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total-drama-takes-takes-2 · 1 year ago

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ttwt episode 8

“Last time, on Total Takes World Tour: the teens competed in an all-out race from Wales- the place, not the animal, MAL- to England, where they were “rewarded” with a delicious helping of classic British cuisine. Sha-Mod came to terms with his face, and a 35,000 foot drop after he was unanimously eliminated- or was he? Haha. Mystery and drama make a great combination, and we’re serving them to you- right here, right now, on Total Takes: World Tour!”

Michela pokes at her gelatinous helping of eggs from the galley. She moves down the line, dumping a portion of furry oatmeal on her plate before giving up, dropping the whole thing in the garbage and sitting with a cup of warm water.

“Not hungry?” Albert asks, separating his own oatmeal into bite-size chunks.

“Not really. I feel really bad about what happened to Sha-Mod,” she sighs. “It had to be Patrick- he tampered with the votes. We all agreed to vote for him.”

Albert looks across the room to where Patrick is leaning against the wall, nodding his head along with whatever music is playing over his Walkman.

“I’m not mistrusting your judgment, but… him? He’s not exactly the brightest bulb in the bunch,”

“He has a track record,” she says, glaring at him. “And he knew we were going to vote for him.”

Albert shrugs. From across the room, Max squints.

---

MAX: “Everyone thinks he’s sooo great, Mr. “I put Chris in jail!”. Well, I’m not falling for that. There’s something off about him. I'm going to figure out what. This is possibly my greatest case yet,” he pulls out a deerstalker cap and puts it on confidently.

---

Bonnie nudges his shoulder. “Lay off, man. Try not to think about it so much,”

“It’s not that, it’s… never mind,” he sighs. “Let’s just focus on the challenge today. I’m sick of economy.”

The two turn back to their team, who are drifting around nervously. Staci looks exhausted, barely holding her head up over her bacon and eggs. Kelly is at her side, watching over her nervously, and Phillip is sitting under the table.

“Not looking too good,” Bonnie sighs. “I wish Caesar were here.”

Max shrugs and begins walking back to the group. “That makes one of us,”

---

BONNIE: “In a way, I really do appreciate Max’s complete apathy towards me and Caesar- sure, it’s rude, and he’s a little prick, but at least he’s not being borderline obsessive over us,”

---

Bonnie follows shortly after and takes a seat on Staci’s other side. She immediately turns to them. “Bonnie, can I ask for some advice?”

They grumble, and then sigh. “Fine,”

“Well… I’ve read all about leadership, communication, and effective group work, and I still can’t get anyone to listen. What should I do?”

“How should I know?” Bonnie asks, raising an eyebrow.

“I-I just mean… you seem so confident… I could’ve never done what you did. Confessing your feelings on national TV,”

“International!” Max corrects from across the table. Bonnie glares at him.

“It’s not like that. That wasn’t me being… brave, or whatever, I was forced to. I hated every second of it!”

“But you still did, and you made it look so cool…” Staci says nervously, twiddling their thumbs and looking down at their lap.

Bonnie sighs. “Okay, just… try not to think too hard about it. You can’t force yourself to be good at something, right?”

“Disagree,” Max says. Bonnie glares again.

“Ignore him. Just don’t expect reading to teach you everything,” they shrug, then get up and move to the other side of the table.

---

STACI: “Um, I mean, no offense, but reading is kind of my thing. Do you know how many kin guides I’ve written? Reading is a prerequisite to experience, not the other way around! But... if that's what it takes...”

---

First class is unusually tense this morning.

Ass and Courtney are both awake, but there’s no bickering, no disagreements, not even any snide comments- rather, they’re both focused on the blonde across the cabin.

Julia is pacing back and forth murmuring to herself.

---

JULIA: “Big surprise, Patrick tampered with the votes. I don’t know why I didn’t see this coming,” she pauses to sigh. “I guess if you want something done, you gotta do it yourself.”

---

Back in economy, Michela watches as the plane begins landing over a great expanse of green, her eyes wide. “This looks a lot like-”

“That’s right! Welcome to Quebec, Canada!” Chris’ voice blares over the intercom.

The rest of economy class crowd around Michela and oohs at the trees and rivers beneath them as the plane begins its descent.

The pink-haired girl takes a seat and buckles in as the altitude decreases. “Hopefully this’ll be easy,”

“Easy?” Albert asks, fidgeting with his seatbelt.

“My family is French, most of us live in Quebec,” she shrugs. “In Island I was apparently the fan favorite from the province, so maybe Chris’ll throw us a bone.”

“I wouldn’t get your hopes up, honey,” Patrick chuckles. He’s standing in front of the two, hands on his hips. “There are no free handouts in life, I- YEOWWWWWW!”

He screams as the plane nosedives and sends him flying around the cabin. Neither Michela nor Albert look very concerned with helping him.

Bonnie ducks as Patrick goes flying overhead, smacking against the walls like he’s stuck in a pinball machine. “Hey, watch it!”

“Can you guys PLEASE get him under control!” Staci shouts. Michela shrugs.

She scoffs and turns to her team. “Well, I’d never do that to you guys. Not even you, Phillip,”

He beams. “You… wouldn’t let me die?”

“Of course not! You’re a part of the team,”

Phillip grins and reaches under his seat for his notebook (just in time for Patrick to go flying over his spot). “I drew these for you,” he says, handing Staci a stack of crude crayon drawings. Most of them are of oddly shaped horses, but one is a self portrait.

“Aww, that’s so sweet!” they say, rifling through the pages. “And this is a great self-portrait. Is your real name Alejandro?”

He shrugs bashfully. “No, but I really see myself in Alejandro from the original show. He’s literally me,”

Staci’s eyes go wide. “Oh. My. Gosh! You’re a fellow kinnie!”

“A what?”

She squeals and claps her hands. Max looks suicidal.

“Do you have Tumblr? We should follow each other’s blogs. I’m a Staci kin, but since TTI I’ve also started kinning Topher, Gwen, Brick, Dawn…” she counts off the list on her fingers. “Basically, I’m expanding my kin horizons and I’ve never met a kinnie IRL!”

“This is torture. Kill me, please,” Max says to Bonnie.

They grunt, putting their hands over their ears. “Let’s make a pact,”

---

“Bienvenue and welcome to beautiful Quebec!” Chris says as the teens exit the plane.

Michela raises an eyebrow. “That was just “welcome” twice,”

“Whatever. Your challenge today is a simple two-parter- you’ll start here, in the rolling forests of beautiful Canada, with these,” he holds up three buckets, and three taps, tossing one of each to each team. “Fun fact: Quebec is the number one producer of maple syrup in the entire world. Today, you guys will be continuing that tradition!”

“You seriously expect us to get sap with these?” Courtney holds up the thin metal tap.

“Uh-huh, not to mention boiling it and filtering it to perfection to get that tasty syrup. Your results will be criticized by Judge Chef,” he jabs his thumb backwards, to where Chef is sitting at a table in the woods. “And then we’ll move on to your next challenge.”

Michela raises a hand. “But… it’s summer,”

“An excellent point from our resident North American Frenchie,” Chris says, pointing a finger in her direction. “Since trees are tapped in late winter, we’ve hidden some special, man-made trees ready for sapping around the woods. You gotta find ‘em.” he chuckles.

The teens groan. A warm breeze pushes through the trees, and a bird squawks overhead.

“Enough whining. Now get to it!”

After a beat, the teams start wandering off, walking alongside each other cautiously. Team Yaoi starts off in the lead, heading north. “So… does anyone have any idea how to tap a tree?” Courtney asks.

“Don’t you just ram it in there and the… stuff comes out?” Ass shrugs.

“Sap. And don’t make it sound so crude, there has to be some method to it,”

“Sure! It’s called taking the tap, and shoving it into the tree!”

“You are so insufferable!”

Ass and Courtney begin bickering uninterrupted while Julia murmurs to herself, walking ahead of them with Mal shortly behind. “We can’t lose, can’t lose again,”

“Sure thing. Now try telling those idiots that,” Mal says, snorting. “But Assney is trending again, so at least they’re doing something.”

“That means literally nothing to me,” Julia sighs.

---

The sun is bright and warm today, making the trek through the woods almost pleasant for Team Friendship- in fact, today is the first day in a long time where the air surrounding the group is actually friendly.

Bonnie and Max are inadvertently leading the rest, making snide remarks about the other teams (particularly a certain ferocious blonde and an environmentalist). Close behind them, Staci and Phillip are discussing fandom politics.

Far behind the rest of the group, Kelly trudges along.

---

KELLY: “Did I do something wrong? Is there a reason why everyone’s moving on without me? I-I mean, in the literal sense. They’re walking fast. Nothing else!”

---

“Up there!” Bonnie says, pointing ahead. A large, obviously metallic tree is sticking out of the ground. A bird lands on one of its branches and gets electrocuted.

“I think we’re the first team to find ours- let’s hurry!” Staci says, running ahead. The team follows behind her as a familiar ding indicates everyone’s fears coming true- song time.

“We’re heading down to Quebec, those cold eastern woods!” Bonnie sings, tossing the tap to Max.

He catches it and sets down the bucket. “We’ll take the sap, make it sweet, and boil that syrup good!”

Across the woods, Courtney flicks their team’s tap. “I can’t get a drop to spare, so we better find a plan!”

Ass shoves them out of the way and bounces a rock in their palm. “It’s gotta be deeper, further, in that trunk, so move your little hands,” Courtney jumps out of the way as Ass starts pounding in the tap with a rock. “In! In! In!”

“It’s a sap shanty, and it’s darn catchy!” Julia sings along. “Come on, people, let’s win!”

Further in the woods, Albert screws their tap into a metal tree and a clear liquid begins to pour out of it. Patrick gives him a heavy punch on the shoulder. “Man, you’re a basket case, but you sure can tap a tree!”

Michela shoves a finger in Patrick’s face. “Watch it, man, I’m onto you, you’re not fooling me!”

He rolls his eyes.

Back across the woods, liquid finally begins pouring from the metal husk. Team Friendship cheers. “Winning to-day, teamies, first class here we come!”

Back over at Team Yaoi, Julia picks up. “Let’s win this thing, keep singing, I’ll trash that lying scum!”

Albert finishes filling their quota and pulls the tap from the tree, thanks it, then sings. “It’s a sap shanty, and it’s darn catchy!” Michela picks up Team Mojo’s bucketful of sap and begins running back to the plane. “C’est un chanson de sève, et c’est mag-ni-fique!”

All three teams stop at the plane at the same time, panting as the song ends. Michela stands first. “Alright, let’s go!”

The other groupings follow, finding their supplies already laid out for them and their instructions ready. Staci takes the sheet and squints. “Crap, this is in French,”

“Quebecois French,” Max corrects, setting down their bucket. He takes the pamphlet from them. “I took four years of European French. How much different could it be?”

Michela snorts at him from where Team Mojo is set up. He looks up at her with wide eyes and she salutes him with a smile. “Mets-en!”

Team Friendship turns to Max and he sighs. “Okay, maybe a little different. But this is an instruction manual, surely it's intelligable?”

“We’ll see,” Bonnie mumbles.

Julia blinks at her team's instructions. “Um… Mal, how long would it take to translate all this?”

“I could just image translate it,” she says, not bothering to look up from her phone. Julia opens her mouth. “-If my camera wasn’t shattered.”

She sighs. Courtney raises an eyebrow. “How do you break a phone camera?”

“Bonnie caught me taking pictures and smashed it with a hammer,” Mal sulks.

“Great! Just great! Dumb goth,” Julia murmurs. “Whatever, it’s fine. All we need are numbers, right? Temperatures and times or whatever?”

Ass and Courtney look between each other, and then shrug.

---

The table Chef is sitting at is far too fancy for the show- covered in a white table cloth, adorned with a porcelain vase full of lilies. Chris sits at the edge of the surface, whistling and picking at his nails.

“Sooo… you see that new show?” the host asks nonchalantly.

Chef shakes his head. “Not gonna, it seems confusing. What do you care?”

“Just making conversation, dude. Oh, here we go- Team Mojo!”

Michela, Albert, and Patrick run up with a small vial of warm brown liquid. The pink-haired girl sets it down on the table and then phews, wiping her forehead.

Chef uncorks the glass and dips his pinkie finger in it, giving it a light taste. The team watches in anticipation as he smacks the flavor around his mouth, then: gives a thumbs up. “10/10,”

Albert and Michela cheer, and even Patrick cracks a small smile.

“Mojos, you may move on to the next part of the challenge,” Chris says. “If you’ll continue left, you’ll find a stage waiting for you.”

They high five and run off. Team Friendship runs up next, their syrup more apple juice-like in color and consistency.

Chef gives the team an odd look, but tastes it anyway. He shrugs. “Edible. 6/10. Move on!”

Team Friendship huffs and keeps running. “Good work, Max!” Staci says. He rolls his eyes and catches up to Bonnie.

“Is it just me, or is Staci totally kissing my ass today?”

Bonnie shrugs. “She’s looking for guidance. You’re kind of a natural leader,”

“Don’t flatter me,”

“I’m being serious. I couldn’t do half the stuff you do,” they say. “I wish people would go to you instead of me.”

He rolls his eyes. “You know, at some point you’re going to have to accept that people actually like you now,”

They scoff. “Oh, whatever,”

“Look at them,” he whispers harshly. They turn back to the group behind them. “They worship the ground you walk on.”

Bonnie gives him a glare. “Keep dreaming, Pachmann,”

“Your last name is Pachmann?” Phillip asks from ahead of them. “Like the video game guy?”

“Yes! Shut up!” Max shouts, then turns to Bonnie. “I told you that in confidence! How would you feel if I started going around reminding everyone Bonnie is short for-”

Bonnie puts their hands up. “Alright! Point taken! Let's just drop this, okay?” and they speed up.

---

Last to arrive at the judgment table is Team Yaoi, who are looking exhausted and frazzled. Julia drags Mal behind her, who has a glass vial of something solid stuck to her right shoulder.

“And if you had been watching the pan, it wouldn’t have over-boiled!” Courtney shouts, pointing in Ass’ face.

They scoff. “And if you had stopped nitpicking, I could’ve actually paid attention! Backseat driver much?”

Courtney gasps in offense and the two keep bickering. Julia picks up Mal by the scruff and sets her on the table. “Bon. Appetit,” she huffs, stepping back.

Chef raises an eyebrow, staring at the sticky mess on Mal’s arm, then the crystalized syrup. He shakes his head. “Inedible. 0/10!”

“You guys are lucky we’re on a schedule,” Chris says, tapping his watch. “I was really looking forward to sending you back to the woods for another try. You got lucky- onto the next part of the challenge!”

Julia groans in exasperation and picks Mal up again, dragging her off.

---

“Another vibrant part of Quebecois life are the arts- particularly the dance,” Chris explains, pacing a hastily-constructed stage. “Today, you’ll be dancing La Bastringue- a traditional folk dance that you’ll need to work together for- Team Yaoi!”

Julia rolls her eyes. Chris goes on: “This is both a group and a duo project- which means you’ll be sorting yourselves into pairs,”

Staci raises a hand. “Um, we have an uneven number of players,”

“So do we,” Michela says, crossing her arms.

“I know,” The host chuckles. “Odd ones out on Team Friendship and Team Mojo will get each other. Good luck, and happy pickings!”

Albert sighs. “So, I guess we’ll-”

“I call the pink one,” Patrick says, grabbing Michela’s arm.

She scoffs. “As if I’d ever want to-”

“I’m not dancing with him. That's gay,” he stops, pointing towards Albert. “Or any of them. That's even gayer.” he gestures to Team Friendship. “And if you know what’s good for this team, you’ll agree!”

Michela growls, and Albert sighs. “Fine! You win, Patrick,”

Patrick grins widely, and Michela turns to Albert with a mystified expression. He shrugs.

---

ALBERT: “Patrick thinks he’s smart. It’s pathetic. But I can’t let him know that he’s not a threat, otherwise he might get worried and do something irrational, like an animal backed into a corner,” he smiles slowly. “He’ll get what’s coming to him.”

---

Bonnie and Max reluctantly link arms. Kelly turns to Staci. “So, partners?”

“Oh, um, sorry, but I already promised Phillip I’d team with him. We’re having a really fun discussion about kin drama,” Staci giggles. “I’ll get you next time, though!”

Kelly smiles softly. “That’s alright. So I’m with…”

“Me,” Albert says, suddenly appearing right behind them. They jump slightly. “Not a team favorite, huh?”

“Well… I just got unlucky. What about you?” they ask.

“I volunteered. I’m doing those two a favor, really,” he sighs, jabbing his thumb behind him. “And there's no such thing as luck, by the way.”

Kelly raises an eyebrow, but shakes off the odd remark and returns to the task at hand as Chris calls everyone over. Neither Ass, nor Courtney, wanted to work with Mal, leaving them with each other.

