Let’s go over the specs, shall we?  I didn’t want him hurt.  I didn’t like when other girls flirted with him.  And he was just…so…fucking…charming!  Hold on.

 Why was I so angry? It had been two years since my last boyfriend.  And he dumped me over my pillowcase.  Julian had one of those pillowcases and no room to judge.  I saw it with my own two eyes.  Didn’t realize how slightly unsettling that was until I was on the other side of it.  But he understood me.  he got me in a way that no one else had ever gotten me before.  Julian was sweet and weird and maybe, just maybe, he loved me, too. When we were laying together this morning, something about it felt right.  Like when I had the dream with Rin and Haru and I was cuddled up with Rin. Like it was something bigger.

 I was.  I was falling in love with Julian.  And there was no shame in that.  Now, it was only a matter of how I was going to tell him.  Or if I was even going to tell him.  I liked having him around.  And we work together.  I didn’t want to scare him off.  Definitely didn’t want things to be weird between us.  In that case, I guess I’ll just keep it to myself then.

 “Hi, Julian,” Mom sang at the front door, “How are you, sweetheart?”

 “Hi, Marilyn,” Julian greeted her, “Mimi left a case at my house and I thought I’d be a nice guy and bring it back to her.”

 “Aren’t you sweet,” Mom awed, “Mimi!”

 “Yeah?” I sat at the top of the stairs.

 “Julian’s here!” she called up to me, “Are you busy tonight, honey?”

 “I don’t think I have anything going on,” Julian thought it over, “Why?”

 “You should stay for dinner tonight,” Mom insisted, “I promise my cooking isn’t deadly.”

 “Really?” he gasped a little overdramatically, like he didn’t see that coming.  And the performance kept on coming, “No.  I couldn’t impose like that.  I should get back to my unpacking.  Alone.  And my ramen noodles.”

 “No,” Mom put her foot down as I got to the bottom of the stairs, “I’m not going to let that happen. You’re staying for dinner whether you like it or not.  I can’t, in good conscience, let you go back to your house to be by yourself.”

 “Fine,” Julian caved, “I guess you twisted my arm.  I can stick around.”

 “Wonderful!” Mom smiled, “Dinner should be done in about fifteen minutes.”

 “I’m sure we can wait,” he charmed, “Something tells me it’ll be worth it.”

 “Oh, stop,” she giggled.

 “Come on,” I put a stop to this, my makeup case in hand, “Mom, we’ll be upstairs.”

 “Keep your door open,” Mom went back into the kitchen while Julian and I went to my bedroom.  More so out of spite than anything else, I shut my door.  I’m pretty sure we weren’t going to be naked any time soon.

 “So, this is your Batcave,” Julian jumped around, “What?  Is Sebastian out with the young lord this evening?”

 “Fuck off,” I rolled my eyes, giggling under my breath, “But yes.  This is my otaku dungeon.  Although, in just under thirty minutes, it transforms into a normal girl’s bedroom.”

 “And you know this for a fact?”

 “Unfortunately,” I sighed out, “Anytime we have people over.  My wall scrolls come down first.  Then, my figurines.  Then, a curtain goes over my bookshelves.  Then, I put a regular pillowcase on my body pillow and we’re golden.”

 “Ouch,” Julian pulled me down, “Why would anyone want to do that?”

 “So I don’t come off as the weird recluse,” I explained, “When I was younger, my dad would have some of his business contacts over and I had to play my part as his perfect, little angel.”

 “You poor, poor thing,” Julian empathized, “I guess I lucked out on that.”

 “What do you mean?”

 “Well,” he began, “My mom’s an artist.  I got my first taste of otakuhood when I was six.  She and I watched Spirited Away together.”

 “Cutting your teeth on Ghibli movies?” I awed, “I’m jealous.”

 “We didn’t have much for TV,” he went on, “We had movies.  We had DVDs.  That was about it.”

 “No cable?”

 “Mom thought it was unnecessary,” Julian continued, “So, we didn’t have cable.  She encouraged me to draw a lot, though.  I have a whole sketchbook of nothing but old school tattoos. You know, your anchors, your pin-ups, your skulls.  Shit like that.”

 “I’d love to see that,” I rested my head on his shoulder.

 “Speaking of things I’d love to see,” he had been darting glances at my closet door since he walked in, “I have a hard time believing you fit all your cosplays in your teeny tiny closet.”

 “Go ahead,” I allowed, “Open it.”

 “Please tell me there’s a little bit of an organizational system to it,” Julian kept his fingers crossed, pulling the doors open, “Oh, sweet baby Jesus…”

 “Only by series,” I grinned, “Other than that, good luck.”

 “You’re killing me, Mimi,” he wept, “But you did all of these yourself?”

 “Yeah,” I nodded, “They’re all mine.”

 “And they’ve never seen a con?” Julian gasped, thumbing through my inventory, “It’s a travesty. They need to get out and breath fresh air.  Oh, hello…”

 “What’d you find?” my stomach knotted up almost instantly.  Not all of my cosplays were exactly PG.

 “Nothing,” he flashed a dirty smirk, “I spy with my little eye a green bunny girl.”

 “That’s my Ruff Rabbit,” I cleared up, “That’s my Usagimodoki in Allmate form only to be done as a kawaii bunny girl.”

 “That’s pretty kawaii alright,” Julian agreed, “Looks like something I’d see at a place I used to frequent when I was living in St. Louis with some gentlemen friends of mine.”

 “I’m not a stripper,” I rolled my eyes.

 “Nylons or fishnets?”

 “Fishnets…”

 “At least an escort then?” he assumed.

 “Shut up,” I snapped at him, “Get the hell out of my closet.”

 “But I’m not done yet,” Julian pouted.

 “That’s too bad,” I demanded, “Either you go through them like a respectable human being or you get out.”

 “Fine,” he stopped, continuing his search through my closet, “Hey!  I found Misa Misa!”

 “Dammit,” I grumbled to myself.

 “What?” Julian smiled, “I bet you make an adorable Misa.”

 “I hate her so much,” I tried my damnedest to hold myself together.

 “But Misa Misa-”

 “Julian, I will punch you.”

 “At least I can defend myself,” he chirped, “Let’s see.  Would I want to fight you with the Death Note?  Maybe Edward’s staff?  A little flame alchemy?  Or…”

 “Or what?” I worried as Julian fell silent.

 “Maybe,” he pulled out a big, light pink, Victorian looking dress from my closet, “I could just summon my demon butler.  What do you think?  Pink my color?”

 “No,” I started settling down a little, realizing how much of a dork this asshole was, “Put Lady Ciel back.”

 “You think crossdressing runs in the Phantomhive family?” Julian asked, “One day, for a case, Vincent put one of Rachel’s dresses on and felt different?”

 “I don’t know,” I giggled.

 “You know when Druitt’s judging the curry contest in season one,” he recalled, “And he’s talking about all the beautiful women he’s met over the years?”

 “Yeah.  What about it?”

 “There was a woman in that mess,” Julian jumped back on my bed, “She was in a very beautiful royal blue dress, black hair, same kind of corkscrew pigtails Ciel had.”

 “Point, Julian,” I pushed him along, “What about her?”

 “That particular shade of blue looked really familiar,” he pulled up a screencap on his phone, “Like the blue in Ciel’s ring.  How much do you want to bet that this woman is Vincent?”

 “No way,” I shoved him, inspecting the picture a little closer.

 “The pigtails had to have been lying around somewhere in the manor,” Julian defended, “Sebastian may be one hell of a butler, but I’m sure there wasn’t a wig shop open that late. And with him being busy giving the young master all those treacherous lessons and we all remember the infamous corset scene.”

 “That’s not…” I took Julian’s phone from him, “That’s not Vincent.”

 “Look at the face shape,” he zoomed it in, “Looks an awful lot like Sebastian, doesn’t it?  Who else do we know that looks an awful lot like Sebastian?”

��“Vincent…”

 “I rest my case,” Julian slipped his phone back in his pocket, “That woman was no woman, but in fact, Vincent Phantomhive.  Crossdressing runs in the Phantomhive family.  Case closed.  Score one for the boys back home!”

 “And apparently those boys occasionally look like girls to get their information,” I chuckled, “You think Vincent and Sebastian are the same person?”

 “Really?” he gave me a look, “You subscribe to that theory?”

