#her and archie question mark??

[woolpines]

i lied, i think im gonna play with her

this is maple 🍂🍁

[cosmiclily]

chapter nine: the edge

wc: 2.8k

notes: next chapter will be the interview that i mentioned a couple of chapters ago!!! pls send some questions to our fellow rock stars

Apparently, sex was, in fact, a fantastic creative exercise—or at the very least, an excellent incentive for spitting out lyrics. Once you figured that out, the entire process of choosing lyrics, organizing tracks, and brainstorming ideas became a hell of a lot easier.

Writer’s block? Fixed with Vi’s hands gripping your hips, her mouth marking a trail down your stomach.

Frustrated over a melody that wouldn’t click? Easily solved by the way she pressed you into the mattress and pulled sounds from your lips sweeter than any song you’d ever written.

Tension from long hours in the studio? Well… she had a very effective method of dealing with that.

Of course, you weren’t oblivious. You knew exactly what Vi was doing—using you as a distraction, a way to keep from drowning in whatever emotions those songs dragged back up. You knew she was using you to not think about her. Caitlyn.

But when Vi held you like that, when her fingers tangled in your hair, when she bit down on your neck just enough to make you shiver, when she touched you exactly the way you needed to be touched? None of that mattered. Not even a little.

And, honestly? It was a great way to de-stress.

The long nights spent cramped in the studio became more bearable when you knew you could go home and have Vi all to yourself.

It was like having a place where the weight of the world could just melt away. You got to pull her closer, scratch, bite, and touch every inch of her as if she was yours to do with as you pleased.

And the memories were almost addictive. Every time the pressure of the studio, the deadlines, or a fight with someone built up, you could close your eyes and retreat to your happy place.

“We’re almost finished here,” Archie said, barely looking up from his tablet. “Mark was talking to me about promotions, interviews, appearances—the whole deal. So clear your schedules.”

You sat back in your chair, stretching your arms over your head with a satisfied sigh. For the first time in months, the studio didn’t feel like a pressure cooker. No one was snapping at each other out of frustration, no one was sulking over failed ideas, and—most importantly—no one was on the verge of throwing their instruments against the wall.

The hard part was finally done.

You’d recorded a couple of solid tracks, and almost every song you wanted for the album was ready. The weight that had been crushing your shoulders for months had finally eased, letting you breathe a little easier.

“Finally,” Jinx groaned, throwing herself onto the couch with a dramatic sigh. “If I had to listen to one more version of that last chorus, I think I’d start hearing it in my dreams.”

Ekko smirked, tuning his bass idly. “You say that like you don’t already.”

Jinx pointed a finger at him without lifting her head. “Shut it, time boy.”

Vi chuckled from her spot by the drum set, twirling a drumstick between her fingers. “Admit it—you’re gonna miss all this once we’re done.”

Jinx peeked up at her with a lazy grin. “I’ll miss driving you crazy. That part was fun.”

You shook your head, laughing, before glancing back at Archie. “So, what’s next?”

Archie scrolled through his tablet before giving you all a pointed look. “Now? We get ready to *sell* this thing. That means promo shoots, interviews, maybe even a live session or two.” He narrowed his eyes. “So, try not to look half-dead for the cameras, alright?”

You snorted. “No promises.”

“Great. Love the enthusiasm,” Archie deadpanned before turning back to his notes. “Now, let’s talk deadlines…”

He turned his tablet to us, displaying his calendar.

“This month, we’ll be finishing the recording, and the producers will take care of the rest. Next week, we want to shoot some pictures for the cover and also do some introductions for your channel—you know, fan stuff,” he rushed through, glancing up at us, his finger hovering over the screen. “And we want to do an interview, answering questions from your fans, and some general stuff.”

He continued explaining the calendar details, but you couldn’t help but notice the way everyone else’s faces seemed to blur into confusion. You weren’t the only one who was a little lost in the whirlwind of the plans. With everything that had been happening in the studio lately, the reality of the promotion process felt like a whole new beast to tackle. The recording was one thing, but now there were public appearances, live sessions, photo shoots, and interviews to manage too.

Vi, sensing the shared hesitation, shot you a quick, silent look across the room, one brow arched in that familiar, unspoken question. Is this what we’re really getting into?

You couldn’t help but grin and shrug. “Fan stuff, huh? Sounds… fun.”

Jinx leaned back in her chair with a loud groan. “Wait, wait, hold up. So now we’re gonna have to look good for the cameras too?” She ran a hand through her messy hair. “I mean, sure, we look good, but I’m not exactly camera ready.”

Ekko chuckled, clearly amused. “Jinx, I think the camera is going to need a lot more than a filter to handle you.”

Jinx shot him a glare. “If you’re trying to be funny, it’s not working.”

Archie’s face was a mixture of professional concern and barely-contained amusement. “Look, I know this is a lot, but we’ve been working for this moment. The album’s almost ready, and now we need to give people a taste of what’s coming. You want them to care, right? Then we have to make them care.”

Vi, ever the voice of reason, raised her hand, leaning forward to address the group. “We’ve been locked in here for months. It’s time to show the world what we’ve been working on. Let’s just get it over with, yeah?”

There was a brief silence, followed by murmurs of agreement. Everyone seemed to acknowledge the inevitable.

“Alright,” you said with a deep breath, sitting up straighter, “let’s just get this done. We’ve made it this far.”

Archie nodded, satisfied. “Good. So, here’s the schedule for the next two weeks. Let’s get moving on it.” He handed out the specific tasks and assignments, detailing each member’s role in the upcoming photo shoots, interviews, and other appearances.

As he wrapped things up, the room fell into a quiet hum of anticipation. This was the next phase—one where the music wasn’t the only thing that mattered anymore.

──────────────────────

You were paired off in twos to film a short introduction video for yourselves and the album—Vi and you, and Ekko with Jinx. Archie gave you the freedom to choose where you wanted to film and what you could talk about (as long as you stuck to the schedule, of course).

Vi suggested filming at your place, claiming “the plants give off a nice vibe.” You didn’t argue—if it made things easier, you were all for it. So, to your apartment you went.

As you both stepped inside, Vi kicked off her boots near the door while you tossed your keys onto the table, the familiar clatter echoing in the quiet space. The apartment felt weirdly calm compared to the chaotic energy of the studio. But now came the hard part—figuring out what the hell to do for this video.

“So, what do you think we should do?” Vi asked, her voice casual as she wandered over to your living room, eyeing the plants like they’d give her the answer.

You trailed behind her, chewing on the inside of your cheek. What could you film that would actually reflect your energy without coming off as too much… or, worse, boring?

“Honestly? I’ve got no clue.” You flopped onto the couch, sighing. “Ekko and Jinx are doing some painting session or whatever since they’ve got that in common. But us?” You gestured vaguely between the two of you. “What do we do? Besides, you know…” You trailed off with a smirk, your mind flashing back to Vi's very creative methods of stress relief.

Vi chuckled, flopping down beside you and tossing her legs over your lap. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s exactly the vibe Archie’s looking for.” She shot you a teasing grin. “Though I’m sure it’d get us a hell of a lot of views.”

You laughed, shaking your head. “Yeah, not trying to get us banned off every platform before the album even drops.”

Vi leaned back, staring at the ceiling in thought. “Okay, so… no painting, no X-rated content.” She tapped her fingers against the couch rhythmically. “What about something simple? Like us just talking about the songs, the process, you know?”

You made a face. “That sounds kinda… stiff. Everyone’s gonna do that. I mean, sure, we talk about the songs, but there’s gotta be something more us in it.”

Vi was quiet for a second before her eyes lit up. “What if we do something more casual? Like, we’re just hanging out, talking shit, maybe playing some old tracks and reacting to them?” She grinned, nudging your shoulder. “You know, let people see the real us—chaotic mess and all.”

You laughed, the idea settling in your mind. That actually sounded like fun. “Alright, yeah. I like that. Maybe we can even throw in some behind-the-scenes clips? Like the time Jinx nearly set the mic on fire?”

Vi burst out laughing. “Or when Ekko tripped over his own bass cable and tried to play it off like nothing happened?”

The two of you were already in stitches, the tension from earlier melting away. This felt right—natural, fun, and totally you.

“Okay,” you said, standing up and grabbing your phone. “Let’s set this up before we lose the vibe. You grab the speaker, I’ll get the camera.”

Vi gave you a mock salute. “Aye aye, captain.”

In no time, your makeshift filming set was ready. You grabbed some snacks, adjusted the lighting just enough to look effortless, and set the camera to start recording.

You both introduced yourselves, diving into the story of how the band came together. It felt natural, almost like reminiscing with an old friend rather than filming something for fans.

“At first, it was just the two of us,” Vi said, pointing between the two of you with a grin. “We were messing around, trying to figure out our sound. Then my younger sister decided to be extremely annoying while we practiced—always yapping about how two people weren’t a real band. Eventually, she dragged Ekko into this mess, and, well… here we are.”

You laughed, the memory still vivid. “Oh, I definitely remember the first time Jinx quite literally dragged him into that old room at school—the one we used for practice. She barged in, shouting about how Ekko had a garage we could use, and how she had all these brilliant ideas.”

Vi chuckled, shaking her head. “Yeah! I remember that. Poor Benzo looked so displeased with a bunch of teenagers making a racket in the back of his shop. I’m pretty sure he aged ten years in that first month alone.”

You both laughed, the camera kept rolling, but for a moment, it didn’t even feel like it was there.

As Vi continued talking about the process of creating the album—how the songs and lyrics meant so much to all of you—your mind began to wander. You couldn’t help but notice how effortlessly beautiful she looked, sitting there comfortably, her voice steady and confident as she spoke to the camera. The black hair dye had almost completely faded from her hair, leaving the natural pink vibrant and bright against her skin. Her hair had grown out a bit, just enough that it curled slightly at the ends, and you found yourself fighting the urge to reach out and drag your fingers through those soft, messy locks.

Your eyes traced the freckles scattered across her cheeks, the way they bridged her nose, delicate and familiar. And her eyes—God, her eyes sparkled when she talked about something she was passionate about, like the music, like this. It was the kind of sparkle that pulled you in, made you want to listen to her forever, just to keep that light alive.

It was almost like…

Oh.

Oh.

No, no, no, no.

You were not catching feelings. That was impossible. This was supposed to be casual—just fun. You both knew that from the start. So what the fuck were you thinking?

Panic tightened in your chest, a cold, sharp edge to the realization sinking in. You were spiraling, and you barely registered Vi’s voice cutting through your thoughts.

“Hey,” she said, her brows furrowed, concern softening her features. “You good? Do you want to take a break?”

You blinked, trying to pull yourself out of the fog. “Huh? Sorry, what was the question?”

She tilted her head, studying you carefully. “Do you need a break? You look kinda out of it.”

Your heart was still racing, but you forced a tight smile. “Yeah, that would be great.” You stood up from the couch, barely meeting her eyes as you made a beeline for the bathroom.

Once inside, you shut the door behind you and leaned heavily against the sink, gripping its edges like it could anchor you to reality. Your reflection stared back, wide-eyed and flushed, like you’d been caught doing something you weren’t supposed to.

