#cordelia saying only she without a husband can live her father whole…girl what

[visenyaism]

no cause those eclipses everyone keeps talking about in king lear portending unnaturalness betwixt parent and child really are about goneril as lear’s mother, regan as lear’s son, and cordelia as lear’s wife and it’s SO

[pluviophile-bookworm]

AWAE 3x1 rewatch: thoughts and reactions

So we’re finally here, up to the (unfortunately) final season of AWAE. I will be rewatching and reacting to the first half of the season only, since I’ve already posted my reactions to episodes 5-10 when they were coming out. Just thought I’d say that here. 

For this rewatch, I will be adding onto the notes to myself I made when first watching the episode. Also, this is dedicated to Amybeth McNulty for her birthday today.

So, without further ado, I suggest we dive right in.

Can we talk about how Anne’s beautiful green ribbon gets untied and flies into the air while she is riding through the snow and she doesn’t even seem to care? I mean, she looks back and smiles at it, but doesn’t even think of trying to retrieve it… If I were her, I would have turned the horse around. Although it did seem like the ribbon was too high up in the air for her to reach. Also, her hair is beautiful flying loose in the wind… like we’ve never seen it before. [Present-day note: of course we’ll see it like that again, and from Gilbert’s point of view. That scene was magical. Truly magical]

So… Ruby still has it for Gilbert… and she has it going on strong… she’s supposed to be covering the hockey game for the school newspaper, but she’s dropped her notebook in the snow [Present-day note: again, my dislike of ruining material objects speaks here, but - I felt really bad for that notebook. It’s done nothing to deserve being ruined by the snow] because she only has eyes for one of the players… and so does Anne. I really hope the budding love between her and Gil doesn’t shatter poor little peach Ruby’s heart. [Present-day note: I’m so beyond happy she got over him before Anne realised that she was, as they would say on Friends, ‘under’ him.] She’s a dearie and deserves the best.

The hockey field (probably nothing more than a frozen lake, but this is the 19th century, so, you know) has apparently turned into a place of courtship, as Billy is giving his attentions to Josie and Moody to Diana… but her parents won’t allow it. “Too rich to be a minister’s wife?”, Josie teases. But then the attention shifts to Gilbert who stares at something undefined between Anne and Ruby, leaving it ambiguous which girl his affections are directed to. The whole thing is very awkward to watch, and with no Cole around to reassure Anne that Gilbert has a crush on her, and her only, she may as well think he’s finally returning Ruby’s sympathies. That scene is intense.

The natives appear – a man and a little girl, presumably his daughter, the girl that was mentioned in the articles promoting this season. It turns out the man is the one who makes the hockey sticks for the boys, and the difference in nature between Gilbert and Billy is once again emphasised by how they each treat him. Billy is superficially polite, saying “Thank you” when receiving his new stick, but he says it in a sort of patronising way, like the subtext here is “We whites are better than you”. Gilbert, on the other hand, is just as polite and respectful as he would be to any white man – or woman, for that matter. I mean, he lives with a black couple, so he can’t be racist at all. I mean, he’s an absolute cinnamon roll.

Anne is even better with the natives, as in, she doesn’t even notice anything about them that would make them superficially different than her and her peers. She asks if she could write an article about the man, but not about his lifestyle or different standards, but about the sticks he makes. She sees the quality work, not that the man doing it is non-white. And I bet she’ll be learning a lot about their life and culture later on, in a perfectly respectful and inclusive way. This is beautiful.

Billy comes back and is all kinds of disrespectful, so the girl, Ka’kwet, shows her dislike of him very clearly, and her father warns her against “stir[ring] trouble with the white man”… the tension can’t be ignored anymore. It can practically  be cut with a knife.

The man offers a great judgement of Billy – “The little man with the big ego” – in his own native language, so only Ka’kwet understands. But he couldn’t be more right.

Billy walks away, muttering “Savages” under his breath. Anne, however, isn’t shaken for a millisecond in her wish to visit and interview them later.

So, Billy won’t even be coming back to school, as he’s stepping into the family business. I’m hoping we won’t see much of him anymore. [Present-day note: Unfortunately, we will. And when I say unfortunately, I mean devastatingly. Before this season, I didn’t think this excuse of a guy could get any worse, but in the latter half he’s proven to be an absolute entitled monster. I loathe him, and I’m not even sorry for allowing myself to feel such negative emotions.]

Jane is “chaperoning” Josie and Billy as they walk back from the game? I mean, yes, she is his sister, but she’s younger than him, I think. But well, I’m not sure how chaperoning works in such a situation.

Anne arrives at the natives’… village? What is it, exactly? Anyway, her new budding friendship with Ka’kwet (which, the poor thing says, just means “starfish”; now she and Anne can bond over wishing they had a different name – although Anne isn’t as resentful of hers anymore, now that she’s signed the family bible as “Anne Cordelia Shirley- Cuthbert) is just so beautiful… this show is pure aesthetic. [Both visually and in terms of content.]

Marilla disapproves of Anne’s having fraternised with the natives… the tension builds up. I guess Anne won’t be stopped from seeing her new friends so easily, though.

At the Pye household, Josie’s mother is pressuring her to “get a hold” of Billy before someone else does. I mean, she’s a Pye – an unpleasant person as per the book, so she deserves him. Let her have him, as long as Gilbert is reserved for Anne and Anne alone. [Yeah, in retrospect, not even Josie deserves this imbecile. But I didn’t know back then just how bad he could be.]

So Anne’s words “seems to me I was destined to be the bride of adventure” from the teaser are part of her evening prayer – a change from the (apparently) usual plea to make her good-looking, which she now, on the brink of age 16, sees as a childish wish and not a real prayer. Anne has grown!

“Many suitors or even just one…” Come on, Anne, are you blind? You have one – The One at that. Take Notice of him… I mean, the Take Notice board will be returning as per a gif set I saw here on Tumblr, so I really hope Shirbert moves on a bit quicker than it has so far.

Bash and Mary have a baby! Since when? I don’t know, but I love it. Is Gilbert the godfather? Seeing as he is Bash’s best friend and honorary brother, he must be… oh dreams…. [Either way, he’s her Uncle Gilby]

Her name is Delphine? That’s beautiful. Also, Gilbert just kissed her forehead before going out to school… the dream has come true.

The unlikely duo of Rachel Lynde and Miss Stacy takes centre stage in the next scene where Miss Stacy says she doesn’t need a man as she has discovered self-sufficiency after her husband’s death. Mrs. Lynde, of course, wants to play matchmaker for her. As I said, this is an unlikely duo and I would very much like to know how this relationship turns out further.

Anne and Diana are dreading the nearing day of their separation as Di goes to finishing school in Paris and Anne goes to college in Queens. I really want to know how this separation will turn out. [Fortunately, I won’t have to find out, and neither will they.]

 Another line of tension builds up with the resurrection of the Take Notice board, as the girls discuss the pressure to get married soon and Josie teases Anne about becoming an old maid, as seen in the trailer.

Poor Ruby takes the blow instead of Anne as she, who will apparently be going to Queens with Anne and Gilbert – only in order to remain close to him (poor unfortunate soul), is desperate to receive any advance from him. I really don’t want her to suffer, but here she is now, crying about him not noticing her. I almost want her to not end up going to Queens, as that will most probably be the place where Shirbert’s relationship will finally bloom, and I don’t want her to witness that. [AWAE Ruby would have loved to be Book!Ruby, as she gets much more attention from him there - but she doesn’t care as much. However, seeing as how Book!Ruby ends up, AWAE Ruby should be glad she’s not quite her.]

Anne “bet[s she] can help” Ruby’s Gilbert issue – but if she is the root of the problem and she doesn’t know it, how can she possibly be of any use to poor Ruby?

I’ve never seen Anne ignore someone so hard as she just did Moody – he greeted her and she barely turned her head in his direction, muttering a quick “Hi” before returning to her conversation with the girls… good thing he is not one of her suitors. Although she doesn’t pay much more attention to Gilbert, you know. 

I see Moody has grown up a lot since last time he was seen, and he’s now a close second to Gilbert, at least the way I see it. That’s quite a glow up he’s had. But I kinda wanted Diana and Jerry to be a thing – and now I’m low-key shipping her with Moody “your dress is very… blue” Spurgeon. The poor guy has always been awkward around her; it’s obvious he likes her. [See, I told you I only ship couples that have explicit signs of potential to happen. Even though Diana and Moody didn’t happen even for a second, I’ve apparently seen something in her and Jerry stemming from that one single conversation they had. I mean, he did call her ‘the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen’, so that must have been what made me ship them - even before I had the slightest idea they were going to be a thing this season. I still can’t get over the fact that they were not endgame. In my mind, at least, they are - somewhere in that future we didn’t get to see.]

 And now the super famous “take notice” scene between Anne and Gilbert is happening… oh the tension. [You know, this scene reminds me of Vanessa Hudgens’ Rather Be with You. If you haven’t heard that song, go listen to it and then try to tell me I’m wrong here.]

Anne was apparently talking about Ruby in this scene, and Gilbert was blabbing on about “the right person” and stuff… Shirbert is on!!

Well, that was a turn of events! The second Anne mentions Ruby you can actually see Gilbert’s emotions change. Kudos to Lucas for portraying that only with his eyes. How to those kids do that? 

And poor Ruby has been observing him during the conversation, of course… she is so deluded, the unfortunate thing – she thinks his reluctance to post means he’s looking for a much more romantic advance to make… Poor thing. Shirbert will break her heart and might just ruin her friendship with Anne forever… and she dies young in canon. I just hope Moira finds a way to give her the happy ending she deserves… [And, as we know, Moira didn’t disappoint there. I’m so glad things turned out for Ruby the way they did]

Jerry can read long complicated texts now… he’s reading Frankenstein [Little did I know how important this book would be for his story arc this season], for goodness’ sake! I stan one (1) beautiful [inside and out] French farm boy!! And I ship him with Diana even more now. Although if her parents won’t allow her a future minister, how will they allow a farm boy?

Diana has actual royal ancestry… but that ancestry is “keeping [her] from Queens; from [Anne]”. Isn’t this a tragical Bro-mance right there? It is indeed.

Marilla is helping Mary with the baby… makes me wonder if she has been dreaming of one for so long but never got to have it and this is why she’s so attached to this one… this series is beautiful but dramatic… it really tugs on my heartstrings.

Diana stands up for herself and her own wishes in front of her parents… but she doesn’t achieve more than angering them that way… poor little rich girl, indeed.