 “I’m just saying,” I grabbed a volume of manga off my bookshelf and flipped to a page with Vincent Phantomhive’s pretty face on it, “This is Vincent.  And if we go to this page, this is Sebastian.  Look at them, Julian.  They’re pretty damn similar.”

 “Maybe that’s just a mistake the artist made while drawing them,” Julian brushed me off, “Sebastian isn’t Vincent in demon form.  Although, I do think that Sebastian took on a form similar to Vincent because he wanted Ciel to be able to trust him, but not exactly, so it wouldn’t cause his young master anymore pain.  Who better than his own father?”

 “Valid point,” I nodded, “But I still think he’s just a demon form of Vincent.”

 “You’re a stubborn little girl, aren’t you?”

 “I can be a whole hell of a lot worse,” I bit my lip, “Usually when I’m running on pure spite.”

 “I don’t see you much as one for spite,” Julian went back into my closet, “One for…”

 Julian went silent. That couldn’t be a good sign.

“What?” I asked, terrified about what he found now.

 “Mother of God,” he took out a long, low cut black dress, “Lust?”

 “Yes,” I cringed as someone lit a flame under my cheeks, “Out of the homunculi, she’s my favorite.”

 “Mine, too,” Julian agreed, “Mostly for the same reason Havoc liked her.”

 “More of a boob man than an ass man?” I assumed.

 “Big time,” he blushed, “But she’s still an amazing character.  Wasn’t too fond of the way she skewered the colonel, though.”

 “Neither was Hawkeye,” I remembered, “I know.  I’ve seen all of Brotherhood.  Probably a dozen times.”

 “Quick,” Julian asked, “Original series or Brotherhood?”

 “Brotherhood, hands down,” I picked, “I loved the manga.  I loved the way everything worked out in the end.  Hiromu Arakawa is my queen and I love her.  Not saying the original series didn’t have its merits. I’m glad it prolonged Shou Tucker’s misery.”

 “How dare you speak his name?” he scolded, “How dare you speak Shou Tucker’s name so calmly?  The only one in the entire series, despite everything the homunculi did, to ever burn in hell in the memoriam section? After everything that son of a bitch did, he deserved a very slow, very painful death of every torture imaginable. What kind of sick fucker could do that to his daughter?”

 “He could,” I wrapped my arms around Julian’s waist, “I know.  Saying he’s an asshole is an understatement.”

 “I only cried while watching an anime twice,” Julian confessed, “And they were both Fullmetal Alchemist related.”

 “Tucker and Hughes,” I guessed.

 “Oh yeah,” he nodded, “And it’s not bad enough I read it in the manga.  Then, the manga gets an anime.  And then!  That anime gets a reboot!  AND I HAVE TO SEE IT UNFOLD THREE TIMES OVER!”

 “Julian,” I held him a little closer, “I understand.  I know how tumultuous our life can be.  And I understand better than anyone else in this house.  Hell, in this town!  They’re not just characters to us.  They almost become like another family to us.  Especially when the outside world isn’t as kind to us as they are.  They teach us things that no one else ever will and in a way that no one else ever will.  But the best thing we can do for them is to move on.  We find a new series to tear us apart emotionally.  But the love we carry for the others is what keeps us strong.  And we’ll always have that.”

 “Wow, Mimi,” Julian wiped his eyes, “That was beautiful.”

 “I’m a writer, sweetie,” I reminded him, “I do this on a regular basis.  If I can’t be a little eloquent from time to time, what kind of writer would I be?”

 “Are you a demon, too?” he wondered.

 “Nope,” I assured, “Simply one hell of a writer.”

 Julian reciprocated my hug tenfold, “Thank you.  The floodgates were about to bust open and some hella tragic childhood memories were about to come spilling out of my mouth.  You didn’t need to see that.”

 “Hey,” I curled into his ribs, “How do you fare with tragic backstories?”

 “Pretty well most of the time,” he admitted, “Why?”

 “You might want some emotional support the next time you watch Dramatical Murder,” I cringed, “The boys’ backstories can get pretty rough.  Koujaku’s hurts.  Noiz’s put me in a mini coma for about three hours after watching it.  Mink’s is rough.  Clear…Don’t even get me started with that little angel that deserves all the love in the world.”

 “Mimi!” Mom called up the stairs, “Dinner’s done!”

 “Ready to get this unpleasantness out of the way?” I asked.

 “Yep,” Julian opened his inside jacket pocket, revealing a bottle nestled in it, “You did tell me to bring the Fireball.”

 “Bless you,” I took a good, heavy drink from the bottle, feeling the warmth down to my toes.

 “Cheers,” he toasted, doing the same.

 The two of us ran downstairs to find my mother’s cooking on the dining room table.  Mom had been busy.  If there was one thing in this world worth living for, it was my mom’s chicken and dumplings.  If everyone had this in their lives, there would be no war.  There would be no famine.  Everyone would love each other and the planets would go into perfect alignment.  Yes. They’re that good.

 “Julian,” Dad chimed, sitting at the table with us, “When did you get here?”

 “A little while ago,” he told, “Mimi left a case at my house.  I brought it back to her.”

 “A gentleman and a scholar,” Dad praised.

 “Gentleman, always,” Julian agreed, “Scholar?  Only a semester.”

 “What’d you go to school for, Julian?” Mom asked, giving him a plate.

 “I was a psychology major,” he explained, “Halfway through the semester, I realized it wasn’t for me and my minor would’ve been stupid to get a degree in unless I planned on becoming a professor, so I left.  Started traveling a lot.”

 “Where’d you go?” Dad wondered.

 “Mostly just around the US,” Julian went on, “Around the east coast.  Quick stop in Canada.”

 “I wish we could do more traveling,” Mom sighed out, “Just think of all the places we have yet to see.”

 “Maybe once you move out, Mimi,” Dad jabbed.

 “Thanks, Dad,” I grumbled, “I appreciate that.”

 “Think about it,” he went on, making me squirm a little.  Dad was good for that sort of thing.  He didn’t realize he was doing it, but he was definitely doing it, “We won’t have another mouth to feed.  We’ll have more money laying around.  Maybe we can start putting it in a jar and finally take a trip out of the country.”

 “Again,” I cringed, “Thanks, Dad.”

 “I’m just saying,” he dropped it.  And Julian grabbed my hand under the table.

 As soon as we were done eating, he and I went right back upstairs again, shutting the door behind us, regardless of what my mother had said.  It wasn’t the first time we were left alone.  I’m pretty sure we knew to keep our hands above the covers. Besides, they were right downstairs. I didn’t know about him, but I could make a lot of noise.

 “Well,” Julian threw himself on my bed, “That was excruciating.”

 “You’re telling me,” I followed suit, “You still got that bottle of Fireball?”

 “Hasn’t gone anywhere,” he tossed it to me, “You got anything to mix with that?”

 “Don’t want anything to mix it with,” I did a quick shot, “I love them to death.  You know that, right?”

 “I know,” he nodded, “I get it.  My dad’s kind of the same way.”

 I never heard Julian talk about his dad.  Always his mom, but never his dad.  I figured that may have been a touchy subject.  Maybe it was best that I didn’t bring it up.  But my curiosity got the better of me, “What do you mean?”

 “My mom’s the artist,” Julian reminded, “My dad?  He’s the doctor.  He’s the reason why I went into psychiatrics.”

 “Your dad’s a shrink,” I assumed.

 “He liked to poke the bear just to see what happened.  And guess who he liked to use as his personal bear?” I could see the hurt in Julian’s eyes. And it broke my heart, “Yeah. That wasn’t a bit traumatic.  Little kid with a spastic personality misdiagnosed with ADHD pumped full of experimental behavioral meds?  Who hasn’t had that?  That’s why Mom and I ended up in St. Louis.  She was taking in commissions wherever she could get them, yet managed to find time for me.”

 Now, I understood why Shou Tucker hurt him more than the average person.  Julian and Tucker’s daughter Nina had quite a bit in common (minus the whole being fused with her dog thing).  And seeing Julian like this was absolutely soul crushing.  I couldn’t stand by any longer.  Barely having a buzz, I grabbed Julian’s hand and my car keys off the hook, “Come on.”

 “Where are we going?” he wondered.

 “You’ll see,” I dragged him downstairs, “Mom!  We’ll be right back!”

 “Where are you going?” she asked.

 “Park!” I yelled back, “Shouldn’t be gone more than a few hours.”