This is NOT happening. You mentally shouted at yourself, trying to shake the feeling off. *You’ve known her for years. The moment you start sleeping with her is the moment you catch feelings? Seriously?*

You turned on the tap, splashing cold water onto your face, hoping the chill would snap you out of it, wash away the thoughts clinging to your mind. But as the water dripped from your chin, pooling at the edges of the sink, the tightness in your chest remained.

Staring at your reflection, you whispered under your breath, “Get it together.”

But no matter how many times you repeated it, the weight of what you were feeling didn’t budge.

You took a deep breath, trying to steady yourself before stepping out of the bathroom. The moment you did, you saw Vi in the living room, methodically packing up the filming equipment. The casual ease with which she moved, like this was just another normal day, only made the knot in your chest tighten.

“What are you doing?” you asked, your voice sounding steadier than you felt.

Vi glanced up, pausing as she turned off the camera. “I think we’ve got enough material for today—maybe even the whole video,” she said, her tone light but tinged with something softer, more careful. “I can see you’re tired. I’ll come over tomorrow, and we can go through the footage, see what we can use. For now, you should rest.”

Her words were simple, but the small smile tugging at the corners of her lips wasn’t. It wasn’t just the usual smirk or playful grin—it was something else. Genuine concern. And that look … it hit you like a sucker punch.

Because all you could think about was how easy it would be to want this every day. To have her not just in fleeting moments, not just in casual touches or hurried nights. But fully. Completely. The idea burrowed itself deeper into your mind, wrapping around your thoughts like vines.

“Yeah,” you forced out, your voice quieter than before. “That sounds good.”

Vi gave you one last glance, like she wanted to say something more, but instead, she just nodded, slinging her bag over her shoulder before heading for the door. The soft click of it shutting behind her echoed louder than it should have.

And then it was just you. Alone.

You stood there for a moment, staring at the now-empty room, expecting some sense of relief to wash over you. But it didn’t. If anything, the silence made it worse.

You should’ve been able to crash the moment she left, but sleep was the last thing your body wanted. You were confused, frustrated—mad at yourself, mad at her, for making you feel this way. Your body felt heavy, physically exhausted, but your mind was running on overdrive, replaying every glance, every touch, every word she’d said.

You sank onto the couch, rubbing your hands over your face.

You’d told yourself from the start—this was supposed to be casual.Just a way to blow off steam, nothing more. But somewhere along the way, those lines had blurred, and now you didn’t know how to pull yourself back from the edge.

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masterlist - chapter ten

taglist: @saturnhas82moons @oidloid @vaebear @wicked-laugh @baylegend6 @nomarksonelegance @antobooh @80saturn

[gingerteaonthetardis]

Ninerose but it's like those actors interviews with puppies

sae!! i know you'll probably be asleep when i post this, but this prompt was so much fun! i got to watch puppy interviews and call it research. heaven on earth. thank you. (in my excitement, i barely edited, so forgive me.)

—

𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧-𝐢𝐬𝐡

[read on AO3]

—

They are herded into the empty room over the noise of rattling cuffs, the lash of Rose's voice demanding to be let go—she's using his "Shadow Proclamation" line again, which never actually works, but he does admire the conviction of her delivery—and the mild, sizzling hum of studio lights, the heat of which breaks over them like a wave the instant the doors open.

The Doctor jerks both cuffed hands up to shade his eyes, only for them to be wrenched back down by the guard. "All right, pushy," he remarks, but the man doesn't answer.

Instead, he silently sets about removing the cuffs, inserting a thin key and unlatching them with a twist. They fall into the cup of his webbed, sea green fingers and shrink back to the size of a thimble.

"Huh," says the Doctor, cocking his head. "Thanks, mate."

"What are you—? Stop touching me, get off," Rose snaps, grunting with the effort of keeping her hands under her own control. Her guard, slightly smaller and more obviously green—as in, new on the job; in terms of skin, he's actually more of an opalescent blue colour—grapples with her anxiously, almost delicately.

"Let him do his job, Rose," the Doctor calls to her. When she glances up, startled, he waves his newly-naked wrists in the air. "If you want to lose the cuffs."

"Oh. Right." She aims a puff of air up at her bangs, which have fallen messily into her face.

The stylist had made an attempt at taming Rose's hair with only marginal success, but on the frogmarch over, most of their hard work was entirely undone. Still, it kind of suits her, he thinks—the disarray, like she's just stepped out of a whirlwind and landed here, fierce and determined. And wearing a dress, as outrageously pink as her flushed cheeks. As the cuffs slide off her, she shakes out her wrists in an exaggerated show of irritation.

"Where are we now?" she asks, hushed.

It's a good question.

"That's a good question." He delays for a moment, looking around at the white walls, the white floor, marked with a few small x shapes made of tape. "Looks like a studio of some kind. Broadcast, maybe?"

Rose's frown deepens. "Broadcast where, though? It's an arc—archy—an island," she gives up, rolling her eyes at herself, "with some other, bigger islands. What was the word again?"

"Archipelago."

"Archipelago, yeah. And then the rest of the planet's just water, you said. Are they broadcasting off-world or something?"

The Doctor laughs at that outright. "The Fangtooth Fissure Field starts ten miles from shore, and there's no way a signal's getting past that to the next nearest island, let alone to a proper booster station. It must be local programming," he reasons, suddenly grinning. "We're probably the most interesting thing to wash up on this beach since the wreck of the Queen Baleen."

"The what?"

"Never mind. Point is, we're big news, Rose! A hot topic! And," the Doctor goes on, "it looks like we're about to get our fifteen minutes. Look."

On the opposite side of the studio, a huge camera has begun to glide forward out of the shadows. The lens is giant and abyssally dark, like it's actually eating light, with a tiny, prismatic glimpse of a rainbow in the middle. Beside the camera is a dour, grey-complected man with an equally grey beard and clipboard, and a woman with hair so pale a mint green, it almost looks like the surface of a pearl. She's dressed all in black.

Aside from their vaguely aquatic appearance, a trait shared by all land-dwelling Finnings, they more or less resemble members of an Earth film crew, all headsets and focused expressions and white-knuckle grips on cups that look like they probably contain a coffee-equivalent.

Greybeard takes one look at Rose and sighs. "Cora," he says into his headset. "Need you for touch-ups."

"Seriously, what's going on?" Rose asks, louder now, speaking to the room at large where more various members of the production crew are filtering in. "Is this a joke or something?" Her eyes flash dangerously to the guards. "Why were we brought here in cuffs?"

The woman, who looks like she'll be the one operating the camera, stares back at Rose as if she's had a screw come loose. "For security reasons, miss."

Rose opens her mouth at that, but the coming retort is stopped by the same doors they'd come through banging open again. The harried stylist—who must be Cora—rushes Rose with a grim set to their mouth, armed with all the beautifying tools they'd brought to bear just minutes ago, and gets right to work.

The Doctor uses this opportunity to examine the space further. It's rather large, he thinks, for a basic local news center. But then, the spatial folding technology on the cuffs had been a surprise, too; it seems the people of the Finnian Islands have come a long way from their fishing huts and the raft-based culture he was led to expect.

He grins. He does so love it when people exceed his expectations.

"So," he begins, striding in a loop around the sizable sound stage. He makes note of how every eye, besides Cora's, is trained on him with intense focus. Particularly the camera operator's. "Sorry, what's your name?"

"Tetrine."

"Tetrine. Lovely name. This is quite the setup."

"State of the art," she agrees proudly. "Just like our satellite."

"Really? Didn't see that when we landed. Guess it must be small but mighty." The Doctor inclines his head at her, hoping the compliment will smooth things over, enough to help him figure out exactly what this is all about. "I like it."

For some reason, though, it just makes the woman retreat into herself. Beside her, Greybeard aggressively clears his throat, which sounds a little like a kettle boiling over, and says, "We received a generous grant from the intergalactic branch of the BW Corporation."

"BW… Don't think I've heard of that one."

Greybeard frowns at that. "The Bad Wolf Corporation."

The Doctor can practically feel Rose's eyes on the back of his head.

"She's ready," pronounces Cora. Their cerulean lips purse, then form a quick, satisfied smile.

"Good," answers Greybeard. "We're already behind schedule." He taps his clipboard thoughtfully, eyeing the pair before making an abortive gesture. "You can have a seat."

"On the ground?" Rose asks.

"On the ground."

"Okay. Sure. Of course. Sitting on the ground for an interview I was dragged to in chains, okay." Under her breath, she mutters, "Talk about hospitality."

"Rose," the Doctor scolds, not ungently. With a jerk of his chin, he draws her attention to the armed guards flanking them, just beyond the bounds of the white floor. Their implicit threat is more than enough to make him compliant—for now.

He settles to the ground, legs folded criss-cross, atop one of the taped out x shapes, waiting for Rose to do the same. He knows she's not quite as irritable as she's pretending to be; her hands shake as she sinks down and smooths out her frothy skirt, and she's swallowed three times in the last twenty-five seconds.

But they've been in far worse scrapes than this, and he's sure that if they just do as they're told, do the interview, provide some light entertainment for the profoundly remote Finnian television crew, they'll be let go without any fuss.

Probably.

"You look beautiful, by the way," he whispers, tipping his torso in Rose's direction.

Rose's answering smile is a little more like her usual self. She bites the tip of her tongue. "Thanks. But how come I'm the one who always gets a costume change?"

Greybeard clears his throat again, and the pair sit up straighter. "We have ten questions for you. This isn't live," the man says, "so if you need to cut for… some reason, we can edit it out later."

"Great, thanks." The Doctor makes sure to smile back. "But we're pros. We'll be in and out, quick as a wink."

That, too, makes the crew flinch.

Odd.

"All right," Greybeard pronounces, disconcerted. "Action. And… release the hounds!"

Rose's hand flies to grasp his, and for a tense, eternal second, the Doctor can't think anything except that he's messed up. Badly. Catastrophically. He has misjudged the entire situation, and now they're going to pay for it. His toes clench in his boots, ready to run—to push him back to his feet in an instant, dragging Rose if necessary. Her palm is clammy, her fingers icy cold, and he squeezes on instinct—meant either as a comfort or a warning to be ready, he doesn't know.

Once more, the studio doors fall open, and out come—

Rose flinches, then gasps.

—a teeming, tumbling heap of what can only be… puppies.

They're fish-puppies, to be sure, their coats coming in curious blotchy tones like the insides of conches—in crabshell oranges and pinks—in sticky, sodden seaweedy colours. Their fur is glossy and damp-looking, their snouts bobbed like Snub-nosed Darts. But they're also, undeniably, puppies.

Seven small, completely nonthreatening puppies.

They scramble over each other in a full-tilt race to see who can careen into the Doctor and Rose first, and when they do, he is overwhelmed with the smell of saltwater and sunshine and puppy breath. The first one flings its paws—webbed, of course—up onto his chest, claws embedding in the leather. Two more of of them flop into Rose's lap like even the short jaunt from the door has exhausted them, and her hands drift upward in shock before coming to land, tentatively, on one of the velvety-furred backs.

"What…?" she begins, seemingly caught between bafflement and sheer delight.

