#do you know who should have an akita? almost literally fucking no one

[anextrapart]

sometimes I just want to go on a screaming rampage on the state of dog breeding and sales in this stupid fucking country why are people like this

[xuxszx]

sofa | Henry Cavill

Pairing: Henry Cavill x Reader

Henry has been home for two weeks. He saw that something was wrong with Y/N. She greeted him with a short kiss and didn't even let him hug him. Not to mention sex. She was cold. She kept her distance. And Henry wanted to know what was behind it. What happened. What could he do wrong?

Y/N was jealous.

Seeing Henry in the Netflix's 'The Witcher' was amazing, but seeing Henry kissing Anya with his language, the way he looked at her and his hips brushing her crotch in known scenes - all this made Y/N was furious. She had never felt this way in her life.

She'd been hiding her feelings for the whole two weeks, and now that she had her period, she just exploded.

Y/N was sarcastic all day. Whenever she saw Henry, she rolled her eyes at him. Under her breath she still called him an asshole.

In addition, she lay in the living room on the sofa with Kal and watched Apple's 'Defending Jacob'. Being part of this series was very important to her. It turned out that playing Chris's wife was extremely easy, and Evans was charming. In no case could he compare to Henry.

No one could compare to him. Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill was the man of her dreams. Always charming, caring, loved and compelling. He was all she wanted. Y/N wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. Give him children and love him every day, and when the hard time comes, support him.

Y/N was a mess. She was so jealous and so mad at herself, Henry and Anya. At herself, because watching Henry with another woman she felt insecure and not worth the man like Cavill. At Henry, because he kissed Anya the way he should only kiss Y/N. And at Anya, because she spent time with him when Y/N missed him like never before in her life.

"Honey, I'm going for a run" she heard Henry, who was putting on his running sneakers in the hall. As usual, he was wearing a London Rugby Team cap. It was already evening, so the fact that Henry was going to run at this time instead of morning clearly indicated that something was wrong.

"Go to hell" she muttered, still furious. Kal shifted uneasily at the tone of her voice. And she scratched his ear in response and Akita was calmer now, just the opposite of Y/N.

"Can you tell me what's wrong with you? You've been acting like you've been having a problem for the past two weeks and I'm jumping like an idiot around you and I don't even know what's biting you," said Cavill, nervous. Frustrating such an oasis of peace was difficult. Damn hard. However, Y/N has mastered it almost to perfection.

"Of course, because I make the problem where it is not," she snapped. Emotions took over her. She couldn't control us. "Anya would probably be more forgiving, huh?"

"Is that it? Are you jealous of her?" he asked, worried. They had been together for almost four years and never showed jealousy for a moment. They both knew that what they felt was too strong for either of them to ruin. No one could separate them.

"I'm not fucking jealous!" she shouted loudly, and scared Kal fled from the living room to the kitchen. Henry and Y/N almost never argued. Even if something bad appeared in their relationship, they always solved it. Bad emotions tame in the bedroom for several long hours in their arms.

"So what's going on?" he asked again, rubbing his forehead with nervousness. Henry didn't like vague situations. And Y/N has always made it clear and transparent. And now something was definitely bothering her and Henry wanted to know what.

"You're going on and who else?" she replied. Pissed to the limit, she got up from the sofa. She had had enough for today. When she wanted to walk past the man without even looking at him, Henry grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him. Y/N bounced off his chest and looked at him sharply. They both looked at each other furiously.

"You can't just leave the room, Y/N!" he warned her. Henry has never wanted to get her over her knee so much and take care of her naughty ass. "Talk to me, damn it."

"I don't feel like it," she growled and wrenched her hand free from his grip. A moment later, Henry was alone in the living room, and Y/N locked herself in their bedroom and seemed to be sleeping separately today.

It was literally the middle of the night when Y/N still couldn't sleep. Next to her, Kal snored loudly, who was tired of the day like her. Her eyes ached from constant rubbing and crying. In fact, her anger was over and now she was just sad. She knew that she had caused Henry a fuss over her stupidity and uncertainty. She should apologize to him. She should explain it to him. But how was she to tell him that for the first time in her life she felt too small, too not perfect to be with someone like him.

She swallowed more tears and went downstairs to the living room. Henry looked asleep. He had one hand behind his head and the other on his stomach, and his left knee was sticking out of the sofa. His eyebrows were drawn and his hair was disheveled. He was shirtless.

"Are you sleeping?" she asked, pushing his thigh with her knee. Henry, without a word, picked up a piece of blanket that was covered, encouraging Y/N to lie next to him. The girl did it right away, put her head on his chest, and put her leg over his hips. Henry covered her with a blanket and wrapped his arms around her. And now Y/N burst into tears like a small child.

"Shhhh. Don't cry, honey," he said, kissing her forehead tenderly. He patiently wiped tears from her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," said Y/N when she calmed down a little. "I just ... I don't know why I was jealous. I already saw you kissing other women on the screen. For example from Amy. I had no problem and now I don't know ..."

"I kissed Amy before we were together," Henry interrupted. "And now we are together and this is my first role, where I kiss a woman other than you," he said. From the beginning of today's quarrel he knew that Y/N was jealous. He just didn't know why. And he understood that now.

"There is something to it. I just ... When I saw you kiss Anya with this tongue and so passionately ... I don't know something burst in me. And I was afraid ..." she murmured slightly embarrassed. Admitting any weakness was not her strength.

"Were you afraid?" he asked surprised. Henry did not think that he could hurt her with his behavior. After all, it was just taking a role in the series. Nothing but friendship united him with Anya.

"Yes. That I will lose you. That you will understand that I am not good enough," she whispered. Her blush was getting bigger every moment. After all, she was always confident. She knew what she could and couldn't do.