Chef stands on the stage with a barrage of crude, faceless cardboard cutouts of past players. “The dance is pretty simple. You start off together, holding hands,” Chris says in a scary voice, wiggling his fingers. “Then you break off into your duos, do the usual ballroom dancing nonsense, blah, blah, blah..” he goes on as Chef demonstrates on stage. “Get up here!”

The teens stand in a circle on stage, holding hands and looking at each other uneasily. “How do we win?” Courtney asks, glaring at Ass.

“Last man standing,”

“In a dance competition?” Patrick scoffs. “Are we going to finger-paint and read bedtime stories after?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so confident if I were you,” Chris chuckles. “Ready? Set? Dance!”

Every competitor, united by their hands, spins in an uneasy circle around the stage. They raise their wrists up, pulling their hands to the sky and move in and out of the circle in a flowery, delicate movement.

Michela has to practically yank Patrick along as he stands as stiff as a board. The duos begin to splinter off, hands intertwined and placed firmly on hips and shoulders. They awkwardly spin around each other.

“Ow! You just stepped on my foot!” Courtney hisses.

Ass scoffs. “I’m not a dancer, sue me!”

“As if I’d give you the time of the day!”

“Guys, keep it together,” Julia says, passing them by while Mal hums to herself merrily. Courtney and Ass roll their eyes in sync.

“Is it just me, or lately has she had a massive stick up her a-”

“Ass!” Courtney chides. “Be civil. She’s trying her best.”

“She’s been really riding on us for not winning, though. What’s her deal?”

Courtney looks both ways as they spin around the circle and leans in. “I heard her in the confessional this morning. Apparently, she tried to get Patrick off Team Mojo, but he messed with the votes and Sha-Mod got kicked off instead. She’s majorly pissed about it,”

“I would be too,” Ass murmurs, looking across the stage to where Michela is dragging Patrick around like his feet are encased in concrete. “Dude’s a total airhead”

“I know. So let’s take it easy on her, okay?”

Ass sighs. “Fine. Whatever you say, Strawberry Shortcake,”

Courtney smiles and squeezes their shoulder, prompting Ass to turn away and look back into the crowd.

One of the tiles on the wooden floor shoots a burst of electricity up, frying off Mal’s eyebrows. Julia gasps and takes a step back. “Out!” Chris yells. She groans.

Max and Bonnie move across the floor stiffly and awkwardly, walking more so than dancing. Both shuffle their feet to avoid stepping on each other, and both are looking in different directions. Max is fixed on Michela and Patrick, Bonnie is watching Albert and Kelly cautiously.

The latter two are moving with some ease, not held back by reluctant partners or bickering like most of the other pairings. Still, though, there’s some sense of discomfort in the air.

Kelly gazes off towards the rest of their team, watching longingly.

“I see you still haven’t taken my advice,” Albert says. “Still happy-go-lucky over nothing, right?”

“There’s nothing wrong with positivity,” they respond automatically, as if they’d rehearsed the defense a thousand times.

“But there is, isn’t there?”

Kelly turns back towards Albert and looks at him. His gaze is somewhat lowered, but very fixed on them.

“Getting your hopes up over nothing. The universe doesn’t work like that. I would know,”

“What do you mean?” They ask, half-intrigued and half-uneasy.

He starts speaking, but pauses once the two are forced to rejoin the group for more hand-holding and circle time. Once they split off again, he clears his throat.

“Okay, think about it this way: the universe is infinite. Correct?”

They shrug, then nod.

“And we’re one tiny speck, completely alone- and don’t argue with me on this- there’s been no evidence of advanced civilization outside our rock,”

“I guess so,”

“Only 5% of the cosmos contain the necessary ingredients to sustain life. And even then, there are millions of other factors. You’re not religious, are you?”

“Not particularly,”

“I’m not, either. So, how is it that we can live in a world with trees and fish and reality TV and radioactive poison? Why is it just us?” he says, pausing to spin them around. “It’s random. Like a slot machine. There’s no luck, no fate, no higher order that plans these things out. The universe is chaotic and empty, and we just happen to be the poor bastards living in it.”

Kelly shakes their head. “I don’t agree with that. It isn’t meaningless,”

“Did I say it was meaningless?” he says, lowering his eyes again. “No, there’s meaning. Everyone has a purpose. I said it’s chaotic. You might have a meaning, and then a cruel twist of events can take that away from you.” he pauses to gesture towards Staci. Kelly follows his fingers.

“So, what’s the point of it all to you?” they ask. “We just shouldn’t try to make the world a better place?”

He sighs a little. “You really are a blonde, aren’t you? No. I don’t think we should just give up and lie around eating ice cream all day, but we also shouldn’t waste our time ‘manifesting’ anything. If you want something done,” he says, twirling them around again to face their team. “You have to do it yourself.”

A burst of flames shoots out of the floor and singes Phillip, turning his entire body a sooty black. Kelly raises an eyebrow and turns back to Albert.

“See? Random,”

Staci helps him off the floor just as everyone’s attention is diverted to Michela, who’s shouting loudly at Patrick now. The two have stopped moving to yell at each other, forcing Chef to grab both of them and toss them off the platform.

The distraction pulls Kelly and Albert's eyes off the floor just long enough for it to open under them- both falling through a trapdoor and onto the earth below them.

“Well, there’s my cue,” Albert says, letting go of Kelly’s clammy hands. “Just think about what I said, alright? There’s no use crying over spilled milk.”

And with that, he walks off.

---

ALBERT: “I guess I just felt bad for them, if anything. They remind me a lot of my younger self: clueless,”

---

Courtney and Ass, and Bonnie and Max, remain the only players left on the platform. Neither of them are dancing very well, and both are watching the floor nervously for any surprises.

Bonnie manages to grab Max and pull him out of the way as another section of the floor disappears beneath his feet. “Ew, your hands are all sweaty,”

“Cool, next time I’ll let you fall!” Bonnie says in a cheerily-sarcastic tone. Max rolls his eyes.

“One, two, one, two,” Courtney murmurs, guiding their feet around Ass’.

They wrinkle their nose. “You’re breathing in my face,”

“Sorry, I’m trying to focus,” they say. “Julia staring is making me really nervous.”

Ass looks over to the ground below the platform, where Jules is glaring at the both of them, hands on her hips. They roll their eyes.

“Just ignore her. She’s gone boy-crazy,” they murmur. “Except instead of kissing boys she wants to kill them.”

“Hah, makes two of us,” Courtney grins. Ass laughs back. There’s a long pause. “What’s your real name, again? I keep forgetting.”

“Natalie,” they shrug. “What’s yours?”

“Hm?”

“Courtney isn’t your real name,” they grin. “Can’t be. So what’re you hiding?”

“Oh, nothing, I just… I use my online persona as my name because it’s easier,” Courtney shrugs. “Plus, Mal… I mean, she does too, but I’d hate for her to find any more personal information about me. She’s a little dox-crazy.”

“Every new piece of information I learn about that twit,” Ass sighs, rolling their eyes. “Can’t believe I ever saw anything in her.”

“Me either…” Courtney trails off. “You and her were never…. Right?”

“Oh, God, no. I mean, I guess it might’ve gone in that direction if we’d stayed friends, but that’d have made the reveal even worse,” they say sharply, avoiding eye contact. “Why do you ask?”

“It’s… not important,”

Ass’ eyes widen. “No. Really?”

“It was a phase! Well, that’s what she thinks of it,” Courtney says. “It was my first real relationship, even if it was online, and it… well… never mind, I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

“Whatever,” Ass mumbles. “But I get it. Kind of. I can’t believe she managed to fool me into thinking she was someone I could trust.”

“I get the feeling,”

The two smile at each other for a moment before Max’s screams in the background pull their attention back to behind them. Bonnie shouts “STOP DROP AND ROLL!” while trying to smother the flame on his blazer.

He drops off the platform, into a pile of wet grass and groans. Bonnie winces.

“Youuuuu’re out!” Chris shouts. “Once again, Team Yaoi have won the challenge!”

Julia sighs, relieved, and Courtney and Ass high-five.

“It’s about TIME you two started getting along,” the blonde snaps as they step off the platform. Ass rolls their eyes.

“Team Mojo, since all of your players were out first, you’ll be going back to the elimination hall-”

“WOOOOO!” Julia shouts, pumping her fists.

“-Is what I would say if this wasn’t a reward challenge!”

Patrick smirks and the smile drops off her face. “Say what now?”

Chris gestures behind him and Chef rolls a large dolly carrying a massive container of maple syrup. “Your winnings for today are this ginormous, 2 meter tall syrup… to share,” he smiles. “Enjoy first class!”

---

The sky outside is dark and full of stars, the mood inside the plane is cozy and warm, but Julia isn’t enjoying any amenities or beauties from today.

She sulks in one of the plush first class seats, leaning back as low as she can and kicking her feet up on the chair across from her. Mal is sitting at the mocktail bar, enjoying what she calls a “Mal Special” (one cup of ginger ale and one cup of milk mixed together) while scrolling through her phone, and Ass and Courtney are having a catered dinner together at the fancy first-class dining table.

---

JULIA: “One thing- all I ask for- just ONE thing, and that lousy, ungrateful, self-obsessed princess is still sitting on this plane!”

---

Economy is a little more cheerful tonight. Patrick had gone to sleep at his usual 8 PM sharp (to avoid morning puffiness and dark circles), Albert is reading, and Phillip and Staci have been swapping fanfiction and poetry for the past few hours.

Michela and Max have cozied themselves up in one corner of the plane, and are currently chatting quietly about the day’s events.

“He’s such a pain,” she sighs, resting her arm on Max’s shoulder. “I already miss Sha-Mod. I mean, no one even got lost today! I didn’t have a single side quest to complete!”

“And you still lost,” Max shakes his head. Michela shoves him and he falls off the bench, laughing.

“We both lost, you jerk,” she says, offering him a hand. He takes it and she pulls him back up on the bench with ease. “It was a group effort.”

“At least you tried,” he says, eyes drifting back to his team. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with these people, really. They’re hopeless.”

“Aw, you miss me,” she goes to elbow him and his arm parries hers with expert precision. He elbows her back.

“Sure, whatever. Maybe I do,”

“Well, I maybe-miss you too,”

Down the bench, Albert rolls his eyes and buries himself deeper in his book. A round of giggles from Phillip and Staci take over the air in the space, but no one besides Kelly pays them much attention.

They stand and sit next to Bonnie, who stifles a groan. “What now?”

“I just… um, I just wanted to see how you were doing,” Kelly says, almost nervously.

“Fine. Tired. What’s wrong?”

They shake their head. “Nothing! I just saw you alone tonight and figured you might need some company,”

Bonnie pauses for a good, long moment, then sighs. “Alright. What did you want to talk about?”

Kelly claps their hands and takes a deep breath. “We can talk about anything- have you been keeping up with the Celebrity Manhunt drama? Or- ooh, what’s your sign? What’s your favorite color? Can I paint your nails?”

“Um…” Bonnie thinks for a moment. “No, I don’t know, purple, and… fine, I guess.”

---

BONNIE: “I guess Max was a little right- people do want to be my friend now. I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel about that. I mean, I went from having no friends to having one friend, and that was weird enough- now everyone and their grandma wants to get coffee together and gab about the latest gossip? How do I go from 0 to 100 like that!”

---

KELLY: “See? Albert was wrong. There’s nothing wrong with being a positive, nice person,” they smile, then sigh. “For an environmentalist, you’d think he’d be a little more optimistic. But never mind that- plum is so Bonnie’s color!”

---

Economy becomes silent again as Max and Michela fall asleep, Staci returns to reading some impossibly heavy book, Phillip goes back to standing in the window to “absorb the moon’s power”, and Bonnie and Kelly talk quietly while the latter paints their nails a warm shade of purple.

Albert looks up from his book for a moment, then rolls his eyes.

#ttwt #total takes world tour

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real-total-drama-takes · 2 years ago

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im bored and kinda high so heres my opinion on all the reboot characters

caleb - is a character

axel - im just as gay for her as the next guy but there's no way in hell she's final two next season lol but i wanna hold hands w her

nichelle- yass girl give us nothing 🥰

scary girl - idc idc she was funny asf but i am glad she went early bc if she stayed any longer i wouldve hated her lol

damien - one of the best things to come from the reboot and yall are doing him a huge disservice shipping him w priya 🥴 that shit is so boring but honestly? there might be something there somebody's gotta make me a believer tho. CONVINCE ME

mk - as a bitter, annoying, sarcastic individual myself i could not stand this bitch omg 💀 her character has a ton going for it but all they did w her is make every single one of her lines sarcastic n shit and i was BORED

raj - dumb gay man i love him

wayne - dumb ace man i love him

ripper - bro just wasnt funy. i dont get why they make characters who just pride themselves in being nasty n shit kind of a waste of development idk

zee - we can all agree that he was great but he gives me early boot vibes for next season bc like if we're demanding development for all the first season early boots then he's just gonna be there ig. dumb can only get you so far yknow?

chase - him and emma both are such wasted potential like BREAK THE HETEROS UP OMG their relationship dragged the second half down so bad like chase is just bad for the sake of being bad. like he wasn't even funny either just a waste of space by the time he was gone 😭

emma - first i'll say im glad we got a plus sized girl w some fucking athletic ability beCause THEY EXIST yay happy but anyway she was so funy until she got back with chase and that whole shit w him throwing that challenge for pizza was so DUMB like she honestly thought he did that shit for her 💀 like she was CONVINCED bro the straight delusion was insane

julia - she was the bad bitch we all needed and deserved but i cannot sit here and let you mfs say that she played the game well bc she absolutely DID NOT. girlie had no actual strategy other than winning and thas not even a strategy. even her trying to "manipulate" chase that one time sucked too lmao. bro her goal was to get everyone to hate her and win out of spite that shit is so dumb but it's so her so idc we love her anyway

millie - there were so many times where i lowkey forget she existed lmfao i don't even dislike her it was just "oh yea she here too lol" but i gotta say it kinda feels like they used her as a scapegoat to make writing her outta the finale easier idk maybe it's just me. but her crying after bowie clowned her ass when she was eliminated was the funnies bit in the entire show i was giggling n shit bc she honestly did that to herself lmao rip

priya - people compare her to zoey and sky way too much honestly (its me, im people) but when you look at it we have a mary sue that was infuriating to watch , the same girl but olympic flavored whos existence i have to be reminded of every two months, and priya. priya is perfectly fine and she was a nice winner even if i knew she was gonna win the second she was onscreen lolZ but when she read millie's notebook and absolutely demolished her ego i was living. like girlie ate her up w absolutely no crumbs left idc

bowie (the real winner) - i was fully prepared and ready to hate this twink istg. like i was in my homophobic era and ready the second his name was called but omg i love him sm. he was the queen i never knew i needed in my life. and to all the mfs who say his gayness is his entire personally have never met an fem black man and it shows 💀 idc what anyone says he's the best writer character in the entire show 🤭 as much as i love him i cannot let his fit slide. the pearls can stay bc those were a serve but the pants??? THE FUCKING PANTS??? THOSE FUCKING FLOOD WARNING HIGH WATERS.?? why would they do him like that omg. fits like that are why we get hate crimed 😔

ok im done good luck to anyone who actually reads this lmao

#total drama #total drama 2023 #td Millie #td priya #td caleb #td wayne #td raj #td bowie #td axel #td Nichelle #td scary girl #td julia #td mk #td emma #td chase #td zee #td ripper #td Damien

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lovecanyon · 2 years ago

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can you write a jenner!y/n curious gazes one shot pleaseeee 😩

Curious Gazes

ceo!harry x jenner!reader

MASTERLIST | PATREON

( indie = 9 years old

bowie = 6 years old

lydia = 4 years old )

Julia hated working in West Hollywood. There was constant traffic, rude people and it was always hot, especially in the winter time. Don’t even get her started on her receptionist job at a pilates studio. It was hell.

Her afternoon shifts was what she despised the most. After constant begging to her manager about placing her in the early shifts, he always shrugged his shoulders and told her to go back to work. She truly hated her job.

But when Y/N Jenner and her husband Harry Styles walked in hand and hand into the studio, Julia almost choked on the green smoothie she was drinking.

Was this really happening? I mean she’s met a lot of famous people but none of them stood close to Y/N fucking Jenner and the CEO of Gucci. It felt like a fever dream.

But once Y/N was face to face with Julia the panic started to settle in.

“Hi, we have a private class with Leah at…2:30.” Y/N says swiftly checking her Apple Watch for the time. “Sorry we’re early by the way.” She smiles apologetically which makes Julia quickly shake her head.

The receptionist quickly noticed Harry was quiet and intimidating. His stare on her made her grow nervous. It was like he was contemplating her, making sure she didn’t pull out her phone and text her friends about a Jenner being here.

His arm wrapped protectively around Y/N’s waist was the first thing that Julia saw when they walked in. She could immediately tell he was observing the place, making sure that there was no one taking photos or videos of them.