"Canes aquaria," the Doctor pronounces. Relief restores his bravado as he explains, "Native to the Finnian Islands. Colloquially known as hushpuppies."

Her nose wrinkles. "Like the food?"

"Like the food."

"Oh my god. Oh, but you're the cutest, aren't you?" she coos, lowering her head to another inquisitive pup who has come to nose at the edge of her skirt, such a deep green his coat nearly looks black. "You're a little sweetie. Yes, hello." She squeaks as the puppy gives her nose a sudden, briny lick.

"They were nearly hunted to extinction before the Universal Hushpuppy Protection Act of 8009-Banana-5," he explains, earning a rather surprised look from Greybeard. "Now they're a protected species." One of the pups nips gleefully at his fingers, and he chuckles, adding, "Only semi-domesticated."

Their would-be interviewer still looks wrong-footed as he clears his throat yet again, as if to get their attention. Must be a nervous tic. "First question: Do you consider yourselves animal lovers?"

"Well, who could resist these faces?" Rose replies automatically, smiling with all her teeth at the little bared puppy fangs of a particularly lanky, red-bellied pup who's pounced up behind her shoulder. "You're a brave one, aren't you? You want to climb up on my head!"

"And after all the fussing everyone did over your hair." The Doctor shakes his head in mock-disapproval. "Down, boy."

"Second question: Did you have any pets growing up?"

Rose glances at the Doctor before saying, "Not exactly. We got stray cats coming in and out sometimes, off the estate. They came through the cat flap. I was always after my mum to nail it down, but I suspect she secretly liked having them 'round. There was this one," and here, she huffs, resettling herself as a third puppy clambers onto her lap, squashing one of its siblings flat, "there you go, get nice and comfy. But there was this one cat who we saw a lot of for a while. We called her Puffin."

"What happened to her?" the Doctor asks.

"Don't know," she shrugs. "She just… disappeared one day. Mum still leaves scraps of Sunday roast out for her, just in case." Smiling fondly, she nudges his elbow, which is currently bent to accommodate a squirmy pup with a mottled coat and a pea green nose. "What about you?"

"Oh, I've picked up strays, here and there." He wiggles his eyebrows at her, earning him a cheeky, stuck-out tongue. "Cats, dogs, robot dogs, tortoises. Even had a vortisaur called Ramsay aboard for a while."

There's an audible choking sound from behind the camera, and he sees that Tetrine looks more than a little green about the gills.

"Vortisaurs are a banned species," Greybeard stumbles out. "They're not permitted in Realspace."

Rose glances at him worriedly, fingers stiffening around the soft tips of the brave red-bellied hushpuppy's ears. He's come around to sit upright beside her now, like he's standing sentry, and the Doctor feels a peculiar kind of kinship with the floppy young thing.

"Oh, they're a misunderstood lot," he says with a wave of his hand. "You know, mostly harmless—even good for the extradimensional ecosystem—like any bird of prey. So long as you don't get between one's jaws, I mean, you're all right. I used to ride them sometimes, back home." His smile turns wistful before he can prevent it, and he tilts his head quickly away from the camera. "But I had to let Ramsay go eventually. I've never gone in for permits and pet licensing, but a creature like that is meant to be wild, roaming the Vortex as it likes."

There seems to be a collective, sub-audible sigh of relief around the room.

"Er, third question: How did you two meet?"

Once again, the Doctor and Rose exchange glances. He nods for her to take this one.

"At my job," she answers simply. "He got me out of a… tight spot. And then I returned the favor."

There's an awkward pause as everyone waits for elaboration that clearly isn't going to come. With a pinched frown, Greybeard asks, "Did you always… work well together?"

"Oh, yes," Rose starts to answer, right as the Doctor replies, emphatically, "No."

"Hey!"

"What? It's the truth! Seems practically all we did was argue in those early days. We come from very different worlds, you see," he explains to the camera. "Different ways of thinking, different morality. And I'd been on my own for what felt like lifetimes, so I wasn't used to having a needy little ape about, always making cups of tea and leaving them on the sideboard—"

"You like my tea," Rose insists with a laugh. "At least half of those cups are yours!"

"And you lot need so much sleep!"

"I know you're nervous, but stop insulting my species. If you don't, I'll be forced to retaliate."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah! This one," she jabs a finger toward him, which the puppy crawling all over him gamely takes a nibble at, "can't go into a perfume shop without falling to bits. I understand a headache, but I'm pretty sure you actually cried."

"I have a very strong nose!"

"And don't we all know it." With her outstretched finger, she bumps the tip of his nose teasingly. "All right, fine. I can't think of anything. You're actually the best housemate I've ever had, is that what you want to hear?"

He scoffs. "Not much competition there. But I'll take it, thanks." He's smiling, though, and a light, bubbly kind of sensation—the sort he ordinarily strives to tamp down—begins fluttering in his chest. "Anyway, what I was going to say is that we're… how we are now because we got a lot of that useless, annoying stuff out of the way fast. We argued all the time, but it helped us understand each other better. Now we're a real team, and it's…"

"Fantastic," Rose says, so warmly it makes him feel rather dopey and slow when he looks at it too long. Her shoulder presses against his, and he can feel the heat through the leather and wool like she's touched his skin directly.

He smiles back broadly. "Couldn't've put it better myself."

There's a long beat of silence before the pair glance up at their audience. Off to the side, Cora the stylist looks downright enraptured, their fingers folded emphatically over their heart. One of the men on the lights is blushing. And even Greybeard's mouth has softened from its tense pucker as he clears his throat once more. "Fifth question: Given the closeness of your relationship, has it been difficult being separated?"

"What, like, back in hair and makeup?" Rose asks, brows pulling together. "I mean, our… house is pretty large, so sometimes we can go almost a full day without bumping into one another—"

"I meant," interrupts Greybeard delicately, "during your imprisonment."

Silence.

"Our what?"

The Doctor doesn't say anything.

Greybeard looks in a bit of a panicked way at his interviewees, and then at his clipboard, and then at Tetrine, and then at the clipboard again. "It's the correct question. Your agents vetted all of them beforehand. It says here, 'Given the closeness of your relationship—'"

"Doctor?"

"'—has it been difficult being separated?'"

The Doctor feels Rose's eyes digging into him again, but he's too busy kicking himself afresh for overlooking the obvious: they're not interesting simply by virtue of showing up.

They were expected for this interview.

Or rather, two people were expected for this interview. Two people who apparently committed some sort of crime and are now on a post-parole press tour. It all makes sense now—the escort from the landing strip, the cuffs, the guards who were so eager not to hurt them, but so twitchy at the same time.

"I'm so stupid," the Doctor pronounces. "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly is it we were supposedly imprisoned for?"

The litany that follows is so incredible—so surprisingly accurate to real things he and Rose have done—that the Doctor almost laughs outright: theft some royal family's crown jewels, destruction of property, alleged desecration of a government site, even kidnapping. At least they've not done not that one, he thinks. Not on purpose, anyway.

But the summary of dramatic, near-death brushes with royal, international, and interstellar guards; dabbling with incarceration only to escape; the brash and boastful leaving of tokens and signatures at crime scenes—it all tells a story of two people very much unconcerned with the law. It all sounds like a real adventure.

It isn't until Greybeard gets to the murder charges that Rose's face falls, and his own, too. The way she runs her hands over the red-bellied pup's back seems to be more about soothing herself than soothing it.

Suddenly, the Doctor says, "Stop."

"What?" Greybeard looks up.

"That's not us. You've got the wrong people." Gently, he sets aside the hushpuppy that's fallen adorably asleep in his lap and rises to his feet. Around him, tails wag in anticipation of playtime, but his stomach feels leaden. "I'm the Doctor, and this is Rose. We're just travellers. We landed here by chance—well, all right, not by chance, but because of Finnian's famous beaches. Look," he adds, reaching for his pocket.

Cora gasps in horror, and the guards that have been hovering back suddenly jerk into motion, but the Doctor holds up his other hand slowly.

"Just getting this." Withdrawing his psychic paper, he holds it out for everyone to read. "See? I'm pretty sure this is a case of mistaken identity."

Greybeard's dour look has come back in force, and Tetrine, upon squinting at the paper, starts scowling intensely. But, he's surprised to note, not at them.

"What did I say, Mac?" she cries, suddenly flapping her arms at the man beside her, nearly throwing the clipboard from his hands. She shoves down her headset microphone, just to better shout in his paling face. "I said we needed photos! Actual photos, not just a description. 'Human-ish,' you said! 'Human-bloody-ish.' Seas preserve us…" Her face falls into her hands, and the grey man they now know as Mac gives an almost comical gulp.

"Oh…"

"Oh," the Doctor agrees.

"What is wrong with you both?" Tetrine groans, finally swinging some of her ire their way. "Why did you go along with it? You thought we just… wanted to interview two random tourists?"

Rose has gotten to her feet by now, dusting off her knees and the floaty pouf of her dress. "Because you put us in cuffs," she says. "We thought you were gonna kill us or something if we didn't."

Mac makes a sound like he's been punched. "Oh, gods."

Throwing back her head, Tetrine bursts into a gale of laughter. "Mackerelle, you are in deep shit this time, I'm telling you. We just interviewed hostages by mistake!"

"The hushpuppies were a really confusing tone shift," Rose admits. "Who came up with that idea?"

"The other producers came up with it, after talking to your—their agents," Mac answers numbly. "Everyone agreed it would be a good way to demonstrate that the Bleeding Heart Bandits were fully rehabilitated. You know, rebuilding their image, making them look sympathetic. This is the last leg of their press tour. And what's more sympathetic than people holding puppies?"

"Too right, they're adorable. Yes, they are," Rose coos, practically folding herself in half to nuzzle the red-bellied one. The Doctor senses suddenly that separating the two of them is going to be something of an ordeal. "You especially, Rufus."

"Well, that angle certainly failed," he goes on, undeterred, "seeing how your stars never showed. My guess is they slipped their parole guards on the way here and they're off making mayhem halfway across the galaxy by now."

"We need to inform the authorities," Mac says, nodding to the guards, who disappear with a haste that can only be born of embarrassment. "And in the meantime, we need to find something else to air tomorrow. Tetrine? Tet, stop laughing, we've got to call—"

"We could finish the interview."

Every occupant in the whole room turns to Rose in surprise, and the Doctor is amused to note her once more rising blush at the attention. In another life, he thinks, she would've made the perfect sort of celebrity—intriguing and mysterious, but sweet. Just the right amount of surprising. She could take entire planets by storm.

"What?" she says, eyeing him fretfully. "We've already done half of it already. We could just… skip the questions about crime and stuff. But we've seen loads of interesting places, the Doctor and I," she tells everyone. "We're like… professional travellers. We could talk about that."

Nobody seems entirely sure what to do with the suggestion, but he doesn't imagine they'll get a better one.

"You just aren't ready to say goodbye to the puppies, are you?"

With a mock-glare, Rose plops back down onto her x-mark and smiles beatifically as her favorite puppy—and there is no way she's actually planning on calling the dog Rufus—sets himself up half atop her and half poised for action. "Good boy, Rufus," she says.

