#hell hath no fury like a woman defending a woman she thought was scorned !!

[good-beanswrites]

I remember seeing a fanart on Twitter of Mahiru and Shidou jumping Kazui after they found out his crime. Can you do a fic of them beating his ass after finding out his crime

RIP Kazui sdfasdf -- thank you for the request pal!! (I assume you mean the cheating theory and not homophobic 06 09 LMAO) Mikoto is always down to stir things up, though it took a while to picture what Mahiru would be driven to. In the name of love I think she'd become a force to be reckoned with 👏👏👏 I hope you enjoy >:3

Some occupants of Milgram are excellent at lying. They hide a great many things, and pull a great many poker faces. Other occupants are the very worst at it. They wear their heart on their sleeve, for better or worse. Kazui was one of the excellent ones. Mahiru was not. 

When Muu asked if he understood any of the celebrity news they were discussing at dinner, he convinced her that he knew everyone they’d mentioned with a grin. When Mahiru told Fuuta his hair looked “perfectly stylish” after he tried cutting it himself, she got a much rougher reception as he saw right through her.

When Es declared Kazui forgiven “despite his infidelity,” he had maintained the perfect expression to hide the fact that they were a bit off. When Mahiru waved her fingers and told Kazui nothing was wrong, he could plainly see there was bitterness underneath her words. 

He couldn't fathom what he'd done to upset her – they'd had pleasant conversations during meals, and played games in the common area. The pair never spoke about it, though; there was no need to make her any more angry. Kazui had nearly forgotten about it by the time Es disappeared. 

Mikoto proved a slightly better liar, but Kazui caught some odd expressions from him as well. They were smoking in silence together when there was a knock at the door. He answered with his cigarette still resting between his teeth. He was surprised to find Mahiru glaring up at him.

She drew herself up, appearing taller and more intimidating than usual. There was a fire in her eyes he hadn’t experienced before. “In the name of true love –!” she cried. She squeezed her eyes shut and wound her arm back. Kazui looked at her quizzically. It wasn’t as if she was going to slap anyone. 

She slapped him. Hard.

The force knocked the cigarette from his lips and sent him coughing on the smoke. Suddenly Mikoto was behind him, holding his arms in place. 

“Woo! He’s all yours, Mappi!”

Seeing the sudden turn of events, Shidou leapt in to help. He tried to wrench Kazui away by his right arm, but Mikoto held fast to his left. He didn't particularly enjoy being the subject of their tug-of-rope. His legs stumbled between them, falling a bit to one knee. He was left sputtering for breath, pinned between them and facing a fierce Mahiru. He didn't know when she and Mikoto planned all this, and his mind was spinning too fast to think too hard on it.

Kazui looked frantically to her, but her rage was rapidly dulling. She slowly returned to looking exactly 154 cm short. Her mouth twisted into a wobbly frown. “W-what do I do?”

“Eh? You said you wanted to teach him a lesson! Let's go, throw some punches! A few kicks!” 

She covered his face with her hands. “I've never hit anyone before!”

“But, you just did?” Mikoto adjusted his hold. 

“Not like that!”

Shidou bristled. “Why is she hitting anyone?”

Reminded of her reasons, Mahiru uncovered her face. “Kazui Mukuhara – this is what you get! This is what you get for being a dirty, rotten, cheater!” She tried again, bringing her arm back. The movement seemed to pain her more than anything.

He was met with another stinging slap, despite Shidou’s protests. Kazui gasped for air, finally catching his breath now that the smoke had cleared from his lungs. His hair had fallen in front of his eyes.

“We know what you did,” Mahiru said. “Oh, we know everything.”

Mikoto made a sound of agreement from behind. “It’s pretty fucked up, comforting Shidou about loosing his wife like that, while you’re a cheater yourself.”

Kazui opened his mouth, but Mahiru interrupted.

“I don’t want to hear any excuses! Es may have forgiven you, but in the name of true love, I’m going to punish you all the same!”

Although Mikoto was stronger than Kazui had given him credit for, he didn't have the muscle to completely hold him. Kazui pulled himself from the grip, grabbing Mahiru’s wrist as she swung for him again. Shidou took a step back, as the situation fell under control.

Kazui smiled gently. “You don’t need to punish anybody. Es didn’t get the full story.” He released her.

“Oh yeah?” came her incredulous reply. She lifted her fists as if preparing for a brawl, but she had one of the worst forms he'd ever seen. She bounced on the balls of her feet, brandishing her fists. She looked like she was going to start crying.

“Mahiru, I didn’t cheat on my wife.”

“Oh thank god.” She dropped her fists. 

Mikoto raised an eyebrow, either from the turn of events, or he was annoyed at how effortlessly Kazui had escaped him. “There was no other woman?”

He let out a deep laugh. “Not at all.”

“Oh, I just knew it!” Mahiru leapt forward to hug him. 

“If you knew it, why did you slap me…?”

“I’m sorry! I hope it didn’t hurt! Oh, and I was going to try and hit you again… I’m so sorry!” 

She pulled back from the embrace, looking to him with horror. He continued with his warm expression.

“No, no. I was just surprised. I wasn’t afraid of another hit.”

She turned to Mikoto and Shidou to express her excitement, and Kazui reached up to rub his burning cheek. His eyes flicked to Mahiru with uncertainty. He was, after all, an excellent liar. 

[zealouscanonindeer]

12. Hell Hath no fury

Series Masterlist

Emily Cartwright:

"You're a beautiful woman, Mrs Baker," the words oozed out of Timothy Fairfax's mouth, perverted into something grotesque in my ears, "You look so… pristine. Untouched. Virginal."

Virginal? What did he mean?

"It's no business of yours, Fairfax," I growled in the sort of tone that generally made even the dimmest of my would-be suitors pause. However, Fairfax was lost in his own musings.

"You remind me so much of Cordelia when we were first wed, just over eighteen years ago."

He glanced vaguely at Alexander as though regarding a nearby stranger who has just passed gas.

"Ever since then, I've been trying to find that purity again, like a man who sees the first snowfall of his life and then despairs to see it churned up and dirtied underfoot."

He suddenly focused on me again, a frightening spark of madness in his eye.

"A woman touched is a woman spoiled. Alexander knows that – so he tries to spoil as many women as he can before I can find them."

The spark had become a hungry flame, and I backed away from him, even as he advanced on me like a predatory cat.

"Clarissa," he purred as if he had any right to such familiarity, and then forced his mouth onto mine, as he pinned me to the wall.

My emotions fled. Fear, despair, revulsion, all gone, along with, for the moment, conscious thought. As I felt his hands on me, the thing that had chased them all out of my brain reared its head. To call it merely anger would have done it a severe disservice. History, legend, nature – all these are peppered with female warriors. Boadicea of the Celts. Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. A she-cat defending her kittens from a bear. It seemed as though all these and more lent me a portion of themselves. No, I was not angry. I was furious – enraged! - and every fibre of my soul seemed to burn with a seething white-hot flame. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, so spake Shakespeare – and Timothy Fairfax was about to taste mine! I bit down hard on his lower lip, bit until I tasted blood, and kept biting until I was certain I'd nearly bitten his lip off. He howled in surprise and pain and tore himself away, not quite escaping as my balled left fist collided satisfyingly with his nose, followed shortly by the fingernails of my other hand clawing at his eyes.

Of the cousins who had shared my girlhood, the oldest – Benjamin to absolutely everyone else from the day he turned eighteen but always Benjy to me – had taught me how to fight, schooling me carefully in the fine art of hurting the other chap as much as possible before one was pulled off one's adversary and dragged home for supper and a good scolding. Of course, due to the voluminous petticoats required by feminine fashion, I could not with any great efficiency get my knee up into what Benjy delicately called a man's "anatomy". However, the same fashion laws that had cursed me with petticoats also blessed me with an alternate weapon.

While Fairfax tried to get his equilibrium after my barrage, I reached up to my hair, to the single pin with which Cordelia – poor Cordelia, if she had to deal with this man for eighteen years! – had artfully secured my coiffure, and drew it out. Of course, "pin" seems an overly dainty word for what generally amounted to a very thin ladies' dagger. The hatpins used by fashionable ladies tended to measure in the vicinity of six inches long, with the "social" end decorated with beads and jewels to go with one's outfit. It was a weapon that had served me well in the past, and now as Fairfax advanced upon me, intent upon his planned mayhem, I held it low and prepared to give him something to consider if in the future he wished to try anything like this again.

Sherlock Holmes:

I was halfway back to the house when I heard a ghastly scream. It was strangely distorted, quite unlike any scream I'd heard before, and it was oddly shrill. I cursed myself for another oversight and made haste through the snow, not even taking the time to remove my snow-covered boots as I followed the sounds of mayhem downstairs, reaching the corridor in time to hear another thin, strangled shriek, cut off by the sound of a piece of furniture breaking.

I burst through the door and saw Alexander Fairfax, face badly bruised as though beaten with a one-handed attack, holding half a chair, Timothy Fairfax curled insensible on the floor amid a scattering of wood fragments, and Emily Cartwright, her hair loose about her shoulders, the neckline and one sleeve of her dress torn, her face white but for two spots of colour on her cheeks, blood on her mouth, and bosom heaving as she tried to regain her breath. She clutched something in her left hand which I gathered to be the erstwhile fastening for her hair. As I watched, her face – which was initially distorted with outrage – relaxed into relief. Her mouth trembled as though she wished to say something and her eyes glistened with impending tears, but in the end she did neither. It appeared that the constrictions imposed by her corset were not conducive to sustained aerobics such as might be found in fighting off an attacker. It was likely a small miracle that I was able to catch her as her knees buckled, and – with a glance at Alexander and a nod in reply – lay her on the lad's bed.

"She fought like a right fury, Mr Baker," Alexander volunteered, still clutching the broken chair like a drowning man might clutch a piece of driftwood, "Father tried to do something awful to her but she wasn't having any of that." He looked apologetic. "I didn't think to do anything until just before she stabbed him in the… the… well, manly bits. With a bloody long hairpin. You married a real spitfire, sir. You better treat her right – if only for your own good." He offered me a wan smile, showing me the source of the tooth I'd found in the bedroom.

I was about to instruct Alexander to gather together the other players in this drama when Mrs Fairfax, apparently alerted by the same sounds that brought me, appeared in the doorway. He looked very small as she glanced down at her fallen husband, then over at the bed where lay Emily. From the look on her face, she had already figured out what had happened – which did little to make the scene any less shocking.

"Master Fairfax," I said levelly, "go and fetch the others in here at once. On your way, kindly bring back a small quantity of brandy for your mother to settle her nerves." He hared away. I turned to Mrs Fairfax. "Madam, this young lady has fainted." I did not need to mention the whys and wherefores. "Would you be kind enough to aid me in reviving her?"

She looked baffled for a moment. "You need to loosen her clothing, Mr Baker. Especially the corset, just a bit." Oh, God – not that again! "This happens sometimes, when a lady gets over… overexcited." She faltered momentarily, but recovered admirably. "Didn't you know that? You're her husband after all."

"A medical friend of mine has in the past advised me of such, but I possess neither the knowledge nor any right to do so." I forestalled her question with an upraised hand. "I shall explain all in a moment. In the meantime, would you please aid her? Ah – here comes young Master Fairfax and the rest. Madam, I suggest you take a few sips of that. Good." I turned to the rest of those assembled and cleared my throat."My name is Sherlock Holmes," I commenced, "I see some of you know the name. I was called in to investigate reports of a Ghost haunting this establishment, and as you can see, I – and my assistant on the bed yonder – have found him. Or, more to the point, we have discovered the Ghost and the reason for his haunting." I glanced in Emily's direction and saw her beginning to recover, her clothing, ahem, duly loosened to allow her to breathe, with Mrs Fairfax still at her side to ensure that she was okay and also, to some degree I expect, to preserve Emily's modesty from any other eyes. I turned back swiftly to my audience. "Miss Emily Cartwright's bravery ensured that the Ghost was unmasked, along with, I expect, the true danger lurking in this house." I glanced over again and saw Emily's dress now firmly buttoned up (though of course the problem with the neckline could not be helped.) "I shall allow her to tell her tale." She glanced up at me, met my eyes, and smiled briefly at the honour I had conferred upon her.

Emily Cartwright:

What a sweet, arrogant git he could be! I couldn't help but smile all the same – he must have heard the commotion and leapt with the intent of aiding me, to judge by the fact that he hadn't even shed his snow-covered boots.

I stood, declining Cordelia's helping hands, and stood beside Holmes as I prepared to relate the extensive timeline I'd pieced together from my own observations and from conferring with Holmes(making sure my voice projected enough to reach even Mr Hammond's ears).

