#i KNOW if she was a guy the fandom would fawn over her

[kanna-kizuchi-enjoyer]

I hate when a fictional man does heinous things and the fandom goes "aw hes babygirl" but as soon as its a woman, they call her irredeemable and evil

[solxamber]

Trash Novel Chronicles: Love Triangles and Royal Rumbles - Leona Kingscholar x Reader

When you get isekai'd as the male lead in the novel where your favorite character, Leona Kingscholar is the second male lead, all that's left to do is rewrite the romance!

Series Masterlist

You're just an average person, doing normal human things like eating, sleeping, and, of course, staring at your poster of Leona Kingscholar for three hours straight. Totally healthy behavior. People have hobbies, right? Some knit, some jog, and you…? You defend your fictional lion husband from slander on the internet. You’re practically a digital knight in shining armor.

The story that has consumed your very soul? Oh, just your typical Cliché Villainess Academy Novel: Revenge Edition™. The plot is so by-the-book, it’s basically a war crime against creativity. Female lead? She’s been in love with the male lead since he gave some boring welcome speech that apparently hit her so hard, her brain rewired itself into a romantic mess.

The villainess? Obviously in love with the male lead too, but her one and only goal in life is making the heroine’s existence a never-ending trainwreck of public embarrassment. And the male lead? Sweet summer child. He just wants to get his degree and avoid eye contact with all of these lunatics.

Enter: Leona Kingscholar, the second male lead. The man, the myth, the walking sarcasm machine. He’s there purely to fuel jealousy in everyone else’s love story, but for you? He’s everything. The brooding, lazy, hot second male lead who rolls his eyes at every plot point like he’s just as done with this novel as you are. He has better things to do, like nap, but here he is, dragged into this mess by proximity.

If it were up to you, he and the male lead would run off together, leave the heroine and villainess to start their own hobby club about emotional devastation, and the two guys would live happily ever after in matching beach chairs somewhere.

But no. Instead, you’re stuck reading about her fawning over him while Leona is just… there. Existing. The only thing keeping your interest alive.

And now? Now, your loyalty to Leona Kingscholar is about to pay off. The fan event of the century is just days away. It’s going to be glorious. A whole day dedicated to Leona—merch, fan contests, life-sized cardboard cutouts (which, let’s be honest, you’re ready to risk it all for). You've cleared your schedule, mentally prepared yourself for the inevitable squealing, and created a battle plan for acquiring the best merch before everyone else.

But fate? Fate’s cruel.

You’re casually defending Leona’s honor online as usual, battling some no-name troll who dares to claim that the male lead is "better written." (HA! You laugh in their wrong face.) But then—what’s this? A an likes your tweet about Leona! And not just any author. THE ONE YOU LOVE. The serotonin shoots through you like an adrenaline shot straight to the brain.

Your heart’s racing. You’re vibrating at a frequency only dogs can hear. You leap out of your chair like some majestic gazelle—or at least that’s what you tell yourself as you promptly trip over the plushie army that guards your floor.

Before you know it, you’re tumbling, body flailing like a noodle, bouncing down the stairs in what feels like slow motion. The world spins. Your merch shelves mock you from the distance. You land at the bottom in a heap, your soul floating just above your body.

"Is this… how it ends?" you wheeze, gasping for breath, more in shock than pain. As your vision starts to fade, all you can think is: I never made it to the Leona event….

And with that, you die. Crushed under the weight of fandom.

You wake up, and your first thought isn’t the usual, “Oh, I’ve been isekai’d into a new world, how fascinating, I’ll have time to adjust in a moment of peace and reflection.” No. You wake up and it hits you like a brick: Oh no. Female lead.

But then, a beam of hope breaks through the clouds of despair and shines down on you like a heavenly spotlight: Wait. Leona Kingscholar is here.

Before you can even revel in the thought of being in the same universe as your broody lion crush, reality smacks you upside the head. Loud voices are pulling you back to the scene unfolding right in front of your very eyes.

You blink. Hold on. This is not a bedroom, and this is definitely not a private moment to gather your thoughts like in every other isekai novel. Oh no, you’ve been thrown directly into the group project scene.

You know, the one where the villainess is sharpening her claws on the heroine while Leona watches from the sidelines like he’s two seconds away from a permanent nap? Yeah, you’re smack in the middle of it.

The villainess, looking as pissed off as usual, is glaring daggers at the trembling heroine, who is staring at you with those wide, teary eyes like you’re supposed to swoop in and save her from this verbal smackdown.

And that’s when it hits you: you’re the male lead. The original goody-two-shoes, justice-loving male lead who always stepped in to defend the heroine. The one who got suckered into every cliché moment, complete with sparkles and heroic speeches about morality and blah blah blah.

Not you, though.

You take one look at the heroine. She’s giving you this look like you’re her knight in shining armor, expecting you to throw yourself in front of her and deliver some dramatic monologue about kindness and decency. And you? You're mentally checking out of this scene faster than the speed of light.

Nah. You’re not about that life.

Your gaze drifts to Leona, sitting on the far side of the room, slouched over like he’s wondering why he’s being subjected to this emotional soap opera when he could be napping. His face screams "done," and honestly? Same. He meets your gaze, eyes half-lidded and bored, probably hoping you’ll do the usual male lead routine and put an end to this nonsense.

But oh no, today’s different.

You casually stroll over to where Leona is sitting, ignoring the drama unfolding behind you. With the swagger of someone who knows exactly what they’re about to do is going to blow some minds, you hold out your hand to him. "So, uh… you want to ditch this disaster and go take a nap? Or maybe raid the kitchens? I’m thinking we play hooky and pretend this never happened."

Leona’s eyes flicker with surprise for half a second. The male lead? The goody-two-shoes-moral-compass of the entire plot? The guy who literally lived to stop drama in its tracks? Is offering to blow off this whole mess? He raises an eyebrow, smirking like the cat who caught the canary.

"Didn’t think you had it in you," Leona drawls, but you can tell he’s already down for this. "Alright. Let’s go. If anyone asks, I’m gonna say you dragged me out."

"Deal," you say, trying not to look too smug. And with that, you turn on your heel, and with Leona at your side, you head for the door, leaving behind a shell-shocked villainess and a teary-eyed heroine who’s probably still processing the fact that her supposed knight in shining armor just dipped.

As you and Leona stroll out, you hear the villainess mutter, “What… just happened?” and you can’t help but grin. You may have just turned the plot upside down, but at least you’re doing it in style.

"Hey, Leona," you say, nudging him, "think we can find some of those fancy desserts in the kitchen? I’m starving."

Leona snorts, shoving his hands into his pockets. "If you’re buying, sure."

And just like that, the male lead and the second male lead walk off into the sunset—or rather, the campus courtyard—hand in hand with a new mission: Avoiding all future plot nonsense at all costs.

You’re not sure how you got here, staring at the over-the-top ball decorations like you’ve stepped into a bargain bin fairytale, but hey, life has taken a weird turn lately. You, of all people, are living out the plot of a novel so cliché it makes your head hurt.

But you guess that’s what happens when you get isekai’d into a second-rate villainess story. The only thing missing is a glass slipper and some woodland creatures to sing with.

And of course, surprise! The ball isn’t just some casual evening of sipping punch and avoiding the villainess’s death stares. No, if you don’t nail the ball, you don’t graduate. Because nothing says "academic achievement" like knowing how to waltz while dressed like a background character from Bridgerton.

So here you are, in ball lessons, where everyone is nervously pairing off while you’re trying not to roll your eyes into another dimension. The heroine, with her usual doe-eyed sparkle, gets paired with you first. And let’s be real: she’s either terrible at dancing, or she’s using this as an excuse to get you to hold her close.

But you? Oh no. You’ve read enough of this garbage to know where that’s going, and you have zero interest in playing out the “close embrace, sparks flying, almost-kiss” trope. Absolutely not.

As soon as the music starts, you decide it’s time to act. You let your feet stumble—deliberately, of course—and flail around like you’ve never seen a ballroom floor in your life. The heroine, bless her clueless heart, giggles like she thinks you’re just being cute, but you’re not about to humor this. When the instructor’s eyes lock onto you, you seize the opportunity.

"Oh no!" you say dramatically, throwing a hand over your forehead like you’re in some kind of soap opera. "I’m so bad at this. Could someone please teach me how to dance?"

You pause, glance around the room, and then lock eyes with Leona Kingscholar.

"Leona!" you shout, loud enough that the whole room freezes. "You’re the second prince! You must’ve had etiquette lessons, right? Teach me how to dance!"

The room collectively loses its mind. The heroine looks like you’ve just slapped her with a glove and challenged her to a duel. The villainess is staring at you like you’ve lost your marbles. And Leona? Leona’s expression is somewhere between utter confusion and why me.

Leona leans back, crossing his arms, visibly annoyed. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he mutters, but there’s no denying the faint twitch of a smirk at the corner of his mouth when he sees the heroine and villainess get shoved into an awkward dancing pair together.

Despite his clear irritation, Leona steps forward, because let’s face it, he’s the kind of guy who’ll humor you if it means avoiding worse drama. You slide into position with him, and honestly? You’re in heaven. You can barely focus on your feet, too busy trying to hide your grin while you imagine all the drama this is causing behind you.

Meanwhile, the heroine and the villainess are floundering around, tripping over each other like they’ve got two left feet each. The villainess is grinding her teeth, and the heroine keeps stepping on her toes. It’s a glorious disaster.

Leona, despite his annoyance, is surprisingly good at this. He’s leading with the kind of effortless grace that makes you wonder how someone so lazy can still be so competent at everything. You’re definitely not staring at his sharp features while he dances, not at all.

"You do realize this is a waste of time, right?" Leona grumbles under his breath, his eyes flicking to the chaos unfolding behind you. "Why me, herbivore? You could’ve asked anyone else."

You just shrug, trying not to sound too smug. "What can I say? I have excellent taste in dance partners."

Leona’s brow twitches like he’s torn between smirking and rolling his eyes. "Yeah, sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night." But the smirk wins out, especially when the villainess and heroine fumble yet again, nearly toppling over each other.

You glance up at him, beaming. Leona Kingscholar might be annoyed, but he’s not stopping anytime soon. And you? You’re just here for the ride, watching the heroine and villainess self-destruct from the safety of Leona’s arms.

Ball lessons? Piece of cake.

You’ve been doing everything humanly possible to avoid the female lead like she’s a carrier of the medieval plague. You thought you’d be safe here, hiding behind your “I’m too busy and mysterious for romance” persona, but no—somehow—the more you avoid her, the more she’s convinced that you’re the dark, brooding, irresistible male lead she’s always dreamed of.

You know, the type who avoids emotional connections but secretly harbors a heart of gold. But the truth is, you’re just a guy trying to get through the day so you can swoon over Leona Kingscholar in peace.

It’s not like you’ve been subtle about it either. You’ve been dropping hints left and right, hoping the universe would give you a break and let the female lead fall in love with literally anyone else. But no. Somehow, everyone is ignoring your very obvious affection for Leona.

It’s like you’re stuck in a tragic comedy where the female lead falls harder for you the more you try to disappear, and Leona just… well, he’s just living his best life, completely unaware of your internal screaming.

Take the latest tea party, for example. You were just trying to enjoy some pastries, maybe steal a glance at Leona from across the table, when the heroine decides to make her move. She picks up a delicate slice of cake and holds it out to you, eyes sparkling with that innocent-yet-hopeful look that says, “This is our moment.”

You? You’re not having any of that. Nope. No way. You’re not about to be part of this rom-com narrative. So, without missing a beat, you casually take the cake from her and, in one smooth motion, turn and offer it to Leona, who’s lounging lazily next to you, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else.

Leona raises an eyebrow at you, clearly baffled by why you’re holding out cake like he’s some sort of royal who expects to be hand-fed. “What are you doing?” he mutters, looking suspiciously between you and the cake.

“Just thought you’d like some,” you say with a straight face, ignoring the heroine’s stunned expression. She’s sitting there, fork still poised in the air, blinking rapidly like you’ve just committed the greatest betrayal of the century.

Leona huffs, looking mildly irritated but mostly confused. After a pause, he shrugs and leans forward, taking a bite of the cake without even bothering to lift his own hand. “Whatever,” he mutters between chews. “Tastes fine.”

You nod, satisfied. Meanwhile, the heroine looks like she’s on the verge of tears, and the villainess is smirking in the background like she’s about to take out popcorn and enjoy the drama.

Later that day, you find a nice, quiet spot under a tree to relax. You’ve managed to avoid any major incidents so far, and for once, you’re not being dragged into some dramatic showdown. You lie back, close your eyes, and just let yourself chill. But, of course, the universe doesn’t want you to have peace.

Enter Leona.

Without a word, he flops down next to you, takes one look at your position, and decides—out of all the places he could sit—that your lap is the best pillow option available. You feel his head plop down on your lap like this is the most normal thing in the world. You stare down at him, completely dumbfounded, while he just closes his eyes and lets out a long, satisfied sigh.

“Leona?” you start, voice half bewildered, half amused. “You good?”

“Shut up,” he mutters without opening his eyes. “You’re more comfortable than the grass.”

