#i am actually worried i made her Too likeable but oh well

[merge-conflict]

question for the manipulative & mean V cos im curious: what would they consider the worst thing they've ever done?

Oh this is a fun question. First a little background:

I imagine that a very important part of working in CounterIntel is having the right sort of assets, and in this case I’m talking people. Data brokers, spies, people you can lean on for info. The most important part of getting anywhere in this department is having good sources, as well as being willing to trade or share those assets with others when it suits you. Officially, any agent should be able to use another agent’s assets with the proper channels and so on, but unofficially it operates a lot like a black market. Having access to a good asset can make or break an assignment. But you have to also work on your relationships with your assets, know the right combo over carrot or stick that will get you where you want. You might burn a low level asset, but one with great cover and access to sensitive info– especially one with a lot of previous investment– no one would just throw that away. There are two schools of thought: either you wring as much out of your assets as you can, and then hang them out to dry, or you work long and hard to build your rep as a reliable handler and you grow your assets slowly.

Valentine is predisposed to become very attached to people, and has a very strong sense of personal loyalty (to specific people, rather than ideology). For several years she built up her network of assets and treated them well, and gained no small amount of trust. Her first asset is a woman she found on her own, codenamed [X]. [X] ends up being an extremely good asset, which Valentine puts a lot of effort into protecting and growing. Years of this goes by– an she proves to be an excellent source into Biotechnica, but there comes a point where [X] comes under some heat. [X] wants to get pulled out before she gets killed. Valentine needs her intel so she calls her up and calms her down, assures her that she’ll be protected, etc. etc., but when she gets the intel it turns out to be bigger than she expected, and getting [X] out safely will be expensive… and if she goes so far over her budget she’ll lose her chance at likely promotion and have a very uncomfortable investigation into her recent financials. Basically, all of the progress she had spent years making could crumble under her, and her coworkers would be right behind her ready to kick her down to the bottom and waste all that time and effort.

This was a big turning point where she realized she could just get rid of this woman, whose continued existence was a difficulty for her. And she did. She flagged her to be garbage collected once she got her info, and about a day later [X] was dead and gone. After the whole thing was done Valentine was more disturbed about how little it bothered her than the fact she killed a woman who had trusted her to talk her down off the ledge.

It disturbed Abernathy too, actually, although she kept a lot of her reservation completely under wraps. Not that it happened (these things happen in the biz), but that V did it. V who had promised her loyalty to her, and never wavered, just like she took pride in [X] and always looked out for her, right up until she didn’t.

[ellsieee]

Taeha really is a bit of an asshole isn't he?

He has no respect for Jiwoon, going so far as to enter his home without permission and to kiss him without explaining himself first when Jiwoon had explicitly told him he didn't want to continue their relationship.

I knew Jiwoon's resolve wouldn't last. He went back to Taeha immediately after finding out he broke off his engagement. It doesn't bother him at all that Taeha wanted to get married and have kids, and that he was willing to cheat and lie for who knows how long if Sohee hadn't called Jiwoon out. I'm worried for Jiwoon. He's telling Taeha what choosing him means, the societal pressures he will face, and Taeha says that having Jiwoon is enough, but seeing that he didn't deal with that pressure well the first time, I don't feel confident that Taeha understands what the consequences will truly be. I hope they talk about this issue a lot more off screen.

I hate that it's Jiwoon who is apologizing and kneeling. Taeha should be the one facing Sohee's wrath, groveling, and apologizing. That being said, I am glad Suk made Liuk do it because his acting was amazing and broke my heart.

That he takes on all of Sohee's blame and anger, and then pleads for Sohee to let Taeha off is too much. 😭 This whole scene was a knife to my heart. I can't live without him. Oh Jiwoon. 💔 Couldn't he have picked a better guy to love? He deserves better.

Oof. Sohee's words cutting deep. How else was she supposed to react though? I've seen comments saying she's psycho, but I actually think she's pretty normal about the whole thing. She's angry and lashing out. Who wouldn't be angry with being cheated on and dumped? Is she supposed to be nice and understanding about her fiancé breaking off their engagement? Should she be happy for Taeha and Jiwoon?

Jiwooooon. 💔 I want to give him a hug and then download tinder on his phone and find him a better guy. 😅

Arghhhh. Jiwoon protecting Taeha from knowing about how much he hurt Sohee. Why?? Taeha needs to know. I swear, the person that's going to be destroyed in this relationship is Jiwoon.

They've both said that they only need each other and are together so it's a happy ending right? Their final hug didn't make me melt though, it gave me more of an ominous feeling. It's romantic to say you only need each other, but reality is much harsher. I think it may be true for Jiwoon, but I have my doubts about Mr. I do what I want. I guess it's a happy ending for now.

I thought Suk would need a part 2 to finish Bad Guy, but I feel like this story is complete. Not completely satisfying, but complete. I wanted to see Taeha struggling with his feelings and then deciding to break up with Sohee. Also for Jiwoon and Taeha to talk about why Taeha wanted to get married in the first place, what's changed, and why Taeha will be able to make it work this time around. I think that would have provided the closure I'm looking for, and made Taeha a more likeable and sympathetic character. It would also give the audience confidence that these two can make it. As it is now, I think a lot of us want Jiwoon to find himself someone better.

If I sound like I'm hating on Bad Guy, I'm not. This was still a good series. I was engaged and excited for each new ep. I don't love Taeha because he's extremely selfish, but I found his character interesting. I love Jiwoon, my tragic lovefool. I enjoyed the exploration of a messy, imperfect, and helpless love. The acting was great too. I hope Suk hires Liuk again, he is the best actor (in a bl) Suk has hired so far. Though perhaps Suk can arrange to have Riu or Hoolim teach him how to kiss. There's room for improvement.

[newt-and-salamander]

I posted 302 times in 2022

That's 141 more posts than 2021!

66 posts created (22%)

236 posts reblogged (78%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@scamanderishredmayniac

@occamyeggshells

@eddieredmayneargentinablog

@love-arrogance-naivety

@elisha-am

I tagged 293 of my posts in 2022

Only 3% of my posts had no tags

#fantastic beasts - 201 posts

#newt scamander - 155 posts

#fbsod - 116 posts

#eddie redmayne - 66 posts

#theseus scamander - 52 posts

#tina goldstein - 43 posts

#newtina - 31 posts

#fbcog - 30 posts

#fbawtft - 30 posts

#fanart - 29 posts

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#but they need to give a lot of answers and being most plot lines to an preliminary ending so they can stop after this film if they need to

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Headcanon:

When his brother was born, it was Theseus who decided that “Newton” was too toplofty a name for such a shy, quiet child. He started calling him “Newt” and somehow this nickname stuck with him when they grew older and Newton didn’t shed this certain awkwardness he had already possessed as a child.

Some things changed, though. It has been a long time since Newt referred to his brother as “Thes”.

127 notes - Posted January 8, 2022

#4

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by elix (@elixomus)

Newt and Tina travelling together

132 notes - Posted February 6, 2022

#3

Theseus: I'm so worried about Newt.

Tina: Why? Everything is fine!

Theseus: But he might be up to something stupid!

Jacob: ... oh, there you are! Hey, what's wrong? You two look devastated.

Tina: ... we are very worried about Newt.

134 notes - Posted January 14, 2022

#2

Newt, after his return from WW1, talking to his mother: ... and Sylvia has the most beautiful eyes, you should see them, they are sparkeling like diamonds! And she's such a nice girl, actually the friendliest of all of them, and I think she was always happy to see me ...

Theseus, who has overheard that, smirking: Sounds like you should ask her out for dinner, Newt.

Newt: I don't think that would be a great idea.

Theseus: C'mon, don't be shy, you obviously like her a lot and it's time you get yourself a girlfriend!

Newt: ... Sylvia is literally a Ukranian Ironbelly.

Theseus: Please forget everything I just said. Don't take her out for dinner.

Newt: You know, the longer I think about it, the more I like the idea ...

Theseus: The more I think about it, the more I hate it, actually.

Newt: Well, that has never stopped me.

Theseus: Newt, NO. Besides everything else, you are going to lose your job.

Newt: ... this idea is getting better and better. Do you think -

Theseus: NO!!

Newt: ... do you think there's enough room for a small dragon in the Ministry's cafeteria? - Hey, where are you going?

Theseus: Calling a lawyer. And a healer.

Newt: I don't think somebody will get hurt.

Theseus: A mind healer.

190 notes - Posted April 10, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Just watched SoD, it's almost 4 am and I am happy and overwhelmed. Here are just some first impressions in the order that come to my mind, so massive spoilers below the cut!!

Newt is the sweetest and kindest human being this world has ever known.

Jacob too!

I seriously thought for a few seconds Jacob would become Supreme Mugwump. XD (It would have been really epic though.)

Basically everything Jacob said was hilarious, I just love him so much!!!

Mads Mikkelsen just was so so so so so good! Of course Grindelwald had much more screen time than in the previous films so it was easier, but still he managed to bring a depth and some kind of ... likeability to Grindelwald's character. I liked that very much.

I also appreciate how clear they made that Dumbledore was in love with Grindelwald (Although this can't be called a secret, really. :D)

Albus had no secrets left, it was really about Aberforth?!?! Whew, I mean, I thought it could be coming, but still ...

Also: What's wrong with the Dumbledores? Ariana is an Obscurus, Aberforth's son is an Obscurus ... And how did both brothers manage to make such grave mistakes in only one summer?

I don't feel like after everything that happened in SoD, Aberforth has the right to still be so angry and cold against Albus (as shown in HP).

Newt was really lucky he wasn't killed in his first scene. :0

In general I was surprised by the really lighthearted tone of the film - even in the more dramatic scenes I was never really afraid someone would die.

THIS FILM HAD WIZARDS ON ROOFTOPS, I AM HAPPY.

Newt was so happy and excited so many times, so I am very happy and excited now!!! How cute was it when he met Lally and they were basically both fangirling about each other???

Newt saying "She is" when talking about Tina, omg!!! And them finally meeting again!!! (Damn Lally, bad timing!!!!)

I'm not really content with the explanation they gave for Tina's absence, though. I mean, Theseus is head auror too, and he seems to be able to go and do where/what he wishes.

Can we talk about the wide grin on Theseus face when he witnessed just how much in love Newt was in the end?? Maybe that's even my favourite moment! Him just being so happy for Newt and looking out for him and EVERYONE BEING HAPPY FOR A CHANGE!!!

Ok, maybe my favourite scene was Jacob being happy and closing his eyes so he won't see Queenie before the wedding ceremony and he's GETTING MARRIED TO QUEENIE AAAAHHHHH!!! I must say I had lost hope for the two of them!

Will Newt and Tina kiss offscreen now?!?!?

Dumbledore, whyyyy didn't you go into the bakery? Isn't it actually a bit impolite to just wait around in the street and walk away??

Newt practising his speech as best man *-* I love it how clumsy he was during every situation he was in a kind of leading position.

How did Aberforth and Credence establish the mirror connection???

I'm a bit confused and so, so tired.

How did Aberforth even find out Credence was his son??

Maybe Credence doesn't have to die. We know that Newt can separate an Obscurus from its host, so maybe he can save him?

Wtf they did break the blood pact by ACCIDENT???? NOOOO, I'm not happy with that!!! That's to ... easy and random.

Just for the record, snow is not the usual weather in Berlin (but then there always seems to be snow everywhere in the FB films XD). I rather liked wizarding Germany btw. The architecture and the little details like the signs and the stamps (a cliché that always works because it's funny and also still true I'm afraid).

The scene with Theseus and Newt in prison was a bit random but super funny, so I'll allow it. XD But I'm still disturbed that they just stunned Theseus and dragged him away and everyone was like ... it's alright, we can look for him later. (It's also not very healthy to hang upside down, but Thesues can manage it ... because. Because he's epic and very handsome and I like him very much.)

The brothers finally, finally bonding!!! Not talking, though. But who needs to talk anyway.

Bunty was great! I'm happy that she was not helpless in her love. She's still in love with Newt and he has no clue and she knows it's in vain, but she's not jealous or bitter but makes a deliberate decision to help. She definitely deserves more credit.

See the full post

271 notes - Posted April 6, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[shmowder]

SCREAM oh nooo I'm not ready 😱 I am going to remain incarcerated 😱 Patience, grasshopper!! Do you know how many screenshots I took of her in two different hairstyles this past week, cycling through countless poses, only to arrive at the conclusion she should actually be using hairstyle #3, which happens to be the first one I used when I first made her Sim, rendering all the work I did in between pointless?? There is such a thing as too many choices!

Depending on her expression and also her hairstyle (which makes her look different enough that it matters to me) I want to make her primary traits different things. Earlier I was like ykw my OC will not be shy and tender for once she will be snobby and ill-tempered and ambitious - then I look at other pictures and realize she is a sweet little lamb after all. As if a person cannot contain multitudes.

It's really reassuring to hear that OCs don't have to be consistent or set in stone. I barely know where to begin but your questions will give me some guidance. If I don't make it by the time your submissions close I can always send them in an ask. Yes I am a victim of overthinking, why do you ask? Also, that's really cool about Sol! It makes perfect sense that some of her inspiration came from the sun.

Ohh that last line about your inquisitor. Nice. I like that you're not afraid of creating characters that aren't stereotypically good or likeable.

At the very least I will send pictures! In due time. For now, a little preview (that does not include any of the three hairstyles that caused me so much agony). Plague doctor's assistant, leech handler extraordinaire. I'm thinking she gets sent to ToG for whatever reason and has to prove herself as THE plague doctor. I may be in danger of making her too much like Daniil but I simply don't know atm; anyway:

While I was reading your ask, I thought "no way she actually looks like a sweet little lamb–how could someone in a plague doctor mask look anything but menacing?" Then I unhid the image to view it and-

Oh my god, she is a sweet little lamb, ouch my heart. Her cute little peak, the polite stance, that wonderful hat. I adore her, i would kill for her–please ask me to kill for her. I will. She is already THE best doctor in town in my heart. Move aside Vurakh and Dickovsky! I need my leeches treatment!

Don't worry about making her too much like Dankovsky. Just claim that Daniil is the one actually copying her. Plus, Yulia is already the agreed upon Daniil copy, and she is well beloved by the fandom–hell she might surpass him in popularity with lesbians.

[petrichoraline]

Northanger abbey!! I adore Cathrine, she's so fun and her intuition is on point, it's just that her imagination is a bit wild but then again she's young so she'd get better at placing her feelings eventually... My favorite thing about henry is his house lol from what I remember nice house surrounded by trees and dogs, away from everyone what's not to love, also he knows about fabrics and colors and novels so... He's funny so I can for give the obnoxiousness and he's responsible which is a trait austen loves in her leading men. I love how austen allows her heroines to be loud and wrong and still give them a happy ending, they have their flaws but they don't have to pay for them, they learn and correct and apologize. Sorry for ranting lol

the timing of this message couldn't be more perfect, i picked up my book and read for about an hour, got on here and i've been scrolling just thinking "gotta get back to it, gotta get back to ittt" 😂 so I'll be doing that once I answer (they're on their way to the abbey with catherine for the first time rn, exciting for both her and me lol)

I am so impressed with how smart she actually is because I was under the impression she might be too gullible. she, however, though a bit too good-natured and thinking the best of people at all times, knows what she likes and what she doesn't. she doesn't get swayed by the compliments of a guy she's decided sucks big time (unlike belle who turns her head in the direction of anyone willing to show her even a bit of attention)(im a bit more of an isabella than a catherine in that regard but we're working on it shh); catherine can be stubborn, she has a backbone, a strong moral compass (reminds me of fanny a bit) and she learns from her mistakes. follows her morals while still worrying about bringing pain upon her loved ones that she has to oppose - the thorpes and james trying to stop her from running and explaining herself to miss tinley after john lied without her permission?? oh I was boiling, the fact she stood her ground till the very end made me so happy and appreciative of her as a heroine and her worrying about their regard towards her afterwards made her that much more likeable, she's just so sweet and considerate even when met with the worst behaviour. sure, she can be too trusting and trying to resolve conflicts in an honest and direct way which is just not how things work in the world she's becoming a part of but she is a girl turning into a young woman. as far as I'm concerned, any mistakes she makes, I forgive.