"How much of what has come to your mind is caused by the hate of my supposed fans?" Henry asked. Since he told the world that his girlfriend is Y/N, some of his fans, especially the female part, did not leave a dry thread on her.

"A lot," she said, burying her face in his chest. "There is no day that I don't see a comment somewhere that I owe everything to you. That because of you I got a role alongside a star like Chris. That if it wasn't for you, nobody would be interested in my paintings for the foundation," she calculated. Recently, she received more and more negative messages. People criticized her at every turn. Even when film critics rated her acting at a very high level, people said that he owed everything to his relationship with Henry. For all of them it was not enough. And so she finally felt.

"Bullshit," Henry snapped. The night was definitely not the best time for such talks. They were both already tired. Y/N's face resembled a large, swollen tomato, and Henry did not know how to force people to stop being so terrible to her. "Y/N look at me. You are the best woman I have ever fallen in love with. Has my friendship with Chris in any way helped you gain this role? No. You went to the casting and they decided that you were good. Did I help you get the role of Mera in 'Aquaman'? Neither. You must learn not to bother about people you don't even know, honey. Otherwise it will lose you, "Henry comforted her." I love you just the way you are. Even on your hard days during the period, "he added, laughing loudly. Y/N wrinkled his nose funny and puffed his dissatisfied mouth in response. Henry pulled her even closer and kissed her breathless." You really could have chosen another day to argue. How will we reconcile without sex?" he laughed and Y/N hit him playfully in the shoulder. Sometimes he was impossible.

A moment later, they both heard Kal barking and his loud claws stamping on the stairs. Akita jumped without an invitation to the sofa and settled himself comfortably at their feet. He looked at them for a short while and he was pleased.

"Do you know that I was going to propose to you?" Henry murmured, gently massaging his beloved's shoulder. Y/N almost fell asleep, but hearing his words woke up immediately.

"So you don't want anymore?" she asked.

"I was sure you would break up with me. But now I will have to come up with something spectacular," he kissed her forehead again.

"First of all, I would be the stupidest woman in this world if I broke up with you. Second, after today's day of impressions, you can probably let it go with something spectacular," Y/N said and snuggled into Cavilla like a little koala. "Henry?" she asked after almost twenty minutes.

"I'm listening, Y/N" he murmured tiredly. It was almost three in the morning and they were still awake. Only Kal snored like the huge bear he was.

"If this sofa breaks someday ... Promise me we'll fix it ... That we won't throw it away."

"I promise. We'll fix whatever goes wrong," he promised. Henry knew that this request wasn't just for the sofa. Y/N was still scared to some extent. And Henry promised himself that he would do everything so that this would never happen again.

Let me know what you think ❤️ Well, I have mixed feelings 🤷🏻‍♀️

Tag list: @hatedyoufromhello @hnryycvll @honeychicanawrites @honeychicana @wondersofdreaming @thethirstyarchive @yespolkadotkitty @onlyhenrys @avengersandlovers @supersweetstache @dangerouslovefanfic @fumbling-fanfics @laketaj24 @littlefreya @viking-raider @beautifullmelodyxx @mary-ann84 @mrsaugustwalker @speechlessxx @deactivatedyssb @fishcustardandclintbarton

[imnotwolverine]

The marriage pact - A Bird’s Life

Henry Cavill x OC Alice - multi-chapter

< Part 18 | Part 19 A Bird’s Life | Part 20 >

Disclaimer: Some strong language

Author’s note: I hope you can survive my attempt at writing poetry.🤓

Word count: 1.475

(Link to my Masterlist)

Dear readers,

When I was young my school reports always had one and the same comment; “Alice should try to get a bit more out of her shell”. I was simply said the shy kid, the nerdy girl, the one who always got the good grades and didn’t want to upset anyone. For the longest time I always put everyone before me. I was the giver, not the receiver, of attention and whenever someone wished to give me that attention, be it as a friend or lover, I pushed them away. I just didn’t know how to cope.

And even now after all these years it still, at times, makes me feel a little weirded out. I do not like to be the centre of attention. Not even when it’s the attention of just one person. Why I exactly feel like that, I don’t know. Is it a form of self protection? Building up walls? Perhaps. In any way, I will have to deal with it. Because me and chocolate cake are getting pretty serious about a lot of things. Adult things.

It happens to just be so that part of these adult things is caring for each other in equal measure. Being there for one another. Letting lust and demand grow into love and care. Or, as U.A. Fanthorpe lovingly described it in her poem Atlas; “There is a kind of love, called maintenance.”

And I, dear readers, want that maintenance kind of love, I do.

Ali

‘I didn’t know you read poetry.’ Henry said, your bodies huddled close together in the mid December wind. It was a small but unfortunate side effect of living near the sea; it seemed to always be windy. And in winter, that gave you a whole new sense of “fuck it’s cold”. I shivered into his chest, watching Kal zoom through the bushes like it was just another fine summers day.

‘Every now and then. It’s a bit of a left over habit from college.’

’Twas a nice poem. The whole collection of poems on that website actually.’ He smiled. ‘You read them all?’ I raised an eyebrow and looked up at his now outgrowing beard. Henry was growing a beard and I did not mind it one bit - it made me feel all kinds of literal and figurative tingles. He snickered. ‘Perhaps.’

‘Henry the poetry man! Makes me wonder actually. You are good with words, but do you ever write yourself?’ I looked back at the stone cobbled path ahead of us, our booted feet tapping in joined rhythm on the cold rock. I really, really enjoyed our walks together and from the fact Henry always near forced me to join him for his walks no matter how bad the weather, I derived he did so too.