You blink at him, not sure whether to laugh or cry. Meanwhile, the villainess strolls by, spots the two of you under the tree, and comes to an immediate halt. Her face contorts into a mix of disbelief and confusion, like she’s just witnessed something unholy. You can almost hear her mental scream of, what the hell is going on here?!

She doesn’t say anything, though. Just stands there, hands clenched, before turning on her heel and storming off. You don’t even care. You’re too busy reveling in the fact that Leona chose your lap as his personal resting place. If that isn’t a win, you don’t know what is.

And then, of course, there’s the infamous hallway incident. The heroine—who, by this point, you’re pretty sure has developed some kind of radar for finding you—comes running toward you. She trips over something (the air? her own foot? you don’t know) and launches herself straight into your arms in what is clearly an attempt to trigger some rom-com, slow-motion embrace.

But you? You’re not here for this.

With the reflexes of a seasoned avoider, you sidestep her dramatic fall, and she goes face-first into the floor. There’s a stunned silence as she lies there, unmoving, probably processing how she ended up eating dirt.

You glance over at Leona, who’s watching the whole thing with a lazy smirk, clearly enjoying the trainwreck. You give him a slight nod of approval, and he just rolls his eyes, a small grin still tugging at his lips.

The villainess, standing a few feet away, is laughing her head off. She’s doubled over, clutching her stomach, while the heroine’s dignity is scattered all over the floor. But you? You’re just staring at Leona, completely ignoring the chaos around you.

Somehow, despite all the madness, you can’t help but think: this is fine.

The day of the big spelldrive match arrives, and the heroine has never looked more confident in her life. She’s decked out in her team’s colors, standing tall at the edge of the field, waiting for you to join her in your usual spot. You know, like a loyal dog. A loyal, obedient dog who always does what she expects.

But not today.

Today, you roll up to the game decked out head to toe in full Savanaclaw merch. We're talking a custom jersey with Leona’s name on the back, a headband, face paint, and—just to really emphasize the point—a Savanaclaw banner tied around your neck like you’ve decided to cosplay as Captain Lion Fang.

You take your seat in the Savanaclaw section and immediately start hyping up the crowd like you’re getting paid for it. The heroine spots you from across the field and stares like she’s watching a crime scene unfold in real-time. Meanwhile, Leona’s already spotted you, and the smug smirk on his face tells you he’s LOVING the attention.

The game kicks off, and with each goal Leona scores, you’re going feral.

You’re screaming your lungs out, waving your banner around like you’re auditioning for some weird mascot gig. People are looking at you like you’ve lost your mind, but you don’t care. This is YOUR moment.

Leona, on the field, is living for it. Every time he glances your way, he adds a little extra flair to his plays, just to make you scream louder. He scores, and you’re on your feet, jumping up and down like you’ve won the lottery.

At this point, the heroine is practically catatonic. Her world is crumbling before her eyes. You can practically see her brain struggling to process what she’s witnessing: you, her loyal supporter, decked out in Savanaclaw gear and cheering for her rival.

“I... I don’t understand…” she whispers, her voice trembling like she’s been betrayed by the universe itself. “Why aren’t you cheering for us?”

You turn to her with all the nonchalance of someone who’s just ordered fries at a drive-thru. “Uh… Leona’s hot?”

It’s like you slapped her across the face with a wet fish. She stands there, frozen, her eyes wide, like she’s witnessing the fall of an empire. "B-But... you're supposed to support me!"

Before you can reply with another devastating truth bomb, Leona casually strolls over after winning the game, looking like he just walked out of a perfume ad. His hair’s tousled, a thin sheen of sweat making him look even more annoyingly handsome. He stops in front of you, smirking like he’s been planning this moment his entire life.

"Didn’t know you were my biggest fan," he drawls, voice low and lazy. “Gotta say, I’m impressed with your enthusiasm. Screamin’ my name like that… kinda hard to ignore.”

You open your mouth, ready to fire back with something witty, but what comes out is more of a high-pitched squeak, followed by, “Hahaha, Y-Yeah… you’re welcome?”

And then, the words that break you: “How ‘bout we celebrate with a nap?”

Your brain freezes. A nap? You? With Leona? Your heart is doing cartwheels while the rest of your organs are busy melting into a puddle. Your mouth is moving, but all that comes out is an unintelligible “Uhhuhmm.”

Leona chuckles, clearly enjoying how flustered you are. He reaches out, grabbing your wrist, and starts dragging you off with him—right in front of everyone. He doesn’t even care that the entire field is watching. He’s already made up his mind.

The heroine, meanwhile, is standing there in stunned silence, her brain fully blue-screening as she watches you and Leona disappear. She’s still processing the Leona’s comment when the villainess, who has been observing this whole disaster unfold, finally chimes in from the sidelines with a shrug.

“Well, as long as it’s not the heroine,” she says, flicking her hair back with an air of satisfaction. “This is fine.”

And off you go, being dragged to a nap date you’re definitely not mentally prepared for, your face burning hotter than the sun. Leona glances back at you, that smug smirk still plastered on his face. "You’re lookin’ a little red there. You sure you’re up for this?"

You sputter, tripping over your own words. "I-I’m fine! Totally fine! Nap? Cool! Casual napping! No big deal!”

Leona just chuckles again, clearly entertained by how much you're floundering. “If you say so. Just don’t pass out before we get there.”

Yeah. Don’t pass out. Easier said than done when the man of your dreams is casually dragging you off to nap like it's no big deal while your brain screams at you in ten different languages.

This is fine. Totally fine. You’re fine.

Maybe.

You were sitting with Jack and Ruggie at the cafeteria, chatting about nothing in particular—well, Jack was chatting. Ruggie was there purely because you promised to pay for his lunch. Still, you’d like to think that maybe, just maybe, he stuck around because he actually enjoyed your company. Maybe.

“So, any tips on how to deal with midterms?” Jack asked, ears twitching as he looked at you with that wide-eyed eagerness that only first-years ever had. He was honestly like a giant puppy, trying so hard to be good.

You leaned back in your chair, doing your best impression of a wise and worldly senior, which mostly involved pretending you weren’t sweating about your own midterms. “My advice? Caffeine. And if you have the chance to sleep, take it. Oh, and don’t forget to eat. I learned that one the hard way.”

Jack nodded seriously, committing it all to memory like you were passing down sacred knowledge. Meanwhile, Ruggie was on his third helping of food, barely acknowledging the conversation.

"Hey, if you're handing out wisdom, how ‘bout you tell me how to get free food more often?” Ruggie said between bites, shooting you a cheeky grin.

“Isn’t that already your specialty?” you shot back, eyeing the mountain of food in front of him.

He just laughed. “Can’t argue with that, but having backup plans never hurt.”

Before you could respond, you felt a shadow fall over the table. You looked up, half expecting it to be the heroine or some random classmate, but nope. It was Leona. Leona, who you were 99% sure had skipped class because he always skips class. And he looked… annoyed?

Oh no.

He ignored Jack and Ruggie completely, his sharp gaze zeroing in on you like you’d committed some grave crime. “Oi, herbivore,” he drawled, hands in his pockets like this wasn’t weird at all. “Let’s go.”

“Go where?” you asked, blinking up at him. Leona never approached people unless he wanted something.

“To the tree,” he said flatly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“The tree?” Jack echoed, ears perking up in confusion.

Ruggie, on the other hand, was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. “Oho~ Someone’s in demand.”

Leona shot Ruggie a look that could’ve curdled milk. “Shut it, Ruggie.”

Your brain was still trying to process the situation. You were sitting here, minding your own business, giving sage advice about caffeine and survival, and now Leona was dragging you off to his tree like it was completely normal?

He didn’t wait for an answer. He just grabbed your wrist, yanking you up from your seat as if this was some kind of kidnap situation, and started walking toward the courtyard.

“Uh—Leona? What’s going on?” you asked, doing your best to keep up without tripping over your own feet.

Leona didn’t even look back. “You’re talkin’ too much. Need some peace and quiet.”

You blinked, thoroughly confused but not necessarily mad about being dragged off. It’s just… “Why am I involved in your nap plans?”

“’Cause I said so.”

Wow, cryptic. You were about to ask again when you reached the tree. The infamous Leona nap spot. He plopped down against the trunk and, before you could protest, pulled you down next to him. Without another word, he stretched out and—because apparently boundaries didn’t exist—rested his head on your lap.

This was… This was happening.

You glanced around, half expecting to see a camera crew pop out and tell you this was some elaborate prank, but nope. Leona was lounging on you like it was the most natural thing in the world, eyes already closed, arms crossed behind his head.

“Uh, Leona?”

“Shut up. M’ tryin’ to sleep.”

You stared down at him, your brain short-circuiting. This was the third time this week he’d done this. Just… kidnapped you for a nap. What was his deal? Was your lap particularly comfortable? Did you radiate some kind of sleepy aura? What was going on here?

Meanwhile, from the distance, you spotted her. The villainess. Watching. For the third time in as many days. And you could see it. You could see the moment she put the pieces together. Her eyes widened in slow realization, her lips twitching into a smirk. She knew. She finally knew.

When Leona finally woke up—after what felt like hours of you sitting there, too dazed to move—you were free. For now. He stretched lazily and gave you a casual “Thanks,” as if this wasn’t the most bizarre situation you’d ever been in, and you quickly scrambled away, making your way back to the dorms with your head spinning.

And that’s when the villainess cornered you.

Oh no.

There she was, leaning against the doorframe with a knowing look, her sharp gaze trained on you like a predator sizing up its prey. You swallowed nervously. She was about to confront you about the heroine, wasn’t she? This was it. This was the moment. Was she going to declare some rivalry? Challenge you to a duel? Confess to you? Make this whole thing painfully awkward?

She smiled, and it was not the evil grin you were expecting. “I’m on your side.”

You blinked. “…What?”

She pushed off the wall, stepping closer, her eyes gleaming with a new kind of intensity. “Leona. I know you’re after him.”

Your heart stopped. This was it. She was going to call you out and—wait, what did she just say?

“I’ll help you confess to Leona,” she said, matter-of-factly. “On one condition.”

You were staring at her like she’d just sprouted wings and started speaking in tongues. “You… will?”

She nodded. “Yes. If you help me become more influential than that heroine, I’ll help you get Leona to notice you more.”

You blinked again, processing her words. She wanted your help to outshine the heroine, and in exchange, she’d be your wingwoman? Wingwoman?!

You grinned, holding out your hand for a dramatic shake. “Hell yeah.”

She clasped your hand, her smile mirroring yours. "Consider it a deal."

And just like that, you walked away from the most unexpected alliance of your life, fully equipped with a villainess-turned-wingwoman and a new plan to win over Leona.

Honestly? Life was getting weirder by the day.

“Okay, so just to confirm,” Ruggie’s eyes glinted with mischief as he leaned back in his chair, arms folded behind his head. “You want us to sit through this poetry reading,” he said, drawing out the word like it was some cursed phrase, “and cheer for the villainess. And in return, I get all the food left over?”

“Yup,” you nodded, trying to keep a straight face.

“And Jack’s here because…?”

“I asked him nicely.”

Jack shrugged, tail flicking behind him. “I’m just here to help.”

Ruggie snorted, glancing at you with a grin. “This better be some damn good poetry then. And the food better be worth it.”

“Oh, trust me,” you said, patting Ruggie on the back. “It will be.”

Little did you know, this was going to be a disaster of epic proportions.

The poetry reading started as expected—with the heroine striding up to the front of the room, practically glowing under the dim spotlight. She cleared her throat, clasped her hands dramatically, and began.

“It was a night… much like tonight…”

Your first instinct was to cringe, but you held it in, glancing sideways at Jack and Ruggie. Jack was doing his best to stay stoic, but you could see his ears twitching in discomfort. Ruggie had his hand over his mouth, clearly biting back laughter.

The poem continued, painfully dragging on about stars and roses and something about “destiny’s kiss.” By the time she reached the end, there was a collective sigh of relief from the audience. You weren’t even sure what you had just listened to, but you knew it wasn’t good.

Jack… Jack was crying. You stared at him, horrified. “Are you okay?”

“It’s… it’s so bad,” he sniffed, wiping his eyes. “I didn’t know poetry could be this bad.”

Ruggie had his face buried in his hands, shoulders shaking with silent laughter. “This is better than I thought,” he wheezed.

You shot him a look, but even you had to admit, this was pure comedy gold. Poor Jack had no idea what hit him.

The villainess, bless her heart, was watching all of this unfold with a look of shock and confusion, but when it was finally her turn to read, she stepped up like a queen. Her voice was smooth, the words flowing like silk, and you couldn’t help but be genuinely impressed. She absolutely killed it.

The plan was working perfectly. You and your crew started clapping, cheering like you were at a rock concert. Jack, who was still recovering from the emotional trauma of the heroine’s poem, clapped too, albeit more quietly.

But just as you were about to get even louder, you felt a hand on your shoulder. “Oi, sit down,” Leona grumbled, pulling you back into your seat.

“What—?”

He didn’t offer any explanation, just kept you firmly seated next to him, his face set in a bored expression. You blinked in confusion but decided not to argue. It wasn’t like you didn’t enjoy sitting next to Leona… it was just weird.

And by the grin the villainess was sporting, it seems like everything went exactly according to plan. Both for her and you.

After the poetry reading wrapped up, you gathered the leftovers like you promised. Ruggie was already hovering around, practically drooling over the spread.