And just like that, this particular battle is suddenly lost.

"We're ready for the rest of the interview now."

There's another silent exchange, and the Doctor watches it all before shrugging and sinking to a seat beside her. The six other puppies spin in a whirlwind around him, tugging at his sleeves and play-growling. It's like being in the middle of a very nippy and, he has to admit, rather pleasant tornado.

"All right, then," Mackerelle says. He clears his throat one last time. "Sixth question, then… Who are you two?"

"I'm the Doctor, and this is Rose Tyler, my plus one."

Hesitantly, the man asks, "What's a plus one?"

"Oh, don't worry about it," Rose brushes him off, before the Doctor can answer. She's got her arms wrapped fully around Rufus now. The Doctor barely restrains his sigh. Looks like they're leaving this planet with a semi-aquatic pet dog. "It's just a human-ish thing."

[pleasantspark]

Zoophobia is okay but...

I did it, I finally caved in and started reading ZooPhobia, you know? The Comic that Viv put on hiatus (in the comic industry when a comic is on hiatus it means its cancelled, see: Mega Man Archie Issue 55 for more.)

The series was mediocre at best because it was written by a young Viv, but coming from someone who was from the Hazbin/Helluva Fandom its... Not all that different.

Pros

Color Palettes are varied, you don't have red and black all the damn time. The cast actually has pastel, some of which aren't borderline eyestrainy.

The beginning of the story sets us up to a good premise.

Gustav.

Cons

While the beginning was off to a fantastic start, the middle and \towards the end shifted from Cameron (Our supposed main character) to the High School Drama. There was a subplot with Zill and his girlfriend fighting but just like Chaggie it was resolved and even mocked about for being cliched.

Since it was on Hiatus there was not much left answered and some things are confusing.

What the hell is Zill?

Similarities between Zoophobia and Helluvaverse

It's not any secret that the main characters from Hazbin Originated from ZooPhobia but I feel most of the storylines that existed in ZooPhobia was also repurposed into Hazbin or Helluva or even straight up transferred, most plots that were possibly planned or so would be in this exactly.

ZooPhobia has the same issues Hazbin has, the lack of pacing and rushing through pivotal arcs while introducing characters (and infodumping/abandoning them in the same arc) just to give one backstory and dip.

Just like with Cameron while the story initially started with her it pivoted to random people (literal whos?) and had no ryheme or reasoning, Charlie later became Cameron in her own show.

They force conflict too early in the story especially when we barely got to know any characters (Zill and his girlfriends cliche argument.)

Then there was lost aspects that could have been explored, why does Cameron have Zoophobia? Why was Cameron sent to Safe Haven? Why is Damien so interested in Zill's girlfriend? So many questions and yet no answers, the story had potential but was sidelined for Hazbin and Helluva and both aren't any different from Zoophobia in terms of their own issues.

The fact I decided to cave in and read this only made me even more mad that we ended up losing something that could have marked Viv's actual career, I guess she wanted to be a screenwriter, but webcomics in general are better because at least you can get more out of it.

Zoophobia is okay, but could have potential and it was shelved and forgotten about thus making it free game for those who wants to rewrite it, I'm only taking Gustav and that's it.

[leenathegreengirl]

Welcome!

Just a heads up, there is some mild spicy content ahead! (Marked by 💋)

(Also... HUGE shout out to my friend Mae (@legacygirlingreen) for working on all the section dividers and helping me with the master lists, writing, and captions! Her adventures with a certain soldier are also documented below...💚💕)

Life Day 2024 HERE

Between Hearts and Ruin Event

Updated: 2/17/2025

Nice to meet ya... || Kayden || Chori || Mae (& sister Caitria) || Nez || Lilly & Daughter JJ || Aiko || Kahrin || Sylvie || Perdita

Tech & Leena Masterlist

Malfunction. Access Archive? Click to view.

Leena’s Guide to Feeling Better

I'll show you what I'm made of Rise to the occasion Got fears, but I face them, oh-oh And I'll show you what I'm made of A heart full of fire, looking at a fighter, oh-oh (I’ll show you, K/DA)

Tech's Encrypted Files

“Learn from yesterday,  Live for today,  Hope for tomorrow.  The important thing,  Is not to stop questioning.” (Albert Einstein )

Crosshair & Kayden Masterlist

I told her I would do all I could, To be the man she needs ("Monsters" by brother sundance)

Wrecker & Chori Masterlist

Sugar, ah honey honey You are my candy girl... And you've got me wanting you (By: The Archies)

Echo & Aiko Masterlist

But you picked me up Like a shell upon a beach Just another pretty piece I was difficult to see But you picked me Yeah you picked me ("You picked me" by: A Fine Frenzy)

Hunter and Nez Masterlist

Whatever we deny or embrace For worse or for better We belong together ("We Belong" by Pat Benatar)

Rex and Mae Masterlist

I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you not only for what you have made for yourself, but for what you are making of me. I love you for the part of me, that you bring out. (By: Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

Jesse & Lily Masterlist

If you're lost you can look, and you will find me. Time after time. If you fall, I will catch you, I'll be waiting. Time after Time. ("Time After Time" by Cindy Lauper)

Hardcase & 501 Shenanigans

Ha Ha. I'm just doing it for fun. (Hardcase)

Fives & Sylvie Masterlist

In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours. In all the world, there is no love for you like mine. (Maya Angelou)

Wolffe & Perdita Masterlist

"I'm Tough," I whisper. He nods. "I know you are." "I can take care of myself." "You have," he says. "You still do. You always will. I've just joined in, too. Now we take care of each other." (Chloe Liese, "Always only you")

Omega Masterlist

"I'm older than you are... little brother." Omega

Other Friends Masterlist

Friends are the family we choose for ourselves. (Unknown)

EVENT: Echo & Aiko Wedding

The Happy Couple: Echo and Aiko

Tech & Leena (Collab with @legacygirlingreen) - read HERE!

Maid of Honor Mae

Flower Girl Omega

Guest: Phee

Post Wedding Bliss... 💋(NSFW)

OC: Doc for @retrospect1003 - HERE

For @clonethirstingisreal - HERE

OC: Avery for @returnofthepineapple - HERE

Commander Fox for @bad4amficideas - HERE

OC: Teesha Vezla for @kimiheartblade - HERE

NOTE: For information about Commissions, please DM!

[thieves-never-say-die]

if a leverage x white collar collab happened, how do you think each character would react to each other? would peter become another one of their fbi buddies? would sophie and neal compete against each other? how, in your opinion, would that look?

I think my ideal of what would happen is pretty much what I wrote in The Neal Caffrey Job, but I do have a LOT more ideas about possible interactions between teams:

Parker and Mozzie know each other from when Parker was younger (pre-Archie) and Mozzie took her under his wing to teach her how to be a thief (I wanted to include more of them together in TNCJ but it didn't fit)

Parker and Neal both tried to steal the same item at the same time once before, and fucked up the other's plan enough that neither was able to get the item in question (or one of them came out on top, leading to a lifelong grudge which rears its head when the two teams have to work together)

I do think Jones and Hardison would geek out over tech together. That's another thing I couldn't quite make fit in TNCJ, but Jones is the tech guy of the White Collar team, and I think they'd get along

Peter is too smart to get duped by the Leverage crew for long and (unfortunately) his morals are not flexible enough to willingly work with them, though I think El would be much more sympathetic and could convince him not to pursue too aggressively. Like, the Leverage crew would kick marks in NYC Peter's way once they're done with them and have had the big reveal, allowing Peter to arrest them, but Peter would never condone what the Leverage crew does, if that makes sense

I think Neal would want to work with the Leverage crew if he heard what they were doing, but wouldn't be able to help too directly so he does his best to help by putting Peter in the right place at the right time to catch the bad guys (Neal definitely joins Leverage International post s6)

I looooove the idea of Diana recognizing Sophie from her life as the child of a diplomat (yet another thing I couldn't make fit in TNCJ). I think it would be hilarious if Diana saw Sophie and got curious and went looking up a bunch of her aliases, suddenly realizing like two dozen famous people are actually all just the same woman

I also think it would be fun if Neal saw the Leverage ot3 being together and then looked at El and Peter with a little lightbulb moment

Ok last thing to consider: Sarah moves to London at the end of s4. We know that Astrid Pickford (Sophie's step daughter) is an Interpol agent, presumably based in London. I think they would have a lot in common, and they should definitely meet up for drinks and talk about the thieves in their lives and about how they both had to put aside their morals a bit to make sure the right thing got done and then make out about it

[khyys]

“As dense as a Rock”

wrd count: 2457

contents: MAJOR TW MAJOR TW farleigh x fem!reader,, everyone depicted in this fic is over the age of 18, heavy swearing, saltburn spoilers, bullying, slutshaming question mark, 1st & 2nd divider creds : @/elryisia. 3rd line divider creds: @/targaryen-dynasty

a/n: this account has been through so many changes, but it feels good to finally get something out. I loved saltburn and farleigh’s character (archie madekwe). if this gets some love, I’ll write some more!

You’d walked around the estate so many times, you were starting to memorize the layout. You even began to whisper ‘Hi, Mrs. Catton’ every time you walked by her supposed spirit. You really made yourself at home in Saltburn, ever since Felix invited you. You couldn’t really recall what he said when you asked why, but you didn’t care. This summer was supposed to be unlike any other for you. You were far from home, and you needed the getaway. This was just that.

You roamed the halls, examining each historic object. You often had to look around and ensure Duncan wouldn’t sneak up on you. He was known for that, but you couldn’t stand it. It made you feel uneasy, despite the family having been so kind to you upon your arrival. Felix’s mother had taken a liking, you oftentimes helped out his father, and you and Venetia had become attached at the hip it seemed. It was incomparable to your American household. Your life wasn’t horrible, but it was nothing compared to Saltburn. Wearing a dress and heels to play tennis and drink booze was not something you did back home, but you loved the thrill.

You walked about for a few more moments, before noticing the time on the clock. It was near time for dinner and you really wanted to look your best. You recalled receiving a dress from Elspeth. She’d said you looked ravishing in it, but you were most likely zoned out. All you recall is Elspeth having the maids press and tailor it perfectly so that it accentuates your figure.

You traversed the corridors, whistling softly. That was until you felt a rough grab on your arm. You wanted to scream, but only a gasp escaped. An angered hiss accompanied with a hand rushing to cradle your elbow that was impacted by the door frame. At first, you imagined it would’ve been Felix, but it couldn’t have been. Not with eyes like those ones.

He didn’t pay that much attention to you, or so you thought. He towered over you, with a large grin. His hair was slightly covering his eyes, and only for a moment did all the anger leave your body. But only for a moment.

“Look what I caught~”, Farleigh taunted, hooking a finger beneath your chin. You immediately turned your head, maintaining your look of displeasure for his actions. It was difficult, but you managed something of a pissed off expression.

You glanced down at your elbow, and sighed before meeting his gaze again.

“Fucking hell, Farleigh.. What’s your deal?!”, you scowled. Your brows furrowed, but he seemed amused by it. He always did like the little wrinkle between your eyebrows every time he’d piss you off. It was something he seemed to look forward to. Something he enjoyed all too much.