Also, I just love how the Barrys express their anger. Diana sits at the piano and starts playing angrily, while her mother embroiders angrily and her father reads his newspaper angrily. [I had no idea two out of those three things could be done angrily. I’ll leave it to you to figure out which two.]

The Take Notice board has a note on it saying “Susan has her sight on Moody Spurgeon”. Who is this Susan and why is she eyeing Moody if he’s courting Diana?

Anne is super excited about turning 16… “Once upon a time this was the happiest day of my parents’ life”. I really want her to find out about her ancestry eventually. But I want her and Gilbert to finally get together more. [Of course, both of these will happen in this season. I sort of knew that even back then.]

Let’s sum up: Anne has beautiful hair, but, more importantly, dreams of finding out her family history; Ruby has it bad for Gilbert - but we already knew that; Ka’kwet and her father make their first appearance and create tension in the process; Billy is racist on top of everything - but we all expected that; courting is in full swing; Rachel Lynde plays matchmaker; lots of tension caused by the Take Notice board; eye (and eyebrow) acting; Jerry reads Frankenstein; Marilla is a really good mother, and not only to Anne; who’d have known embroidery and reading could be done angrily; who is Susan; Anne is nearing 16 and things are about to change forever.

[thedarkplume]

Throwback Thursday

Dust off those browsers, friends. We’re gonna travel back in time to the stories that brought us into the fandom or the ones that have stuck with you through the years.

Share your super old faves and reblog them, showing the authors their classics are not forgotten. Leave them a love note showing them how much it means to you.

Then reblog the first story you wrote for your current fandom or even the first one you wrote for each fandom you belong to. The world is our oyster. Let’s rediscover some pearls.

I'm not going to lie. This Ask made me a little bit sad. There have been some really great writers on this site that have left us for unspecified reasons, and some for the childish bullying that seems to be a daily thing.

One of my favorite blogs was @chocolatecherubs. They were a blog that was written specifically for black female characters in the Marvel Universe, with Steve and Bucky as the central love interests, particularly during the 1940s.

However, all is not lost! There are still plenty of blogs that I follow and love and can always count on to provide the most entertainment you can achieve without picking up an actual book. One of the blogs who always delivers on this front regardless of the subject matter is the beautiful and talented @avintagekiss24 . I've been following her for a year and it has been a nonstop rollercoaster of fun, excitement, surprise, and even a little bit of heartbreak.

@avintagekiss24 has so many stories that I reread over and over again, it's nearly impossible to pick just one. But...if I did have to choose a classic in a split-second decision it would be Night Shift. This was my first time ever reading a story about Andy Barber and since then I have not stopped!

As for my own forays into fanfiction, I've written for Twilight, Harry Potter, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Cruel Intentions, a few WIPs for We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Knives Out, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and that's not counting all of the stories knocking around in my head vying for attention!

Here is a VERY old Buffy the Vampire Slayer story I wrote.

Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Pairing: Buffy/Angelus

Setting: 1700s, New Colonies

A/N: This story is a little different from the others I’ve written. This story is set in the days of Angelus’ life when Drusilla had just turned Spike. Bear with me if everything is not exactly up to par historically – I am not a history buff! NSFW 18+ Warnings for offensive language, subject matter, violence, blood, gore, and sexual abuse.

His features could not be termed uninteresting—there lay in them something bold and daring—but the expression on the whole anything but benevolent. There were contempt and sarcasm in the cold dark eyes, whose glance, however, was at times so piercing that no one could endure it long.

from The Mysterious Stranger (1860) – Anonymous

What is obsession? Is it the madness that consumes a man when he’s confronted with the one thing he knows he is not supposed to have? Is it the burning desire to possess the aforementioned object, ensuring that she will only think of him as he only thinks of her? Angelus paced back and forth in his chosen room of the mansion. Darla was still off reconnecting with Dracula and giving Angelus some much-needed breathing room. While she was off having her own adventures, he moved his childe and grandchilde to the American Colonies. They were in the colony named New York. Angelus loved the New Colonies. The women were not as sexually repressed, and the humans as a whole were more trusting. Since their arrival, government officials, writers, artists, scholars – everyone who held wealth and power had invited Angelus, his “sister” Drusilla and her husband William, to parties. There was nothing Angelus enjoyed more than drunk socialites.

And it was at one of these parties that he saw her. The object of his obsession. Elizabeth Anne Summers. Buffy, to those who knew her intimately. She had long, golden blonde hair, not unlike Darla’s, but hers had more of a silky texture. Her eyes were large and hazel, brimming with innocence. She had sun-kissed skin that seemed to glow underneath the moonlight.

Angelus wanted her. He wanted to bury his fangs and his cock inside her. Her scent proved that she was untried, but that would only last so long. Angelus found out everything he could about her. She was promised to the governor’s son. She lived with her parents Hank and Joyce Summers. She had a baby sister – Dawn – who caught pneumonia and died at the age of six. Her father worked as a developer for the colony and his wife owned a prominent boutique. She had two best friends, Willow Osbourne née Rosenberg and Alexander Harris, husband to the beautiful and licentious Cordelia Harris née Chase.

The first time Angelus spoke to her was at a party that was thrown by an oil barren. Angelus, as usual, found himself surrounded by three potential meals. Drusilla stood by William’s side, smiling proudly as he recited poetry. It was terrible, but the women thought it was the most beautiful thing they had ever heard.

“Do you hunt, Mr. McConroy?” one of the women – Mrs. O’Hara or something or another – said, pulling him from his thoughts.

Angelus flashed an enticing smile. “Why yes, Mrs. O’Hara. ‘Tis one of my many pleasures.”

She wet her lips and fluttered her eyes in what he was sure was meant to be attractive. “Well, in that case, you should come to my husband’s estate in the country. You two can hunt and later you could tell me more about your pleasures.”

“How can a man of sound mind resist such an enticing offer?” he said, kissing the back of her hand.

The woman continued to place unnecessary hints concerning secret rendezvous and Angelus almost lost control and snapped her neck on the spot until one of the younger women spoke up.

“There’s that Elizabeth Summers.”

Angelus’ attention immediately shifted, seeking out his dark obsession. She came in with her parents. Her large hazel eyes seemed sad, and Angelus suddenly wanted to seek out that which had caused her misery and destroy it. He wanted to be the sole source of any pain she felt. But he could not gaze upon his obsession in peace as one of the three women continued her verbal assault.

“How a strange girl like that was lucky enough to have a contract with Governor Finn’s son is baffling.”

“She is a strange one, Harmony,” Cordelia Harris vehemently agreed. “My husband says that she spends all of her time reading. Reading! Have you ever heard of such a thing?”

“Well, I hear that she wishes to become a writer! As if any respectable man would want anything written by a woman! A proper lady should spend her time learning to attend a household and concern herself with pleasing her husband.”

“Yes, well, we all know that Buffy,” she sneered the name. “Is as far from a lady as one can be. It baffles me why Alexander enjoys her company so. It’s embarrassing!” she glared as said husband made his way over to Buffy.

“I see nothing wrong with a properly educated woman, Mrs. Harris,” Angelus said, drawing their attention away from Buffy. “It would be refreshing to hear a woman contribute something to the conversation beyond how pretty the dresses are overseas.”

Cordelia Harris’ expression darkened so that if Angelus had been human, he might have been afraid. “Well,” she sniffed, highly offended. “It is upon the hour, and I believe I shall take my leave.” She stood and scowled at Angelus when he broke societal conventions and refused to stand when she did. “I bid you goodnight, Mrs. O’Hara, Harmony, Mr. McConroy.”

“Mrs. Harris,” his flourishing bow was meant and taken in all its mockery. He smirked as she huffed and stomped away. He watched her approach Buffy and Alexander, and used his enhanced hearing to listen in.

“…husband and I must be going,” she said in a clipped tone.

Buffy knew that her friend’s wife didn’t like her, but for Xander’s sake, she at least made an effort. “I am sorry that you must be leaving so soon. I hope you will feel well, Cordy.”

“Oh, Elizabeth, how many times must I remind you to call me Mrs. Harris?” she said tightly.

“Of course. I apologize.”

“Alexander.”

The dark-haired young man looked between his wife and his friend, wishing he could stay, but knowing he would never hear the last of it if he did. “Of course, dear. See you soon, Buffy.”

Her other friend, Willow, who had watched the scene from across the room, performed her usual damage control ritual. “You know I think one of these days he shall divorce her.”

“Willow!” she whispered, linking their arms. “You should not say such things.”

“Well, he should! I’m fairly certain the only reason he puts up with her is for the sex and we both know the pregnancy scare was the incentive for the marriage to start with…”

Angelus watched the two young women disappear out onto the gardens. “Ladies, if you will excuse me.” He left the woman at the table and sought out William. He didn’t have the same mental link with him as he did with Drusilla, but William could feel when his grandsire called him.

“You called?” he said, appearing moments later.

“Yes, I’m stepping out for a moment. Make sure no one sees Dru nibbling on the livestock.”

“Are you ever going to tell me what’s so special about this bird? I mean, she’s a cutie and all, but is she really worth our queen mother handing you your own arse?”

“What Darla doesn’t know won’t kill me.” Angelus knew William had a point. Darla was extremely jealous and possessive of him, but he was still sore around the edges where she was concerned, considering that she left him to die in a burning barn. Darla was his sire and that was a bond not easily broken, but nothing could reestablish the trust he lost for her. He glanced at Drusilla to see if she was keeping out of trouble and caught her thralling Harmony. “If you want the blonde as a party favor you should take her out of here. She’s as dumb as a post but has a pleasant peach scent to her.”

Angelus left his grandchilde to attend to Dru and followed Buffy’s scent through the large garden maze. She and her friend, Willow sat on a bench in front of a pond talking quietly.

“…says?”

“You mean when she’s not nursing a bottle? She blames me. She says even whores aren’t low enough to chase their own fathers,” she sniffled.

“Oh, Buffy, have you thought about telling Riley?”

“No, I can’t tell him, Will. If he thought for a moment that it’s gone further than a drunken fumbling, he’ll never speak to me again.”

“And right now, he’s your only way out,” Willow sighed in sympathy to her friend’s plight. “You know Oz and I will let you move in with us.”

“People will talk.”

“They’re already talking. One of New York’s most beloved sons married to a kike?”

“Willow!” Buffy admonished. “Don’t ever call yourself that.”

The redhead shrugged carelessly. “I have been called much worse. I am just telling you that Oz and I do not care what anyone else says about us.”

“I appreciate it. And if the wedding was happening later than next month I would say yes.”

“But what if he goes too far before Riley can save you?”