“No no, you’re fine. Nobody is really here right now so you both can head towards your room.” Julia tells Y/N which makes her smile grow bigger.

“Thank you so much.” Y/N nods. And with that, her and Harry begin to make their way down the hall.

The way they acted was completely different from all the ‘celebrities’ Julia has seen before. Harry and Y/N were both wearing hats, sun glasses, and hoodies, so they wouldn’t get noticed. It was definitely something she hadn’t come across before.

All the other prominent people that would walk into the studio would do anything to get noticed. But not Y/N or Harry. They wanted to have their privacy.

After about an hour of telling people to go into their sessions. Y/N and Harry walked out looking pretty stable. Most people that would take about an hour long pilates class would be worn out and exhausted. Yet Y/N nor Harry looked like it.

“Hi again.” Y/N smiles warmly. Instantly Julia sends one back. Her kindness blew the receptionist’s mind. Out of her whole time working at a the studio, no one has ever been as polite as Y/N has.

All most immediately Harry takes out his wallet and slides his cards chip into the machine. Julia catches sight of the card’s color and widens her eyes. A black Amex card was rare around where she worked.

Once the payment went through, Y/N gives Julia another smile before turning around and heading towards the door. But Harry on the other hand stayed at the front desk.

“Is that a Gucci sweater?” He speaks up. His voice made Julia almost faint. She wasn’t going to lie and say he wasn’t attractive, he definitely was. He had this type of enchanting aura to him that made everyone intrigued, especially Julia.

“Yes. Last seasons actually.” Julia nods her head profusely.

“Good to know.” He says sending her a small smile before swiftly turning around and making his way towards Y/N who was stood at the door waiting for him.

It was Lauren’s first day at her job. Serving food to rich rude people wasn’t how she wanted to spend her Saturday night. But she had bills to pay, so she pushed all those thoughts aside.

Working at Nobu with a clear view of Malibu beach wasn’t as bad. Yet the amount of impolite people she’s served tonight made her hopelessness increase. She had to hold herself back from yelling and rolling her eyes at these bad mannered individuals.

Her coworkers weren’t lying when they said everyone that came to the restaurant was unpleasant to serve.

“Lauren you’re serving a Jenner. So be on your best fucking behavior.” Milo whispers in Lauren’s ear as he passes by which makes her shoulders tense.

Almost immediately the head of the hosting staff walks up to her.

“I’m guessing Milo already told you about who you’re serving…” Jessy squints her eyes at Lauren who nods her head. “Be polite please. And like I told everyone already, outside is reserved for a Jenner. So don’t bring anyone out there, they want their privacy.”

Once Lauren nods her head again, Jessy stares at her for a moment before walking off. Her tense shoulders stayed tense as she began to make her way outside.

“Shit.”

Lauren gnaws her lip nervously as she looks at Y/N Jenner sitting at a table with her three kids and husband. She had served a few famous people tonight but none of them compared to Y/N or Harry goddamn Styles, the star of the fashion word.

She hadn’t watched Keeping Up with the Kardashians or the new Kardashians show on Hulu. But she still knew who they were, everyone in the living world did.

Nonetheless Lauren pushes the door open, pulls out her notepad and smacks a big smile onto her face, masking her nervousness.

Swiftly she makes eye contact with the oldest child, Indie who sends her a smile. The child smiling at her made her anxiety slowly die down. If she smiled at her than maybe her parents weren’t so bad.

“Hello I’m Lauren and I’ll be your server tonight.” Lauren introduces herself still sporting a huge smile.

Almost very quickly Lauren was politely greeted by each of them. The three children acted more mature than anyone she had served tonight and that said a lot.

“What can I get you?”

“Cheeseburger please.” The youngest speaks up with an obvious lisp which makes Lauren almost let out an awe. The little girl looked exactly like the man sitting at the table. Her greeen eyes matched his, her curly hair was identical to his, and the dimples on her cheeks looked similar to his.

She definitely was Harry’s twin.

“What do you want to drink Lyd?” Y/N questions her daughter as she pushes back her curls with the palm of her hand. The four year old whispers something that Lauren doesn’t pick up but Y/N does. “She would like an apple juice please.”

Immediately Lauren nods and writes down the child’s order. After, she moves onto getting the older one’s order who looked exactly like Y/N.

Indie had her mother’s nose, sported the same cheekbones as her and what blew Lauren’s mind was their mannerisms being the same. She was a spitting image of Y/N, a double of her.

Even though she had some of Harry’s features like his green eyes and sharp jawline, she still looked like Y/N’s identical twin.

“Can I get pasta and a water with ice. Please and thank you.” Indie politely tells Lauren.

“Of course.” Lauren nods and jots down her order onto the notepad. The nine year olds politeness made her surprised.

Out of all the individuals she’s served tonight, why was a kid the nicest, especially two at that. The amount of maturity these kids had compared to all the rude people in restaurant had Lauren in disbelief.

Truly that made her think about Harry and Y/N’s parenting style. The way they were raising their children amazed Lauren. She could immediately tell they were great parents.

The next child that spoke up, spoke up quietly which was very different from his siblings. The two spoke loud and confident but this boy seemed nervous to talk to her. She didn’t take it to heart because she could tell he was anxious.

“I will have the same thing my sister is having, please.” He says pointing to his younger sister.

“Apple juice too?”

Once Lauren receives a nod and a smile, she moves onto taking Harry and Y/N’s order. Her hands holding her notepad and pen began to grow sweaty all over again.

When Y/N had told her about her daughter wanting apple juice she was nice about it. She only hopes her husband was the same.

“May I get pasta and red wine please.” Harry speaks swiftly closing up the menu with his ringed hands. His attractiveness was definitely alluring. Between his tattoos, jawline and sharp eyes, he certainly was captivating.

He truly was beautiful. It made Lauren grow flustered just standing in front of him. Y/N was right for marrying him and having his children. He looked like a god.

“I’ll have the same thing but with white wine.” Y/N tells Lauren making her quickly write both of their orders down. “Thank you.” She sends the waitress a smile which she returns.

“I will be back soon with everything.”

Hastily Lauren turns around and makes her way back inside the restaurant. Once she’s inside, she lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding in. The amount of stress she had over getting these orders made her wanna go insane

But at least this time she was treated nicely and not horribly like she had previously been treated. It definitely ran smoother when she wasn’t getting insulted or glared at.

In her opinion this was her first time serving people who she actually liked.

As soon as Lauren gives the order to the cook, Milo grabs her arm and drags her to the nearest window which showcases Y/N and Harry perfectly with their children.

They looked straight out of a rom com. Both of their faces showed how totally smitten they were with each other.

A lot of couples that were married and had kids together didn’t seem as happy as Y/N and Harry did. Just seeing the way they acted you could tell their relationship was blooming.

The children on the other hand just blew Lauren's mind. Right when she saw them she thought they were going to be spoiled and bratty just like the previous kids she served before. But no, the three children sent her smiles and greeted her.

"How'd it go?" Milo asks Lauren.

"Surprisingly they were nice. Especially the kids." Lauren says as she watches Y/N and Harry make their kids laugh. He had his arm wrapped around her shoulder as he continued to say something that made his wife and kids giggle.

They all genuinely looked happy.

“I used to serve them all the time before. They are the most sweetest people ever.”

tag list: @harrysmatcha @harryspinkpillow @helen-with-an-a @florencepughily @peterparkerbae @toji-dabi-wife @fallonx @drphilssoulmate @cherriesrae @alienorknight @valluvsu @ivegotparticulartaste @ayeshathestyles @hazgoldenstyles @eiffelmezarry @tsukishimawhore @renatavieira @michellekstyles @eleanordaisy @shawnsblue @academiaghosts @japanchrry @agustdpeach @hannahnikohl @hrryscherrys @whoscamila @ch3rryrry @msolbesg @newyorker14 @futuristicpalacegardenpsychic @youusunshineyoutemptress @eunoiamaa @kaitieskidmore1 @gublerscherry @cherryfragrancx @ssuziess @milkiane @golden-hoax @flwrmuse @sunshinemendes8 @your--sweetest--downfall @melllinaa @iluvjj @evansglrl @tenaciousperfectionunknown @cashtons-wife @stellarossii @scenesofobx @manifestrry

#harry styles x reader #dad!harry #harry styles #harry styles au #ceo!harry #harry styles fanfiction #jenner!y/n #jenner!reader #harry styles x y/n #harry styles x you #husband!harry #harry styles writing #harry styles one shot #harry styles blurb

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mothandpidgeon · 4 years ago

Text

REPUTATION - Chapter 1

Pairing: Din Djarin x fem!reader

Words: 3615

Rating: T

Warnings: slowest of burns, gender swapped characters, TOUCHING HANDS, no us of y/n

Summary: After scandal damages your reputation, you are finished with society. But a mysterious bachelor by the name of Mr. Djarin has a reputation of his own. And you are determined to keep yourself from getting mixed up with him.

A/N: So after THAT LOOK I know we are all working on our Darcy fics. I feel very intimidated to give it a go when so many talented writers are going to be doing it better but I really haven’t been able to think about anything else.

Also please forgive any historical inaccuracies. I hate those even when they’re on purpose so let’s just agree to ignore them.

And thanks @pascalslittlebrat for taking a look at this and listening to all of my feelings.

MASTERLIST

You used to enjoy going to balls. You used to feel excitement when you got dressed in a fine white gown, your hair set elegantly with little silk flowers. Your heart would race when you would arrive and see all of the gentlemen in their finery. And dancing. There was a time when you could stay on your feet all night, drinking in the attention of all the eligible bachelors.

Those days were long gone. Now you felt a rock in the pit of your stomach the entire time. You counted the moments until you could leave. You couldn’t even bother to put on a pleasant expression, spending entire evenings sullen and taciturn. But at least this was the last ball you had to drag yourself to this season.

You had been forced to spend yet another season in town. This time you had the company of your younger cousin Julia, though her older sister Emma was a difficult chaperone. And tonight you were being hosted by Captain Charles Dune and his wife Lady Georgiana Karga. They threw wonderful parties– at least you had enjoyed them when you enjoyed those things. It was a masquerade ball which meant Julia had picked out a dainty little mask for you to wear. You couldn’t be bothered to choose one yourself but Julia had an eye for this sort of thing. And you liked the creamy white bow that she tied into your hair.

Julia was looking forward to tonight. She was very popular despite being related to you, containing all of the traits a man would want in a wife– good looks, excellent conversational skills, and a talent at the piano forte. She had a number of young men constantly calling on her and her dance card was practically full before she had even gotten into the carriage.

“You look so pretty!” she insisted, though she was probably admiring the work she had done to make you presentable.

Emma was looking forward to being finished with you. She had been married for three years and fancied herself an authority on the subject. She spent much of her time lecturing you on the proper way to comport yourself. Tonight she was just trying to get you to quit sulking.

“Would you at least try to be sociable?” Emma requested with a frown.

“I don’t much see the point,” you huffed. “Do you really believe I’ll get a proposal at the last ball of the season?”

“Lady Georgiana has invited an old friend of the captain’s,” Emma encouraged. “Mr. Djarin. She says he’s quite admirable.”

You rolled your eyes. You both knew you were headed for spinsterhood. Emma had lost her mind if she thought that she was going to pawn you off on some aged, paunchy bachelor.

The ball went exactly as you had expected. You watched Julia dance and laugh. You stood by as Emma talked animatedly when she wasn’t giving you sharp looks. Though there were gentlemen without partners, no one asked you to dance aside from Captain Dune and a few of the unlucky young men he could press into service.

Even now at the end of the season, where so many engagements had been made, you could still feel the eyes on you, the whispers behind hands. It was as if they thought the masks covered their looks of derision. You knew what they were saying, why they snickered and turned away.

It was all because of your broken engagement to Mr. Vanth. There was no returning from a situation like that. You had been cast aside and all of the ton could enjoy surmising the reasons. Your reputation was in shambles.

But it wasn’t the fact that he had gone and married some heiress not two months after he’d given you up that made it all so painful. What had really destroyed you was the fact that you’d let yourself love him. He wasn’t the best choice though he was handsome and had enough income to keep you comfortable. But you had given your heart to him and he had crushed it. And you looked like an utter fool for it.

For some reason, tonight it all stung. You’d learned to drown out the comments and ignore the sideways glances. But here you were, closing yet another season, as single as the day you’d come out. You’d begged your poor mother to let you stay at home in the country so that you wouldn’t have to suffer these indignities. It was pathetic that you had even shown up in London. But she had insisted, had assured you that you were still desirable, still attractive and spirited.

You certainly didn’t feel that way now. You snatched up a glass of wine from a nearby valet and drank it down in nearly a single gulp. It did little to soothe your nerves.

You needed air. You took another glass and sped towards the garden. The noise and music floated out here but the fresh air was cool and the garden looked quite empty, the vacant pathways lit by torches.

You’d once been so much fun. You’d laughed and smiled. You’d had no worries about your future. Now, not only were you a laughing stock but you would be lucky if you could rely on your cousin’s generosity for the rest of your days lest you end up in the poor house.

Tears were welling up in your eyes. You tore the mask off of your face to wipe them away. With your vision clouded and in the dim of the garden, you didn’t see the man that was standing in the shadows until you’d run right into his back.

You’d hit him with enough force to knock you back a few paces but he hardly flinched. He was tall and broad shouldered and he turned to look at you with curiosity. He was alone, thank heavens. He wore a black tailcoat and under that a waist coat that looked like silver and shined like silk. You didn’t recognize him but, of course, he was wearing a mask like all of the other guests. His was rendered in the same silver fabric with a slim slit for his eyes. A scalloped piece of fabric fell from the bottom of the mask down to his chin so you couldn’t see anything of his face other than his dark eyes.

Once you’d regained your balance you began to stutter an apology.

“Forgive me, sir,” you stammered. “I must mind my step.”

The stranger didn’t say anything, he just continued to look you up and down, the torch light reflected in his eyes. His hair was a mess of dark curls. His stature was imposing and incredibly still. You were so shaken that you suddenly realized how you looked, your face stained with tears and eyes glassy. You felt your cheeks burn with even more embarrassment.

Just as you opened your mouth to give some explanation, a voice came from behind you.

“Djarin! There you are!” Captain Dune called out, as jovial as ever.

You did your best to wipe the tears from your cheeks while the masked man turned his attention away.

Captain Dune sauntered down the path with his wife on his elbow. He was a dark haired, stocky man who still looked quite dashing in his dress uniform. He had been a hero of the Nile and served with your father before his ship had been lost. His round face was adorned with a black mask.

“Ah! I see you’ve met the young lady I told you about,” Dune said.

Lady Georgiana’s bright eyes looked between the two of you from under her leather mask. She was a beautiful woman with dark skin and a wide smile. She had always been kind to you even after the disastrous affair with Mr. Vanth.

“My dear, allow me to introduce Mr. Djarin,” Lady Georgiana said. “He is a very good friend.”

Mr. Djarin gave a tight bow when she introduced you but barely murmured a, “How do you do?”

“What are you doing hiding out here, Djarin? The dancing is inside!” Dune teased.

Mr. Djarin gave a chuckle but he didn’t sound amused.

“Why don’t you ask this young lady for a dance? I’m sure she would lower herself to stand up with you,” the captain continued with a wink.

“I’d better not. Please, you’ll have to excuse me. I should retire,” Mr. Djarin said, his voice deep and raspy.

Your eyes fell to the ground and you swallowed hard. You hoped in the darkness of the garden, Lady Georgiana didn’t catch your upset. Clearly Captain Dune had told him everything about you. Why else would this man be so impolite?

“Oh come now. It’s early, yet,” the captain protested.

“Forgive me. It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” he bowed and took his leave.

“My dear,” Lady Georgiana tried, “you’ll have to forgive Mr. Djarin. He has lived alone for so long that he sometimes forgets his manners.”

You gave her a smile, clenching your jaw so that you would not cry.

“I just had a splendid idea!” Lady Georgiana exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “You should come stay with us at Nevarro Hall. We leave next week. It would be great fun. I do find that part of the country so diverting.”

“You are too kind but I couldn’t impose,” you said politely. You had a feeling this offer only came because Georgiana felt responsible for her friend’s slight.

“Nonsense! You’re quite right that is a grand idea!” the captain agreed.

It was agreed that Lady Georgiana would write to your mother to inform her of the invitation. You knew she wouldn’t disagree considering how kind the Dunes were and how generous an invitation it was. Once the matter was settled, Captain Dune insisted you return to the party and you reluctantly slunk back inside.

Julia was with a gaggle of some friends when you returned to the ballroom. There was some excitement going on between them.

“Did you see him, Lucy?” one of the girls asked.

“I was introduced,” Lucy squealed. “It is a shame he was not here earlier in the season.”

You realized they were talking about Mr. Djarin and you felt yourself frowning.

“You’re not happy with Mr. Calican?” Julia laughed. Lucy had accepted his proposal just yesterday.

“No, of course!” she scoffed.