 “Ok!”

 “We’re really going to the park?” Julian gave me a look, getting into the passenger seat.

 “We’re making a pit stop first,” I backed out of my driveway and started toward this little ice cream shop downtown.  Ironically called the Pit Stop.  I had been going here since I could remember and needed to eat my feelings.

 “Ice cream?” he assumed.

 “That’s right,” I confirmed, grabbing the door.

 “Hiya, princess!” the old man that ran it greeted me, Sal.  I loved Sal.  And Sal adored me, “You’re just in time!  I was about to close up.  What can I get for you?”

 “Double scoop of rocky road for me,” I ordered, looking Julian over, “And a double scoop mint chocolate chip for him?”

 “That works,” Julian approved.

 “Got it,” Sal got two plastic containers and scooped our flavors into their respective container, “So, how’ve you been, Mimi?  I feel like I haven’t seen you in an age.”

 “I’m always working, Sal,” I smiled, “You know that.”

 “Jeffrey still giving you a hard time?”

 “When isn’t he?” I chuckled nervously.

 “Rumor has it he actually hired on a new guy,” Sal looked around for lids.

 “In all technicality,” I corrected, “I hired on a new guy.  He was new in town and needed a job.”

 “I am that new guy,” Julian chimed in.

 “Welcome to Lenexa, new guy,” Sal shook his hand, “Sal Griffin.”

 “Julian Cooke,” he introduced himself, “But if…Hold on, did you say Griffin?”

 “Yep,” he chirped, “Jeffrey’s my little brother.”

 “My condolences,” Julian joked, “But if he asks, my name is Russell.”

 “Why the sudden name change?” Sal wondered, “You on the run or something?  I won’t let my little angel get tangled up with a bad influence, new guy.”

 “No,” he assured, “I’m not on the run.  I’m not a bad influence.  It’s more for my own personal safety.  I’ve been sniffed out by a group of soccer moms and they’re savage.”

 “I know exactly who you’re talking about,” Sal empathized, “My condolences.”

 “Thank you.”

 “So, this is the new boyfriend then, Mimi?” he asked innocently.

 “No,” I shook my head, hoping the wind would help with the heat I my face, “He’s just a friend at this point.”

 “I’m sorry,” Sal apologized, “You two seemed awfully chummy.”

 “Because we’re the best of friends,” Julian covered for us.

 “That’s nice,” he smiled, “Tell you what, princess.  On the house. You caught me at closing time. Nobody has to know about this.”

 “Fess up, Sal,” I teased, “It’s not because it’s closing time.  It’s because I’m your favorite.”

 “Don’t tell anyone else,” Sal winked, “You, too, Julian.  This is a one-time thing.”

 “I won’t,” Julian promised.

 “Come in and see me soon, ok?” Sal gave me the biggest hug and a kiss on top of my head.  And they were always the best.

 “I will,” I vowed, “We should be going, though.”

 “Go on,” he nudged me, “Get out of here.  You have better places to be on a Friday night.”

 “Bye, Sal!” I waved behind us.

 “Bye, Mimi!” he waved back, “Nice meeting you, Julian.”

 “You, too!” Julian and I left the Pit Stop with our ice cream and got back in my car, “Hell of a guy, isn’t he?”

 “Sal?” I assumed, “Yeah. He’s a sweetheart.  If I had to pick between working for Sal or working for his brother, I’d pick Sal every day of the week.  But he’s never hiring.  It’s just him.  He works some long hours for what he’s got.  And the thing is, he basically opened the Pit Stop out of spite.”

 “Really?” Julian giggled, “What made him spiteful?”

 “Griffin had opened up the café,” I explained, “He said it was going to be the best in town and he was going to have the most popular place the Lenexa’s ever seen.  So, Sal, being the wily old man he is, opened up the Pit Stop just down the road, trying to outdo his smug little brother.”

 “I like him a little more now,” he beamed.  There it was. That was what I was looking for. I didn’t want to see Julian so down and Sal had a mystical power over people.  And if all else failed, ice cream made the world a better place anyway.

 “According to Sal,” I pulled into the park, right by the pool that had already closed for the fall and got out of the car, “They’ve always been that competitive.  Ever since they were kids.  And Sal always came out on top.”

 “So, that’s why the boss has such a god complex,” Julian figured, following me closely, “Um, Mimi…Are we supposed to be here?”

 “Don’t worry,” I settled him, “No one cares.  It’s not like we’re vandalizing or trying to refill the pool.  We’re doing nothing wrong.”

 “Wouldn’t this be considered trespassing, though?”

 “On public property?” I giggled, “You’re adorable.”

 “I know that,” his ego made an appearance, “But what if we get caught?”

“Julian,” I assured, “It’s fine.  I promise. The worst they can do is tell us to leave.”

 “Where are you going?” Julian wondered, taking my ice cream from me.  I started climbing the ladder to the high dive, “Mimi, what the hell are you doing?”

 “Just come on,” I demanded, “Trust me.”

 “How high are you?” he squeaked, “I’m not going up there!”

 “Why?” I asked, halfway up already, “Scared of heights?”

 “It’s not the heights that bother me so much,” Julian worried, “It’s more the possibility of falling that scares the fuck out of me.”

 “I’m not going to let you fall,” I promised, almost at the top, “Come on.  The views are better from up here.”

 “I’m not doubting that,” he questioned my sanity, “But I think I’m going to stay down here.”

 “You can’t,” I pointed out, “You still have my ice cream.”

 “You’re the one that gave it to me in the first place,” he retaliated.

 “Julian,” I shut him up, “Do you trust me?”

 “Yeah…”

 “Then, come up here,” I sat at the top.  

 “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Julian put our ice cream containers in his pockets and started climbing up the ladder, “I swear to God, Mimi, if I fall, I’m suing you.”

 “You’re not going to sue me,” I giggled, “You’re already halfway there and you haven’t fallen.”

 “Don’t remind me.”

 “It’s only twenty feet,” I told.

 “Only, she says,” Julian scoffed under his breath, “And it’s just a ride in an ambulance.  There’s no broken bones or anything.  No head trauma.  No nothing.  Just a teeny little slip.”

 “Julian,” I took his hand, pulling him up the rest of the way, “I promise you.  I’m not going to let you fall.”

 “Swear to me,” he begged, shaking a little, “Swear to me on something that matters more than anything.”

 “Equivalent exchange,” I smiled, “I swear to you on equivalent exchange.  Hell, on the Philosopher’s Stone if that’s what it takes. You’re going to be fine.  Or do I have to swear by the moon, too?”

 “No,” Julian settled down a little, “I think you nailed it at equivalent exchange.  And the fact that you’d go the extra mile and swear on the Philosopher’s Stone, too, means a lot to me.”

 “You’re welcome,” I took my rocky road out of his pocket, “Now, look up.  Best view in town.”

 Julian cranked his neck back, staring into the beautiful, glittering void, “Wow…”

 “I told you,” I stuck my spoon in my mouth, “Aren’t you glad you listened to me now?”

 “Yeah,” he sat back in complete awe, “I’ve never seen such a stunning night sky.”

 “Really?” I wondered, “Never?”

 “Aside from pictures on the internet,” Julian said, “No.  I grew up in the city, Mimi.  This is my first time ever living in a small town.  My mom was a sucker for an industrial loft to work in, so we always lived in the city.  The bigger, the better.  The city lights are great.  Don’t get me wrong.  And they’re beautiful in their own right, but this?  This is immaculate.”

 “Yeah,” I rested my head on his shoulder, “You don’t get this living in a city.  It’s going to be one of those things I’ll miss when I finally leave.”

 “And when do you plan on doing this?” Julian wondered, stealing a bite of my ice cream.

 “I’m thinking May,” I decided, “I’ve lived in Lenexa all my life and never felt like I belonged.  It’ll always be home, but I’ve never fit.  I didn’t care about the shit going on in town. I wasn’t part of a farm family.  I didn’t get into the extra-curriculars too much. I was the weird little girl with the obsession with Japan.  Always have been.”

 “And where do you want to end up?” Julian asked.

 “Ideally?” I sighed out, “I can’t decide between the sunshine or the rain.  LA where I could potentially make a living with my cosplay or Portland where I can be just as much amongst my own kind.”