The unanswered question hung heavy in the air. Angelus seethed. He barely restrained himself from going back inside, grabbing Hank Summers and tearing off his worthless cock with his bare hands. It didn’t anger Angelus that the man was taking liberties with his daughter. It bothered him that his touch would not be the first she had known from a man.

“I should get back inside before Oz starts looking for me. Come with?”

“In a little while. I just want a little more time away from the noise.”

“Don’t take too long. Your parents,” she mumbled.

Angelus watched the Osbourne woman return to the party from his place in the shadows. He turned his attention back to Buffy realizing that they were finally alone. She leaned back, her hands flat on the bench and her face turned up towards the starlit sky. Her eyes were closed, and the subtle breeze disturbed the tendrils of silky tresses framing her face. Angelus had the perfect view of the golden skin of her smooth throat. His face shifted as he imagined sinking his fangs into her throat as her naked body writhed helplessly underneath his.

Buffy’s eyes suddenly snapped open. She stood and she looked around her as if sensing she was not alone. “Is someone there?” she called.

Angelus contained his excitement and returned to his human visage. “Just me,” he said, pretending as though he was simply out for a stroll through the garden’s maze. “Didn’t mean to frighten you.”

Buffy stared at the man before her. She was certain that she had never seen him around before. He was tall, very tall. He had long dark hair that was bound behind his head. He had a wide mustache and she wondered if it was as soft as his hair looked. He had dark eyes. Eyes that were mischievous and secretive. She started to believe she was dreaming. She always thought Riley was cute in a boyish way, but this man before her with the long brown hair, his piercing dark eyes and his enticing smirk was…beautiful. His smirk seemed to widen, and Buffy realized with startling clarity that she was rather rudely staring at him.

“No, you did not frighten me, sir,” she recovered.

“You are Elizabeth Summers, correct?”

“Yes, but everyone calls me Buffy.”

He took her hand – it seemed tiny and engulfed by his – and pressed a small kiss to it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Buffy. I am Angelus McConroy.”

Recognition flashed in her large hazel eyes. “Of course, Mr. McConroy! You live in the Crawford’s old mansion. Your brother-in-law, William, is it? He ordered a gown from my mother’s boutique for your sister.”

Angelus suppressed another smirk. He had sent William on that particular mission to scout out the boutique and Buffy’s work hours, and to spread the word to the local undead community that she, her family and friends, were off limits.

“Yes, my family and I moved there a few months ago.”

Buffy fidgeted with her dress before resuming her place on the bench. “Would you…would you care to sit?” she offered timidly.

He flashed a dazzling smile and took his place beside her. “Now what is a lovely girl such as yourself doing out here all alone? It’s really not safe,” said the wolf to the rabbit.

Buffy glanced up at him and flushed as he stared down at her unblinkingly. “Oh, well, I just stepped out for a moment. Just for some air,” she shrugged.

“You don’t truly enjoy parties, do you?”

“They are…acceptable.”

“Ah, but a lass such as yourself would much rather be at home in front of the fire with a book. You prefer the silence and solitude to the noise and excitement.”

She flushed an attractive pink and looked up at him from under her lashes. “I realize that those are not exactly the qualities one looks for in a woman, but…”

“But you are far from a woman, lass. You’re still a wee child.” He watched appreciatively as her skin flushed a darker red.

“Sir, I will have you know that I am of sixteen years and will soon be a wife,” she said, not really succeeding in sounding offended.

“Yes, to Governor Finn’s lad no less. I find it difficult to see what it is the boy could have done to deserve the hand of such a fair lass.”

Her hazel eyes met his and she wore a smile befitting that of the most experienced of coquettes. “Do you tell all your ladies that, Mr. McConroy?”

“Only the pretty ones,” he smirked and wiggled his eyebrows.

She started laughing and Angelus thought it was the most enticing sound he had ever heard. “You are indeed a charmer, Mr. McConroy. If I may be so bold…?”

“You may.”

“Why is there not a Mrs. McConroy? A gentleman such as yourself should have amassed quite the number of prospects from the fairer sex.”

Angelus, seeing his opportunity, angled his body towards hers. “Perhaps it is because a man can only have ale for so long before he starts to long for a fine wine.”

He could hear her heart pounding in fear and excitement as their seemingly innocent conversation began to take a different turn. “But what if you’re not supposed to have the wine?” she breathed.

“That’s when it’s the sweetest.” His hand cupped her cheek and her eyes fluttered from the contact. “Look at me, Buff,” he commanded. “Look into my eyes.” Angelus knew he could have waited rather than jumping at the first opportunity to thrall her, but he was anxious to have her in his bed.

“You have pretty eyes.”

Angelus felt his eyebrows rise. You have pretty eyes? Angelus concentrated harder and Buffy flinched as he suddenly seemed to be scowling at her.

“What? Men can have pretty eyes,” she pouted slightly, thinking he was offended.

Angelus blinked. He surveyed her carefully, playing close attention not to let himself linger on her pouting pink lips. He didn’t understand how it was possible for her to resist his thrall. No one had ever resisted! The girl was obviously human. She smelled human. She had a heartbeat. What had gone wrong? His eyebrows knitted together as he ran through any and all explanations as to why his gift had failed him. He felt her warm hand press against his own.

“Angelus? Is something wrong?”

He recovered, wearing his signature smirk. “You think my eyes are pretty, do ye?”

Buffy fiddled with the sleeves of her dress looking anywhere but at him. “Yes, they resemble little pools of chocolate.” She felt his fingers lace through hers and looked down. She liked the way their hands fit.

“Now which one of us is the charmer here, Buff?” he watched her shiver as his fingers idly stroked hers.

“There you are!”

Buffy stood, withdrawing her hand from Angelus, completely missing his darkened expression. “Riley,” she said, her heart pounding heavily as though she’d been caught doing something terribly wicked.

“I have been searching all over for you, Bethie.”

He took her hand in his own, missing her subtle wince at the nickname she loathed. “Forgive me if I have caused distress. I only stepped out for a moment.”

“Your mother and father are looking for you. They –.” Riley stopped short when he saw movement behind Buffy. “Hello,” he said to the man who sat on the bench watching them unabashedly. “I do not believe we have met. I am Riley Finn, Elizabeth’s husband-to-be.”

“Oh, yes, the governor’s boy,” Angelus said, taking in the blue-eyed baby-faced boy with mocking eyes.

Although the sarcasm went completely over the boy’s head as he puffed out his chest and stood a little taller, Angelus smirk only grew when Buffy gave him a warning glare.

“Yes, yes, I am,” he said proudly.

“Riley, this is Mr. McConroy.”

Riley tensed slightly, something neither Angelus nor Buffy missed. “McConroy. You purchased the old Crawford Mansion.”

“Yes,” he confirmed, his eyes glinting slightly.

“Well, it was nice making your acquaintance, Mr. McConroy, but Elizabeth and I must be going.”

“Of course. Nice meeting you, Finn.” He turned his penetrating eyes to Buffy. He picked up her hand and gave her a lingering kiss that left her near breathless. “T’was a pleasure makin’ your acquaintance, Buffy.”

“Mr. McConroy,” she blushed.

Riley’s jaw clenched as he led Buffy away. But his annoyance over what he saw as a threat to his future wife was nothing compared to Angelus’ fury over Finn impeding the progress he had made.

“I do not trust that McConroy fellow,” he confided when they were of a safe distance away from him. Or so he thought. “He worries me.”

“Riley,” Buffy sighed. “Mr. McConroy is a nice man.”

“You know him well, then?”

“No. We only made acquaintance tonight.”

“Yet he already calls you Buffy.”

A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “Riley Finn, I do believe you are jealous.”

“Perhaps I am,” he admitted. “Do you find him attractive?”

Buffy blushed and lowered her eyes. “He is…agreeable. But it is you who will become my husband. Your name I will carry and your children I shall bear. Tell me once more why you are jealous?”

With a few well-executed words, Angelus could see Finn’s worries and inferiorities fade away. He leaned down and kissed her lips as carefully as if she were made of glass.

“Bethie?” he whispered, still holding her close.

“Yes?”

“If I asked you to do something, as your future husband, would you do it?”

Buffy tensed. Her small hands fisted the sides of his shirt as her mind twisted and turned over in itself. As her future husband, he could ask almost anything of her, and she was duty bound to obey. She trembled against him and swallowed the bile suddenly flooding her mouth. “Yes.”

“I wish for you to have no further contact with Mr. McConroy or any of his family.”

Buffy stepped back from him so that she could see into his eyes. “Riley, I have already told you that Mr. McConroy bears no threat to us.”

“But he does,” he argued. “Have you noticed the strange occurrences in our town?”

“Are you referring to Madeleine Archer?” Maddie Archer was two years younger than Buffy and had gone missing from her bed in the dead of night.

“Yes, as well as Rebekah Harte, Joshua Black, Edward Morton, Christine Adams, and countless others.”

“Riley, how do these unfortunate people pertain to you desiring distance between Mr. McConroy and myself?”

“They all vanished or perished inexplicably after McConroy, and his family took residence in the Crawford Mansion.”

“You are not suggesting…?” she gasped.

“There is something amiss about them. His sister is said to be touched in the mind, but there is more. She speaks in prophecies. Her husband, William, the poet, who may I say is not very good, he was seen with Rebekah Harte before she went missing. Then there is your new acquaintance. He never leaves the mansion during the day. He does not work and yet he attends every party and somehow amasses enough wealth to support his family. They have no servants or cooks. Their skin is unnaturally porcelain – must I go on?”

“Are you suggesting to me that Mr. McConroy, his sister and her husband may be…nefarious individuals?”

Riley smiled humorlessly. “Why does it frighten you to speak the word, Bethie? You once told me that what most would believe to be a monster, you see as a beast maintaining his nature.”

“I was referring to the work of Bram Stoker, Riley. Beasts exist, yes, but not of that sort, and certainly not amongst Mr. McConroy and his family.”

“You have always had faith in the most undeserving of creatures, Bethie.” He reached inside his trouser pocket and withdrew a silver cross on a chain.

“It’s beautiful.”

“I wish you to wear it whenever you leave the mansion.”

“Even in the sunlight?” she quipped.

“Even in the sunlight,” he answered, unaffected by her glibness. “All of the victims’ blood was drained through small punctures to the throat.”

Buffy paled as she gasped. “What? But you never said anything!”

“My father thought it was best that the families were not informed of this. It would lead to panic and at this time, the authorities have declared it a beast. Wear it. For me.”

“Okay,” she whispered, still struggling with the concept of the creatures she learned of as a child could truly exist beyond the pages of a novel.