"I am about to relate a rather sordid tale in mixed company, covering some rather touchy topics. Some of it is merely conjecture – don't look at me like that, Holmes – but all of it is based upon what Holmes and I found, what Alexander Fairfax told me of what he knew, and Mr Fairfax's own words to me shortly before I had to defend my honour from him, with the results you see lying on the floor. This whole mess probably started not long after Alexander's birth it seems. As Mrs Fairfax's condition grew obvious, Mr Fairfax lost any husbandly desire for her and apparently reached his conclusions about the innate beauty of 'untouched' and ...virginal women. " I quoted Mr Fairfax's exact words.

I saw Holmes' expression shift, very subtly, through a number of possible results, one of which may have been mild discomfort, before resuming its original state of studious neutrality.

"It is not unreasonable to assume that Mr Fairfax pursued his newfound 'hobby' at every opportunity. Clearly his desire for 'untouched' women is strong enough to override any checks imposed by social mores. His son Alexander related to me his own observations of his father's attitude towards likely-looking women in town – probably when he was purchasing his gardening supplies for his work here – while at the same time maintaining a façade of a happy marriage. It must have been quite a coup for him, then, when the Hammonds decided to rent out the spare room to guests… especially given that most of their guests were newly-wed couples. He had ready access to the women he so desired, without having to hunt for them.

"But then how to make sure that he was not caught? Holmes found a book in the study on various medicinal plants and herbs – including a particular plant from which can be made a rather effective soporific and muscle relaxant. He would slip some of this drug into the coffee in the evening and everyone would sleep like the dead, unable to fight him off."

Holmes broke into my narrative at this point. "He kept the tools of his 'hobby' as Miss Cartwright called it in the hothouse, where I found them while I went for my walk. Clearly nobody else ever went in there; otherwise he would have concealed the evidence better."

"But Mr Fairfax is not, strictly speaking, your Ghost," I said, gently regaining control, "You see, Alexander followed his father on one of Fairfax's nocturnal visits and saw what he was doing. Alexander told me that when he discovered how far his father had sunk, he had to do something to defend future guests from future attacks. He couldn't be certain if anyone would believe him if he told them what he'd witnessed. The Ghost was born. His aim in this was hopefully to wake the women before his father arrived, or at least to make them seem 'spoiled' in his father's eyes. His intentions were pure, at least, even if the means were frightening. In the end, however, Holmes and I have concluded that Mr Fairfax is the man who should be arrested in this whole plot, not Alexander. The beating I gave Alexander last night when he visited will be penance enough, in my opinion."

In the end, of course, the police were called (and arrived while faithful Cordelia had patched up her mongrel of a husband) to take Mr Fairfax away.

Holmes put in a good word for Alexander, whose only crime was to be the son of someone like Fairfax, and the lad was questioned about his role and ultimately released with a severe warning. To expect any less would have been a pipe dream. Holmes and I gave our statements to the police, of course (though I had to give the officer a brief lesson in manners before he would listen to me), and turned over the evidence we'd uncovered (including the means of Alexander's ingress to the room). Afterwards there was nothing left for us but to pack up and go home. Holmes declined payment for his services in this instance, which didn't go over terribly well with the Hammonds, who felt obligated to give us something. They finally convinced him to take away a plant from the hothouse. He chose the valerian flower as a keepsake – how droll.

[clairecrive]

“Useless planning” - Sirius Black x reader

A/n: this is my first time writing Sirius even though I love him to death and he's my favourite... I lowkey think I didn't do a good enough job but oh well. Here it is, I hope you like it anyway.

Warnings: none, fluff all the way

Word count: 3K 

(let me know if you wanna be added to the taglist)

(I know this is Billy but I thought the sub to be quite fitting)

Insecurities were normal. Everyone has them. And the same went with flaws and imperfections. Nothing to be ashamed about. That's what y/n and Marlene were trying to convince Lily about. Of course, it's easier said than done but acknowledging the fact is the first step into accepting them.

"James tells me that they're beautiful and that I shouldn't worry about them but I don't know. I don't like them." Lily had confessed to feeling self-conscious about her scars and stretch marks and reticent she was in letting James see her body for this very reason. Of course, the boy you love telling you that you're beautiful the way you are is certainly flattering but not problem-solving in this case. At least, y/n thought so and let her friends know.

"I don't think seeing it that way is going to help."

"When has James helped to make something better?" Marlene snickered making y/n roll her eyes and Lily glower at her.

"They don't have to be beautiful and you don't have to look at them in that way. They're just natural, you know? There's a reason you have them, meaning that it's your body's reaction to something." Sometimes, it helped using the scientific approach. Others, however, sharing was indeed caring.

"And in fact, everyone has them. Look." So pulling her skirt up a bit, y/n showed the marks that adorned her thighs.

"How are you so confident about them?"

"I'm not, actually. And it has taken me a long time to accept them, let alone show them this way." In fact, it had taken a long time for y/n to come to terms with the way her body was and to accept it and love it. It was still a work in progress if she had to be honest. But she was not ashamed to wear shorts or mini skirts now and that was indeed progress.

"And, I'm not saying that James is wrong or anything. I'm sure he told you that because they're a part of you and that boy cherishes the ground you walk on like you're a saint or something. He just wants to help and that's sweet of him. I think though, that this is something you have to come to terms on your own too." Y/n felt like adding. By all means, James' efforts were appreciated but she didn't want her friend loving herself through someone elses' love.

"Y/n's right. Don't think you're beautiful because Jamesie says so but because you are." Marlene agreed before throwing a chocolate frog in her mouth.

"So you're saying that Sirius telling you you're beautiful didn't help you even a bit?" Lily threw with a suggestive raise of eyebrows pointed at y/n who barely shrugged not wanting to indulge her.

"It's like with Remus, you know? He has five people telling him that he's the most precious human being on this heart and that his scars hardly make him less attractive but does he agree? Of course not. And yeah, us telling him certainly helps but it's something he has to realize himself or the situation won't ever change." But she couldn't help herself and had to add, "Besides, Sirius says that about every girl at Hogwarts. It's hardly helpful."

"She has a point." Still munching on her sweet, Marlene agreed yet again even though this time her tone had grown sombre. It had been a while and she was over it but she had been one of those girls to make the mistake of fooling herself into thinking that Sirius was going to give her more.

"He doesn't look at them the way he looks at you though." Stubborn as always, Lily insisted.

"I'm sure it's 'cause he sees a challenge."

"If only he knew you liked him."

"Why don't you tell him, then? He's been after you since the year started." Following up on Marlene's lead, Lily wondered.

"Don't get me wrong, I like him alright. But I'm not interested in what he can give me."

"Mindblowing sex?" Marlene pointed out in an a-matter-of-fact tone

"Fleeting interest and attention." To which y/n sternly replied.

"His attention is hardly fleeting seeing as it's been months."

"Lily, why are you pursuing this? We both see how he is with girls and I refuse to end up like that."

"There's nothing wrong in liking someone and letting them know." Lily got defensive, maybe because she was thinking of James. Whatever the case, she wasn't going to change y/n's mind. She was not being delusional, just pragmatic.

"They're pathetic." Marlene snickered and even if y/n agreed to some degree, she ignored her.

"No there's not. It's the end result that I'm referring to." Y/n conceded but the problem wasn't that. It took a lot of courage to publicly pursue someone, that she had to admit.

"Which is?"

"Heartbroken," Marlene answered solemnly earning a nod from y/n.

The group of girls were utterly clueless about the material they had provided for the aforementioned guys who were currently under the invisibility cloak.

Remus rosy-cheeked but flattered at y/n's words. Not that it was the first time he had heard them but it was always nice to feel appreciated. James was glad that his efforts were not noticed by everyone but especially by Lily even though he didn't like the fact that she was still worrying about something that seemed so meaningless for him. Peter looked bored to death as he couldn't be bothered with girl problems while Sirius was pouting despite the fact that the girl he had been chasing for months had confessed to liking him back.

But that pout was short-lived as Sirius Black was known for being a man of action. Now that he knew why y/n was so reticent in giving in to his flirting, he had the key to solving this problem. The smirk he was so infamous for took its place on his lips while a plan was already forming in his mind.

"Stop blushing, Moony, we tell you that every day and so does y/n. Now c'mon I have a girl to woo." And with that, he pushed everyone away and filling them in on his plan when they were out of the girls' earshot.

The first phase of the plan was to take place in a couple of hours at lunch. He was to show that his attention was solely reserved for y/n and her only. Sirius knew that he had a reputation and even he was aware that he was a big flirt. While he knew that it was completely harmless, he could see how it looked in y/n's eyes. Or in everyone's really.

So when lunchtime came around, Sirius took his place at the Gryffindor table. Y/n usually sat with them, on the bench across from him and beside Remus. Deep in conversation with Moony, she didn't notice him sitting down but he didn't do anything to grab her attention. He waited patiently for y/n to be done with whatever she was talking about with Remus to finally speak.

"Hello there, angel. Aren't you looking cute tonight." The plan was in motion, his charm: on.

"Hi, Sirius." And yet, y/n appeared to be unbothered.

"I heard you got into a little of a catfight."

"You made it sound like we pulled each others' hair or something."

"Isn't that what happened?"

"Of course not. I was just telling Moony what happened, he can fill you in." She said dismissively while gathering her things.

"Why don't you do it?" Sirius tried to keep the desperation out of his voice but given the smirk Remus gave him, he was failing. Just like the first phase of his plan.

"I have a class to attend Black." Rolling her eyes at him, y/n stood up not before leaving a kiss on Remus' head, " see you later Moons."

"Don't I get a kiss too?" She heard Sirius' cry of indignation and didn't even turn around to respond.  

"My kisses are for those you can appreciate them and you get far too many of those from others to do so."

"I swear if I didn't hear her before, I'd say she's head over heels for you," Sirius complained to his friend slouching in his seat. His eyes following her silhouette until y/n walked out of the room.

"She's my best friend." Shrugging his shoulders, Remus brushed away his worries. Yes, y/n was affectionate with him but she had always been this way. There was nothing romantic behind her gestures.

"We've known her the same amount of time, why is she so comfortable with you than she is with me? You're not the one constantly flirting with her."

"She's cautious about opening up with people and as you've heard before she doesn't trust you with her feelings." He pointed out what Sirius already knew given her previous confession. The first phase of the plan had seemingly failed. Y/n hadn't stuck around long enough for him to put it into motion but he had not lost hope yet.

"You seemed to have your work cut out for you though, Pads," Remus said after a while and told him about the fight he had mentioned when he first sat down. Apparently, some girl was complaining to one of her friends about him and the way he had treated her. What had made y/n compelled to butt in and defend his honour though, was that the girl had twisted what actually happened, spreading instead some nasty shit about him to no doubt get her revenge. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, after all.

"You know how much she hates confrontations and arguing but she went straight into one for you. It must mean you've done something right."

Sirius couldn't help the smile that found its way on his lips at Remus' words. He had gathered as much seeing as he knew her well. They had been friends since first year after all. Also, because that meant that he didn't need most of the phases of his plan but one: earning y/n's trust.

He knew that he had it in some quantity seeing as you were friends. He just had to nudge her to take a step in the direction he knew she wanted to take but was too afraid to.

So, when your last class ended, he made sure to be waiting for you outside. As always you were one of the last to get out, Marlene and Lily on your side.

"Since when do you specialize in chaperone activities, Black?" Marlene snickered when she noticed him leaning on the wall.

"Only for the fairest maiden of the kingdom, of course."

His charm was one of the things he was most known for but he had never been able to work his magic on you in that way. One day, you were talking with Remus about some books you were reading and how enchanted you were with old stories and myths and legends. Sirius of course had no idea what you were talking about, not having read that particular book, but he was familiar enough with the subject thanks to his education. So he had started talking like a medieval knight just to catch your attention and maybe to annoy you but he was pleased to notice the amusement in your eyes and how you'd respond to him in a similar tone, playing along with him. Whenever you two started talking like this, the others would always look at you weirdly but none of you seemed bothered by it, least of all Sirius. Whatever he could do to make you smile, he'd do it gladly.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure, dear sir?" She played along and Sirius was counting on it. He briefly threw a suggestive look at Lily who seemed to understand as she pulled Marlene away ignoring her protests.

"Oh no, the pleasure is all mine, my lady. Would you give me the honour of coming with me? I have a surprise for you." And to top it all, he offered her his arm. Y/n didn't know whether to roll her eyes at him or indulge him but she'd be lying to herself if she said that she wasn't intrigued.

"How can I say no when you ask so politely, sir."  And so she took his arm and followed him through the hallways up to the Astronomy Tower. Y/n knew what this place meant to Sirius. They had even spent a lot of time there together. It had kind of become their place when they needed some peace and quiet or to simply spend some time together away from the noisiness of the common room.

"I'm here to prove that I'm worthy of your affections, my chérie." He solemnly said after you sat down. If this whole thing had been somewhat normal between you, this was certainly not and it definitely took her by surprise.

"What are you talking about?"

"I know you like me, y/n."

"That's hardly a secret, Sirius. We're friends, of course, I like you."

"I mean, you like me as I like you. Not just as friends."

"Who told you?"

"Most importantly, I know why you're refusing my advances."