“Here, take it all,” you said, handing the basket over. “Deal’s a deal.”

Ruggie beamed, clutching the food to his chest like a treasure hoard. “Pleasure doing business with ya!”

Jack was much more polite, bowing his head slightly. “Thanks for the notes. They’ll be a big help.”

“Anytime,” you replied with a smile, watching the two of them head off. Ruggie was already halfway through a sandwich, talking a mile a minute, while Jack followed along, still looking like he might need therapy after the heroine’s performance.

That left you alone… with Leona, who had been standing off to the side, arms crossed, watching you with an unreadable expression.

“What?” you asked, half-expecting him to complain about something. He always had something to complain about.

“You mind explaining what the hell that was?”

“Uh… what do you mean?”

Leona’s tail flicked in irritation, his eyes narrowing. “I’m talking about you, whispering and giggling with that villainess all the time. What, you after her now that you ditched the heroine?”

You blinked at him, utterly baffled. “What? No, of course not. Why would I be after her?”

Leona’s jaw clenched. “You tell me. All I’ve seen is you hangin’ around with her, whispering, plottin’... I’ve seen how you look at her.”

It took a moment for your brain to catch up, but then it hit you like a ton of bricks.

Oh my god. He was jealous.

A slow grin spread across your face as the realization sunk in. Leona, Leona Kingscholar, was jealous. And over you.

Before you could stop yourself, you leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. “You’re jealous~.”

Leona froze, his eyes widening for a split second before narrowing dangerously. “What?”

“You’re jealous,” you repeated, giddiness bubbling up inside you. You could barely contain your excitement. “You’re jealous of me hanging out with the villainess!”

Leona’s lips pulled into a thin line. “You’re imagining things.”

“Oh no, no, no,” you grinned even wider, poking him in the chest. “You’re totally jealous!”

Leona growled, looking thoroughly annoyed now, but before he could snap back, you quickly explained. “Look, I made a deal with her. I help her become more influential than the heroine, and she helps me… confess to you.”

Leona blinked, taken aback, his tail flicking behind him as if processing the information. Then, in true Leona fashion, his expression shifted from irritation to smugness in record time.

“Oh?”

You sighed, shaking your head. “Yeah, so you don’t have to worry about me chasing after anyone else.”

Leona stepped closer, his voice dropping low, that usual lazy drawl making your heart do a little flip. “Good. But just so you know, cheek kisses aren’t real kisses.”

Before you could ask what he meant, Leona leaned in and kissed you—properly kissed you. Your eyes went wide for a second before you melted into it, feeling the heat of his lips against yours. He pulled back after what felt like forever, a smirk on his face as he watched you try to catch your breath.

“There. That’s a real kiss,” he murmured, his voice dripping with smug satisfaction.

You stared at him, dazed, and then a sudden realization hit you.

You left your entire life behind, all for this moment.

And you were so, so glad that stupid plushie was on the floor, because this? This was totally worth it.

The heroine’s voice was as sweet as it was grating, like sugar poured directly into your ears. She fluttered her eyelashes at you, her smile stretched painfully wide. “So, I was thinking,” she began, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. “You would make the perfect knight for my family! Don’t you think so?”

You blinked, trying to figure out a way to escape. “Uh… I’m kind of busy with, you know, my own life?”

“Oh, but imagine!” she gushed, not hearing a word you said. “We’d be so close all the time—like, so close. You could protect me, and maybe… we could have a picnic under the stars? Very romantic, right?”

Your soul was trying to leave your body. You were pretty sure Jack’s ears twitched somewhere nearby, sensing your pain telepathically. And then, like a gift from the heavens, the villainess—your beloved accomplice in all things anti-heroine—made her appearance.

“Sorry to interrupt,” she said, stepping between you and the heroine with the grace of someone who had seen this movie before and knew exactly how to cut to the good parts. “But I need them for an urgent matter. A very important, not-at-all-romantic-but-very-necessary mission.”

You shot her a look of pure gratitude, but before she could fully rescue you from the heroine’s death trap of unwanted flirting, a shadow loomed over the scene. A very familiar shadow.

Leona.

Without saying a word, he strode up behind you and casually wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you back against his chest with an ease that had your heart skipping a beat. He rested his chin on your shoulder, his sharp green eyes fixed on the heroine.

“Oh no, carry on,” he said lazily, but his tone was anything but. “I’m just here to see what my mate is up to.”

The heroine blinked in shock, her hands hovering mid-air as if she had no idea what to do with this development. “Y-Your mate?”

“Yeah,” Leona said, tightening his grip around you, his smirk downright feral. “So whatever little fantasy you’re cooking up about romantic picnics or whatever—cut it out. This one’s mine.”

You felt Leona’s lips brush against your temple before he leaned in and, in full view of the now-utterly-horrified heroine, kissed the side of your neck. Slowly. Possessively.

You could almost hear the villainess muffling a laugh behind her hand.

The heroine’s face turned several shades of red as she stammered. “B-But I—”

“You,” Leona said, his tone dripping with amusement, “can fuck right off.”

The heroine gasped, her hand flying to her chest like she’d been physically struck. “You can’t just say that to me!”

Leona raised a brow, looking thoroughly unimpressed. “I’m literally the second prince. I can say whatever the hell I want.”

The heroine opened her mouth to argue, but then realized that, no, actually, she couldn’t argue with the literal second prince staking his claim. She sputtered for a moment before storming off, no doubt to sob dramatically about her dashed romantic hopes.

Once she was out of sight, the villainess finally let out a snort of laughter. “That was beautiful.”

Leona ignored her, his grip still firm around you as he leaned down to whisper, “Next time, you won’t need her to help you out. Just say my name, and I’ll be there to deal with the pests.”

You stared at him, a little dazed from the whole whirlwind of possessiveness, public displays of affection, and telling someone to ‘fuck right off.’ “You really went for it, huh?”

Leona smirked, leaning in for another kiss. “Damn right I did. And don’t you forget it.”

Somewhere behind you, the villainess was still giggling. You were pretty sure this was going to be gossip for weeks.

But honestly? Totally worth it.

Graduation day—the moment where everyone’s future plans would be declared, and all the chess pieces would fall into place. Or, in your case, the moment where you’d cause absolute chaos.

The grand hall was filled with eager anticipation. Everyone was dressed in their formal graduation robes, students buzzing with excitement over their new titles and responsibilities.

Leona, as expected, lounged at the back like a lion who had better things to do, half-asleep. Villainess stood tall and composed, already plotting her return to her family's estate. Heroine was in full glowing mode, ready to take her place as the beloved of the Grand Duchy.

And you? You stood at the podium, trying not to laugh. You knew what you were about to say would flip this graduation upside down.

One by one, people made their announcements.

When it was finally your turn, all eyes turned to you. The entire hall seemed to hold its breath, knowing the original male lead—you—was supposed to be the retainer of the heroine. It was all set, all according to plan, right?

Wrong.

You cleared your throat, glanced briefly at Leona who smirked lazily, and then made the declaration that would throw this script straight out the window. “I’ve decided to serve as Prince Leona’s right-hand man, personal secretary, and...well, whatever he needs.”

The silence that followed was glorious. Pure, dumbfounded silence.

King Falena, sitting in the front row, visibly blinked. Once. Twice. He tilted his head slightly, confusion written all over his usually composed face. “What?” he muttered, looking like someone just told him a desert hyena had enrolled in ballet school.

Leona, however, didn’t even open his eyes. He just smirked, crossing his arms smugly. “Told ya he’d choose me,” he murmured, almost too casually for someone who’d just stolen the original male lead’s entire plotline.

Falena’s gaze flicked between you and Leona, still processing. Then, slowly, realization dawned. He saw that look on Leona’s face—the one that said “mine, and I dare anyone to challenge it.” King Falena’s confusion morphed into surprise and then, with the subtlety of a royal diplomat, resignation. “Oh…” he whispered, finally understanding. “He’s down bad.”

Leona cracked an eye open just to catch his brother’s expression and grinned wider, like a cat who knew exactly what kind of bird it had in its claws.

Your parents, bless them, were in the crowd with expressions of supportive confusion. Your mother was squinting as if trying to work out if this was some sort of royal prank. Your father leaned in toward her, whispering loudly enough for the entire row to hear, “It’s a royal job, right? That’s prestigious?”

“Yeah, but… Leona?” your mom whispered back.

At this point, the heroine stood up, ready to throw a wrench into the works. “Wait! You’re supposed to be my—"

Before she could finish, the villainess, in all her dramatic glory, made her move. With the grace of a queen and the audacity of a mastermind, she stepped right up to the heroine, flipped her luxurious hair, and said, “Actually, I was going to ask you out.”

You blinked. Wait, what?

The entire room gasped. You could almost hear heads snapping toward the villainess like a collective whip crack.

Heroine’s mouth opened and closed like she was a fish drowning in air. “I—what?”

“Dinner. Candlelight. Maybe a picnic. You and me, a date. Sound good?” The villainess winked with such charm that even the professors in the back were wide-eyed.

Heroine blinked rapidly, as if trying to reboot her brain. “Uh… sure?” she squeaked, still reeling from the fact that her entire romantic arc had just gotten hijacked.

You stared at the villainess in pure confusion. “What just happened?” you whispered, looking at her for an explanation.

The villainess simply turned to you with a mischievous grin, giving you a sly thumbs-up like this had been part of her master plan all along.

You were still processing the fact that you were witnessing the greatest plot twist of all time. You returned a half-hearted, bewildered thumbs-up, unsure if this was a win or not.

Meanwhile, the professors up front were clearly on their last thread of patience. The head of the academy rubbed his temples, sighing deeply as if this whole day had aged him a decade. “That’s it,” he said, voice strained with exhaustion. “Everyone’s graduated. Just...leave. Please.”

And with that, the ceremony abruptly ended. You couldn’t help but laugh at the professor’s exasperation as the crowd started to disperse, still buzzing with gossip.

Leona slid up next to you, his hand casually resting on your waist as you walked out of the hall together. “So, my right-hand man, huh?”

You shrugged. “Figured I might as well make it official.”

Leona smirked, leaning down to murmur in your ear, “Just don’t expect me to go easy on you.”

You rolled your eyes, but your smile betrayed you. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

And then he kissed you. In front of everyone.

King Falena, witnessing this public display of territorial claims, just shook his head with a resigned sigh. “Well, as long as it’s official…” he muttered, casting an approving glance toward you. “Congratulations, I guess.”

Your parents were still in shock, but when they saw that it was a royal seal of approval, they immediately switched gears. “A royal job!” your mom whispered excitedly. “That’s so prestigious!”

With that, Leona tugged you away from the chaos, his arm never leaving your waist as you walked toward the exit. You glanced back one last time to see the heroine still staring blankly at the villainess, who had now looped her arm around her like it was the most normal thing in the world.

The head of the academy, now red in the face, shouted after you as you reached the door, “I SAID EVERYONE GO, FOR THE LOVE OF THE GREAT SEVEN!”

You walked out into the sunlight, trying not to laugh, while Leona leaned in, his lips brushing your ear as he murmured smugly, “Looks like you’re stuck with me.”

And honestly? You wouldn’t have it any other way.

It was a day like any other, except you were meeting the villainess in her newly acquired estate. She had officially taken over as the head of her family, and the new title suited her all too well. The whole place screamed, I am in charge, with a side of don’t even think about challenging me unless you want to cry in public. You admired the aesthetic.

The villainess greeted you with her usual regal flair, sweeping into the room like she’d been born to dominate it—which, to be fair, she had. She offered you tea, which you politely declined, sensing that this wasn’t just a casual catch-up.

"So, what's new with you, Lady Villainess?” you asked, leaning back, fully expecting some grand declaration about her political conquests or business victories.

She smiled—a dangerous, knowing smile that made you immediately suspicious. "Well, I wanted to tell you something rather... unexpected."

You raised an eyebrow. Unexpected? Coming from her? That had to be good.

"I'm dating the heroine," she said casually, sipping her tea as if she hadn't just dropped the biggest plot twist since the whole 'villainess takes over' arc.

You nearly choked on absolutely nothing, mouth hanging open in sheer disbelief. "Wait. What?"

She smiled serenely, her expression the perfect picture of innocence—which made it all the more ridiculous. “Yes, darling. The heroine and I are officially a couple.”

You blinked. “The same heroine who couldn’t tell a poisoned apple from a regular one if her life depended on it?”

“The very same.”

“The one who gets lost in her own estate if she turns too many corners?”

“Yes, that one.”

You couldn't help it. The sheer absurdity of the situation hit you, and you burst out laughing. "Oh, that is rich. How in the world did that happen?”

The villainess leaned back, looking thoroughly pleased with herself. “Oh, it was simple, really. I realized I was always drawn to her... naiveté. And once I stopped trying to sabotage her every move, well, things just fell into place.”

You were still laughing, shaking your head in disbelief. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for you two, but this is the best thing I’ve heard in weeks.”

The villainess gave you a mock glare. “Don’t act so surprised. I’ve always had impeccable taste.”

“Oh, impeccable taste, huh?” you teased. “I just didn’t expect it to lead you straight to a walking ball of sunshine.”

“Well, someone needs to keep her from wandering into traffic.”