Riley secured the cross around Buffy’s neck and exhaled in relief. “Now I believe we should find your parents. They can hardly fault a man for enjoying the company of his love.”

The couple left the garden arm in arm, completely oblivious to the heavy stare on their backs.

Angelus was beside himself with fury when the Finn’s and the Summers left the Hardy Mansion. He had covered his tracks and the tracks of his childe and grandchilde carefully. Yet, the Finn boy seemed to have linked all of their victims back to them. Although he tried his best to come across as noble and caring in Buffy’s eyes, the boy was far more concerned with her affections rather than her safety. The thought in itself caused a malicious smirk to befall his angelic features. They would have to be careful. Meticulous. One mistake and all would be lost. Nevertheless, Angelus would have Buffy Summers…even if he had to eviscerate every townsman to get her.

Angelus itched to relieve his fury and he knew just how to do it.

“Margaret, is it?” she was nothing. An aide in the Hardy household with the burden of a fatherless son. She was not remotely attractive, and her blood was not in the slightest appealing. But her polite smile and cautious eyes appeased him.

“Yes, sir.”

“I regret to bother you as I can see you are terribly busy, but I am afraid I require your assistance.”

“In what way, sir?” still so trusting.

“Come with me, please.”

Ah. There is the hesitation. “Very well, sir.”

He led her to a dark corner underneath the stairs hidden from the rest of the intoxicated socialites. “Ah, that’s better, isn’t it? Not complete privacy, but it should do for what I have in mind,” he said, letting his eyes drift over her, hoping to discomfort her. She predictably squirmed under his gaze, unaware that her used and aged body held no appeal for him.

“Sir, I…I should get back,” she stuttered, her heart pounding beautifully, forcing her blood to flow quicker through her arteries.

“Why not stay a while? After all, you did say you would help a fellow with his problem,” he purred, moving even closer to the frightful maid.

*“Sir, please, I should return to the party.”

*“Margaret, Margaret, there’s no hurry.”

She tried to pull away from him, hoping that someone might see. *“Mistress will be wondering…”

*“Sshh,” he cooed. “Mistress will be wondering how to get the good Reverend Chalmers into bed and will not notice the absence of canapé.” He stroked her chin for good measure, and she shuddered in spite of her fear. “Stay with me,” he urged.

Angelus could tell by her eyes that she was considering it. How could she not? A lowly maid, past her prime, receiving the attentions of the young and wealthy Mr. McConroy, a man that all women, be they married, betrothed, or divine worshippers, have attempted to lure into their beds.

*“Sir, people might talk,” she weakly protested. “I’ll be put out on the streets. My little boy would…I can’t lose this job,” she said, forgoing any thoughts she might have had about taking a chance with the beautiful Angelus McConroy.

Angelus, sensing her resolve, lost his temper. He grabbed her arms. *“Then you must keep quiet.”

*“You’re hurting me!” she said, speaking a little louder than she intended.

*“Ah! Cry out. Call for help. I’m sure Mistress will believe your behavior beyond reproach,” he sneered.

*“Please!” she gasped, wriggling in his embrace.

Angelus shook her roughly. *“Come, make a scene, huh?” he taunted. “Shall I?”

Margaret hesitated. *“No,” she whispered.

*“No, no. We’ll be as quiet as mice.”

Margaret lowered her head. Her shoulders sagged in defeat. If she closed her eyes and didn’t put up a fight, maybe it would be over soon. No one would believe her if she said their familiarity was forced.

Angelus could almost taste her defeat. His face shifted and when she looked back up at him, her fear and terror flooded his senses. *“No matter what.”

*“Sir!” she trembled, tears welling in her eyes. “My son!”

Good, he had almost forgotten. *“Oh, he’ll make a fine dessert, huh?”

He grabbed her, sinking his fangs into her throat before she could scream. He drained her quickly. She was unsatisfying and not at all fulfilling. He released her, letting her body fall carelessly to the floor. He tucked her away in the corner, knowing one of the other servants or perhaps her Mistress herself would find her. Angelus maneuvered around the intoxicated guests, following Margaret’s scent to the servant’s quarters. He found Margaret’s whelp sleeping in his bed. He was a boy of no more than seven years. His hair was curly like his mother's and a brighter shade of blonde. Margaret’s pallet lay positioned beside the boy’s bed. The boy clutched a worn brown bear that was missing its left eye. He was a beautiful child, clearly taking after his father. The boy opened his eyes and startling emerald green eyes met his own.

“Are you an angel?” he whispered.

His lips twitched as he fought the smirk that threatened to reveal itself. “An angel?”

“Mum says when it’s time an angel will come and take me to see my Da. Will you take me?”

He arranged the boy’s body in his bed and retrieved his mother, placing her on top of her pallet. From a distance, it would look as If they were merely sleeping. He returned to his mansion an hour before sunrise.

“Daddy, we saved her for you!” Drusilla called over the screams.

He strolled down to the “playroom” in the cellar. The room smelled of sex, blood, and fear. The young woman from the party, Harmony, was naked and railroad spikes had been driven through her hands and ankles, courtesy of William. Her legs and stomach were flayed, and Drusilla greedily lapped up her flowing blood.

William leaned against the wall, a pipe in his hand. “How did it go with the bird?”

Before he could answer, Harmony turned towards Angelus. Her face had been clawed, most likely by Drusilla, and her right eye hung out of its socket and lay limply against her cheek. “Mr. McConroy, help! Please help me!” she whimpered.

A cold smirk drifted on his lips as he played with her blood-soaked hair. “I could help you, Harmony, but you would have to do something for me first,” he taunted.

“Anything, anything.”

“Open your mouth.” A single tear fell from her good eye. She opened her mouth without hesitation. Angelus released his semi-hard cock and shoved it into her mouth. She choked and gagged as his hand knotted in her hair. “She resisted my thrall.”

William pushed off from his relaxed stance against the wall. “Resisted? How the bloody hell did she do that?”

“Gee, William, I have no idea. I’ll be sure to ask her next time,” he growled, shoving his entire length down Harmony’s throat.

“She’s not like the others,” Drusilla whispered. Her eyes were wide and unfocused. She was having a vision.

“What do you see, pet?”

Just as Harmony’s heart stopped beating, Angelus felt his seed spurt into her mouth. He pulled out, using her hair to clean himself off, smiling lightly as his seed and her blood dripped from her mouth.

“She was almost Called.”

“Called?”

“As in…?” Angelus had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

“But the Powers…she was unworthy…innocent blood on her hands…now she is just a human.”

Angelus ran a hand through his hair, attempting to process what they had just learned. Buffy was meant to take the Calling. She was to be a Slayer, but she killed someone. The Powers deemed her unworthy and now she will never be a Slayer. But even though she didn’t have the Call, she was still equipped with the typical Slayer attributes. A mental block to resist the thrall. Possibly strength to fight against any demonic creature.

“Darla is going to kill you,” William snickered.

“Darla is too busy fucking Dracula to care what I do!”

“Sure, keep telling yourself that.”

Drusilla hunched over, moaning and hugging her stomach. William’s good mood faded quickly as he and Angelus flocked to her side protectively. “What do you see, Dru?”

“Bad man…bad man…bad man…”

“What bad man? What is he doing?” Angelus questioned her as she leaned against William.

“Touching…bad touch…bad touch…wants to keep her…wants to hurt her…!” she moaned.

Angelus growled deeply, startling his childe and grandchilde. “Hank Summers is a dead man. William, at first dark, I need you to do something for me.”

[thecorteztwins]

what are some under used marvel female characters youd love to see in the rpc?