"my favorite thing about henry is his house" what a valid take lmao i am yet to read a description of the abbey but henry so far is giving me mixed feelings, I checked the ages and they're 17 and 25? so I feel like I'm getting a bit of a condescending attitude from him? but I might be wrong. it would be natural, though, as catherine is a teenager and his brain is supposedly fully developed, that her more childish view of things would call for amused reactions on his side. I don't know, so far really my focus is on "where and how are things going to get messy" because in this book quite a lot of the time nothing is truly really..happening? hahah and I was promised drama from jane austen herself in the first chapters:

"It is now expedient to give some description of Mrs. Allen, that the reader may be able to judge, in what manner her actions will hereafter tend to promote the general distress of the work, and how she will, probably, contribute to reduce poor Catherine to all the desperate wretchedness of which a last volume is capable- whether by her imprudence, vulgarity, or jealousy - whether by intercepting her letters, ruining her character, or turning her out of doors."

I started this book quite a while ago but this has stuck with me and maybe I am misunderstanding and she is actually not going to do these things (I love all the sarcasm but sometimes I have trouble catching it cause, well, non-native english speaker) or I am supposed to be on the lookout the whole time lol but in any case I EXPECT ACTION. PLEASE. it's such a short novel, why are there boring parts 😔

responsible really seems to be the most desirable trait in an austen man but I get it and honestly it's a good thing to consider in dating nowadays as well 🤷‍♀️ as for Henry's other qualities, I forgot he understands fabrics!! thank you for reminding me. that guy has so much sensitivity about him so why must he be such a lil gremlin at times 😂

i agree with you completely <3 austen's heroines are just women being women and i love that though they share some noble qualities they're all easy to distinguish from each other (considering some plotlines are quite similar.) catherine might be, so far, the one most after my own heart out of all the girls.

I may update on how I feel about all of the characters and the story so I'll try to tag in case you're interested in my ranting 😊 would love to hear from you again, it's so exciting receiving a message about this, you have no idea, I usually only discuss shows so my liveblogging of reading the novel actually reaching someone and prompting an ask is such a delight, thank you so much for sending a message and a long one at that 🥰💓

[iwadori]

Can you write a pure angst, using 10 and 35 please ( Idc about the characters ) :)

Getting hurt with the haikyu boys part 3 (Iwaizumi)

Part one Part Two Part three

Word count: 2.8K

Genre: pure angst

Authors Note: I am sorry for just how shit it is lol. I had an idea and it kind of got worse as it went along but I hope you like it anyways.

You were pregnant.  

You wanted to cry.  

You stared at the test in front of you. Two lines. Positive. There was no denying it, as much as you wanted it to be negative. You could tell you were pregnant before you even took the test, all the throwing up you were doing, the nausea you felt when certain foods were being cooked at work and the ongoing foot and back pains you felt.

Iwaizumi first approached you at your job, some shitty dinner that only paid you enough so you can make ends meet. You could tell he had money, the way he dressed, his demeanor even the way he talked. ‘What was a man like this doing here?’ you thought.  

Apparently, he’s seen you around for a while, your city was small you’d only really leave this place if you had a fair god mother or died and of course you are clearly alive and don’t have a fairy god mother...until you met him.

He ordered a coffee, didn’t drink it though (probably knowing that your boss spat it in whenever he was in a bad mood or because he just needed an excuse to be around) just waiting for you to finish your break. You sat in a corner booth for ‘privacy,’ not that anybody was even in the place.  

“My names Iwaizumi Hajime” he said keeping a blank facial expression  

“What do you wan-”

“Miss L/N, I think I’ll do the talking here. Okay?” he said with a smirk appearing on his face after seeing your slightly shocked face when he revealed knowing your last name.

“I’ve seen you around for a while now, you’re beautiful you know that right?” he said making your cheeks heat up a bit. “Anyways, I think you’re gorgeous and a man like me needs a pretty girl like you on his arms. By the lack of response to my name, I assume you don’t know who I am...but I guess that works in my favour”

Your face is getting bored by the second not really listening as he rambles on about himself, “I need you to be on my arm every night that I go out to one of my boring business meetings.”  

“Business meetings?” you ask  

“You know, a bunch of ‘business’ people go out and talk ‘business’ together.” he said sarcastically as if you were stupid.

“I know that, I just thought you’d elaborate about it.” You sighed “What do I get out of this?”

“Finally, you’ve gotten to the interesting part, you my dear get money and lots of It” he says finally catching your attention “I’ll pay you 1 million Yen per night, and all your dresses, outfits and expenses will be paid for so you won’t have to worry your pretty little head about finances again” he ‘smiled’ at you.

“What's the catch?” squinting your eyes  

“The catch is just that you have to accompany me to all my events.... and you have to stay in my condo.”

“Wh-”

“Don’t worry dear, it’s a nice place” interrupting you “probably better than any shithole you live in”

“Fine, fine” his words were convincing you “Is there a contract you have for me to sign?” you ask wanting to at least be somewhat ‘protected.’

“No contract, just this verbal agreement. Between me and you right here right now.” he winked “so you’re in agreement of our arrangement?”

“Yes.”

That was your first mistake believing Iwaizumi Hajime.

Sure you could defend yourself now and say ‘I was poor and in need of help’ but you’d know it would just be you in denial talking.  

The first time you attended a meeting with Iwaizumi, you came home from quitting your job since Iwaizumi said ‘you’re on my payroll now.’ You found a beautiful red dress laying on your bed accompanied with shoes and accessories and note saying, ‘I trust you to be able to do your own hair and make up my dear – I.H’

You didn’t have any family, or any friends. Most people that have had even a single encounter with you have deemed you to be ‘Not Likeable’ saying you’re not a people person or just lack any sociability. You were stuck in this town because of the debt your father has left you in before he supposedly ‘passed’ away. Leaving you drowning in all his financial woes, meaning you couldn’t go to university or become a professional *insert dream job here* like you wanted to be.

When you exited your building, you saw Iwaizumi leaning against a flashy car parked outside. “You chariot awaits m’lady” he says with a cheeky grin on his face making you roll your eyes. You got in the car and he started driving, humming along to a random song slightly agitating you.

“So, when are you moving to my place? It’s a part of the agreement.” he said in a sing song voice in the tune of what he was humming.  

Iwaizumi reminded you of JD from heathers, he was nice when he wanted but he did have a screw loose that was triggered when things didn’t go his way. Like a small child who didn’t get the toy he wanted when he had a million other toys.  

Him being the child. You being the toy.

“Our agreement is bullshit, just verbal.” you say mockingly “remember?”

“don’t start with me Y/N I'm not in a pleasant mood today” he says gritting his teeth “and I don’t need you fucking with me tonight.”

He puts his hand on your thigh, a little too harshly making you internally wince. “Okay here’s the rules for the night. You stay on my side for the night, only speak when spoken too, don’t drink too much since no one likes an alcoholic of course.”

“Oh, so all I need to do is sit pretty like a good little girl.” you say sarcastically

“Precisely” he lessens the grip on your thigh making you breathe in relief.  

The event was boring to say the least, you did as Iwaizumi said stood next to him with a fake smile plastered on your face all through the night. You’re sure that people did ask you questions, but you were in your own little world only stepping out of it when Iwaizumi either pinched your arm or gripped your thigh.

The end of the night was ‘eventful’ to say the least, before you entered the car a hand wrapped around your waist and you were pulled into a back alley. “We couldn’t end the night so boring, could we?” it was Iwaizumi, of course it was.

He started peppering your neck with kisses and roaming his hands all over your body. He eventually trailed the kisses from your neck to your lips, leading you both into a full blown make out session. It was fast and you couldn’t really think straight. Iwaizumi was getting a bit too forceful, gripping and kissing harder than he needed to, leaving marks as if to say ‘you’re mine now.’

That was your second mistake. Getting sexual with Iwaizumi Hajime.

He said you had to go back to his house which was basically now yours. You complied, obviously had no other choice since he didn’t offer or ask. He told you too.

Waking up in the Iwaizumi residence was an ‘experience.’ Iwaizumi wanted you awake when he was awake and asleep when he was, never giving you a moment too yourself. You swiftly came to the learn of the reason why he wanted you in his ‘care’ (as he called it anyways) he wanted his eyes on you all the time.

You carried on attending the events bored out of your mind and the nights went the same way. Fancy dress, long car ride, not paying attention, getting fucked in the back alley then sleep in Iwaizumi’s expensive silk sheets.

You didn’t know much about Iwaizumi besides what you could find. In the day time, Iwaizumi spends it cooped up in his office whilst giving you the ‘permission’ to roam around the house. Iwaizumi kept all his important stuff in a small box under a creepy floorboard in his basement original idea I know. All the information in there was just stuff about generic stuff about his childhood. Him being brought up into wealth, how much he weighed as a baby and all the allergies and boring shit that he had.

Iwaizumi Hajime was an enigma.

You and Iwaizumi did get along. Sometimes. You did do things that weren’t strictly fucking and going to business meetings. He took you on what you could only be able to describe as dates, and outings showing you off to all his actual friends. That’s when you learnt the difference of the ‘two’ men, Iwaizumi and Hajime.

Although they were the same person by name, Iwaizumi was rough around the edges and cold at heart not caring about you at all. Hajime, whilst still being rough around the edges, basically made you out to be his girlfriend giving you the love and care you needed. You really liked the times when you were with Hajime.

That was your third mistake, falling in love with Iwaizumi Hajime.

As things progressed, your quality of life seemed to dwindle (not that it was great in the first place.) Iwaizumi was barely in the house, claiming that for these particular ‘business meetings’ he didn’t need you.

On one night, a simple phone call definitely changed your whole dynamic.

“Yes babe, I’m coming over tomorrow I can’t wait to see you and the girls again.” he said to the other person on the phone.

“Why do you question my love for you, of course I love you.” he said again

“I love you, the girls even the dumb dog that Haru forced me to get for her 8th birthday I love. You guys are my family. My lovely wife and out girls”

Your stomach churned, you backed out of the hallway that you were in. He had a family, of course he had a family. You went into the guest room, where you kept all your things, you couldn’t do this anymore. Although you pretty much lost all your morals when you formed this whole agreement but you refuse to sleep with a married man with kids. You couldn’t. Being the reason why a family might break up is something you wouldn’t ever do.

Iwaizumi heard all your commotion and entered the guess “Woah darling who’s moving out?” he asked jokingly  

“Hmm probably your wife and kids, after they realise their husband is a CHEATER!” you spat

“Woah, woah Y/N” he said getting closer to you “You don’t know what the fuck you’re on about”

“I think I know pretty well; you’ve always been a pompous ass Iwaizumi; it was my bad for thinking that you weren’t married throughout all of this.” You finished packing up as much close as you possible can and headed out the room.

“You need to watch your mouth Y/N” he says aggressively  

“Or what Iwaizumi, or should I say Hajime” you shout “Or is that only reserved for your WIFE!”

This seem to really tick him off, “You don’t know anything Y/N, you really think I could love a dirty slut like you? Huh? Well, I didn’t know that you were important enough to be able to know the details of my personal life.”

“I'm not a slut” you mumbled. Which was completely true, Iwaizumi didn’t notice that the first time you slept together was the first time that you slept with anyone.

“repeat that again for me y/n?” he said mockingly

“IM NOT A SLUT!” you shout in his face

“You are what I say you are darling”

“Fuck you.” You try and push past him hard, to get out the house but you’re no match against his anger and brute strength. So, when he slams you against the wall, he banging your head. Leaving you concussed and bleeding. Before you completely pass out all you hear is a repetition of Iwaizumi Hajime murmuring “I'm sorry, I’m sorry” whilst wrapping his arms around your comatose body.

You woke up, thinking that was all a dream but the ache in the back of your head proved otherwise.  

“Y/N, darling your awake!” he said making you flinch

You moved away from him when he sat on your bed looking at you with ‘love’ and ‘care’ in his eyes. He goes to stroke your cheek whispering “you’re so be-”

“Fuck off” you say. That bang to the head was a wakeup call literally reminding you of all the hot and cold moments you had with Iwaizumi that you submerged into your head for the sole reason of ‘wanting to be happy.’ But you weren’t happy. Deep down you knew that.

“But y/n, darling I love you.” he said and you closed your eyes shut wanting to tune him out “I love you Y/N.”

“You don’t" you replied back harshly with your eyes still shut tightly

“But I do Y/N, I love you” he repeated the ‘I love you’s’ over and over making you want to scream out in frustation.

“Shut up!” you yelled “You don’t love me, stop saying that” your head throbbing with every word “Just stop. Make it stop! Kill me if you have to! Just make it stop” you say thumping at Iwaizumi’s chest becoming a hysterical crying mess. You weren’t talking about the physical paint he caused you (even though that hurt ALOT) you were talking about the constant heartache it was just being around him.

He didn’t know what to do. So, he just put his arms round you again and you yelled your frustrations about him to him into his chest.

You woke up into a new place, not your old one or Iwaizumis just something brand new.  

With a note on your bed side table saying:

‘I love you and I’m sorry’

Making you tear it up and toss it out.

You had no further contact with Iwaizumi, you figured that the new house you lived in was already paid for, but you didn’t want Iwaizumi to show up one day saying that you owed him money so you decided to get a job. A small one, that didn’t require any strenuous Labour or heavy shift times.

It was a few weeks after Iwaizumi left you and you felt sick and heartbroken. After finishing your shift at your job you felt hot headed and extremely ill making you run to your toilet to spill out your guts.

Which lead you to your predicament now.

Pregnant.

You were pregnant.  

You wanted to cry.  

You stared at the test in front of you. Two lines. Positive. There was no denying it, as much as you wanted it to be negative. You could tell you were pregnant befonhre you even took the test, all the throwing up you were doing, the nausea you felt when certain foods were being cooked at work and the ongoing foot and back pains you felt.

You didn’t know what to do. There was only thing you could do, but you certainly didn’t want that. ��Call him’ the voice in your head urged. ‘That would be the best option right?’ you thought ‘I mean he did love you afterall...’

It took a whole day of pacing around and wondering on what you should do. But you knew that leaving the situation longer would only make it worse. So you kept his business card on you when he gave it to you since that was the only phone number you had. He was all you actually had.

You called and the phone rang 4 times, your heart beating faster and faster as it rang.

“He-”

“Hello this is Sakura Iwaizumi speaking” a feminine voice said “Who is calling?” you hear someone say in the background. ‘Iwaizumi’ you thought, your face smiling. You realised you haven’t responded so you rushed out  

“I’m Y/N L/N, I need to speak with Iwaizumi.”

“Haji dear, there's a girl on the phone for you... someone of the name called Y/N L/N”

You heard muffles in the background and Iwaizumi saying “Just hang up the phone she’s not worth it.” Your heart stung ‘She’s not worth it.’ Did he really mean that? As much as you claim to hate him, you didn’t really. As you’ve said before you always liked his loving and caring side over his cold hearted one.

You put the phone down and just cried, wailing your heart out for him. Why? You don’t really know to be honest. This was all a dumb agreement, he used you because he was bored and he probably already knew you were pregnant from when he gave you that concussion. But ‘he doesn’t want you’ you reminded yourself because ‘I’m not worth it.’

AUTHORS NOTE: once again, i’m sorry lol. But im most likely going to do a part two of my ‘long shot’ series with Akaashi or a character of your choosing. 

[heytherejulietx]

Gold - Bughead

@riverdalepromptathon week 10

Masterlists

Read on AO3 here!

Requests are OPEN!

Prompts;

Daydreaming.

Gold.

Notes - ten weeks in and this is my first time taking part in the promptathon… oops. i’m glad i started though because this fic was so fun to write and i love it so much. though i swear i’ve got like three fics that end the same way this does. oh well, i still like it. enjoy. :)

Warnings - N/A.

Word count - 1.7k.

Riverdale tag list - @bucky-j-barnes @adorably-sweet-hufflepuff @kpopgirlbtssvt @booksmusicteaandanimals @cheryllclayton @jesso80 @dietbreadloaf @thebluetint @lilireinhartsimp @camiczzzz @bitchy-broken @crazyninjalight @literarygetaway21 @bc-jh22

To join my tag list fill out this form

A hand in hers. Lips pressed to her hair. A cold golden band slipping over her ring finger. The thoughts swirled around in her barely-coherent mind as Betty attempted to wake up. Her eyelids fluttered underneath the gentle sunlight that peeked through the curtains to lay across her face and she had to turn her head to the left to get the light off of her eyelids. With a quiet yawn and a stretch of her arms she blinked her eyes open with a gentle smile when she saw her snoozing boyfriend buried underneath their light copper - almost gold - bedsheets beside her.