You couldn’t be mad for long, not with that smile. His smile was too cute for you to hate.

“Aww, I’m sorry. Did I scare you?”, and then he looked down at your elbow. He gave an exaggerated pout, and tilted his head. Not to mention that stupid, poked-out lip. Seriously, how stupid and cute could he look at the same time? “Do you want me to kiss your boo boo and make it all better?

The way he spoke reminded you of how your family would talk down to you, or the boys back home would constantly drink a hot cup of condescending bullshit every morning, just to piss you off. Luckily, your tolerance for any of it was little to none.

“How’s about you kiss my ass?”, you snapped quickly. You hadn’t realized just how close he had been until you took a deep breath and inhaled the fresh scent of Egyptian Musk. You didn’t want to be bothered with his shenanigans. Especially not this close to dinner time. “Hell do you want, Farleigh..? I need to get ready for dinner.”

“Don’t be so harsh, Y/N, I just wanted to talk to you. Come. Sit.”, he strides from you to his bed, and gestured for you to sit beside him.

You knew better than to sit anywhere with Farleigh. It seemed like every girl that was simply within 5 steps of Farleigh had either slept with him, made out with him, lined up with him, or all three. You wish you had done two out of the three.

“I’ll stand.”, you spoke while rubbing your elbow. The tingling began to start and you only took a step or two away from the door, leaning on a nearby dresser.

Farleigh stared at you from the bed and glanced out the nearby window, dragging out a sigh. He was silent for a moment, and for that moment, he looked like a guy. A handsome one with even skin, gorgeous hair, a wonderful smile. His voice made your heart skip one too many beats at a time, but it’s his words that always seemed to ruin everything.

“Why are you here, Y/N?”, he asked in a low tone. He turned his attention back to you, with a sort of expectant look, like he was waiting for you to say something specific.

What the fuck was that supposed to mean? What did he mean, why were you here? Because Felix invited you, that’s why! But that’s not his business. Even if he was the reason, what’s it to him? Nevertheless, you glared at him from where you stood.

“That’s not your business.”

“Isn’t it? You befriend my distant cousin and his family, who already see you as a second daughter. You and Ven, painting your nails and walking around the front lawn with your matching see-through nightgowns. And don’t get me started on you helping with Uncle’s work? You are such a suck up, Y/N… I could read you like a bad magazine.”

What a creep.. How hard was he watching you? He must’ve been watching long because you only helped Mr. Catton every other Sunday, and you and Venetia simply related on a deeper level. You were never a smoker, but you started a social habit. Was Farleigh bothered by the fact that you were warming up to his distant family? Was he feeling left out or something?

“So you’re a stalker? What’s next? You wanna drink my fucking bath water, you freak?”

Farleigh was always entertained by getting a reaction out of people, especially you. Your temper was short and easy to tick sometimes, which only made the show better for him. He laughed and crossed his legs, leaning back slightly. His head tilted back and his curled bounced beneath the rays of the lowering sun.

He was seriously laughing about this? Laughing about watching you so attentively that he could notice the material of your nightgowns or realize where you disappeared for like five hours of every other Sunday. You couldn’t deny that you did enjoy the attention. Venetia was right, those dresses did exactly as intended. Venetia saw how you would glance at Farleigh or look for him like a lost puppy in your free time, she was the only person who knew. You made her promise not to tell a soul, but she promised to make sure he noticed you more by the end of the summer. And by the ghost of Felix’s grandmother, he was practically a certified professional. He knew everything.

You hid your smile, and masked it with a look of displeasure. You planned to squeal about it to Venetia that night whilst you and her walked about the front lawn on your matching nightgowns… right below Farleigh’s window.

“Oh, fuck, Y/N… Be real for once! You know exactly what I mean! You’re a fucking suck up and the only reason you’re doing it, is to get to Felix! You’re like every other bitch at Oxford! You want to fuck him, be his new favorite toy, and then try your best to stay with him… Really, you’re pathetic!”

You closed your eyes, trying to process the words he said to you. Suck up. Every other bitch. Fuck Felix… Pathetic?! Either he was high off of his ass or truly needed a rise out of you.

“Did you just call me a slut, you prick?”

“If the shoe fits, honey..”

“Fuck you.”, were the last words you muttered to him before you turned away and left Farleigh’s bedroom, slamming the door behind yourself and quickly going further down the hall, to your bedroom.

You closed the door behind yourself, and sighed. You pressed your forehead against the wooden engravings of the door, and locked it. That was.. tense. Unnecessarily tense, at that. He could always be crass, but out right calling you a slut didn’t seem like his forte. At least, it didn’t seem to be, but what did you know? You just wanted to fuck Felix, right? Farleigh was many things but he wasn’t stupid, there was no way he could’ve been that oblivious to what you’ve been doing…

“Ahem.”, a familiar voice said from your bed. You wondered why it smelled like roses, perfume, and smoke.

“Ah.. Ven, hey. I- uh.. Wha-… Fuck. What are you doing here?”, you asked and pulled your cardigan off, being only left in a bra.

You walked over and sat beside her, whilst she turned and rested her legs atop your lap. You rested your arms over them, and glanced over to which she handed you the lit cigarette in between her sloppily painted nails.

“Well… I was going to ask if you knew what you were gonna wear tonight ‘cuz I wanted to match, but you weren’t here so I thought I’d just wait. What took you?”

You gulped slightly, and sighed whilst allowing the smoke to seep out of your nostrils. You maneuvered the white stick in your hands, while trying to figure out how to word it. He called you a slut? He called you pathetic?

“I.. was in Farleigh’s…”

You blew the smoke from your lips and nose, before handing the cigarette back to her. To which, she laughed and wrapped an arm around you.

“What?! Oh em fuck, tell me everything! Did you guys kiss, make out, make plans for later~?”

You laughed at Venetia’s response, but it had you thinking. You wish that was the case, but it wasn’t. He had everything totally out of line. He believed that you wanted Felix, and you still didn’t have the right mind to just come out and tell him that it was him you wanted… You made a slight face of disappointment and shook your head to which Venetia cooked and held your face comfortingly.

A few seconds later, you hear a small knock at the door.

“Excuse me! Y/N, are you in there? I’ve got your dress pressed out for you!”, a meek voice called out.

It was one of the handmaids. You weren’t really supposed to see her, but you were able to catch her once. When you did, you asked her to be more.. friendly with you. To appear more, and whilst she was hesitant, she did it nonetheless.

“Come in!”, you called back.

She opened the door, to reveal a dark red dress concealed by a plastic dress bag. The small woman opened your closet door and hung it upon a hook that was screwed into the door.

“It’s perfect! Thank yo-“, you started, but before you could finish your sentence, she had scrambled off, and out the door, making you and Venetia giggle.

“What happened then?”

You sighed, before taking and handing back the cigarette.

”He caught me off guard, and pulled me into his room. He said he wanted to talk, but then he asked why I was here! Fuck, Venetia! He said I wanted to fuck Felix! Are you fucking kidding me?! All this just for him to think it was fucking Felix, of all people!”

Venetia snickered and wrapped her arm around you, whilst she hummed, blowing out more of the smoke. The small white paper was stained with her red lip stain.

“Farleigh’s not that aware of… uhhh… cues? He’s dumb, like super socially stupid! I literally do not get what you see in someone who’s that fucking moronic.” Venetia chuckled to which you let out a soft sigh, filled with disappointment.

Venetia got up and planted a small peck on your nose and got up from her place, patting your thigh. “I’ll see you later, Y/N!! Gotta get ready!” She smiled and winked, before leaving your bedroom and closing the door behind her.

You waved and sighed as you sat on the bed, pondering about your conversation with him. You weren’t even really processing anything. You kept going back to his hair, his eyes, his scent, and that stupid playful personality that made you want to kick him, but then pull him right back in for a kiss. You’d have to fangirl later though, dinner was in an hour and a half.

It never took you long to get dressed. You wore light makeup, did your hair, and chose a few golden accessories. Something that would really please Elspeth. Damn, were you actually sucking up to her? You loved gold. You admired the way the shining bracelets adorned your wrist, and smiled. You felt so pretty. But you were starting to prove Farleigh’s point. It was a stupid point, but valid, nonetheless.

You stood in the mirror, adjusting your dress to perfection and ensuring you look just as Elspeth said you would. Ravishing. You touched up your make-up and teased your hair, until it was just as you liked.

“Y/N? Have you dressed? Mr. And Mrs. Catton are awaiting you and young Farleigh.”, a monotone voice of seriousness shot through your doors.

“Yes, Duncan. I’m ready. I’ll be out in just a minute!”

“Very well…”, was said before you hear the sound of sharp steps being made away from your door.

You truly didn’t have much to do before you finally considered yourself ready for dinner. The rule was dress up, which included a small bag for you. So you stuffed lipstick, a powder pallet, a highlighter, and lip gloss into the bag.

A final check was made before you finally went your bedroom door, and you were met with a fine surprise.

“Oh? Was someone happy to see me?”

Your eyes went wide while Farleigh stood there with his fist up, assuming he didn’t even get a chance to knock.

“Shut up, Farleigh. Why aren’t you at dinner? You’ll be late, waiting on me.”, you scowled once more, that little wrinkle he enjoyed seeing becoming prominent.

“Actually, I wanted to walk with you again. After dinner.”

THE END.

[audible-smiles]

wait, I have more late night vampire show questions: why did Armand keep that name? he's not in France anymore, he's not even speaking English in a French accent. he broke with the coven who gave it to him and has been doing different stuff for like...a while now. I feel like a lot of people with three names marking radically different periods in their lives would be tempted to go for name #4. maybe he's like me and feels like names are something that is given to you and so he feels incapable of changing it. (I didn't even change my cat's name when I adopted her.) maybe he still feels like he's fundamentally the same person as the depressed cult leader guy, which would be so so sad. no way he's got all of his millions of dollars invested under a mononym so does Armand have legal ID and if so what did he put for his surname. maybe he's neutral about his name and it's just too inconvenient to change now because of bureaucracy. When Daniel figures out where Armand's post-Dubai Sulking Cave is and shows up to bother him and starts referring to Armand using whatever random A name occurs to him in the moment to be incredibly annoying on purpose because at least it provokes a reaction, which one do you think is the most effective, e.g. Archie. Adrian. Alberto. Amir. Arnold. Alvin (and the Chipmunks).

[warningsine]

Season 5 of “The Good Wife” was a fantastic, thrilling season of television. Yes, “The Good Wife” is primarily about a clutch of well-heeled attorneys in a few Chicago law firms, which doesn’t quite sound like edge-of-your-seat suspense, and yes, it required four years of back story to fully understand, which is a lot of commitment for new viewers. But “The Good Wife” is a prestige drama built on the network model, meaning that its 22-episode seasons offered plenty of entry points to drop into the world of the characters, whether that was through ongoing fourth-year-associate drama or a tech-oriented case of the week. One of the reasons the season was so appealing was because it contained its own arc, too—the long-awaited denouement of Will and Alicia’s smoldering romance, precipitated in large part by actor Josh Charles’ decision to leave the show. The fifth season told the story of Alicia attempting to establish independence, and some of that meant hurting the people closest to her. When Will died suddenly partway through the season, Alicia was forced to deal with how much she’d hurt him—and ultimately found a path to making a mark without either him or her husband, Peter, when she decided to run for Illinois state’s attorney.