HMMMOkay, so I’m trying to think OBJECTIVELY here and not just rattle off the female characters that I personally like, and more “I’m surprised that there’s not more blogs for this character, whether or not I personally am a fan” ....because I missed the “you’d love to see in the RPC” bit because I’m dumb, and then I wrote this whole list without regards for that part. So this came out as less “female characters I personally want” (who would all be stupidly obscure and irrelevant anyway) and more “female characters I think the RPC should give some more love to, whether I personally am into them or not”:Definitely ALL the girls in the New Mutants and Generation X! I see a fair few blogs for Magik and Jubilee, but I really don’t see any for the others. I get why Magik is going to be more popular---she’s in more stuff, she’s currently much more relevant in the comics, and her backstory is so goddamn compelling---but that doesn’t mean the others shouldn’t have ANY blogs out there. Wolfsbane, Magma, Karma, and Moonstar are all extremely complex and compelling characters with their own struggles and triumphs too, and I think they deserve just as much love. Likewise, I get why Jubilee will naturally get more blogs than Husk, Monet, and Penance (depending if you count Penny as a separate character or not...) due to her being in more stuff, having bigger arcs, etc. But it still surprises there’s NO blogs around for those ladies! I know there was that Monet blog awhile ago, and @badmusesdoitwell had an Amara that’s now part of their multimuse, as well as a Rahne, but that’s still nowhere near enough love in the RPC for these Junior X-Ladies, in my opinion. Speaking of Generation X, I’m also a bit surprised no one has picked Cordelia Frost up, given that we’ve got plenty of background canon for her via Emma’s history yet Cordelia herself has LOTS of room to go nuts with headcanons, like it’s just the perfect opportunity! And I’m sure lots of Emma blogs, of which there are MANY, would love their little sister around for some family threads. Fuck, I would pick her up myself if I were more into Emma and the Frost family as a whole. She’s hardly the most relevant, recent, or even interesting character around, she’s done very little and shown up very briefly, but the fact she’s related to Emma Frost makes me think SOMEONE would have an interest in her.Madelyne Pryor, for sure. Like, I love Maddy, but it’s not just my favoritism talking here. I think she’s pretty decently well-known in the comics fandom, and she’s a tragic villain, which usually pulls people in big-time. She’s got a grudge against the good guys, and it’s actually more legitimate than most, which I’d think would also attract people, since a lot of villains fans like to blame the good guys no matter what and THEY’D ACTUALLY HAVE A GOOD ARGUMENT HERE? Plus she has very strong connections to other, more popular canons, with a ton of fodder for angst and drama threads, which people just LOVE. I have seen a few Maddy blogs pop up in the past, and I always get so excited, but they never seem to last very long :CDr. Moira MacTaggert deserves ALL the love and respect in the world/fandom! She’s been a staunch supporter of mutants since day one, she’s a total badass, she’s super smart, she calls Xavier out on his shit ALL THE TIME, she’s the survivor of an abusive husband, she had to make terrible choices about her son that no mother should ever have to and then live with the consequences of those choices, and SHE GOES AFTER A KELPIE WITH A GODDAMN MACHINE GUN! She’s been a part of the X-Men comics for such a long time, and is very significant in them, it really surprises me that I’ve never seen a blog for her besides just ONE and it was for the XMCU sexy American CIA agent Moira, who is NOT Moira in my book and NEVER WILL BE. Speaking of, Moira will ALWAYS be human to me, I think making her a mutant all along REALLY undermines a big part of her character as just an unyielding mutant ally. Though I think her being human, combined with being an older female who isn’t anyone’s love interest (unless she’s, gasp, getting in the way of CHERIK aka the ultimate fandom sin how dare she the harlot -.-), is probably WHY she’s so damn ignored -.-Frenzy hasn’t been in THE most recent stuff, but she’s still been relevant recent enough that I think one or two blogs around would have happened if she weren’t black. Yeah, I hate to be THIS person, but any black character who isn’t Storm doesn’t get love, for all that the RPC likes to yell about being diverse and progressive. Remember all the Captain America and Iron Man and Hulk and Quicksilver blogs that popped up after their movies? Yeah I saw like ONE T’challa blog after Black Panther came out. Then again, I’ve yet to see blogs for Pixie or Firestar either, who are white, and I feel like they both were fairly interesting and well-known in fandom? Same for the Academy X girls like Sofia Mantega, Mercury, and Wallflower. Luna Maximoff FOR SURE. It SHOCKS me I haven’t see more than a couple short-lived blogs around for her, just given her family connections. Now, I don’t think a character deserves love just because of who they’re related to---in fact it annoys me when a characters gets a ton of attention and it’s very obviously just for that---but Luna has SO MUCH going on? The problems between her parents, her mother being absent so much, her father exposing her to the Mists, dealing with her powers, being a child of two very different worlds and cultures, it just goes on and on. Luna has had to grow up so fast, she’s such a strange and stoic child as a result, and though her situation is very fantastical, having to be the mature one at an early age because all the adults in your life won’t be is something a lot of people have to cope with and I think would find relatable; I especially love how she lives in this world where there’s no bad guys, like neither Crystal nor Pietro were the villains in her situation, just hurting messed up people, which she also recognized in Magneto and maybe also even Maximus . And there’s so much that could be explored with her too that hasn’t been in canon yet---for instance, her choice to identify with her Inhuman heritage and why that is, and the journey of identifying with your heritage but also looking at the horrible things in their history, I think that’s a story that a LOT of people from MANY backgrounds can relate to. It surprises and frustrates me that both writers and fandom don’t really seem to care about her or remember she exists; one the only two blogs I ever saw for her seriously got someone asking them “why would you make such a weird OC” like SERIOUSLY! Luna needs more love, big time. Any female Avenger that’s not Wanda or Natasha. I don’t read Avengers, I’m just an X-Men fan, but I know they exist and they shouldn’t have to be in a movie to get love. Ditto for She-Hulk, I’m not a Hulk reader but I know she’s a prominent character who has been around a long time and has a very developed personality and stories of her own, yet I’ve only ever seen her on @getreadytosmash‘s multi. I’ve also never really read Alpha Flight, but its main ladies ---Snowbird, Aurora, Vindicator---all seem awesome in their own different ways. Alpha Flight isn’t very popular to begin with, of course, so I don’t expect them to have as many blogs as, say, major X-ladies, but I think one apiece or so would be very justified.KWANNON!! I actually get why we didn’t have any blogs for her BEFORE now, because we knew NOTHING about her, she was just a very tragic prop for Betsty’s body-swap plot and a way to give her insta-ninja-skills, but now she’s come back and has HER OWN NEW SERIES in which we’re finally learning who she is and her background, I hope to see a blog or two around for her eventually!Destiny aka Irene Adler. Like. Do I even need to explain WHY? I think people just don’t want to play an OLD woman, especially one whose primary/only ship is going to be with another woman.Maaaaybe Clea Strange? I don’t know shit about her, never read Dr. Strange, but like, people make blogs for Sigyn literally just because she’s Loki’s wife, and Clea at least seems to like...DO stuff? IDK, not sure on this on, but figured I’d make an honorable mention.Siryn, Boom Boom, and Dr. Cecilia Reyes are all X-Ladies that I really don’t know much about. Like I know basic things like their powers but I don’t know their story arcs and such. But as with Clea and the Avengers ladies and She-Hulk, I just have a HUNCH there’s a lot there getting ignored by fans.Silhouette Chord is a longtime member of The New Warriors, and, like Alpha Flight, New Warriors doesn’t really have a fanbase on Tumblr to speak of, so it’s not surprising to me she’s not got any love here. And even within the pages of her own comics, she’s generally pushed aside, underused, and underdeveloped compared to the other characters, generally more a prop for her boyfriend’s stories than anything else. But she DOES have a personality, a REALLY cool backstory, and she’s like...look, the RPC claims to love diversity and representation and all that, right? Silhouette is a mixed-race WOC (half Black, half Cambodian, and I have NEVER seen another Marvel character of Cambodian heritage who wasn’t connected to her) who is also very visibly physically disabled, her legs are completely paralyzed and she is never without her braces/crutches, yet she still fights PHYSICALLY (something very rare for physically disabled characters, they usually are more like Oracle or Prof X) and is depicted in a sexual relationship, and there’s never any kind of fuss or angst about it or anything treating her as delicate or less than or anything like that. She’s just completely adjusted to it in a way that’s very rare in media. And like I said, she’s not a flat character, I’m not saying she should be more popular just for ticking off the diversity boxes, she manages to be really intriguing to me despite how little focus the writers give her, and I think that she and the other New Warrior girls (Firestar and Namorita) have a lot to offer the RPC. But I have to give a special shoutout to Sil since she’s my fave, as the neglected ones alway are.Meggan Puceanu is probably most familiar to folks here as Kurt’s love interest in Age of X, but she’s been around since the 80s. She’s a longtime member of Excalibur, and she’s just...fascinating. She’s a Romanichal mutant (though often hinted to have magical/mystical heritage too, perhaps fairy like Pixie) who has empathic, elemental, and shapeshifting capabilities. However, her empathic and shapeshifting tend to overlap, so she changes her form (and her mind) according to the feelings, fears, and desires of others. So for instance, there’s this one time where a group of men are checking her out, and she feels that “They love me...I want...to love them in return!” and she morphs into this sexxed-up version of hersef on the spot. This isn’t played for kinkiness or laughs either; Meggan’s identity struggles are a HUGE part of her character. She has no idea who she is because her powers make her reflect and respond to the feelings of others around her, internally and externally. She doesn’t even know what she actually really LOOKS like because of this; her powers were present since birth, causing her to grow fur instantly as an infant due to it being winter. This caused her parents to keep her locked up in the camper trailer, where she was raised alone with the TV (she’s also illiterate, which causes her to feel dumb a lot) and as more and more people around her spread rumors about the monstrous child inside, she psychically absorbed those beliefs and her physical form changed to reflect them, making her more and more monstrous as she got older. She didn’t know she was a shapeshifter, she just really thought she was a hideous monster. And even when she found out the truth, she STILL didn’t know what she really looked like, as the beautiful form she took on (basically Pamela Anderson with elf ears) was to please her boyfriend Captain Britain (whom she is really unhealthily dependent on starting out because of her situation)Meggan is insecure, she doesn’t know who she is, she has to cling to a man in order to have anything because no one else has ever loved her, she easily becomes jealous of other women near him, she gets made fun of for being a bimbo and she often feels she is because she can’t read or understand “clever words” due to her isolated upbringing...and she gets through this! She develops! She becomes STRONGER and she becomes SECURE and she gains CONTROL of her powers and SHE KICKS ASS and she FORMS AN IDENTITY!  And then Meggan SACRIFICED HER LIFE to buy time for Captain Britain, Psylocke, and Rachel Summers to repair the tear in reality caused by House of M. She ends up lost between dimensions and TRAPPED IN HELL, where she uses her empathy to rally the lesser demons against THE LORDS OF HELL ITSELF and wages a war IN HELL for which her demon followers dub her “Gloriana” and she forms a sanctuary there called “Elysium” where souls can escape torment!  AND THEN SHE FINDS HER WAY HOME!THIS WOMAN KICKED ASS IN HELL AND WON!! Like she just goes through SUCH an arc, and I admit I have not read it myself yet, she’s on my list of characters to read EVERYTHING on and I’m still only familiar with her very insecure Excalibur days (which I love a lot, I just feel so much for Meggan and her struggles, I think she’s very much a reflection of a LOT of real-world issues, ranging from mental illnesses to just EXISTING as a woman) but I already have a ton of feelings about her and I think she’s more than prominent and accomplished enough to merit more attention in the RPC. And this is less of an “actually has reasons the RPC should love her” character, because really there’s no reason they should, she’s not prominent or relevant or or anything, but more an interesting “did you know”---did you know there was a “young female Wolverine clone” in the comics BEFORE Laura Kinney? Avery Connor! She pre-dates Laura by a year and has a VERY similar story, yet she never took off in popularity and very few people know her. You can read about her HERE on my Marvel blog. Again, would not say there’s actually any reason she’s earned love from the RPC like, say, Meggan or Luna, but I just thought I’d toss that in as a tidbit for the Logan family fans, as I know there are many.(Also, cheating because these are dudes, but: I’m not a Banshee fan but I am surprised I’ve never seen a blog for him, nor for Sunfire. Or for 616 Pyro. Or...)

[ships-for-you]

Unfortunately, I can’t tag this person. I’m sorry!😰

Note: I made this longer than how I normally write to compensate for my absence.

For Black Butler, I ship you with

Ronald Knox!

You two would’ve met under peculiar circumstances.

You had sadly passed in your past life caused by suicide.

And now, you’re being punished for dying too early.

You once worked alongside a tall man named William T. Spears for a few months since you passed the training program and are now being formally taught by your superiors.

It had been a considerable amount of time since then, and you had been working on your own.

You enjoyed being alone and occasionally chatting with your co-workers until he came along.

Honestly, ever since he joined the dispatch, he’s been flirting non-stop with the females of your group.

Not to mention, a certain someone that you once tried courting but wasn’t interested you, he managed to snag her too!

Besides, it’s as if he doesn’t even show up to the dispatch to work.

Just to flirt.

It doesn’t help that he works under you therefore whenever he doesn’t do his job, you work overtime to pay for his mistakes.

But it’s fine, as long as it saves your co-worker the stress of overtime.

Even if you end up with it, it’s just in your personality. Too nice! You have my respect.

And that has taken a toll on you.

You even screamed at William and Grell once for simply greeting you.