 “Never been to the west coast,” he admitted, “Sorry I can’t be more of a help.  But think about it this way.  If you went So. Cal., San Diego is right there.  The mother of all cons.  Plus, you got Anaheim and LA and San Francisco.  Then again, if you go Portland, there’s Emerald City in Seattle.”

 “So, you’re saying,” I thought it over, “I should go to LA.”

 “The traffic’s hell,” Julian chuckled a bit, “The people can be artificial.  This is all according to my mom.  She’s been to almost every state.  You need to meet her.  I feel like you two would get along famously.”

 “Then, I think it’s settled,” I chose, “Looks like I’m going to California.”

 “And if you’re looking for a roommate,” he hinted, “I’m hypoallergenic and housebroken.  But I might be watching Transformers at two in the morning with the surround sound on.”

 “I think I’ll just get a dog,” I teased.

 “Borf!” Julian barked.

 “You’re not a dog,” I giggled, “Unless you’re a Pluto situation.”

 “No,” he shook his head, “Because that would make you Angela and fuck her.  I hated her.”

 “I bet you like a good belly scratch, don’t you?” I smirked.

 “I am a good boy…” Julian was a big dork if anything.

 “See?” I took his hand, “You know, this is my favorite spot in town.  I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve been up here in the off season.”

 “Does the high school have a swim team?” Julian asked.

 “No,” I pouted, “And if they did, I’d feel like a pedophile.”

 “You little sinner,” he stole my last marshmallow.  If it were anyone else, he’d be getting pushed.

 “Can I ask you something?” I rested my head on his shoulder.

 “Sure,” Julian pushed my hair out of my face, “Go ahead.”

 “Why do I have to keep my schedule open tomorrow?”

 “Dammit,” he laughed, “I knew that was coming.  I’m not telling you, Mimi.  It’s not happening.  Keep your schedule open.  Let things happen.”

 “Can I have a hint?”

 “No.”

 “But…” I groaned, “I did Misa dumbest bitch in the universe Amane for you!  I did Miku for you!  Yet I ask for a little hint about Saturday and you say no.”

 “Exactly.”

 “You’re a dick,” I rolled my eyes.

 “Come on,” Julian put my empty ice cream container in his jacket pocket, “It’s getting kind of late and we have to work in the morning.”

 “Ok,” I looked at my phone and it was knocking on midnight, “I’ll go first, though.”

 “Does it matter?” Julian wondered.

 “I don’t want you staring up my skirt,” I moved past him.

 “Who says I would be?” he squeaked sounding a little insulted.

 “Tell me you wouldn’t,” I stood on the ladder, “Look me in the eye right now and tell me you wouldn’t.”

 “I wouldn’t be staring,” Julian promised, “I can’t be held accountable for the occasional glance.”

“Right there,” I shoved my finger in his face, “That’s why I go down first.”

 “Says the girl that took her panties off in my living room for absolutely no reason,” he reminded me.

 “I did that to prove a point,” I defended.

 “What was the point?”

 “That you didn’t have to breathe over my bed to steal my panties,” I climbed down, “Also that I have no shame.”

 “I could’ve told you that,” he started down the ladder, “So, what’s to stop you from staring at my ass on the way down?”

 “Myself,” I assured, “I might not have any shame, but I do have a little self-control.”

 “And I don’t?”

 “You said it yourself,” I fought, “You couldn’t be held accountable for the occasional glance.”

 “Yet here you are,” he retaliated, “Holding me accountable.”

 “Julian,” I stopped him, “Just shut up.”

 “We fight like a married couple,” he pointed out, “I hope you know that.”

 “Only a matter of time before we’re fighting over other little things,” I figured, “Bills, the kids, who’s going to do carpool this week.”

 “Sudden change of heart?” Julian asked, “Since when did you start wanting babies?”

 “I don’t,” I clarified, jumping down from the bottom rung, “I’m just saying.  Examples.”

 I wanted to tell him. I wanted to tell him so bad.  I just wanted to tell Julian that he was the only one that was making me even slightly consider the potential of babies. In all honesty, with his bone structure and my eyes, we’d make some beautiful babies.  No.  I had to shake that idea out of my head before it escalated any further.

 I dropped Julian off at his house and went home to bed.  And tonight was the first night in a long series of nights where I wished I wasn’t sleeping with Sebastian.  What kind of Pandora’s box did I open this morning?  More importantly, what was he planning for tomorrow?  That boy had something up his sleeve.  And it involved me somehow.  I’m sure he’s not going to stab and mutilate me, so I have that going for me.  Still, it worried me.  I didn’t know how far Julian would be willing to go for me.  

[embers-blaze]

BNHA Fic. Wolf Bakugou Katsuki X Rouge Sinnett 1

Got bored. Decided to do this. My OC I’ve talked about like a hundred times on my main blog. Except it would probably be cast in the Tudor era? When witches were ‘spotted’ and killed. Yeah, that time zone. 17th Century got it. Might change Rouge’s clothes to fit.

If you want any info on her I might make a character sheet, oh and she is not canon to my Black Butler/Naruto fic, totally separate. I haven’t gotten it all planned out yet, but with all this spare time I might be able to finish at least one of these stories.

Hope you enjoy.

Word Count: 2002

###

It was sunny today. The sky held no clouds as far as my eye could see, markets were in action and children ran around. Truly this place could be seen as happy.

But all of that was fake. I remember how they would gather any weapon they could if anything out of the ordinary were to happen. I couldn’t count the number of times stuff like that happened to anyone, last time… It was only a child. Her Parents didn’t even stop the people from taking the child away.

Because of the colours of her eyes.

But that didn’t stop me from freeing the poor kid. She was so frightened at the same time. I will continue to save anyone from that type of prejudice.

After all, there was only one true Demon. After what they did!

After what I had gone through, I swear it won't happen to anyone.

Ever…

~

‘A poster?’ I thought. It was new as the ink was still wet as the words [Beware The Monster. Beware, Stay Away From This Foul Demon] were written across a plank of wood. People were gathered around a man who was chanting insignificant words I couldn’t even listen too.

The ‘Beast’ had Ash blond hair, from the dirt in the abandoned forest, which was forbidden from anyone entering.

Eyes of the blood of his enemies, apparently it was said once he saw you, it was all over.

And his fangs as well as his claws, so sharp they could rip the neck of any child and woman, beware beware, blah blah blah, what a bunch of morons.

Well, not all of them.

The hand on my shoulder proved that to me, my single friend in this whole damn Village. Our meeting was irregular, to say the least.

It was after I had saved that girl, he saw me, he was right to feel scared, I was covered in blood after all, and not all of it was mine but I couldn’t tell him that then. There were many that had tried to kill me, and within the battle, I could not take them all on without some scars.

I believed he would try to kill me or shout about my presence. I was close to losing consciousness. Too tired but my first thought was to protect the girl at any cost.

But then he helped me.

And took care of some of my injuries, I had first told him it wasn’t of any need, but he insisted on doing so.

He also cared for the kid; a girl named Eri I was later told. She had beautiful long Silver hair and gorgeous red eyes. She was absolutely adorable. After she fell asleep I asked the stranger why he cared for us. He said:

“I knew deep down that you’re a good person, and that you were concerned more with the child than yourself, it wouldn’t have been right for me to abandon you like that” I had slightly blushed at the comment before quietly thanking him. It had been a long time since someone had last given me such generosity.

“No problem, oh I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Izuku, Izuku Midoriya”

“I’m Rouge Sinnett” And ever since then, we became close friends. We travelled from Village to Village just us three. And stay in case any ‘trouble’ appeared. I had made my disdain for the humans known to Izuku and he had wanted to change my mind, saying how not all humans are bad and in fact, they could be good just like him. He was incredibly stubborn to prove his point, that was one of the main reasons we came out as this travelling crew.

“Hey Rouge, I didn’t think you’d be up so early?”

“Well with all of this racket I could not fall back asleep.” I jabbed my thumb in the direction of where the older man continued to speak of tales of a Demon that had also resided in those woods, something about having different coloured hair. I stopped listening.

“C’mon I know a place with some herbs I’m in short supply off.” He dragged me off to this hut while we waited.

Eri was tucked safely in the small hut we found amongst our travels, it was our home I was able to make look decent within some hours. Eri and Izuku were both astounded and surprised. It was small but held a homely feeling.

I looked towards the forest when Izuku and I headed back. He seemed confused about my interest in the forest but figured I would be fine. After all, I had been able to protect the two in a number of situations.