This season has not felt nearly as rewarding. Now, the question I get from fellow fans of “The Good Wife,” over and over again, is simply: What happened? The tightest network drama on television fell apart, seemingly overnight. On the eve of the finale, it’s hard to tell what this season has been about: We watched an election, a stint in prison, an investigation of a drug dealer, and the aftereffects of voter fraud, but it has been difficult to assemble the events into a cohesive narrative, and harder still to surmise why any of that narrative matters to us, the viewers. The upcoming seventh season is widely believed to be the show’s last, which somehow makes the missteps more poignant. Is this how it’s going to be from now on? Was it all downhill after Charles left the show? What went wrong? Here are at least some of the things that made Season 6 a strange, unfulfilling disappointment.

1. Kalinda, part one: The character

It’s kind of impossible to discuss “The Good Wife’s" trajectory so far without acknowledging the increasingly different role of Kalinda Sharma (Archie Panjabi), the impossibly badass legal investigator who was very important in the first few seasons and then the center of a rather unsatisfying plot with her estranged husband, Nick, in Season 4. (Indeed, the plot was so unpopular with fans that the drama’s showrunners, Robert and Michelle King, wrote Nick out of the story a whole half-season early.) As revolting as Nick and Kalinda’s adventures with soft serve were, Nick was only a symptom of the bigger problem: The Kings had no idea what to do with Kalinda. The character was a creative darling they couldn’t bring themselves to kill—made harder, I imagine, by Panjabi herself, who is admittedly fantastic in the limited role.

Kalinda’s raison d’être in Seasons 1 and 2 was her friendship with the main character and titular good wife of the show, Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies). She wasn’t just Alicia’s closest friend in those first few years at the law firm, she was her only friend. Then at the end of Season 2, Alicia discovers that well before they were friends, Kalinda slept with her husband, Peter (Chris Noth). Both are devastated, and their relationship never heals. The show turned its attention to different things, partly because that’s the type of avoidance people pursue on a regular basis in order to get around awkward, intimate conversations.

It was a beautiful, sad breakup, all the more so for being a friend-breakup instead of a romantic one. Alicia threw herself into an affair with Will (Charles), driven, clearly, by a need to one-up both her husband and her best friend. Kalinda carried a torch, of sorts: She saw Alicia as an innocent she’d managed to hurt with her carelessness, so she became fiercely protective of her. It became melodramatic—Alicia’s daughter disappeared, and Kalinda found her; Alicia talked to the wrong criminal, and Kalinda went to the mattresses, with a baseball bat at the ready.

And without Alicia’s friendship to humanize her, Kalinda became a caricature. Her authenticity with Alicia couldn’t really be replicated with anyone else without betraying the essential nature of the character’s closed-off reluctance to connect with other people, so she became a tight-lipped, leather-clad robot, more an embodiment of tortured “cool” than a relatable character. What the character needed was to mend fences with Alicia and resume her role as mysterious but loyal sidekick.

By sometime in Season 4, it seemed like it was on the horizon. They’d both made some efforts toward reconciliation (the chair-turning was a big step), and every other character relationship involving Alicia was explored in great detail: She reckoned managers, co-workers, extended family and political rivals. Kalinda brought Alicia some stuff when Alicia was working on a case in Minnesota, and they hung out in a hotel room, kind of just like old times.

And then it just… never… happened.

That moment in the hotel was the last time they spoke. In 2014, BuzzFeed reported that Margulies and Panjabi had not been in the same scene for 30 episodes—when they had to speak, it was merely on the phone. Then Panjabi announced she was leaving at the end of the sixth season. But that deadline did not change her on-screen dynamic with Margulies. At this point, the two have not been in the same scene for more than 50 episodes—an insane factoid, considering both actresses won Emmys for playing their roles opposite each other in the first few seasons of the show. As of right now—one episode away from the end of Panjabi’s tenure on the show—the most closure we’ve gotten on this friendship is a flashback and a handwritten note conveyed through a third party.

As a viewer who is invested in the relationship between these two characters, it has not been satisfying in the least—and worse, seems manufactured to manage some off-screen drama. The general consensus is that the two actresses had a falling out, but how that could affect their shared scene-time in a business where ex-romantic partners routinely act opposite each other is anyone’s guess. But the shift left Kalinda at loose ends, arrested partway between a reconciliation with Alicia and increasing narrative irrelevancy. Josh Charles’ off-screen decision ended up being a limitation that worked in the Kings’ favor; for some reason, Panjabi’s situation wasn’t as manageable.

The result is that the sixth season is a slog of missed opportunities and unfulfilled desire—platonic desire, sure, but desire nonetheless. Will’s absence has left a void in the show’s character-driven storytelling that Kalinda simply could not fill. There is no analogue to Season 5's scintillating “A Few Words,” but for Alicia’s friendship with Kalinda; there is not even “Yet Another Ham Sandwich,” to round out the first two stories of grand jury indictments that both centered on Kalinda and Alicia.

Which leads me to my next point:

3. Anticlimax

Almost every major story line in this season of “The Good Wife” has fizzled out. (The only one that didn’t was the one about Kalinda, and as I just attempted to explain, nothing with Kalinda felt like it was working.) Every story line—every exhaustively plotted story line—took its characters to a place that looked and felt an awful lot like the beginning, but seemingly without the intention of commenting on that strange déjà vu. Like:

a) Firm musical chairs. So it’s Florrick & Agos, but then Florrick, Agos, & Lockhart, and then Lockhart, Agos, & Lee. Got all that? There’s some reasoning for why all these lawyers keep switching places, but the main reason is that “The Good Wife” didn’t want to write out either Diane (Christine Baranski) or David Lee (Zach Grenier) as regular cast members. But in order to justify that, the story has to undergo a Byzantine rearrangement of names and partnerships—and goes one step further, into the almost unthinkably convenient: It moves the new firms back into the old offices of Lockhart/Gardner, just a few months after Alicia and Cary so dramatically took their leave.

b) Election drama. Alicia runs for SA, wins, but then gets embroiled in an internal Democratic Party scandal and is forced to withdraw. It’s devastating, but it renders most of the season’s storytelling meaningless—what was the point, Alicia seems to be saying to herself, as she furiously sands down a salvaged wooden door in last week’s “Don’t Fail.” At least she has the door. The rest of us have no such comforts. Almost 20 episodes of storytelling, including famous guest stars, charged conversations with Peter, and Alicia having to campaign for something with her complete lack of poker face—and yet the show never truly explained why the hell Alicia wanted to run for office, or what she thinks is “good,” or “right,” or “necessary.” So much of the show leading up to this season has indicated that Alicia is a character driven by ambition and self-interest. It’s only occasionally that the characters have had a moment to pause and ask themselves—am I doing the right thing? Do I care about what I’m accomplishing? Alicia’s campaigning did not bring her closer to at-need populations in a significant way, or reveal to her the rich rewards of power. Instead it just seemed to be a thing she did because she was tired of lawyering, which struck me as phony in the extreme: Anyone who watched Alicia defend a case would know that she lived for her moments in the courtroom.

After all of that—all of that—to have her lose the seat in what is both hurriedly explained and a little too pat (Wouldn’t there be a recount? Red tape? Technicalities?)… well, it’s enough to make even the most loyal of fans a little batty.

c) That whole plot that was lifted from “The Wire,” or something. When it started, the subplot that dealt with the firm’s dealings with drug kingpin Lemond Bishop (Mike Colter) seemed like one of the rare moments where “The Good Wife” would take note of the almost shocking amorality of its protagonists, these assembled lawyers who use the terminology of truth and justice almost exclusively to get paid a great deal of cash. Bishop has hovered in the series’ periphery from the start; in Season 6, he becomes markedly more dangerous, to the point that he gets Cary in jail and facing six years of prison, forces Kalinda to run errands for him, and uses his lawyers as a fence to avoid prosecution.

All season, this plot seemed like it was poised to blow; all season, it doesn’t. Things happen, yes. But the impact of the story never sinks in. Alicia has to fend off some questions about Bishop during her election, but otherwise, it’s a nearly isolated suspense plot—one that culminates in Kalinda sacrificing her life in Chicago in order to protect the people she cares about and put Bishop behind bars. She’s disappeared before, as we’ve been told. But the audience already knew she was leaving the show, meaning that as soon as Kalinda started tangling with Bishop, it was not hard to guess that he would be responsible for how she was going to get written off the show.

In short, we got a lot of stories that ended approximately nowhere—while taking the most predictable routes to get to the aforesaid nowhere. Not even Sarah Steele as Marissa Gold, mining comedy out of every moment she’s on-screen, can make that better.

4. Where's Eli? 

Alan Cumming’s Eli Gold—joined this year by his daughter Marissa (Steele)—is one of the show’s real treasures, a Rahm Emanuel type with an irrepressible personality and more heart than he’d like to admit. An election plot seemed to guarantee time with him—I mean, that is what happened in Season 2, when he was brought on full-time—but instead the election plot was dominated by performances by David Hyde Pierce, David Krumholtz, Steven Pasquale and Oliver Platt. That’s a lot of new faces in a show that was already struggling to tell character stories without Will Gardner; Eli would have been, at least, a familiar presence. Instead, part of the reason the election story line felt interminable was that it was really hard to care for all these new characters, though they’re all capable actors. Margulies always makes the most of things, and it was fine, but it just didn’t feel compelling or fantastic, which I’ve come to expect from this show. Plus, there was that whole thing with Alicia hooking up with Pasquale’s Johnny, which was just weird, because:

5. Just kiss already!

The best thing about Season 6 was the introduction of Matthew Goode’s Finn Polmar, the extraordinarily handsome not-so-subtle Will replacement who eventually moved into the old Lockhart/Gardner offices. Any time Alicia needs a lawyer, she doesn’t call Diane or Cary, she calls Finn; midseason, they approach a perilous near-kiss, before Alicia demurely backs off. I get it: The Kings probably want to build up that relationship in the seventh season, both so that they can impose a reasonable amount of time between Will’s death and Alicia’s next relationship and so that they have something to do in the seventh season. But it has been so boring watching them delicately maneuver around each other. I know it’s common practice to do the big romantic twists in the season finale, but this season could have used an injection of good ol’-fashioned banging to keep things interesting. (Lest you call me uncouth: “The Good Wife” has lust baked into its premise, and in Season 3 featured some of the hottest sex ever seen on network. This is a show whose energy feeds on libido.)

--

Let me be clear: “The Good Wife” has surprised me in the past, and it might manage to again. Last week’s “Don’t Fail” was one of the first great episodes after a stretch of middling ones, and the show has surprised me both in season finales (like the one coming up next week) and in its ability to make a whole season pivot on a dime, from mediocre to brilliant. Everything could change Sunday night, and I would be so happy to see it. But if you want to know what went wrong up till now, unfortunately, the reasons are all too clear.