Betty propped herself up against the headboard and sighed, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her palms for a moment. The memory (or was it her imagination?) of the golden ring made her look down at her hand, though no ring could be seen. She closed her eyes and let her head lean back against the headboard behind her. Had she been dreaming that Jughead had proposed to her?

Just the thought of him proposing made her smile warmly to herself. Betty and Jughead had been together for a good few years again after their high school sweethearts phase had ended for seven years. They had their own house, they had a cat, they both had stable jobs and things to do; far from old worries of serial killers and cults and aliens. They were finally living normal lives. Or, as normal as it could get for them.

The icing on the cake would be to get married to Jughead. It would be the perfect addition to their lives. Of course, eventually Betty also wanted children, though she knew how Jughead felt about that topic. After everything with his dad, he needed to be one-hundred percent ready before he could even think of going through with that next step in their lives, and Betty completely understood that. They had their whole lives ahead of them for that.

Jughead shifted in his sleep beside her and she opened her eyes to look at him with a soft smile. He looked so peaceful when he was asleep. There was a time in their lives when the only peace either of them could get was when they were asleep in each other’s arms, and Betty was glad that they didn’t have to live like that anymore. No worry of serial killers or solving murders or devastating breakups. Just them. And their cat, of course.

Almost as if Toffee knew that Betty was thinking of her, a meow could be heard beside the bed before the fluffy creature jumped up onto the bed with Betty, meowing as she climbed into her lap.

“Good morning,” Betty mumbled with a soft smile as she scratched the back of Toffee’s neck, leaning her head down enough to allow the fluffy white cat to nudge the end of her nose with it’s own. With a fond smile towards the creature she ran her hand down her back and stopped at her tail, dropping a kiss to the top of her head. “Want some breakfast?”

At the mention of food Toffee meowed again and Betty smiled, waiting for Toffee to jump off of the bed so she could get up too. Shuffling into her slippers she slipped on one of Jughead’s shirts before she followed a meowing Toffee out of the bedroom, letting Jughead sleep for a little longer.

Toffee zigzagged between Betty’s legs on the way to the kitchen, meowing loudly on the way. Managing not to trip over her cat by the time she got there Betty reached up towards one of the cabinets in the kitchen and pulled out a tin of wet food, scrunching her nose up in disgust at the smell as she emptied it into Toffee’s bowl before she sat it back on the floor.

With her cat now eating happily Betty moved around the kitchen, gathering what she would need to make scrambled eggs for breakfast. Though as she moved around the room she still couldn’t help but think back to her dream. Of course they had spoken about marriage before; when they had gotten back together again they had both agreed that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together, and that certainly included marriage, right?

If they got married then she would no longer be Miss. Cooper - she would be Mrs. Jones. The thought alone had her smiling widely at the frying pan in front of her as she sat it on the stove, an egg in her other hand. It would officially make her a part of his family, although she already knew how welcome she was into the Jones household. Betty was well aware that Jughead welcomed her into his household with open arms from day one when he was living at the trailer, though over time - through staying at the trailer some nights and then living in the same house as them - she grew close with his family too. Jellybean seemed like a little sister to her, even if she took some warming up to, and FP was like a father to her - more so than her own. After everything that had happened with Hal (she refused to refer to him as dad) FP treated her just as his own. And when she saw the man for the first time in seven years he greeted her like she was his daughter. A smile and open arms to hug her immediately. A kiss to her head and a mumble of “I missed you so much, Betty.” He liked her for who she was, not just for Jughead.

If they got married would FP walk her down the aisle? Would he dance with her at the reception? Would he gladly accept her as his daughter-in-law?

Getting along with Jughead’s family would be important, of course, but simply just having Jughead as her husband would be amazing in itself. They already acted like a married couple, but she knew life with him as her husband would be perfect. She could imagine small things like him referring to her as “Mrs. Jones”, calling her his wife and not just his girlfriend, always wearing matching wedding rings so they have something to connect to even when they aren’t together. Holidays together in a secluded cabin, slow dancing at parties, anniversary celebrations; she wanted it all.

She wanted to be married to him.

“You know,” a pair of arms snaked around her waist and held her into an embrace, bringing her out of her daydream. “If you want to cook the eggs, you have to crack them into the pan and not just stare at them.” His voice, though groggy with sleep, held a teasing undertone to it, and she smiled fondly to herself as she shook her head.

“I was just daydreaming. Got away from myself.” Betty mumbled, closing her eyes with a soft sigh as she felt kisses being placed to the back of her neck and wherever her shoulder was exposed.

“Was it about me?” Jughead teased again, and moved his hands to her hips to spin her to face him with a smile.

“It was actually.” Betty giggled, slipping her arms around his waist to tuck herself into him properly, shutting her eyes again as he dropped a kiss to her temple.

“Oh yeah? I’m flattered,” Jughead held her tightly against himself, his hand running across her back underneath the shirt she was wearing. “Can I ask why?”

“I had a nice dream about you.” Betty said softly, smiling to herself as she held onto him a bit tighter, tilting her head upwards slightly to leave a gentle kiss to the bottom of his jawline.

“A nice dream or a nice dream?” He teased, and chuckled as she gently nudged his side.

“A nice dream. It was very sweet. I don’t remember much about it but I know it made me really happy.” Betty said softly.

She looked up at Jughead as he hummed and leaned back slightly, and she leaned into his hand as he lifted it to rest against her cheek. It was moments like that when she knew that being married to Jughead would be perfect. They didn’t need to go on dates all the time or do fancy things to be happy with each other. Just having each other’s company was enough for them. All they needed was each other.

His hand cupped her cheek as he leaned in to kiss her and Betty smiled against his lips as her hands gently gripped onto his shoulders. They stood there for a few minutes, enjoying gentle touches and soft whispers between each other which only they would get, before they both felt fur brushing against their legs and an impatient meow following.

Betty pulled away with a pout as she looked down at Toffee who was looking directly at Jughead. “She likes you more than me.” She complained.

Jughead chuckled as he leaned down to lift Toffee into his arms, letting the cat nudge his face as she started purring. “I am very likeable.” He joked.

Betty fondly rolled her eyes and turned away from him and back towards the stove to turn it on, actually starting to fix their breakfast that time without getting distracted. “Of all people you don’t have to tell me that.” She pointed out, and heard him laugh behind her as he pressed a kiss to her head.

“Good point.”

As she focused on the eggs, she didn’t see Jughead move across the kitchen to where he had left his work bag on the table from the day before. She missed his hand reaching into one of the side pockets from which he pulled a velvet ring box. She didn’t see the sun reflecting on the golden band as he opened the box to check it was still inside. As Betty stirred the eggs Jughead slipped the ring box into his jacket which was hanging on one of the coat hooks by the door way; the jacket he’d be wearing out later that day when he took her out for lunch at their favourite restaurant. Where he would hopefully quite literally make a dream come true.

[violetnotez]

Hawks x reader

⤷ Genre: Fluff

⤷ Word Count: 5300+

⤷ Warnings: mild cursing

⤷ Synopsis:  Hawks is completely head over heels when he meets the new side kick of Mirko, y/n, hero name Angel. After meeting y/n, Hawks begs Mirko to train the young hero himself, and starts a friendly relationship with her. But now Hawks wants to take it to the next level, and what better than a milkshake date to make her his.

This fic is for the @bnhabookclub Bingo Event! Here’s my masterlist to see all my work for this event!

Bingo Slot: Milkshake Date

This is my first time writing for Hawks, so hopefully its not too ooc! Also Im sorry if its kinda wordy? I feel like I just kinda went overboard!

Hawks sighed, his hands cradling  his head lazily in boredom.

Another mind numbing meeting to suffocate his precious hours.

It was hard not to be a little annoyed at these weekly hero meetings he was somehow tangled up into. He could be doing so much more with this time, like working on his own missions or even catching up on some very over do paperwork. But With the LOV and other various villain organizations on the rise, the heroes have noticed that now more than ever, citizens are desperate for some stability and reassurance from their beloved heroes. So, with the help of various hero agencies, they had devised a plan to have heroes patrolling the streets frequently, way more frequently than before to promote the image that “the heroes were in control” and “more powerful than ever before.”

What a load of crap that was.

Hawks fought the urge to roll his eyes and interrupt this pompous executive who had the nerve to preach to heroes, and the top rated ones at that. He was amused looking around, seeing how many well known heroes were still attending these obnoxious meetings-every one in the top 20  was in this room, including Endeavor and Mirko. That was typical for these heroes, since approval ratings were so important, but today was a little different. The size of the group had expanded, the seats now occupied with a few lower rank heroes, a couple sidekicks, and a few newbies that were gaining some popularity.

Hawks watched as the stiff looking executive pushed his glasses back to his nose tightly, a small cough clearing his throat.

“Now, I think it would be a wise time for all the newest joining heroes in our mission of peace to stand and say a few words,”

Oh great-now it was show and tell.

Hawks was  fighting the urge to outright humiliate this man in front of him for wasting so much of his time- it wasn't quite in his nature to keep his mouth shut. But, he had to admit that this was partially his fault: he had volunteered to be a part of this, and he had to respect the commitment he signed up for.

The man turnd to his right, his eyes trained on the Rabbit Hero herself.

“Miruko, would you like to introduce your sidekick first?” he asked, his voice monotone and serious.

Hawks instantly perked up at the man’s statement- so Miruko did bring along her sidekick? 

He had heard a little about the stir Miruko had worked up in the media when she announced she had a new sidekick. Miruko has notoriously built the image of “working alone”, so the fact she had taken on a new partner had thrown everyone in quite a loop. He personally wasn’t quite interested in digging himself too into the dramatic headlines, he was way too busy for that, but from the bits and pieces he heard, you showed promise.

Your quirk was powerful, you were great with civilians, and you were pretty efficient in battle. He was mutually intrigued by you, especially since your introduction was the one thing he found remotely interesting in this whole meeting.

Miruko grinned devilishly, her red eyes gleaming. 

“Sure thing,” she answered good naturally, her tough body standing up to introduce the person beside her. “As you all know by now, this is my new side kick-Angel,”

Oh and what a angel you were.

Hawks was completely enraptured by you, his eyes widening as he watched you stand up, your face coated in an incident look of nervousness and your pretty lips formed in a shy smile.

Man, if he knew how drop dead gorgeous you were, he would have made you his sidekick. 

He rested his head deeper into his gloved hand, a quiet whistle escaping his lips. 

And that hero suit wasn’t too bad either- your hero costume was sexy yet sleek, with a plunging white neckline and metal armor shaped like feathers that protected your shoulders. It was beautiful, elegant, and tantalizing to his eyes, his pupils hovering over each plush curve and indent of your tight body suit. 

Something caught Hawk’s eye, though, and he leaned in slightly to see what it was-something white and fluffy was twitching on both sides of you, the curve extremely familiar-until he realized: you had wings.

They weren’t anywhere as large as his, but they were much more, well, angelic than his. His wings were loud and prideful with their overpowering size and rich blood red color. They were durable, tough, and screamed for attention.

Your wings though were silent beauties, barely noticeable yet once seen took your breath away. The feathers were a delicate white like snow, and with careful inspections had a shimmer to them like stained glass in a cathedral. They were absolutely mesmerizing, and Hawks found himself staring at those wings as you began to introduce yourself.

“Hello,” he watched you timidly speak out. It was adorable to watch, your shoulders trying to show strength by being puffed out like a prideful little bird, but oh the way your smile trembled and your digits fidgeted showed just how wracked with nerves you were. “I am the Angelic hero-Angel. My quirk is that I can create a calming effect on people, as well as fly” 

Your eyes ghosted over the heroes in front of you, each face more stony and cold than the last. You finally gave a small glance at Hawks, his heart jumping in his chest. 

Your eyes were so warm and enticing, wanting to swallow him whole with those pretty irises swimming with pure sweetness. His cheek was pushed up against his hand as he sent you a mischievous wink your way, a  grin blossoming against his lips as he watched you become even more flustered than before.

His chest puffed up with pride as you sat down, knowing he had made a small impression on you. Maybe it was the dreariness of this meeting, or the fact he hadn't had any romantic endeavors in ages, but he had already gained a liking to you.

You walked out of the meeting, your head swarming and your heart pacing. Your first real hero meeting! You could practically scream with giddiness, electricity ebbing from your fingertips as you walked alongside your mentor, Miruko. 

It was a dream to be working alongside such a skilled and likeable hero as herself, and you couldn't be more thankful for the bunny hero for seeing potential in you. Being a year out of UA, it was expected for you to start interning or even becoming sidekicks in order to get a  headstart in the hero business. Even though Mirko was notorious for turning down any and all interns, you had applied to her agency and surprisingly has gotten in. 

Now you were working with one of the top dogs of the whole Hero industry, and the pressure of that was both exhilarating and terrifying.

“So, what do ya think of your first hero meeting?” Miruko asked, her red eyes gleaming as she walked alongside you as the rest of the heroes crowded out of the conference room.

“It was-interesting” you spoke carefully, your tongue trying to find the best words. It was exhilarating to be around all these heroes, from up and coming to even the #1, but you had to admit it wasn't as intense as you had imagined it to be. 

“Hella boring, huh?” Miruko interjected truthfully, her voice booming and unapologetic. “Eh, don't worry, these aren't every meeting. The team ups are better- alot more interesting things go on in those ones-”

Just then, a man dressed in a simple white shirt and black pants came up to the Bunny hero, a badge connected to his belt. 

“Hey detective, what can I do for you?” she asked goodnaturedly, her slim fingers wrapping around her hips.

“Im extremely sorry to bother you on such short notice, but we have a case currently revolving around a few villains you reprimanded last week and needed a testimony from you about their quirks-”

“Sure thing!” she grinned, her red eyes traveling from the detective down to you, ,”You think youll be okay? Ill only be gone for a few minutes,”

“O-of course! Ill be fine,” your smile wavered slightly, a small gulp being emitted from your throat. 

Alone? Around all these heroes? You didn’t feel too ready for that- but you had to start somewhere. It was time to rip off that band-aid and be one with the heroes.

You began to feel your hands get clammy all ready as you watched the scene in front of you, feeling like a goldfish in a tank of sharks.

“An actual angel walking on the ground-never thought I’d see the day,” you heard a male voice next to you, the tone nonchalant and mischievous. You turned to your side, the wind getting kicked out of your chest-

No. Damn. Way.

“Your Hawks-the Winged Hero,” you breathed out in shock, 

The hero smiled at you, his wide grin playful as he gazed at you with those piercing yellow eyes

“The one and only,” he said cockily.

You werent going to lie-Hawks was one of your favorite heroes, probably your all time favorite. He was so successful for his age, being only a few years older than you. His quirk was also extremely powerful, and he was a huge inspiration for you since his quirk was so similar to yours. Also, the fact that he was known to be kind of a flirt, on top of him being incredibly handsome, made you the biggest fangirl for him.

“Gotta say babe, your wings are pretty impressive-surprise you didn't apply to my agency,” the winged hero commented, his voice extremely calm and inviting.

But wait-did he just call you ‘babe’? Oh god-your heart began to pound against your chest, your cheeks feeling warm from the small word. 

You grinned slightly at the hero, your expression small and almost shy.

“How do you know I didnt?” You quipped, trying to sound calm as the attractive hero continued to give you that playful smirk.

“Oh believe me-I would have remembered if you did,” his voice almost dropped, sounding way more huskier than before. 

Christ-he really was a flirt. You could practically feel your heart banging against your rib cage, your hands feeling clammy and your cheeks quite warm.

 He was too teasing for his own good-but it was almost endearing, like he was trying to impress you.

It reminded you of birds during mating Season, the ones who would sing the prettiest songs in order to attract a mate-and really any mate. Hawks was probably just like that-say a few pretty things, and had some fun trying to get a girl hooked under those ruby red wings.

“But I don't blame you for going with Miruko,” he admitted,” she's one hell of a hero, probably the one of the best ones around,”

You cocked your head in confusion, a short wave of shock circling your body. Hawks seemed too cocky to say a positive remark about a hero-most of the time he was preaching about how the heroes played it too safe and the hero world needed a desperate change. He seemed to group all heroes into a category and gave himself a whole one to himself, as if he was different from everyone around him. 

So yeah, it was a little strange to hear him congratulate any hero really, but it feels your chest with pride-you definitely had to have made a good decision going with Miruko if the most judgmental hero in Japan seemed to approve. But you still felt a little guilty for making him think you only cared about getting in with Miruko and not any other hero.