“What was he like?” Julia asked.

“I’ve heard he has a fine estate,” Lucy said.

“Oh, he was terribly handsome,” the first girl craned her neck to try and spot Mr. Djarin.

You wanted to laugh. You had also been introduced to Mr. Djarin but there was no way of knowing how handsome he was beneath that mask. You might have even ventured to tell them that but Emma joined the group looking disgruntled.

“I have learned some most unsettling news about Mr. Djarin,” she said. “He is traveling with a child who is in his care.”

“What about that offends you so?” Julia rolled her eyes.

“That is just it, Julia. I am told that this young boy is not merely Mr. Djarin’s ward. He is, in fact, his natural child.” This last part she said in a scandalized whisper.

This raised quite a few eyebrows but you furrowed your own.

“You are told?” You responded. “By whom?”

You knew the rumors that had circulated about yourself and had grown to absolutely despise and distrust gossip.

“I have it on good authority,” Emma said, which meant that some busybody had told her.

You shook your head. You hated that you felt the need to defend Mr. Djarin after he’d been so rude to you. If he had a child out of wedlock, one that he paraded around shamelessly, then what right did he have to rebuff you? You reminded yourself that this was merely hearsay. And no one deserved to be slandered like that.

But when you saw the way the other girls eyed you, you remembered yourself. If you protested too much, it would only speak to your own reputation. So you let them prattle on and as soon as you could slip away, you did, and spent the rest of the evening counting the minutes until you could leave and fall into bed.

After such an excruciating time in town, you were happy to be going anywhere else and, selfishly, you were glad that you didn’t need to spend a long carriage ride hearing Julia go on and on about how much she would miss being in town.

Nevarro Hall was situated on a gorgeous estate in a quiet part of the countryside. Lady Georgiana had given you a well appointed room with a view of the grounds. There was a beautiful garden with a fountain in the middle and, beyond that, a manicured lawn. You could see down to the lake and, past that, the tall trees. You spent a week walking the grounds with Lady Georgiana.

You loved to draw and you could set yourself in some corner of the garden and sketch the flowers for hours on end. It was such a wonderful change from the constant noise and hustle of town– the endless parties and calls, Emma herding you around like a prized cow. When the weather was fair, Lady Georgiana would have tea set outside and she and the captain would ask for a tour through your sketchbook and kindly remark on your talents.

“Perhaps you will create a likeness of the captain, my dear,” Lady Georgiana suggested. “If he will sit still enough for you.”

The captain laughed at that remark as the valet presented him with a letter.

“Very good! It seems Djarin will be joining us tomorrow! His business in town is finished,” he said.

You tried to hide your displeasure. You had no interest in sitting through dinners and excruciating evenings with Mr. Djarin. But you had little choice in the matter. And the captain and Lady Karga had been such generous hosts, you wouldn’t insult them by cutting your visit short.

You decided that you would be as polite as necessary but keep away from him as much as possible. This was wise, you told yourself, because your reputation couldn’t suffer any more difficulties. There were plenty of people that would jump at the chance to make even a passing association with Mr. Djarin into a scandal. But, of course, there was still a part of you that smarted at the way he had dismissed you in your very first encounter. You couldn’t be prevailed upon to be pleasant to a man that was so insulting. And so you would not.

Luckily, the first two days, it was easy to avoid Mr. Djarin entirely. The captain had taken him out riding or shooting or some such activity men enjoyed and they had dined out. Lady Georgiana had become a dear companion to you but she had begun to spend far too much time hinting at how much she liked the new guest. You would merely nod and smile and let your mind wander when she started to tell you how agreeable Mr. Djarin was or how he had been such a kind friend to her father.

On the third day, you had complained of a headache so you could excuse yourself from breakfast. After you had the tea and toast that Lady Georgiana had sent up to your room, you insisted a walk would be good for you and you set out across the grounds with your sketchbook.

You decided the stables were a good place to be left alone. It wasn’t like anyone would be looking for you there and, save the horses, there was nobody there. You found a little wooden chair and sat down to draw the horses and tack.

There was a beautiful black mare with white whiskers around her snout that you were sketching when you heard a noise. It was a funny little squeal. You thought you had imagined it until you heard it again. It had come from the empty horse stall at the very end and when you set down your sketchbook to investigate, you found a little boy sitting in the hay.

“Hello,” you said to him.

He smiled up at you. He looked incredibly sweet with chubby little cheeks. His ears seemed too big for his head and his eyes, too, were big and round. He wore a little brown suit with a delicate ruffle around the neck that was now covered in mud and hay.

“What are you doing in here?” you asked him, though he seemed too small to answer.

He babbled at you and held out something in his hand.

“What’s that?”

The child leaned forward, stretching towards you, and dropped it into your hand. It was a little silver ball that jingled like it had a bell within.

“Thank you,” you chuckled.

You shook it and it made a tinkling sound. He clapped his pudgy hands together, then planted them on the ground, and carefully got to his feet. He continued to yammer on as he tottered towards you, falling on his behind once, but determined to reach you on his own.

“Grogu!” You heard a voice from the path outside that you recognized. “Grogu!”

The boy scampered out of the stable and right up to the boot of Mr. Djarin.

“Where have you been, lad? They’re turning the whole house over looking for you,” he said.

He scooped the little boy up, holding his whole body in the crook of his arm, a wide hand grasping the boy’s calf. Grogu put a dirty hand up to Mr. Djarin’s chin and he laughed softly.

Now that you had the benefit of seeing him without a mask, you realized Mr. Djarin was, indeed, quite handsome. He had full lips and a prominent nose. His skin was a shade of gold that complimented his dark eyes. His starched collar met a square jaw that was dotted with stubble. In the sunlight, you could see that his soft curls and thick sideburns were threaded with grey hairs. The smile that spread over his features was so warm, you wished you could capture it in your sketchbook.

This was the infamous child, then. You saw little resemblance between Mr. Djarin and the lad but he held him so tenderly, it made you wonder if the rumors hadn’t been true.

That’s what you were pondering when the boy turned his attention back to you, pointing with a plump little finger. Mr. Djarin’s whole body stiffened when he saw you, his eyes turning sharp.

“Good morning,” you said with a curtsy.

His jaw clenched and he nodded.

“He was playing,” you tried, tilting your head back towards the stable.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I was drawing the horses,” you explained.

His head tilted just slightly.

“Is that his name? Grogu?” You asked when Mr. Djarin failed to speak.

“Yes,” he said.

You smiled. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Grogu.”

You put out your hand and the lad wrapped his fingers around one of yours.

“Ebba!” he cried.

You laughed. When you glanced at Mr. Djarin he was looking at you with an expression you could only describe as fear. Your smile faltered.

“I take it your business was concluded. In a satisfactory manner, I hope?” you inquired politely.

His brow furrowed momentarily and he opened his mouth and then set Grogu down at his feet.

“Yes. I-” he cleared his throat. “Please, you must forgive me for my behavior at the masquerade. Lady Georgiana said that I offended you. That was not my intention.”

You felt heat in your cheeks once again, embarrassment mixed with anger. You couldn’t believe he had to be told that he had acted like an ass. “Not to worry, sir. My pride has already been damaged so thoroughly, what is but one more slight?”

The look that crossed his face was absolute horror. You would have apologized for speaking so plainly but you frankly didn’t care. What right did he have to judge you? To apologize like you were so pitiful when here he was with his love child. You knew what men like Mr. Djarin were like and you’d learned to keep a wide berth.

“I- I should tell them that I’ve found him,” Mr. Djarin said. “Good day.”

He turned to go back up the path.

“Wait!” you called.

You blushed when you realized how impolite it sounded. Mr. Djarin turned carefully but said nothing. You approached him, painfully aware of the way he stared at you. It was difficult to meet his eye. You swallowed and held out the child’s ball to him. Mr. Djarin put out his hand and you placed it in his palm. As you did, your fingertips brushed his hand and you shivered. His skin felt rough and his palm was so large compared to your own. Your breath caught and, for some reason, you wished he would close his fingers around yours. You quickly withdrew your hand.

The boy reached out for the ball with a coo.

“Much obliged,” Mr Djarin managed. He was still looking at you with intense concentration.

Your chest felt tight.

“I’ll let them know at the house,” you stuttered and after a quick curtsy you were rushing back up the path.

--- Chapter 2

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galactic-glamour-girl-posts · 3 years ago

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My Top 10 Animaniacs Characters

I've already ranked the characters in a few tier lists, but after the release of season 2 I've changed my mind about a few characters in terms of ranking order, plus I just wanted to gush about my favs!

(Just a heads up...this is gonna be a long one.)

10-Julia

Julia 100% would be higher if she were in more than 2 episodes as of the time of writing, but she isn't so she lacks the depth others on the list have.

She was already sweet in her debut, but what ultimately got her here is how she stole the show in "Reichenbrain Falls". She went from being kind, considerate, hardworking yet somewhat reserved to being an over-enthusiastic, crazy genius out for revenge.

Honestly, I believe that she wants to take over the world not necessarily because she's interested in ruling the world, but more because of sunk-cost fallacy (she was really close to succeeding before Brain tried to mind-control her, plus her exact words were "...because I deserve to rule the world!") and because it would be the perfect way to get revenge on Brain.

What helps her stay likeable is that her wanting revenge is justified, what Brain did to her was wrong.

She's also really funny to watch-she's kind of like Brain and Pinky combined (Brain's intelligence with Pinky's insanity), and serves as a lasting consequence of Brain's actions. Whatever him and Pinky get up to is usually swept under the rug by the end of an episode as they return to the lab for tomorrow night, but not this time.

I'm glad they're not implying she still has feelings for Brain or that he might have feelings for her (so far, at least...please keep it up). Enemies to Lovers (or is it Lovers to Enemies to Lovers in this case?) has been done really badly in...certain franchises recently so I'm glad they're not doing that here.

Plus, Julia’s leitmotif is an inverted version of the Pinky and the Brain theme song-that's just cool!

9-Dr Scratchansniff

Up next is Scratchy!

What I like about Dr Scratchansniff is that due to his heavy accent, he could've easily been made a weirdo and have his whole character be "haha foreigners and their funny sounding accents, aren't they weird?" it was the 90's, they probably could've gotten away with it. Instead (thankfully) in most episodes the opposite is true. He's usually the straight man to other character's antics, be it the Warners, Mr Plotz, etc.

He also has a really nice "arc" (I use that term loosely) about warming up to the Warners. He goes from wanting to avoid them as much as possible (he even threatened to turn them into stew in The Monkey Song), to actually getting along with them pretty well, to essentially becoming their dad. I think it's sweet! Most people point to "I'm Mad" being the moment that established his "dad status" by taking the Warners to a Circus, but what sold it for me was actually the segment "Fake", where the Warners agree to come with Scratchy to a wrestling match, even though they know it's fake and didn't want to be there. He didn't force them, they agreed to go seemingly just to make him happy. I can't imagine the Warners purposefully choosing not to have fun for anyone other than someone they considered family.

Although season 4 and 5 of the original show kind of ruin it (their dynamic in "Anchors Awarners" is extremely simplified and then in season 5 the Warners barely interact with Scratchy)...but let's not talk about that, look at Scratchy tuck the Warners into bed!

Adorable!

8-Rita

She's not talked about all that much, but Rita actually has some depth to her character. Not to mention her segments had a lot of heart.

In "When Rita met Runt" we find out she was made cynical and world-weary due to neglect. She tries to tell herself she hates humans and just wants their food, but deep down she really just wants a good home with a loving owner. She tries to be independent and not get attached to Runt at first, but she does anyway and by "Puttin' on the Blitz" she proves to be fiercely loyal (and tough too) by giving up her chance for that loving home to save Runt.

At end of the day she really just craves love and affection, it's the main reason she considers raising the kittens in "Smitten with Kittens", even though she knows she can barely feed herself and Runt, let alone three more people. Her segments in the original probably had the most amount of heartfelt moments between them out of any other character's segments, which helps her character stand out amongst the more comedic members of the cast. The only downside of this is that due to her character being taken more seriously than most on the show, she's not all that funny. Not unfunny, but after her first episode (with snarky lines like "Get a kid lady") I can't recall that many times she made me laugh. Which is fine, but it IS a comedy show after all.

And she obviously has a phenomenal singing voice thanks to Bernadette Peters!

7-Nora

Nora was funny enough in season 1, but she didn't get much screen time. Her personality was established well enough-she was condescending, stern, and selfish, but she wasn't all that fleshed out, beyond being a sort of foil to the Warners. She's no-nonsense whereas they always mess about. What really got her on this list was how she was fleshed out in season 2. At first I did prefer Plotz, but season 2 has developed Nora to the point where I think she has more depth as a character than Plotz does. He's a fun character but was kinda just bossy, mean and greedy, that's about it-his season 2 cameo was fun though. We learn that Nora overcompensates for her lack of parenting skills by buying her daughter whatever she wants. She has also shown more signs of being short-tempered, having more fits of rage than last season. We also find out why she's so competitive and obsessed with success, because of her family, mainly her great grandmother Flora Dora. Her sisters belittle her, her great grandmother not only is a very successful business woman but also constantly organizes competitions at family gatherings, it's no wonder she's a firm believer in "pulling up the ladder behind her". She seems to want to live up to her great grandmother's legacy, she does seem to genuinely look up to her. Plotz was motivated mostly by making money, whereas Nora only seems interested in money as proof of her status and how successful she is, not necessarily due to greed, otherwise she wouldn't spend millions on her daughter. This may even explain why she is very concerned about being in shape (almost every time they cut to her in her office she's exercising).

She doesn't just want to be successful (or at least, her idea of being successful) she needs people to know it just by looking at her.

Overall, I like the direction they took with her character and I can't wait to see more from her.

6-Wakko

Surprised? I do like Wakko, but not as much as most of the fandom it seems.

He does stand out amongst the Warners though, being less reliant on witty dialogue and more on visual gags and slapstick.

One aspect of his character that I like that I don't see many people talk about is that he's a bit of a tinkerer. Moments that come to mind are when he "fixed" the garage remote in "Garage Sale of the Century", when he built a huge contraption just to use a whoopie cushion, and even one moment in the reboot where he microwaved a TV remote because he thought it would give it magical powers in "Animani-yet". I wonder if season 2 of the reboot establishing that he likes video games is meant to be acknowledgment of his interest in tech.

I like that all the Warners are supposed to be maniacs yet he's known as the "crazy one", which a lot of his gimmicks make pretty clear (his gag bag, saying made up words like "faboo", a weird obsession with Don Knotts, acts more animalistic than the other two Warners-often acting like a dog and is often seen letting his tongue hang out, etc).

I do like Wakko but to me he's more likeable than he is...funny? I dunno, he's not unfunny but he doesn't make me laugh as much as the next five do. Not to mention isn't that complex either, which is fine, I mean all Animaniacs characters aren't that complex to be honest, but Wakko more so than others.

Not to say that he's one-note, because he's not. In addition to being the insane "eating stuff guy", he's also naïve, optimistic, sincere (if not just straight up blunt at times), and kind-hearted, even though he can be emotionally volatile. There's no doubt in my mind the show wouldn't be the same without him.

5-Slappy

She may be ranked 5th highest, but if we're talking purely on a comedic standpoint Slappy's probably one of the funniest characters in the franchise. Part of the reason why is because...well...she's awful.

She's lazy. She's cranky. She's vindictive. She's bitter. She's violent and borderline sadistic. She's also aware of all that and doesn't wish to change.

She's where a lot of the show's cynical edge to its humour comes from. What helps is that for all her flaws, it's not like she actively tries to cause trouble. She just wants to be left alone most of the time. But, like what often happens to the Warners, someone just has to swoop in and act like a jerk. And when someone tries to mess with Slappy, she holds nothing back. It's almost admirable...almost.

Remember when she bombed a critic's house because he didn't find her funny (and expressed disappointment when she found out he WASN'T inside his house when she did)? Or when she threatened to blow up a jury (of biased wolves, to be fair) unless they voted her not-guilty on a crime she technically did commit...and then blew them up anyway?

Again, she's no role model. She does what she does because she thinks it's funny-and it is!

Although I do like the scene in "The Sound of Warners" that shows that whilst the Warners only use force against people who deliberately wronged them, Slappy will just bomb anyone who she finds annoying, whether they meant it or not. Stuff like that makes her bond with Skippy all the more adorable, because you know how mean she can be to almost everyone else. Yet she genuinely does a pretty good job raising Skippy. They get along pretty much all the time, she does her best to keep him happy (in "Bumbie's Mom" she flew across the country in a plane just so he'd stop crying over a movie, for example), she even tries to teach him lessons sometimes-although sometimes regrets it because it makes her "sound like an after school special".

She's a veteran toon who knows every trick in the book, often deconstructing gags and can beat her foes without breaking a sweat-now that's comedy!

4-Brain

Slappy has the edge when it come to comedy, but Brain is a bit more complex in terms of character and still makes me laugh. Slappy is funny but ultimately is a simple character.