‘Perhaps.’ He finally said, earning a inquisitive eyebrow raise from me. ‘Perhaps? Mr. Cavill, please do not dare and keep secrets from me!’ I prodded him in his side and he chuckled, shaking his head. ‘I wouldn’t dare. I just hadn’t ..come around to sharing it with you yet.’

‘Sounds like a secret to me.’ I laughed, seeing Kal had found himself a nice stick. ‘Oh Kal bear! At least you keep no secrets huh?’ I ruffled my fingers through his fur when he came to present his new found treasure to us, Henry’s hand near automatically taking it from the friendly Akita to throw it a bit further down the road, for the dog to fetch.

‘Okay. Something I wrote a while ago..don’t judge me though. It’s..-‘ ‘A secret.’ I squeezed my lips tight as if promising to keep my lips shut from here on. He sniffled. ‘Something like that.’

Clearing his throat and gazing out over the wintery landscape, he started:

‘A bird’s life

Before their singing rings I wake, an early riser Come morning do I take On the day, again a little whiter

Striding feet I follow Black and white, his beard too grey I hear my mothers voice speak again Do your duty come what may

But as I follow my winged friends Around the world I sink Dragging feet that stall and linger Not always can this be so, I think

My nests though many Are fewer my home My coffins are filled With gold silver and woe

As days then end I reach Yet another homeless nest Its branches prickle and when I look Hours more not to rest

Sun rises burning and Sore feet hit cold levels Long distances I go more Until sweet dreams too unravel

This journey’s not mine Too lonesome to stay I flicker my wings And yet again for love, do I pray.’

Silence fell as the last of his words filtered through the morning air, my ears still peeked as I now listened to his slow, calm breath, my hand wrapped around his arm. He had spoken as if his poem was directed at the birds in the trees themselves, his eyes reaching up to the empty branches in the near distance, no birds to be seen. It was just us two. Or three actually, as Kal, though blissfully aware of this magical moment, was there too, roaming around freely in the thicket.

‘When did you write that?’ I finally asked, looking up at him, his face calm. ‘The day after you left London. I actually hadn’t slept a wink that night before you had to fly back. I…gosh I’m such a foo-‘ - ‘Stop that.’ I halted my feet and gave him a fiery gaze. ‘Don’t apologise for your feelings.’ I admonished, then gently rubbed his arm. ‘And that was a terribly beautiful poem Hen.’

‘Hmm.’ He smiled, slightly unsure. ‘Thank you Ali.’

‘No thank you. And to answer your bird’s heart.’ I cupped his cheek in both hands. ‘I love you and I want to make that journey with you, I do.’

‘Even after all the surrogate mother shit and..’ - ‘Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill. Did you just haphazardly skip the first half of my blog this morning?’ I raised a teasing, yet authoritative eyebrow at him. He bit his lip to hide a chuckle. ‘I’m doing it too, huh?’

‘Yep. Take my love you fool! Take it! TAKE IT!’ I used both my hands to shake him like a salt shaker - though little did I actually get him to move as this man was about as built as the empire state building. His smile grew and grew and before long he was laughing aloud, his head nodding in amusement. ‘Okay Ali. Ali. You can stop now. I surrender.’

‘Then kiss me like you mea-‘ I wasn’t even allowed to finish that sentence, his lips crashing down onto mine. Soft and plushy, the after taste of his morning coffee still lingering, he was not going to let the moment go to waste.

We probably stood there for a few minutes. Just kissing, our cheeks burning like hot coals despite the icy wind around us, his hands carefully wrapped around my head, keeping me where he wanted me to be. His fellow bird, ready to fly out together.

Or well, almost; first I had to take my employer up on that hiatus proposal.  

—

‘I got the okay! She’s going to check for a temp writer and once that person’s all settled in, I could..go with you.’ I cheered, flying around Henry’s neck, not minding the fact that his parents were also near - his mom just peeking her head around the corner of the kitchen and his dad probably reading his newspaper in the living room.

‘What?! Really?!’ Henry’s smile grew from ear to ear as he wrapped me, winter coat and all, in his arms. ‘Baby that’s..’ He leaned back again. ‘Wow.’ He near giggled.

‘Are you staying for dinner, Ali?’ His mom inquired, infiltrating on our little moment. We quickly awoke from our little bubble and Henry muttered some quiet apology, pushing the still opened front door closed behind us.

‘Eh…’ I blinked at Henry. He smiled and nodded, bidding me to accept her offer. ‘Yes please. Thank you Marianne.’ I looked over at her and she gave me a most adoring wink. ‘You are practically family Ali.’ She mused, disappearing back into the kitchen where dinner was already well on the way.

I watched her waddle off, feeling Henry’s strong arms pull me in for a full-circled swoop through the air, making me fly like the birds in his poem. ‘I love you so much!’ He exclaimed, making me laugh with pure giddiness. ‘Hen! Carefu— OHH — HEN- put me down, put me down hahahah. Oh gosh.’ I squirmed until finally he put me back on my feet, his wide teethed grin causing sweet dimples to crease his cheeks.

‘I love you too, silly.’

‘Then I better start calling my agent, hmm?’

‘Mhm. You better.’

--

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[jq37]

i know you posted your thoughts on the big arguing scene in “we need to talk about pete” but i was wondering if you were going to post a full breakdown? that episode was a lot and i love hearing your thoughts on eps. ignore this if you have done a breakdown and i’m dumb and just missed it lol

**spoilers for the war of bugs and rats and we need to talk about pete**

What’s up denizens of Magic NYC? Now, I unfortunately live in normal NYC where I have to pay bills and stuff so I’ve been MIA with recaps for the past few eps but, no sweat. We’re gonna do a double feature of the above two eps and then I’ll group in the last battle episode with the upcoming episode. So lets catch up on what’s been going on in The Unsleeping City There’s a LOT to get through so vámanos y'all.