"Look, Sirius-"

"Please, let me say this first and I promise that I won't bother you after if you say no." Despite the pun he and his friends would always throw around, he wasn't known to be this serious and he hardly ever was. Taken back by the sheer determination she found in his eyes and in his tone, y/n simply nodded and let him talk.

"I understand your reservations, if I were you I'd be thinking the same. You know me though, y/n, better than most and you know that I care about you. I can see why you'd be afraid of opening your heart to me but I swear I wouldn't be insisting so much if I wasn't sure that this is what I want." y/n had never heard Sirius talk about his feelings so freely. She'd be lying if she denied how his words touched her, her heartbeat would give her away.

But there was also something else on stake.

"It's not that, Sirius."

"Then what is it? Don't you trust me?"

"I do trust you. It's just- I don't want to get heartbroken and ruin our friendship at the same time."

"If you trust me then why are you so sure that I'm going to hurt you?" Sirius wears his heart on his sleeve, that was one of the things y/n had always admired him for. How brave he was to always show and tell every that went pass his mind. Now, seeing him like this, arms crossed on his chest, his eyes flashing, her heart helpelessly hurt and she almost winced at the fact that she was hurting him.

"Oh no, Sirius, no. I don't think you'd do that willingly. After all, it's not anyone's fault if you lose interest in me or just stop caring for me in that way. And when that happens, I'm not sure I can go back to just being friends. Thus, ruining our group of friends and that is not something I'm willing to give up to attempt whatever it is you're proposing." She quickly tried to explain, desperate to make him see that it wasn't about him, not completely. Mostly, she was afraid. Afraid of admitting her feelings for him, afraid of indulging them knowing that when you have something special, it means that you can lose it.

"That goes both ways you know." But Sirius was always able to see right through her. And he knew what he felt and now that he also knew how she felt, he wasn't going to go down without a fight.

"I did not wake up yesterday and realized I have feelings for you, Sirius." she scoffed, not telling him that she had been in love with him since they come back from the summer break in their third year. They were now in their fifth.

"It didn't happen to me neither. If you haven't noticed, I've been chasing you for months."

"Yes, while always having an alternative option on the go."

"I thought you had learned by now not to listen to rumours." Sirius tilted his head in a way that reminded y/n of an adorable puppy.

"When it comes to you and girls, Sirius, they're not rumours. At least, not the part that interested me."

"What do you mean?"

"I know that you treat them right and I know that you don't offer them more than what you give them. Those are rumours they spread in hope that other girls will stay away from you and you'd go back to them. But you do get with them. Sure, Katy was talking bullshit about you being an asshole and I know that's not true but I also know that you have been with her."

"A year ago."

"Then why is she still talking about it?"

"Don't know, angel. I'm pretty memorable if I do say so myself."

"So, you're saying that you haven't been with anyone in a year?"

"I've been too busy with you, chérie."

Well, that was news. Y/n had to admit that she hadn't seen this coming. And it definitely changed things. Sirius had been right when he said that she knew him better than most. And so, when she looked into his eyes, she knew that along with smug and cocky he was also being honest.

"Well, I've just checked your agenda, my love, and it seems it will be so for quite some time."

"Is that a threat or a promise?"

"A bit of both."

"I'm more than fine with it, angel. Now, give me a kiss and bring me to heaven."

[crimsonrae]

Hi babe, can you write something where Syverson meets his girlfriend's friends for the first time and they are all in awe but also giggly and one of them pulls him aside and tells him that He is the only man who has been able to make her stop being insecure and that she's the happiest they have ever seen her since she's with him. Please? Thank you

Hey Nonnie,

I hope this falls into the realm of what you need.  :)

A little Syverson Fluff.

SyversonxOFC

My Sunshine

Sy swore he had entered a den of witches when he had walked through his front door.  

If it weren’t for the fact that he was staring at the Ikea bookshelf that had taken him six too long hours and an entire case of beer to put together then he would have thought he had entered the wrong house. Wary discomfort vibrated through his bones as another chorus of cackling erupted in the direction of the kitchen. He kept deathly still in the entryway and began to assess his options.

They hadn’t heard him enter and he could still make a tactical retreat. A few of the guys had mention watching the game at the officer’s club, but after spending all day on base he really didn’t want to turn around and go back.  

He silently eyed the hallway.  

If he could make it to the bedroom without being seen then he could decompress in the shower and then hide with his headphones until the gaggle of women in his kitchen disappeared. If he was feeling extra bold, he could nab his laptop from his girl’s office.... He was pretty sure she had just replenished her candy stash in there too.

This option had the most appeal, but he wasn’t sure he could execute it fully without his girl noticing him. Eyes of a hawk and ears of a wildcat that one.

The last option was to stop being a pansy-ass and greet his girl with a kiss and endure a few minutes of small talk. It sounded like a girl's night scenario happening in the other room and he was...fairly sure that he’d be kicked out rather quickly.

Mostly sure.

Gingerly, he shifted and set his keys on the entry table as quietly as he could before reaching to unlace his boots. He had only just gotten his heel free when he heard, “Hey, Sy!”

He nearly fell over from the cheerful chirp to his left. He straightened with a sheepish smile, hoping it didn’t look like he had been about to perform some Mission Impossible tactics to avoid the kitchen.

“Hey, Mel.” The grinning giggle he received in return told him that he hadn’t been entirely successful.

“Babe?” His girl called and he heard her soft steps plotting a course to him as her friend slipped back into the kitchen.

His smile softened as her head poked around the corner and she beamed at him, “Hey, Sunshine.”

A muffled barrage of ‘awws’ and humored shushing could be heard from the next room. His ears reddened slightly, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious as he leant down to give his girl a kiss. He was silently thankful that it wasn’t witnessed, sure that it would have brought another round of cooing from the peanut gallery.  

She smirked as she noted his leery glance, “There’s pizza in the kitchen. You should grab some while it’s there.”

He hummed in acknowledgment, perking up slightly at the mention of food, “Girl’s night?”

“Movie night. We’re watching the Count of Monte Cristo.” She explained as she pulled on his arm to get him to follow, “Traci doesn’t believe that the guy who played Superman is in it.”

“I would have remembered those sweet baby blues.” Traci defended as she leaned over the island for a bottle of wine.

Sy raised a brow as he noted three of the five pizza boxes were already empty and there were two empty wine bottles already sitting in the recycling.

How long had these women been here?

“Speaking of baby blues. Hey, Sy.”

He looked up and nodded at Traci, unsurprised by her elevator eyes as he fished for a paper plate, “Hey Traci...Ladies.”

His greeting brought another round of giggling and a few returned pleasantries. He shifted awkwardly and kept his smile polite before he felt a dim wave of amusement from his side. He glanced down to see his girl silently laughing at him. She knew that he would feel more comfortable once he was away from them.  

It wasn’t that he didn’t like her friends, but he preferred to socialize with them on a more one to one basis. When they traveled in packs... he got shy. Add in alcohol and he was dealing with a whole other kind of beast.

As if she knew what he was thinking she quickly pressed a soft kiss to his grizzled cheek and murmured, “You can escape once you’ve grabbed your food. I won’t trap you with us.”

He heard a couple of disappointed groans, likely Traci and Amber. They took a special delight in tormenting him. And offered his girl a relieved smile as he whispered, “Thank you. You guys need anything? I can head out and grab it.”

She shook her head, “No, we did a store run earlier. We’re set. And actually, we should move this show to the couch.”

A round of agreement met her suggestion and he quickly snatched a few slices of pizza as chaos exploded in the kitchen for last-minute grabs of food and drink. She slipped away to get the movie set up, leaving him to fend for himself. He had nothing to fear however, quiet descended all too quickly as they flowed out to the living room in a wave.  

He breathed a quiet sigh and turned to snag a beer from the fridge when he was brought up short by Mel already holding one out in offer.  

Sy blinked, but took the drink with a quick thanks.

When she didn’t move to follow the hoard, he raised a brow at her, “Something you need, Mel?”

“Just...I wanted to say thank you.” The small blonde murmured and grabbed a beer of her own, “She’s happy... happier than any of us have seen her in a long time and a lot of that is because of you.”

Sy shuffled, not sure what he was supposed to say, “I haven’t done anything.”

“Yeah, you have, Sy.” Mel said quietly with a seriousness that made him uncomfortable, “She loves you, but more than that she knows you love her. That knowledge goes a long way.”

“She’s easy to love.” Sy returned as he grabbed his plate with the intention to exit. This conversation a little too deep and perspective for his tastes.

Mel seemed to sense it too as she smiled and snagged a slice of pizza and said, “Keep it that way. Wouldn’t want to have to hurt you, Captain.”

She made it to the threshold of the kitchen as she threw back, “Hell hath no fury like the best friends of a woman scorned, after all.”

Sy snorted, but silently believed her.  

With quiet steps, he peeked into the living room. There was more chatting than watching going on, but as if she could feel his gaze his girl turned to meet his stare. She tilted her head curiously at him and he placed two fingers over his heart before pointing at her. Warmth exuded from her like a ray of sunshine just for him at the small action. He couldn’t help the gentle smile that graced his lips as she mouthed the words back.

I love you too.

He wasn’t lying when said it was easy to love her. She understood him in a way that most didn’t, brought light to his darkness. 

Mel had it wrong – he didn’t make her happy, she made him happy. And he planned to never forget that fact nor forget to be grateful for her.

Content, he slid back into shadows to wait for his sunshine to return.

»»————-　　————-««

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[marril96]

The Distance Between Us

Chapter 32: Mother Knows Best

Pairing: Rowena x reader

Summary: Rowena and her mother have some well-earned bonding time.

Editor: @miss-moon-guardian

*****

Rowena had expected a fiasco since she'd first stepped foot onto the school grounds this morning.

She'd expected an even bigger one when her friends — when Fergus and, eventually, you — confronted Lucifer.

Nothing, though, could have prepared her for the thunderstorm that was her mother.

The outbursts weren't strange to Rowena. She remembered the epic fights her mother and her poor excuse of a father — if that wanker could even be called that — got into quite vividly. She remembered the absolute scorn on her mother's face back in December when details of her and Lucifer's relationship came to light and the reality of what, exactly, had caused her bruises came crashing down. Remembered the madness in her mother's voice, the pure, unadulterated rage, as she spewed threats of police and media and lawsuits at the cowering principal Shurley.

Hell hath no fury like Fiona MacLeod scorned.

This time, she'd gone off the rails.

While Rowena was mad at Ms. Hanscum for taking her, you, and Lucifer to the principal's office, she had to admit the teacher was fair. She'd given you the chance to sort the issue out. Though, unfortunately, the damage Lucifer had caused was too great for a simple conversation to fix.

Bruises she'd healed.

Humiliation, degradation… they would take a while to fade, if they ever did.

She'd been through it before; she knew how it worked. A reputation like that, however false and out of context, never quite went away. Most people may have stopped talking about it in public, but they knew. They knew, and many of them wondered and passed judgment because if there was smoke, there was bound to be fire, no matter how ludicrous the rumors were.

Rowena meant what she'd said — she could deal with it. She was no stranger to people whispering about her, calling her names behind her back, making senseless assumptions. She'd lived through it once, and she could do so again.

All she needed was for them to leave her alone.

They had a right to their opinions, however wrong they were. They had a right to speculate and badmouth her as soon as she turned her back.

She just asked that they not do it in her face.

It had taken her hours to make all her social media accounts private and delete the awful comments the night before. Her phone remained turned off; she didn't have it in her to click it to life to messages staring straight at her, accusatory, judgmental, cruel for the sake of being cruel. She could live without a phone for a few days, until she got a new number.

Her mother, on the other hand, was livid.

Principal Shurley's apologies fell on deaf ears as she screamed — actually screamed — in his face, her face ripe red, a bomb on the verge of explosion. Rowena was certain the entire school had heard her mother's shrill voice tearing into the Principal without a shred of mercy, with the same conviction and vigor Lucifer had put into ruining her reputation, into ruining her.

The Principal, to his credit, didn't know about the harassment and had promised to put a stop to it. He could try; he could get the posts down and threaten the bullies with detention, but nothing could make the rumors disappear.

People's minds couldn't be changed that easily.

For the remainder of the school year, Rowena would be a whore, a cheater, and a baby killer.

She wasn't ashamed of any of it. It hurt to have it shoved in her face so cruelly, but she stood behind her actions.

She wasn't going to apologize for surviving.

Her mother, bless her heart, shared the sentiment. Rowena was worried she would cast a bit of judgment of her own, or, at the very least, be disappointed in her for keeping it to herself, but, aside from a surprised tilt of her head at the news, her mother stood right by her.

Principal Shurley had almost had to fall to his knees to get her to not call the police. He'd promised the posts would be taken down and Lucifer would be punished, and, as a final plea, made plans to hold an assembly on bullying and harassment. If, afterwards, Rowena had any issues, she was free to contact him, he'd said. He would happily take care of the problem.

As if it was that easy.