“Well, I was planning on applying to more agencies,” you stated, an apologetic smile playing on your lips, “yours was on the list,

The hero chuckled at your remark, not taking you quite seriously. “Oh I bet-”

“It was, I promise!” You smiled at him, your tone trying to be reassuring. 

God, why did he have to be so-well-pretty? He was looking at you strangely, as if he was drinking you in as you continued to talk. His lemon yellow eyes were glazed over with adoration, and you couldn’t t help but be flustered by the sight.

“Its just-she took me on so quickly,” you gulped out, trying desperately to calm your beating heart, “ it was kinda shocking. I honestly was so excited I just took her offer and didn't think of going to other agencies,”

“Awww, Not even mind, angel?” He cooed out, his feathers vibrating with the small sound, “It would have been fun having you around-

“I promise, I would have applied to your agency in a heartbeat if she didn't accept me,” you reassured the hero.

He simply nodded, an accepting grin playing on his face as if he finally took your word for it. His gloved hands were hidden into his pant pockets, his Stance calm and comfortable.

“So, angel,” he asked, changing the subject,   “how long have you  been interning with Mirko?”

Something about this hero calling you “angel” felt different-of course it was your hero name, and of course he would call you by that but-it felt different coming from him. It sounded playful and flirtatious as if he was calling you by a secret little pet name only reserved for you. It may because of his coy antics or his seductive smirk, but it was making you feel warm and comfy inside.

“This will be my 3rd week,” you replied, your blush getting much worse 

“Third week, huh?” he said, his voice genuinely curious, “Has she been teaching you alotta things?”

“Oh yeah she's amazing!” you exclaimed. 

Mirko was the most amazing mentor and even more. Most sidekicks or interns had the worst time with big time heroes, always left on the back burner to do the heroes paperwork or simply do tedious errands for them without ever learning a single thing. But with Miruko, this wasn’t the case at all. 

This was a blessing and a curse-since you were always out on patrol with  the hero, the media had seem to take a liking to you. Not only were you always beaten up and tired, you had to now deal with being in the limelight since you were Miruko’s new sidekick, something the media never thought they’d see.

 “I’ve been patrolling, working on small cases, even being able to actually stop a few crimes- I think that's why the press is so on me,” you added, a nervous chuckle escaping your lips.

You heard the hero chuckle slightly, his wavy blonde hair shaking as he shook his head

“Aw, you really are a little baby bird-” he cooked at you, your eyebrows cocked in confusion.

A baby bird? 

He seemed to notice your confusion, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips.

“Ah don’t worry angel, I don’t mean anything bad by calling you that,” he stated, “You're not used to this whole hero thing. But promise me, you'll get used to it-,”

“Especially when they make dumb scandals about you-”

He added on, his tone more tired. It was true with Hawks being one of the Top 10 heroes and being as young as he is, he had his fair share of conspiracies and allegations revolving around him.

“Oh, like the one about your favorite food being chicken? I thought that one was hilarious”,” you giggled.

Hawks turned to you, his cheeky grin now turn to one coated in seriousness,

““Oh no, babe,  that one is completely real,”

You whipped around, your eyes blown out wide with shock

“What? Your joking-“

“Completely serious!” He laughed, his grin wide and mischievous, “Who doesn't love fried chicken! It's the best food in my opinion-ya can't go wrong with it,”

You gave him a playful look of distaste, your noise scrunched up.

 “Really? But it’s kinda, well, weird-“

Hawks groaned, but that smile was still plastered on his face. 

“Don’t tell me your siding with those tabloid writers,” 

“This time-maybe,” you giggled, a smile you were sporting uncontainable.

“Aw, Cmon angel, I was beginning to like you!” He chuckled playfully along with you

Finally as your laughs began to die down, a thought crossed your mind, and you turned to the Wing Hero With the question playing on your tongue.

“Ya know I've always wanted to ask you something,” you said, your eyes meeting the sun yellow orbs of Hawk’s

That smile was still tugging at his lips, making him look adorably young and boyish.

“Lay it on me babe-”

You swallowed thickly, a miix of nervousness and embarrassment filling your stomach.

“How to do you use your wings? In battle-or when you fly?”

It was Hawk’s turn to look confused, his fluffy eyebrows angled softly. He seemed to understand what you meant by how self conscious you look, a hint of sympathy playing in his eyes.

“Wait-” he said slowly,  “you mean you don't know how to use your wings?”

You cringed, hating how blunt the sentence sounded. It was true, you never really got the hang of using your wings. It was embarrassing to admit it, but it was something you had to work through. If you wre going to be a high ranking Hero you were going to need to be at 100% of your potential.

“Wll I-I do, I can float but I cant fly very high up-,” you stumbled out,” nowhere near your height though. And I want to be able to carry people and well- I just don’t know how to start,”

Hawk’s nonchalant girn was again on his face, “See, little chickadee, this is why you should have applied to my agency,” he joked.

You sighed exasperatedly 

“I know,” you smiled, “you have a  good point there,”

The gloved digits of Hawk’s hand wrapped around his chin, his lips pouted slightly in thought.

“Honestly, it took me a little bit to really get the hang of it- Ive been using my wings since I was a kid- so it might be some time for you to get the hang of yours”

“Id be up for helping you with some pointers,” He turned to you, a playful grin plastered on his cheeks. That smile would be the death of you- it somehow made your head feel incredibly cloudy and your legs feel like jelly. 

“ but you gotta promise me one thing,”

You cocked your head, your eyebrows stitched in confusion

“Whats that?”

You had never seen a more shit eating grin in your life- Haws gazed up at you, his eyes glinting devilishily

“Don't fly too high up-Can't be having an angel going back up to heaven” he said, making your cheeks incredibly hot as he walked away, knowing full well he had made you too flustered to even talk.

Damn- he really was a flirt

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ

“Great job, chickadee, your really getting the hang of this!” Hawks yelled out, his hands cupped over his mouth.

Your cheeks were red with pride and nervousness, your wings flapping against you as you hovered in the air. You were probably 3 stories high on Hawk’s agency building, your eyes trying to desperately to not look down. 

This was exhilarating to be so high up, but- it was terrifying!

Your heart was pacing against your chest, a heavy drum that was painfully raping against your rib age.

Don’t look down, don’t look down….damn it.

You caught a glimpse of your feet in midair, your steel plated boots almost floating over the street below as cars honked at each other and pedestrians walked along the asphalt.

The extremely hard, durable asphalt that could turn you into a human pancake in a matter of seconds.

The image of that terrible idea made your head swarm with panic- your wings flapping haphazardly as you flew backwards back to the safety of the balcony.

This was too much-this height was insane. Hawks was insane- how could he even fly comfortably at this height!

Hawks had been training you a few days a week, something you were extremely grateful for- you were know working as a sidekick with one of the top heroes and having private lesson with the #2 hero?! You honestly couldn't be more grateful-

Until he decided to make you fly by yourself on top of an extremely high building. On your 5th lesson! How crazy could this man be?

You weren't even noticing how fast your wings were flying backwards until your feet hit the firm tiles of the balcony. It took you by surprise, another pit slamming your chest as you tried to catch yourself from falling on your face, your feet shuffling backwards in an attempt to find some grounding.

So you chickened out of an exercise (something Hawks was definitely going to joke about) and now you were going to bruise your ass from falling in front of your favorite hero /crush. Just great.

“Whoa there, babe, slow down!”

You felt a pair of gloved hands grab ahold of your waist, the hands firm and tight against your ribcage. You could practically hear the laughter in Hawk’s voice, as if he found your fail incredibly amusing. 

Your cheeks were heating up, realizing how close you were to the hero- his chest was pressed up against your back, and you could feel his chin grazing against your windswept hair.

“So,” he asked, his voice taking on a more husky tone, “how’d it feel when you fell from heaven?”

God, that voice- hearing him flirt so close to your ear made his words sound way too intimate, making your back tingle and your cheeks blaze red.

An exasperated groan slipped from your lips, your body pushing away from Hawk’s as he began to chuckle at your flusteredness.

“You were just dying to say that, huh?”

“What, you can't blame a guy!” he said between laughs, “you did set me up for it.”

You rolled your eyes playfully, your back turning away from him in an attempt to hide your obvious blush.

“You're still a little scared to fly high, huh?” Hawks tone was calm and nonchalant, making you feel grateful that he wasn't too mad at you for freaking out so suddenly.

You tucked a piece of hair self consciously behind your ear. It was so frustrating to you- you were gifted with these wonderful wings, yet you could barely use them “Yeah, a little,” you sighed, “its just-I don't know how to get over it, and it feel like I'm not improving fast enough-”

Hawks sent you a sympathetic smirk, his lemon yellow eyes gleaming in the golden rays of sunset. 

“Ah dont put too much pressure on yourself Angel, you'll get it eventually!”

“And besides,” he added, “you have been getting better- before we started you could barely flap your wings...now look at you! You flew over a whole street for almost 5 minutes!”

His smile was beaming, his tone so supportive and kind. Times like this you almost wished you had chosen to apply to be Hawk’s sidekick- he was so carefree and positive about everything. he somehow made every situation feel like a milestone, no matter how little you improved, and it made you feel a little better about your progress.

You gave him a meek smile, the cruddy feeling of failure still sinking in your chest.

“Aw, don't give me that sad face, angel,” he cooed, “you're gonna be just fine- you'll see,”

Still- you couldn't seem to get out of your saddened daze, even with his overwhelming positivity. 

Hawks seemed to notice, the usually chatty man suddenly quiet. It was strange to see him like that,as he rubbed his pointer finger against his stubbled chin, deep in thought.

“Ya know, I think I know just what you need,” he finally said, his tone warm like honey, “you need a small break- something to take your mind off of all this.”

“There’s a little diner on the West side of town- it's got the best comfort food you've ever tasted, and you can really taste the flavor in their meals,” Hawk sent you a glimmering smile, one that could stop your heart in a matter of seconds.

 “What do ya say, angel, down for some grub? It'll be my treat, promise.”

Free food and you get to spend time with your mentor/crush? You sighed, a smile creeping onto your lips. 

“Sure, why not,”

  ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ

And thats how you ended up here, in a little whole in the wall diner near Hawk’s apartment.

The restaurant was decorated to look relatively old, 1950’s memorabilia plastered on the walls and even a jukebox playing dance music from the era playing softly in the background.

The place was quite adorable in your opinions, and you really couldnt understand how Hawks had even found the place.

Until you realized- they had the best fried chicken you ever eaten in your whole life

Hawks wasnt lying when he said the food was good-it was incredible, the flavors and textures so warm and crisp as they dissolved on your tongue. 

You two had gobbled up the meal, hungry from a days worth of training. The milkshakes Hawks had ordered for you two after was just was as amazing as the food itself, the creamy dessert cooling against your throat and making your whole body tingle with joy

It also helped that Hawks was the best partner to eat, with his bizarre stories and crazy antics having you giggling between bites, sometimes making you forget to eat as you got sucked in to his crazy retellings.

You two had finally finished, your stomachs full and genuine smiles gracing your cheeks.

You sighed in content, a smile gracing your lips 

“The food was amazing Hawks, thank you-”

You had honestly never seen Hawks looks so domestic- he was sporting a simple white tee and dark jeans, a gold watch adorning his wrist. You guessed the hero had to always wear something somewhat flashy but still- it was strange to see him so casual. 

But you werent complaining- it made him more approachable and lovable in a way, making your dinner feel less like a meal between colleagues but between close friends.

You watched Hawks wave his hand, stopping your sentence in its tracks.

“Call me Keigo,” he interrupted, a playful grin plastered on his cheeks, “since I took you out to dinner, I think its only right for you to call me by my actual name,”

You gulped, your eyes wide with shock-the Hawks gave you permission to call him by his real name?

The fangrl in you wanted to scream and to jump up and down like an excited 12 year old. Thankfully, the practical side of you pushed those urges deep down, only the shock of his sentence riddling throughout your body

“Right uh- Keigo,” you gulped out, “-I definitely owe you one for showing me this place,”

“Your welcome angel, its my pleasure,”

You smiled softly, your lips pursed slightly from nervousness.

“Ya know,” you said, your tone soft and open. “you dont have to call me by my hero name either if you dont want to,” 

If he was being so welcoming with you, shouldn't you do the same? He had taken you to dinner after all, and even paid for you, even after you had insisted he didnt have to. Hawks-Keigo- was being so kind to you, you had to at least do something in return. 

“- you can call me by my real name,”

A hum rumbled from Hawk’s chest, his hand stroking his stubble chin.

“Thats true but the thing is- I like calling you angel”

He sent you a flirtatious smirk from across the table, making your heart stop beating in its tracks. Keigo was a piece of work to understand- one minute he was being supportive like a mentor would be to their student, and the next he was flirting with you like he was trying to pick up a girl at a bar. Was this really how he acted with everyone? Or just-you?

You cocked your head in confusion, your cheeks hot from his sentence.

“Why?”

He grinned, his sultry yellow eyes trained on yours.

“Its like Im calling you by a pet name, like ‘babe’ or ‘dove’,” he explained, taking a pause to place his words correctly,” but it's more...personal.”

That shit eating grin was evident on his face again, making him look boyish as he leaned in towards you.

“its also kinda cute when you get all flustered when I say it,”

Well-crap.

“I-I dont get flustered,” you stuttered, making your lie blatantly obvious.

The man chuckled, obviously loving every second of this.

“Then why are you blushing angel?” he taunted sweetly,

 “Don't think for a second I didn’t notice your little crush on me,”

Oh no.

This wasnt good.

God, you knew you blushed alot but- how dumb of you to not assume he knew you liked him! You wanted to crawl in a hole, to just dissolve into the ground and disappear.

“I dont have a crush on you- your just my mentor, your just helping me-” you denied his accusation, your voice desperate to prove it to him and yourself.

You didnt have feeling for this Hero, you couldnt, he was just someone who helped you, you shouldnt like him like this-

“Aww lets not lie to ourselves little dove, you dont have to be so defensive,” he was smiling at you so wide, as if he was being reassuring. But something was different about this smile, and the way he looked at you- it was so tender and almost-nervous?

“Why do you think I took you to this place? It wasnt just to get your mind off of training you know,”

You stared at him in complete confusion.

That was why he had taken you here right? To cheer you up-but then again, Keigo didn't have to do this. He could have just patted you on the back and said “Good job.” He didn't have to take you to his favorite restaurant, buy you a meal, and even dessert, and tell you all his most interesting and sometimes embarrassing stories. He didn't have to lend you his jacket that you were wearing right now after you said you were cold, or promise to drive you home once it was got dark. He didn't have to do any of these things-but he did.

“Wait- This-this is a date, isnt it?” you stated bluntly, the revelation hitting you like a ton of bricks.

Keigo smiled timidly at you, the first time you had ever seen him look so nervous

“Only if you want it to be,” he chuckled, trying to sound nonchalant.

He sighed, clearly riddled with nerves as  his eyes staring down at his watch, trying to find the best words

“I-I know this is kinda sudden,” he finally said, “ and I should have told you straight before taking you here, but- I like you. Your fun ,and snarky, and so goddamn beautiful it makes my head spin. You make me smile so much, and I-I want to be with you.”

Hawks looked up at you, those bright hazel eyes staring at you with such love it took your breath away. You felt your whole body feel warmth, like honey was now flooding your veins. You honestly never imagined the hero to ever have feelings for you, but with this confession hanging in the air, you couldn’t feel happier.

“What do ya say, angel,” he asked, his hand stretching across the table and encasing yours, “ wanna give this a go?” 

You stared down at that hand, seeing his digits wrap so effortlessly around yours. It felt natural, yet exhilarating , a low, pleasant buzz forming from the small touch. It just felt-right.

“Sure,” you smiled, your fingers now curling around his, “ lets do it,”

Taggings (if you want to be added to the tag list, just shoot me an ask! Im also trying to work on an official tag list post, so you might see that soon! ) 

@weebartistinc @orokayagi @leeeah-loooser @bakarinnie

[evakuality]

Mia, episode five

1.  One thing Druck is super good at is these aesthetic shots.  This whole opening bit reminds me of the scene with Amira when she’s praying in her room.  Lots of beautiful shots of the room, curtains and stuff, which are just super pretty with a few hints of colour.  I dunno, this is just an aesthetic I like and I appreciate that Druck caters to me.  Mia is so cute, too!  Like both the way she looks and also how kind she is.  She still doesn’t really like Alex a lot (though you could see in that montage from the previous night that she’s warming up to him) but she still feels like she should leave things looking nice.  These little post-it notes are sort of cute too, and you can see that she thinks they’re sweet.  I don’t like this Bjorn though.