Coffee doesn’t work since you’re not human anymore.

Any type of caffeine doesn’t.

So one day, Ronald came to apologise. Of course, not on his own accord but because he was told to do so.

He hasn’t seen you in so long because you’ve been out most of the time trying to reap more souls in order to compensate for what he couldn’t do.

When he opened the door to your office, he saw the mounds of paperwork.

He laughed a bit and then just set the water that he had brought with him beside you.

When you turned to look at him, that’s where he saw the messy state you were in.

Messy hair, glasses fogged and slightly out of place, eyes bloodshot and the obvious darkened callous spot on your middle finger from writing so much.

You muttered a small “thank you” and continued writing your reports. That was when he felt as if he truly respected you.

He did respect you for your work, how efficient it was,

Not to mention, his higher-up is pretty hot. Of course he respected you but only now did he feel guilty for his actions.

“I’ll help you.” “There is nothing for you to help with.” “I’ll do my job properly this time.” “Alright.”

Needless to say after this interaction, you’ve become close friends.

Occasionally having playful banters in the office or sharing slightly suggestive jokes to one another.

You usually go reaping together whenever your targets are close together.

Would visit each other’s quarters and homes whenever you wanted.

Practically living-off on one another.

The, “Work-Husband-and-Wife” type of partnership.

Most people don’t understand your relationship but do at the same time.

It’s pretty...interesting.

For Free, I ship you with Rei Ryugazaki!

I would imagine you meeting during one of their practice sessions.

Is it wrong that I find you being closely acquainted with Haru?

Anyway, being a close acquaintance to him and practically being his second mother, you would visit him at school.

One time, you remembered Haru doesn’t eat much at school and he informed you that he would have practice later.

So you went to Iwatobi and packed food that would be good enough for at least 3 people, in case someone didn’t have any either.

Not many joined the swim team, as Haru said.

So you didn’t expect a lot of people being there.

You didn’t expect to see a really cute girl with a red high ponytail.

And you didn’t expect to see a fellow glasses character with you.

Your eyes met and you simply smiled and made your way to Haru who seemed to have a little picnic with Makoto and his other friends.

“Hey Haru, you didn’t pack lunch right? Do you think this enough? Do your friends have food? Uh, hey you! Do you have food with yo—“ “Yes, this is enough. Thank you (y/n).”

You would sit down with the team and tell jokes to one another. “Hey! Did you hear about that one deaf guy that got run-over by a car?” “No.” “Ah, well don’t worry! He didn’t either.😏”

Rei laughed the hardest in all honesty. The joke was directed to Haru because you tried to make him laugh. He only scoffed.

After eating and resting for a short while, they got back to training and occasionally abandoning the rules of swimming to have fun instead.

“Oi, Nagisa! Don’t you da-“ “Sorry Rei-chan! It’s so funny to see you embarrassed!”

It’s almost endearing how close they are. Like a whole family.

Not long after, Rei, whom you found out to be the glasses boy, quickly said goodbye and rushed out of the area as quickly as possible.

“What’s up with him?” “We don’t know, we thought that maybe he had a high-maintenance girlfriend or something...” “I’ve always cirwed Rei as the type to be weakened by love.” “Don’t worry, we’ll get him to focus and have fun again! “

You, alongside Gou, compiled books to help strengthen Rei’s love for his partner.

And turns out, you were both wrong.

He didn’t have a partner

Turns out, he’s actually trying to pay-favours from the track team.

You were slightly worried for his well-being and decided to visit the gang after shook every other day.

You oaccasuonally hanging out with the guys and at your house.

You being an absolute doll and making them their favorite food.

You’ve become closer to Rei throughout these hangouts.

You felt as if you could debate about anything to help keep your reading skills sharp.

Especially when it came to the topic of the superficial.

You two would end up to be the closes of friends.

And who knows? Maybe even partners

I know I’d be jealous

For Diabolik Lovers, I ship you with KarlHeinz!

(Key: Art - Is a vampire’s personal blood-bag and plaything. Can be used solely for feeding and/or pleasurable activities. Of human race or a hybrid of a supernatural being. Occasionally, however rarely, utilised solely for companionship.)

Where to even start?

It all started at a ball. A grand ball that was held by the Demon Lord himself to commemorate his daughter Cordelia’s coming of age day. She was the illegitiamate daughter of the king however, he has decided that it would only be appropriate to honor a celebration to her. Not having proper guidance from her family, it was only natural that she did not know what to do therefore she relied on her art, you, to guide her and inform her about the social standing of majority of the nobles at the ball.(reference from Blood Bank haha)

She surveyed the area and chatted with you when it was absolutely necessary. You, being very knowledgable with the state of the kingdom and yet being highly insecure, could only utter short but brief answers to her queries. You took note of the celebration’s schedule and took out your pocket watch. You glanced at the orchestra and decided that she had merely an hour an a half before the waltz would commence. You encouraged her to socialise with the men and find a suitable conversational partner to dance with. She nodded her head and dismissed you without a second thought. You adjusted your glasses that seemed to have slid down your nose bridge a bit and fixed your long brown hair. In times like this, you wished she had a suitable figure to guide and educate her of the importance of her postition. You worried for her future and her outlook of her situation that would soon affect her decisions in the following events of her life. What she should be trained for, the common good of her future kingdom, the proper way to lead her people. Instead, she had a dead mistress for a mother and a passive deadbeat for a father.

You decided to merely cling to the walls of the ballroom once the first dance had started. Your mistress had surely acquired a partner to dance with and you decided that it would be best for you to simply observe rather than partake in the celebratory dance. Walking alongside the woman who was envied by all was enough to redirect the attention towards yourself and you had enough of the spotlight.

As you were worriedly keeping a watchful eye on your mistress, a tall man had approached you.

This man had the most devious look on his face. Given the material and craftsmanship of his robes, he must’ve been of royal blood-line. ‘A vampire perhaps?’ You started to deduce him, he seemed like a very knowledgable young man. A man that seemed to make sure he gets what he wants no matter who he needs to step on, no matter who he needs to take advantage of. Surely he had the riches and the charm, most especially the charm. He seemed like the type of man to solely rely on logic and not so much on the probability of anything happening. A very calculating character, isn’t he? Your mind thought of all those under the vampire race and had settled on the conclusion that this charming young man was none other than KarlHeinz.

“Good evening, my lady.” He greeted, his voice surprisingly deep for his age. He bowed slightly whilst you curtsied. “Good evening, my Lord. How may I be of service?” You questioned with your voice slightly shaking, surely he wasn’t the type to start idle chatter without an ulterior motive. “What is a charming young woman such as yourself doing alone at the King’s ball? Surely you must have an acquaintance or a lover nearby to keep you company.” He laid a gentle kiss on your backhand and looked in to your eyes. He truly meant what he had said. Such beauty manifested in a mere mortal’s body. He could sense an inquisitive however slightly anxious nature surrounding you. And the scent of your blood was absolutely intoxicating, you were most likely sold from the finest of curators. Surely his prescience should not affect you this much. You seemed like a very interesting pawn to be utilised in his game and he would ensure that you will aid him in pursue of his experiments.

He decided to keep this conversation going. He took note of how you fidgeted on the sleeves of your dark blue gown and how your lenses have fogged up slightly due to the warmth radiating from your face caused by the inability to carry out such conversations with a person you had barely known. You exchanged minimal information about each other. He understood your humor for play on words and you understood his cunning personality. He appreciated your interest in the supernatural nature and he came to be interested in your motherly and caring personality. Perhaps you have thought wrong about him? Perhaps he was a very caring young man who would ensure that his partner would be spoiled with the affection and wealth that he will share with her. Given your conversations, he seemed to have been of high caliber and had attained good education. Perhaps he could be a suitable suitor for your mistress? You only desired the best for her.

You had introduced him to your mistress and you could tell merely by the way she looked at him, your companion had found the one that would guide her and mold her in to the greatness that she will become. She would be lead by him and be taught to be devoted to this powerful man and hopefully have a suitable family that will treat her with only the best.

Sadly, you were wrong. The debonair man that had talked to you in such a caring and gentle manner was long gone in Cordelia’s presence and only became the cause of her life to spiral in to this debacle she was in. His influence was the opposite of what you had expected of him when it came to caring for her. If you had just knew, you would have interfered. Then your mistress wouldn’t have turned in to this horrible being that she is now. Your “nephews” wouldn’t have been in such shock to harm their mental state. And most certainly but not regretfully, you wouldn’t have been the only proper parental figure of his 6 sons.

[professorspork]

STORYTELLING TIME (bc the riverdale hiatus is boring): tell me about 2 of your fav riverdale ships, 2 of your fav characters, 2 of your favorite scenes out of all 7 episodes, and tell me about the pairing you last shipped/just started shipping. a detailed analysis, 10 paragraphs, i don't care. just tell me.

HECK YEAH MAN I CAN DO THIS FOR YOU

THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SCREAM

2 fave riverdale ships

let me tell you about BETTY AND VERONICA

listen, okay

l i s t e n

i was not going to watch this show.

(and then i saw josie mccoy’s face and was like BUT BUT BUT and a friend had to tell me she’s barely in the pilot and to calm down, and then i didn’t plan to watch it anymore)

and then i saw it

the world’s fucking tenderest kiss to maybe ever be on television, which is JUST UNFAIR FOR EVERYONE DON’T YOU THINK??

camila mendes has a talent, is what i am saying, and that talent deserves so much appreciation that it actually got me to watch this show

(THOSE LIPS. THAT THUMB. CHRIST.)

anyway. my favorite thing about the beronica kiss is that it has absolutely nothing to do with how much i ship it. it’s just a weird fever dream bonus to everything about them that i love.

VERONICA IS JUST SO INCREDIBLY IN LOVE WITH BETTY. FROM MOMENT ONE. the train to the rest of my life speech is legit some of the gayest shit i have heard in my damn life.

i love how dedicated they are to one another. i love how they balance each other out. i love that riverdale took the classic “naughty and nice” dichotomy they had from the comics and turned it upside down and shook it, and this is what fell out

they just so clearly thrive off of each other’s energy. i love that.

but you know what i also love?

let me tell you about VERONICA AND CHERYL

i honestly thought for a hot minute there that i wouldn’t have interest in this show beyond beronica

and then 1x05 blessed me and watered my crops and cleared my skin and SHOWED ME THE LIGHT

it turns out, veronica directing her attentions at literally anyone is kind of all i need, and cheryl’s my GOTHIC HOT MESS OF PURE EXTRA and i adore her, and i hope one day they move into a new mansion that has a name and adopt war orphans or something.