First up, we have our big bug fight in Queens, which Sophie enters with a camelback full of box wine because Emily is Emily.

“I’ve heard of gentrification but this is crazy!”

Brennan enjoys making those gross, chittering, bug noises way too much.

Have we talked about Pete’s cowboy hat? Because, for real, what is up with Pete’s cowboy hat? It seems absolutely apropos of nothing. Was he just like, “Sick,” and he decided to wear it everywhere? That seems to be how he makes all of his decisions.

“Butthole 2: Electric Boogaloo.”

Emily clocks the cat *immediately*. Like to the point where I’m almost thinking, “Did this cat exist before Emily mentioned looking for one?” And I want to say yes because La Gran Gata seems very fleshed out, specific, and intentional. But folks, we are living in a post-Avanash world so idk what to think. (Edit: The cat does have a mini now that I’ve gotten to that but idk, that insert shot could have been shot post ep so like, who knows?)

Anyway, Emily’s entire mission objective immediately becomes saving this cat she’s vaguely aware of.  

“5E you crazy.”

The Cast, Knowing Emily just rolled a 25 and still has a 1d8 Bless in Her Back Pocket if She Needs It: Brennan, Just Ask.

The horror on Emily’s face when she realizes that she just called an attack on the cat cocoon.

So Emily goes off on a very Emily side quest to rescue a random cat but happens to unlock a very cool NPC–La Gran Gata–who is like the spirit of all the bodega cats out there. Sophie immediately calls upon the entirety of her limited Spanish skills to try and make friends with the cat, and succeeds.

The, “To arms, to arms my brothers!” thing kills me every time. Are all rats just Like That? Is that what they’re like when they’re out and about too?

Kingston rolling a nat 20 to literally walk across the store is wild.

Oh also, Pete failed a wild magic surge roll which just lets him fly. So far, those wild magic surges have really been working out for him.

Anyway, Bug Boss Becky turns Ricky into a “buff-ass” dog.

Zac playing dog-Ricky with almost exactly the same self-awareness (or lack thereof) as normal-Ricky is so funny. He’s an Akita and I was expecting Dalmatian but that makes sense too. Ricky, the very good boy, attacks Becky and–as a Sentinel–stops her in her tracks.

Emily does a ton of damage and Brennan, about to describe her attack, is like, “Are you still drunk?” Emily shuts down the opportunity to look cooler and is like, “I am a messy, drunk bitch. Describe that.” Emily isn’t here to be cool. Emily is here to roleplay.

I had never heard the word brindled before now and Brennan uses it to describe two separate animals in this ep.

Siobhan rolls a nat 20 to dispel magic on Ricky which is objectively good but also I would have loved for him to be a dog a little longer. Also, this moment makes me really, really want to get some backstory on Misty. Like, clearly there are some serious Fae Shenanigans going on with her and I need specifics yesterday.

Also, Ricky comes back with pointier ears and wolfier senses and I’m just picturing Channing Tatum in Jupiter Ascending.

Before I forget, Sophie, Pete, and Misty yoink magical items from the magic bodega within the bodega La Gran Gata opened up. Sophie’s is a magic ring that amps up her punches. Misty took a mirror and Pete took a grill (like for your teeth). Not sure what those do yet.

The fact that this whole fight wasn’t under the Umbral Arcana and there are people out there that remember is a little concerning for me. I can’t quite tell if it’s the sort of thing that will come back or more of a warning of what can happen if the U.A. goes down again.

Post-fight, Sophie asks La Gran Gata for mismatched David Bowie eyes like the cat has. Siobahn goes, “That’s what you’re gonna ask? You drunk bitch.” But Sophie has her wish granted. I’m sure that won’t raise any questions with people who have known her her entire life. 

“She’s gonna fuck that cat.”

So the fight’s over and they realize that the Key to the City is missing which I can’t imagine is a good thing.

This brings us to the RP ep, We Need to Talk About Pete, which picks up directly where the previous ep ended.

Ally and Emily go for the exact same joke of getting Guinness’s post-fight. Kingston–as a medical professional, Vox Populi, and sanest adult of this troupe–loudly objects (smacking the beers out of Pete’s hands multiple times) and wants to know what the hell is going on with the bugs they just fought.

Sidenote: Sophie took a level in Warlock with La Gran Gata as her patron because of *course* she did. I wonder if this was the plan from the beginning or if Emily was watching all her friends spellcasting and started getting the jitters from magic user withdrawal.

Murph’s “What?” face when Emily says, “I’ll be waiting, but not in an impatient, desperate way,” is gold.

They search the bodega and find a thing of 1000 Hour Energy and Kugrash gives it to Ricky over Pete’s objections. They also find Holy Grail Laundry Detergent (Kingston pays for it), The Grill I mentioned earlier (Kingston hates this), and this bagel. 

All the magic users show up. Alejandro wants an explanation pronto and everyone points a finger at Pete who explains everything in his typical, nonchalant, vague, kinda spaced out way which Alejandro is not digging at all. He starts to go off on the enormity of the situation and Pete starts dropping acid.

I’m gonna stop here for a sec to talk about how Ally is playing Pete. There are moments when I feel like Ally is doing something as a comedian for a bit. And there’s kind of a sense of, is this funny? Obviously. But what are the in game implications of this move? Like the running joke of Pete constantly being high on something is funny, out of game. But,  in game, it’s massively concerning. And I’m really curious about where Ally is choosing to draw the line between doing the funny thing and doing the prudent thing. I almost said the in-character thing but Ally made a character so consistently bonkers that whatever he does could plausibly be the in-character thing. Pete is kind of a massive disaster.