But he could still tell something was bugging me.

“What's the matter Rouge?”

“One of the humans spoke about something being in the forest, I’m not sure if it's another poor soul trying to escape from its captors or not.” He could tell I was upset, he knew how much I hated creatures with no protection or strength being thrown around like nothing. So he tugged me back, holding my hand and rubbing circles on my hand. We were close, him a Brother and me the Sister.

“Izuku! Rouge! I missed you” Small hands enveloped around us as we gave our own love back to her.

“We missed you too sweetie, I’m so glad you were such a good girl for us Eri, now how about we eat ok?” She nodded enthusiastically before dragging our hands to the fireplace.

We talked and ate. Played some games before Izuku tucked Eri into bed. I was outside still looking out into the forest, as he soon noticed.

He sat next to me and nudged my shoulder to gain my attention.

“Y’know you could go out and find whatever it is that’s bothering you, we’ll stay here” He smiled his cheeky grin.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes now go, I know once a thought comes into your mind it won’t go.” He gently pushed me away towards the forest before I nodded back.

“I’ll try to be quick” I zoomed into the forest in a blink of an eye, Izuku just shook his head as he went back inside, he was getting sleepy as well.

~

‘Goddamn, it!’ The being howled in pain internally. With him running through the woods he didn’t look at the ground he hurriedly stepped on, causing his foot to set off a trap.

They would find him now.

Damn everything to hell, he didn’t ask to be hunted.

And with all those pesky Villages and their pitchforks, he’d be lucky to survive from his injuries.

Or maybe he would be sold to another human again, not like he stayed for long anyways, he was always on the run, surviving on his own.

He didn’t need anyone.

“Minister I think I heard a trap set off” No, this was not the end!

He would fight till his last breath like he always did.

Like he always would.

“You’re-” A voice.

He had stupidly let his guard down to not notice someone approach him. He bared his teeth and claws out to give off his dominance, signifying he was not dead yet. But he was surprised to see no pitchfork but a woman instead.

He could tell by her short figure.

He saw her blue eye--yes singular--quickly scanning his appearance before her eye rested on the trap that encased his foot.

Then they both heard it.

“It definitely came from this direction, Men! Arm yourselves!” The orange hue of fire could be seen by the pair as they momentarily watched.

And only one could escape.

“I know you probably think I’m going to turn you in but I’m not” She bent down but he was still on guard. He’d been lied to before like hell he’d be lied to again.

She reached out to grab the ankle trap but he clawed her away, thinking she would leave and give him up.

But she looked at him, with a pleading look almost.

“I promise I’m here to help, please just trust me this once”

They were getting closer.

‘Maybe she isn’t lying. Ugh, fuck it all!’ He tried to undo the trap himself, but he was making too much noise.

!!!

Her hands wrapped around his, and they were warm. Like really warm.

He let out a grunt and turned away, the girl took that as an indication to help.

“This will probably hurt, I’ll try to do it fast ok” He grunted again, he was already annoyed with having to have help in the first place.

But she was honest.

It hurt like a bitch.

He would’ve screamed an immense amount of profanities, but it wasn’t the time for that.

And he didn’t even shake her off when she dragged him away.

‘The hell is she taking me!?’ He didn’t get to ask before they ducked into a bush.

“Stay here,” He didn’t respond in time as she left. He hadn’t a clue what she was doing.

Snap.

‘That bastard set another trap off!’ He had to run, but his leg would surely give out at any moment.

“Young Maiden, what has happened! Men help her!” He heard the sound of metal broken apart as whimpers from a woman were heard.

A woman who didn’t sound like the one he had just seen.

Did she just leave-!

“Minister, I’m sorry… He took my child and left me, please find her. Please! They went that way!”

!!!

“What!” He grunted but clamped his hand over his mouth. That wench, double-cross him huh? When he would get his hands on her-

“Of course, men, get going! Don’t come back until the head of that Beast is in your hands” There were cheers as they all made there way in the direction the woman pointed in.

‘They’re going to find me because of that- that- Damn it! The hell did I trust her’

But as time went on. He didn’t hear footsteps coming towards him… But going further and further away.

‘What’ He had the urge to look back, but he suppressed it.

Whoever it was had just lied to them.

“Hey… Wolfy, they’re gone now” It was her!

He growled at her, angry that she tricked him, for making him believe that, angry for that stupid nickname.

“Get lost” The first words he uttered to her. Not bad considering he was more of an act now talk later kinda guy. The fact he was giving her a chance was saying something.

“Hey, wait. I’m sorry if you think I’m bad, or if I’m two-faced, but I promise I’m not.” He still didn’t believe her, but going out by himself now, he could still be caught.

“Your point” He growled out. Hand out to possibly strike her again.

“Just let me treat your injuries. And then you can decide if you never want to see me again. Please” She was begging with him. But just how good of a liar was she?

“…Fine”

After a while, they walked back to her hut silently as he leaned into her, for balance of course. Not because she was warm or anything.

“Why are you helping me human woman” He felt her shift in her steps, the question obviously caught her off guard.

“Well, for one, no one deserves to be hunted because of their birth origin, and I wanted to see if the tales of the ‘Beast’ were real” He tsk and turned his head, obviously embarrassed when he saw her smiling face.

“And secondly… I would prefer it if you don’t associate me with human scum.” He looked back, she was still smiling.

“I’m a Demon, so please kindly remember it.”

.

.

.

“Fat chance, wench. What fakery will you say next?” He seemed so smug with himself. No way was this, human actually a Demon. Like he would be tricked so easily.

.

“I will drop you”

“Don’t you dare!”

###

That’s it, the first chapter of Wolf Bakugou x Rouge. I got so bored and I have some ideas on how to continue so hopefully I can continue and complete these short stories. I fucking love BNHA I think its great, but I love the AU’s that have been made and wanted to make one myself. If you like it please tell me and I’ll try to make more.

My inspiration for this was because I’ve always read fanfics where it’s a human who saves someone and the Beast learns that not all humans are bad, but what if it was a Demon, someone who shared the same pain. Plus someone who won’t be so helpless and kickass. I have an idea of a Fantasy Dragon King Bakugou AU as well so if your interested I’ll try to upload that soon.

I hope you have a good day. Cya.

[theeurekaproject]

Mutata Fatum

The Revelation was beautiful from its perfectly-polished floors to its inexplicably high cathedral ceilings, which was precisely what Athena didn’t like about it.

First of all, it was made with taxpayer money, like everything else Acidalia owned. So, in a way, the Revelation should be Athena’s and everyone else’s—its cost had come out of their paychecks, after all, and from what Athena could see, it was probably not cheap. It had top-notch shielding and cloaking systems, and way too many onboard weapons for a luxury spacecruiser, but even that wasn’t really the problem. The problem came with the frills around the edges—the completely unnecessary, inane decorations that turned every piece of the ship into a shiny, sharp work of art.

It was maddening, really, the thousands of credits that had gone into designing this thing. It had floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out into a starry nothingness, bisected occasionally by the laser-light glow of another distant starship. It had glitteringly clean floors polished by a staff of needlessly adorable white robots that skittered around the place like dinner plate-sized mice. It had art, mood lighting, chandeliers, centerpieces at every table, gourmet food, feather-stuffed pillows, stocks of makeup and inordinately fancy dresses, and a collection of shoes that probably could have made Athena a multi-millionaire if she had the courage to steal and pawn them. Honestly, she could probably make a killing easily by selling all of the Imperatrix’s junk on the black market—Acidalia was rich enough not to notice. “How much do you think this costs?” she asked Carina absentmindedly, balancing a silver-colored decorative hair comb between her fingers. It had about two dozen little pearls, but she had no idea if they were genuine or not. But would someone as important as Acidalia even own fake pearls?

“Stop it,” Carina said. “She lost her brother less than an hour ago. Now is not the appropriate time to steal her things.” “She’s a multiquadrillionaire, it’s always an appropriate time to steal her stuff. Eat the rich, right?”

“That’s mean.”

“You don’t understand my desire to be edgily controversial at absolutely all times,” Athena replied, pocketing the comb anyway. Even if Acidalia eventually emerged from the massive, overly elaborate museum-with-a-bed she called a bedroom to come collect her belongings, she wouldn’t care that Athena had taken one small thing. Not if she was at all unlike her mother, at least. From the corner of the room, Carina shot Athena a death glare.