[samobservessonic]

Another tale from Mark Millar, this time opening with Tails coming across “Sonic trapped in a TV” and being tricked into letting him loose. Now, I’ve not read this story myself, but I immediately recognised that first image of whoever this fake Sonic is from around tumblr, so I assume it must be a somewhat decently-known story and therefore I’m looking forward to getting into it

One thing I like here is that they show the small animals working together to create a hideout free from Robotnik. It’s already been established that Sonic has a base somewhere, but seeing the others making one has me once again going “Ooh are we getting closer to the Freedom Fighters being established??” Anyway, as you can probably guess, fake Sonic turns up and smashes their work to the ground

My obligatory “Look, it’s Sally!” part. They even directly call her Sally here. She’s helping to put out the forest fire started by the fake Sonic

As you can probably imagine, the (somewhat wall-eyed) real Sonic shows up to put a stop to his name being tarnished. I mean, the easy joke to make here would be that StC Sonic is kind of an asshole anyway, but at least his actions are always good, even if his words aren’t. However, he’s not fast enough to stop the animal folk believing that he was the one who did the damage

Hey look, StC also did the “Sally banishing Sonic due to a misunderstanding” thing years before Archie did as well lol

…But that’s also dealt with on the same page, when the fake Sonic shows up. I can’t help but wonder how people would’ve reacted if that one plot in Archie had resolved with Sally going “Apology’s in the post, Sonic”. Actually, maybe they should’ve resolved The Slap by having Sally say that, too. Although having brought up The Slap, I'm honour-bound to add that everyone needs to get off Jon Gray’s case about The Slap, but I’m far from the first person to say that

Tails has figured out a way to get rid of this guy, by trapping him back in the TV. At which point, we get an explanation as to what this fake is - an Extra Life! Once again, StC taking something from the early games and putting a unique spin on it. In this universe, back when he was good, Dr. Kintobor made the power-ups to help Sonic. Kintobor probably didn’t intend for the extra lives to be sentient or to become resentful, though Perhaps there’s a peaceful way they can come to an understanding abou-

-Nope! Punt him into space!

And that’s the end of that! I looked it up because I was curious, but this is the only appearance of Extra Life in the series and I think that’s kind of a missed opportunity. Evil Sonic clones are hardly a rare concept in this franchise, though I think this might’ve been one of the first, at least outside of the games. But I’ve never seen it handled in this way before. It brings up questions about if there are lots of other Extra Lives, who all also have sentience, or if Extra Life was the only on in the StC world and he’s now been effectively dealt with His situation was incredibly fucked up and that had room to be explored, but because he was generically evil and destructive, the story rooted for getting rid of him in the fastest way possible. Given all the dimension and space-exploring that happens in StC later, there would’ve been loads of chances to revisit this early concept if they’d wanted to, but alas, it wasn’t to be

Needless to say, I really enjoyed this one and understand why it’s so popular! Admittedly, the last few issues have been kind of coasting for me - not bad per say, but also not grabbing my attention - but this one really was a lot of fun. And Sally got to be in it a lot, which I always like

My only gripe was that it seemed like they were setting Tails up to have a bigger role and I hoped he might finally be getting a chance to shine, but that wasn’t how it panned out this time. I suppose Tails has a long career of chasing Sonic’s shadow ahead of him in StC, but I can't help but want the kid to catch a break soon

[kitkatt0430]

Leverage for the fandom ask? :)

Character I first fell in love with:

Alec Hardison. He rolled across the screen on his computer chair going 'oooooooh' over Sophie flirting with Nate and proclaiming it was "Age of the geek, baby" and how could I not adore this guy?

Character I never expected to love as much as I do now:

The Italian. I don't know that love is quite the right word, but I find her really fascinating. I'm willing to bet she showed up at Nate's funeral, or at least right after, in order to pay her respects. And maybe reaches out to Leverage International on occasion (and turns a blind eye to them on occasion too).

She's a little cheeky from the start but I didn't know what to make of her manipulating Nate and the team. But ultimately she was trying to stop a terrible person doing terrible things and, arguably, she was a client. I like that she got to do the gloat against Morreau with Nate and I do feel like the two of them ended things with mutual respect for one another's talents for manipulation.

Character everyone loves but I don’t:

Maybe Archie? Not really sure how popular he is.

I do like that he does, finally, acknowledge Parker as his daughter, but his treatment of her when she was a kid was... not great. Hiding her away instead of adopting her and giving her a stable home, treating her kind of like a dirty secret... even acknowledging her as an adult on in the second episode he was on was kind of a way to dig at his biological daughter. I dunno - he's a likable guy and no doubt he treated Parker a lot better than most when she needed it, but if Nate had broken his nose at any point in the first episode he showed up in, I would not have been particularly surprised or upset by it. But I also love him threatening Chaos for being a misogynistic dick to Parker and I'd be happy to see him pop up again down the line. So... I don't hate him, but I definitely can't say I love him either.

Character I love but everyone else hates:

I feel a lot of sympathy for Charlie Dodgson - especially since the team kind of really turned the gaslighting up to eleven with him (and drugging him????) when he was just... struggling with depression and guilt and trying to sell off a company he wasn't in the sort of mentally healthy place necessary to run it anymore? But I wouldn't say I love the character either. He just happens to be the mark in an episode where it's particularly easy to remember the team really aren't the good guys (as Sophie herself reminds Breanna in the sequel).

He's about as close as I probably come to an answer for this question.

Character I used to love but don’t any longer:

Definitely don't have an answer to this one. The characters are all just so well written that even when they do things I don't like, it fits the character and I can't really dislike them for it either.

Character I would kiss:

Hmmm... I don't think I like kissing enough personally to answer this. Too aroace for this one, I'm afraid.

Character I want to slap:

Nate. And goodness knows he's earned more than a few.

A pairing I love:

Parker/Hardison ~ Elliot

While I like Parker/Hardison/Eliot where they're all romantically involved... I tend to read Eliot as being alloaro and so his side of the relationship between the three of them fits more as a queerplatonic partnership with them to me.

A pairing I hate:

I don't think I have a hated pairing for this fandom. Or even one I mildly dislike.

[ghostchanuwu]

Four questions because I am intrigued:

-Any new travel companions?

-How is Maxie different from canon?

-Does Ash basically go through the same adventures Ash does in the canon anime, along with Aniredux original ones? Or just all the adventures he does in canon? Or (a horrible thought) is there no filler?

-Does Team RR show up? Because the anime made a horrible mistake by not having Team Rainbow Rocket appear in the anime.

Gonna add a cut since i dont trust tumblr to not shorten this post jffbhdjxj

There are actually a few new traveling companions!

Gary is a constant companion while Misty stays up until Hoenn and Brock dips out for the majority of Johto and Sinnoh but makes a full reapearance in Unova and leaves once again in Kalos having been officially appointed as Bruno's replacement

Lisia joins up in Hoenn after Slateport and stays until Fallarbor having taken interest in May (May had just registered for the contest circus wheras Lisia is the previous year's grand champion)

Wally is a permenant traveling companion in Hoenn being May's step brother (sadly no Max because i couldnt get him to work storywise since the plot relevence he had in canon is already taken up by other characters)

Barry is very temporary in Sinnoh only sticking around from Twinleaf to Floraroma before going off on his own again until Sunnyshore

Riley joins up with the group after Brock leaves having decided that they need a strong adult looking out for them after their first initial scuffles with Galactic (he also just wants to make sure Dawn is doing alright since she is his niece) and sadly goes missing right after the galactic bombs are detonated across all the lakes (he does not appear again, Marley and Cheryl take over for him)

Iris and Cilan are off and on traveling companions (Iris being current champion and Cilan not only managing the Straiation gym with his brothers but also a couple projects Elesa and Lenora had planned)

Nate and Rosa become constant companions once the group reaches Aspertia with them having completed their trainer's school courses (Benga pops in from time to time since he and Nate have a little rivalry going on)

Kalos is unchanged for the most part except for Calem dropping in since he is one of Sycamore's assistants along with being an avid photographer helping Serena with her contest work designing costumes and coreography

(Alola and Galar are unchanged)

----------------------

So about Maxie, he had come into contact with the Red Orb shortly after Groudon and Kyogre's rampage back when Aster was champion (he was still working under the Weather Institute at the time) the orb was persumed to have been lost while the blue orb was found and sealed away again

Upon making contact with it he was possessed for a couple minutes before breaking loose, he had returned the orb but had managed to keep a large enough shard of it to study for himself (exposure to it over many years had lead to the prominent markings on him but he is still very much in control of himself)

Archie had caught wind of Maxie's research and had offered to help fund his endeavors since he not only came from a very rich family but also had an interest in Kyogre (Maxie having a connection to the Red Orb by his logic would end in locating both the Blue Orb and Kyogre) leading to both of their teams joining forces under the same banner (Maxie already having constructed basically a nuclear level base near Mt Chimney and Archie having sea suppourt made them highly formidable)

---------------------

Ash's adventures are pretty close to canon except for some major plot derailments (Kanto with Rocket basically going to war with the league, Hoenn and Sinnoh with the world nearly ending, him staying in Unova longer than expected wanting to chill for a bit after everything there is done) most of the filler in in tact wheras some bits were axed for story reasons

------------------

Rainbow Rocket does make an appearance in late Alola right before Ash and Gary were supposed to go back home leading to them having to fend off the full force of RR (they did manage to convince Leaf to travel over to Alola since they're the current leader of AniRedux's Team Rocket along with the Ultra Recon Squad and Hilda after she had been located after being MIA for 5 years) along with the trial captains and kahunas

[thistleandthorn-rpg]

Name: Archie Andrews Designation: sub Age: 23 Birthdate: June 17, 2001 Faceclaim: K.J. Apa Orientation: Pansexual Kinks: Pretty open to anything his partner wants to try as long as it’s not in the anti kinks list Anti-Kinks: scat, gore,

Key Points: 

Archie is fiercely protective of his two brothers, and when bad things happen to them it effects Archie much worse than he’s willing to admit.

Skilled athlete and musician

Feels guilty over not being able to help his little brother sooner than he did.

He is loyal to a fault.

BIO 

To say Archie Andrews was complex was almost too simple of a way to describe the young man. He had always tried his best to follow the rules and take care of everyone. He was the ‘All-American jock’ because it was what his father wanted for him. It was supposed to be a way out from having to live day to day, a good day being just barely making ends meet. Not having to struggle and take any random job or having to help out with his father’s business just because his dad wasn’t making enough money to pay an employee to do it. On the other hand he wanted to pursue music, and always tried to find ways to sneak off and play for his friends, or at open mic nights or talent shows. All that changed when his father died, even though he and Danny were the same age, Archie felt like it was his responsibility to step up and take care of Danny and Noah. He put behind his dreams of doing something in music, and gave up on his father’s dreams of him being a football star as a way to get out of town and took over running the business for his father. While most of his time was spent at work he was still able to help Noah when he needed him the most.