2.  Interesting that we get a clip specifically one week later.  I have no idea how that must have felt while this was live, and I’m really glad that I didn’t have to live through these long gaps in any of the things I did watch in real time.  This one was reasonably low key though, so maybe the wait wasn’t as agonising.  If you didn’t know who Bjorn is (I’m assuming the Niko character) then nothing in the last couple of clips would have felt all that alarming.  But Mia’s so flirty here - that one conversation at his house must have really charmed her.  Pity we didn’t really get to hear a lot of it because he still hasn’t charmed me!!  And actually that ‘show a montage of how things are going while a song and/or other conversation plays overtop’ is a huge thing Druck does, I think.  I feel like in some cases (Matteo and David after their first pool kiss moment, for example, or Hanna and Jonas breaking up) work quite well.  But here, I think we needed to hear more of Alex to actually believe that Mia would be this flirty with him.  For me, this is too big a turnaround from her very cold manner with him at the piano and an actual proper look at that conversation might have helped.  But also, I am super biased because William and so maybe a more reasonable person might like it okay.  This bit with Linn is weird.  Genuinely creepy, and I’m not sure why they’re setting her up to feel like this.  Maybe some sort of hint of the creepiness to come with Bjorn (I’m assuming it’s coming, anyway).

3.  I don’t get this bit with all the pictures at the school.  I assume it will become obvious later but I’m not sure what exactly they were trying to do with this.  You’d think they run the risk of having the whole Abi chaker clan thing shut down - if this happened in my school there’d be so much trouble.  A groups of kids once put post-its all over one teacher’s room and they got in SO much trouble for it, and that wasn’t obscene like this is.  This thing here seems so targeted at the Abi thing, using their plan specifically, that it feels like someone outside the group wants them not to be allowed to run their theme.  Or someone in the group who wants a different motto maybe.  I don’t know, but it feels very mean and very specifically directed at this group of people.

4.  Hmmm, I’m with Leonie on this one.  I’d be giving Carlos the super evil stare too.  It may be ‘funny’ to some of these people, but given that there are younger kids at this school (I assume, right?  They still have classes running for the smaller ones at the end of Matteo’s season, allowing their prank to go ahead) this is sure to go down really badly with the school itself.  I’m rolling my eyes at the ones who are outraged that the school is considering reporting it - what did they expect?  Also, surely they can figure out who was doing it - people were literally throwing handfuls of the pictures over the stairs.  Surely they could work out who it is.  It’s pretty clear that Alex still thinks this is funny and I’m losing patience with him.  Every time it seems like maybe he’s getting less gross he goes and acts like this again.  Bleh.  I’m not often rooting for Leonie and feeling for her, but wow today I really am.  This is shitty and she has a right to be angry.

5.  Ew, Alex, why are you stalking Mia again?  She’s made it pretty clear she’s not happy with you.  Turning up out of the blue like a creep isn’t a good way to go about winning her over again.  His ‘we were drunk, what can you do?’ is so... stupid???  They’ve lost money from this, the school is really angry, they could easily have some pretty bad consequences and he’s all ‘meh, it was a drunken prank’?  I know money isn’t an issue for him, but there are issues here beyond the money.  I’m also kind of annoyed that everyone keeps suggesting she’s upset because she’s jealous.  I’ll be really annoyed if the show carries on this way - this isn’t just a silly little prank, and people have every right to be angry and annoyed.  Diminishing it to jealousy isn’t cool.  Is Leonie also jealous?  The people who are angry and upset they’re being blamed and their money has been taken?

6.  I do love scenes where the whole girl squad is together.  They make me happy and I miss seeing them together so much.  But OMG, Alex is blackmailing Mia again????  I mean I guess it worked the first time so why wouldn’t he?  But this is seriously shitty behaviour.  Honestly, in clip one I was mildly starting to warm to him with the post-its and all, but he’s managed to speed run right back into ‘asshole’ category.  This was the problem in the og as well - William was such an asshole, that in order to make him likeable, we had to see a much more genuinely villainous character.  Alex is still super dislikeable and so we need someone ‘worse’ to make him look palatable, which I assume is coming.  We’re halfway through - we should like him by now.  I dunno.  Maybe some people do?  But he still has done nothing to make me think he’s nice or someone who Mia might be attracted to.

7.  Oh a long Friday clip?  Almost half the episode?  I guess it’s going to be a rough one for Mia then.  More reflections again - her whole face in the mirror now, but it’s surrounded by graffiti.  I’m always fascinated by the way mirrors and reflections work, and it’s fun to see Mia slightly obscured in her mirrors even now.  It’s not as disjointed as it was at the start but it’s not a fully clear reflection either.  I may not like the way Noora/Mia’s story goes but I do like some of these things which show the progress.

8.  I feel kind of sorry for Jonas, because that break up wasn’t his choice.  But seriously, he seems to be blaming this on Hanna a bit and like ????? He chose to make her feel small and unworthy through her whole season.  She’s allowed to try to figure herself out outside of him and his wants and needs.  Eh, I know he’s hurting and all, but that’s actually his issue and he shouldn’t be pushing it on her.

9.  This scene with Mia and Alex bothers me.  He still seems to have no idea why she might find his actions (selfish and self-serving and filled with blackmail) offputting.  ‘I fixed it, so we should totally be together now’ is such an immature and childish take on this.  These types of guys need to grow up and learn that they can’t just buy and/or coerce their way into whatever they want.  I like the way they decide to have Kiki walk past just as Mia has to choose whether to say she doesn’t want Alex or not.  It adds a poignancy to it and Mia obviously chooses to stick by her friends.  I do wish it felt more conflicting, like if Alex genuinely had changed or had shown he has depth or something it would be a bigger ‘wow she’s rejecting him for her friend’ but instead he’s still such an unpleasant character that I don’t care.

10.  I’m not sure why Mia does the brushing off of the makeup - I feel like it made more sense when Noora did it (I mean I watched it once a very long time ago so who knows, but my memory is that it was her way of trying to reject being ‘pretty’ and having guys liking her because it was messing her up).  With Mia, I don’t understand.  Someone help me out?

11.  I still don’t get what Mia sees in Alex.  Again, I know I have a really big bias against him because of William and I know it was always going to be tough for him to be someone I care about.  But even so, this feels like a huge whiplash when she says of course she likes him.  I’d get it if we’d seen any of his development, but every time he took a mini step forward he shoved himself right back into dislikeable territory.  Once again, I mourn the actual conversation between Mia and Alex.  This all feels far too fast, and the fact that this is suggesting his blackmail is all good is very worrying.  All the post-it notes in the world can’t make me think he’s nice enough to want to kiss.

Overall, I didn’t really like this one.  I feel like the pacing is still off; I don’t believe the speed at which Mia has fallen for him and honestly it hasn’t been very long since Kiki was with Alex and had her heart broken.  The fact that Mia even saw her and told him she doesn’t like him only to turn around immediately and change her mind is strange to me.  Mia has always come across as a caring person who tries to do the right thing and help out her friends.  That she has apparently no qualms at this point is difficult for me.  They’re acting the hell out of this, but I can’t buy it.  Unfortunately.  Sadly, because this is based on a very flawed original, I don’t think it’s going to make me enjoy these two.  There are things that I’m interested in seeing as we go forward but most of those have zero to do with Alex.

[deadlymodern]

/// 𝐃𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐭. 𝟑

"Hmm" Beth allowed herself to show her annoyance once the man left. "I did not know you and Mr. Laurence were friends."

"Friends is a bit of a stretch, but I do cherish his company! We spend quite a good amount of our leisure time at The Conray's, so it was inevitable that we would grow close over drinks and games."

She scoffed and instantly felt guilty for disregarding William's comment. "I am sorry. I just... Don't find him to be very likeable..."

"Oh, don't you?" Will sighed, dismayed. "Why is that?"

"I don't know, Carrot, he... He is just a bit too pompous for my liking. And also, he is very loud and disruptive!" She said, knowingly exaggerating her impressions.

She needn't a reason to dislike him. She did not! It obviously had no relation to the fact that Mary's parents thought Mr. Laurence was suitable for their daughter. Obviously not. That reasoning was immature and Bethany Norman was anything but immatu--

"Loud and disruptive? Sounds a little like you sometimes." The young man chuckled and Beth couldn't help but laugh along.

"Enough about him." She declared. "Shall we ask to have our photograph taken? I'd like to have a physical memory of you and I!"

The request took William by surprise, leaving him overjoyed. A physical memory of you and I... He thought, and then wondered how wonderful would it be if all of his moments alongside that young woman could be photographed for him to keep.

𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 | 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 | 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐩 | 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲

𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐭

WILLIAM: So, how are you enjoying it so far?

BETHANY: Oh, it is brilliant!! I feel like I just ran up a mountain. I’m overwhelmed with such thrill!

WILLIAM: I knew you’d love it!  

BETHANY: Ah, I forgot to ask you...  Was that your sister by the entrance?

WILLIAM: Ah, yes… That’s Winifred.  I apologize for her impolite behaviour when we arrived. Winnie is unhappy that our father made her work here. She’d much rather be by his side, at the meeting he is at. Now she is giving me the cold shoulder, as she usually does, as if it were my fault...  Don’t take it personally. It’s only a family dilemma.

BETHANY: Please, it’s quite alright. You act as though I don't have siblings of my own. <giggles>

WILLIAM: <chuckles> Siblings can definitely b--

TIMOTHY: Carrington!

-

WILLIAM: Laurence! It’s very nice to see you again! 

TIMOTHY: Very nice indeed! How do you do, my friend?

WILLIAM: I'm well, thank you. And you?

TIMOTHY: I suppose I can't complain. <chuckles> And for what reason have I not seen you at The Conrays anymore?! Are you worried about being disgraced in poker again? <laughs>

WILLIAM: <chuckles> Come now, that only happened once... My mind has been terribly occupied with school... But I ought to stop by after my exams.

TIMOTHY: Ah, very well, then! You must! Let us schedule a game before the end of the month, yes? I’ll be leaving in July.

WILLIAM: Are you? Where to?

TIMOTHY: Oh, just… Normouth for a family holiday.  And, umm. Actually I haven’t publicly announced it yet but… Blimey! Where on Earth are my manners?! Forgive me, miss, I had no intention to disregard your presence! 

BETHANY: <chuckles> Oh, no, that's quite alright.

TIMOTHY: It’s lovely to meet you, I’m Timothy Laurence!

BETHANY: Oh my… But we have already met before.

TIMOTHY: Have we, now?

BETHANY: We attended the same school for a while… I’m… Friends with Mary McNeill? And Su--

TIMOTHY: Of course! Of course you are. Miss Norman, is it? Golly, now I’m just being a complete fool. Forgive me. *Ahem* Carrington. Great exhibition, I’m adoring it all so far. I might speak to your father later about purchasing one of the Kodak’s. But I’ll leave you to your chuckadoo for now.

WILLIAM: It was great seeing you again. In case we don’t meet in time, I wish you a good holiday!

TIMOTHY: Thank you, my friend. I sure will need all the good wishes.

[daredevil-1910]

Sorting

"Sir, are you telling me that this official document with information that hasn't only been given to me but other kids as well, is wrong" I cannot believe how hard it is to get information around here

"I'm telling you kid, there is no platform under 9 3/4" once again this guy chooses to not help, me what’s wrong with him.

"I honestly can't believe the incompetence some pe-"

"Benjamin Doyle, get over here and stop talking to the nice man like that” my mother cut me off, and gave the useless man a smile.

I slumped my way back to my mother’s side, pushing my trolley all the way back to where my mother was waiting with my sister.

“How many times am I going to tell you to not argue with strangers”

“Well I just don’t understand why he won’t tell me where the platform is” as I was expressing my point to my mother, I found a boy with dark hair and glasses, his trolley had similar things to mine, maybe he knows.

I approach the boy and smile at him, extending my hand

“Hello there, my name is Benjamin Doyle”

“Hello, I’m Harry Potter” he shook my hand and smiled back at me

“Say, you wouldn’t know how to get to Platform 9 ¾ would you, the guards and guides around here haven’t been much help.”

“I actually came here to ask you the same thing, it’s also my first time at Hogwarts” from the corner of my eye I see my mother approaching me

“Hi, hey Ben, there’s a woman with some kids over there, they look like they are from Hogwarts too, maybe she can help” she points at a woman with red hair walking next to other kids with red hair.

���Come on Harry, maybe they know” we all rushed together towards the red headed family who were standing next to a column with the number ten and nine on each side.

“Come on Percy, you first” she signaled for the oldest looking boy towards the column, but isn’t he going to, he’s going to crash into the wall

“What are they doing?” As I'm asking Harry, we saw the boy run towards the column and into it!

“Fred, you next” she pointed to another one of the boys behind her

“Harry, we have to ask her how they are doing that” my mom looked down at me and pushed us both to go ask.

“Excuse me, could you tell us how to…?” Harry was the first to speak up and the woman quickly came up to us

“How to get on to the platform? Not to worry, boys, It's Ron’s first time as well” she said between chuckles.

I looked behind me where a boy our age smiled brightly at us.

“All you gotta do is walk straight at the wall between platforms 9 and 10, best do it at a bit of a run if you’re nervous” yup, I wasn’t crazy, that really happened.

Harry was the first of us to go, he ran straight towards the wall without stopping. My mom did the same

“I’ll see you when you cross the wall” she ran holding my sisters hand

It was my turn up next, but I was hesitant, what if I can’t get through the wall.

“don’t worry dear, you’ll be ok” she placed her hand on my back and gave me a little nudge

“Good luck” the little girl said almost silently then she rushed back behind her mother and gave me a shy smile.

I ran straight through the wall, but it didn’t feel like I was going through a wall. It just felt like running forward in an empty room, I looked back, and I couldn’t see anyone on the other side.

I looked around and found my mom talking to harry not so far from me, so I rushed to them

“Hey, I’ll see you inside” Harry Rushed off, and that’s when I finally noticed the train. When I read Hogwarts express, it took my breath away, this is really happening. I can’t believe it

“Honey, it’s time to go” I turned around and saw my mom, her eyes a bit teary and a smile on her face.

She gave me a tight hug and kissed my forehead

“I love you baby, remember what we talked about, write to me whenever you can give Luca the letter, he’ll find his way home ok”

I nodded and started to walk towards the train.

Once inside I looked through every booth looking for Harry, I found him alone in one booth looking out the window.

“Hey, mind if I sit here”

“Me too, everywhere is full” Ron spoke up from behind me

“Not at all” Harry motioned for the seats in front of him, and we both took a seat. I sat next to Harry and Ron sat in front of us.

“I’m Ron by the way, Ron Weasley”

“Benjamin Doyle, most people call me Ben though”

“I’m Harry Potter” Ron’s eyes grew wide

“So is it true, I mean, do you really have the” he started to point at his forehead

“What?”

“The scar?” a scar, don’t really think I saw a scar on Harry earlier.

“Oh, yeah!” he pushed his bangs away from his face revealing a thunder looking scar.

“Awesome”

“Wicked” we said it at the same time which made the three of us start laughing.

“Anything of the trolley dears” An old lady stopped in front of out booth with a cart full of candy

Ron pulled out a bag with something I didn’t really know what it was, but it looked gross

“We'll take the lot” Harry pulled out a few coins he had inside his pocket and gave them to the old lady, he bought the entire cart.

“So, Ben, is your family a wizard family?” Ron asked biting a piece of chocolate

“Well, my mother isn’t a witch, and I didn’t really know my father, he died on a car accident when I was small” I picked up a what I thought was a jellybean, but it tasted awful

“I’m so sorry.” Harry patted my shoulder

“it’s ok, my mother tells me stories about him all the time, sometimes it even feels like he is with me” I shrugged my shoulders and kept eating from the candy that was in front of me.

“This is scabbers, By the way. Pathetic, isn’t he?” Ron directs his view to his rat, sitting on his lap with a box on its head

“Just a little bit” harry answered

“Come on, don’t say that I’m sure he is actually great” I tried to hold back a laugh

“Fred gave me a spell to turn him yellow, want to see” he asked us.