Still snickering, you stood up. “Alright, alright, I get it. You’re a saint for dealing with her.”

“I know,” she sighed dramatically, “but love makes us do ridiculous things.”

"Tell me about it," you muttered, still amused. You waved goodbye and promised to catch up later, your mind reeling from this new, absolutely hilarious development.

When you got back to the palace, you found Leona lounging in his usual spot, sprawled out on a couch like a lion that had just taken over the whole savannah. He barely glanced up as you walked in, already sensing the amused energy radiating off you.

“You’re grinning like an idiot,” he muttered, rolling his eyes. “What happened?”

You plopped down next to him, barely containing your laughter. “You won’t believe this. The villainess is dating the heroine now.”

Leona’s eyes flicked open, and for a split second, he looked like he didn’t believe you. Then, slowly, a smirk spread across his face as he processed the information. “You’re messing with me.”

“Nope. Dead serious. They’re a couple now. In love.” You leaned in, grinning. “The villainess—ice queen herself—is head over heels for Miss Pure Sunshine.”

Leona actually chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. “Well, I’ll be damned. Never saw that one coming.”

“I know, right? It’s the most chaotic thing ever, and I am living for it.”

Leona’s smirk turned into a full-on grin, which was rare enough to be considered a national treasure. He shifted, sitting up slightly. “You think we’ll get an invite to the wedding?”

You snorted. “Oh, you bet. I’m going to be front row just to see how she manages to keep the heroine from accidentally setting her own dress on fire.”

Leona’s laugh rumbled low in his chest, and he reached out, grabbing your wrist. “Come here,” he ordered, tugging you toward him.

“What? No, I’ve got work to do,” you protested weakly, but your protests didn’t mean much when he effortlessly pulled you into his lap.

“Work can wait. This is more important,” he grumbled, wrapping his arms around you in a possessive hug that made it very clear you weren’t going anywhere.

You sighed, leaning into him. “You just want to cuddle, don’t you?”

“I want you to stop running around and actually relax for once,” he retorted, resting his chin on top of your head. “Besides, it’s not like the kingdom’s gonna fall apart if we take a break.”

You rolled your eyes, but a smile tugged at your lips. “I should get a promotion. I’m basically doing all the work around here.”

Leona chuckled again, his grip tightening just slightly. “Yeah, well, don’t let Falena hear that. He might actually make you his advisor, and then I’ll never get any alone time with you.”

You snorted. “Oh please, you’d just kidnap me from work if that happened.”

“Damn right,” he muttered, his voice low and satisfied. “You’re mine, remember?”

You felt your heart do that annoying flutter thing as Leona’s possessive tone settled over you. Even when he was being a lazy lion, he made you feel like the most important thing in his life. It was comforting—and kind of hilarious, considering how little he cared about everything else.

The room fell into a comfortable silence, and for once, you actually allowed yourself to relax, leaning into Leona’s warmth. His arms tightened around you again, and you could feel the soft rise and fall of his chest as he started to drift off into a nap, his grip never loosening.

As you closed your eyes, you couldn’t help but think that, despite all the absurdities in your life—from slipping on a plushie to your best friend falling in love with her former rival—you wouldn’t trade any of it. Not for the world.

And as Leona’s breath slowed into the steady rhythm of sleep, you allowed yourself a small, contented smile.

Life was chaotic. But it was also perfect.

Series Masterlist ; Masterlist

Idia won the previous poll! Now for the next,

[alastorssimpforever]

I Have Things to Say

(This is going to be critical of the results of this poll. Don't like. Don't read).

I am forgot to comment on the results of this poll. But honestly, I knew who was going to win.

Despite them being a father-daughter duo. And of course, Lucifer showing up in only two episodes while Charlie is the main character...Lucifer is the favorite.

Let's be honest guys these two a literal copy and paste personality wise. And I have noticed that when writers or artists or literally anyone writes Lucifer as a whiner (especially about Lilith or depression). He is painted as pitiful and someone to be cared for.

Charlie has depression as well and has gone through a lot, people portray her as whiny brat. LUCIFER IS A BRAT AS WELL! And plenty of people in this fandom paint him as a manchild. Which is seen as cute. If Charlie did the same, it would be seen as hysterical and weak.

I've seen plenty of hate about her being needy and a typical whiny main character. Let's be honest if she were a man (AKA literally Lucifer. He's a copy and paste. SHE IS THE ORIGNIAL in writing at least) she would be loved much more. She'd be everyone's little fuckboy like Lucifer has turned out to be.

And do not get me started on Chaggie. I've seen too many people underappreciate that ship and call it boring. It's a stable cute relationship between two women. If it was two men, they would be frothing at the mouth and fawning over it.

Yet another example is Charlastor. If she were a man in that relationship people would grow crazy. Such as the case with R/adioapple which screams toxic yaoi. But oh no, if Charlastor is a bit toxic there's a power dynamic with Al being in power and Charlie is naive.

No, Charlie is not naive. She knows who Alastor is. SHE LIVES IN HELL! She's two hundred years old. Give her some credit for crying out loud. I've met plenty of people that are bubbly and optimistic yet have wisdom. Not everyone has to be cynical to be wise and I've met plenty of cynical people who are ignorant.

I am not targeting anyone specifically nor am I bashing. I love R/adioapple and I love Lucifer. I love really all the ships really. I am simply observing behaviors in this fandom. I find it to be both disturbing and fascinating to see the double standards.

(I got a little sidetracked about the ships. I have just seen a strange almost fetishization of mlm ships. I mostly judge ships based onthe chemistry and quality. the sexuality of the ship does not matter to me).

(Also no I am not telling you what character or ship to like. I am just saying it is interesting to see what people are drawn to and the underlying conscious).

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

Can I ask for your reasoning behind the Jake and Vriska pairing? This isn't out of hate or anything i am just very curious

3/4 of the alpha kids are IMMEDIATELY introduced with "btw, here's the dead troll you're supposed to date".

Your name is ROXY. God DAMN do you love WIZARDS. (Editor's Note: also Princes. A Prince who is also a wizard? Holy shit.)

So he made a couple of coy recommendations for objects of your attraction, and you have hung his COBALT BEEFCAKES here since. He was pretty spot on with the blue Funke, to be honest, since that's like the best show ever. Mr. Cross can blue himself any time, as far as you are concerned. [...] There is also your magnificent SWANSON. Ron Swanson is the PERFECT MAN.

And Jake's is the most blatant, in my opinion:

But who needs chums, when you can enjoy a top notch gander of your GALS OF CERULEAN COMPLEXION, HUBBA HUBBA. You are oft-times the recipient of a good ribbing from Jane on account of your peculiar fascination with blue movie ladies. You don't have to justify yourself to her though. What is even her deal? Any fella would be off his ROCKER not to fawn over all these BODACIOUS BLUE KNOCKOUTS. You want to make out with all of them. Dear, sweet Neytiri from James Cameron's Avatar. Oh, if only you were the one who could have overcome his paralysis on an alien adventure planet to become her boyfriend, instead of that other guy. Then she could have shown you how to be bold and courageous, and stand up to fight for your people, and maybe later, engage in a bizarre extraterrestrial reproductive process involving ponytails, and a magical tree you guess?

So for those keeping score, Roxy and Eridan, Jane and Equius (moment of silence), and Jake and Vriska. It's further proven by how stunningly hot he finds Aranea, who is a dead ringer for Vriska, and further supported by the fact that Jake is very much Vriska's type - she has a weird red, vascillatory thing for Tavros, and briefly dates John. Tavros is a Page, and John shares many genetic personality similarities with Jake, his ecto-grandpa. Honestly, if I were to distill down Vriska's taste in guys into one single person, it would just be Jake.

And yeah, I know that he and Vriska basically have nothing going on between them post-retcon, but I only consider everything after Game Over to be soft canon anyway, since by that point it's clear that Hussie has no intention of finishing Homestuck the way it was originally intended to end (there are way too many dangling plot threads, many of the choices - especially revolving around Vriska - seem genuinely aimed to make as much of the fandom upset as possible, and the tone and themes swerve wildly from their original trajectories in a way that feels rushed and incongruous). Pre-Retcon, the comic is gunning HARD for red Vriska/Jake endgame, and I put more weight on that than post-retcon's weird personality-regressed Vriska.

So I am specifically talking about post-character-development Vriska and Jake - Vriska who's had her feelings jams with John, proper apology and reconciliation with Aradia, Sollux, and Tavros, and is in a stable moirallegiance - Vriska who no longer feels the need to be such a massive bitch all the time and isn't trying to solo the game and steal the spotlight. Vriska at her best would probably be really healthy for him - Jake clearly enjoys a challenge much more than Tavros (though not enough to work well with Dirk), and Vriska clearly has a thing for goofy little failboys. It's not gay but not everything can be a W for us fujos, sadly.

[mouthwashingconfessionsblog]

the very many utter dogshit takes and things ive seen depicted in this fandom disappoint the FUCK out of me.

the people romanticizing lobotomies and lobotomy victims? the insanely weird ties to jimmy and beastiality? the people who are being downright ableist to post-crash curly? it's fucking insane. not to even mention anya and her victimhood / pregnancy.

OH. AND PEOPLE BEING WEIRD ABOUT JIMMY AND THE IMPLICATIONS OF HIM BEING NEAR POVERTY OR HOMELESSNESS AND THUS INSINUATING HE'S CONSTANTLY DIRTY OR GROSS. GO FUCK YOURSELVES FOR THAT ONE!

people also completely faulting curly for what happened also is kinda shitty, because if i'm not mistaken he's also a victim of jimmy's abuse and thus was using the "fawn" response upon hearing anya's confession to him. (similar to what she ended up doing later on the series, actually. except she complimented him to try to lessen the blow of any rejection or any consequence she would have faced for asking jimmy to feed curly his pills. [she couldn't/wouldn't because she was very hormonal due to Being Pregnant, and the thought of forcing the pills for curly made her incredibly upset, among other reasons.] also anya is more than her trauma. you know this, right? it's important to me that people know this. you guys can draw her smiling or something. for once.

so many people in this fandom make me fucking sick. mouthwashing fandom be normal for seven fucking seconds. failed immediately.

this is really heated and incredibly emotional and aggressive and i Get That, but i've seen all of this happen and it's being normalized and it's genuinely weird.

do some fucking research on what a lobotomy does to a person and how the procedures were done unwillingly on mostly housewives to keep them obedient to their husbands / in the case of rosemary kennedy, done on her by her father for her showing of traits of mental illness. don't boil down the comment jimmy said to anya of the "finding cartoon horses sexually attractive" or whatever to just "heehoo i wanna fuck a horse" or to just straight beastiality. don't be fucking weird about people who are near-homelessness or near-poverty. don't be fucking weird towards disabled people. get that GROWN MAN AWAY FROM THE FUCKING BRIGHTLY COLORED BUTTONS LIKE HE'S THAT DAMN DOG ON TIKTOK WHO CAN SPEAK. HE IS A GROWN HUMAN BEING HE CAN USE THE PROPER COMMUNICATIVE DEVICES! among some other things that, if i mentioned, i might as well just be writing a thesis paper on this shit. because good lord. part of this could just be confined to twitter only or whatever but as with anything on the web, it bleeds over. be normal, everyone. for five damn seconds. ugh. mouthwashing is not something you can just put blanket statements to and label one character as explicitly good or bad. a lot of people need to shut the fuck up and do some proper research. sincerely, someone who's pissed off in this fandom. <3.

.

[hopeymchope]

Looking more at femc I can see why she’s so popular in fact when it comes to the persona protagonists in my opinion she’s tied with narukami for best personality and funniest protagonist

(This is especially funny considering the fandom makes yu out to be the most flirtatious protagonist and yet femc was the first one to be able to woo not just one but two eldritch otherworldly beings before narukami)

(For the record I’m referring to the velvet room employees and ryoji)

You really have a good point about how FeMC being able to literally court Death itself is just fucking crazy.

Velvet room attendants are one thing — all of them seem to be fascinated by and in awe of normal humans anyway, so perhaps it's not AS insane for a human to romance them. But Ryoji?! I know he's already kind of a flirt, but even so: Dating the cosmic embodiment of death is truly some next-level shit. ............ Though I suppose that Narukami is ALSO capable of romancing one of the Persona universe's cosmic gods by way of Marie in Persona 4 Golden. Which I guess further strengthens the idea that Yu and Kotone share some similarities.

.....in fact, when you take that all into account, it's kind of surprising that Joker never gets the option to romance any otherworldly beings. Makoto can romance Elizabeth, Kotone can romance Theodore/Elizabeth (depending on which you randomly get) or Ryoji, and Yu can romance Marie. Joker doesn't have any crazy-ass inhuman romance options, though. Being able to date his teacher is gonna have to be crazy enough for him. :P

I actually opted to romance Akihito with FeMC when I played through P3P, however. Just a normal human romance. And despite that? It culminates in a wild moment that I don't think any normal person could realistically pull off.

To begin with, dating Akihito is already somethingo f an accomplishment because he's a guy that's constantly shown as being fawned over by girls at school, yet he never gives any of them the time of day. But hey, you've got an "in," right? You're both members of S.E.E.S., you share a dorm and a deeper understanding of the world. So maybe it makes sense that Kotone would get to worm her way into his heart where those others can't.