As if one assembly could stop people from whispering "whore" behind her back for the rest of the semester.

Her mother still wasn't happy, but Rowena told her it was okay. She just wanted this mess to be over. She was tired of everything; of the Principal, of Lucifer's smug smirk even as his father chastised him, of you being forced to witness the entire charade under the threat of detention for "attempting to start a fight," when all you did was try to defend her.

After all was said and done, Rowena was given the rest of the day off. She'd spent it in her room, curled up on the bed in front of an old movie, one of those classics she always turned on for comfort.

She watched as the thick flakes of snow rained upon the street, and all she could think about was you. If you were okay. If, after she'd left, you'd gotten the stares and whispers in her place.

It was a miracle you still wanted to be with her. It couldn't have been easy to associate with someone with her kind of reputation. She wouldn't have blamed you one bit if you decided to break it off.

There was only so much a person could take.

Was love enough in situations like this?

It was a powerful emotion, overwhelming, but, unlike what the movies and books said, it wasn't absolute.

You were under no obligation to sink to the bottom with her.

A knock on the door shook her from her thoughts. "You alright, hon?" her mother's voice, thick with concern, came from the other end.

"Aye," she replied.

As alright as she could be, considering the day she'd had.

She wasn't bruised and battered this time. That had to count for something.

"Can I come in?"

She rolled her eyes, not in the mood for mother-daughter time, but still said, "Aye."

Her mother peered inside, then stepped into her room gently, tentatively, as if she were walking through a minefield. Her eyes fell on Rowena, looked her over in that typical worried mother way Rowena had always found overbearing.

"What are you watching?"

"Nothing," she said and shut the laptop. The end credits were rolling anyway.

Her mother shuffled her feet awkwardly. She took a small breath, and Rowena, well accustomed to that expression on her face, prepared for the inevitable. "Can we talk?"

"I'd rather not."

Not now, and not ever.

There were some things she couldn't talk to her about. Things that weren't for her, or anyone but you, to hear.

Her mother gave a nod, an honest one. "Okay," she said and meant it. She could be annoying, but she never pushed her children. Never forced them into unpleasant, uncomfortable situations. "Would you be okay with listening? I've a few things I'd like to say."

No, Rowena thought, but, with a shrug, said, "Whatever." The sooner she got it over with, the better.

"Is it okay if I sit?" her mother asked, looking down at the bed.

Rowena gave a small nod, though she wasn't the biggest fan of that, either. Her mother took a seat beside her feet, and all she could think about was that it was too close. Way, way too close.

The MacLeod family wasn't big on feelings. They rarely saw each other as it was, with mother working long hours, Crowley constantly heading out, and Rowena doing her own thing. They were a family in name only, really.

At best, their cohabitation could be described as symbiosis.

There was love, yes, and genuine affection, but they didn't show it.

They didn't have the time.

And, more importantly, pride didn't let them.

It certainly didn't let Rowena.

It took her a while to admit to herself she was in love with you, and even longer to say it to your face. Were it not for the confrontation the two of you had gotten into, she wouldn't have blurted it out anytime soon.

Her mother took a few moments to compose her thoughts into words, and what she said threw Rowena off balance. "I'm proud of you."

Rowena's chest tightened, heart burst into a sprint.

Where was this coming from?

Considering the stress she'd put the poor woman through lately, pride was the last thing she expected.

Disappointment?

Maybe.

Anger?

Definitely.

But pride?

Not in a thousand years.

Her mother continued, "You've grown into a marvelous young woman, and I've completely missed it. I look at you, and all I see is that wee girl with chubby cheeks and messy hair. But that's not you anymore. I know that now."

There was a wistfulness to her tone, a heartbreaking nostalgia.

"Don't get me wrong — you'll always be my precious wee girl, but you're also so much more. I'm sorry I didn't realize that sooner."

Her hand reached for Rowena's. Rowena squeezed back, a left-over childhood instinct to hold her mother's hand tight and never, under any circumstances, let go.

Her mother was right — she was still that wee girl she used to be. She was grown now, but a part of her never left, and would always stay. A reminder of the innocence long gone.

"I should have been there for you. In Scotland. You shouldn't have been alone."

Scotland.

Right.

The harassment.

The abortion.

Everything bad she'd sworn to never go through again, only to make the same mistake and end up right at the start.

"I should have noticed."

"I was only a few weeks along," Rowena said. A small attempt at comfort.

"You're my baby," her mother said, adamant, decisive. "I should've known."

No.

She should not have.

Rowena had hidden it with a reason.

She hadn't wanted pity, and, though she knew deep down her mother would never turn her back on her, she didn't want to risk being told she couldn't do it.

Not that she would have listened; she would have had that abortion one way or the other, but the thought of her mother — the one person who was supposed to love her, to be on her side — being disappointed in her, looking at her as if she were a murderer… It broke her heart.

She'd had no one. No friends, no boyfriend anymore. No shoulder to cry on. And, with the whole mess with her father going on, the last thing she wanted was to lose her mother as well.

Willful loneliness was better than stone-cold rejection.

"I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like you couldn't tell me." Her mother's eyes brimmed with tears; a few slid down her rosy cheeks, quickly wiped away with the sleeve of her shirt. "I know I was in a bad place after what happened with your father, and I'm always at work these days, but you're my child. You come first. Whatever is going on, you can tell me. I mean it — whatever. I will never, ever judge you."

Bloody hell!

Rowena's own eyes filled with tears. She willed them back, tried her hardest to regain her composure.

It was just a conversation.

She wasn't a sap.

"Okay," she simply said, and it took everything in her to hold her voice together.

Maybe, a traitorous thought crept up to her mind, she was a sap.

A very, very wee one.

Miniscule.

Her mother's lips widened into a smile. "If anybody else gives you trouble, tell me. I'll gladly put them in their place."

Because that was exactly what Rowena needed — for her mother to fight her battles.

That was a tad cruel, though, wasn't it?

Her mother cared about her, loved her.

What was wrong with that?

She would become known as mama' s girl, but that wasn't any worse than her current reputation.

Did it even matter?

What did she care about what some random Moira thought about her?

At least, she thought a tad smugly, her mother gave a damn about her.

The same couldn't be said for the majority of her peers' parents.

Rowena allowed a smile to bloom on her face. "I'll try."

Her mother beamed. Then, clearing her throat, said, "You and Y/N — is it true?"

Here came the awkward questions.

Rowena's face flushed ripe tomato red. She nodded.

It elicited a smile from her mother, big and bright. Happy to the bone. "She's a good lass."

"She is," Rowena agreed.

More than good.

You were everything to her.

One of the few people who gave her a chance. Who allowed herself to be her friend, to love her as she was without trying to change her.

Her miracle.

Whatever the future held, she would forever remain grateful to you.

What you'd done for her — what you'd given her, and kept giving her — would never be forgotten.

"She seems to care about you a lot," her mother said.

You have no idea. "She does. She's… kind to me."

Kinder than she would have been to herself if she were in your shoes.

After everything she'd done, she didn't deserve a second chance.

And yet…

"You feel the same, I suppose."

Rowena's cheeks couldn't get any redder. Her skin was hot enough to burn.

This wasn't the kind of thing one admitted to their parent. Or talked about. Or mentioned at all.

She cleared her throat, sucked in a small breath, and nodded.

She loved you. Goodness, she loved you. So much it sometimes hurt to be away from you.

She loved you so much she couldn't imagine her life without you.

There was a time, not too long ago, she thought it made her weak.

If it did, she never wanted to be strong again.

"Why don't you invite her over for dinner sometime?" her mother suggested, pleased by the response.

That was just what she needed — her girlfriend having dinner with her mother.

As if your relationship wasn't cliche enough.

There wasn't anything inherently wrong with it; her mother's liking of you was no secret, and you, awkward as you were, didn't seem to think anything ill of her.

Still, it was strange.

It made the relationship official. Serious.

Which it was, but to acknowledge it like that…

She wasn't sure she was ready for that.

"We'll see," Rowena said. If I'm ready was the unspoken addition.

It was enough for her mother. "I've got something for you." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a grayish-green bill.

A — Rowena realized, unable to conceal the surprise on her face — hundred dollar bill.

Her mother smiled. "I got a wee bonus at work."

Rowena was stunned. "Are you sure? What about—"

Bills?

Food?

She wasn't one to turn down free money, but she knew their situation wasn't as ideal as she preferred to think. They weren't poor, but they weren't rich, either. Far from it, in fact.

Their mother, working two jobs, always made sure she and Fergus had enough money for outings, generous as she was.

But a hundred dollars?

"Don't worry. Like I said, this is a bonus. I gave Fergus his share earlier, when he was heading out," her mother explained. "Gavin will be getting a wee toy tomorrow. And this—" she glanced down at the bill in her hand "—is yours."

A bonus, and her mother's first thought was handing it to her children.

Rowena's heart swelled with warmth, with love that made her chest ache.

She took the bill. Folded it up neatly and clasped her hands around it, almost protectively. "Thank you."

Her mother grinned. "Anything for my girl. It's Valentine's Day soon — why don't you take Y/N out someplace nice? Or buy yourself something lovely?"

A Valentine's Day date sounded like a marvelous idea.

Rowena already had a place in mind. A perfect thank you for standing by her, for never leaving her side. For loving her through everything bad.

"I just might," she said, smiling brightly, happily for the first time today.

"Great! Her mother's eyes fell on her discarded phone on the bedside table. "You need a new number, right?"

Rowena's face fell, gloom back with a vengeance.

"I'll take care of that for you tomorrow, when I go out with Gavin. Until then, you can use my phone, if you want. I assume you'd like to call or message Y/N?"

She perked right back up, like a flip of a switch.

They may not have hung out much, but her mother knew her so well.

"Thank you," she said again, and meant it from the bottom of her heart.

Today wasn't so bad, after all.

*****

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[decayingphoenix]

From the Desk of Decaying Phoenix: The Cry of La Llorona

“Mama, mama, mira, look what I found.” Miguel said bringing an old book with him as he ran excitedly to his mom. 

“Que mijo, what do you have there?” His mom asked looking up from the dishes. 

“It’s an old book mama, mira, it has a story about La Llorona.” He said excitedly. 

“Que? What did you say?” His mom said as the color drained from her face. 

“La Llorona, it’s this ghost that cries as she looks for the souls of her dead children, and she takes any she finds out of their house after dark. Mama do you think she’s real?” He asked as his face was buried in the book. 

“No mijo, it’s just a story, now go wash your hands, dinner is ready.” She replied as she tried to keep her son from seeing her shake.

“Awe, mama, please five more minutes.” He said pleading.

“No, now, or do I need to get the chancla?” She said lifting her foot and reaching down for her sandal. 

“Okay mama, I’m going.” 

Miguel went upstairs and washed his hands, all the while thinking about the story he had read. Soon after it was all he could think about. He looked around all over and found the origin of the story. As he looked up the names of the people involved in the tragedy, he found a picture of La Llorona in life, he couldn’t help it he had fallen in love with her picture. He had to know where she was buried, he needed to find a way to have her. Suddenly, a thought had occurred. What if the story was true? What if she really came after children? There had to be a way to bring her back without the curse. He had to try and find a way.

A few months went by and thanks to the dark web and a few occult shops he had most of what he needed, all he was missing was her body and a victim to sacrifice. It was Mexico after all, he was sure he could find a “willing” victim, even if he had to pay one. It took some time and a little more money than he had wanted to spend, but he finally found where she was buried. Soon he was flying down to find his beloved.

“Miguel, are you sure this is a school trip.” His mom asked.

“Si, mama, I told you it was coming up.” He replied half irritated. 

“Pero, why hasn’t the school sent out permission forms?”

“They did, you signed it, it was dos semanas mama, you asked me if I had the money to go.”

“Oh, si, I remember now, are you sure you still want to go mijo?”

“Si mama, I’ve been working hard for this trip. I really want to go.”

“Fine, mijo, go, have fun, don’t get in trouble.”

Having finally convinced his mom about the school trip Miguel was one step closer to reviving his beloved. The wait for the flight seemed as though it took forever, and the flight alone seemed as though it was endless. Miguel had finally landed and was soon on the hunt for his victim. The day dragged on as he sought out the perfect target. Soon he found her, an identical copy of her in life, he knew she was the perfect girl for him. He had convinced her to go with him to the graveyard his true beloved was at. When the time was right. He plunged the knife he had bought into her heart. She lay dying as he started the ritual to bring back his beloved. The magic had started to work and the corpse started to reanimate as it took the form of the dying girl.

Having brought his beloved back and filled her in the time that had passed and what she should expect. Miguel went back home and told his mother that he had met a girl on his trip and was married to her. 

“Como chingados que te casaste?” Miguel’s mom yells. 

“Mom I love this girl. I had to marry her before I lost her, she’s a once in a lifetime kind of girl.” Miguel replied defending himself as he’s getting hit by his mother with the chancla. 

“What the Hell do you even know about her?” She asked as she went for a frying pan. 