Whilst Brain is very monotone in the early episodes, overtime he develops to become a lot more expressive, megalomaniacal, grouchy and sympathetic.

I admire his perseverance-the guy never gives up. He doesn't let the fact that he is a tiny lab mouse stop him from trying to take over the world, despite the fact that he has failed over and over again. Now, is this a good goal to have? No. Are his methods always morally sound? No. But you just can't help but root for him. Even though a lot of his plans are ridiculous, and even though Pinky tends to get blamed for them going wrong (and admittedly a lot of the time it is his fault) Brains screws up his own plans just as much. But I kinda like that? Brain's smart but he's not necessarily wise, if you get what I mean.

Brain's been given multiple backstories, but each one reveals he basically only wants to take over the world because he feels unsafe and fears not being in control for fear of it leading to him getting hurt. They also seem to have affected how willing he is to be open about his feelings or his affection for others (mainly Pinky). He tries to gain control of the world as a way of seeking comfort over what happened to him, be it him being taken from his home or being experimented on the the point where it physically damaged his tail. He also seems to genuinely believe he'd make the world a better place.

Then there's his bond with Pinky, which is..."complicated"? He does insult and bop him, but we know at this point he does consider him his best friend, he just struggles with being open about it. There have been multiple times when it seemed like he might lose Pinky forever, and each time he gets upset about it, sometimes to the point of crying. Not to mention he always makes sure his plans involve Pinky in some way, when he could probably come up with a plan that he could do completely by himself if he really wanted to.

The segment Future Brain even shows that he literally trusts Pinky more than he trusts himself. That's actually really sweet.

3-Pinky

I genuinely think Pinky is probably the nicest character on the show (although let's be honest, the bar isn't...all that high) considering he never really wants to fight or hurt anyone. He just wants to get along with everybody. In fact it's the main reason reason I ranked him higher than Brain. Not to blame Brain for being world-weary; given his trauma I get why he resorts to doing some of the things he does, but I just think Pinky's acts of kindness are touching. The usually emotionally constipated Brain even said once that Pinky is "pure of heart"...before insulting his intelligence(or I guess lack thereof), but still.

His endless loyalty and love for Brain is so endearing. His tendency to put Brain's wants above his own, like when he dedicated what was supposed to be his Christmas list to asking for something Brain wants, because he knows how much it means to Brain, or when he pushed aside his own birthday (the ONE day of the year he gets to call the shots) just so Brain could focus on taking over the world, is somewhat admirable but also kind of sad. In a good way.

Not that he lacks agency or his own wants/priorities. He's shown interest in make up, fashion, cooking, cheese (of course), whatever the latest most popular genre of music is (be it country or pop), etc. I think him spending so much time watching TV is what led to him being very interested in pop culture, and that in turn has led to him being more of a people person than Brain (which I guess isn't too hard to achieve). Pinky tends to get along with strangers quite well and very quickly most of the time, which has come in handy for a lot of Brain's plans.

Also, thanks to the "Are you pondering what I'm pondering?" gag, he gets really bizarre dialogue a lot of the time, so bizarre you can't help but laugh. Not to mention the times he just resorts to saying made up words.

Another reason Pinky is so high is because right out the gate he proved to be an entertaining character. Brain took a while to become an engaging character, but Pinky always had fun quirks, even before his later developments. We find out pretty soon he's a TV addict, has a funny British accent, is cheerful, spontaneously yells made up words , and is really, REALLY stupid. Slappy excels at comedy, but Brain has more depth as a character, and Pinky is a good middle ground between those two things.

2-Dot

Can I talk about her design first? She is the cute one after all. I appreciate that, unlike a lot of female character designs for animals (particularly older designs, from the 1920's all the way to the 90's), she's not just the main male lead turned pink or with a bow on-for example, she has no whiskers, unlike Yakko or Wakko (those aren't whiskers, that's her hair). She also isn't unnecessarily given human anatomy or human-looking hair. She isn't permanently given eyelashes to make it obvious that she's a girl-she's only drawn with eyelashes when she's purposely trying to look cute for the camera, as seen below. Otherwise she'll just have dot eyes, just like her brothers. This post will give you a better idea of what I mean.

In fact she probably has the best design of the Warners. Not only is she, well...CUTE, her pink skirt and flower help her look feminine and stylish, but without over-doing it with the cuteness by giving her a more covered up/conservative (conservative as in traditional, not in a political context) look . Her brothers' designs don't really say anything about their personalities (if you didn't know who Yakko and Wakko were, what about their designs would indicate that Yakko likes to talk? Or that Wakko likes to eat?) Her outfit is also the best homage to classic characters from the 1920's/30's.

Yakko would be more accurate if he was wearing shorts, and Wakko's backwards cap screams the 90's.

Fun fact! Dot's original concept art design kinda resembles Minnie's modern look (although given when it was drawn, this was of course unintentional)

Now on to her personality, Dot has a lot of good dialogue, although some lines make me laugh specifically because of Tress Macneille's delivery. Dot often uses cuteness to get out of danger or to give foes a false sense of security, so it's all the more surprising when she roars at them or bludgeons them with a mace. It's sneaky and it's cool to see how she takes what many might see as a weakness (being small and dainty) and make it her strength.

And given that she was created in the 90's, I appreciate that she's actually allowed to be witty and funny and wacky and isn't just eye candy or the damsel in distress, or the love interest (although since she's the little sister this was a given), or the no nonsense one. She has a very fleshed out personality. She's acerbic, short-tempered, extremely confident in herself, competitive, violent, and LOVES getting attention. Obviously she's not the first good animated female character, but legitimately well written animated female leads who didn't have sexist tropes tied to their characters were rarer back in the day.

Whilst I do applaud the original series for how it handled Dot's cuteness, I do like how the reboot has shown how she can stand out amongst the Warners beyond being the "cute one". Let's be honest, in the original series her other defining traits were taken to the extreme by one of her brothers; her brothers got to be the best at multiple things whilst she only got one main thing (Honestly I also personally think the original series kinda underutilised her in general compared to her brothers). Yeah she was smart but Yakko was the smartest. Yeah she could be violent but Wakko was more destructive. So what was left for Dot to be the best at? Being cute...and that's about it. So it's great to see that in the reboot many episodes have emphasized that she does excel in at least one other area beyond being cute-determination. Segments like Rug of War, Warner's Ark, The Warner's Vault, Suffragette City, etc really show off her spunk and how passionate she can be, even more so than her brothers.

1-Yakko

No change here, Yakko's still my favourite! He has a lot of traits I find entertaining; he's a wise-guy, a know it all, a good big brother, crafty, and actually pretty laid back when not purposefully playing up the zaniness. His snarky remarks are always great, they always seem to save the best dialogue for him. I like that the reboot emphasized just how much he likes to sing. He always did, all the Warners do, but Yakko in particular seems almost obsessed with it. It makes sense, he is the one who yaks, plus it makes for a funny running gag.

He also tends to try and turn things into a comedy bit. He's shocked about a new revelation? He grabs a drink just so he can do a spit take. They lack a map? He pretends to have one and claims it's improv. He's definitely dedicated to being "the funny guy".

One thing I find funny about him is that he can get weirdly petty about things (specifically needing lukewarm tea, insisting his slacks are smoky topaz not tan, considering wearing a coat as some sort of sacrifice, etc)

it's also nice to see a male lead in a cartoon comedy that isn't either optimistic, upbeat and wacky-but dumb, or they are smart but are either cynical, grouchy and/or mean, or they're the "loser" nerd who gets made fun of every other episode. Heck, those descriptions fit some characters within Animaniacs itself! But not with Yakko, turns out male leads can be energetic AND smart without being made fun of for it! Who would've thought? Obviously, again, NOT the first time this has happened in a cartoon (Sokka, for example), but I find that a lot of male main characters (I'm talking specifically about animated comedies here, not fiction in general) fall under one of those three categories.

And unlike his siblings, who will often resort to violence/slapstick to best an opponent, Yakko (usually) just solves his problems verbally, which I find a little more engaging to watch. "Morning Malaise", "Rome Sweet Rome" and the song "Be Like Me" are some good examples of this.

"Fear and Laughter in Burbank" I would argue improves his character, confirming that he hates being alone, fears not being funny/losing his voice and seems to seek validation, via either his jokes or his singing. Hence why he references Yakko's World a lot, it's a crowd pleaser. It's his go-to to get someone to like him, like in "Sweet and Sour Sixteen" when he tries to calm the crowd, and in "Yakko Amakko" when he tries to win the animator over by singing it. It's endearing to see a more anxious side to a character who otherwise doesn't take things too seriously.

Alright, that's all I got! This might be my longest post ever but it was really fun to write. Who are your favourite Animaniacs characters?

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moldisgoodforyou · 3 years ago

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bahamas (v)

wordcount: 6.2k

warnings: hinting at sexual content

______

Rafe found Colin the next morning, lanky limbs sprawled out on the couch with a blanket haphazardly tossed on top of him, his arm hanging off the edge of the couch as he slept. “Yo.”

“Mmph.” Colin grumbled in reply, stirring. He blinked a few times as he realized Rafe was standing in front of him, looking confused. “Hey.”

“Hey. You got kicked out?”

“James and Julia, they…” Colin trailed off, gesturing toward their rooms. “So I let Allie have my bed, and I’m out here.” A small scowl settled onto his face as a wide grin grew on Rafe’s. “Shut up.”

“I didn’t say a thing.” Rafe laughed. “You are down bad, brother. Down bad.”

“Do not breathe a word of this to anyone, or I’ll tell Sophie you’ve been pining after her since high school.” Colin sat up, stretching. “I mean it.”

“Oh, she already knew that.” Rafe shook his head, grinning. “But don’t worry. Secret’s safe with me. You think Allie will remember? Did anything happen?”

“Nothing. Literally nothing.” Colin shrugged. “Does Sophie know about Julia and James?”

“What about us?” Julia asked, James and Allie trailing right behind her as they came down the hall for breakfast. “That we fucked?”

Rafe winced. “Can you not?”

“She doesn’t know?”

“No. And I’d like to keep it that way.” Rafe pointed at everyone, serious. “If any of you tell before we leave tomorrow, I’ll strangle you and leave your body here. I swear.”

“Dibs on telling her when we leave.” Colin said quickly, grinning.

“Be my guest.” James shrugged.

“Okay. Now. You two need to promise to not hook up again, I swear, you’re aging me by years. I’m tired of navigating your sex lives and you both know you’re not good together.” Rafe instructed, arms crossed.

“That’s fair.” Julia nodded, turning to shake hands with James. He nodded too, shaking her hand then kissed the back of her hand just to make her grin. She rolled her eyes, tugging her hand away.

“Thank you. Now. Breakfast?” Rafe gestured toward the kitchen.

“Where’s Sophie?” Allie yawned, stretching as she followed them all in.

“Definitely hungover and she was definitely drooling on the pillow.” He smiled fondly as Sophie came into the kitchen, hair in a messy bun and pillow marks still pressed into her cheek. “Morning, sleeping beauty!”

“You talkin shit on me?” She asked, leaning into his side as he looped his arm around her.

“He said you looked like shit.” James grinned. “He was right.”

“Shut the fuck up, James, I’m still mad at you -”

“Just because your boyfriend prefers my kisses -” He stepped around the kitchen counter, trying to avoid as she came closer.

“Oh my god! I forgot about that! I can’t believe you -”

“Look, he technically kissed me first -“ James gasped, looking way too delighted with himself. “Oh my god! Sophie! We’re spit sisters!”

As she grabbed the wooden spoon from off the counter, Rafe plucked it out of her hand from behind just as quickly. “Whoa! Hey. Can you two please be civil? James, stop antagonizing. Soph, quit arguing with someone that isn’t me.”

Colin wrinkled his nose. “Really? That makes you jealous?”

“It’s our thing.” He frowned, pulling Sophie into his arms again from behind, satisfied when she leaned back against him.

She tilted her head up to catch her lips on the underside of his jaw. “You’re too possessive.”

“Bold of you to talk.” Julia snorted.

“Whatever. What’d I miss?”

Everyone shared a look, Rafe glaring at everyone behind Sophie’s back, until Allie shook her head. “Nothing, we all just woke up too. I think we should go surfing today, it’s our last full day.”

“Only you three can surf.” Julia replied, pointing at Allie and Rafe and Sophie.

“We can teach you.” Rafe suggested, only for Sophie to snort.

“You can’t surf for shit, Rafe.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re excused. I haven’t gone in years, but yeah, we can try.” Sophie pulled out her phone, starting to google board rentals until Rafe poked her in the side.

“I know how to surf.”

“Okay, so your concussion sophomore year of high school wasn’t from a wipeout? Because I’m pretty sure I can still find the video on YouTube, actually, thanks to Wheezie uploading it -”

“Hey, Sophie, no -” He grabbed at her phone, scrambling to get it away, but she just tossed it to James who caught it easily with a grin and pulled up the Youtube app immediately.

“Is it saved? Under...oh, here.” He laughed as Rafe struggled against Sophie’s arms.

“Everyone knows Kooks can’t surf, baby.” She murmured to him, grinning when he scowled and bumped his forehead against hers.

“What’s a Kook?” Colin asked.

“The kind of people Rafe grew up with.” Sophie let him go, moving to his side.

“Didn’t you grow up with them too?”

She laughed, shaking her head right away. “Ha. No. I only went to school with them starting in eighth grade. I’m not...no. That’s not me.”

“It’s not a bad thing.” Rafe interjected, careful. He’d never directly told James and Colin about the environment he grew up in, but they picked up on a lot of things - they didn’t have to go through etiquette classes, or own mansions or attend literal balls every year. He also hadn’t told them about how Sophie wasn’t like that at all, figuring if she wanted to share more, then she could do so on her own terms.

“So you’re a pog?” James cocked his head and Rafe winced, hating the direction the conversation was going in.

“Um...it’s pogue, but no? Not quite?” Sophie answered with a shrug. She’d never found herself fitting in with the rest of the kids on the Cut, especially once she started going to the private academy, but then again, the kooks weren’t exactly her world either. She lived in a weird in-between, working side by side through high school with the pogues, serving all the kook kids, then partying with the kooks on the weekend. It was a strange balance. “I don’t know, it’s hard to explain.”

“I thought there were just two. Rafe, when we came to visit summer after freshman year, didn’t your dad say that we needed to stay away from that one side of the island with the pogues -”

“I don’t remember.” Rafe interrupted quickly, then spared a glance at Sophie and hated the way her face fell. “I don’t think he said that. Can we figure out what to do today?”

Oblivious as ever, Colin furrowed his brow. “No, I think I remember that too, he was joking a lot about it -”

“He wasn’t joking.” Sophie muttered, suddenly sullen as she felt a pit form in her stomach.

“It doesn’t matter.” Rafe replied, firm, and shot both the boys a pointed look.

Julia and Allie had been subjected to Sophie’s worries about money and fitting in with Rafe time and time again, and knew exactly how she felt at the moment. Allie took Sophie’s phone back from James, pulled up the browser, and cleared her throat. “Alright. Three board rentals for $30, I figure we can all pair off? Pick them up at eleven so we have time to eat breakfast?”

“Yeah, I’m starving.” Julia chimed in, slipping past Sophie and squeezed her shoulders in a reassuring gesture before opening the fridge. “James, can we do omelets again? Colin, you’re on toast duty?”

“But I -”

“Colin.” Julia sent him a glare and threw the loaf of bread toward him, narrowly missing his head. “Toast.”

“She gets one embroidered apron in a PR package and suddenly she’s queen of the kitchen.” James quipped, bumping Rafe out of the way with his hip and pulled out the pan, spatula, and whisk, prepared.

“Exactly, I’m glad you understand.” Julia grinned.

Rafe moved closer to Sophie’s side, leaning down to murmur in her ear. “You good?”

“M’ fine.”

He rolled his eyes and took her hand, pulling her out of the kitchen and down the hall to the foyer. “Soph. Talk to me.”

“I said, I’m fine -”

“And I know damn well that means you’re not actually fine -”

She huffed and caught a glimpse of the giant chandelier behind him as she looked up to meet his gaze, and was finding it harder and harder to conceptualize the place as his house rather than just a vacation home of a friend’s. “You haven’t told the boys about The Cut? Pogues, kooks, all that? That I’m not like you?”

“Of course not, Sophie, that doesn’t matter to me.” He frowned, taking both her hands in his. “Besides, I didn’t think it was my place to share.”

“Oh.” She sighed, stepping forward and dropping her head to his chest. “Sorry, I just - I’m trying to be chill.”

“You have been. We’ve been good.” He nudged her chin up, catching her eye. “Haven’t we?”

“Yeah, yeah, just - I took a wrong turn this morning, found myself down some hallway and in some office, and there was this giant painted portrait of your family behind the desk, and -” She forced herself to take a breath. “It’s a lot. You looked like fucking royalty.”