But Akihito doesn't actually confess his love to Kotone. Instead, he expresses confusion about his feelings, and SHE is the one who tells HIM that he's in love with her. And he's just like "Guess so" and decides she's right?!

Holy. SHIT.

The sheer, unmitigated chutzpah. The unrestrained, mind-blowing rizz. It is incalcuable.

[sickofthistoxicshit]

Here's the thing, I have nothing against Lou/Tommy, but the accessive enthusiasm of him returning and everyone already talking about him showing up for next season,

Which if any of you watched for the last 7 seasons, it is very possible because writers love to drag temps over to the next seasons because apparently breakups are for season beginners, mostly (except for taylor),

is very off-putting.

1. Because the dude literally just showed up and they haven't even had one worthy make out session to even call it a situationship.

2. Buck hurt Eddie physically to get into Tommy's mouth and pants, which ruined it for me from the start tbh and Tommy had nothing to do with it, he was just there.

3. Buck has made Maddie's day, his coming out party - that is a big NO in my book. Because one, dude you literally came out, what if you decide eventually that you don't want this or don't want this with this specific first-guy-ever anymore? And two SHE IS YOUR SISTER THE LEAST YOU CAN DO IS HAVE HER LEAVE ON HER HONEYMOON BEFORE YOU KILL YOUR PARENTS OF A HEART- ATTACK.

Even if they "seem accepting" to Buck’s face, this takes time to process, something better revealed in time and in private, once one is sure. Not thinking and talking about this the whole wedding!

And yes, I know, Buck is impulsive, but think for a second, would you want your baby brother to hijacke your wedding after so long of planning it? I know I would have killed him.

Would have told him in advance that if he's bringing his new boyfriend to my wedding, he better tell our parents first. Because this is my fucking day!

I love Buck, but his self-centered personality rubs me the wrong way this season.

Maybe because I wanted to see him growing the fuck up after 7 years and so many traumas and experiences and therapy that he went through, but nope, same old Buck, only instead of the dating the girl who gave him attention, he's seeing the guy who gave him attention.

It's annoying, it's off putting and frankly I am so mad at the writers and Tim for this because these characters deserved better.

And don't talk to me about representation because Shonda did the bi representation in Station 19 perfectly to the point that I was bummed that Travis and Eli didn't end up as endgame even though I loved Emmett with Travis.

Again somehow the 911 writers managed to taint for me what should have been and amazing experience, independent completely of buddie, but no they managed to not only mix Eddie and Buck with Tommy, the whole thing came at the expense of Eddie, physically and mentally, because not only did Buck not apologized to Eddie, Eddie also lost his new friend who now fawns over Buck.

So screw this storyline, I hate it and I hate how everyone is OK with everything that happened in the story, just because Buck is doing a dude(kissing really, there was no doing yet).

There's a lot of blocking in my future, most are just ppl who either came in now because of bi Buck or those who came from other disappointing fandoms and are just here for the rep not the actual story.

But some of us have been here since S1, we want the rep, but we want it to be complimenting, we want to fall in love with the character before it turns into a LI, we want the emotion, the connection, the obvious love building over several years.

Like Casey and Gabby and Severide and Stella, like Maya and Carina, like Travis and Emmett (even though I liked Eli better for him) like Sullivan and Natasha.

I want an emotional payout, give up the surprises, and the wrecked trucks and ships, just tell a good story!

And for the love of all that's holy, enough with the last-minute changes, those never turn out well in the long run. They literally started from scratch when they made the switch between Eddie and Buck.

Also in my opinion, Eddie had a LOT more chemistry with Lou/Tommy than Buck. It would have made so much more sense, in the catholic guilt and internal homophobia department, the nun and supposedly commitment issues was weak at best.

It could have been epic. 😩

And yes, Buck could have started the season single, no harm in that, maybe make him, I don't know, actually growing into something that he would like without someone else to pet his ego? Go back to therapy, work for the LT. exams, be interim captain, realize his worth and learn to love himself for him, not because someone else gave him attention and that made him preen, get him somewhere worthy. Even lessons with Tommy without involving Eddie in this would have been great.

Just something that shows character development, because up until now all I get is S2/S3 Buck and I've seen that movie before, I want my money back.

I realize this is harsh, and normally, I would stick to the light and fun and ignore the rest, but this had to be said out loud so I can go back to that.

That being said, as I said, I will watch Madney wedding purely for Madney. Anything else is just a bonus. I can't wait for that bachelor party and see wth happens to Chimney.

Happy Monday, my loves. ❤️

[taliasmoonz]

Hi sisi! Can you write mephisto fell in love with the reader?

The reader is one of the princesses and her power is like the red spider lily and she is a kind person and she don't hate anyone.

Oh and please I want to see his reaction when he get jealous, like when he see the reader with another man.

Sorry if there was any mistakes, my english is not good. 😅

Hello !! Of course I can! Your English is good don't worry about that , my English isn't good at times either lol! :3

✧˖°

Hey! Sorry I forgot to specify this in my rules, but you can pick from hcs, a story, or hcs and a story !! Sorry if the story seems rushed, if you'd like I'll write a full version without the hcs that's better😥

"𝑰'𝒎 𝒂 𝑪𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒂, 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐��, 𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 ~"

Fandom: Lolirock

Mephisto/up to you Reader !!

Warnings: Jealousy(?), Fluff, small mentions of injury, the usual praxina being a hater, small angst(?), no beta we die like princesses

Inspirations: forbidden love, love on different sides,

☆ When he first notices that he's falling in love with you, the signs were always clear atleast. Out of all the princesses he avoided fighting you when he could.

☆taking on Anyone else, using weaker spells, flirting with you whilst bantering. It always made his day when you laughed at his stupid flirting, or flirted back even if it meant as a joke at first.

☆ Being in the eyes of graymorr and praixna he was hesitant to actually tell, knowing it'd get him in trouble. He would hint it, rather its obvious hints or not.