2 fave characters

obviously you can tell i have a lot of feelings about veronica lodge, so maybe this doesn’t need saying but sorry too bad buckle up because

LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THE LOVE OF MY LIFE, VERONICA LODGE

ironically, i spent most of my life solidly team betty.

“but Leah,” you say, “you love poor little rich girls who are POPULAR but SAD ABOUT IT and SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT. cordelia chase! quinn fabray! glinda upland! summer roberts! you very clearly Have A Type!”

i know. i know i do. but i was BLINDSIDED man

i would die on a battlefield for veronica lodge.

because not only did this show give me “REGRETS HER MEAN GIRL PAST” veronica lodge. it over corrected so hard it gave me the bounty of MOM FRIEND VERONICA LODGE

MOM FRIEND VERONICA RUBBING CHERYL’S NECK THROUGH A PANIC ATTACK

MOM FRIEND VERONICA WRAPPING ARCHIE’S WRIST AND KISSING HIS BOOBOO

MOM FRIEND VERONICA IS NERVOUS BETTY DOESN’T GET ENOUGH SLEEP

MOM FRIEND VERONICA MAKING KEVIN PUT ARCHIE IN THE VARIETY SHOW BECAUSE JUSTICE FOR HER SMOL STAGE-FRIGHTENED SON

MOM FRIEND VERONICA LIKE “YEAH POLLY CAN LIVE IN MY HOUSE NO BIG”

the one thing i am weaker for than a sad popular girl is a girl who dances on the edge of the selfish/selfless line, who has such a big heart that she loves EVERYONE but maybe not quite as much as she loves herself. the rose tylers and rachel berrys of this world

oh wait there’s another thing i’m weak for and that is TINY BRUNETTES

veronica lodge was engineered in a science lab to hit every single one of my buttons, is what i am saying

now. i want to be very clear. i adore betty cooper, and no one on this show is more entertaining than cheryl blossom, and kevin keller is the most represented i have ever felt on television, but there was really only one other person i could say is my fave:

let me tell you about MY HOMELESS ASEXUAL SON, JUGHEAD JONES

“but Leah,” you say, “Jughead’s not canon ace in this show”

to which i say they can pry jughead’s lack of libido from my cold dead hands, until he says aloud on screen “i, forsythe pendleton jones the third, love doing the sex and it is my preferred method of having intimacy with my romantic partner” he can date whomever the heck he wants because, ASTONISHINGLY, ace people date! and kiss!

besides the point but aNYHOW

this kid is a fucking trainwreck and i love every inch of him

i love his ridiculous dedication to his aesthetic, i love his shitty novel, i love how much he loves his sister, i love his fwoopy bangs, i love how his reaction to being told his best friend is fucking their teacher is “wow dude sounds like you’re the victim of a sexual predator, do you need help?” rather than a high five, i love the way he delivers one-liners like he’s kind of trying not to laugh at his own jokes

riverdale isn’t riverdale without juggie

2 fave scenes out of all seven episodes

let me tell you about THE SCENE CONFIRMING KEVIN AND VERONICA’S QUEERPLATONIC LIFE PARTNERSHIP IN WHICH THEY GO ON MARRIED FRIEND DATES

honestly, and i truly have no excuse for this, you said “what is your favorite scene” and the VERY FIRST THING that popped into my head were these moments with ronnie and kev in the back of his father’s truck, which is ridiculous, mostly because they’re not even really a scene

but it’s just. it is so fucking satisfying, man. look at these precious babies. look at how many blankets they’re under. not only is her head on his shoulder (HERE’S ANOTHER LOOK FROM THAT ANGLE) but EVERY PART OF HER is touching EVERY PART OF HIM. he is SITTING on her CAPE. do you have any idea how much trust that entails?

what strikes me about this moment is that Riverdale is succeeding at convincing me that these kids--any of these kids, really, not just kevin and veronica--are friends. that they all enjoy spending time together, that if there weren’t a murder going on they would still see each other, and that they care about each other. ironically, on a lot of teen soaps the friendships are the first thing to be ignored or cut for time, because they’re not juicy and “don’t lead to conflict” (untrue). kevin isn’t even in the core four, and yet, here he is: taking out his best girl because there’s no other out kids except veronica at his school and this show cares about kevin and what kevin does! they could have had veronica suspiciously follow hermione to the drive in and start her conflict with her mom over fred andrews early, but no. they wanted her to have a night out with her gay husband buddy.

kevin and veronica are the kind of friends who made a marriage pact two days into knowing each other. kevin and veronica are the kinds of friends who meet each other’s eyes when they find the same things funny but it would be impolite to laugh. MY KINGDOM FOR AU WHERE KEVIN AND VERONICA BEARD FOR EACH OTHER BUT THEN, WHILE FAKE DATING, BECOME BEST FRIENDS. 

and like yes, unless veronica is actually queer (which she is) her calling kevin her best gay and--more than that--interrupting his interruption to be like “GAY THANK GOD LET’S BE BEST FRIENDS” is a little bit abhorrent. but looking past the ridiculous stereotyping, what strikes me most is that when veronica says let’s be best friends she means it. she’s team kevin now, ride or die. 

this moment shows riverdale at its best: taking a shit ton of cliched tropes but blending them in a new way and showing them with a lens of kind of delightfully unexpected compassion.

...anyway

it occurs to me that, despite finding my way back to it at the end, this is much less a rant about an actual scene and much more a rant about how much i love the friendship between veronica and kevin, but i’m sorry i love it that much. 

so i’m gonna try harder now on the next one

there are a lot of one-liners and moments i almost picked, even though, once again, those are not scenes (when jughead narrated that there were really only three kids in that booth and we all went IS JUGHEAD A GHOST, “slut shaming is when SLUTS get SHAMED,” “train to the rest of my life,” veronica’s face when betty comes out in the dominatrix gear, “that doesn’t SOUND like complete freedom,” PUSSYCAT RONNIE, fp jones saying he doesn’t want jughead to look at him like he’s garbage anymore....)

but then a dark horse candidate emerged:

let me tell you about the moment i realized ONE DAY I WILL BE ABLE TO LOVE ARCHIE

this show has an archie problem. so dedicated were they to proving that they weren’t going to do the classic love triangle, they made it so that archie barely interacts with half his friend group at all. isolating archie from everyone else with the grundy plot set this show back ages, and made archie almost totally irrelevant to the ensemble he ostensibly leads

but then we got this moment of hope:

“okay Leah yes we get it you like it when these idiot teens are friends”

DO YOU

DO YOU GET IT THOUGH

this was the first hint that this show would succeed at gaining my love beyond betty and veronica. and i didn’t appreciate it at the time aside from OH LOOK ARCHIE HAS A PERSONALITY I LIKE TODAY, THAT’S NICE, but in hindsight it really is quite significant. archie and jughead are supposed to be the heart of this show; it’s good to see them act like it.

and jughead is also a sarcastic little shit and he’s my son and i love him

A VERY IMPORTANT NOTE:

third place goes to the scene with betty, jughead and kevin rebuilding the murder wall and then trev shows up, which hilariously of all three of these might ACTUALLY be my real favorite scene of the whole show, for all the reasons i listed about a) the other two above and b) what i’m about to say below. sadly, though, this makes my love for it redundant and i’ve already repeated myself so much, so i’ll move on to...

the pairing i last shipped/just started shipping

well, let me tell you about BETTY AND JUGHEAD

i’m gonna be real with you i adore these two. i’m not fandom-y about them at all, because right now what the show is giving me is JUST RIGHT: two kids with chemistry who care about each other! we’re watching them take it slow and feel it out!

i dig the gentle vibe between them, and how they are interested in each other but mostly because they are both interested in JUSTICE and THE TRUTH and MYSTERIES

bless these idiot teen sleuths! i hope they get married and betty becomes a lawyer-slash-journalist and jughead becomes a private-eye-slash-novelist and together they start a firm called COOPER JONES INVESTIGATIONS and they solve crimes and are married, like Hart to Hart

anyway the point of this ask is that a few months ago i made a viral post about hatewatching riverdale because it’s trash but now i’m legitimately in love with it on every level so the joke is on me i guess

[minidog]

portrait of a family

pls review or leave kudos on ao3 if u are so inclined

Snapshot. Title: Love is Blind. Pictured: A man, sans shirt, caught mid-laugh, hair messy and face tired. His eyes are lit up.

He never meant to take it this far. Marvin isn't the type Whizzer usually goes for. Though his taste is, admittedly, older men, he loves style and pizzazz. Men who can sweep him off his feet, men who pay at five-star restaurants, men who dress sharp, men who are well-spoken, men who are sexy. Men who aren't Marvin.

Marvin is more or less the aged version of the boys Whizzer fantasized about in high school. That is, to say, the quarterbacks with Letterman jackets slung over their broad shoulders and arrogant grins despite never having gone to state. Rigidly straight men with one arm wrapped around the cheerleader's waist as they strode the halls. They're the type you always know won't amount to much more, floating off to a university for a degree they don't care for and taking and office job to support their wife and children. The type that seem content in most every way except for those sad eyes.

He doesn't do love, he's never known love, but he thinks he just might be in love with those eyes. Tired eyes on a man with a struggle inside him. Why him, why now?

Marvin sleeps beside him, one arm wrapped around his chest. Even though he holds on too hard, Whizzer can't bring himself to pry himself from his grasp. It makes him feel warm, and safe, and loved. And then he feels guilty, because Marvin has a family. A family like the kinds in picture books.

Marvin makes it clear that when they're together, they do not exist. He takes Whizzer in his arms to forget them, as if his whisperings and the electric touch from his fingertips wipe him completely from his mind.

He tries to understand why the most vulnerable facet of Marvin is always the man withdrawing back into the sheets, begging for him to keep these rendezvous a secret between them, them alone.

Most of the time, Whizzer is content to this agreement, when Marvin's family is simply blurry, two-dimensional figures in the back of his mind without names and faces and feelings. But then he can't help but drink him in and let his thoughts wander, like now, when he's lulled to sleep by the end of their fucking. (They fuck, Whizzer thinks. Marvin does not love him, and he cannot love Marvin. All they are is physical, they fuck, because that's a cold, unfeeling word.)

What is Marvin like as a father? Does he sleep in the same bed as his wife? Does his son shake him from his sleep with worries about nightmares and monsters, or is he too old for that? Do they have dinner every night at the dining table and laugh and talk? Does he drop his son on his way to work and pick up his wife's favorite meal on the way back home? Who is his wife, who is his son? Is he distant? Do they suspect?