“This is my ship, sorta,” Athena said defensively. “It all comes from taypayer credits, you know that?” “That isn’t how taxpayer supported things work,” Carina retorted.

“Why not?” “I don’t know. I just know that stealing is impolite.” “The Imperial family stole my money.” “Taxes aren’t stealing.” “They are when they benefit rich individuals instead of society as a whole.” Carina groaned. “Where did you even learn about politics? I asked you who the Proregina of the Lunar Colonies was last week and you couldn’t even give me an answer, but now all of the sudden you know about taxes?” “I’ve always known about taxes. Or, more specifically, how to commit tax fraud.” “That is astoundingly illegal and stupid.” Athena gasped in mock offense. “Don’t speak to me like that in front of my 27 dependents!”

Carina didn’t even bother to dignify that with a response. She turned away, rolling her eyes, while Athena giggled just out of her view. She didn’t feel that bad about stealing from Acidalia—the staggering income inequality on Eleutheria was enough to displace any feelings of guilt she may have ever held. Dead brother or living brother, money was money, and Athena going on an impromptu vacation to wherever this resort-with-an-engine starship was heading would almost definitely cost her a job. She didn’t particularly feel like being strapped for cash again—especially not while surrounded by some of the most excessive luxury she’d ever seen in her life.

Actually, no, scratch that. The most excessive luxury anyone could ever see in their lives, period. Acidalia was rich beyond anyone’s wildest imaginations. The amount of money she had was too large for human minds to even comprehend. Quadrillions of credits. Quadrillions. She had more credits to her name than there were stars in the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxy combined. This was fuck-you money of the highest order, and most of it came from citizens like Athena—citizens who stressed about rent and affording necessities and paying off bribes and medical debt. Why should Acidalia get to have fancy pearl-encrusted hair combs while ordinary Eleutherians grasped at straws to afford basic cybernetic implants? That was bullshit, Athena thought. So it really didn’t matter if she stole stuff from Imperial cruisers or committed tax fraud every single Aperire; her crimes were all victimless.

*** Two hours later, Athena was dressed in an incredibly fancy dressing gown that looked like exactly the type of thing the Imperatrix would wear to bed. It itched—a lot—and she never would have thought to put it on if there wasn’t such an abundance of hidden pockets beneath the fluff and diamonds. (Who sleeps in diamonds?! she thought.) Her plan was to pretend she was cold, and hopefully Acidalia would let her borrow the stupid bathrobe and never question the fact that all of the beauty products and jewels were missing from her vanity. Honestly, judging by the thin layer of dust that sat over everything not clearly accessible to the cleaning robots, Athena assumed Acidalia hadn’t used this ship in a while, and would thus be unfamiliar with where things were stored. And, even if by some misfortune she took notice of all the mysteriously vanished valuables, Athena could just blame it on ‘staff.’ The Imperatrix had to have staff, right? “Do you think this place has maids?” Athena asked absentmindledly. “Or butlers?” Briefly, she pictured rows upon rows of frozen maids packed into storage like Han Solo in carbonite, just waiting to be woken up. The royal family seemed like the type of institution that only gave people human rights when it was convenient for them.

Carina looked up from the magazine she was reading—some sort of science-y looking journal on biology. “No,” she said. “Acidalia doesn’t like them.” “She doesn’t like… servants?” “She likes robot servants because they’re more private. I kind of understand—having actual humans hovering everywhere and watching you constantly could get kind of annoying after a while, I guess. But Aleskynn used to make fun of her for it all the time—normally they don’t really view the help as ‘people,’ so to speak, so she doesn’t understand why anyone would be disconcerted by the constant presence of Ministratoras.”

“That’s kinda messed up,” Athena said.

“A lot of things in Aleskynn’s life were kind of messed up.” Carina thumbed through another page, looking bored. The magazine was marked 4045, so all of the articles were probably outdated already. Part of Athena wondered why someone as wealthy as Acidalia Cipher would still use print media, but the other part of her already knew the answer: aesthetic and pretentiousness.

Another few minutes ticked by, punctuated only by the sound of Carina lazily turning pages. The rest of the ship was suspiciously, worryingly silent, and if Athena didn’t know better, she would have assumed that she and Carina were the only two people aboard. Maybe it was because the Revelation had some kind of fancy noise-cancelling technology, or maybe Acidalia’s injuries were worse than they seemed and she was either incapable of moving, or worse. Athena didn’t know how she felt about that possibility.

She opened another drawer of a dresser that stood in the hallway. There was a crown in it, an elaborate headpiece too large to fit in a dressing gown pocket. Athena picked it up and appraised it in the light, wondering if she could pry any gemstones or shiny platinum pieces off and hold onto those instead. Then, with disappointment, she noticed that the jewels were brown instead of blisteringly white. They held diamond fire, but they were so discolored it was hard to believe they had any sort of value beyond industrial applications. Athena wondered why Acidalia would have a tiara like that, then she noticed the handwritten note attached to the brim with a curled-up white ribbon—I thought this would match your eyes. <3 Aleskynn. The metaphor was clear.

Bitch, Athena thought, and slammed the drawer shut. She had half a mind to send the spoiled princess a vial of cyanotoxins with the caption “I thought this would match your eyes.” It wasn’t even the fact that she’d insulted Acidalia that bothered Athena—it was the gossipy, too-cowardly-to-say-it-to-her-face passive-aggressiveness. Though, to be fair, she didn’t know why she expected anything more from Alestra’s daughter.

There was nothing much left in any of the other drawers—there were books, but none that looked valuable or even interesting to read. They were mostly indecipherable ancient texts and classics that nobody but Acidalia would even want, and though they had gilded edges and artfully decorated covers, Athena didn’t dare risk stealing them—they were all embossed with A.P.C. on the first blank page, and that made them traceable. Kalyn had taught her years ago that you couldn’t take anything if the police could trace it back to someone, and these books certainly weren’t worth that risk. Then there were piles upon piles of notebooks, all made of leather and filled to the brim with what looked like the ramblings of a madwoman—the same sentences and song lyrics, repeated over and over again—until Athena noticed that the penmanship improved between the first and last pages and realized they’d probably been used to practice Acidalia’s immaculate, looping calligraphy. Under those were datadrives, which Athena very clearly didn’t have the genome to open—they all had tiny iris scanners at the end, so only the Imperatrix would be able to view them. And, just when Athena was beginning to think this entire thing was worthless, her hand brushed against food packaging—which turned out to be concealing a small collection of healthy snacks that no person in their right mind would willingly consume.

“Look at this,” she said to Carina, holding up a shrink-wrapped package of very crumbly, grainy-looking pastries. “They took cookies, and made them healthy. Who does that?”

“People who want to cater to rich women who constantly think they need to lose weight.”

“Lose weight? Acidalia has the tiniest waist I’ve ever seen.”

“It’s the corsetry,” Carina said.

“Still, Jesus. Out of every person I’ve ever met in my life, Acidalia is the one who should be concerned about her body image the least. All of the uppercrusts are genetically-modified mutants with abnormal metabolisms; why would they of all people be concerned about dieting?”

“Aleskynn was eighty kilogrammos when I met her,” Carina shrugged. “Being raised by Alestra gives people weird views of themselves. Besides, how do you know they even taste bad?”

Athena tore open the package and took a tiny bite from one cookie. She wrinkled her nose. It tasted exactly like—no, worse than—straw. “Just take my word for it,” she said.

As she looked around for a garbage can, the sound of tiny, delicate footsteps echoed down the corridor, and she realized with irritation that they must belong to Acidalia. Carina instantly stiffened, standing up like a statue and brushing her hair behind her back so it looked neater than it was. As if Acidalia—Acidalia the high queen, Acidalia the almighty—would pause for a second to notice how tidy and organized Carina Stellara, random scientist with no clout, looked. She was so far above such things that even trying to make an effort felt worthless.

Still, for reasons she didn’t entirely know how to explain, Athena stood up at attention anyway. She stared at the door with strange fascination, wondering why her heart was pounding so quickly, waiting for something, anything to happen. And then, with an extremely anticlimactic swoosh, the door moved sideways, and the Imperatrix Ceasarina entered in all her glory.