He nodded slowly in understanding. “Oh. Yeah. That’s my dad’s office, uh...there’s a reason I didn’t give everyone the full house tour.” He rubbed the back of his neck, giving her a sheepish smile. “The guys would give me so much shit for that.”

“You’re not, like...embarrassed of me, right? Like how I grew up?” She asked before she could think, uneasy as her stomach twisted in knots.

“Sophie.” He frowned, stroking his thumb over her cheekbone. “You really have to ask that?”

“No, sorry, no. I know you’re not. Just - agh.” She screwed up her face in concentration, frustrated. “It’s me. I’m sorry.”

“Just try not to stress so much about it, okay? You’re the only one worried about it.”

“Oh, that’s easy. Thanks, Rafe, I’m cured.”

He rolled his eyes and pushed at her shoulder gently, making her smile a little. “I want you to be comfortable with me, angel.”

“I am!” She flexed her hands, frustrated. “That’s the thing. I am, with you. Not...you.”

He furrowed his brow. “Now I’m confused.”

“I don’t know how to explain it.”

James rounded the corner, yelling out before he reached them. “Yo! You two done making out yet?”

Sophie sent Rafe an exasperated look before crossing her arms, turning to James. “We weren’t -”

“Yeah, yeah, I don’t care. C’mon, your breakfast is ready and I know Rafe throws up if he has to eat cold eggs.”

“It was one time -”

“One time is enough.” James shuddered, thinking back to freshman year. Rafe had gotten a little too cocky with the pledge masters during their hazing and was forced to eat five cold scrambled eggs in front of the whole pledge class, after he’d already had his fair share of alcohol to drink, and it didn’t end well. He extended his hand to Sophie, grinning. “Sophie, doll, breakfast awaits.”

“I hate you.” She replied with a straight face, but took his hand anyway and let him pull her back to the kitchen.

He laughed, glancing back at Rafe following them and winked at him before kissing the top of Sophie’s head. “Love you too. I need a wingman tonight at the bars, you got me?”

“I thought that was Colin’s position.” She shoved him away, taking her plate and sitting at the bar with the rest of the group.

“Yeah, well, Allie’s the only one that’s been getting some this entire trip, so -”

“But -” Colin started, only for Julia to stomp on his foot under the table, hard. She forced a grin, thankful Sophie was oblivious.

Sophie furrowed her brow but nodded, pouring herself a glass of juice. “Yeah. I got you.”

“Excellent. You know what, everyone should get laid tonight. If they want to.” James declared, shooting a meaningful glance at Colin.

“If you lay a finger on Julia again, I’m cutting off your balls in the middle of the night.” Sophie replied calmly, staring James down over the top of her glass as she took a sip.

Julia pretended not to hear, keeping her eyes intently trained on her plate. She’d considered Sophie’s feelings for the briefest of seconds last night, but then James was kissing down her neck and his fingers were slipping under the waistband of her shorts and - yeah. It may have slipped her mind. She was a little preoccupied.

“Sophie.” Rafe reprimanded, affronted. “Be nice.”

“Yeah, be nice or you’ll be the only one not getting some tonight.” James teased, smirking when Sophie gave him the death glare across the table.

“Jesus Christ, you guys fight like siblings.” Allie mumbled, rolling her eyes. “Let it go already.”

“Thank you.” Rafe affirmed, shaking his head. “I need everyone to be packed tonight, we’ll need to be on the plane tomorrow by 9am.”

“I thought the beauty of having your own plane meant we didn’t have a schedule.” Colin asked.

“...No. You can’t just fly it whenever, you have to tell people. And my dad needs it later tonight, he’s going to New York.”

“I didn’t realize he went there that often. That’s kind of nice though, right? You’ll be able to see him more when you and Sophie move?” Julia asked unknowingly. Sophie had told both the girls that Ward was an asshole, but didn’t say much more, just that Rafe still worked for him a lot. (She figured anything more was Rafe’s business and he could tell them if he wanted.)

Everyone else stayed quiet and Sophie froze, halfway to shoveling a forkful of omelet into her mouth. Rafe was stiff and his smile was forced as he nodded, not daring to look in Sophie’s direction. “Yeah. He does business there sometimes, so. I’ll see him around.”

James pushed away from the table, making everyone wince as the chair squeaked against the floor. “Okay, I’ll dry if someone else washes the dishes. Then I vote we hang out at the beach, last chance before we get to go back to Ohio - and I’m pretty sure it’s only forty-five degrees today back home.”

Julia looked around, confused at the abrupt topic change, and mouthed to Allie - did I say something wrong? - only for Allie to shake her head surreptitiously, glancing toward Sophie.

“Beach sounds good.” Colin nodded, standing and taking everyone’s plates to the sink. “Allie, can you confirm those board rentals?”

“Yeah, I got them.” She stood too, getting up to help with the dishes.

Julia frowned, lowering her voice so only Rafe and Sophie could hear. “Rafe, I didn’t mean to -”

“No, it’s cool. Don’t worry about it.” Rafe shrugged it off easily. “Seriously.”

Sophie exhaled, nudging her knee against Rafe’s under the table before she got up and pressed a kiss to the top of his head, then ruffled his hair. “Love you.” She murmured as she grabbed his plate.

He smiled back, tugging gently at the hem of her (his) t-shirt before she busied herself in the kitchen with the rest of the group.

Julia watched the exchange with a furrowed brow. “Is she good?”

“Hm?” He replied absentmindedly, moving his gaze from Sophie to Julia.

“She’s okay? Earlier, with James and Colin asking…”

“Oh. Yeah, we’re good, I think. Probably just ready to go home to normalcy, you know?” He paused. “Are you gonna tell her about last night?”

“I probably have to...right?”

“Yeah. I think it’s better coming from you, rather than the boys.” He offered a teasing smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll talk her down from homicide.”

Julia groaned, covering her face with her hands. “She’s gonna hate me.”

“She won’t.” He promised. “You two are consenting adults, it’s maybe not the smartest decision you two have ever had, but. She can’t be that mad.”

“Have you met your girlfriend?” She raised her eyebrows back. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her let go of a grudge.”

Rafe smiled, pointing to himself as he shook his head. “Ever?”

“You don’t count. None of those arguments were real.”

“Uh huh.”

“I’m serious. You’d know.” She shook her head, smiling fondly. “Freshman year, this guy was being a little too touchy with me, hanging around a little too much at a frat party - she went and found his big brother and when he didn’t do anything, she threw a drink in the guy’s face.”

Rafe laughed, shaking his head. “She what?!”

“Yeah. I know way too many incriminating details about her.” Julia nodded with a grin.

Sophie came back to the table, curious. “What are you two gossiping about?”

“Nothing.” He dismissed, waving his hand and got up, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “C’mon, let’s go get ready.” He mumbled something in her ear, making her blush.

Julia raised her eyebrows, watching as Rafe tugged her down the hall, hand in hand. “Don’t be late, you two!”

“Never!” Sophie called back, giggling.

______

After an attempt at surfing and hours of lounging in the sun, the group finally made it to dinner. Rafe had insisted they go to the nicer restaurant for their last day, making everyone dress up just a little more, and was happy everyone complied with the dress code he suggested when they had all packed.

When his phone pinged, again, he huffed and fished it out of his pocket. His dad had texted him five times within the last hour, making sure he would remember to be on the runway at a certain time, and that the airport security needed to be paid in cash, like usual, and that he left enough of a tip for the maids before they left, and - yeah. It was a lot. He was surprised when he saw a text from his screenwriting professor from the previous semester instead, with three words - check your email.

“Your dad again?” Sophie murmured quietly, resting her hand on his knee.

“No…” He trailed off as he opened his email and found that his screenplay had been one of two chosen to be produced for their final semester. He had a meeting next week with his professor to start working out logistics, casting and choosing a production team. “Oh. Wow.”

“What is it?”

He smiled, hesitant, and tilted his phone toward Sophie. “Um, the screenplay thing. Mine got picked.” He shook his head, in disbelief as he smiled wider. “Holy shit, mine got picked.”

“Rafe!” She exclaimed, throwing her arms around him and smacking a kiss to his cheek.

James perked up, leaning next to Sophie to read the phone too. “You got it? For real?”

“I got it.” He confirmed, now grinning ear to ear. The phone was passed around the table so everyone could read the email and everyone congratulated him, making his cheeks turn red as he beamed. Julia ordered a round of shots almost immediately. He had made the boys read it over at least five times each, for proofreading before he submitted it, then once he gave a copy to Sophie, she’d made the girls read it too because she was so proud.

“This is the one where you confess your love to her like twelve times over?” Colin asked.

“Yeah, remember, Rafe, the characters hated each other in the first draft? And then you changed the girl’s name to Sloane one day, wherever the fuck that came from -” James added, oblivious to the growing smirk on Sophie’s face.

She leaned closer, raising her eyebrows. “When was that changed?”

Rafe’s blush spread to his ears now, and he rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t remember. It’s not important, anyways -”

“I think it was barely September -“ James supplied helpfully, yelping when Rafe kicked him under the table. “Hey!”

Julia grinned. “You changed it to her middle name in only September? Weren’t you still fighting then?”

“I didn’t know -” He started to defend himself, only for Allie to roll her eyes.

“Oh, okay, you just happened to change it to that of all names. Sure, we believe that.”

Julia laughed once she caught Sophie’s eye and her extremely pleased expression. “She’s had a crush on you since high school, anyways -”

“I did not -” Sophie instantly retorted, ignoring the smug grin Rafe wore. “She’s lying.”

“I’m not. Jesus, Sophie, you two could have saved yourself all that arguing and just been together, you two are dumb.”

“Wait, you’ve liked me for that long?” Rafe cocked his head, oblivious.

“Oh my god, you two are blind.” Allie giggled, accepting the tray of shots from their waitress and passed them around. “Here, everyone - congrats, Rafe.” She lifted her shot and everyone else clinked theirs together, then took it at once.

The rest of the night was a blur for everyone, but especially Rafe. He kept taking other people’s shots on accident and sucked down any drink presented to him with a straw, but absolutely refused to hydrate normally (Sophie resorted to giving him vodka waters at the end of the night just so she could keep him upright). He kept an arm slung around her shoulders or waist the entire night, not letting her out of his sight for a single second.

“Baby, please stop leaning.” Sophie told him with an exasperated tone, pushing at his shoulder for the fifth time that night.

“I love you so much.” He replied, bright-eyed with a grin. “So damn much.”

“Okay. Stand up straight.”

“I am.”

James ambled back to the two of them and ducked in between them so Rafe’s arm was around his shoulders instead, taking the weight off of her for a moment. “Jesus, Cameron, lay off the drinks.”

“He’s fine, he’s celebrating.” Sophie smiled, patting Rafe’s cheek affectionately.

“Enabler.”

She shrugged. “So be it. Where have you been?”

“Trying to talk with some girls.” He supplied, nodding his head toward Colin with the same group. “Apparently they’re more into nerds.”

“The one time in your life you’ve failed to score.” She teased, batting his hand away as he went to flick her.

Rafe leaned into James, resting his head against his. He had a few inches on him, making it just comfortable enough. “James. Guess what.”

“What, bud.”

“I’m gonna marry Sophie.”

“Yeah, dude, we know.”

“No. Tonight.”

James snorted. “Yeah, okay. I feel like you’re gonna be out within the hour.”

Rafe ignored him, eyes scanning across the crowd. “Where are our girls?”

Sophie beamed, loving how he’d adopted her friends as his own. “I think Julia’s just getting guys to buy her drinks and Allie’s hovering around so she can benefit.”

“Julia definitely had some guy’s tongue down her throat earlier.” James confirmed. “I told him to fuck off.”

“Does she need help?” Rafe frowned, handing his drink to Sophie and straightening up like he was going to go hunt for her.

“No, she’s fine.” James nodded toward Colin, Julia and Allie all coming back toward them.

Sophie looped her arm back around Rafe’s waist, taking his weight again, and intercepted a drink that Allie offered to him. “No more. You guys having fun?”

“Yeah, a couple guys might be coming over to join us later.” Julia informed them casually. “Rafe, you good with that? I won’t show them any of your fancy shit.”

“Uh...yeah. That’s fine.” He cocked his head. “Wait, a couple? Just for you?”

“No, me and Al.” At Colin’s affronted look, she shook her head quickly. “Not at the same time!”

“Wait, no, we’re busy tonight.” Rafe shook his head and smacked a kiss to Sophie’s temple. “We’re getting married.”

Colin widened his eyes. “You’re what?”

“We’re not!” Sophie amended quickly, pinching Rafe’s side. “We’re not. He’s hammered.”

“She doesn’t wanna marry me ‘cause she’s scared of my dad.” Rafe informed them, his expression a little too serious for it to be a joke. “It’s true.”

“Okay. I think you need to go home.” She pursed her lips. “Are you guys staying, or…?”

“Family sticks together!” Rafe exclaimed, looping his arm around Colin. “We’re all going home. Did someone pack a white dress?”

“Rafe, we are not getting married.” Sophie sighed, exasperated. “Not tonight.”

“But I have the ring.” He protested, making the whole group stop in their tracks.

Julia nearly choked on her drink, mid-sip. “You what?!”

Rafe held up his hand and slid his pinky ring off his finger, the only one that barely fit Sophie’s thumb. “See? I have a ring.”

“Oh my god.” Allie breathed out, shaking her head. She stepped around him and strode forward out of the club, knowing he’d follow. “Hey! Come on. We’re going home.”

Sophie just stared at Rafe blankly, not following the rest of the group until James gave her a little shove from behind. “Chill out, Flint, I’m not gonna let him propose like that.”

She shook her head to get herself to snap out of it, laughing weakly. “Yeah. Yeah, of course.”

“No panicking.”

“I’m not - just. Jesus. Okay. He says that so easily.” She mumbled, walking out with James behind the group.

He laughed, nodding. “Of course he does. It’s Rafe. He loves hard.”

“Yeah.” She smiled to herself, twisting her ring on her finger. “He does.”

Once they all made it home, after some convincing on Allie’s part with the taxi driver and a little extra cash thrown in from Rafe, James and Colin helped wrestle Rafe into their bedroom. (They made the mistake of looking the other way once and he took off across multiple lanes of traffic, convinced he needed to go rescue the kitten that was on the other side of the road - it was actually a crumpled paper bag.)

“Okay. He’s your problem now.” Colin brushed off his hands for emphasis, swatting Rafe’s hand away as he went to tug on Colin’s shirt. “There’s no way he’s getting anything up, so sleep is probably your best option.”

Sophie blushed, running her hands over her face. “Great, I needed to hear that. Helpful.”

“Fuck you, Colin.” Rafe slurred, flipping him off.

“Mature.” James commented, kissing the top of Rafe’s head, then Sophie’s, before turning to leave. Any other time it would be weird, but she’d gotten used to his drunk affectionate state. “Night buddies!”

“Night! Love you!” Rafe called after him and Colin as they left and shut the door behind them. He turned his gaze to Sophie, smiling goofily at her. “Hi, sweetheart.”

“Hi, baby.” She replied, glad he was compliant as she tugged off his shoes and socks, and shirt too. “Can you take off your shorts for me?”

“You can take ‘em off.” He grinned, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

She rolled her eyes, having to shove a little, but finally succeeded to strip him down to his boxers. “Okay. Will you come brush your teeth?”

Without a warning, he grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap, meeting her in a full-force kiss, hands roaming.

“Hey!” She squealed, shoving at his chest out of instinct. “Watch the hands, Rafe.”

He immediately dropped them to her sides, nudging his nose against hers. “I love you.”

“Love you too. I’d love you more if you would brush your teeth.”

“Dental hygiene is that important to you?” He skimmed his palm up her back, teasing his fingers along the zipper down the back of her crop top. “You should be naked right now.”

“Cameron.” She warned.

“Not my name.”

“Rafael.”

“Sophieeeee.” He whined, pouting. “Say my name for real.”

She rolled her eyes and kissed along his neck, resisting a laugh when he so easily melted to putty beneath her. “Rafe. Asher. Clifford. Cameron.”

“Sounds like I’m in trouble.” He mumbled, unzipping her crop top and hummed in satisfaction when she slipped her arms out of the skinny straps, letting him toss it aside. “I don’t like that.”

“Baby?” She murmured, sucking a small spot at the base of his neck before returning to kiss his lips.

“Yeah?”

“Shut up.”

“That’s not nice.” He frowned. “Be nice to me.”

“No.”

“You have to be nice to your boyfriend, angel, it’s the rules.”

“I’ve never heard these rules.” She countered, pushing him back against the bed. “I don’t think I got the rulebook when we started dating.”

“Because you hated me when we started dating.” He argued, flopping back against the mattress. “Are we gonna have sex?”

“Can you stay awake long enough?”

He nodded enthusiastically, reaching up to palm her breast. “Yeah. I got you. I’ll make you come, like, five times.”