Anyway, Alejandro drives home the point that Pete’s actions have consequences and have caused actual deaths at this point. Pete’s magic is internally going wonky as he gets more distressed (I really wanted to see a wild magic surge fail here but alas). But he’s still outwardly like a 4 on the giving a damn scale when the situation is a 13 out of 10. Pete is only half listening to this because he’s halfway out the door, smoking. Alejandro plans with Kingston to discuss Pete later.

Misty, always sowing seeds of chaos, suggests Alejandro stock up on Juul pods before they stop selling them completely. Kingston hates this (this is basically his mood for the episode).  

Outside, Pete gets a text from Priya which ends with them planning a meet up for later after leaving her on read for a while. Pete dips without saying anything to anyone but Kingston who ignores him (and also Sophie who Emily hilariously guilts Ally into including out of character). Dipping on the conversation about how to fix YOUR mess isn’t the wisest move but Pete isn’t the wisest guy.  

In the meantime, Ricky does the Twilight Bark to summon a dalmatian (yes!) to help him find the stolen key to the city. Kugrash turns into a busted ass dalmatian who has trouble keeping up.

Ricky doesn’t have the plate mail armor that usually makes a Paladin so unstealthy but he is so hot as to have the same lack of stealthiness which is one of my favorite adaptations of the game for this setting. Anyway, Ricky does the superhero thing of running through the city, helping everyone with a problem along the way, and loses the key in the Financial District which smells like death (feels about right).

Siobahn playing Misty as, “Oh, I can’t believe I didn’t realize it was Emma Lazarus,” when, in reality, she was the first person who made the connection was great. S/o to ppl who separate player and character knowledge. Misty partied w/ Emma of course because she partied with every historical figure that’s passed through NYC since she showed up.

Post adventure, people need to go to their day jobs. Misty has a +10 to performance but rolling a 3 is rolling a 3. It’s not her best work. Later, her assistant brings her holly, silver, and assorted other stuff which sounds like Fae BS if I’ve ever heard it. Misty cuts her off before she can elaborate more. I know we’re getting a secret spilling episode next time so I’m really hoping we get some Misty lore because she is being frustratingly cagey. She talks so much but says so little that means anything.

Kugrash sneaks into his son David’s house (while Emily learns a rat fact she clearly didn’t want to know) and Murph  and Brennan tag team go for the proverbial emotional jugular.

Murph rolls a nat 20 on his investigate and so he gets a lot of his old files and puts together that Robert is Robert Moses–a famous historical figure in NY who I actually heard about for the first time very recently. Or maybe I should say infamous. He did a lot with NY infrastructure–especially highways–(Emily connects this to the Highway Hex immediately) and he wasn’t exactly the warm and fuzzy type. His bread and butter was working the system. There’s a Pulitzer winning book called The Power Broker about how he was able to amass power and influence. I don’t know enough about NY history to run my mouth off about the guy but the little I do know is in character with his T.U.S. incarnation. Also, just FYI, irl this dude died in the 80s. So, you know. That’s interesting.

Brennan, I guess: Why invent new bad guys when history is full of terrible people I just have to give magic to?

Brennan, continuing his tradition of letting people get emotionally destroyed by nat 20s, has Murph find a crushing letter from David to Kug which was never mailed.

Note: So, as I was writing this, my video timed out right at the line, “I don’t expect this letter to find you before my funeral,” which is kinda good bc idk if this is what I need at 1 AM. Anyway, back to the pain.

The letter reveals that David has devoted his life to stopping crooks like him (Kug) and that he’s mostly upset about how his leaving has affected the younger, more fragile Wally.

“I leave the letter because I’ll remember it.” Yeah I bet you will.

It looks like Kug is gonna confront Wally next ep which I am now even more excited to see.

So let’s move onto the SECOND big gut-punch of the episode. Kingston goes down to the station to give a statement about the Santa Incident. He sees a shit elemental in a lineup which isn’t super relevant to the main events but I can’t not mention something like that.

Anyway, guess what? Kingston’s ex (Liz) isn’t dead! She’s an attorney for the justice system of The Unsleeping City and she’s pissed the hell off. During their interview, he stops the tape recorder to cuss out Kingston for going on a “date” with Misty and for getting her involved in all the magical junk which means she has to do things like fingerprint shit elementals instead of being on track to be D.A. like she originally was. The way she described it made it sound like she was press ganged into it which seems like it shouldn’t be how this works, you know? Is there no blue pill option here? Also, not to be all grass is greener but I actually am a lawyer in NY (closer to Kug’s job, minus the crime) and I would swap with Liz in a heartbeat.

The fact that anything Kingston says as Vox is per se admissible is a cool detail. 

Sophie fights an old man (Jackson) in a CVS and joins a monastery which sounds like a shitpost but it isn’t. With La Gran Gata’s blessing she is now a member of the Order of the Concrete Fist.

I saw the Staten Island joke coming the second Brennan started talking but it was still hysterical when it landed.

At the same time, Pete is getting knuckle tats because, sure. And he also goes to see Priya who I am baffled was with him for any length of time. Maybe it’s the artist thing?

Also, Sophie keeps postponing her meeting with Mario which is concerning to me. The story is still happening when you’re not interacting with it. Brennan specifically said when she texted him that she got no response which doesn’t make me feel good about what’s going on with him.

Ricky has three super jacked, fratty firefighter bros, all named John who are like woke as hell. I wish I could follow the dude around for a day because every single facet of his life is wild.