If Athena was told that this was the same woman who’d barreled past her into this ship a few hours ago, bearing news of a dead brother and a murder attempt, she wouldn’t have believed it. This Acidalia looked astoundingly different from post-assassination-attempt Acidalia, yet so inexplicably like her at the same time, and it put a bad taste in Athena’s mouth. She bore such a strong resemblance to her late brother that their relationship should have been obvious in hindsight, but her face was utterly, completely neutral—almost relaxed—and she did not seem at all like someone who had just lost the closest family member they’d ever known. Judging by T’s impassioned reaction to his sister’s imminent demise, Athena had assumed they were very close; apparently, that assumption was wrong, because Acidalia clearly hadn’t shed a single tear. She looked every bit the put-together dictator the media liked to portray her mother as—the only thing missing was the scary blue eyes.

“We’re about two away from the Mare Acidalium Quadrangle,” Acidalia said softly, yet briskly. “The cloaking seems to have held up for this long, but I know that there are probably dozens of ships lagging just a few hours behind us. I will let you decide what you want to do when we land, but I want you to know that I cannot stay, and you will be targets if anyone ever finds out that you spoke to me.” Her posh, lilted accent and calm tone didn’t match her words at all,  which was almost more frightening than if they had.

“What do you mean, targets?” Athena asked. “Nobody saw us, we made sure of that.” She actually hadn’t made sure of that, but she’d taken the liberty to assume that nobody would question two young women dressed in gray wandering around a hangar at night. They were both wearing standard grays, common enough for them to be mistaken for practically any caste, and neither had any key distinctive features for anyone to remember them by—she hadn’t worried about their identities being revealed at all.

“Alestra sees everything,” Acidalia said, “and there is a very real possibility that you will be hunted down and imprisoned, killed, or imprisoned, then killed.” “What, no torture first?” Athena joked. Carina shot her a death glare, and she muttered a sheepish “sorry.” “If that’s a genuine question, then yes, they absolutely will torture you first,” Acidalia replied, utterly nonplussed. “I know you both came here to warn me, and that is an honorable thing to do, but it is incredibly risky, and now that you are here, you have my mother’s attention—or, at the very least, you will very soon. My plan is to rendezvous with David Seren—you wouldn’t know of him; he’s a reasonably high-ranking authority on Mars—and return to Eleutheria, hopefully with the Martians backing me and David and his family on their way to safety. I don’t know where you would like to proceed from there, but you need to understand that after what you’ve done today, there can be no return to normalcy for either of you.” “Yeah,” Athena said, ignoring Carina’s petrified look, “I kind of assumed that when I snuck out in the middle of the night to tell my best friend’s mom about my other best friend’s friend’s mother trying to commit—is it filicide or regicide? Sorry, I’m not too up to date on my murder terms.” “Stop trying to be funny, this is serious,” Carina hissed. Acidalia gave a humorless smile.

“So what you’re saying is we’re totally screwed,” Athena continued.

“No, not at all,” Acidalia replied, equally as casually. “Many people have committed acts of treason and lived.” “That’s not how the media makes it look,” Carina said shakily,

Acidalia sighed. “Always question the media. I don’t want you to think you don’t have options. You do—many of them. I just want you to know the gravity of your situation, and how impossible a return to what you might call ‘normal’ society will now be for you. I can give you a list of paths to choose right now if you’d like, but being regular caste Scientias again is not on it.”

“What if we don’t want to be regular Scientias anymore?” Athena asked.

A spark flared suddenly in Acidalia’s brown eyes. “Then you’re in a better situation than I predicted.”

Athena could already see where this conversation was headed. “This is going to end with an elevator speech recruitment pitch type thing, isn’t it?” “Do you want it to?”

Athena hesitated. Was this it? she asked herself. Was she really joining an anti-Alestra revolution? Two days ago, she’d been laughing at the excessive glamour of the Ciphers, who were nothing but glittering silhouettes in a far-away place on a television screen, and now she was standing right in front of one and speaking to her like this was all normal. A week ago, she was laughing in the break room about how much it must suck to be forced into the ridiculous life of ceremony and politics the ruling class set up for themselves, and now she was genuinely considering entangling herself in the complicated games they were playing. This was, in every sense of the word, completely insane.

But Eleutheria being torn in half was insane. Ciphers killing Ciphers was insane. Acidalia’s very existence as an Imperial dauphine and a traitorous bastard and a rebel leader was insane. Everything else in the world had lost its mind and any sense of sanity it might have, at one point, held, so maybe Athena could afford to go a little nuts, too.

“Yes,” she said, and with that, she could almost feel Morta raise her scissors. But, strangely, she didn’t much care.

[nibsthebravelostboy]

talking to my parents [tj x nibs x misty]

@itslostgirlmisty @princetjrobinson

[TJ]

TJ was pissed. He had heard his parents were back only through the news of the couple giving birth to two new healthy babies. The whole kingdom was in celebration and the maids and butlers were setting up even more festive decor for the kingdom. There was talk of parties and a Christmas ball but TJ didn’t care about any of that. He didn’t even know his parents were back or that had siblings from them. He knocked briefly on their door before going inside. His eyes blazing red in anger as he looked at his parents.

“So when did you think the appropriate time to tell your children you were back was? Or that we had two new siblings. You both didn’t even talk to us about losing the four siblings we had before and now we are just supposed to accept these new ones and not feel like you are just trying to replace them? You guys are so selfish why do you even have kids? You don’t care about us. While you two were fucking nonstop, Hope lost a baby, there’s a dragon terrifying the sirens and mermaid, and I haven’t left the house since Liam. You would know all this if you stayed and protected us just like you promised you would. But no, if it has nothing to do with you or putting Nibs dick inside of you you don’t care. I fucking hate you.”

[Misty]

Misty had put the twins down for a nap and she knew Nibs was going to be pretty busy with his meetings he had scheduled so she made sure that before he left for them they could spend a few moments together. When she heard the knock on the door she assumed it was someone coming to let them know Nibs had to go but she was pleasantly surprised to see TJ walk through the doors.

She listened to him talk and the mood completely shifted as his words felt like a knife to the heart. Hearing his last words her eyes turned blue as she looked at Nibs. Misty was so at a loss for words she didn’t know what to say. Most of what TJ was saying was completely disrespectful and just untrue but if she had made her own son feel that way then she couldn’t ignore that. She was more concerned though that Nibs had the same anger as TJ if not worse when pushed to far and she didn’t want him to get upset. “TJ we have been incredibly busy, we haven’t had a moment to even sit down with the royals yet. We got back because I went into labor and then we just wanted to spend the rest of that day together because we knew that as soon as people knew we were back they wouldn’t give us that time anymore.”

“You are right we didn’t talk to you guys but your father’s memory was gone, I had to deal with the royals and the funeral and my father, I was trying and I knew you guys were safe and that was my priority. I wish I could go back and check on you but I didn’t have that luxury, we don’t have that opportunity once you become the ruler of a kingdom and you are married. That almost destroyed me and your father and that’s what our trip was for. Because without it we wouldn’t even be together and all those problems you listed wouldn’t have been dealt with. And no matter how upset you are disrespecting us will never be allowed. Ever.”

[Nibs]

His eyes blazed bright red as he heard TJ's words. “That is a shit ton of assumptions coming out of your mouth. How dare you speak of things you don't understand anything about. Your mother and I left for couples counselling not just ‘to fuck’ as you put it. You are right your mother and I lost children, more children then you even know about. I brought her away from the castle and the stress because I wasn't going to let us lose more children. You aren’t a fucking child anymore TJ and if you want to be king you need to grow up. I am not babying you anymore so you deserve to know. Your grandfather was a bad man, he almost caused your mother to miscarry you and he even did cause us to lose kids before you came along so I am not going to sit here and let you insult your mother and myself over things you don't even know about. Hell even your grandmother tried to get her to miscarry.”

“And if I remember correctly, you came to the vacation house and we dropped everything to comfort you when Liam and you broke up which I can’t even fathom why you would bother doing that when everyone fucking knows Stiles and Liam love each other and you going after him while knowing he loves your brother is just setting yourself up for heartbreak. We raised you to be smarter than that.”

“And another thing, you see how fucked up Liam got when his parents were going through their divorce and how stressed he is about being King, you could imagine why keeping our marriage together would be in your best interest. We went to therapy to talk about what happened when you lost your siblings because Jack killed them and how we would move forward. How we would honor their memories and make sure that we can be in a stable enough mindset to help you and your sister through what happened. How do you expect us to be there for you if we don't even have our own lives put together? If we don't have our shit together there is no way you would take any of what we say seriously.”