“I know all I need to know mama.” He said as he defended himself grabbing a knife on his way out of the kitchen. 

Miguel saw an opening and stabbed his mother with the knife, in a state of shock and rage, he proceeded to stab his mother multiple times, her toso, arms, and legs all had cuts. Having seen what he had done he laughed and thought about how to dispose of her corpse. He realized how much land they actually owned and started digging a grave for his mother’s corpse. Nightfell and he dragged the body out and dropped it, it landed at the bottom with a soft thud, he proceeded to spend the next couple of hours filling the hole up. After having taken a shower Miguel went to his beloved and held her. He finally had the woman he wanted, she was gorgeous. She had brown hair down to the middle of her back, light brown eyes, light skin that shone like the afternoon sun, and the thing he loved most about her, her curves, her hips were right for raising a family.

“Well my dear, now that my mother is out of the way we can be together.” Miguel said as his head lay in his lovers breasts. 

“Si, mi amor, but what will we do now?” She asked stroking his hair.

“Well I own the company now, so we don’t have to worry about money, we can stay home and just love each other.”

“That would be great mi amor.” She said walking to the bed. 

Having finally attained everything he ever wanted he was happy. The years went on and Miguel and his love were happy, happy, that is, until Miguel started to notice his beloved’s ageing, her hair wasn’t as vibrant as it had once been, her eyes had lost that twinkle to them, her face was starting to show wrinkles. Soon Miguel found himself looking at younger women while on his walks around town. His beloved started to notice this and soon grew depressed, was she to be abandoned a second time in a second life? She wouldn’t stand for it. She took matters into her own hands, if she couldn’t have her husband, then no one would. Standing on the roof of their now broken home she decided she would get him back the one way she could. She saw Miguel in the thralls of lust with a younger prettier woman, she jumped and yelled his name, cursing him as she kissed the ground, her neck snapped back killing her instantly. Miguel ran out to find the horrific scene that lay before him. His once beloved wife, dead. He thought this was great, no divorce, no alimony. He had won once again. Over the next few days he acted as a distraught husband should, her body was laid to rest in a very flashy ceremony.

A few weeks went by and children started to disappear at night. The rumors started, as they always did in small towns. After almost forty years she was back, but there was no truth to this rumor, no one had heard the cry as before, there hadn’t been a single sighting down any roads leading to water. Perhaps it was the drug lords forcefully recruiting children into their organization. Theories were passed around back and forth. Children were no longer allowed outside after dark.. However when the children were taken off the streets, the adults started to go missing. One person had survived the attack and went to the plaza. 

“You have to hear me. She’s back.” The man crazed with fear said. “La Llorona is back. She appeared to me as a gorgeous woman, but as she got closer, I started to see what she was, I ran to the nearest church and hid out the remainder of the night.”

“Yeah right.” One man from the crowd said. “You probably imagined it all in a drunken fit. We all know La Llorona isn’t real.”

The crowd laughed at the man and shooed him off of the plaza. 

“You’ll regret not believing me.” The man cursed as he left. 

Miguel had heard of what the man had said, wanting to make sure she hadn’t come back for him he had her body dug up. The casket was empty Miguel’s name had been carved into the inside. At this sight he hired a personal bodyguard not telling him exactly what he needed protecting from. 

Over the next weeks more people disappeared. Soon Miguel could hear her. 

“Miguel, you betrayed me. I will get you.” 

The crys got closer every day. Soon Miguel wasn’t sleeping, he was jumpy at the slightest thing. La Llorona was no longer just interested in children. Anyone she found outside after dark was hers. Eventually, she caught up to her former lover.

“Miguel, I’m home.” She cried as she entered her former home.

The house was quiet, the only sound was La Llorona walking looking for her former husband. 

“Miguel! Miguel! Miguel!” She cried over and over. “Come out, I’ve missed you.”

Miguel hid as quietly as he could a new gun in his hand, thinking that would stop her. Surely she had  to still be alive, maybe all of those people left the town. She had found the room he was in. He stayed as quiet and still as the grave. Soon she ripped the door of the closet open. Miguel started shooting emptying his clip into the thing before him. She felt nothing and grabbed him. 

“Miguel, you betrayed me, now, you must pay the price.” She said as she dragged her former husband to the balcony. “I died because I loved you. Now I’ll kill you, because I love you.”

She slowly lifted him over the rail and held him looking into his eyes.

“Miguel, mi amor. We promised until death do us part. Well, death, did do us part, now in death we will be together.” She said letting go of her former husband. 

The last thing Miguel saw was a black wedding gown, with a veil to match, the wind blew just enough for him to see the decayed face of his once beautiful bride. Miguel was found in the morning, dead, police had ruled it a suicide. Having gotten her revenge, and her curse partially broken, La Llorona now roams all over her cry can be heard for miles around warning all that she is near. 

“Ay mi marido, ay mis hijos.” She cries in both pain and joy. 

Those lucky to only hear her cry claim to feel a knife piercing chill thru their body, and the house shake. However, what has become of those that have had the misfortune to come across her? Well the rumors are that the children are drowned, and the adults well you know what they say. ‘Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’, but these are only rumors after all, so next time you’re out after dark and if you hear her cry followed by a beautiful young woman, well, I’d run if I was you. 

Well my little chicks, how was that for reviving an old Mexican legend? Do be careful when out at night, and if you hear a pained cry in the distance. I do hope you’re near shelter to hide out. Sweet screams.

[gofancyninjaworld]

OPM Chapter 93 Thoughts

<20 in bold at the end.

It goes without saying that if you've not read this chapter yet, you probably shouldn't read this!

Typeset: https://imgur.com/a/cuCBt76

Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AopCejGDKMg

The ART!

If there’s only one thing I’d declare my love for, it’d have to be the art.  It brought the characters and the sense of place to life in a way I’ve not yet seen in One-Punch Man.

This chapter round, Murata did not pour his energy into elaborate backgrounds or spectacular scenes. His assistants did wonderfully at the backgrounds, particularly in showing the dereliction of City Z. So you'd think this chapter would be quick and easy to knock out? NO. WAY. Murata poured his art into detailing and delineating characters, bringing their very souls to life as we've rarely seen before. So many characters, both familiar and new. Along with the incredible character interaction, this chapter has been a real treat for the eyes as well as the mind.  

More thoughts still under the cut!

Chapter Theme: You Can't Escape the Pressure

Everyone is under pressure. It's on everyone, both that imposed by the external circumstances and that imposed on themselves by the characters. So much of the ugliness we see in the S-Class meeting comes from that pressure. I'll deal with Fubuki, Bang, King and Genos separately.

The collective pressure to prove themselves is on the support heroes. While they may be the support, their role is just as crucial and their objectives are many -- containing any escaping monsters, clearing an escape route and making sure that Waganma is escorted to safety. OneShotter definitely feels the toughness of the assignment while Needle Star focusses on the other side of the pressure: the potential reward of promotion.

Even at the top, the pressure is intense. If anything it's worse. Being based in A-City, the executives have to look at the results of their failure every single day, at the still-raw lunar landscape that used to be most of A-City. Metal Knight didn't even bother trying to fill in the larger craters, but just built road bridges over them. Sekingal may be ambitious but he has earned Sicchi's respect for not merely being the guy in the suit who sits back in relative safety while sending heroes to their doom. He's going to be there with them -- he's tied not just his reputation and career trajectory to the success of the mission, but his very life.

I don't think many people would begrudge Sekingal his ambition nor any of the support heroes for being politically shrewd in their desire for promotion. They're doing the work and taking the risks, why shouldn't they make sure to get their reward? It's people who use politicking as a substitute for doing the good work whom we object to.

Wanted: Leadership and Unity

ONE has long had a special dislike for experts without actual expertise. One of his early cameo characters was a Mr. Nanmoshirane (Mr. I don’t know) who was a pundit making useless pronouncements on the mosquitoes that had appeared over City Z. So, why is a ten year old in charge of S-Class? Because he's the best at the job and has lots ofleadership experience? HA, not a bit of it! It's because he's clever (technologically), is available, and is the only one who will speak up. 

Unfortunately, Child Emperor hasn't got the personal authority to shut down dissent and is having to rely on mollifying the egos of the other heroes to keep them all on side and focussed on the threat in front of them.   To watch the clash of titanic egos as they try to work out how best to approach the Monster Association raid is to feel for Child Emperor.  But he manages.

And then Sweet Mask appears.  As a deeply disliked and barely respected hero, his presence is unwelcome in the first instance and his insistence in not just joining the strike team but leading it started to create an ugly situation. 

Watching the S-Class meeting nearly implode into bloodshed, all I can think is with allies like this, who needs enemies? It's evident that no matter how talented the individuals are, without a sense of shared purpose around which they can rally and actual strong leadership, they're going to be easily working at cross-purposes to one another.

Fubuki: The Power of Spite

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned? I guess Shakespeare knows what he's talking about -- here comes Miss Blizzard and she's looking to raise hell, both with the Monster Association and with her sister.

So much of her anger is not for the monster, Do-S, who brainwashed her group. After all, Do-S is a monster -- that's what monsters do. It's for Tatsumaki, who seriously hurt the members of her group and who has now had her dismissed without so much as a say. That's what she cannot forgive. She's taking them both on, both on a personal level and on the behalf of the group of heroes and compatriots she loves and nurtures.

While it's hilarious that she thinks of Saitama's group as her 'new' Fubuki group and is outraged at how completely she's ignored, her astuteness cannot be faulted.

Go Blizzard!

Bang: A Shabby Way to Treat a Good Man

I salute Bang's sense of responsibility in coming all the way out to A-City in order to find out what is going on, since the loss of his communicator has meant that he has no way to keep abreast of the situation. Watching Sicchi lie to Bang's face was just painful.

It's shocking how quickly narratives grow up around events. Sicchi may have defended Bang staunchly to the other executives, but he's asking if Bang let Garou go. Even Bomb is questioning Bang over it. And Bomb was there! You see how deeply this hurts Bang.

And yet, even now, Bang hasn't given up on Garou. He's jumped at the chance to 'accompany' King as he puts it in order to fulfil his duty to apprehend Garou. Maybe even to save him if he still can.

King: The Paper Tiger Becomes a Cardboard Tiger

King running away only to get himself deeper into trouble is nothing new, although it's wonderfully done here. His accidentally defusing the S-Class meeting's tension was absolutely stellar timing. And how freaky is it that even through several walls, Zombieman can hear the King engine?

However, what's new is that King can be mighty brave... so long as it's from behind Saitama. Watching King dying inside even as he puts on a brave face and says brave-sounding things has been quite the edifying development. He so wasn't counting on being bundled off to the Monster Association like a secret weapon though. Being deferred to and consulted by the other heroes was terrifying enough. The out-of-body experience he was having at the end is one for the ages. :D

You Wait Forever For A Cyborg And Then Three Come At Once

Conventional wisdom is that a cyborg is hard to kill. Defeat one, sure. Kill one, that takes some dedication. Accordingly, we see the return of Jet Nice Guy, phew! His backstory is that he won the lottery, then used his winnings on buying body modification surgery -- I'm glad they were good enough to keep him alive and that he's still got enough money (and enough desire) to return to hero work, looking better than ever. Learning that Drive Knight is also a cyborg has been awesome. Finally the question of what Drive Knight is has been settled, although the clues have been there for a while, mostly in Murata's art spreads, one of which shows him eating noodles through his mouth grille and another that shows him lounging in the swimming pool with a snorkel. His cyborg nature is why the rest of the S-Class are hoping that he may yet be alive, even if he's incapacitated.

I hope that we get to see what Jet Nice Guy and Drive Knight do. I hope the conventional wisdom isn't tested too hard!

As to the cyborg we know best, Genos, he has has gone dragon-crazy. [That said, his enabler-in-chief, Dr. Kuseno, has no right to say that it is Genos who is reckless: there's a bit of the devil in the old man too, what with putting such a badly-balanced build together for him.] I think I see the rational side of why Genos is gunning for dragon-level monsters so hard. As far as he's concerned, they're just a stepping stone in his path to strength -- huge, treacherous, bitey stepping stones, but stepping stones nonetheless. But they're rare monsters. If one pops up, it'll be assigned to Tatsumaki or a group of well-tested S-Class heroes. As a new guy who is still building his track record, Genos has no chance of being assigned one, not even to support another hero.

The conservative way to become a dragon-slayer is to painstakingly grind away, improving his proficiency with demon-level monsters until the HA is so confident in his ability to deal with them that they'd consider briefing him on joining other S-Class heroes to deal with a dragon-level threat. That'll take weeks. Genos is a little less... patient.

The Monster Association is the only place where he's guaranteed a crack at them. There are five main possible outcomes.

A: He gets killed or crippled (the scenario that literally keeps Dr. Kuseno awake). It is a risk that exists regardless of what he does -- monsters target even the most peaceable civilians. As a hero, Genos has a great big target on his back anyway.