Well, this episode promised we were gonna talk about Pete so let’s talk about Pete.

The gang, sans Pete, meet up with the magical powers that be to discus the destruction the newest Vox his leaving in his wake.

Sidenote, wild that Sophie has been magic for like 15 minutes and got to go to this meeting.

Alejandro wants to know what the plan is for if Pete’s powers go off the rails again. Kingston, who has clearly seen Old Yeller, offers the most drastic solution immediately: if it comes to it, we take him out. (Cut to Ally’s “Yikes” face). Kug, Sophie, and Ricky push back on that.

Misty, hilariously (and also suspiciously), is mainly concerned about NY because she needs theater to keep happening. This woman is chaotic something and I’m not convinced it’s chaotic good yet.

Anyway, I already did my big write-up on this part of the episode, but I’ll say it again: Kingston is right. He’s harsh but he’s right. This is some Phoenix Force BS that’s happening and do you know how that arc ends (the OG one, not the million other Phoenix Sagas that have happened since)? It ends with Jean Grey killing herself so she doesn’t lose control and eat another planet. Ricky is too dangerous for his own good and he doesn’t seem to have the emotional maturity to care (or at least to care at the correct level). Like, he was a drug dealer when this started which is already not ideal. He caused a huge mess and then just bounced without trying to help fix it. He thought that a week was enough time for human casualties to be water under the bridge. Frankly, not considering the nuclear option and just having to figure out if killing him is something the group is willing to do on the fly would be the more irresponsible option.

And not including Pete in the discussion would bother me more if he hadn’t openly blown off every serious discussion people have tried to have with him so far. If he’s not going to take things seriously, it makes sense they don’t invite him to the serious discussions.

The version of this story where Pete accidentally gets a bunch of people killed, finds out what he did, cries about it for a full day, and then finds out they’re talking about possibly killing him is a story where Pete is more sympathetic imo. But still, finding out that people talked about killing you under any circumstances has got to be rough.

IMO, the order of things that should be done right now are (1) putting magical training wheels on Pete, (2a) getting Pete trained or his powers transferred if it’s possible/he wants out, (2b) either way, getting Pete into therapy (like, he needed therapy before he got magic. now it’s just a matter of life and death–besides just his own), (3) talking to Pete again about the stakes and telling him point blank but not in while heated that there’s the possibility of a scenario where his powers go out of control and you have to understand that at that point it’s a matter of saving as many lives as possible. Like, Kingston can say, with conviction, “If I go rogue, you should do the same to me.” They’re in the same boat. Kingston’s just been rowing longer. Well, similar boats anyway. I imagine the Vox Populi powers are less inherently chaotic. And maybe the knowledge that a nuclear option is on the table would make Pete not want the job or want him to have his powers muted or something. Cool. Then you have that discussion at that point. Just, these are the conversations that need to happen. And maybe his own mortality will be the thing that helps get Pete’s head in the game. 

What jewel did Ale take out of his pocket during this conversation? Taking note of that. (Juul, not jewel. Duh. Thx thethief )

Pete gets in touch w/ Alejandro’s granddaughters who tell him that Alejandro’s still pretty pissed (which is surprising to Pete but like, bro. People died). Then, Robert shows up to sweet talk Pete and show him the video (that he somehow has) of Kingston talking at the Pete Meeting. When I was watching this the first time I was like, “How long before this blows up in their face–oh, almost immediately. Cool.”

He takes Pete to his vampire nightclub and hits him with Pete’s own “I didn’t create the demand” line that you just know Brennan put a pin in to hit Pete with that Uno Reverse card.

Robert tries to get Pete to summon Nod and then just does it forcibly with some kind of blood magic when Pete is hesitant. Pete wild magic surges, kills a bunch of vamps, and Nod (super injured by being in the waking world) teleports them both to the subway.

The group (including Alejandro) meets them there so they can catch the L train to Nod but Epona shows up. And you already know from Fantasy High that Brennan is on the ACAB train (or is that AFCAB?). Epona is now wearing a crooked badge–crooked badge for a crooked cop. She wants Nod. No can do. The gang gets ready to–to quote Mr. Cubby-make some bacon while Alejandro tries to cast a spell to summon a train to Nod (the place not the person).

So I’ll see y’all next time (whenever that is) for some subway fighting and some backstory unlocking! 

[jakey-beefed-it]

update: still sick but less so. sinuses feel funky and bad but not the scraped-out raw caustic feeling they had for a couple days so that’s improvement. headache comes and goes, still feeling very fuzzy-headed generally but that could be illness or it could just be badbrains. who knows.

we were waiting on a couple things (mostly me and my own grief) to get a new puppy after Max died, because Raleigh needs a buddy, but it is surprisingly difficult to get a dog up here. back in the Old Country*, all ya had to do was sit out in the yard and call a passing stray that looked friendly. Raleigh literally ran up to the car when i pulled up in front of our driveway and Cait jumped out to get the gate. I said ‘look out for the kitty cat!’ and she said ‘...you’re not a kitty cat’ and he wagged his tail and thus became our puppy

unrelated news that was the very same night dad died (in fact he probably had just died like, right about then :-/) and it turns out chihuahuas were actually well-regarded as sort of psychopomps in aztec culture apparently so maybe Raleigh was like ‘yo i just got back from escorting a nice dude to Xibalba and uh... you guys don’t know it yet but you’re gonna need a puppy. hi!’

which is extra funny because i’d already been making jokes about him being a small blond harbinger of death (unlike the usual ‘little black dog’ of folklore) before i found out that yeah no chihuahuas were straight up aztec death escort psychopomps

anyhow we’re looking at some options (some border collies, some german shepard with border collie mix puppies, and one particularly adorable akita/husky/lab mix that i just fell immediately in love with and i hope they call me back and say ‘yes you can have her’) and waiting to hear back from some people but then we should have a new puppy. expect pictures when that happens.