☆ he'd probably try to prepare something grand of crystal to impress you, but praxina would turn it into a monster thus ruining it for him, making him hide his love for you till it felt safe. Even with his longing he wants you to be safe.

~~~

☆ now, jealous mephisto? It usually doesn't happen, but when it does he's more or so like a sad puppy then anything else. It doesn't flare up unless you actually go out on dates or fawn too much over a boy, he wishes it was him.

☆ Say for a chance, that a guy asked you out and you said yes. He'd probably find it out and be sad, but praxina most likely would try to use it as an opportunity to crush the princesses once again.

☆ Scenario Start !!☆

Hearing those words from a boys mouth,-- the guy you partially didn't want, yet you still said yes. The one you couldn't have was what you wanted. "Will you go out with me?" You knew the guy from helping him and he was pretty cute-- well .. anyways. You were getting ready with a smile, Auriana gushing in the background at how lucky you are. "Oh my gosh! That'd the cutest dress!" She squealed out as she helped you. "He's sure to be impressed!"

You smile and laugh. "Yeah, hope so." About 40 minutes or so later you leave the house with your bag, ready to go onto your date. With a aching-- yet so pounding heart. Passing an Alleyway you hear praxina laugh and tense up. Really? You think to yourself as ground shaking footsteps grow behind you. Mephisto-- wasn't there? Only praxina. "This is sure to get iris's attention." She laughed, the gem monster squeezed you tight making your heart pound.

However when praxina commanded the monster to "Destory her." It was shot by green crystals?... "hey,!" Mephistos voice boomed as the monster dropped you. "Hey uh--" his face flushed as he went to you. "pretty princess." He flirted badly. Despite the awkwardness it brought a smile to your face. He shielded the monster from you, only angering his sister more. "Are you seriously going soft!? Over some princess?" She snarled. "I told you to get over it!" The monster attacked once agian.

Taking a chance to transform you and mephisto fought her off, the monster shattering. "Whatever. We have to talk about this." Praxina grumbled before going off. "Thats fine with me." He put a hand on his hips before turning to you. "I.." he sounded smaller, a bit more scared now. "I Think i--" you cut him off. Blushing gently. "Have a crush on me?" You tilted your head. Not giving him a chance to reply you kiss his cheek gently. Mephisto hesitantly grabs your chin gently. "May i?.." "yes.." you murmured as he pressed his lips agianst yours.

[yharnamsnewslug]

I find it insane how the most interesting characters in these adventure rpg games always end up being the ones people just absolutely abhor?? Because they don't fawn over you at every step?

With a very, very VERY loud exception..... Astarion.

I wonder a lot, sometimes, if Astarion had been a woman, if he'd been anything other than white, if people would be as obsessed with him as they are - and mischaracterizing him as well, btw, none of you understand even an ounce of his character.

But now Veilguard is out, and I'm replaying Inquisition after TEN YEARS OF NOT TOUCHING IT and I've found that a lot of character I disliked or didn't really know are probably my favorites now?

Take Cassandra; she's a FANTASTIC study in leadership and self-worth, and I genuinely think my Inquisitor loves her to death and would follow her anywhere. In my first playthrough, I hated Vivienne because she wanted to control the mages in circles and I was and still am a Anders Blowing Up the Chantry Was Good Actually guy.

But. But. In this new playthrough, my Inquisitor is a mage and had a profound conversation with her, where he mourned the people lost at Haven - and she comforted me, and gave me genuine good advice, which shifted her character form a Pompous Orlais Circle Mage to; hey, she asked to JOIN the Inquisition and be part of the fight against Corypheus. Why did she join, truly?

And she tells you - magic has the purpose of helping mankind. She believes magic shouldn't mean danger, but aid, for people. And we've already gone through Alexius, and the whole timey wimey thing. Leilanna plainly tells you: "this is why magic HAS To be controlled. Do you SEE what happened?"

And I actually HESITATED SO HARD at that shit.

Man, DA: Inquisition is STILL fantastic for this.

In any case, I truly think racism and misogyny and misogynoir play a huge part into people hating Lae'zel, Vivienne, Taash and the like. I find it very dishonest, too, when people don't rethink their biases or pretend they never were biased in the first place.

The hate a lot of these characters get, and the way the FavoritesTM get twisted and mangled into something they're absolutely not is fascinating and sad, tbh. I wonder if Veilguard is any good, and I want to play it. But man, if people become fans the way Baldur's Gate 3 fans have been..... I'd rather not engage in the fandom.

[fangirlanxiety74]

Vent ahead about Mouthwashing but I'm not tagging Mouthwashing because I don't wanna bother the people on the tag so feel free to ignore.

Sigh

This is a hot take maybe: The fandom would be nicer and more understanding of Curly if he was a girl. I'm calling it right now, they would be. They would suddenly understand that Jimmy abused him, that his fawn response and people pleaser mentality got in the way of protecting Anya and wouldn't villainize him for it, that his worst moment was being too nice for his own good.

I think I'm just gonna step away from Mouthwashing as a whole entirely and only discuss it with people who I trust (You know who you are if I do trust you, we've talked on it before). It's not fun interacting with this fandom when all I do is get headaches and spiral over how they treat Curly.

I know he's fictional. I know it's stupid. I can't help it. I see my own past in Curly's fate. I remember the abuse my friends put me through. I remember how hard I defended them against people who didn't like them. I remember losing people who cared about me over it. Because I'm too nice for my own good, and I just want the best for everyone.

I know it's a problem. I know I'm better now. But I also had years of therapy and cut them all off. I wasn't put in an impossible situation where I had to interact with those people as part of my job, be responsible for them, be trapped with them in the confines of space. I wasn't given the impossible situation of only having 24 hours to solve it when things got dangerous. I wasn't threatened with making the whole group, including myself, not receive their paycheck for handling it. The only thing that kept me from cutting them off was my warped sense of reality. That maybe I was overreacting, that I was being a bad friend, a bad person, by telling them it wasn't okay. I was convinced somehow that I was the bad guy. And then when I did cut them off, I was still treated as the bad guy, so what difference would it make?

Curly is in a "damned if he does, damned if he doesn't" scenario as far as I can tell. If he reprimands Jimmy, if he does anything to stop him, he's not only gotta process all of that trauma Jimmy put him through that he's not ready to face yet, but even worse, he's gonna get the entire group in trouble and make them lose money; money that they need because it's a capitalist hellscape that cares more about a job being done than the safety of their workers.

However, look at what happens when he didn't. He's suddenly called a rapist apologist, a rapist defender, an enabler, a rapist himself, etc. He's treated even worse than Jimmy is. I went into this game thinking I was gonna hate Curly because of how fucking awful the fandom treats him. This whole "he defended Jimmy and failed Anya" spiel they all had was him just... Trying to protect Anya from getting hurt. By saying he'd handle it. By freezing up and doing a fawn response, trying to deescalate Jimmy and calm him down before anything could happen. Was it enough? No. It will never be enough. That doesn't mean he didn't want to try anyway. Dead Pixel scene; he said he'd go crazy trying to figure out what Anya was talking about. He didn't dismiss or ignore her; he believed her that the pixel was there. But he's too nice for his own good, and his brain was blocking it out. There was too much at stake to acknowledge it right then and there.

And it's obvious he didn't even realize Anya was talking about Jimmy SAing her when she told him about the Dead Pixel; he's literally unaware of what she's talking about. He doesn't know shit about Jimmy assaulting her until she tells him she's pregnant and reminds him of their dead pixel convo (Which happened the literal day before she told him she was pregnant, mind you). And then before Curly could help solve it, Jimmy crashed the ship 24 hours later.

I'm making no sense right now. I know everyone who reads this, or at least a majority, will call me a lot of fucking words I don't wanna type out because of what I'm saying.

"Well, if I was Curly-"

But you're not.

"If I was the captain-"

But you're not.

"If I-"

But you're not.

Curly is a victim. No matter how morally grey you wanna call him, he's still a victim. Not a "perfect" victim, not an "innocent uwu bean who did no wrong," no he did wrong, he made mistakes, but he is still. A fucking. Victim. It's just that what he did wrong was be too nice for his own good. And everyone else's own good. And I can't exactly be mad at him for that, when I get it. When I have been in his shoes before.

And really, seriously, do you think everyone would call him a good, a great captain, if he was anything like you're saying? Do you think Anya would trust him with any of this info if she thought he wasn't going to do something to help? She's not helpless. She's smart enough to know who to trust and who not to trust. She knew Curly was Jimmy's friend.

Also, one final thing: If you call Curly a bad person, or think he should have done more to help, or any of that bs, but then go on to defend Swansea and say he's your fave, or that he's better than Curly, please remember Swansea admitted in his speech before dying that he was a bad person. Remember that Anya also told him, directly, about her SA and all Jimmy got from him was "Yeah, she said a lot about you." Remember that he had an axe and didn't use it.

I'm not interacting with this fandom anymore until I can get a therapist I think. Because I know this shouldn't trigger me this badly. But it does. And I can't handle it. So until I can talk to a professional who can help me out with this, just. Yeah.

Also, I'm willing to block people and delete this post if y'all end up being that mean to me. Watch it. Curly might've not been able to do anything, but I sure can.

[thispatternismine]

ATLA live action impressions part 2

Following on from last night's post, here are my impressions of eps 5-8

Still really loved it. Gonna be tarred & feathered for this but I actually like it better than the animated show

Highlights:

Ozai giving Zuko credit for finding the Avatar. There's this weird idea in the fandom that Ozai never intended to take Zuko back. Even though we saw him do exactly that at the beginning of Book 3. Yes he set an impossible task, but when Zuko (apparently) achieved it, he was like 'ok yeah cool - you have met my standards'. Sure, there's no way Zuko would have continued to meet those standards if he'd stuck around, but Ozai did actually keep his word. The fact that he does it to make sure Azula knows she's overstepped & remind her she's replaceable, is an especially nice touch

Getting to see how Azula is treated by her father. I've seen way too many people try to claim Azula was never abused because she wasn't literally set on fire like he was. Never mind that she avoided that fate only because she was able to meet his standards. And having to constantly strive to meet the standards set by someone who thinks 'find a guy who's been missing for a century' is a suitable task to set his kid is abuse.

Another annoying tendency of the fandom is to flanderise Ozai into some diabolical caricature who spends all his time thinking up new ways to torment poor Zuzu, so having that scene of him banishing Zuko was a nice touch. He genuinely believes he is being a good dad & raising his kid to be strong (note: This isn't me saying Ozai is right - I'm saying he thinks he's right.)

The 41st Division 😭

Iroh & Ozai interacting with each other

Gyatso!

I spy some female soldiers! A problem with the animated show was that it's all well & good deciding that the Fire Nation has female soldiers, but bias is a thing & 99.9% of the time if you ask someone to draw a soldier it'll be a man. Yeah sure they all stayed to guard the Fire Nation that's why we didn't see any till Book 3 suuure

"Anything you need." "It has to do with Koh." "Anything but that." DYING

Aang's whole speech to Zuko about how helpful his notebook was (let's be real Iroh probably sighed & told him it was a waste of time so this was the first time he heard 'Hey good job on the Avatar research!') & the way they bonded before he unwittingly set Zuko off

"Quit it before they think there's something wrong with you. More than there already is."

"The Firelord deems your performance... below average." OOF. Pretty sure that's the worst thing you can possibly say to Azula. She'd much rather be told she sucked outright than just 'meh'

Waterbender Yue

Non-arsehole Hahn

Using Kuruk lore from the Kyoshi books!

I like the changes to the NWT siege. Having the spirits' mortality be an occasional, temporary thing to gain an appreciation of life that occurs during a full moon when the powers of those who will protect them in that state are at their peak, makes more sense than permanent vulnerability that relies on nobody finding out. Also never made sense that a naval officer was stationed in a fucking desert & was able to just take time off to go through a spirit library, so having Zhao find his info from the Fire Sages works better IMO. I do hope we'll still get the spirit library though

Ozai's lil eyetwitch when Azula backtalked him like if you agree

Haven't mentioned yet but I love the costumes in this

Also never mentioned Momo, the Real Hero of ATLA

Sokka continues to be awesome

Lowlights:

June calling Iroh cute & fawning over him. Normally I'd think it's unfair for the live action version of a character to be held accountable for what the animated version did, but this leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Like og!Iroh's groping of June being treated like a joke has been called out many times so they fucking had to know what they were doing

Why isn't Azula's fire blue? We got like 1 second of it & that's it. Maybe consistent blue flames are a power up she'll obtain later idk

[krikeymate]

I feel like all my anonymous requests are really depressing cause I’m just a lil angst goblin.

I was reading a fic where Sam was getting beat up cause if the rumours about her and I was thinking about how the deaths of the Bailey family would play into that conspiracist narrative. I was especially thinking about ethan’s death I mean even if you just look at the scream fandom there are pages and pages on Ethan who really didn’t have that much of an impact but…SHOCKER, he’s white, male and conventionally attractive so it’s literally impossible to escape him (no hate or anything but cmon fandom let the other characters shine) anyways I got so side tracked there. I can imagine Ethan being really glorified and fawned over by people in the scream universe itself in was way that actual serial killers were because people thought they were attractive (ew). Upon hearing that Tara was the one to kill ethan (i know it was technically Kirby but they did it together) I think the conspiracists would go insane and can you imagine a scene where Tara and Sam are just walking together before they both get jumped but Tara is the target of this attack and Sam is just held down unable to do anything while she has to watch tara get brutally attacked.

Well, Tara is my whump blorbo. There's a place for angst in our lives, because it's not about the pain at all, it's about the aftermath. It's about the being picked up, and the softness and the love and the support. It's about being reminded that no matter what we go through, there is a brighter side to be found and there are people who will help you reach it and sit in the sun with you. Anyway, none of that here.

~

Ethan Landry. Sweet, dorky, Ethan. He couldn't find his way out of a wet paper bag, people say. Soft, and shy, and smiled awkwardly at girls. Always nervous, but tried his best. Murdered. They tried to say he attacked them, that he wanted to kill them, that he was a savage monster. Who would fall for such a lie? He didn't even like horror movies, he was shaky around blood.

Samantha Carpenter is to blame, they know. It's heavily debated as to whether she attacked her sister last year, or whether it was simply a home invasion and she took the opportunity to make it something more, to sate her blood lust. But Richie was innocent, they all agree on that. A wonderful man who was guilty only of loving the wrong woman. That poor teenager, the best friend of her sister's... well of course Samantha decided she had to go, she wanted her sister to herself.

And it works! Because here they are, a year later, and it's the sister who does the deed, who thrusts the knife into Ethan's mouth, who twists it, slices it open. He'd had a crush on her, sources say. She used it to lead him to his doom. It was deliberate, pre-planned, it had to have been. Why else would he follow her there? Tara Carpenter may have been innocent, once upon a time, but not anymore. She's spent too long in her sister's clutches, corrupted, ruined. Just look at how passionately she defends her, as if she were innocent, as if the truth wasn't out there.

We should help her, some say, get her away from her sister, imagine what she could tell us, what she could reveal! She needs to pay, say others, she's just as guilty as her sister, it's too late for her.

No one agrees on how to stop this madness.

~