B: He gets beaten down without taking out any dragons. Here's the thing: at the very least he's no worse off than beforeand he gets invaluable battle data to build up on. The data will help to sort between changes and strategies that were never going to work and those that might yet work with some improvement.

C: He gets beaten down but kills or critically injures at least one dragon. He gains that invaluable battle data plus a basis on which to consolidate gains. Gets a promotion to around S-10 (more likely rank 10 - 12)

D: He doesn't get beaten down and kills or critically injures at least one dragon. He can work on using data and experience to further refine the fighting platform. Gets promotion to well within top ten and to ask Saitama for his next assignment.

E: He doesn't get beaten down but doesn't take down any dragons, either. This scenario will have Dr. Kuseno sigh in relief, but it's the only really bad outcome from his perspective. He's lost data and the chance to tackle such monsters. He'll have to grind like mad and hope for another lucky break.

I rate the likelihoods of the various scenarios as A - 0%; (ONE isn't about to kill Genos over this fight), B - 60%; (no change from webcomic), C - 39%; (it's a big step up and still respects what happens in the webcomic), D - 1%; (in that case the first half of chapter 108 is redundant) and E - 0%; (don't worry boy, here be lots of dragons).

Rounding up

This may have been a set up chapter, but it was anything but uneventful. 32 people are responding to what is for most, the greatest challenge they've yet faced. Okay, one of them is Saitama and he's just wandering around oblivious to the import of anything.

I can't wait for the fights, when we see all the tensions and motivations explode into action.

<20: The keg is full of dynamite, and the fuse is lit. Bring on the explosion!

[lakeblessed]

anonymous said: "alt!"

Send me "alt!" and I'll introduce you to a character I've rped in the past, want to play in the future or are currently playing somewhere else!

“Oh for fuck’s sake! How dare they! How! Dare! They! When I try to be myself, they run in fear, but the moment I try to be this perfect example of a delicate woman they want oh so much, they hate it just as much, wondering what I am even doing here! There’s just no pleasing them, huh? Huh?!”

They always say Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and Charlotte could not possibly demonstrate it better. Swinging her giant axe left and right, she let poor training damage take all of her pain and frustration without even a chance to defend themselves. But how, just how was it, she wondered, that other women had no trouble securing their lives while she struggled so much?

“What do they all have that I don’t?!”

That was when she heard footsteps behind her back. Before she even knew who was approaching her, everything about her, from the look on her face to the tone of her voice, had changed. With a smile that, she hoped, was sweeter than honey.

“O-oh, I must have disturbed you.” One can never be too careful, she thought to herself. “Please, accept my apologies, I don’t know what has gotten into me... I haven’t had the best of days, to be honest. Can I help you, by any chance?”

[dragongoddess13]

31 Days of Halloween Prompt Challenge Day 20

Day 20

Captain Canary

Witch/Witch Hunter AU

Ao3

xXx

She had been hunting him for three years now. Sara Lance, the sheriff's daughter. The girl who didn’t fit any mold, so she broke them all out of spite. She was hellfire in a petite body, a force to be reckoned with. A woman on a mission. Scorned and dangerous and worst of all out for blood.

His blood.

Leonard had first laid eyes on Sara in a tiny town out west, aptly names Starling. It was small for a boom town, but a boom town it was and like any boom town it was ripe for the picking.

His team wasn’t human, his out casts, his rogues. They fell from the pages of myth and legends, striking fear into those who would oppose them.

All except her.

Leonard had gotten close to her because she was the sheriff’s youngest daughter. Courting her would ensure he had inside information on Starling's law enforcement. What he hadn’t counted on was getting attached, regretting his actions in deceiving her. When they left town with their catch, he had an ache in his heart and a weight on his shoulders.

He didn’t realize she’d followed them until a few months later. They were planning a new heist, inserting themselves around town when everything went to hell. They were ambushed by the deputies and taken into custody. Sara had been on the balcony across the street, overlooking the tin jail house, when they were taken in.  

“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, big brother.” Lisa told him later through the bars of their adjacent cells. The weight of Sara’s withering stare still haunted him. He was ashamed to admit the pain he felt when he saw just how much hatred she harbored for him.

“Told ya that girl would be trouble, boss.” Mick added. “She’s too wild.”

xXx

Leonard had worked out their meeting down to the last second. Her family's home was small, not much for her to take care of. So, by noon she was usually out of the house, making her way through the woods that bordered one side of the territory.

Leonard followed at a distance, observing her as she descended a shaded path into the hidden valley below. He’d staked out the area after the first time he’d watched her disappear down there. It was mostly sparse grass, with towering pine trees, thick enough to explain the lack of grass. Large boulders dotted the landscape and encircled a midsized lake.

He’d seen her carrying a pack with her that day, concluding that she planned to spend the afternoon by the lake eating lunch. What he hadn’t expected was to turn the corner on the path toward the lake and find her discarded pack and clothes on the surrounding shore.

Leonard quickly recalculated, approaching the shore where she’d dropped her pack. He expected a memorable meeting, something he could apologize about later when they ran into each other in town, leading to a witty back and forth over the incident, thus securing his place in her mind. Instead, when she noticed him, she smirked, wading a little closer, the water just barely covering her chest.

He should have walked away then, called off the job, packed up his crew and moved on to the next town, but she intrigued him and Leonard’s curiosity had always been a fault he couldn’t shake.

xXx

After the break out they’d all separated. Leonard could see Sara was only out for him and he wasn’t going to take his crew down with him. The other’s were hesitant to leave him and Mick and Lisa put up a fight, but in the end they all trusted him to do right by them, no matter what form it took.

In a group, Leonard was much safer, but now he was forced to work a bit of magic to protect himself and with a blood line like his it was guaranteed that someone even more unsavory than himself would notice him. So now, not only was he dodging the woman he’d scorned, but also his father’s enemies. Dozens of men looking for revenge or leverage on Lewis Snart for one of any number of reasons. He was almost tempted to let Sara catch up with him. Nothing she could do to him would ever compare to what Warlocks and Witches and all manner of Mythical Creatures would do to him in some fruitless attempt to get the upper hand on his father. A man who could careless about what happened to his children if it didn’t benefit him in someway.

Leonard was reduced to pickpocketing to survive whenever he ventured into a town. He avoided the big ones just in case and mainly kept to himself. If the politics in one town seemed unstable, he didn’t bother to stay, keeping on the move and out of sight.

Leonard didn’t know how Sara managed to keep up with him. Whether her fury was driving her to move faster or subconsciously he wanted her to catch up. He knew, deep down, that he wanted to see her again, that he wanted to go back and change everything; change his fate to that when he rolled into Starling it wasn’t as a thief looking for a score, but a man with a chance as love. Something he could not afford to have, no matter how many banks he robbed.

xXx

“What do you want in life?” Sara asked him one afternoon by the lake. A few weeks had passed since their first meeting and Leonard would soon have to admit he was stalling his crew.

“That’s certainly a loaded question, isn’t it?” he replied.

“No, it’s not.” she said it so assuredly, he believed it instantly. “It’s simple. What do you want out of life?”

“Well, I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about it.” he told her. “What do you want?”

“Room service.” Sara replied, stretching lazily and laying back on the picnic blanket.

Sara hummed. “I want to leave this town and travel the world and never settle down and live on room service and the excitement of not knowing what’s next.” she told him and damn him if he didn’t understand exactly what she meant.

Damn him if he didn’t want to give that to her.

xXx

It all came to a head six months later. Leonard was exhausted, he’d been riding all night trying to escape a gang his father had double crossed and ended up hiding out in an abandoned mining town. He needed a place to sleep for a few hours, to rest his horse. He knew better than to sleep deeply, but after days on the move he can’t help it.

Leonard woke up a few hours later, and realized he couldn’t move. His hands were bound to an iron bar stuck in the wall beside him and all of his packs are across the room. The small shack he held up in earlier is lit only by a small fire in the wood burning stove at the center of the room.

He assumed his father’s enemies had caught up with him, but then he realized that all of this was too well planned for the impulsive men chasing him.

“Why have you waited so long?” he called out into the darkness.

“I was watching you. The way you watched me.” Sara answered. He followed her voice across the room.

“Sara,” he began, not sure which of the numerous speeches he’d rehearsed he was going to use.

“Don’t,” she cut him off, stepping into the light. “Nothing you say will change my mind about what I have to do.”

“And what do you have to do?” he asked.

“Kill you.”

xXx

“He’s a crook, babygirl.” Quentin said, pulling his rifle off the rack. “He’s just using you to keep tabs on me and my deputies.” he continued oblivious to Sara’s struggle to keep the tears at bay. “My deputies are dealing with something at the Queen ranch. I’m going out to find their camp. I want you to stay here.”

“No way, I’m going with you.” Sara insisted. “You can’t go out there by yourself.”

“Sara,” her father sighed. “Can you honestly tell me that you can go out there and be objective about him?”

Sara hesitated and it was all the answer he needed.

“Stay put sweetheart. I’ll take care of this.”   

xXx

“That was the last time I saw him alive.” she explained. “He didn’t come home that night, so the next morning I went out looking for him.” she paused. “I found him by the lake, our lake.” she looked at him with such hatred it burned right through him. “When I got back to town to get help they said the post office had been robbed, nobody knew who did it, but I did.”

“And yet I haven’t found any wanted posters.” Leonard replied.

“Well, I couldn’t let the Marshalls get in my way.” she told him.

“So you weren’t the one who tipped off the Sheriff a few months back?”

She shook her head. “No, that surprised me too.” she stepped closer, crouching down beside him. “I need you free to get what I want, because no court can give you what you deserve.”

“Sara, we did rob the post office, I won’t deny that, but I didn’t kill your father, nor did anyone in my crew.” he defended himself. “Murder is messy and draws attention to us. If we had been confronted by your father we would have run, especially if he had come after us alone.”

“Is that so?” Sara sounded skeptical, her anger growing. He watched as she reached for something at her back. “So this isn’t you family crest burned into the hilt of the knife I pulled out of my father’s back?”

xXx

There was an outcropping of rock hidden on the far side of the lake. They’d found themselves there that afternoon. It had been three weeks to the day that they’d first met and Leonard knew things were going to fall apart soon if he didn’t make his move.

Be he didn’t make his move that day, instead, he made a mistake. Lying there together, her head on his shoulder, the sweat on their skin cooling in the gentle autumn breeze, he knew it.

“What is this?” Sara’s voice was soft, satisfied, her fingers lightly tracing the pattern tattooed over his heart.

“My family crest.” he replied, sadly.

“Is that a bad thing?” she asked.

Leonard chuckled. “Depends on who you ask.” he told her, rolling on top of her.

She wanted to ask him about the other marks, the scars, but he was doing all sorts of distracting things with his tongue and the thought left her.

xXx

“Sara,’ Leonard began, his tone grave. “You need to put that down.”

“And why is that?”

“Because it’s cursed. Have you been carrying it this whole time?”

“So you killed my father with a cursed blade?” she exclaimed outraged.

“No, Sara, damn it, put it down it’s clouding your mind!” he screamed and it startled her just enough for her to drop it. “I didn’t kill your father Sara, but I might as well have.”

“What does that mean? What is going on?”

Leonard sighed. “I don't’ supposed I could convince you to untie me before I explain?” a look was the only answer he needed. “Worth a shot.” he shifted around a bit, trying to get comfortable. “That knife belongs to my father, the head of our clan.”

“Clan?”

Leonard nodded. “I’m descended from a long line of witches, directly descended for the bloodlines of Salem. Our blood is royal in magical terms, though there isn’t much left of our family. My father turned to theft, further driving our family under. He took my sister and I with him and when I was old enough, I took Lisa and escaped. He didn’t like that, claimed we abandoned him, cut him off, so now, whenever we’re in the same area, he tries to mess with us, mess with me and my plans.”

Sara shook her head. “But why would he kill my father. It did nothing to stop you, to hurt you.”

“Believe me,” he replied bitterly. “It did plenty. He succeeded quite well this time.”

“How so?”

She watched him shift to get comfortable and sighed. “Hold still.” she instructed pulling a small knife from her boot and cutting him free.

Leonard rubbed at his wrists to relieve that ache.

“What do you mean, he succeeded?”

Leonard hesitated, stalling as long as he could. And when he couldn’t stall any longer; “First rule of any con, don’t get attached to the mark. You were the mark.”

“I don’t understand.” But Leonard could see that she did.

“I had what we needed for the heist within a week and a half.” he continued.

“But you were there for a month.”

“I actually considered abandoning my crew, giving it all up. Taking you away from there. We’d live on room service, see the world, just the two of us.”

“But you didn’t.” Sara replied.

“I’m just a thief, Sara.” he told her bitterly. “You deserve better.”

“So, your father saw us, saw how you felt and killed my father to frame you, to make me hate you?”

Leonard nodded and neither of them said anymore for awhile. Leonard eventually got up, kicking the knife across the room as he walked to his pack. He dug out some food and his water skin and they ate a meager meal.