i have been thoroughly unmotivated to do detailed painting so my first 5 reivers are almost done but 3 are awaiting edge highlights and all are awaiting armor scratches and basing. instead i threw down a blue layer on the other 5 reivers, the other 5 hellblasters, and the other 3 aggressors i picked up, and then did an all-over wash of drakenhof nightshade because i do not want to go through and recess shade with the army painter ‘the psycho’ brush again having done it for the first 5 reivers. there are limits to my patience and i can get very nearly the same result just doing it the fast way. so fuck it.

don’t know when you can expect pictures of finished models though because all my time lately has gone to illness recovery, dissociation+civ6, thinking about puppies (!), and getting models generally ‘blue’ without worrying about details

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

*southern California was a hellish wasteland not fit for man nor beast but it did mean there were a lot more beasts who needed a home just runnin’ around

[theolddarkmachine]

Must Love Cats- Chapter Two

Levy hadn’t planned on being a pet sitter when she’d moved into the city. She also hadn’t planned on pet sitting for a sex god either, but here she was.

AKA the one where Levy is a pet sitter, Gajeel is her client, and Lily is the glue that binds them together.

This one is a touch shorter than originally planned. I realize it's a bit early to be saying that, and I swear it isn't a cop out! The original chapter plan fell through because it didn't feel like it fit so I had to change the game plan a touch. So as of right now we're looking at 10 chapters-- assuming I don’t just relocate the chapter because it seems it may fit better later-- and hopefully this will be the last of the shorter ones. As always, thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and read what I have to write!

************************************

It had been a few weeks since the fateful meeting with Panther Lily’s owner, and though she’d only met him for a total of five minutes, she’d still managed to dream about him six times since. (Yes, she was aware that was crazy. Trust her, she knew.) Her roommates-- Lucy, Juvia and Erza-- had all jumped at the opportunity to question her about it as soon as she’d returned home, which had caused her to really regret that roommate group chat they had. She’d recounted the story to them, nonetheless, sparing no detail of the five minute encounter with the man that was now widely regarded in their apartment as the Kitty Cat Sex God. The days following had been the worst, as every day when she came home she was asked about him in some measure, and every day she’d reply that she wasn’t watching Panther Lily right now since his owner was home. The questions had ceased more or less now that it was three weeks since, but she was starting to feel a little down about the whole thing. Of course she knew that it could be quite some time before she took care of the Bombay again, and that even when she did take care of him again he would be alone, but all she could think about was his owner’s stupid face.

It didn’t help that that night after their encounter, Gajeel had responded to her latest update saying, and she quoted, “Thank you for taking such good care of Lily! Hopefully we’ll see you again soon.” We’ll. Plural. At the time it had felt almost like maybe something from a movie, which, okay maybe that was just her screenwriter mind running away from her. Now, though, three weeks removed from it all she couldn’t help but feel like maybe it had just felt like a moment because she-- as Lucy had pointed out ever so helpfully-- hadn’t been with someone in years. And that someone had been her screenwriting TA named Freed and a one night stand after a night of terrible alcohol decisions. All which, she’d reminded Lucy, had been the blonde’s doing.

She sighed loudly as she continued her walk with the giant Akita/Mastiff mix she was currently taking care of. If she noticed that he just happened to live a few buildings down from Panther Lily and Gajeel, well, it wasn’t like she would ever admit it. Get it together, Lev, she mentally chided herself as she caught her mind wandering back to the image of the cat owner standing shirtless in his bedroom doorway, shirtless and with his lounge pants slung oh so low. If anyone could read your mind right now they’d not only think you were a creep, but they’d probably never let you watch their pets and then you’d be homeless. If she hadn’t been so deep in her thoughts, she probably would have noticed the large dog eyeing a cat that was ahead of them. Be that as it may, she was deep in thought and suddenly the Akita/Mastiff was taking off at full speed, completely dragging her behind him. A shriek tore from her mouth as she somehow managed to stay on her feet as the near 200 pound dog was running her out towards the beach after the cat.

“Hotdog, stop!” She yelled, both cursing the dog for being so freaking big and also the owner for naming his large mutt something as ridiculous as Hotdog. It wasn’t bad enough to have people staring at her as her small, 5 foot, 100 pound self was literally dragged down the street, they had to hear her yelling “Hotdog, stop!” By some grace of dog walking god, she managed to keep her feet under her as he continued to running, barking the entire way. There was no way for her to gain any traction to try and stop him, and the leash had tightened around her wrist in a way she knew was definitely going to bruise. “Hotdog!” She yelled again, throwing every ounce of authority into her voice that she could muster, to no avail. Thought it had seemed everyone had picked up on the idea that they should get out of the way, she could see a man with their back towards them dead ahead of them and if he didn’t move, they were undoubtedly going to run straight into him. The man was shirtless and wearing basketball shorts, which she was sure meant he’d just been running, as most people tended to do out by the beach. The poor guy probably didn’t expect he’d be run over by a giant dog on his run. His black hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and there was something about the shape of his shoulders that tugged at Levy’s memory.

“Hey!” She yelled out to him. “Hey guy! Get out of the way!” He didn’t budge at all, and she was closing in on him fast. “C’mon, get out of the way!” Right before they hit, she wondered if she could possibly get hit with a charge for manslaughter if they guy got killed. Death by runaway dog. What a way to go. Her body smashed right into his back at full force and hitting him was almost how she imagined it felt to be hit by a car. Everything went black as all the air was knocked out of her lungs and for a second she’d wondered if she’d gone blind from the impact.