Sam's walking Tara home from her evening class. It feels a little surreal. A month ago, Tara would never have agreed to this, Sam had been desperate to do this. And here they are, Sam's hand attached to her sister's as Tara waves it around in the air, complaining about the professor. (She's not sure what she's talking about, but she's just happy to see Tara this animated).

They're turning the corner when they bump into someone... someone's. There's a couple of guys in hoodies, with surgical masks on their face. "Oops, sorry!" Tara smiles up at them, pulling Sam to move around them. They step back into her path, and Sam begins to feel nervous. Tara's hand tightening around hers tells her she feels the same.

Sam steps backwards, but before she has a chance to speak, arms wrap around her from behind and she's yanked away from Tara, as her sister is shoved to the floor.

"Hey what the fu-" Sam manages, before a hand is covering her mouth, jaw wrenched closed as her head is forced backwards against someone's chest. More arms appear to grip at her own and hold her back.

Tara is thrown to the floor, and a boot kicks out at her arm, stepping on her wrist as she tries to reach into her pocket. The figure looming over her bends down to reach into her jacket, and pulls out the taser she was reaching for. Scoffing, he hands it to one of his companions.

"What did we ever do to you," she growls, breathing deep to push down her fear. "It's not what you did to us," he says with conviction, "it's what you've done to others. What you'll do again!"

Sam kicks out and tries to speak, understanding setting in. Someone punches her in the stomach.

"We haven't done anything!" Tara yells, watching her sister get hurt. She tries to get up off the floor only to be kicked down again with a boot to the chest. "Just leave us alone!"

"But you have!" The one holding Sam shouts. "You killed Ethan! She-" he shakes Sam, "killed Richie and all those others." "They were innocent and you killed them," another pipes up. A chorus of agreement follows, and for the first time, the girls begin to notice just how many people are surrounding them. 6... 7, no, there's more further back, hiding in the shadows... watching. Some of them have their phones out, recording.

"You're going to pay for what you've done," the one looming over Tara declares.

"It was self-de-" he kicks her in the jaw, her head snapping to the side and smacking back against the pavement. He pulls her up from the floor, hands fisting her jacket and slams her back into anothers waiting arms.

Sam struggles against the numerous arms holding her back, unable to move. Her head is pinned, her jaw is clamped shut, tears begin to fall.

The ringleader leans in close to Tara's face, eyes meeting her dazed ones. "Your sister seems upset. Is it real, or just another act? Is she even capable of caring? I mean, she wanted you for a reason, right?"

"Fuck you," Tara snarls back. He grins, rewarding her with a backhand. "It doesn't have to be this way, Tara," he speaks, voice softening in faux-compassion. He cups her chin. "Just tell us the truth, tell everyone what she did, what she made you do, and it can all be over.

"She didn't make me do anything!"

"So you admit it, you killed Ethan in cold blood?" His voice is frantic, delighted.

"Ethan was a sadistic little fuck who got what he deserved." Tara finds herself thrown back to the floor. "He was a nice boy who never hurt anyone!" the one who threw her shouts, kicking her.

Tired of Sam's struggling, the one holding the taser moves closer, releasing it into her stomach. She groans, body twitching. Her legs give way beneath her, held up only by the formless figures clutching at her. They drop her to the floor and a boot presses down on her back. Sam is stuck, unable to convince her body to move, prongs digging in painfully from their place stuck between her skin and the pavement. She can do nothing but watch as the two figures assault her sister, kicking her, watching them pull her onto her back to hurt her some more.

"Stop, please, please stop," Sam begs. She's ignored.

It's only the sirens closing in that make it stop, dark figures scattering. She manages to drag herself forward, limbs slow to respond and shaky. "Tara," she cries. Her sister doesn't respond, still and bleeding.

[anonymous-kotlc-thoughts]

I’ll be honest here guys (this is quite embarrassing but, you know).

When I was like fourteen and I think Legacy had just come out, but I was OBSESSED with BTS at the time. (To a semi unhealthy degree). While reading the book Shannon mentioned a post of a boy band on Amy Fosters wall that Sophie had never heard of before. I am assuming she was meaning to imply this was one direction. But you know. I’m insane. So I researched deeply into the KOTLC Time line and lined up all the events. Anyways Sophie left in 2012 which was a YEAR after one direction released their first album. Now 1D wasn’t at the height of their fame; snd Sophie was a socially awkward tween BUT I’m TELLING YOU GUYS. THEY WERE EVERYWHERE . Literally inescapable part of the western world, especially I would say in America where literally everyone fawned over UK accents. Uh anyways. From this thesis I figured that Sophie just could not have not know 1D. And I bet you right now they were on her iPod music playlist. Anyways I concluded that the boyband poster was BTS. Also one of my favourite songs from them at the time is called black swan. I had an animatic planned to it.

Now is where the ask SHOULD stop. Because, well… the rest is quite embarrassing but I think it’s funny.

With the collision of these two interests of mind some insane washed over me and I decided I had to write a fanfiction. It was about Amy Foster joining the neverseen around the same time as Tam and Glimmer were around and it had an ungodly amount of BTS references and fandom jokes that I think were there purely to make me giggle. I was having QUITE the time you see and I posted maybe four chapters to Ao3? It was a complete cringefest. But I enjoyed it and that’s all that mattered at the time !! (I still kinda live by that statement). Anyways I didn’t expect for it to be exactly a hit but I got a couple of hits and like maybe 2 Kudos. I was like cool, people are enjoying this. That’s great! Anyways I got a comment on the fic. It was something along the lines of “Imao what is this.”.

And dude.

Look I’m not THAT great at reading text but that broke me. I gave up writing the fic and pulled it from the platform. Suffice to say my tolerance for criticism wasn’t that good- but I’m proud to say I have really built up that cringe but free mindset lately and every year I grow stronger. Anyways to anyone who’s ever written a fic or done something that they found fun and joyful and whimsy and someone else was being a little hater (even if they didn’t mean it) I see you, I feel you and I hope you are able to find a happier space where you csn be cringe and free !!! 💜

.

[chickensarentcheap]

Fandom: Extraction

Pairing: (Strictly platonic) Esme Drummond (OFC) and Yaz Khan

Face claims: Rachel Bilson and Adam Bessa

My peeps: @tragiclyhip @munstysmind @themaradwrites @youflickedtooharddamnit @secretaryunpaid @ninjasawakenedmystar @thebejeweledwatercat @kmc1989 @karimac @alisbackalleybbq @residentdormouse @asirensrage @theesirenteller and anyone else who reads/supports :D

BELOW THE CUT

“Are we talking gross and wrinkled old man? Or are we talking like Paul Newman level of hot old man? Because if it’s not the latter…”

“I’ll give him Paul Newman level.”

“Good for her.  ‘Cause I would have hit old man Paul Newman in a heartbeat.  Well, at least she’s not slumming. Because that last guy? The boy toy…”

“He was a complete tool.”

“That’s putting it lightly. I mean, he didn’t even appreciate her.  He had this total goddess fawning all over him; giving him a fancy place to live, spoiling the shit out of him, paying all his bills,  putting expensive clothes on his back. And what did he do? Cheat. The ungrateful fuck.  He was nothing when she met him, and I bet he’s back to being nothing now.”

“We both warned her.  That he was a piece of shit.   And while I wouldn’t say ‘I told you so’ to her face…”

“She’d smack the ever-loving shit out of you.”

“...I can at least say it to you.  It hasn’t been easy not having you around, you know.  I got used to having someone on my side. Sticking up for me.  Helping me talk the she-beast down from time to time.”

“Believe me, in hindsight,  being around here would have been a lot better than where I ended up.”

“You mean with Alessio? Or Winston?”

“I think it’s safe to say that ‘both’ is an acceptable answer.”

“Speaking of ‘I told you so’....”

“Remember, I’m not completely feeble now, Yaz. I happen to have just enough strength to slap you upside the head.  So tread lightly.”

[alitgblog]

volume ix thoughts wooooo we're out of casa

first off, return of a legend: the beach hut

i was fully expecting the compatibility test to be more like the season 1 compatibility test with the zodiacs because that's fun but i guess that's less of a pot stirrer than a fun game to have. though the narrator poking fun at it i guess is making fun of the fandom for thinking it was gonna be horoscopes 🤣

so very obvious ass test though especially with the two answers only about the two guys you're pursuing, which I think is a missed opportunity to throw more lore about the guys in there. or at least make it not as obvious? really goes to show how surface level the characters are compared to, say, the Mr. and Mrs. Challenge towards the end of S2

I'm going for Jin and Max rn so I thought it was funny their personalities were boiled down to "funny" vs "extroverted" and my MC had to pick between the two as if they were mutually exclusive

anyway just nearly got Jin lmao

I'd like them to stop with the Claudia/Theo storyline because it feels like they've already decided they're done with each other and are ready to move on? However, Claudia being compatible with Theo on paper but like not really feeling it is an interesting idea. Like she feels she's got no other option to stay safe except for him and they like each other enough. Meanwhile Bea's settling for Liam because he's shown any interest in her at all. (Let them date each other if MC can't! They deserve better!!)

also I know that I joked about Theo being just some mildly attractive white guy to fawn over and settle for but the way that Claudia is just settling for him? actually upsetting like I'm so sorry, Theo 😟 I didn't mean it I thought he was fine after the first dates 😖

Hari mention! I was pretty sure the game forgot about him lmao

anyway the compatibility thing still doesn't make the most sense because like,,, why did all the guys get the Villa girls and none of the casa girls? I just think we should stir up some shit. I know it's annoying but it is the perfect opportunity to try to make Emel angry at Oakley again by saying he's most compatible with some casa girl. And she can show growth by not getting upset this time.

idk why but Kyle's poem to Emel is giving wannabe rap crew vibes (i.e. I'm missing S1 I'll take what I can get). Also, Claudia said he's giving game player vibes?? I'm actually so upset with how the LI's are all interchangeable because simply this cannot be the same Kyle y'all are fawning over (it's not 😭)

I'm kind of curious what it's like replaying on a straight route bc personally my heart hurts every time they show Claudia's little sad face but like I have to talk to Max it just makes more sense because MC can't couple with Claudia in stick or twist

Close your eyes and pick at random is actually hilarious as an option for stick or twist and I almost did it

i've already said my piece about Sienna, I love her design. I will admit though, her open mouth smile is a little stilted but people get botox so... not out of the ordinary lol. The bigger problem is how her hand on her hip is a little fucked up (color in between the lines, fusebox!)

as someone not on a Theo route, I really don't understand why he's sticking with Claudia unless he's got some personal turmoil he's working through and trying to actually reform his player ways. And I wish MC could talk to him as a friend and we'd see that. like in the way S2, you get to know Rocco's insecurity about never finishing university and Gary's anxiety even if you aren't on their routes

Anyway I'm still upset at the forcing MC to couple because she's single thing. They could've still had her coupled with Jin (or even with Hari it would work) and then she can either walk in single or with a casa boy. And then she's the main character: just say that the single islanders don't get dumped post casa (like it's SUPPOSED to be) because in that situation, she's the only one! Or if you need the numbers to be right, literally Emel is right there. She can come back to Oakley later if anything

still not the best stick or twist could've gone in terms of drama (or maybe that's just bc I've been looking at spoilers), but compared to S5-6, not too bad (I assume also s7 but tbh I did stop right at stick or twist for that season)

So fyi when I played Casa, I had my MC go for Shawn most of it, and then last minute switched to Max because I remembered she's a musician and I thought that would be cute. That being said, I wish it was like in the too hot to handle game where you unlock certain dialogue if you happen to have something in common with a character. Because why is Max explaining music stuff to my musician MC?

is Hari not an LI? Because they made him seem like one and then just all of a sudden we're not talking about him, it's only about Jin and Casa Boy. And I'm fine with not all the boys being LIs, but it is odd the way he's just shoved to the side in the story

Okay so I'm writing this as I'm playing and it seems like maybe he is. They just forget to mention him most of the time.

Hari and Hazel are a hot couple though. like I don't love Hari's design but like if he was drawn better?? I see it.

the swimming game is a fun idea but imagining everyone splashing around to get to MC is so funny. like I can hear it in my head and it's not the best game, but for the fictional game in the app it's fine.

although why tf is Theo suddenly interested in MC? I haven't been romancing him at all but for the chat at the pool I couldn't decide between any of the characters I'm actually kind of interested in so I had MC go talk to Theo and then he was also flirting? then the pool game he also thinks MC has the best chat?? sir I barely know you

omg not emel deflecting the drama to Claudia (and it's about her hookup with MC???) oof this is the drama I crave I think we're gonna need a movie night soon

so not too bad yet I just hope these storylines can come through!!

[angelasscribbles]

A Fervid Fixation Chapter 5: Flashpoint

Series: A Fervid Fixation

Fandom: The Royal Romance

Pairings: Riley x Drake

Rating: MA

Warnings for this chapter: Language

Word Count: 3,942

A/N: I honestly believe there will only be one more chapter after this one.

My other stuff: Master List.

Drake stood in his kitchen staring at Riley in disbelief, “What do you mean that’s not how you remember it?”

“I mean we spent three weeks telling each other everything! I thought we knew each other, Drake!”

He had invited her to meet him in Olivia’s wine cellar and they had stayed up until dawn talking. The next night they had both shown up again. They never discussed or planned it, but it became their routine to sneak down to the wine cellars after all the official events were over. On days with no official court events, they hung out together, exploring the nearby town, hiking through the woods, or just watching movies in her room.

Then he kissed her and it had all gone to hell.

Riley felt hurt and anger pull through her at the memory, “I thought we had started something then you unceremoniously dumped me!”

“Dumped you?” his mouth fell open with incredulity, “We weren’t dating, and you were there for Liam! You said you needed space, remember?”

“Oh, my God, Drake!” She exploded, “Being a little confused because I kind of liked two cute guys, both of whom I had just met isn’t exactly unreasonable! All I said was that we should slow down! Next thing I know, you’re barely speaking to me, or being a complete dick when you do! How is that not dumping me? Even if only as a friend? Fucking asshole!”

“Right. Slow down, as in giving you space, which is what I did!”

“You didn’t slow things down Drake, you slammed us into a brick wall!”

“I know about the hot tub, okay?”

“What?”               

“The hot tub, with Liam, in Lythikos.”

“He told you about that?”

“Yeah,” Drake huffed, “Couldn’t shut up about it.”

Riley felt several emotions slide through her in rapid succession. Shock followed by guilt chased quickly by anger, “So I fucked Liam in a hot tub, so what?”

“So what? So what? So that sure didn’t make it seem like you were interested in me!”

“It was our third day there! You and I had just started talking and it took you three weeks to fucking kiss me! That sure didn’t make it seem like you were interested in me!”

“I was trying not to overstep any boundaries!”

“Yeah, well, when you did finally kiss me, you went from zero to let’s get married! Talk about blowing past boundaries!”

“I did not!”

“You started talking about what our children would look like, Drake! That’s why I said we needed to slow down! I like to actually date people before I start planning a wedding! Jesus Fucking Christ!”

“Wait. You wanted to date me?”

“Yeah…maybe…I mean, yes, okay, I did!”

“Did? Past tense?”

“Well…I mean once we got back to the palace, you started treating me like total shit half the time so… you know…I mean, what was I supposed to think?”

“Once we got back to the palace, you started fawning all over Liam!”

“Well, I was apparently completely single and he was interested so why the fuck wouldn’t I?”

“I…..” Drake fought against the sudden onslaught of emotions flooding through him and mingling together. He tried to sort through and make sense of them.

She hadn’t pushed him to the side for Liam.

She thought he had pushed her to the side.

Anything she’d done with Liam since then was his own fault. All the months of torture watching her with other men had been self-inflicted.

He was a colossal idiot.  

“Riley, can we start over?” He forgave her for the other men. The past was in the past, all that mattered was the future.

“I don’t know, Drake. Can we?”