“I actually don’t think that’s a good idea”

“Its fine, completely harmless” he grabs his wand and opens his mouth to begin the spell, but a girl with quite messy hair interrupted him

“Have any of you seen a toad, a boy named Neville’s lost one”

“no” we all said in unison

“Oh, are you doing magic? let’s see then” she stood there, and I don’t know why but her tone may be annoying me a little

Ron cleared his throat “Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow. Turn this stupid fat rat yellow” of course nothing happened

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a few hours in the train ride, we got to know each other, the girl’s name is Hermione Granger, we got into a small argument over some spells but nothing major, it was fun to argue with someone in the same wavelength as me, it was also funny seeing Ron and Harry confused over what we were doing.

When we finally got off the train, we were escorted by a tall man to some boats that took us to the actual school. When I saw Hogwarts, I was amazed at the sheer size of it. It was so much more amazing than I could have ever thought.

Once inside everyone was huddled up together. One of the professors stood on top of the stairs waiting for us.

“Welcome to Hogwarts, in just a moment you will get through these doors, but before you can join your classmates you must be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Now while you are here, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you points. Any rule-breaking, and you will lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup. The sorting ceremony will begin momentarily” She walked off into the room. I looked back at Ron and Harry who were standing next to me, I couldn’t tell which one of us was more excited.

“It’s true then, what they’re saying on the train. Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts” a blonde boy started talking to Harry, he didn’t seem that likeable. What I still don’t get is how do all these people know who Harry is.

“This is Crabbe and Goyle. And I’m Malfoy. Draco Malfoy” Ron snorted from behind me and harry

“You think my name is funny do you, I don’t suppose I need to ask yours, red hair and a hand-me-down robe, you must be a Weasley. You’ll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don’t want to go making friends with the wrong sort, I can help you there” he extends his hand, but Harry pushes it away

“I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks” before I could say anything, the same professor from before came back and tapped Malfoy with a scroll

“We are ready for you now, follow me” we followed her into the giant dining hall Infront of us. Once again, I got my breath taken away from me the ceiling looks like the night sky

I walked in next to Hermione behind Ron and Harry.

“It’s not real, the ceiling. It’s just bewitched to look like the night sky” Me and Hermione say it at the same time, I laughed but she glared at me. I remembered that from reading something in dragon alley I don’t remember what though

“All right, will you wait along here please?” the professor pointed along the steps in front of her

“Now before we begin, Professor Dumbledore, will like to say a few words” I looked past the professor and at an old man who stood up behind her

“I have a few start-of-term notices I wish to announce. The first years, please note that the dark forest is strictly forbidden to all students. Also, our caretaker, Mr. Filch has asked me to remind you that the third-floor corridor on the right side is out of bounds to anyone that does not wish to die a most painful death. Thank you” well that’s a way to bring a mood down.

“When I call your name, you will come forth. I shall place the sorting hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses” I wonder how the hat is going to sort us.

“Hermione Granger” she goes off, muttering to herself

“Mental, that one, I’m telling you” He leans over towards us now standing behind us

“Gryffindor!” the hat yelled, and everyone cheered.

The night went on, the hat sorting everyone into their houses, some people took longer than others, and some were almost instantaneous. Right now, it was Harry’s turn. The hat seemed to have more problems with Harry, muttering of two itself quietly.

“Gryffindor” it finally yelled.

“Benjamin Doyle” oh my god, it’s my turn, I quickly got up the steps, and sat down, the Professor which I have gone to know by Ron is Professor McGonagall placed the hat on my head

“Hmm… Quite passionate, private, argumentative and stubborn. Brave, headstrong, loyal. I would say Slytherin, but you lack ambition and cunning, Gryffindor!” oh my god what a relief I thought I was going to have to go to Slytherin.

I quickly shuffled on to the Gryffindor table.

“All three of us sorted in the same house, wicked” Ron exclaimed with excitement.

[overheard-at-camp-half-blood]

A Rant About Heroes of Olympus Character Arcs.

Just as a warning most of this is negative, but I put the names in big bold letters, in case you want to skip. I do have some controversial opinions in here, specifically towards Percy and Annabeth, and their relationship, but I don’t think I’m negative towards their actual characters... I more so critique how it could have been written better.

I do still love the series, and even though I poke fun at Rick a bit, I still like him as a writer (though I recognize the problematic elements in this story). These are my own opinions on the books, and I’m sorry if I criticize your character in ways you don’t like.

Also, I may do another post about some other problematic elements, so be on the lookout for that.

Percy

Let’s start with Percy, shall we? After all, he is the one who started it all, and he was the one who introduced us to this world. If I’m being extremely honest, and I know I’m going to get hate for this, but I think Percy’s arc should have ended in the first series. He could have still remained a major character in this series, but I think as far as his main arc went, it wrapped up better in the first series, because I feel like this series added nothing to his arc.

I mean, he and Annabeth went through some majorly traumatic shit in The House of Hades, and then nothing was done about it, and I feel like it would just be better had it not happened. Besides I have some major issues with how his relationship with Annabeth played out.

Annabeth

I was really excited for Annabeth, and I did like her arc in MoA. It seemed like a good continuation of her arc in the first series, where Annabeth wanted to prove herself to everyone else, and now she wanted to prove herself to... well, herself. The arc had potential, and I really enjoyed seeing her arc in MoA, but as I said, I didn’t like how her and Percy’s relationship ship played out.

Now, let me preface this by saying that I am NOT anti-Percabeth, in fact, I do post a lot about it on this blog, but I am critical of how Rick writes established relationships. Perhaps it is because I’m older, so therefore my mind is more critical of these sorts of things.

I love Percabeth, but I really dislike their codependency.... I mean Annabeth’s arc in MoA was great because there was a focus on her relationship with Percy, but it was still about her. And yeah, I understand they’ve been through a lot together, but I really don’t like how their development was dependent on each other.

The reason why I put this under Annabeth and not Percy is because for me, it was much worse for Annabeth, because this was our first time getting this from her perspective. We got to see Percy develop through his own eyes, but we never really got the same for Annabeth. Most of Annabeth’s development was through Percy’s eyes, which was why I was so excited that Annabeth was getting her own POV.

And it was great in MoA! But after that, it honestly felt to me that her story was more about her relationship with Percy, than Annabeth herself.

Jason

Jason was doomed from the beginning.

That’s the main issue, is in the beginning, he was literally a blank slate, and while we were worried about the mystery of his character, there was really no way for us to know who he was as a person, because HE didn’t even know. So, as he was introduced at the same time as Piper and Leo, he didn’t get the same development as Piper and Leo. As we learned the other two’s backstories, and how those backstories represent who they are in the current story.

And the thing is, when we finally DID find out who he was, it was too late to do anything with it, because the story ended. I think by the time Blood of Olympus rolled around, and we did learn more about him... a lot of people had no interest in him.

That being said, I love fanon Jason, and I didn’t like how he was treated in the Trials of Apollo series.

Piper

Piper... I have a very complicated relationship with Piper. I kind of wrote this several times, because I couldn’t quite pinpoint my issues with Piper, and she is such a controversial character for whatever reason, and whatever I say will be perceived as me hating on her. That is not the case. I like the idea of Piper’s character, though I can agree she, as well as the other Aphrodite children, are written with sexist tropes, which is another post.

My main issue with Piper is that most of her development happens off the page. In the first few books, she her charmspeak is shown getting her in a lot of trouble, and she often lacks confidence when using it. My issue is the resolution for this happens mainly off the page.

A huge internal conflict with Piper is her lack of self confidence, which is something that I personally can relate to, but we never see her develop that confidence, we’re just told that it happened. Like she worked with Hazel and Annabeth on xyz, so suddenly she is much better and confident in her abilities of xyz. This kind of made her hard for me to connect with her in general, because it seems like most of her struggles happened off page.

This isn’t even just with her overall character; it’s with her relationship with other characters. We do see her friendship with Leo develop to some extent, but that’s because they already had an established friendship before the series started. Her other relationships? Jason and Piper went from barely knowing each other to dating between books. We never saw her friendship with Annabeth develop. She apparently was friends with Hazel, but that happened off the page.

Now, this happened to each character to some degree, but I think Piper got hit the hardest with the “tell, don’t show,” thing. I do think that because a lot of people didn’t like Piper, and imo, most of the criticisms were bullshit, Rick tried to overcompensate by trying to force development on her, without doing the work of showing us her development.

Leo

To be honest, his wasn’t as bad as others, but I feel like more people were disappointed, because he was a relatable fan-favorite. His arc went wrong for the exact opposite reasons as Piper’s, as there was legitimately a lot of development on the page, and he had a good arc set up, but Rick literally forgot everything that initially made his character so likeable to the audience.

So, here’s my thing with Leo’s arc; it was really good for the first three books, as Rick did develop him while leaving room for more development in new books. He also had a consistent arc; in The Lost Hero his arc was about his inferiority complex, which was directly connected to his trauma. He never felt like he had a home, and never felt like he belonged.

This was the direction I was hoping they would go with the “seventh wheel” storyline; meaning, yeah, he’s the only one in the seven who’s not in a relationship, but why does this bother him so much? Because, I don’t think it was the fact that he was in a relationship, I think it was trauma.

I so badly wanted the seventh wheel plot line to be an extension of what happened in TLH, but it became ignored, and it just seemed like a reason to put him in a relationship.

I’m not going to sit here and say that Leo shouldn’t have been in a relationship (though I will say I had an issue with Caleo), but I will say that I hate how a relationship was supposed to solve his feelings of inferiority- when it’s clearly indicated that Leo had those feelings because of trauma. A relationship can’t reverse years of trauma.

I also thought it would be so much more impactful if Leo made his sacrifice because of his feelings of inferiority, then perhaps the resurrection happens through one of his friends.

Hazel

I fucking hate how little Hazel (and Frank) were written into the series, especially considering she was one of my favorite new characters introduced in HoO. I also think she had the most potential, and her backstory was the most intriguing of the seven.

Why the hell was she not in the books more? Rick literally wrote a whole ass book in the series that mostly centered around the two already developed characters of the series, but he couldn’t give Hazel and Frank more POVs?

I don’t have anything to say about Hazel’s arc, because she barely HAD one, at least not after her initial one in SoN. The Sammy arc was made about Leo, which I get to some extent, as they sort of have a connection through Sammy. That being said, Leo never actually knew Sammy, and I feel like the flashback scene would have been so much more impactful from Hazel’s POV.

The biggest issue with that is it didn’t really feel like a way to develop any of the characters, but it was used as a way to justify a love triangle... that was barely even a love triangle.

In conclusion, Hazel was screwed over.

Frank

Frank, oh I have some things to say about the writing of Frank’s character, because my issue with Frank’s writing is a combination of the off-the-page development that happened with Piper, and the lack of POVs issue with Hazel, but to different degrees. Most of my issues with this comes from between Heroes of Olympus and Trials of Apollo

See, I do think his lack of POVs contributing to his lack of character development, you know what pisses me off?

The fire stick thing was a HUGE part of his character arc. It caused him legitimate fear and partially affected his relationship to some of the others (coughLeocough). And the resolution? Happened between series, and it’s literally mentioned in passing. What the fuck, Rick?

I don’t know, to me, it just seemed like a betrayal to his whole character arc, because we saw him struggle so much because of this, and the resolution just happened off page? I can just rant about how annoyed I am by that, because it just felt like Rick realized he forgot about Frank, and resolved his whole internal conflict off the page.

Nico

I love Nico! But, of course, I do have my criticisms of his character.

First of all, I really enjoyed how we got his point of view in Heroes of Olympus, but I really just wish he was part of the seven to begin with, for a number of reasons. First of all, it just makes sense- it’s indicated that he is the only demigod who knows about both camps... so wouldn’t it make sense that he would be part of the plan to reunite them? Don’t get me wrong, he does play a big role in this anyways, but it’s kind of weird that he just knows, and nobody thinks, “Hey, maybe we should include Nico!”

Another huge issue I had, was Nico’s coming out scene was in Jason’s point of view... which I get, because I’m reality, he wasn’t one of the seven... but it just seems fucked up? I mean I like headcanons of Nico and Jason’s friendship, but the unfortunate truth is... they didn’t actually know each other.

In fact, Nico wasn’t really that close to any of the seven- he was probably closest to Percy, and even he didn’t know that much about him at times. It just felt weird, not only seeing Nico come out in someone else’s POV, but in a POV of someone he barely even knew.

Also the fact he was forced to come out... I see the intentions, but it’s just not a good look.

Reyna

Reyna... don’t have any issues against Reyna, other than I wish we had more time with her before the last book. She was such an interesting character and I needed more of her.

[sankyeom]

𝟷, 𝟸, 𝟹 (𝚜𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚕 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚊𝚍𝚎) // 𝚜𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗

𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐: 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍'𝚜 𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚖𝚢!𝚓𝚊𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗 𝚡 𝚌𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚑!𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛

𝚜𝚢𝚗𝚘𝚙𝚜𝚒𝚜: 𝚒𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚓𝚊𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚜𝚑𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚏𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚎𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞’𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚘𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚎. (𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝟷, 𝟸, 𝟹 𝚋𝚢 𝚗𝚌𝚝 𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖)

𝟷, 𝟸, 𝟹 𝚖𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝 // 𝚖𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝 // 𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚝

“You can’t leave me here alone,” Jaemin practically begged Hyerin outside of the media room after school before his interview. His eyes were wide and anxious, and Hyerin couldn’t help but grin at her best friend.

“You’ll be fine, Nana,” Hyerin promises him. “Seriously. Y/n is really nice and she’s a really good editor. Don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried about Y/n,” Jaemin retorted. “What about me? What if I embarrass myself in front of her?” he stressed, slumping against the door of the media room.

“Jaemin,” Hyerin began, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You are definitely going to be embarrassing yourself,” she informed him, causing Jaemin to narrow his eyes at her.

“This whole pep talk thing,” Jaemin said, motioning vaguely over to her. “Is not your forte.”

Jeno laughed at this. “You’re overthinking this,” he assured Jaemin. “It’s an interview. Just be yourself and you’ll be fine. You’re supposed to be the charming one in the group, remember?”

“Well it’s not like the bar was very high to start with,” Jaemin mentioned, causing Jeno to sigh.

“Open the door,” he begged Hyerin. She grinned, twisting the knob and causing Jaemin to stumble backwards into the media room.

This would have been funny if you and Jinyoung hadn’t been conversing by the door, and if Jaemin hadn’t knocked Jinyoung to the ground as he fell inside. “Jinyoung!” Hyerin exclaimed in surprise, helping your best friend up.

“I’m fine,” he assured you, getting up and not-so-subtly glaring at Jaemin.

“Uh,” Jaemin began dumbly. “Sorry about that.”

Jinyoung only hummed, greeting Jeno and Hyerin with large smiles before going off to the computer used for layout. Jaemin scanned the room for your familiar face, butterflies erupting in his stomach due to his nerves.

“Oh my god Eric, stop,” the sound of your voice caused Jaemin, Jeno and Hyerin to glance over at you. You had your face buried in your hands as you stared at Eric with a blank expression. “I’m not letting you break into the principal’s office to steal the files on how much water they use for the football field,” you said with a frown.

“You’re mean and you have no consideration for my journalistic integrity,” Eric retorted instantly.

“Look, I want to expose the school as much as you do. But I also really need you to not be kicked out of school.”

“Why’s that?”

“Let’s see: we’re friends and I want you to graduate, I’d be down a writer when I’m already understaffed, and your Mum would kill me,” you listed off, just as you noticed Jaemin, Jeno and Hyerin standing nearby. “Oh, hi guys!” you greeted, happy to have the distraction. When you met Jaemin’s eyes, he couldn’t help but flush. “You must be Jaemin. Are you ready to get started?”

“Um, yes. I think so,” he confirmed with a nod.

You smiled. “Great! Hyerin, Hyunjin is finishing up with Yonghee soon so you can get ready to take his pictures.”

Hyerin saluted. “Is it okay if Jeno sits in?” she asked.

You looked her boyfriend up and down, as if to establish whether he was threatening or not. Then, you shrugged. “Sure,” you agreed. “As long as you let my favourite photographer to her work then I don’t care,” you added, sending the two of them over to Hyunjin.

You noticed that Jaemin seemed to look scared standing all alone. “You can take a seat,” you told him, motioning to take the seat opposite you at one of the desks in the media room. Jaemin complied, putting his backpack on the floor and sitting down. “So. How long have you been dancing?” you jumped right into the interview.

“Ah,” Jaemin thought. “About five or six years now? I started in middle school.”

You nodded, writing down his answer. “What do you like about dance?”

“I’m good at it,” Jaemin admitted. His honesty caused you to quirk a small smile. “I don’t mean that I’m the best or anything. It’s just the only thing that I’ve ever been good at without having to try too hard,” he amended his answer.