He never had a tight-knit family. Even as a child, his father and mother worked long, odd hours to keep food on the table and barely spoke a word to him, much less expressed their love, if they had any at all.

He enjoys how it's rough with Marvin, how it's a constant game of power and control between them. It's all new and exciting; he's never taken much to men ordering him about and making him beg, but for some reason it's different with Marvin. He likes all that, quite a lot, but he's finding himself falling for the part of the man that's left to his imagination, the doting father and husband. Does he even exist?

Snapshot. Title: Mother. Pictured: Kitchen with white tiles tinted with warm hues from the outside sunset. Profile of a woman, suited in apron, cutting carrots into small pieces with a sharp knife, suited with a look of determination. Her hair is pulled back messily and mascara clumps her eyelashes. She is beautiful.

"You should hate me."

"I know." She smiles a dry smile, maybe bitter, maybe regretful. "I've tried, I really have," she tells him, her eyes meeting his from across the kitchen counter.

The house seems empty without Jason and Marvin. The former, at a sleepover. The latter, well, he hasn't been around for a while. But it's not a bad, lonely sort of empty, not the type that once tore through the house as what was once a well-kept secret began to come unraveled. It's no longer unbearable.

"I never really loved him, I don't think," Trina admits with a small shrug. "I mean, I cared for Marv, I really did. It was just... My father, he was so overbearing. I promised him I'd marry. So I did."

Whizzer feels like he's lived this same story, only where he went down a different path. Settle down with a nice girl, son. It'll pass. It must pass.

"Whizzer? Can I talk to you about something?" she asks, pulling him out of his briefly wandering thoughts.

"We're talking now, aren't we?"

She smiles once more and pushes a cup of tea towards Whizzer because she's nothing if not a polite Jewish wife. He takes it from her hands that are far more worn than he would have expected, blowing the steam away before taking a small sip. He looks at her expectantly, eyebrows raised, but says nothing more.

"Mendel was saying something to me last night, about being trisexual or bisexual or something or another. What I got from it was that he's queer," she says with a humorless laugh. There's no mistaking the fear in her eyes despite her nonchalant chatter. "He's queer!" she repeats. She laughs again because it's mind-boggling, the fact that her second husband shares her first's same gaze for men.

"He's not gay," Whizzer says gently, only  because it looks to him like she might break.

"Do you think he's been with men?" she asks.

"Why don't you ask him?" he says back.

Trina looks down at her hands, not even realizing she's been twisting and fidgeting. "I don't think I'm bothered by it, Whizzer," she says. "I just wish that this wasn't so hard for me. To adjust, I mean. I don't want to be that person, and I don't want Jason to see that person as his mother. I want him to be better than me."

She swallows hard, and Whizzer offers her his tea. She pauses before accepting, taking the cup daintily in her hands and taking a long sip, the warmth soothing. "I'm glad Jason has you, Whizzer," she admits, looking down at her distorted reflection in the tea. "I try my best, but I'm so afraid I'm messing up with... with all this."

"You're doing just fine, Trina."

She looks back up at him. "You promise?"

"Promise."

Snapshot. Title: Father to Son. Pictured: Bearded man with a wild mess of curls throwing a line into a lake. Boy next to him is trying to prepare bait, with difficulty. NO FISHING sign obscured by the two figures.

"Can you be my psychiatrist again? For just a second?"

Mendel doesn't question; he only pats the place next to him on the sofa. Jason pauses, trying to form some sort of thanks, but nothing seems to be appropriate, so he shuts his mouth and sits down, the plush cushion sinking slightly under his weight. He sits up straight, hands folded in his lap, looking much like the boy who adamantly refused any sort of therapy years ago.

"What's up, Jason?"

He lets out a sigh, obviously not pleased with this response. "What kind of psychiatrist are you? What's up, Jason?  Really?"

"I try to be friendly with my clients. It creates trust between us."

"Sounds like bullshit to me," Jason mumbles.

"Hey, watch your language," Mendel says in a way that clearly shows he's just spitting out instructions from Trina.

"Mendel, you're my psychiatrist now, not my step-dad."

He gives the boy an odd look.

"Please," Jason says, leaning back and melting into the seat. He sounds less snarky and more worried which calls Mendel's attention back to him immediately, though it never really wandered much in the first place. That's one of the things that Jason can't ever get too worked up about with Mendel; he always makes him feel like he's the only person in the room, the most important by far in a sea of lives.

"Okay," Mendel agrees, miming and pencil and paper in his hands, pretending to jot down notes.

"Can you please not do that?" Jason asks.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Of course. Go ahead."

"What if I was gay?" Jason asks, making an effort to avoid eye contact.

"That'd be okay with me, Jason," Mendel says.

"I know... It's just, what if I am?" he asks, words feeling jumbled in his mouth.

"Are you?"

"I don't know!" he shoots back, trying to worm his way out of the grasp of the sofa and ultimately failing. "I'm just asking, if I am. How do I know? How do I know if it's real? What if I'm just trying to copy Dad or Whizzer or something?" He lets out the whole sentence in one breath, sounding far too close to tears.

"I think you just know, Jason," Mendel replies, resting a hand on the boy's shoulder. He flinches at his touch, resisting the urge to draw away. He allows him to keep his hand there, though he tenses, grateful for the attempt that he's made, and grateful that he isn't trying to envelope him in a hug or has begun to cry or laugh. Mendel's indifference to the situation is somehow comforting, and something he would never get with Trina, Marvin, Whizzer, or even Cordelia and Charlotte.

"Why do you always have to be so cryptic?" Jason says with a sniffle, surprising both himself and Mendel by moving into his arms, clinging to his horrifically out-of-fashion and scratchy sweater. Mendel pats his back with a hand a couple of times, the movement unsure but still coming natural and comforting to him. He doesn't make much of a comment on the fact of Jason wiping his running nose and tears onto his top, thinking it best not to make Jason anymore upset than he already is.

"Thank you. I'm sorry."

"Hey, man. Don't be sorry. I've got you," Mendel says softly. He hugs Jason and he doesn't pull away.

Snapshot. Title: Happy Endings. Pictured: Two women embracing and kissing, their lips tugged up in smiles, faces powdered with flour.

"Hon, they'll be here any minute," Charlotte whines, watching anxiously as her girlfriend sets the table. It's not the most pretty table ever, circular and a tad too small for seven people, but it's made up with a classy maroon tablecloth with gold accents. Cordelia fusses with the cloth, tugging it every which way in an attempt to create a wrinkle-free surface, but the more she watches, the more Charlotte realizes that the end goal is impossible.

She stands by with a stack of plates in her arms, watching Cordelia until she finally straightens up and looks back. "Yes, yes, any minute," the blonde repeats, whistling as she takes the plates from Charlotte and places them around the table, taking her time to make sure they are all equal spaces apart. The doorbell rings just as Cordelia is finished putting napkins and tableware down.

Charlotte moves to get the door, glancing back once at the table. It's still a definite mess, but she decides that anyone who has a problem with that will simply have to deal. She opens the door to find Mendel, Trina, and Jason, the last of which carrying tupperware in his arms.

"You eager for some leftovers, huh?" Charlotte teases, using her hand to muss up Jason's hair.

"Ha ha," Jason says sarcastically. "No, this is just in case Cordelia makes another inedible flop. Which she always does."

"Hey, mister, I don't have to let you into my home and eat my food, so watch it," she warns, tone playful as she steps back to allow them in. Trina and Mendel make comments about the decor of their home and Cordelia rushes over to make an obligatory comment about how much Jason has grown, the humor being that they see each other most weeks.

As soon as the Charlotte has closed the door, she's drawn back by a rap on the wood. She opens it once more, saying hello to Whizzer and Marvin. Marvin looks about the same as usual, fit with a casual button-down a size too large for him and some jeans, while Whizzer seems as though he's shown up to a job interview, wearing a navy blazer and matching pants. "Come on in," she says, taking great amusement in the stark differences between the two men.

Cordelia rounds everyone up and directs them to their seats, making apologies for the lack of nametags. ("Charlotte told me it was too much! Can you believe that?") When everyone is seated and silent, she disappears back into the kitchen and brings out her prepared dishes, which, admittedly, don't look too bad at all.

"Come on, Charlotte, I saved you a seat next to me," she says, taking her by the hand and pulling her to the table. Charlotte laughs and allows herself to be pushed into a chair, Cordelia sitting next to her as promised, their whole family gathered around.

Snapshot. Title: A Game. Pictured: Sickly man in a hospital bed and boy playing chess. Image is slightly blurred and tilted, unprofessionally, but still adding character to the gloomy, dull room.

"Don't let me win, Jason," Whizzer says, chuckling a bit before erupting into a fit of coughs.

The boy watches him fearfully, as if he's afraid just a cough will snuff the life from him forever. He holds a knight in his hands, squeezing it tight until finally, the coughing dies down. He then places it back on the board, eyes flickering back to the husk of a man before him.

"I'm not letting you win. You've just gotten better at this."

Whizzer doesn't look anything like the healthy man he once knew. Only a couple of months and it seems that the old Whizzer is gone, replaced by this sickly, gaunt man dressed in hospital gowns at all times and stuck to bed for the better part of his time. He's still retained his inability to win at chess, though.

"Bullshit," Whizzer hums, pushing the pieces off of the board.

"Hey!" Jason complains.

"I told you not to let me win, and you lied to me about it," he says matter-of-factly, though he's unable to mask the hurt in his eyes. "Just because I'm dying doesn't mean you let me win."

"You aren't dying," Jason mumbles, moving to the ground to pick up the chess pieces. The tile is cold on his hands and in some places sticky.

"I am."

He returns with a handful of pieces and drops them before Whizzer on the board, all tumbling out of his hands. A sour look has pulled itself over his face, mixed with the all-too-familiar expression of fear and hopelessness.

"Dad says you aren't," Jason replies.

"Your dad is fucking stupid," he yawns, letting his arm rest over the side of his bed. He grabs Jason's hand, pulling it to him. Jason gives it a squeeze, which Whizzer returns, though he can barely even feel the pressure, attribute to his weakened state. "Anyone can see I'm dying. You just don't want to believe it."

Jason glares down at Whizzer, frustration rising in his throat and hot tears welling in his eyes. "Is that so bad? That I don't want to believe it?" he scoffs, tears trailing down his round cheeks.

He is silent, watching the boy try to swallow his angry despair. After a few moments, he smiles.

"What?" Jason asks, cheeks hot.

"You look just like your father right now," Whizzer laughs. It's genuine, something like nostalgia in his gaze. Foggy, like he's already gone.