“I thought you wanted to slow things down because you wanted to be with Liam. I was snappy with you because I was trying to keep my feelings for you locked down.”

“Is that an apology?”

“Yes!”

“Didn’t sound like one.”

“Are you fucking serious-“

“Fine, never mind!” She flipped her hair over her shoulder as she spun and headed for the stairs.

“Wait!” He caught up with her halfway through the living room. He grabbed her by her shoulder and spun her around to face him, “Okay! Okay! Could you just….give me a minute?”

“For what? Either you’re sorry for alternating between ignoring me and being a dick to me or you’re not. What’s hard about that?”

“Everything!” He blew out a frustrated exhale as he jerked his hand through his hair, “you may have noticed that I’m not fucking good at this!”

“At what?”

“Expressing my feelings! I’ve never done….this before, okay?”

“What? Had a relationship with a woman?”

“Not…really. Sex, yes. Fucking cared about one? Not the way I care about you! I’ve never felt like this before!”

“Like what?” She needed to know exactly what he meant. She was tired of the mixed signals.

“Like I’m going crazy! Like I can’t fucking breathe when I’m around you and I’m barely even alive when I’m not! I know I can be intense, but I can’t help it! I’ve never done anything by half-measures! I’m sorry I scared you by trying to move too fast. I didn’t mean…I was just saying that….I mean, our children would be gorgeous, how is that not just an objective fact?” He trailed off completely unsure where to go or what to say.

“So, you do like me?”

“Didn’t I just say that?”

“I don’t want to start over.”

“What? Why not? I said I was sorry! I can-“

She stepped closer to him and laid her hand on his cheek, “Because I don’t want to erase Lythikos. I don’t want to erase any of it, even the bad parts. I just want to move forward without any misunderstandings between us. Can we do that?”

He placed his hand over hers as the feelings in his chest swelled to the point he was afraid it really might explode, “We can do that.”

“Okay,” She pulled away from him, “First thing I’m going to need from you is a phone, Drake. I need to know what’s going on.”

With a sigh, he drew his phone out of his pocket and motioned to the couch. She sat down as he opened the web browser. He tapped into the search bar and then handed it to her, “Here.”

She scrolled through a list of headlines like “American Suitor Unfaithful”, “Cordonia Deserves Better”, and “Waitress Offers Up Hot Dish”.

She shook her head as she skimmed through several articles with growing anger and disbelief, “Tariq is claiming we had a whole ass affair!”

“Yeah,” fury coiled in his chest, “if I get my hands on him again, his next affair is going to be his funeral!”

“Oh shit! Have you seen this?” She read out loud, “Inside sources report the duke engaged in a fist fight with an as yet unidentified second man and rival lover…what the fuck?”

“Shit, I hadn’t seen that one! I’m sorry, I made it worse!”

“Don’t be sorry!” she exclaimed, “Now I wish you had put him in a fucking body cast!”

His jaw set with deadly seriousness, “That can be arranged.”

Her eyes met his and despite the gravity of the situation, laughter bubbled out of her. “Oh, shit! I know you’re joking but damned if I don’t want to take you up on that!”

“I wasn’t joking.” He replied with a half-amused, half-disbelieving smile.

“I mean, yeah, I know you obviously have no problem beating the hell of people, but I wouldn’t expect  you to actually put someone in a body cast for me!”

“But I would!” He was suddenly on his knees in front of her, “I would do anything for you!”

“Drake…I…”

He laid his head in her lap, his fingers pressing into her outer thighs. “I can give you things, Riley! I can’t provide a royalty-level lifestyle, but I can give you a comfortable one. I can make sure you never want for anything! I have money, not Beaumont money, but enough to give you the kind of life you deserve!”

Her fingers twisted in his hair, “That’s….really sweet…but…”

His head snapped up. His eyes searched her face frantically, “But?”

“But you’re doing it again, Drake! We had sex once, and that sounds like a proposal or something!”

He sat back on his heels, his hands still resting on her legs, “Why do you keep pushing me away? Are you trying to break me?”

“I just think we need to have sex more than once before we start talking about-“

“How many times have you had sex with Liam?”

“That’s none of your business!” She shoved his hands away, “Besides, I thought he kept you apprised of these things!”

“I’m just trying to ascertain what the magic number is, Riley!”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Were you going to say yes to Liam?”

“What?”

“Don’t what me, answer the question! If Liam had chosen you at the coronation ball, would you have said yes?”

“I mean…”

“Goddamn it!” He leapt to his feet, “I knew it!”

“Oh, calm down. I didn’t know how you felt! A girl has to consider all her options.”

“Is that all I am to you, Riley? A fucking option?”

She jumped to her feet to yell at him, “Up until five minutes ago I thought you hated me!”

“Well, I don’t!”

“Well, good!”

“Okay, good!”

“Good!”

“Fine!”

“Fine!”

They stood glaring at each other for a moment before Drake asked, “Why are we fighting?”

“I don’t know!” She stomped her foot then considered the question seriously, “Habit, I guess.”

“So, when can we have sex again?”

“What?”

“I mean, if there’s a specific number of times we have to have sex before we can discuss the future, then I would like to know what that number is and I would additionally like to get started making progress on that goal!”

“Weren’t you the one that just said it couldn’t happen again?”

“That’s before I knew I was an option, Riley! Now that I know there’s a real chance-“

“You’re insufferable and irrational, you know that?”

“And you’re completely maddening! First, you think we’re in a relationship, but you don’t tell me that! Then you put the brakes on it because I expressed wanting to pursue a relationship with you! Then you tell me that you do want to have a relationship with me but then you get mad because I try to talk about having a relationship with you!”

“A relationship doesn’t mean jumping straight to marriage, Drake! Have you ever tried dating someone? You’re supposed to work your way up to that!”

“And what would you consider dating?”

“Dating! You know, going to a movie together, going out to dinner, maybe a party, dancing or-“

“We’ve done all those things!”

“Not as a couple! We’ve hung out as friends!”

“What’s the difference?” He demanded.

“The intention is different!”

“No, I don’t think so. My intentions were always the same. I don’t hang out with people I don’t like. I clearly liked you!”

Riley heaved a deep sigh, “Goddamn Drake! I want to date! I want romance! I want-“

“Okay, go change into something nice.”

“Why?”

“So I can take you to a fucking movie and dinner!”

“Right now?”

“I thought that’s what you wanted!”

“We’ll get to all of that later,” she said dismissively as she retook her seat on the couch, “but I have a few questions first.”

“About what?”

“About the fact that you seemed prepared for my visit! There was women’s shampoo in the bathroom.” She said accusingly.

He seemed genuinely puzzled as he told her, “I didn’t think you’d want to use mine.”

“Drake, how long did you know about the setup, and why didn’t you tell me?”

Oh, that.

His head tipped back to stare up at the ceiling. He took several deep breaths to calm himself and refocus his attention. “I didn’t know about the setup until it dropped, actually.”

“But then how-“

“I knew you were under surveillance, but I didn’t know why.”

“Okay, okay, I don’t understand…”

“The guard having orders to be on standby to arrest you, the limo ordered to wait out front, the plane ticket…I found all of that out just hours before the coronation.”

“So why does it seem like you were prepared for me to be here?”

“I did all that last week after the Tariq thing happened and Liam told me to stay away from you.”

“He did what?”

“He didn’t tell you?”

“No…”

“Well, he did, he told me to stay completely away from you! But even though he basically ordered me to stand down, I started asking around about the Tariq investigation and some things didn’t add up. I knew something was up, but not what. The cabin is always my backup plan, my fallback location. So, I thought maybe it could be yours too if it came to that. I didn’t know for sure you’d ever be here, I just wanted to be prepared in case you needed a place to lay low for a while.”

“Okay…that…that actually makes sense…but I have a million more questions! What things didn’t add up? Why did Liam tell you to stay away from me and why did you listen to him?”

She hadn’t seen Drake again after the incident with Tariq. Not until he slid into the back of that SUV on coronation night.

“Liam told me to stay away from you because he correctly identified my interest in you,” Drake told her, “As far as things that didn’t add up,” he started ticking items off his fingers, “Your lock was disabled, Tariq is maintaining that you invited him to your room and that my attack on him was unprovoked or motivated by jealousy-“

“What’s suspicious about a man lying about consent? Happens all the time, unfortunately.”

“Yeah…that’s not okay. But, back to Tariq, Liam said something that night….that I’ve known Tariq all my life. He was right, I have known the man most of my life and he’s not a rapist. What he is though, is a crown loyalist and a traditionalist.”

“Which means?”

“Which means he would not approve of nor support the king marrying a commoner or a foreigner.”

“Oh! Wow…”

“I told you people here are brutal with this shit. Now that we know someone was waiting to take those photos, it’s safe to assume he’s working in concert with someone to make sure a commoner never sits on the throne. And it has to be someone high up because digging around in the investigation is how I found out you were under surveillance. Only so many people can order surveillance like that.”

Riley slumped back on the couch, “This is a lot.”

“So, to review, Tariq was sent to paw all over you, at least enough to make it look real, while someone was waiting in the tree outside your room with a camera. You’ve been under surveillance for some time. Details of the incident report were leaked, along with the photo. A plane ticket was purchased, the limo and the guards were on standby, and didn’t you tell me your things had already been packed for you?”

“Yes, damn. Someone really has it out for me.”

“This is what I’ve been telling you!”

“But Drake….why couldn’t we just go to Liam with all this?”

“Because there are factions out there that have been known to assassinate people to take them or keep them off the throne. And whoever set you up has access to the King’s Guard! They did all this right under Liam’s nose! I couldn’t risk it, couldn’t risk you! Now do you see why I had to get you away and keep your whereabouts a secret?    

“But how did you find all this out? How do you know classified information that even Liam didn’t know? And you still haven’t answered my question about why you stayed away from me just because Liam told you to?”

“Those questions have the same answer, Brooks.”

“Which is?”

“There’s something you don’t know about me, Riley. Something I never told you, despite all those late-night chats. I’m-“

They were interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on the cabin door.

“Shit! No one knows we’re here! Almost no one even knows this place exists!” He pulled her off the couch and pushed her behind him, “Go upstairs and keep quiet while I-“

“Where is she?” Liam slammed into the cabin without waiting for the door to be answered. Relief crashed across his features when he saw her, “Riley! Thank God!”

“It’s okay, Drake, it’s just Liam!” Riley moved around him to greet Liam with a hug.

Liam pulled her tightly against him, his eyes were filled with cold fury as they met Drake’s over her shoulder though his voice didn’t betray it as he told her, “I’ve been worried sick about you!”

“How’d you figure it out?” Drake asked.

Liam released her to glower at his best friend, “It really wasn’t hard to figure out who had already proven the lengths they would go to for her and who had both the authority to issue orders to the guard dogs and access to internal intelligence. I mean, how did this person know what the King’s Guard was planning? Then I realized, there’s only one person that could hijack the guard dogs and also has access to MiSHI.”

“What’s meeshe?” Riley asked.

“MiSHI stands for mission support and human intelligence,” Liam answered, “the Guard’s internal intelligence unit. It’s their job to know everything about everything going on in every unit.”

“I don’t understand…”

“MiSHI and the guard dogs are both special units within the Guard. Only someone who had access to both could have pulled this off. And the only person with access to both is the commander in charge of all the special units.”

“Which is who?” Riley was still trying to figure out how Drake had managed to pull off the rescue/kidnapping. What favors he called in and from whom.

Liam turned to Drake in astonishment, “She doesn’t know?”

“Know what?” Riley’s head swiveled between them.

“You haven’t told her?”

Drake shrugged, “She didn’t have clearance.”

“Clearance for what?” she demanded.

“I was about to tell you,” Drake responded, “When someone barged in without an invitation!”

“That’s what you’re worried about right now?” Liam spun on him, “You could lose your commission for this! It was a flagrant abuse of power!”

A lightbulb went off in her head, “Wait…you’re the head of special units?”

“Sorry to disappoint you that I’m not the broke, unemployed loser you pegged me for.”

“Drake, I never meant-“

“Well, I might be unemployed now,” he said with a bitter laugh, “that’s what I meant when I said I’ve already risked everything for you. It’s also the reason I had to back off when Liam told me to. I couldn’t risk him firing me and cutting off my access before I figured out what was going on.”

“Which I certainly would have done if I’d known how far off the rails you’d gone!” Liam spat at him.

“Okay, we’re going to discuss you keeping information from me later,” Riley told Drake before turning back to Liam, “But why are you mad? I thought you’d be happy to find out I’m still here. Drake’s intervention is the only reason I’m not back in New York right now!”

“You thought I’d be happy about this?” Liam gaped at her, “I wanted you on that plane!”

She stumbled back like she’d been struck, “What? Why? I don’t understand-“

“I determined that it was safer for you in New York and-“

“And you had no right to make that determination for me!”

“I have feelings for you, Riley, strong ones, but you’ve always known that my feelings aren’t the only factor in deciding whom I marry.”

“Not marrying me and having me drug out of the coronation and forced out of the country are two very different things, Liam!”

“I fully intended to come and find you after things calmed down. Explain the situation and-“

“And what? You thought you could humiliate and throw me away and I’d be what? Just waiting for you to show up so I could fall into your arms?”

“I wasn’t throwing you away, Riley!” He shot daggers at Drake, “Can we talk in private, please?”

Drake crossed his arms over his chest, “I’m not leaving unless Riley tells me to.”

Without shifting her gaze away from Liam, Riley said, “Drake stays.”

Liam heaved a very loud, very audible sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

Drake smirked at him, “This is my house.”

“And Riley’s my girlfriend!”

“I’m not your girlfriend, Liam! Did you forget the part where you got engaged to another woman?”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you! You can still be my girlfriend, Riley! I may have to marry Madeleine but-“

“Wait! You want me to be your side chick?”

“I’m not familiar with that term. I want to offer you an arrangement, a way to keep you in my life. You’ll stay at the palace, or if you prefer, I can purchase a house for you in town-“

“You arrogant fucking prick!” The sound of her open palm striking his cheek rang out.

His head jerked to the side, then turned back to face her as his hand covered the spot, “I understand you’re upset, but if that’s out of your system now, let’s go, I have a car waiting outside. Where are your things?”

“I’m not going anywhere with you, Your Majesty!” She made the last two words sound like an insult.

“You can’t be serious, Riley! Be reasonable!”

“Oh, I’m deadly serious!”

“You want this?” he gestured to the cabin in general and Drake specifically, “He’s out of control, Riley!”

“You’re right,” she agreed, “he’s been acting crazy for weeks now…” she trailed off, tapping her lips as she considered something, “He’s volatile, possessive and his intensity is a little frightening…”

A victorious smile lit up Liam’s face as he gloated at Drake.

Drake’s head dropped with a defeated exhale.

It had all been for nothing.

“But maybe that’s exactly what I want…”

“What?” Both men exclaimed as two heads snapped toward her and two sets of eyes scanned her face for context.

“Maybe I don’t want a man that carefully follows the rules and wants to keep me as his dirty little secret,” she mused, “maybe I want a man that sets the world on fire to get to me and to keep me safe…” her eyes found Drake’s as she finished, “one who says fuck protocol and decorum and just throws me over a counter and fucks me senseless.”

“Wha-“ Liam’s eyes went from her to Drake to the kitchen counter back to her, “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”

She never took her eyes off Drake, “No, I’m not. I have never been more serious about anything in my life.”

“You can’t do this, Riley! You’re making a monumental mistake!” Liam ground out through clenched teeth.

“What’s the big deal, Liam? We had some good times but we both knew it probably wouldn’t last. You chose someone else, and now I’ve chosen someone else. We can still be friends.”

“Friends, Riley? Friends? I don’t fucking think so!” He bumped Drake with his shoulder on the way out, “This isn’t over!”

Riley stared after him in shock, “Wow, I’ve never seen Liam act like that!”

“Shit, Riley,” Drake breathed, “You have no idea what you’ve just done…”