“What the fuck?” An oddly familiar voice shouted, the sound filling her ears as she tried to take stock of her limbs. She hadn’t gone blind, she’d realized, she’d just clenched her eyes shut on impact. One at a time, she opened them to see that somehow she was still upright, and thankfully she was standing still. She was sticking to the sweat of the guy’s back but her arm was still attached and Hotdog was still on the leash, so she was going to count this as a win.

“I am so sorry,” Levy said as she peeled herself off his back, not entirely sure how he’d managed to keep them from toppling over but being incredibly thankful.

“Levy?” Every muscle in her body froze as she realized why the voice sounded familiar. Suddenly the idea of being killed in a freak runaway dog incident didn’t seem so awful. Maybe if she just didn’t answer and ran in the other direction as quickly as possible, she could get away with him not knowing she was the person that had just tried to mow him down. Of course, Hotdog was now laying on the ground and panting as if this whole situation wasn’t his fault and he deserved to lay down after that. They were definitely going to have a stern talk when she got him home. “Levy, are you okay?” Gajeel was turning around and honestly, she may have been in shock because wasn’t she supposed to be the one asking him that? At this point he was completely facing her, and dammit she was staring at him in all his half naked glory again. She was wondering if he might have an aversion to shirts. His eyes were on her expectantly, waiting for an answer.

“I’m fine!” She squeaked as she jumped back, the leashing around her wrist tugging against the skin and causing her to wince. Her eyes flickered down to it to see the area under the fabric of the leash was an angry red color that was already starting to turn a fine shade of purple. Gajeel’s eyes followed hers. “It’s you I should be asking that! Are you okay?” Hotdog’s gaze was full of judgment as he stared at the exchange from where he lay a few feet away. As if he knew anything, damn dog.

“Aside from thinking I was being jumped, I’m fine,” he-- Gajeel, not Hotdog-- replied, still staring down at her wrist. His gaze met hers for a moment as if looking for permission before gingerly grabbing her hand to examine her wrist. The touch sent a jolt of electricity through her fingers and her heart hammered against her ribs. Maybe she’d actually died on impact and this was her hell. “This is going to be one hell of a bruise, and there’s a bit of swelling already.” His fingers were light as they slowly pushed the leash back. A quick survey of the area around her alerted her to the fact they’d drawn quite a few confused gazes, and she wondered if any of them would have been as helpful if they’d been her and Hotdog’s victim. Of course, if one of them had been who they’d flown into, maybe she wouldn’t be noticing things like the way the sun glinted off the metal of Gajeel’s nose ring, or the way a bead of sweat was rolling its way down the arch of his collarbone. She started to feel her face get hot and she quickly pulled her hand back.

“I’m fine!” Levy said again, switching the leash to her other wrist and then giving it a firm pull to signal Hotdog that it was time to get up and go home. Hotdog did not budge, and the bluenette was certain now that she was in hell. Gajeel shook his head as he turned to the mutt that lay on the ground, and leant forward to let him sniff his hand before patting him on the head.

“C’mon, pup,” he said as he slid two fingers under Hotdog’s collar and slightly pulled upward, leading the dog to a standing position. “Don’t give Levy anymore trouble.” With a quick pat on the massive animal’s head, he stood and turned back to her. “I’ve got some ice packs and binding at home if you want to stop by once you’re done with him.” He said it so easily, as if he wasn’t suggesting something that would only fuel those ridiculous dreams she had, and her ridiculous roommates. The adrenaline was starting to wear off though, and her wrist was starting to throb quite painfully.

“I think I just might,” Levy replied before she even realized what she was saying. Gajeel then nodded to her and started to walk in the direction of his complex.

“See you in a bit,” he replied over his shoulder. She wasn’t sure how long she’d stood there with her four-legged companion, but she did know it was long enough for Gajeel to disappear amongst the other bystanders on the street. What had even just happened? Levy turned to Hotdog, who looked as confused as she felt.

“You should at least take some responsibility,” she said to him, her voice sounding disgruntled. “You are definitely not getting a treat when we get home.” She concentrated on getting one foot in front of the other as her and the dog headed back home.

****

Gajeel’s heart was still racing when he got to the elevator in the lobby. He could still feel the azure haired sitter pressed against his back, which wasn’t actually too shocking since she had run into him at full speed. If she wasn’t so small, he may have actually toppled over. It had been quite the shock to the system to run into her that way, and he certainly hadn’t expected his daily run to end with her hazel eyes and him stupidly telling her she could come over once she was done to be patched up. She probably thought he was some sort of creep for not only offering, but for being able to recognize her voice so easily. He hadn’t been able to get her out of his head since they’d met though, something he was certain he shouldn’t admit. The elevator doors opened, letting him out on his floor and he walked straight to his apartment. He didn’t want to get his hopes up that she would actually show up, but he did at least want to get a shirt on before she arrived. Lily meowed a welcome home-- at least he’d like to think it was a welcome home-- when he walked in.

“We’re might have a guest in a bit, Lil,” Gajeel said as if the black cat could answer him. It made him feel better all the same. The Bombay’s eyes followed him as he walked towards his room. “Keep your judgement to yourself,” the man growled in response.

****

Levy was standing outside the door she knew well, wondering if she should knock. A sharp stab of pain rocked through her wrist. She should definitely knock. Not because of Gajeel, of course, because that would be crazy and weird, but because that ice pack sounded like a total dream right about now. Just freaking knock on the door, she heard Lucy’s voice say in her head. With a sigh, she lifted her uninjured arm and rapped three times on the door.