Archie knew he had done all that he could to help his younger brother, but he still felt an immense amount of guilt for it getting as bad as it did. He tried to make up for it in every way he could, including hiding his own thoughts on the D/S system so that he and his brothers wouldn’t get into a fight over it. That didn’t stop Archie from feeling a sense of comfort when he had gotten his mark. Most people would have expected him to be upset that he was marked as a sub and not a dom but he wasn’t. He always enjoyed helping everyone out and doing things for them no matter how big or small, but now he felt as if being marked as a sub offered him a level of relief. He didn’t have to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders anymore, in fact if someone claimed him there would always be someone there to catch him if failed.

BIO QUESTIONS

What are your feelings about the mark you have received? 

I know there are some people who are surprised by it, but I’m okay with it. I’ve always had to step up for others so I could see this as being a good thing. How do your feelings on the system compare to your parents’ feelings on it? Well I’m not sure about mom, she hasn’t been around much since her and dad broke it off. I think my views on it are closer to my dad’s, but I might be a bit more accepting of it.

Where do you see yourself after you graduate? 

Hopefully in a claim, maybe getting back into my music.

How do you feel about authority?

I’m for it, but only as long as it’s not purposefully used to hurt people or keep them down.

[missingmissfisher]

One Final Turn ARC Review

By @missingmissfisher

Knowing this would be the final adventure for Electra McDonnell, I have been slightly grieving, yet still overjoyed to embark on it with the trust that brilliant author Ashley Weaver would do justice to these wonderful characters we’ve been falling in love with over the past several years. And she has superseded my diehard fan heart and expectations with this book to the point where I stayed up and read it one sitting, and then proceeded to do the same the following night to savour my favourite parts!

As foretold by the end of ‘Locked in Pursuit,’ the series finale One Final Turn, sweeps our heroine off to Lisbon with the lovable Captain Archie Blandings with a big question mark and cloud as to Major Gabriel Ramsey’s whereabouts. The book seems to have a slow start as Ellie mechanically recounts her current days after being sacked by Ramsey and preparing for her journey. But looking back, it’s actually an excellent reflection of her practical side trying to cope with the emotional hits she’s still recovering from as a result of their traumatic Sunderland mission. After all, things certainly speed up once they reach Lisbon and the usual murder and mayhem ensues just as Ramsey arrives.

Without giving away too much, the continual dialogue and actions of the main ‘cast’ were all true to character and shone throughout the story, especially for Ellie and Ramsey as they balanced the deadly espionage with the final battle with the enemy as well as within their hearts. I was positively screaming and laughing out loud at various parts, utterly delightful!

To me, it was satisfying to be privy to the resolution within Ellie’s heart that she was desperately holding together as she determinedly proceeded with this mission. It was telling to see her emotional maturity as she reigned in her emotions to focus on their mission to aid the POW escapees, one of whom could possibly be her missing cousin, Toby. I will also allude to the fact that everyone who has been on ‘Team Ramsey’ will be grinning as widely as me, especially to see what we have all been waiting for: Ramsey “unleashed.” Throw in the conclusion to the lingering mystery of Ellie’s parents, and we have an extremely delicious race to see how everything coalesces to the wild finale.

Also, having not yet had the opportunity, I am definitely bumping Lisbon up my bucket after the lovely descriptions for this lesser known locale. The food descriptions alone had my mouth watering (and made it very believable for the return of Ellie’s finicky appetite).

I truly felt like this book was a beautiful love letter from Ms Weaver to those of readers who have been so deeply invested in Ellie from the start and waiting to continue her adventures year after year. Thank you for gifting her to the literary world and our hearts.

P.S. Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for sending me this advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

[beevean]

I'm absolutely betting money with you, sadly enough. And you are right that this also seems like a revamped and reused Archie plot, wherein Silver indeed accused members of the Freedom Fighters left and right with the crappiest evidence to go on. That panel of Sonic dragging him along the ground by his quills to a comatose Antoine in the hospital because Silver made such a fool of himself still puts a bad taste in my mouth :/ And he didn't even get to the correct person all by himself!

But I had at least a *little* bit of hope that Silver would be let down easily by the other Diamond Cutters (you know, in a "we appreciate you are worried but nothing is pointing towards it, but we'll look into it to ease your mind" supportive kind of way), but you are right in that everything is shaping up to be a cringefest of the highest order. Tangle's been heavily put through the mangle already in the past few issues, so a few crude and assholish foot-in-mouth comments from her are basically a given. Maybe Whisper is going to lose her temper and yell at him to show just how badly he screwed up, because the audience knows really bad things are happening when Whisper is yelling! And Lanolin seems bossy and authoritative enough to demand he leaves because the Diamond Cutters know better and whatever. And the worst part is fans *will* run with this interpretation of Silver's character to further shape him as Innocent Cinnamon Roll, Look At Him He's Got No Social Skills!! And it's not even something I disagree with (since Silver jumping to conclusions and being bossy did use to be part of his character), but not in a way where you know it'll just be used to make fun of him as opposed to creating good character interactions or growth. It just such an undignified, mocking way to present a character who to me is not at all cinnamon roll-like, but honorable and just.

Just... ugh. I'm glad I can air my grievances here, even if my hopes for an actual fun two issues about Silver are burying themselves right into the bedrock right now. (Sorry for the long essay!)

I feel your pain :\ if I were to make a list of the canon characters that got mangled in IDW, Silver would probably be fourth, behind Sonic, Shadow and Eggman. Not only he got turned into a round-eyed excitable babyboy ripe for mocking (hello Sonic calling him Flatware with a sarcastic bow), but now he's really going to be treated like an idiot both by the characters and the narrative :\

After how much of a killjoy Lanolin was towards Tangle in #61, she's absolutely going to snap at Silver and be a total ass to him, mark my words. And sure, why not, even more Whisper losing her cool, it's not like she literally screams and cry everytime she stubs her toe now.

You're right that Silver jumping to conclusions was part of his character. You can see the transformative process going from '06 (where it was the whole reason he briefly opposed Sonic but he was also capable of questioning himself), to Archie (where he's apparently such an annoying prick that even Sonic has enough of him, charming) to IDW (where he's just a dumb cinnamon roll). In Archie, I can assume that this portrayal was due to how unpopular Silver was at the time... but I can believe that in IDW they really think they're appealing to his fans because hey, they want Blorbo Silver!

Glad you feel comfortable to rant here ^^ eh, at least the Espilver annual was nice.

[richardsphere]

Leverage Redemption Log: The Jackal Job

Name unlikely to refer to an actual jackal, an animal that is one of the most common aliases for fictional phantom-thief types (probably slightly after "cat" and before "fox" but i dont have any hard data) --- Episode starts, nice old lady is wondering why a man, presumably her son, or one of those court-apointed guardians is stealing her stuff. Fuck its going to be about Elderly Abuse.

As of right now, its not entirely clear as to wether he is an asshole who is exploiting a dementing relative, legitimately trying to take care of her but struggling financially because fuck the economy is just never gonna recover from the multiple financial collapses we've suffered or outright gasslighting her into believing she is suffering dementia. 2/3 options would make him evil and this is leverage so im not holding out hope for him being misunderstood. so like, probably evil with maybe a 2.5% chance of a "he's trying his best and just really shit at showing it". But yeah, this is leverage. He's a baddie, question is just if he's exploiting his mom, or feigning a relation so he can go to the judge and say "she's so far gone, she doesnt recognise her son (who i definitlly am)" --- Episode starts: Breanna is forced to do community service cause she was caught stealing something. (this is our "juror number 6" plot for Breanna.) Take your time, slow down, pay attention to details. Well nice to see Sophie give the crux of this episode away in her first 3 lines of the episode. and she just picked Breanna's pocket. She's an old thief. (wonder if she and Archie ever hung out...) Sophie spots the ring, then the Astonomers by Vermeer and realises instantly that she knows this woman. (also, does the son know that is the genuine Vermeer he's gonna sell, or does he think its one of those gift-store Mona Lisa's? Cause if he doesn't, he's in for the worst deal of a century) --- Alzheimer's... Well guess im going to be feeling a lot less witty writing this log then most. Thats not something i'd like to joke about too much. Ok, Hinkley is not his son, he's a professional guardian. --- just a side-note that we'd better end this episode with at least an alusion to Breanna having hacked whatever servers are tracking her community service, cause she's kind of about to build up a truancy on that stuff. Like i know that "caring for an elderly or disabled person" is the type of stuff that could be court appointed community service, but this was not the task she was court appointed

Sophie is pulling the "im your replacement" card. Jackal picks up quickly. --- Ok the team is all here now, You're being stupid. She's here because she fell in love with the mark, (who is probably but not guaranteed to be her power of attorney). Her last con was a failure or at least not a known success. Looking for the one thing that she stole that was never returned isnt gonna solve anything because she isnt known to have stolen it. --- Ok the little Edie con is working? Basically a violin-sale but Parker is the Violin. Breanna has experience with elderly Alzheimers patients (grandma) We're doing Leverage Crew-ified Flashbacks again... (this is gonna hurt on an emotional level)

Oh i can see where the twist is gonna happen: Josephine was the mark (bars real owner=safe's real owner=safe combination knower)... And Jo, former bar-owner, fled the country alongside her to escape her gangster ex and started a coffee shop in this town. Oops, Breanna just all-but confirmed the first half of my suspicions (which this early in the episode, means im wrong) --- Harry has a little conductors hat amongst his stuff... Oh look at that, he just said the judge gets first pick of his stolen goods... the judge has the gun (and a heck of a scandal it'd be if a judge was found in posession of stolen goods... and a stolen gun belonging to a founding father at that...) Lovely work on the tiny mirror-box (that she definitly hadnt arranged to be there in advance), Elbow bruises. (chances she didnt "donate" the gun cause it was used in the murder of a london gangster named Earl increasing rapidly) --- The painting, find the painting. "prefect never lasts forever"

they had a daughter.

and all was fine until the papertrail caught up to them. (the daughter... She might be our way out) --- get the judge (noted antiques lover) to overhear that the Turlington Pistol was amongst her posessions, divide and conquer. the money was in the car. (i was a bit suspicious when Jo said "its got a couple hundred worth of tips" when they were running away. But i justified it as her being too good a citisen to steal from Earl) --- Tip for showrunners: If you want to start a comercial block on a cliffhanger, dont have it be an attempted murder of our still-alive narrator. It sort of undermines the tense suspension.

so she shot earl (unsuprising.) Back in the modern day we're headed for a warehouse and Jackal is lifts the gun so we can frame Sophie for stealing the gun so they can steal a fake back from Sophie.

Ok not so much a fake (they didnt have time to prep one) as just placing a made in china sticker on the real and genuine article. (amazingly simple act of brilliance)

Parker's reputation is worth its weight in gold. (a personal favour from someone who started this season by stealing 8 Rembrandts in a single night in multiple museums across the entire United States, is worth a lot compared to a contract with a small-time purveyor of stolen goods. Whodathunk?)

Oh they did pull an entire switch with the gun. (honestly, after the little Made In China sticker reveal, the fact they pulled a genuine switch with a store-bought replica instead of a simple sticker-sleight-of-hand is suddenly quite disapointing, especially as we know the fence was on their side anyways.)

Im going to be honest and say that the Jo acress doesnt have the most convincing elderly wig. (also they kept the plushie) ---