“I get it,” you assured him. “What made you decide to go for the captain position?” you questioned.

“Well, originally I wasn’t going to,” Jaemin confessed. “There were other really promising dancers like Jinyoung and Hyunjin who I thought would be better for the job, but I decided to go for it because it’s been something that I wanted for a long time.” he smiled nervously, waiting for you to respond.

As gently as you could, you put your pen down and cleared your throat. “Jaemin,” you told him carefully. “I don’t mean to be rude but… your answers don’t sound that sincere,” you had to admit.

“Oh,” Jaemin replied, not knowing what else to say.”

“I know you’re probably nervous, but this is an opportunity for people to get to know you more intimately,” you explained to him. “Our dance team has ranked first at nationals for two years in a row now. This school really cares about the team. And the captain is important,” you reminded. “It would help if you could just view this as a conversation between friends. Maybe that way, you can be a little more open and vulnerable.”

“Okay,” Jaemin agreed. “Yeah. Totally. I get it.”

“Okay. So, what made you decide to go for the captain position?” you repeated your question.

Jaemin thought it over. “I started dancing during a pretty rough time for me. I had lost my best friend and my parents had lost really good friends of theirs as a result, too. Without my best friend, I felt like I was nothing. Dancing was the only thing that allowed me to really express my feelings. All those feelings of sorrow and hurt and guilt were difficult to express because I was the one who had it easy,” Jaemin explained. “My best friend was going through a difficult time, and he was the only person I ever really confided in. So I trained all my energy on dance and it just… it made all the difference. I want to be able to help others like that, too. My dance teacher in middle school practically made me into the person I am today and I’d like to emulate that.” Jaemin could feel his palms sweating with how open he was being with you; he was spilling his greatest truths to his crush of all people.

You gave him a smile he could only describe as breathtaking. “Excellent. Do you have a particular vision for the team?”

“Well, thank you so much for doing this,” you told Jaemin almost an hour later. The interview had gone really well, and you were definitely starting to see why everybody in school liked Jaemin so much. He was charming, but not necessarily in a flirtatious way. Rather, he had a sort of air about him that made him equally kind, attractive, and likeable.

It was hard to remind yourself that he was your best friend’s enemy.

“Yeah, of course,” Jaemin nodded. “Besides, this was really fun.”

“Really?” you asked, surprised. “Me pestering you with questions for the paper was actually fun?”

Jaemin laughed. “It was,” he confirmed. “I don’t know. It’s just nice to spend time with you.”

The compliment caught you off guard, and you didn’t know what to reply with so you stuck with a simple smile. “Well, Hyerin can take your portrait now if you’re ready.”

“Cool,” Jaemin agreed. “Um, can I ask you something?” he added.

“Sure,”  you shrugged.

“Would you mind if I keep your number?” he asked, cheeks flushing red in mild embarrassment.

Your mouth dropped open slightly, surprised at the question. “Oh. Um, sure. Why not.” you agreed.

“And… can I use it sometime?” Jaemin added. “Maybe to see if we can hang out?”

You bit your bottom lip. “Um,” you began, stalling because you weren’t sure what to say. “I… I-“ you looked around to see if Jinyoung was in the room. When you saw that he wasn’t, you turned back to Jaemin. “Okay,” you agreed. “I’d really like that.”

she do be sneaking around behind jinyoung’s back tho

[intelligentdumbass]

The Golden Apple Incident but-

(Honestly writing this felt like writing a glorified shitpost, so-)

Olympus’ garden was breath-taking; bioluminescent flowers blooming under Selene’s far-reaching gaze as the immortals were having the time of their lives, drunkenly singing under the serene night sky.

Hermes couldn’t help but subtly gaze back at Apollo every now and then, who was talking with one of the muses, when someone caught him off guard by wrapping an arm around his shoulder. He instantly knew who it was the second he smelled the wine in his breath.

“Jealous?~” Dionysus wiggled his eyebrows.

Hermes scoffed. “Jealous of what?”

Dionysus motioned back to the nine sisters. Calliope had her arms wrapped around Apollo’s neck while the god had just given her a small kiss. Hermes rolled his eyes, but, oh little did he know, he was faintly blushing.

The younger brother sighed.

“Look man, if you’re going to keep this up, then you‘re absolutely hopeless. I mean, at this point literally everyone except the distracted blonde you haven’t confessed to knows that you want a piece of that-”

“Hahahaha, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Anyway, have you seen Eris? I heard she wasn’t-”

“Hey, don’t change the subject!”

“It’s not what you think! I swear I was just slightly… concerned? I don’t know, he seems a lil off and Cal can prolly sense it too-”

“Pft, excuses excuses-”

Then it happened.

The festivities were suddenly interrupted by their father’s voice thundering across the garden.

“AH-” “What’s this?!”

On his hand he held out an apple as if it was made of pure solid gold. The fruit had struck him on the nose while he was chatting with his siblings. It glimmered and sparkled under the ambient moonlight as if it was enticing all of the immortals to come and have a closer look.

“It… has something engraved onto it? Hold on-” He cleared his throat, and now all eyes were on the king.

“‘It is with my greatest pleasure to present this apple to the loveliest god of them all, a trophy that will stand the test of time, a symbol of the lord’s unrivalled beauty and allure.’”

Whispers echoed throughout the venue, jumping from ear to ear. Now, of course, Zeus would’ve gladly declared himself ownership of the gift as it was thrown at his face. However, barely had a minute passed when the apple was already gone; snatched out of Zeus’ hands by the god of love whose wings immediately threw him up into air as he curiously stared at the prize he was about to award to himself.

“Still the same old insolent piece of shit, huh?”

A golden arrow whizzed out of nowhere, fired from a silver bow and carried by the evening breeze. It narrowly missed Eros’ head and pinned the fruit against one of the trees.

Eros flew after the apple as fast as he could, but by the time he managed to grab a hold of it, there was already another hand, from the archer god himself, and neither party seemed willing to let go.

He hissed. “You arrogant bastard.”

Apollo replied with a shit-eating grin. “Oh please, look whose talking.”

There was one single thought in Hermes’ head. ‘Oh boy.’ He tried to get even closer, running to where Ares and Aphrodite were. He just had to see this.

“Wait!” Athena interrupted, as she was a teensy bit worried that those two were about to murder each other. “This all feels a little… off. We don’t even know where that apple came from-”

“Don’t know; don’t care Misses killjoy!” Eros rolled his eyes. “I can assure you that I sense no malicious auras or weird obscure magic so, perhaps this really is just a gift from some fanatic, at which I am extremely flattered-”

Apollo laughed. “Really, you?? Why on earth would anyone give this to a saucy twink who’s barely taller than Hermes?”

The messenger frowned at the mentioned of his height. Ares gave him a few pats on the back while Dionysus, Artemis and a few other gods snickered. Athena just sighed like she gave up and doesn’t want to involve herself any further. On the other hand, Zeus had stopped trying to come up with a scheme to take back the fruit the second he saw his son want it too. Still though, the way Eros’ and Apollo’s fingers twitched, almost like they wanted to break each other’s necks, was starting to get kind of concerning.

“Okay okay please calm down, both of you.” The last thing Zeus wants is someone’s ichor to be spilled in the middle of a goddamn wedding. “How about-”

“Since you’re the king of the gods, that you be the judge of whoever is deserving to have this apple?” Apollo smiled. “What a wonderful idea father!”

Eros took advantage of that brief distraction of Apollo addressing his father to take the apple and throw it towards his dear mother. “Look, I know he’s usually the one who calls all the final shots, but don’t you think it’d be more fitting to let the literal goddess of beauty decide?”

Zeus thought about it, but decided that choosing between his favorite son and the bastard that could make his libido act up again was a terrible idea. Even Aphrodite herself seemed hesitant to choose and handed the fruit over to Ares because he and Hermes wanted a closer look.

“Uhm, no. I think my very obvious biases would make me one of the least fitting judges for that matter; same goes for Aphrodite. How about… let a mortal who is not part of any of your cults decide, and to please swear not to endanger their life over this.”

 The two gods gave each other a brief death glare before reluctantly agreeing to Zeus’ suggestion.

“Good. Now, where did that apple go?”

They all turned towards Ares, who didn’t have the golden fruit in his hands.

“Dad.” Eros stared. “Where’s the apple?”

“Let’s just say… I got hungry.”

There was a long pause before Eros continued.

“C-Come again?”

“I said what I said; I got hungry and that apple was right there and I got curious so, yeah. Surprisingly tasty-”

“I’m sorry,” Athena just had to interject. “But did you just admit to eating a lump of gold?!”

“Bold of you to assume that would stop the god that broke a chicken’s femur when he bit into its thigh.”

The goddess couldn’t tell if he was faking it and therefore hiding something or if he was actually very serious. Now she really did give up listening in to this conversation and proceeded to walk off to wherever Persephone and Artemis were. It was probably for the best, as it almost looked like she was losing more and more brain cells the longer this situation went on.

Apollo raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. Meanwhile, Eros was struggling to process what the fuck just happened. He flew over to Hermes who was trying his best not to laugh his ass off.

“Hermes, do you have something to do with this? Did you steal it??”

“Huh? No, why the hell would I want to steal it?? I may be cocky, but not that kind of self-aggrandizing cocky. I don’t have the golden apple with me.”

Eros narrowed his eyes. “How do I know you’re not-”

“Because he isn’t, all of what Hermes just said is true.” Despite the contents of what he said being perfectly harmless, Apollo sounded like he was about to brake Eros’ back the moment he saw the god of love reach into his quiver.

Eros backed off. “Okay okay, but then what? Is that it?!”

The blonde shrugged. “It appears so.”

“Why do you suddenly act like you don’t care??”

“I mean, of course having a pretty golden apple say you’re the best is great, but in my case it’s kind of unnecessary, isn’t it? Like, duh.” There it was again, that shit-eating grin. “Honestly, it was mostly because I didn’t want YOU to have it and gods fucking forbid you use it to constantly annoy me for the rest of eternity.”

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

Despite the incident that had killed the mood a few minutes ago, the party seemed to be back in full swing now that Aphrodite took Eros back to wherever Psyche was. It was almost like nothing had ever happened.

Hermes, however, was interested in separating himself from everyone else as far as he possibly could, and he had dragged Apollo along with him until they were deep in some obscure part of the garden.

The messenger let out a nervous laugh. “Okay I have something I need to tell you.”

“That what Ares said, even though I can definitely see him doing it just to piss me off, was a red herring and that he hid the apple somewhere before giving it back to you once Aphrodite got Eros to go away?”

“Damn, you know me too well huh?” He took off his hat, revealing the luster of gold resting on his brown chestnut hair.

The archer laughed. “I’m surprised you got him to cooperate.”

“Guess I’m just that likeable! Plus, he owed me one after distracting you for… something.”

“You what-”

The messenger grabbed the apple and placed his cap back on his head. “I didn’t steal it for myself though.” He smiled, “It is with my greatest pleasure to present this apple to the loveliest god of them all, a trophy that will stand the test of time, a symbol of the lord’s unrivalled beauty and allure.” and then offered up the prize to the surprised blonde.

Apollo accepted, mildly flustered. “Is… Is there some sort of ulterior motive to this?”

“I… suppose you could call it that.”

He sighed. “What do you want, Herms?”

“W-Well… it’s nothing big.” There was a sudden faint flush on Hermes’ cheeks. “What about… a kiss?”

The archer stared and the messenger almost started backtracking on his request but, well, the blonde cut him off before he could, with a soft peck on his lips.

[jackoshadows]

The Expanse and GOT Spoilers.

I have been doing The Expanse re-watch to prepare for the best season ever - season 5 - starting on the 16th. And the writing is so good, even for the secondary characters and their relationships. I can’t help but compare it to the garbage writing on the more popular Game of Thrones.

Watching season 3, and the character dynamics between Camina Drummer and Klaes Ashford is what I think Benioff and Weiss wanted between Jon Snow and Sansa Stark in seasons 6 and 7. There is a tug of war for power and leadership between Drummer and Ashford and the same holds true for Jon and Sansa. Scene for scene there are parallels of the conflict between the characters on both shows.

But context matters. Drummer and Ashford actually work because she’s the new, younger leader in charge of the Behemoth and Ashford is the older, more experienced leader who thinks he should lead because of his experience. On the other hand, it does not work at all with Jon and Sansa. In their case, Jon is the older, more experienced and knowledgeable leader and Sansa is the younger sibling trying to make the case that she knows better than him and therefore should be the one making the decisions.

The Expanse actually lays out and explores in detail the conflict between Drummer and Ashford. They spar and argue with witty dialogue and good delivery of lines that makes the case for both of them. Each character knows and is clear about where the other character stands. They know what the other character is trying to do. That makes their scenes exciting and interesting to watch.

Ashford: Camina, you have nothing to worry about from me. I am here to be your first officer and I have no problem with that.

Drummer: You believe you should be in command.

Ashford: Ah, of course I do, but this is not about experience. It's about politics and perception.  Fred has Protomolecule, Dawes has Cortazar, and they both need this ship.  And neither one of them cares if you or I are happy with the arrangement.

Drummer: Ah, finally, some truth.

Ashford: I haven't lied to you...

Drummer: Yet...

Ashford: But my point is that we both have orders to follow, which means we have to work together. For the good of the new Belter state, ke?

We never get a similar scene or confrontation between Jon and Sansa. Sansa hides information about her Vale army from Jon so that she could get the credit of the victory, leading to the needless deaths of thousands. And Jon just shrugs it off with a kiss on the forehead. Imagine if we got a game of thrones in Winterfell between Jon and Sansa - like we got between Tyrion and Cersei in KL? Where both characters know what the other is trying to do and try to outwit each other? But D&D never really committed to what they wanted Sansa to be on the show and their Jon was written as a gullible fool and so we got scenes that made no sense.

Remember when Sansa undermined Jon in front of the other houses and later Arya observes that Sansa was trying to get the Lords on her side rather than Jon’s. Again, the show hesitates to commit to what Sansa is doing. Jon is made out to be the bad guy for requesting that Sansa not undermine him and Arya comes off as being the mean sister for pointing out that Sansa is not supporting her brother.

Meanwhile, on The Expanse, we clearly see what Ashford is doing and so can Drummer.

Sansa wants to punish the children of the traitors. Jon wants to pardon them and give them back their lands. Drummer wants to throw the drug dealers out of the airlock. Ashford disagrees. He asks for a private word with Drummer and orders their audience to step back - he then persuades Drummer to change her mind but it’s clear to the people watching that he made the decision. Both the audience and Drummer can see that Ashford is indeed undermining Drummer here, but he’s more sly about it.

They have several such arguments. Ashford questions Drummer’s decisions within hearing of their men. Ashford wants them to hear his disagreements.

Ashford: Oh, and it's just too bad we don't have our chief engineer to build us some probes.

Drummer: You have something to say?

Ashford: Yeah, I said it. We needed Nagata here, and you let her go.

Drummer: This isn't a slave ship.

Ashford: No, it's a warship. The Belt's first and only.

Drummer: And I'm its captain.

Ashford: Yeah. Yeah, you are.

Drummer: We have a few autonomous farm drones with chemical samplers for soil. We can convert those into probes. A captain must know their ship.  Hmm?

Later one of those men approaches Ashford. He trash talks Drummer to Ashford and insinuates that Ashford should take over.

Diego: Bossmang...

Ashford: Yeah, what's up? What's the problem, Harari?

Diego: I na like da ting Drummer say to you... or how she say it.

Ashford: Uh... a captain can run their ship however they choose to.

Diego: Captain should be you.

Ashford: Tread carefully, good my boy.

Diego: You been bossmang from da time before me or half the Beltalowda on this ship was born.

Ashford: Yeah, that's true. I have. And I've drunk real Earth whiskey out of a UN Admiral's mug and then scuttled her ship. I flew dark past a Martian battle group, and they never even knew I was there. And I've seen friends breathe the vacuum and watched my only child burn. So when I tell you to tread carefully, you would do well to stop talking.

This scene parallels the Northern lords saying that they should have made Sansa queen instead of Jon. Sansa listens to their complaints and then says that Jon is their king and they can only do what he says. We see Arya observing this and later confronts Sansa in a scene where Arya comes off as being unnecessarily harsh and wrong. I am not going back and watching this trash, but if I recall, Arya actually gets angry at Sansa’s fashion choices here! Like why? What does that have to do with anything? What does that have to do with Sansa trying to win favor from the Northern lords while not supporting Jon’s decisions as king? Again, the show never commits to exploring Sansa’s decisions here.