“If you really think that we are trying to replace your siblings you are crazy because we value both you and your sister so much and ever since you have both been born we have been fighting for your birth rights. Do you know the shit I had to put up with from the royals about a hybrid as king? Hell they wanted us to never have children and force your mother to have a pureblood child with someone else thus removing you and your birth right of being King so don't you dare disrespect your mother and I ever again. I get you are upset but if you are to ever be king you need to learn to talk to people before you start throwing accusations around.”

“The fact you would regard your mother as some kind of whore for me instead of as my wife, your mother and as queen is just so incredibly insensitive and I raised you to respect your mother with the most utmost respect and you just...how dare you.” He hissed beyond angry as his eyes turned black as he stepped protectively in front of Misty.

[TJ] TJ didn’t back down from his father and step closer to Nibs, “So what you didn’t fuck her downstairs while I was upstairs crying my eyes out? Of fucking course if I’m not Stiles it doesn’t matter but when he was walking around here like a pussy because Liam broke up with him you gave him your full attention. Don’t tell me about who I shouldn’t fall for and who I should you are not someone I ever want to take advice from. I don’t have to go through the whole island before I actually settle down. I don’t have to have kids with people I beat and hate before I find the person I love. That’s you dad. Not me.” “You don’t get it. You didn’t raise me. You gave me a second of your time while most of it was Misty. You didn’t even know your daughter was basically being raped by guards. She was what 13? Having sex with 21-25 year olds? You only notice when it’s Misty going through it. And when you weren’t there for her miscarriage I was and how do you think I felt dad? I didn’t have anyone to teach me what to do. I felt so helpless and I saw that and you couldn’t give me a second of your time to check on me. You put your dick right back in her like someone would do with a whore and got her pregnant again. You don’t care about me or Hope. Stiles you do but us? Oh yeah no we don’t matter. And I feel sorry about the twins because they will realize they don’t matter either.” “I would rather you two divorce. At least then I know you would care. So no what I say stands I hate you both and I wish for just a moment you could admit that you are a shit father and she’s a shit mother. Because you are.”

[Misty]

Misty felt Nibs pushing her behind him and she grabbed his hand trying to get him to calm down. Nibs I’m fine. Really it’s okay. Just calm down for me, please. She said before flinching at TJ’s words. She never imagined her son would ever feel this way about her or Nibs. She didn’t know if Nibs would calm down after hearing TJ’s response. There was so much sadness radiating off of her, she couldn’t even respond. She couldn’t make the situation better. There was no way she was going to divorce Nibs and she couldn’t go back in time and be the parents TJ clearly says he wants. So what were they supposed to do.

[Nibs]

“Shows how much you know. I didn't pay attention to Stiles when he was whining his eyes out Liam. You know what TJ when you meet your imprint and they reject you to the point where your body starts physically dying then you can come bitch at me about it. I have spent more time with you than I have Stiles. I comforted you when you broke up with Irene after she pulled the same shit and you know what, you and Irene are perfect for each other.”

“Both of you are so selfish, making assumptions and not taking time to talk to people about an issue, throwing your family under the bus. You don't think you and your sister are in our best interest and you don't want to be in our family anymore then I am not stopping you from leaving. If you really think we don't care about you, there is the door. Now if you are done making everything about you and talking about how much you hate us. We need to go and check on your sister then figure out what all this stupid dragon shit is about. Until you can carry a respectful conversation this is over, now get out.” He could feel himself digging his nails into his palms until they bleed.

[TJ]

“You know what dad, fuck you. My whole life I have wanted to be you, I idolized you. But now I know that you are nothing. And you aren’t even half of the man I thought you were. You don’t have to worry about how selfish I am, I’m gone. You don’t have to worry about me at all. If I could I would give you your name back just so I have nothing to be associated with you.” He growled.

“Good day, your highness.” He said sarcastically as he bowed and walked out, slamming the door behind him.

[Misty]

Misty heard TJ’s words and she moved in front of Nibs to grab TJ’s hand before he could leave. Once he turned back to look at her she slapped him. “I don’t know who you are. You are not the son I raised. You father loves you more than anything in this world. Stiles grew up watching Nibs be the father he wanted to you because you came from me. You have no idea how hard it was when we lost our first child together, and then Hope came and Nibs was wrapped around her finger. And then we had you and you...you were everything I saw in Nibs. That is why you have his name, because you have so much of him in you. You father would die for you. He would leave me and go to you in a heartbeat if you needed him to. Your father is everything you wish you could be. And he doesn’t deserve what you said to him.”

“I love you TJ but I will not accept this type of behavior. You will go to your room and stay there until me and your father decide what to do with you. And thanks to your big sister every room is literally impossible to sneak out of. So apologize to your father and then get out of my face.”

[Nibs]

Nibs eyes turned from black to bright blue as he heard TJ's words. It was like a hit to the heart each word hurting more than the last. He was shocked that that was what his own son thought of him. Everything went rather slow as he found it hard to breathe as he took a few steps back.

[TJ]

The sting radiated off his face and his eyes turned black as before he could even control himself he ended up slapping his mother back. He froze as the slap echoed through his ears and his eyes immediately returned to normal as he looked at his mom. He knew it was hard because of his strength power and he brought his hand down in disgust. “Oh my god…mom I didn’t...I am so sorry I didn’t...I didn’t mean to do that. I couldn’t...I wasn’t thinking.”

[Misty]

Misty didn’t even see the slap coming before a sharp pain hit her and before she knew it her body was hitting the ground. Her neck completely broken.

—————-

[Misty]

It took a moment for Misty to realize what happened before she heard TJ apologizing. She took a step away from him and just nodded, “It’s fine. I know you are sorry.” She said. She stopped as she realized how many times she had had to say that exact thing to people in her life. “Just go to your room TJ and Nibs go to work. We can finish this later.”

[Nibs]

Hearing the slap caused Nibs instincts to kick in. He couldn’t control himself as he shifted and tackled TJ to the ground and bared his teeth at the younger. YOU DON'T DO THAT. DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN DO YOU HEAR ME. SHE IS YOUR MOTHER. He snapped before realizing what he was doing and his face fell before he got off TJ. Walking over to Misty he licked her cheek affectionately before nuzzling against her and then shifting back as he turned to look at TJ. “No, it's not fine. Go to your room. Now.”

[TJ] TJ was going to head to his room before his head hit the floor as he was tackled by his father. His eyes turned blue as he nodded over and over again. “I won’t I’m sorry it was an accident.” He cried before seeing his father moving. He got up, still shaking in fear as he nodded, “I’m really sorry mom.” He said before leaving the room.

[Misty]

Misty saw Nibs tackling TJ and wasn’t surprised, his first instinct was to protect her no matter what, but she could feel how scared TJ was. Nibs quickly snapped out of it like she knew he would and she flinched when he licked her cheek but smiled softly regardless so he knew she was really okay.

When TJ left, Misty took Nibs’ hand and kissed it softly before licking away the blood. “Stop hurting yourself Nibs. You know I hate it.” She said looking at him.

[Nibs]

Seeing TJ go out, he sent the guard to tell Jay to make sure TJ makes it to his room before turning his attention back to Misty. “I didn't mean too. I should have known he was going to do that. I should have protected you.” He sees the bruise already forming on her face as he frowned.

[Misty]

“Stop Nibs, he is our son you don’t have to protect me from him. I am okay. You need to go, you have meetings and I have to see the twins. I can put ice on my face later. It’s be fine, at most just swollen.” She shrugged trying to not make it a big deal as she moved to grab Nibs’ crown. “Go. Or you’ll never hear the end of it.”

[Nibs]

“You and I both know you can't walk out of her with that mark on your face or they might find some way to blame me for it. I will check on our daughter first before I handle the royals. Maybe she knows something about this supposed dragon.”

[Misty]

“Maybe but Nibs, just be sensitive about the whole miscarriage thing. Hope doesn’t love talking about things that really affect her. She’s like you when it comes to that.” She replied before sighing, “I am not staying in here to avoid people seeing my face. This isn’t the first time Nibs, I know how to cover it. I’m pretty good at it. Just go and I’ll see you tonight.”

[Nibs]

“I know. I will let her bring it up. You shouldn't have to cover it because he never should have done that.”