“I’ve been carrying this anger for months. How could I let it go so easily?” Sara asked sometime later.

“The knife. My father used it to kill my grandfather and while he lay dying he uttered a dark spell. It draw the worst of you to the surface, makes it hard to think clearly. For you, it drove your revenge. My father actually has a special sheath for it, to keep it from affecting him.”

“I still feel angry.” she added.

“And i doubt that will go away anytime soon.”

“I’m alone now.” she sounded so small, so scared. “My parents are dead, I don’t know where Laurel is, not since she ran away with the Merlyn's’ son. I’m alone.”

Leonard moved closer, his side pressing against hers. “You’re never alone, Sara.” he reached over and took her hand, entwining their fingers. Sara buried her face in his shoulder, letting the tears fall uninhibited.

xXx

When Leonard woke the next morning, the space beside him was empty, cold. Sara had clearly been gone awhile. Her pack was gone and so was his father’s knife. He didn’t need to read the note she’d left to know where she’d gone.

He packed quickly, riding off after her and praying to whatever deity would listen that he would get to her first.

xXx

“I can’t let him get away with this.” Sara told him. They’d been in this position many times before, side by side, limb tangled up, heart beats just returning to normal.

“And what would you do?” he asked. “Go after him the way you came after me?” he sighed. “You can’t stop him Sara, he’s too strong, too depraved.”

“So what would you suggest I do, let him go, let him get away with what he did?”

“I’ll never let him get away with this Sara.” he told her. “But wouldn’t your revenge be sweeter if he saw you happy despite everything he did to destroy that?”

“You said it yourself, Len, he’d never going to leave you alone; leave us alone.”

“No, he won’t and think it’s time I finally did something about that. The first step, however, is showing him he has no power over us.”

Sara didn’t respond right away, her fingers absently tracing the tattoo on his chest before jumping to the scars.

“You may be right.” she finally agreed.

Satisfied , Leonard settled down, eventually lulled to sleep by the light touch of her fingers.

[switchedatbirthgleerp-blog]

The Basics

KITTY GEORGIA WILDE is sixteen seventeen and a junior at William McKinley High School. She identifies as heterosexual and her endgame is with Jake Puckerman. She wasn’t switched at birth, but she is still waiting for her test results. She is currently dating Ryder Lynn. Unfortunately for you, she is TAKEN.

Nature vs. Nurture

Kitty is quick-witted, cunning, judgmental, and harsh, but she can also be loyal, intuitive, impatient, and stubborn.

The Story

Kitty Wilde was born on October 4th near midnight to Matthew and Ruth Wilde, a megachurch pastor and a trophy wife, and brought into a world of mansions, silver spoons and gold-embossed Bibles. From an early age, she was taught that God came first, appearances second, and anything else after that, and the Wildes kept up their appearance as the perfect, blond, beautiful family every Sunday at church. Despite the relative nightmare of being a PK (pastor’s kid), Kitty’s childhood was idyllic; she spent weekends with her best friend Marley, and she dragged the poor girl to horseriding, dancing, and gymnastics, all paid for by her father’s job. Growing up, Kitty was very aware that her mother didn’t love her father like he loved her, but she never questioned it; their relationship worked, and it provided a stable foundation for her life, so who was she to doubt it?

Despite going to a Christian school her entire life, when it came to high school, lobbied for her parents to enroll her in McKinley High, purely so that she could go to the same school as Marley and fulfill her high school dream of being a popular cheerleader, with her best friend beside her. She never had any doubt that, with her cunning nature and quick wit, she’d have the school wrapped around her little finger in no time. True to her word, she joined the cheerleading team, and despite not being captain, managed to have all the other cheerleaders bending to her every will out of pure fear. She also made her family proud and earned a brand new red convertible when she announced that she had started a celibacy club, with a respectable number of members (the majority of them being intimidated cheerleaders).

Despite her protests, Coach Sylvester insisted that she joined the Glee club, and Kitty reluctantly went to the first rehearsal of the year. Despite being completely determined to hate it, when Mr. Schue pulled her up onstage and paired her up with Jake for a dance routine, she remembered how much she’d loved her childhood dance lessons, and begrudgingly admitted to herself that she didn’t mind it. She had a confidence onstage that, despite her quick quips and attitude, she’d never really felt before. Not that she’d ever admit it, of course, if anyone asks her what she thinks, she’ll say that Mr. Schue looks like a middle-aged Chik-Fil-A employee who’s watched one too many inspirational TED talks, and that the club is full of mouth breathers on a constant sugar high.

She’d never, ever admit it, but when Sam dumped her, it damn near broke her heart. Despite what anyone thought, she really liked being with him, and she liked the feeling of being wanted. She had even considered breaking her celibacy pledge, just because she wanted to be close to him like that. It was devastating when he broke up with her. Ryder’s sweet and all, but let’s be real, he’s a total rebound, and she doesn’t know if she’ll feel the same way about another guy anytime soon. Sam made her put some walls up that will take a lot of work for any guy to break down, and she vowed to never let another guy break her heart like that. When you’re Kitty Wilde, you don’t get your heart broken; you break them instead.

Major Connections

Marley Fabray: Kitty has always been one of Marley’s best friends since they met in Sunday School. The two have almost no secrets and can frequently be found walking the halls of McKinley together - well, when they aren’t with their boyfriends, at least. Of course, they can be a bit competitive, especially since Kitty really wanted that head Cheerio position, but they’re more likely to team up against others than themselves. They know all of the other’s secrets, including the fact that Marley actually has had sex and that Kitty actually made out with Mason.

Mason McCarthy: Kitty assumed Mason was gay for the longest time, so she might’ve acted differently around him than she would’ve otherwise, like by touching him more and treating him like a GBF. Then she found out he was straight (or at least that he liked girls), and, not going to lie, she kind of got interested. And maybe after Kitty and Sam broke up they made out once and Mason has a huge crush on her, but she’s with Ryder now and she doesn’t intend on changing things.

Sam Evans: So these two dated and everything seemed fine to Kitty. Sam was a gentleman who never pressured her to do anything against her religion (even if she sometimes wanted him to). She got him to join glee club and they had fun together, and she thought they were at least cute together…And then Sam dumped her rather abruptly only to start dating one of Kitty’s least favorite people, Santana, like, a day later. Yikes. And Kitty doesn’t even know Sam cheated on her with Kurt, though she assumes he cheated on her with Santana. Double yikes. And now Kitty is dating Sam’s best friend. Triple fucking yikes.

Ryder Lynn: Okay, so when Sam cheated on her, Kitty was honestly heartbroken. But hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and a Kitty Wilde scorned? Ouch. Much worse. So when she realized Ryder was available, Kitty easily got him in her grips and soon the two were dating. Ryder does actually like Kitty, at least a little, but she’s also really bossy and obviously hates his best friend, so he’s confused. He'd love to double date with Sam and his girlfriend, Santana, like he does with Marley and Noah, but Kitty would never let that happen.

Rachel McCarthy: They don’t like each other purely because Rachel and Marley don’t get along. While Kitty thinks she would’ve made a better captain than Marley, she can’t stand that Rachel thinks she’s better than her best friend and refuses to put up with that BS. Marley can bite when need be, but Kitty’s got claws. Rachel would have no qualms with Kitty if it wasn’t for the fact that she defends Marley and that she attacks her best friend, Santana. Because of that, it’s war.

Santana Lopez: Kitty is besties with Marley and Santana is besties with Rachel. Marley and Rachel don’t get along, so Kitty and Santana don’t get along. They’re also pretty loud and opinionated and rude, so they just don’t get along well. And, to just make it even worse, Santana is dating (well, “dating”) Sam, Kitty’s ex, and they started dating pretty much a day after Sam broke up with Kitty. Naturally, Kitty assumes Sam cheated on her with Santana, so she hates her guts even more now. Since Santana has promised not to out Sam, she hasn’t told Kitty the truth. 

Jake Puckerman: Kitty drives Jake crazy, and the feeling is mutual. Kitty finds his whole “bad boy” schtick hilarious and fake as hell, and Jake feels the same way about her attempt at seeming pure. The two of them tend to disagree on everything, but as the two best dancers in glee club, they often get paired together for dances. And their chemistry? It’s off the charts. Maybe if Kitty stopped being so stuck-up and Jake stopped pretending to be some brooding badboy they could actually get along, and maybe even be more than friends. But for now, they just bicker and argue while Kitty goes off holding hands with Ryder.

[askmiraiacademy]

The Final Prank

Nagisa and Kotoko returned to the student council room to confirm what they had already heard. Letters demanding Nagisa's head on a platter were litter around the room. The pin board with all the suspects had been broken in half and left on the table. On the black board "We don't trust you either" was spray painted in red letters. The vandals seemed to even have time to cover the chairs in toilet paper and shaving cream.

"Impossible." Nagisa muttered inspecting the door. "I made sure to lock the room before we left because I left my stuff... MY STUFF!" His backpack, coat and laptop were no longer in the room. It wasn't like he had left them in plain sight either, they had been safely stored in the file cabinet. Students began to collect wondering what was going on. Kotoko turned to their gawking peers.

"Alright, show's over, get out of here!" She shouted. The doors at the west end of the hall slammed open as Nanase padded toward the room, leaving a trail of water behind her.

"N-nanase?" Nagisa gapped. She shoved his sopping wet back pack into his arms and crossed the threshold to the STUCO room. She paused, assaulted by the state of the room and her pseudo office.

"You've got to be kidding me!" She shouted, she slammed the door shut muttering under her breath the whole time.

"You might want to check on her, though I would save asking about the laptop when she's not postal." Kotoko suggested. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. And as I recall, you already scorned her earlier today." Nagisa nodded with a sigh.

"This might take a while." Nagisa said shaking his head.

"So... I get to skip last period then?" Kotoko snickered.

"No!" Nagisa shot back.

"Fine, fine; I'll let Masaru know you're okay." Kotoko laughed. With a flip of her hair, she went to find her self-appointed body guard.

As Nagisa stepped into the room, he could see the historian furiously gathering the threat letters while muttering under her breath.

"I can't leave for a second can I? Honestly where do people find the time to do all this?" She crammed them into her tiny garbage can. "It's going to take forever to clean this up!"

"So, no free time hunh?" Nagisa prodded, picking up a letter himself. The young clerk startled and spun around to face him. "I thought it was odd that a student would be shredding documents, would it have anything to do with these?"

"We- uh- occasionally get actual student requests... but it seems the anonymity makes it easy to target people. I find it's best not to give them a reaction." She tensed, her eyes darted around the room. "Sorry, I'm not going to be able to focus until I clean this shit up." She covered her mouth. "I-I mean stuff." With a groan she went back to collecting papers. Nagisa lined the wall with the contents of his backpack, hoping they would air out, but he had already begun mourning the destruction of his laptop. He turned back to the periwinkle haired girl with a puzzled frown. "Speaking of which, I think I got most of your stuff out of the fountain. Took me a while to find it. You didn't have a wallet or anything in here did you?"

"Why are you doing this?" Nanase threw the pile of notes in the garbage, no use hiding them now that he knew.

"Is it really that hard to believe someone just wants to help you?" She gave him a withering look.

"Yes." Nagisa replied in a low tone. The state of the student council room was proof enough. "I find it very hard to believe that someone would repeatedly go out of their way to help someone with a reputation such as myself, especially since I have yet to produce actual results as the student body president. It seems very fake."

"Fake?"

"Sorry, probably not the best choice of words. Disingenuous would be more appropriate." It was difficult to tell if she shivered from the cold or anxiety. "I just don't get this whole, whatever it is you think you're doing." She had to be trying to get something from him; information being a likely option. His laptop being damaged after discovering someone other than him had used it, was also highly suspect. To his surprise, Nanase was anything but defensive.

"I felt bad for you!" Nanase threw her hands in the air as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I understand what it's like to have a reputation, you think I haven't heard what they say about me? My talent is only as good as the person I'm assisting, so I only help the best of the best! I get that this club is just a stepping stone to you, but you have to make it a stable one and doing stuff like this," She brandished the broken list of suspects, "is so not helping! I mean, what is this even!?" She threw it back on the table.

"I know things have been rough since they locked you out of the system, and I have been doing everything I can to make up for it.” She fumed. “But I can't even being to help you unless you tell me what to do. So don't tell me that doing what you're told is mindless, because it's the only thing I'm good at!" She felt a little light headed, having just unloaded a great deal onto what she perceived to be her boss. Nagisa's brow furrowed, running everything she had said in her mind. "So... that genuine enough for you?" She finished meekly.

"I'm sorry." He relinquished with a sigh. "I didn't mean to insult you or your talent with what I said earlier. It's just, in my past experience, most people have ulterior motives behind their actions. I'm fortunate enough to have friends who are rather forthcoming about their motives. The least I could do is give them a place where they can be safe. Lately it seems I can't even do that right." He surveyed the room once more. Things like this would have happened regardless of Monaka's game, but he couldn't shake the two were related. The spray-painted skull in the corner of the room was proof enough. Nanase pulled a manila envelope from the bottom drawer of the teacher's desk.