She snorted, tugging off her skirt and pushed it aside. “I don’t think you’ve ever made me come five times. Maybe three, but that’s it.”

“What? No. That’s not right. You definitely have - like, in Nice or something -”

“Nope. I would remember.” She rolled off of him to pull off her underwear and toss it on the floor, then laughed as he rolled on top of her, frowning.

“I totally have, Sophie, come on. You’re lying. I can get you off.”

“Yeah, but not five times. That’s so long, Rafe.” She argued, grinning as he ran his hands down both her arms before pushing them above her head, one large hand encircling both her wrists.

“I’ll show you five times.” He argued, glancing around the room, unfocused. “Where’s some string?”

“You are not tying me up with string, Rafe, pay attention.” She arched her back a little, practically shoving her chest in his face to get him back on track. He nodded, dropping his hand down to her hip and skated his teeth across her nipple, loving the moan it elicited from her. She curled her fingers into his hair, sighing when he left open-mouthed kisses across her chest.

He hummed, his head bobbing a little and his eyelids fluttered as he felt her nails rake across his scalp. “More.” He mumbled.

“Yeah?” She replied, scratching his head a little more and had to bite back a laugh when he rested his head on her chest for a moment, then pressed lazy kisses against her skin. “Don’t you dare fall asleep on me.”

“M’not, just...resting.” His breathing slowed and he reached one hand up to cup her breast, though the way he did it felt more like he was holding it for emotional support than to turn her on.

“Rafe.” She whispered, squirming underneath him. “Get off.”

“Shh.” He nuzzled a little closer, relaxing his full body weight into hers. “Nappin.’”

“Are you fucking -” She sighed, pushing him just enough so he rolled onto his back. “I’m gonna go brush my teeth.”

“No, no, I’m ready.” He mumbled without opening his eyes, gesturing loosely to his lap. “See.”

She rolled her eyes and tugged on a pair of underwear and a big shirt of his that she’d packed, then leaned over to kiss his cheek. “You’re not even close to hard.”

“No...what’sit you say?” He squinted one eye open to look at her. “Have at me?”

She just laughed, shaking her head. “I’ll be back.”

“Sophie, baby, Sophie.” Rafe repeated, grabbing at her arm. “You gotta stay.”

“I’m just getting you water, Cameron, I’ll be right back. Promise.” She slipped her arm out of his loose grip and pressed a kiss to his forehead, smiling at the way his lips turned up in a dopey smile back. “Stay here.”

“Okay. Be safe!” He called out.

She shook her head and went out to the kitchen, grabbed two water bottles and returned to the room not five minutes later to see him fast asleep, snoring softly with his phone in his hand, screen still shining bright. She rolled her eyes and pried his phone away, then paused as she saw the screen - he’d just donated $5,000 to the local animal shelter in Columbus. This wasn’t an entire unusual occurrence - she’d seen a couple emails in his inbox here and there thanking him for a donation, but never this much. “Holy shit. Rafe.” She nudged him, trying to wake him up. “Rafe.”

“Mm?” He grumbled, rolling back over.

“Did you mean to do this?” She showed him his phone screen. “Five thousand?”

“Uh huh.” He reached over and wrapped his arms around her waist, trying to pull her into bed. “Come sleep.”

“You’re sure? You didn’t mean, like, $50? Or even $500?”

He pouted, lip wobbling a little as his eyes began to water. “Baby, all those animals are in there on the cold floor, and they don’t have homes -”

“Oh, honey -”

“No, no, listen. They don’t have homes, and it’s not fair, but if they get more money they take away their adoption fee, and then they can have a home.” He stared her down seriously as a couple tears slipped down his cheeks. “They need homes, Sophie.”

She nodded, taking a seat at the edge of the bed and stroked her thumbs over his wet cheeks. “Yeah, sweet boy. They need homes.”

“I hope Josie’s okay.” He yawned, moving to rest his head on her lap.

“Josie?”

“She’s five, and she’s a very sweet yellow lab, and good with other dogs and people, and she’s been at the shelter since July,” he recited from memory. Rafe had checked the website at least every two weeks and had found himself attached to this one dog for reasons he couldn’t explain, even going as far as buying her toys from the shelter’s Amazon wishlist. He absolutely knew he couldn’t visit, because he’d be taking her home in an instant. When he’d been looking for apartments in New York for them, he found himself selecting pet friendly as a search option - just in case.

“Oh. Okay.” She murmured, a little confused as she stroked his hair. “I’m sure she’s alright, Rafe. Will you drink some water for me? Or at least take your contacts out?”

He blinked hard, rubbing his eyes until his contacts popped out, and set them on the nightstand. Sophie resisted a scowl. He slipped his hand under her shirt and held her tight, palm splayed flat against her ribcage. “G’night.”

“Night, baby. I love you.”

“Sophie.”

“Yeah, Rafe?” She settled in against him, pulling the covers over them both.

“Marry me.”

She laughed, rolling back over to nudge her nose against his. “No.”

He yawned, not bothering to open his eyes. “Please?”

“Later. Now we’re sleeping.” She kissed him softly, smiling as she whispered. “Sweet dreams, favorite boy.”

“Love you.” He mumbled back, barely coherent before falling asleep.

____

The next morning, he was all too smug as he woke Sophie up, blindly reaching for her in bed and pulled her close against his chest. “Baby.”

“No.” She grumbled, pulling the pillow over her head as she tried to wriggle away.

“Soph.” He tried again, holding her tight as he pressed kisses against her hair. “Sophieee.”

“I’m tired, Rafe, fuck off.” She sighed, frowning up at him as he grabbed the pillow and tossed it to the floor. “Hey.”

“Tired from last night, huh?” He smirked, trailing a finger down the center of her chest, down her stomach. “Sore?”

Sophie rolled over to look him in the eye, eyebrows raised. “Sore from what?”

“You know.”

“I don’t.”

“C’mon.”

She furrowed her brow at him, confused. “Rafe, you fell asleep holding my boob. You weren’t even hard.”

“Huh?” He cocked his head, sitting up a little. “But we...did I dream that? The navy lace?”

She laughed, loud. “I don’t own navy lace anything.”

“Well, shit, we gotta buy you something.” He ran his hand through his hair, still a little confused as Sophie smiled up at him and fixed his messy hair, sitting up to straddle him. “Really? We didn’t do a thing? I swore, you were, like, having the time of your life.”

Sophie shook her head, placing both hands on his chest as she shifted forward a little. “No. You left me high and dry. Glad dream-me could get something though.”

Rafe quickly picked up on her cues, his hands going to her hips to steady her. “I think I can help fix that.”

“I think you can too.”

Just as she leaned down to kiss him, James pounded on their door, thankfully being smart enough to not barge in. “Yo! We’re leaving in an hour! Do you want breakfast?”

“Fuck off!” Sophie yelled, rocking her hips against Rafe’s. “We’re busy!”

“Busy packing, I hope!” James called back.

“He’s packing!” She replied with a giggle, laughing harder when Rafe quickly clasped his hand over her mouth and shushed her.

“We’re not hungry!” Rafe yelled, pinching Sophie’s side. “Leave us alone!”

She squealed, batting his hand away and couldn’t help but laugh as James’s footsteps faded away. “What, I’m not allowed to brag about you?”

“We don’t have time for you to brag.” He replied, wrapping a strong hand around the back of her neck to pull her into a bruising kiss. “C’mere.”

“How much do you remember of last night?” She asked in between kisses, leaning back just enough to pull off her shirt.

“Not much.” He flipped them over, then leaned down to graze his teeth over her nipple.

“You asked me to marry you.” She breathed out, a little wary of his reaction. “Multiple times.”

“I did? I’m a smart man.” He replied with a smirk, trailing his fingers up her inner thighs.

“You are.” Sophie moaned quietly, then pressed her hips up. “Just get inside me.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive, Rafe, please, I gotta shower and pack.”

He laughed, loud. “Sure we have time?”

“Rafe Cameron, I swear to fucking god -”

He laughed, cutting her off with a kiss. “I got you, baby. Always got you.”

taglist: @drewstarkey @lemur46 @jjmaybanksbaby @edgeofgr8 @quxxnxfhxll @obxtess @hoodpankow @vtgirl802 @outerbankies @messagesinthesky @nicolecarsley @svechnikolan @ilovejjmaybank @obxtess @abbyj1822 @oopsiedoopsie23 @g4bster @jjmaybankzz @freddymaybank @dontjinx-it @illbesafeforyou @moniamaybank @tovvaa @jailcalledlife @sunshineitsfine44 @randomficsandshit @outerbankspreferences @outerbanksbro @karsinner @kkmaybank @whoeveniskendall @lemur46 @outerbankies

#rafe cameron #rafe cameron fanfiction #rafe cameron fanfic #outer banks #outer banks fanfic #obx fanfic #rafe x sophie #mine #college rafe #frat rafe

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coexiising · 3 years ago

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Good Neighbors - Chapter Two

SUMMARY ✦ Your parents host a dinner party for the new neighbors.

WARNING(S) ✦ Nothing

MASTERLIST ✦ Here.

It had been three days since your last encounter with Anakin Skywalker. Three days since you could’ve sworn he winked at you. Not that you were counting . . . No, you were most definitely not doing that.

Since then you had been doing, well, essentially nothing but thinking back to that moment of the two of you talking. And it was probably stupid, since it was just two neighbors talking to each other. He was just being nice to you and that was all, there was nothing to think more of. There were way better things to keep your mind on, like going to your part time job and focusing on finishing up your classes to get your degree. You were busy, but that didn’t stop you from stopping whatever you were doing and glancing through your window to see if you could catch a glimpse at your new neighbor.

You blamed it on stupid infatuation. He was incredibly attractive and you were bored, and you weren’t the only one to think so, since your mother the other day said something about inviting your new ‘attractive neighbors’ to dinner one night. You hated how quick you were to say it was a good idea.

One thing that you learned was that your window was right across from your neighbor's master bedroom, which meant that when the curtains were drawn back, you could see right into their room. Which really wasn’t often, since it was only a side window and they had a much bigger window in the front of the house that was open way more often. But sometimes, if you looked at the right time, you could see Anakin or his wife walking around or talking with one another.

You wondered what she was like. She was very beautiful, with coffee brown hair that stayed in natural curls. She also had a good sense of style, always looking classy and elegant that made you feel out of place every time you and her were outside at the same time for whatever reason. It was wrong to be comparing yourself to her, you shouldn’t, and again blamed it on some stupid fantasy you had made up in your head. It was childish, sure, but it wasn’t like anything was ever going to happen.

You could hear him now, downstairs in the open hallway leading to your kitchen and dining room, talking to your mother about something you couldn’t quite make out. It was later in the evening, almost seven, and your family decided to give the courtesy of inviting the Skywalkers to dinner tonight, something you had been looking forward to since your mother informed you a day prior. Splaying your hands on the front of your black dress, you made sure that there were no creases, looking in the mirror to do one final once over of your appearance. You looked nice, maybe nicer than your family were going for, but no one would comment on it anyways. There was a golden necklace around your neck that had been given to you for your birthday a few years ago, which accented right off of your chest. Once you were satisfied, you opened the door to your room and walked down the steps, getting closer to the voices of your parents and your guests.

The second you got to the ground level of your home and saw the backs of both Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, you made a beeline for the other direction, deciding to make a detour to the kitchen, stumbling over your feet. You didn’t see all of him, but you could see that Anakin was wearing a dark navy blue dress shirt and those black pants that he was always in, the ones that you always ended up looking at for more than the normal amount of time. Pressing your palms into the countertop, you took deep breaths, trying to compose yourself. This shouldn’t be so hard, you were making a big deal out of this . . . Right? You once again had to repeat to yourself that he was married and there was no way that anything could happen, even though deep down you wished that something would.

“There you are, why didn’t you come down earlier?” Your mother asked, walking into the room and heading for the oven, the smell of something cooking taking over your senses and taking you away from your thoughts. “Anakin was asking about you.”

You almost choked on the air you breathed in. “He was asking about me?” Your tone was a little too questionable and she turned to look at you behind her shoulder, her eyebrow raised and a tiny smile on her face. “I mean, why was he asking about me?” You asked, attempting to save yourself.

“I don’t know, something about a ball and his kids, did they almost hit you or something?”

Oh, right. The incident at the barbeque. Of course that’s why he was asking, that’s probably the only time he had thought about you.

“So, anyways, go out there and be a charmer. Your brother is terrible at it and you know your father is probably boring them with business stuff,” She said, going back to the meal she was preparing. You nodded, deciding it was finally time to face them and get your own awkwardness out of the way. The walk to the dining room was brisk and you saw that your father was, in fact, talking about something business related. Padmé seemed somewhat interested, but Anakin was definitely not listening by the way he stared down at the table. You almost laughed, before realizing that your father was talking to you now and you had no idea what he was saying. You were too busy looking at Anakin, seeing his blue eyes dart to your own the moment you walked in the room.

You faltered for a moment. “What’d you say?” You glanced at your dad.

“I was just saying that you finally joined us!” He said, giving you one of his kind dad smiles. You flashed one back, meekly sitting in the only seat that was open at the table, conveniently right next to the person you were trying to keep your distance from. As you pulled your seat out and sat down next to Anakin, your father started talking to Padmé again. You were glad that the attention had seemingly been taken off of you and you could try to keep yourself together for the rest of this dinner.

Though that didn’t seem to be in your favor.

“Luke wanted me to tell you that he was sorry about kicking that ball again, he seems to be really broken up about it, not sure why,” Anakin said to you, turning his head to look right at you again.

You laughed, looking down at your hands in your lap and shrugged your shoulders. “I don’t know, you may be hearing from my lawyers soon,” You joked, facing him and seeing a grin on his face. “But you’re one, right? So you should be good.”

“I’m not sure, you have a good case,” He joked, taking a sip of his wine. “I haven’t seen you around in a while, still picking up shifts for your friend?” He remembered.

You nodded. “Yeah, but I’m all done now. We get off for the Fourth tomorrow anyways.” The summer holiday had come quickly this year, but it was still something to look forward to. You loved all the fireworks and the food that came with the celebration. In addition to that, it was your family’s favorite holiday as well, meaning that everyone would go out to celebrate like you always did with the traditional block party that the Skywalker’s would now be invited to. It was as if Anakin would never get out of your life no matter how much you wished to avoid him.

Perhaps it was silly, this whole idea that you could have some type of romance with him. He was married, and it seemed like they were happy together. They had two beautiful children together, nothing could ever change that fact.

“That’s good, your mother was telling us all a while ago about the party. You guys sure love to throw them,” Anakin teased, taking a sip of his glass of wine. You watched his lips meet the glass, noting how pink they looked in the correct light. It took you a moment to compose yourself, looking down at the table and taking the biggest breath you could take without him noticing.

You gave a nod, opening your mouth to say something but being greeted by your mother walking in the room with different pots in hand. Finally, a good distraction that could get your mind off of the hunk of the man beside you. Padmé said something about the food that you couldn’t quite make out, reaching to grab one of the serving spoons while you grabbed for the other. Right as your hand hit the wood handle, Anakin’s own hand came down on yours, him not knowing that you were going to reach for the same one.

“Sorry,” You said, hoping that he would mistake your blush from the contact for embarrassment. Luckily, he only gave you a glance and pulled his hand away.

“You first.”

You took some of the food onto your plate, looking down at it until you were sure that the blush had diminished. The room was so hot at this point that you thought that it was possibly on fire. But it wasn’t, it was all because of how close you were to your neighbor, so close that you could feel his presence right next to you and you could smell the cologne that you had smelled the first day that you met him, bringing you back to the moment you looked into his eyes for the first time. You were sure that if you thought about him any more that you would combust right then and there. So you focused on eating, staying silent while the others made small talk.

Minutes passed by and you felt somewhat comfortable again, reaching beside you to grab your phone to check it under the table. Messages blinked up at you, almost illuminating your face as you read: Y/N! Please pick up. I left my computer at work and my brother has my car. I need it tomorrow so that I can work on my thesis, please, please, please can you get it? It was your best friend. Your heart practically thumped out of your chest at the opportunity to get out of this whole ordeal, where you could take your time to get the computer as long as the Skywalker’s would stay over. And then you would have an excuse for your mom instead of just sneaking off to your room.

“Mom, it’s Julia,” You said, holding up your phone so that she could read the text. “I’m sorry, I really need to stop by work and get her computer. It’s important.” You knew that she wouldn’t be happy about you leaving, but nonetheless she said you could go and you were already halfway out the door when you heard your father shouting your name.

Turning around, you saw that he was standing up with Anakin, a firm hand on your neighbor’s shoulder. “Anakin has offered to drive you. It’s late, you know how bad those roads get at night and I would feel more comfortable if you went with him,” Your dad said. You didn’t really have much room to object, since Anakin was already walking into the entrance area and putting on his coat, a black one that matched the same ‘put together’ style that he always seemed to have.

“Okay,” You said, feeling your nerves turn you almost inside out.