But Drummer knows what Ashford is doing. She’s clever.

Ashford: I understand why you let Nagata go. If I had a chief engineer who didn't want to be here, I wouldn't want them around, either. But she was your friend.

Drummer: She is my friend.

Ashford: No, I always treated my friends harder... harsher, to show the crew I wasn't playing favorites... even if I was.

Drummer: You just can't stop giving me advice, can you?

Ashford: I'm trying to help you.

Drummer: Yet, still you call me out in front of the crew.

Ashford: Yeah, I could've done that better.

Drummer: You did what you meant. You put it in everyone's head. And after I left, I bet you were all praise for me, yeah? How important it is to respect the captain and so on. That way, when the turn come and you take over, they all know it was because you had to. No choice.

Ashford: Oh, we have a problem. And we need to work it out.

Drummer: Or else what?

Oh, how I wish we got this sort of confrontation, conversation, a similar scene between Jon and Sansa after he got back to Winterfell.

And the beautiful thing about Drummer and Ashford is that we can actually see where they are both coming from. They are both looking out for their people, they both want to do right by the belt. The older, more experienced Ashford thinks he should be in charge and knows better than the young whippersnapper Drummer. Smart Drummer is actually capable of being a good leader and can see through what Ashford is trying to do. They end up helping each other. And in the end, Drummer turns out to be right, Ashford acknowledges this and in the next season they work together.

In GOT however, we are just supposed to accept that Sansa is right, despite Jon making the right decisions to tackle the problems facing them. Sansa’s actions are never challenged by anyone. Jon just floats around like a gullible fool and Arya’s real issues with Sansa in season 7 are never again mentioned. And because there is no resolution to the conflicts and drama, in season 8 we get Arya suddenly and inexplicably thinking that Sansa is the smartest ever, Jon continuing to trust the person who lied to him and undermined him and Sansa continues to win despite being wrong about everything.

Drummer and Ashford are secondary characters in The Expanse and yet their character dynamics, the conflict, the resolution is all so well written and played out. Meanwhile, Jon, Sansa, Arya and Bran are all main characters and Littlefinger is a main antagonist and yet that whole story in seasons 6 and 7 was so badly written and nonsensical that it’s absolute trash. Ultimately Benioff and Weiss did not know what they wanted Sansa to be - they wrote her one way, did not want to commit to the character they wrote, and wanted the other characters (and audience) to see her another way.

It’s clear that the writers and showrunners of The Expanse are invested in their characters and good storytelling. And that’s why it’s a far more enjoyable and entertaining show with likeable characters than GOT.

[walkwithheroes84]

Saved By the Bell (2020) Thoughts

 When the original Saved by the Bell ended in 1992, I was still in elementary school and certainly hadn’t watched it’s first run. But over the years - via repeats - it has become something of a comfort show for me, that I turn to when I’m feeling down or just need something cheesy to chill out to. So, hen I heard about a reboot on the Peacock network, I was unsure. 

Now, having finished the ten episode season in just two days, I’m really hoping people give this show a chance. It knows what it is and what it is the child of and it lovingly pokes fun at and embraces it. All while actually showing real issues that people are facing today.

Here are my real-time after thoughts on each episode. Warning for spoilers. 

1.01: Pilot

Zack becoming Governor to get out of a parking ticket and then having no idea what to do is a very Saved by the Bell plot line. But, I love that he's not getting away with doing a bad job and the people of California actually seem to be upset with him. Also random, but - I wonder if Kelly is a doctor and why she hasn't kicked Zack to the curb if he's become such a skeevy person? I guess it is true love.

Jessie and Slater and still adorable, even as platonic friends. However, it's sad that she's kept her son so dependent on her and that it appears that Slater peeked in high school.

Lexi and Mac would be completely unlikeable if played by anyone other than Josie Totah and Mitchell Hoog. Right now, they are just unlikeable, but could grow as the series goes on.

Devante and Aisha are good and I look forward to their characters being explored more.

Daisy is fine, but I don't think she's a strong enough character to be the "lead". Many reviews have called her the "lead" and the "character viewers follow the most" and I'm not sure the character is strong enough for that. Haskiri Velazquez is capable in her role and is doing fine, but the character is a bit bland at the moment.

Principal Toddman: finally a principal that is trying to make a difference and isn't bumbling around and letting the students get away with anything.

The "running for school president" story felt straight out of the old series, with Lexi and Mac doing it for a parking space. But, I liked that in the end (it was 2 days show time and just 30-something minutes our time) they only let Daisy have the job because they didn't want to give up their spring break - not because they learned any sort of real lesson.

From previews I was a little worried that they might try and go with a Mac/Daisy pairing, and I really glad that it doesn't look that way. Yes, it feels like they might pair them down the road (if the show gets a season 2 and beyond), but for now Daisy seems more annoyed with him and Mac seems indifferent to her. It looks like the show might go with Jamie/Aisha, which could work.

1.02: Clubs and Cliques 

The theater clique is basically so cliché that its amusing. I love that they were all desperate to get Devante involved and keep him in the group chat, but he was just so disinterested. Lexi's line that she would fall for him if he kept ignoring her? Ha.

Jamie's inability to basically function as a normal fifteen/sixteen year old is alarming. The fact that he couldn't tell he is bad at football and that he makes raw food? Like, Jessie, who did you raise? That said, the football team having a "Feelings Helmet" was just amusing to me. The Bayside students are just so over the top insane.

There is a large part of me that wonders what the heck happened in the raising of Mac. Kelly had six siblings. She was raised in a working class family. I can't see her raising her son to be this entitled brat who apparently calls her stupid. And, I honestly can't see Zack allowing his son to end up an idiot who just floats through life.

But, I guess that's the point of the series: the Bayside students are all clichés and over the top archetypes of rich kids. None of them are really all that likeable and I find myself rooting for Devante, Daisy, and Aisha while wanting Mac, Lexi, and Jamie to grow up.

1.03: The Bayside Triangle

Knowing that Jamie and Lexi have been friends since they were little kids and she now has a crush on him and doesn't know how to handle it? Very relatable and makes me like her a bit more. She's right - for a lot of reasons, it can be weird to have an old friend like you.

Aisha trying so hard to fit in with the Bayside students is a bit sad, actually. It feels like she's giving up a part of herself to be who they think she should be.

Mac and Jamie's fight felt like it was straight out of the original series.

It's sad to know that Zack and Slater are no longer friends. I wonder why.

Devante is totally my favorite at this point. He just wants a fresh start and it's sad that Aisha and Daisy suspected him of wrongdoing because of his past.

Again, the fact that the students do all this weird stuff and no one at the school seems to notice or care . . .I feel that is purely making fun of the original show, but I love it.

1.04: The Fabulous Birchwood Boys

Lexi and Devante need to become best friends and stay best friends forever. Let's keep it platonic and fabulous. Also, his friends from his neighbor? I need to see more of those boys.

Jamie and Mac Freshmen year? Dorky as all get out. Lexi's fear that no one would like her. So heartbreakingly real.

Daisy having access to money for one day and becoming an entitled monster...that also felt very real. And, I'm really glad that she didn't take the easy way out and said she was sorry to the other members.

Since Mac never even asked Post Malone and since he got the other kids back - I'm starting to think the kid has more depth and empathy than I originally gave him credit for. That or Daisy is rubbing off on him. If they did Daisy/Mac down the road, I think it could work.

I felt so sorry when Lexi realized that Jamie had asked Aisha. I think they are headed for a Lexi/Jamie/Aisha love triangle, and I have to say that while I see Lexi/Jamie (because of her crush), I don't see Jamie/Aisha just yet.

Finally, Slater obsessing over the gym floors? He really did become a stereotype of a gym coach.

1.05: Rent-A-Mom

Jessie still having anxiety about caffeine and knocking what she thought was caffeine pills away from Mac was great.

Speaking of which - poor Jessie and her marriage. :( How did she end up with such a wishy-washy husband?

Slater and Aisha bonding while trying to making the team tougher was great. I cannot believe Jamie gives heartfelt speeches before games. What the hell, man? They really are pushing Jamie as the "sensitive man-child".

Jamie also mentioned that he was starting to like Aisha, but I still don't really see it. Am I alone in this? A start of a friendship, sure. But, a romance within the next few episodes - that would move too fast. Then again, it is a "teen show" and romance on those tend to move quickly.

Lexi and Mac trying to help Daisy was kind-of sweet in a weird sort of way. I like the looks into the home lives of the gang. It gives us a better understand of who they are as people.

1.06: Teen-Line

DeVante clearly facing racism and even classism at Bayside was really well done. I love that Lexi was ready to help him, because he has become such a great friend to her. Those two have really bonded and I love it.

Mac becoming a payphone, but not realizing it kind of made me smile. But what was even better was the way the school completely went into chaos after the students lost their phones. It couldn't have been more than three hours and the school already looked like a deleted scene from a post-apocalyptic film. Oh, and Mac using the rope to get in and out of the room, while the rest of the group used the door. . .loved it.

Aisha and Jamie. . .I feel like she's with him because he's attractive and sweet. There doesn't seem to be any real depth to their relationship. Though to be fair, there isn't much depth to Jamie's character - he's a satellite love interest to Aisha and Lexi.

1.07: House Party

Lexi finally seeing that she is a good (or at least better) person? I like that she is growing. Out of all the characters, I think she has gotten the most character growth (out of the kids) this season.

So. . .Mac does all his schemes because he's scared of being abandoned by the people he cares about and feels neglected by his parents? It's cliché, but. . .okay.

I'm still not really feeling Aisha/Jamie, but I'm not hating it. The relationship lacks depth, so I'm not terribly invested. But, I'm sure if I went back and watched any of the TNBC shows (without my nostalgic glasses on) those romances won't have much depth either.

Daisy trying to go wild, but instead having to be locked in a closet and making out with a coat? Eh, I get that they were poking fun at the darker and "edgy" teen soaps, but, eh.

Slater really grew during the episode and realized that it's time to leave high school behind and start acting like a real adult, and I'm proud of him.

1.08: The Todd Capsule 

Lark looked amazing. I'm so happy that she is doing so well these days.

So now we know where Screech is: on the Space Station with Kevin the Robot.

I was actually sad to learn that Kelly didn't follow her dream of becoming an actual doctor and is instead selling a fake wellness brand or some nonsense. Though, I will admit the Zack/Kelly scenes had me giggling a bit. They have become so shallow and weird, but I'm living for it. And when Zack said she was the only woman he's ever been with? That was a great jab, at least to me, at the way teen shows always do the "one true pairing" thing.

So glad Jessie now knows that Slater still has feelings for her. Can't believe her husband is having an emotional affair with one of his characters. This show can be so ridiculous.

The time capsule was a great addition to the episode, especially as they remembered all the plots that didn't make sense or were just weird: Jessie's caffeine addiction, putting on a ballet so Zack could graduate, saving a hotel in Hawaii.

How dare the gang (expect Lisa, who is a Queen) not remember Ron-Ron!

I hate - hate - that the PTA basically went behind everyone's back and is going to use the money to send the Douglas children back to their school. Yes, they can use the money to buy new things, but they will still have issues in that school. It's pure racism and classism.

Devante having a crush on Nadia (I think that's her name?) is super cute.

Loved Lexi and Daisy bonding and Lexi seeing that sometimes guilting people into things works just as well as being fake-nice. Though, you think she would have learned that by now.

So, Mac has always struck me as a character that is straight out of a 90s teen sitcom, and he still acts that way. But, I love that the show is trying to show some depth to him: he's acting out for attention from his dad. He has modeled his whole personality after his dad's high school personality in order to get attention. It's a storyline that has been done a million times (and will be done a million more times), but it fits his character.

1.09: All in the Hall

The Douglas principal saying that every few years people try and come in to "save" the school ,but than get bored and leave, because they've already gotten what they want - to feel good about themselves? Yeah, I felt that. It was so true to life, the way people rush into some new cause and than abandon it once they have gotten praise or its no longer trendy.

So happy to see Principal Toddman standing up Jade and sticking up for his students. He and Devante should have more scenes together. I like how they play off one another. I really just love Devante - he's probably my favorite.

Aisha finding a way to stay at the school via sports was very smart, but I can also see how Daisy would see it as selfish. Aisha does have a way of thinking about herself first and than others after. I think that has to do with her ultracompetitive nature - she wants to win, even if it mean leaving others behind.

Jamie got a bit more depth in this episode - finally. It was sweet that he wanted Aisha to stay, despite only having dated her for six weeks or so. He went about it completely wrong, but it was sweet. It's good that he sees that he's more emotionally intelligent than anything else.

The Aisha/Jamie stuff - eh. I never felt it to begin with, so it was no big. I'm glad that they sort of acknowledged that while he loves her, she just likes him and it was a relationship built more on physical attraction and sweet moments than anything else. I mean, they are fifteen.

Mac and Lexi feeling empathy and trying to help Daisy was nice. It's clear that they have both grown to care about Daisy (and Devante and to a lesser degree Aisha). I also enjoyed the small tease of Mac/Lexi with them both agreeing that they would totally hook up, because they are both so hot. Who doesn't love two shallow people admitting they are shallow? Though, I still think the writers are slowly - maybe - setting up something with Mac/Daisy. Maybe. Possibly.

I laughed out loud when Daisy ran into Jean (or is it Dave?) at city hall and he just kept denying that they had met before, but they clearly had.

Daisy's breakdown and her nearly doing drugs and the group hug - complete with Jamie discussing some random talent show we never saw (a jab at the original show airing episodes out of order?) - was just so classic teen sitcom. I loved that they pulled back from that by showing Mac reaching for the joint during the group hug.

1.10: Showdown

Overall the season was much better then I thought it would be and I'm really hoping that they are able to work in a season 2. I don't know if they could do several seasons, but I think they could probably do 2-3 more seasons of 8-10 episodes each. They still have a lot to focus on: relationships, class differences, the fall of the Morris family, Jessie's marriage breaking down and how that plays out with Jamie and even Slater, etc.

I really liked the two throw away lines of: Zack asking "Remember Tori?" and Kelly responding with a confused: "Huh?" and then Kelly quickly telling Mac that his father is not Jeff.

I wouldn't say Zack learned a valuable lesson, so much as he realized that he only wanted to stay Governor because he didn't want to be a loser. Which I guess is a lesson in a way, but he's still a bit of a slime ball.

I'm so glad that Slater told Jessie he was sorry for teasing her in high school because she protested and that he's happy today's teenagers are more willing to speak out about their beliefs. And, I'm even happier that Jessie stood up to her stupid and selfish husband.

Aisha and Daisy ganging up on Devante and than realizing that the clicks at school need a common enemy was great. What was better was Lexi, who has had the most character grown this season, willingly becoming the scapegoat.

Mac still needs to work on his daddy issues, but he's getting there. Hopefully he and his parents can really bond during quarantine.

Jamie telling Lexi that the only reason he wasn't sure if he wanted to date her was because she's been mean in the past was very sweet. Do I think the show is headed for Lexi/Jamie? Yes. Do I think it will last? No.

I still have a feeling that, at some point, they will do a Mac/Daisy pairing. Or at the very least have Mac develop a crush on Daisy, which will be interesting to see.

Other thoughts: I love that the show was able to poke fun at the clichés, corniness, and weirdness of all the late 80s-early 00s teen sitcoms/dramas that people my age grew up on; while at the same time exploring current day issues, without getting too preachy or pushy. They used pop culture well, without it feeling overly done. Someone else has mentioned in several threads that the show reminds them of the show Community, and I have to agree - it really does have an "early" Community vibe to it. I know a lot of shows are being cancelled or not renewed due to Covid, but I really do hope they give this one a second season. I really want to see where they go next.  

Cast List:

Main Haskiri Velazquez as Daisy Jiménez Mitchell Hoog as Mac Morris Josie Totah as Lexi Haddad-DeFabrizio Alycia Pascual-Peña as Aisha Garcia Belmont Cameli as Jamie Spano Dexter Darden as Devante Young John Michael Higgins as Principal Ronald Toddman Elizabeth Berkley Lauren as Jessie Spano Mario Lopez as A.C. Slater

Recurring Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Zack Morris Tiffani Thiessen as Kelly Morris Ed Alonzo as Max Cheyenne Jackson as René

Guest Lark Voorhies as Lisa Turtle