"Things seem really bad right now..." Nanase struggled to find the words, "and it probably didn't help that no one expected you to win or make good on your promises. But that's the great thing about starting on the bottom. You get to surprise people, and given the chance," she held out the envelope, "they can surprise you too."  

"So..." He began with a wry smile. "You think I'm the best?" The bespectacled girl flushed and slapped him with the envelope.

"Out of everyone at this school, you have the most potential." She defended. "D-don't act like you haven't noticed, it's simply common sense... Speaking of common sense, why are you here?"

"Hunh?" Nagisa faltered.

"I mean, why are you here alone?" Nanase amended. "N-not that I mind! It's just, I thought you guys had a buddy system or something." Nagisa paled, immediately reaching for his phone. He knew that Kotoko always had her phone on vibrate, but to his dismay, she wasn't answering.

"Go tell Kirigiri-san Kotoko's missing." Nagisa cursed at himself for being so careless. "Well?" Nanase startled.

"Yes! Er, yes sir, right away." Nanase ran out of the room still leaving a trail of water behind her. Nagisa proceeded to call the rest of his team.

[filmista]

Big Little Lies

“I read a quote once that said...friendships are the masterpieces of nature.”

I normally don’t review shows, but I enjoyed this so much and it touched me in a way that demanded that I speak about it, It doesn’t often happen that as a woman I’m touched by a show almost solely about women (and in this case what’s classically seen as their “ female issues”, in fact, I don’t think there has been a show like that ever), because as I’m sure someone somewhere in the golden state might have said: “Who would want to see that boring shit?”

Because every so often I end up finding the characters too shallow but now that it did happen, I had to talk about it. I figure there’s a first time for everything, so here it goes, these are my thoughts on Big Little Lies: (please be kind, since I’ve just lost my tv show reviewing virginity) ;)

Big Little Lies’s trailer doesn’t do it justice: it’s visually pleasing, tempting snippets, set to a pleasant beat, it looks stunning, but does it makes sense? For me, it didn’t really give me much of an idea of what the show is about.

Still, after I had heard good things about the show, I wanted to watch it. The first episode disappointed me a little bit initially, it looked simply like a spin on Desperate Housewives, but with murder. Women and their perhaps potentially lethal catfights and backstabbing, someone in the show even goes as far as to say: “I believe women are chemically incapable of forgiveness” and it is often said that women remember everything, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned right?…

But by the end of the show I was glad to see that it had gone beyond that and didn’t limit itself to dishy catfights over hot, muscular men and mommy wars, at the end of that first episode we see the three main women bond and you see a strong friendship form, but I was distrustful, beautiful female friendship doesn’t last long in tv land does it?

Surely a big crisis and meltdown of their friendship would come and nasty catfights would follow, fortunately, this does not arrive and the friendship becomes even tighter.

I found it incredibly satisfying to see three so different women, accept their differences, there’s not even an argument made about how different they are, they bond, get to know each other, they offer each other unwavering emotional support.

There are fun times to be had Our trio: part time working mom Madeline (Reese Witherspoon), stay at home mom Celeste (Nicole Kidman) and single mom Jane (Shailene Woodley) goes out for cosy cups of coffee in trendy beach bars, but they are also there in more difficult and trying times, It’s simply unconditional love between women and I honestly freaking adored it! Because you don’t very often get to see it, It’s rare that a show has as It’s driving force three women; their friendship and their individual lives, how they perceive themselves and how the world around them perceives them.

There have been shows that have female friendships in them, but they are rarely It’s driving force. It’s also quite rare to see a show with such well written female characters, all initially respond to a type, to a cliche, they are all classified as a certain kind of woman.

Yet while they may to some degree respond to these stereotypes, they accept that they do, but we also get to know each woman as more than a stereotype, they become fully realised persons, each has conflicts, things from their past that come back to haunt them and that have shaped them as a person.

Maybe one of the reasons that some people have the dismissed the show, is that it is perhaps a bit too stylish for its own good: it is filled with beautiful sceneries, shots that are hyper aware of their own attractiveness, we’ve got architectural porn: beach houses with their beautiful terrace roofs and the ever so beautiful ocean views that come with them, and then the ever so hot, rich white people (all Hollywood A-listers, which admittedly is kind of what initially drew me in, I’m not above being lured in sometimes) 

And It’s all set to a soundtrack with immaculately good music, it simply seemed a little too good to be true, usually, when I see a film filled with Hollywood’s most wanted, I become wary surely something should be up, maybe it has a despicable script? But in this case, I’m glad that I set my previous prejudice aside and gave it a chance.

Shows and movies about rich people and their perfect world, that’s seemingly only designed to make you jealous aren’t usually my thing. But Big Little Lies embraces this cliche in a very interesting way: It says look at all the pretty houses and their pretty people, don’t you want to live in one of those houses?

But then it shows us what’s going on with the people in the houses and one thing becomes painfully clear, if you’re miserable, if you’re an asshole, then a pretty house is not going to cure you're being miserable or of you’re having a shitty character.  

But returning to what I had previously said, while I was initially a bit dissatisfied with the first episode, I stayed and became hooked because of the promise of a budding friendship between these women and the fact that all of them seemed to be written so well and I simply wanted more of it.

You discover the character of each and the dynamics of their at home situation in the very first episode, they are almost immediately well rounded and shaped, by the end of the first and second episode, you feel like you know each of them.

Big Little Lies has an extensive female cast and all of them extensively collaborated on it as well, which was for some people a red flag, signalling that It’s only a show about women and their “lady issues”.

All these women, are women that exist, and their problems aren’t discussed in ways that are glossed over, it brings them in entertaining, fascinating also scary ways, they offer a scarily realistic, sometimes shocking of the sometimes harrowing reality that being female entails.

The show is not so much a murder mystery, yes the ultimate goal of the show was revealing who got killed, but It’s really merely an excuse to explore It’s character’s interpersonal relationships, the relationships of the women, between them, their family and ultimately some types of relationships between women and men, and the dynamics between the two in a relationship, in some cases healthy, in some cases downright toxic.

The men in the show are mostly cliches, but they are all incredibly well acted, and that’s what gives depth. We have the asshole who abuses his wife, we have the guy who is permanently chill next to his stressed out career driven wife, then we have the husband who is simply a nice guy to his wife, always there for her, yet while he is a genuinely nice guy, there is also some bottled up anger, he doesn’t feel appreciated enough at all times, he feels as though his wife takes him for granted.

So they all do respond to cliches, but the show wasn’t out to demonise them, some people could interpret the show as too overly feminist, as something that immediately makes men the bad guy, but that’s not entirely true in my view, while it is openly feminist, it does it from a very positive angle it merely wants to illustrate some of the issues women deal with, and it shows them in depth.

But the female characters are not victims in a way, we are not supposed to pity them or find them miserable, and while we can admire their strength, It also doesn’t feel like It’s saying look at these badass, strong women!

They are brought to us as multisided human beings, that you can feel for, relate. Their real strength and the strength of the show is their bond, their union, the fact that they protect each other, it shows that the world is easier for women when they are not pitting against each other, but rather helping each other navigate stormy waters.

Instead of wishing the other would fall into the water or push each other into the water and help each other take down personal demons, which in this case results in one of the most beautiful, riveting and most satisfying, and downright wild tv finales ever, let’s just say that a misogynistic asshole gets taken down by a group of angry ladies, (the always cool Zoë Kravitz) has something to do with it as well and it’s pure poetic justice and It’s fuckin’ beautiful!

The show’s strength lies in It’s writing and It’s acting, while the writing in some episodes seems a bit weaker, it always results in an enjoyable episode, due to the strong acting. Each actress and actor is allowed to demonstrate their chops to the full range, all the actors and actresses are usually not actors that do tv work (but they’ve all beautifully adapted to it), and the director of the show (Jean-Marc Vallée) usually directs films, not tv series, and that to some degree shows, the show has a highly cinematic quality, and aesthetically It’s as beautiful as some of Vallées films.

The acting unlike in some tv series does not seem overly scripted and staged, maybe to some extent because most of the actors in the show usually stick to film, they all take their roles seriously and give it their best, and the result is some of the best performances out of their career for the actors.

Reese Witherspoon plays what she has played before, a woman who defends everything she believes in, a woman with a big, foul mouthing mouth (I will never forget the wonderful: “I’m a lady and I’ve never said this to anybody in my life, but I’m gonna say it to you, you can go fuck yourself on the head”) seen by some  because of her never bow down attitude as a controlling, backstabbing bitch. 

Reese Witherspoon has played the woman who never gives up on anything before but who is also extremely sensitive and vulnerable, but here she is given such witty, emotional and sometimes dialogue that’s so sharp it could cut, that she just once again could give a fine showcasing of her talent and reminded me of why she is one of my favourite actresses.

A performance that has been dismissed, I think undeservedly so is Shailene Woodley’s as Jane Chapman, Jane is the single mum with a haunted past that arrives at the town, is quickly singled out as different and becomes the target of a witch hunt. As we discover Jane suffers from PTSD, she was raped and her son is the result of that sexual assault, her character goes jogging by the ocean, always with her headphones on, by means of therapy, it seems, during these sequences we get to see flashes of her past.

That kind of filming technique and a character running off frustration and pain is nothing new, but Shailene Woodley has an understated calmness and elegance here, that conflicts with the stormy battles she is fighting within herself, and Woodley conveys it all to us with an admirable naturalness and transparency, one look suffices to let us in on how she’s feeling.

I think she handled the role of the single young mum beautifully, she showed real love for her son and tries her hardest to give him a good life, all the more admirable when considered that her son was the result of a sexual assault. It’s a difficult role no doubt about it.

And some people claim that Woodley is still too young and inexperienced an actress to handle it, I found it refreshing to see her as something other than a teen with cancer or battling in dystopian worlds and I think she handled it with ease and grace.

And the greatest thing about her character for me was that she ends up in a way being the one that unites the women, at the beginning of the show Jane goes jogging alone after she has confided to one of the women what happened in her past, we no longer see her go jogging alone.

She now goes with her friends, who run off their own frustrations and who offer their own silent support, not a word is spoken and it is not necessary, simply being there is sometimes the greatest sign of friendship.

Nicole Kidman is also a force to be reckoned with here, I hadn’t seen her do much lately that impressed me that much, but this was truly a pleasant reminder of her talent. She has perhaps the most emotionally draining role, playing the victim of domestic abuse.

But she handles it with her trademark calmness, elegance and subtlety, Kidman is the sort of actress whose performances if you don’t watch her carefully, might seem like she’s not acting at all because she’s barely moving.

However, if you watch carefully she speaks incredibly loudly and clearly, just through her body, she does it here again and the result is simply magnetic, as she perfectly captures what must be going through her character’s mind.

Kidman and Skarsgard (who plays her pig of a husband), have a downright scary and harrowing chemistry, the scenes in which she suffers physical violence at his hands and in which she fights back, have an intensity and volatility to them that make you at the same time want to look away because it makes you sick and downright angry.

But Kidman and Skarsgard (who’s downright scary) are so disturbingly good together, that you look anyway. There are scenes here that verge into the not often explored area of marital rape, Celeste appears to be consenting, she doesn’t say no at least not with her voice, but seemingly only because she can’t recognise to herself that if she said no, her husband would not listen.

So in her mind no resistance and letting it happen is easiest, these sequences are filmed in an almost horror like way, they’re meant to unsettle, show the suffering of Celeste, in no way are they meant to be sexy or enticing, and frankly I think that anyone that thinks they are is a bit of a troubled individual…

There are other good performances, especially the child actors do an amazing job, but the three leading ladies are the ones that impressed me the most. I finished Big Little Lies in literally 2 days, which is a record for me even with miniseries, but I was hooked on this.

It’s got everything you could possibly want in a show: Excellent writing, beautiful camera work (the colours and the lighting in this, are the wet dream of anyone that loves to take screenshots), strong performances, smart sound design, a fantastic soundtrack and well-rounded female characters, Big Little Lies will perhaps become to tv what Thelma and Louise is to film and that’s a wonderful thing to see, if one thing I hope that it sparks many more shows that don’t have women stabbing each other in the back, but as friends.

It shows something that I and a lot of other women probably already knew: women can and should help and stand up for other women when they are suffering injustice or unfairness, (heck every human being should) and if they’re not, then there’s no reason they should make each other’s lives more difficult. My ultimate verdict: A  21st-century feminist masterpiece that keeps women and men alike on the edge of their seat! 

My favorite character, even though, It’s not a fan favorite is probably Shailene Woodley’s Jane. She offers such an understated and quietly moving performance. I wanted to include this article because I agree so much: http://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/news/a54268/shailene-woodley-big-little-lies/

“It’s like I’m on the outside looking in. Or, like, I see this life and this moment and it’s so wonderful, but it doesn’t quite belong to me.”