“We’ll be back as soon as we can,” Anakin said to everyone, walking behind you out the door and closing it.

You walked to the car alone with Anakin, basically jumping out of your seat in joy the moment you sat down.

#anakin skywalker fanfiction #anakin x reader #Anakin Skywalker #anakin skywalker x reader #star wars #star wars x reader #star wars prequels #star wars the clone wars #star wars fanfiction #anakin au #star wars au

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readermishok · 3 years ago

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Top 20: my favorite interactive stories

Hello, guys!

Once I saw that one of my popular and mostly likeable posts was about IF, I decided to share with you my personal top of the best IF authors I have known.

I read a lot of WIPs (work in progress) and finished novels since three long years, so I might recommend truly incredible stories. I apologies for adding pics and some additional info about my MC, but I wanted to bring spark of life into this top.

MC – Julia (deShanre), she|her.

I'll start with telling about quartet of works greatly affected on me. It was almost like… living my second life. It felt so real, so vibrant. In the darkest times it gave me the strenght to meet the next day.

1. Samurai of Hyuga, Books 1-4 by Devon Connell (WIP, planned 7 books). Patreon. Buy Book 1. Buy Book 2. Buy Book 3. Buy Book 4.

Samurai of Hyuga is a brutal, heart-pounding interactive tale. Prepare to enter the land of silk and steel, where fantasy clashes against grim reality, and where the good guys don't always win in the end. It's a harsh world with tough choices at every turn. Good thing you're the toughest ronin around.

My MC: Ronin, the master of the Jigoku Ittō-ryū, The Sword Who Cuts the Heavens

Jigoku:

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2. Fallen Hero by Malin Ryden (WIP, planned 4 books). Tumblr: @fallenhero-rebirth. Patreon. Buy Book 1.

Become the greatest telepathic villain Los Diablos has ever known! Once you were famous; soon you will be infamous. That is, unless your old friends in the Rangers stop you first. Juggle different identities and preserve your secrets as you build new alliances and try to forget the friendships you've left behind.

My MC: Sidestep Puppetmaster:

Jane (puppet):

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3. I, the Forgotten one by Bacondoneright (WIP, planned dilogy). No tumblr or Patreon|Ko-fi. Demo.

It has been five long years since the end of The Border Wars. Five long years without a purpose. Endlessly drifting around from one job to the next, serving your apathetic father only to receive no credit. Nobody in Kanton truly knows what you did. How you won The War, leading the armies of Kanton as a youth.

Nobody knows what it took out of you. Spending your formative years in war is not good for one’s outlook on life. Your emotions now lie behind a mask of stoicism. After all, all emotions do is cloud one’s judgement and wind up costing lives.

Nobody knows how much it hurt to be cast down from the throne and succession. To be disinherited, cast away from the family, and left aside to die.

My MC: The Marshal, the bastard child:

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4. The Exile by Pheo (WIP). Tumblr: @exilethegame. Patreon. Demo.

You’re the ex-commander of the Kingdom of Plaithus, and your name is known by all. It used to be whispered in fear by your enemies, and the very mention of it could send men fleeing. Your people had cried it out in battle, swords raised in your honor as they faced death fearlessly. You were a hero, and to some, a legend.

Until you weren’t.

You can’t remember what happened. All that’s left are blurry faces, screams, and the feeling of blood on your hands. The only reason you still have your head is because of the pity of an old friend.

And now? It’s only been a year since the incident, and already things are going wrong again when a rather peculiar sorcerer offers you absurd amounts of gold in exchange for protection from… well, that’s the problem, isn’t it? You don’t know.

My MC: the Commander:

Ex-commander.

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Shepherds of Haven by Lena Nguyen (WIP). Tumblr: @shepherds-of-haven Patreon. Demo.

Shepherds of Haven is a dark fantasy interactive fiction game. In it, you play as a Mage living in a world where magic is outlawed and your people—those possessing supernatural powers—are oppressed and reviled. The world is ruled by humans who believe in science, technology, and industry: at best, you and your kind are nothing more than a fairytale, and at worst you are the state’s greatest threat.

My MC: Human Mage, gunner

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God of the Red Mountain (WIP). Tumblr: @friendlybowlofsoup Demo.

You are a spirit born of the Red Mountain–though you’ve run away from it long ago. You’d be content to stay away, too, if not for the mountain god who suddenly comes looking for you. But what purpose do they have? And what exactly is your end goal?

Based on East Asian myths and folklore, you play as a powerful, nameless spirit in a shifting world. As a being caught between death and life, you are connected to a stream of limitless power, and the more you are known, the more powerful you become.

However, your journey will not be so smooth. You have been cursed by powerful, malignant beings known as Foxes, and it’s only a matter of time before you fall from sanity yourself.

My MC: Owl spirit, human appearance

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The Bastard of Camelot by Rebelgirl (WIP). Tumblr: @llamagirl28 Demo. Ko-fi.

Your child will be the undoing of Camelot. Born under an ominous prophecy, you are the incestuous bastard of King Arthur and Morgana Le Fay. Will you fulfill the prophecy, or rebel?

Be the villain they expect you to be, or the hero they don’t- be remorseful or unapologetic, make your destiny or be Morgana’s tool of revenge.

Arthur can’t have any more children, making you the sole blood heir, and sole other Pendragon. As a Pendragon, you have the power of dragons.

The Bastard of Camelot is a trilogy following Mordred as they become a knight of the Round Table, and save or destroy Camelot.

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The Seven Heirs of Ophaesia: Part One by (WIP). Tumblr: @fantasyfawkes Demo. Patreon.

The Seven Heirs of Ophaesia is a low-fantasy game set in a Renaissance-esque world where you play as one of seven heirs to a fictional kingdom rife with intrigue. As the King’s seventh child, you are a prince or princess of Ophaesia, a luxurious nation along the southern coast of Selanes. You are the first child of your father’s third wife, a woman hated throughout the realm due to the pervasive suspicion that she poisoned the previous queen, and her poor reputation taints your image in the eyes of the court and beyond. From your days in the palace nursery all the way to adulthood, you must navigate treacherous court politics and delicate foreign affairs while trying to find your place in the world — and your family.

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Attollo by A.E. Jendryke (WIP). Tumblr: @attollogame Demo. Patreon.

After several years of radio silence, you receive a message from your younger sibling that carries a strange sense of urgency to it. Either out of familial concern, or boredom, you embark on a journey from your residence to your siblings apartment in New Hampshire to see what’s wrong and then get on with your life. Too bad it’s never so simple.

Deal with cults, interdimensional entities, and far too many people with superpowers (where, for once, you’re the odd one out) in your journey to bring your sibling back from an underworld far out of your control.

My MC: lawyer

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Land of the Dragon (WIP) by Hilsee Foo. Demo. Last update was long ago... (crying)

Welcome to the Land of the Dragon! Here you shall experience an adventure in an ancient land, navigate court politics, forge friendships, and maybe even pursue romance if you so choose!

The Dragon Emperor sits upon the throne, as he inherited it from his father before him. But all is not well in the realm. In the provinces, an Uprising is gaining both strength and popularity. At court, the Elder Prince plots in secret to usurp his brother's throne. And within the Emperor's harem, the Empress and Imperial Consort vie for power.

As the Emperor and Empress' only trueborn child, you are at the centre of this power struggle. When all hell breaks lose on your 21st nameday, what will you do to find your place in this world?

All this, and more... In the Land of the Dragon.

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The Northern Passage by Kit H.J. (WIP). Tumblr: @northern-passage Demo.

The Northern Passage is a horror fantasy CYOA, where you play as a hunter sent up north to investigate a series of missing people along the border and in the port cities of the Blackwater.

Working with your handler, Lea, you will travel north and discover that things are far worse than you ever could have imagined, and that there is something powerful lurking out in the deep, dark sea…

My MC: Hunter

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The Nameless by Parker Lyn (WIP). Tumblr: @parkerlyn Demo. Ko-fi.

The Nameless is a low fantasy WIP that is character and romance driven, with your race (sheevra) loosely based on stories about the fey and other myths. Where deals are a weapon and a name is the most intimate secret someone can offer. You play as a sheevra investigating the city of Renescen after the complete disappearance of one of four sheevra Clans in the world, running across a ragtag group of both sheevra and mortalis along the way.

Will you find out what happened before it comes for you?

Mortalis appearance

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Virtue’s End by Crimsis (WIP). Tumblr: @virtuesend-if Demo. Patreon.

In a dark world overrun by monsters from the shadow plane, you exist as a hybrid monster hunter called a helvling, a human whose very soul has been Bound to one such entity. Travelling from warded settlement to warded settlement with your surly Keeper, Shea, you have the thankless task of defending the common folk against these horrors from Hel.

Usually, a fate such as yours is only reserved for the lowest of criminals, as penance for their loathsome deeds… You wouldn’t know if your fate has been deserved, however, since upon completion of your Binding seven years ago, all former memories of your human life have been lost.

You’ve been moulded into a weapon by the Virtuous Order, trained to be an unfeeling and ruthlessly efficient hunter… But is that who you are? Who are you, truly?

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A Tale of Crowns (WIP). Tumblr: @ataleofcrowns Itch.

A Tale of Crowns is a high fantasy love story with Middle Eastern roots, both on pc as well as mobile! It’s entirely text-based, with choices throughout to shape both your main character’s personality and skills as well as influence their relationships with others. There are four love interests for you to choose from, both female as well as male, each with their own stories and secrets for you to uncover!

Crown of Arsur

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Wayfarer (WIP). Tumblr: @idrellegames Demo. Patreon.

When your mercenary work backs you into a corner, you take the only option available and accept a contract: to travel to the city of Velantis and steal an ancient artifact said to be blessed by the gods. Simple, right?

But Velantis holds more than you bargained for. Gathering a ragtag party of malcontents and renegades from across the city, you must navigate enemy factions, meddling guilds, and escalating political tensions. Your choices will ultimately determine the city’s fate – and the fate of every person who lives there.

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When Twilight Strikes by evertidings (WIP). Tumblr: @evertidings Demo.

You are a bounty hunter. Responsible for taking in rogue supernaturals, you work for IAOS—the International Agency of Supernaturals—where, alongside your best friend and partner, you two have quickly become the best hunting duo of the branch. After a particular tricky hunt, you brief your boss, Caine Atheron, and come back to work the next day to find that he has mysteriously disappeared overnight, the company is now in the hands of his best friend, Sebastian Mai. And though no one else seems to question it, something tells you that there’s more to the story.

With bounty cases rising at an alarming rate and a second mystery unfolding, you and your ragtag team of allies set out to find the truth.

But as you go further and further, the secrets you uncover begin to make you question: who… or what exactly are you fighting for?

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Passanger by Pime (WIP). Tumblr: @the-passenger-if Demo. Ko-fi.

Do you like monsters? Do you think they are the best part of their respective movies, books, and shows? Then The Passenger might be the game for you.

The Passenger is a choice script work in progress in which you are an eldritch abomination that’s about to be devoured by another unthinkable creature. Good news is you are pretty crafty and know how to jump dimensions to escape your ghastly fate; bad news is, you’re now stuck on Earth, trapped inside a dumb human larva.

As years go by, you realize the amount of energy you need to leave this horrible dimension behind is a lot more than you anticipated. Not to mention the creature that almost ate you all those years ago never really stopped looking for you. But there’s no way it’ll pinpoint your actual location… right?

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Scout: An Apocalypse Story by Anya (WIP). Tumblr: @anya-dev Itch.

It has been over a decade since a worldwide natural disaster obliterated the natural planet and decimated human civilization. There are small groups of humans still alive, fending for themselves, trying to create communities amongst the rubble.

You are a 24-year old scout living in a small community on the edge of the Orange Plains. You lost your mother and your sister before finding your way here. You are primarily an academic, and you put your skills to use on regular scouting missions. With your best friend and your scouting team leader in tow, your small group is a pillar of the Community.

On your first scouting mission of the hot season, you meet the leader of the People Across the Orange Plains. Will you break from the Community you have known your whole life? Ask a romantic partner to join you? Discover secrets that your own people have been hiding? Become a leader yourself?

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Body Count by Nell Bolton (WIP). Tumblr: @bodycountgame Demo. Ko-fi.

Your life isn’t going how you’d hoped. Despite having big plans when you graduated, you’re stuck in a dead end job and a crappy flat with zero romantic life to speak of. All until a friend convinces you to join the cast of a new reality TV show.

The premise is simple: 12 singles are sent to a villa on a tropical island and they live there together for a month. After 28 days, the couple who is voted by the other islanders as being most likely to withstand the test of time will win £500,000. In addition, the couple with the highest body count will win £500,000. Total prize pool? £1,000,000.

In this context, “body count” refers to how many people you’ve slept with… right? Well, that’s what you think when you sign your contract. Turns out, though, that not all of your fellow cast members will be using that definition to get to the prize.

Fall in love, win big money, solve some murders and try to stay.

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Project Hadea by nyehilism (WIP). Tumblr: @nyehilismwriting Itch. Ko-fi.

You play as an OPERATIVE of Scytha Industries, a highly selective private security company. As their most elite Operative, you possess many skills and talents, not to mention top-of-the-line equipment - including your very own AI module, IVI.

This, of course, puts a price on your head. An AI module goes for billions on the black market; carrying one around in your skull is, perhaps, not the safest idea. Sure, you’re more than a match for anyone who might come after you - but no-one outside the high levels of Scytha knows about it, so you should be safe anyway, right?

Wrong.

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

I do want to thank all these tremendously talented authors for creating such complex and beautiful worlds. I love it with all my soul.

Thanks for reading, I hope you will find story for yourself. I’ll gradually extand this top!

Stay tuned.

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doublerainebow · 4 years ago

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Artist Resources (Part 1?)

This is basically just going to be a bunch of resources I have found to be useful. I can’t say that I’ve used all of them, but I’m sure they’re all worth checking out.

I’m also gonna try to put a detailed description for most of the links so you have a better idea of what you’re getting. I apologize in advance if some of them are redundant lol

(I put “Part 1″ if in the case I make another one)

~Links to Tutorials, Tips, Resources, etc~

Another Resource List -- Leads to another Tumblr post. Apparently, the post isn’t mobile-friendly, so it’s suggested to view this on Tumblr browser. Has a bunch of other links. I’ve checked out a few of them (mainly the copyright stuff lol), and it seems that some of the links may be a bit outdated. Still, it doesn’t hurt to check out the links.

Arms and Legs -- Leads to another Tumblr post. A handy tutorial on elbow and knee placement.

Art & Game Dev -- This leads to my personal playlist of a bunch of YouTube videos. Has a bunch of tutorials and interesting videos that I’ve collected over the course of a few years lol.

Blamblot -- A website that contains resources and tutorials on comic lettering. This is primarily in reference to western comics, but it doesn’t help to take a looksie.

Commission Calculator -- Leads to another Tumblr post. Helps artists to stop selling themselves short.

Comparing Heights (hikaku-sitatter) -- A height comparer for centimeters.

Comparing Heights -- A height comparer for feet and inches.

Mouth Shapes and Lip-Syncing -- Leads to another Tumblr post. Useful for... drawing mouth shapes.

Reference Angle -- Useful for when you’re trying to map out a face from an odd angle.

Soft Proofing for Printing -- Leads to another Tumblr post. Helps when you’re trying to make prints of your artwork.

Textures -- A website full of different and mostly free textures. While this website is made for 3D texturing, it can also be useful for 2D drawings. Signing up gives you 15 free credits everyday, and you can use those credits to download some textures for free.

The Models Resource -- A website of models ripped from a wide array of games.

The Spriters Resource -- A website of sprites ripped from a wide array of games.

The Textures Resource -- A websites of textures ripped from a wide array of games.

~Links to Stock Images~

Please check out whatever policies they may have for their images before using them!

(not sure if any of them are active anymore as I followed some of these accounts a long time ago when I used to be more active on Deviant Art lol)

adorkastock (formerly senshistock)

anatoref -- Leads to another Tumblr post. Has a bunch of hand photo references

charligal-stock

HumanAnatomy4Artist -- Does contain nudity

null-entity

PhelanDavion

RobynRose

~Links to Other Artists~

Akihito Yoshitomi -- Yoshitomi is a mangaka who has tutorials on manga making. He also has an insightful series in which he drafts and draws a 30-page manga in 18 days. Remember that every artist works differently and his process may be different from another’s.

Drawfee -- Drawfee is an improv drawing show of four artists: Nathan Yaffe, Jacob Andrews, Julia Lepetit, and Karina Farek. While they don’t have tutorials in a sense, their videos explain the different processes they go through as they draw. They also occasionally provide tips, tricks, and resources in their videos. They do have another channel and a Twitch channel where they host drawing classes in addition to other fun shenanigans.

EtheringtonBrothers -- Has a bunch of useful and eye-catching tutorials called “How to Think When You Draw”.

Mark Crilley -- Mark is a comic artist, specializing in manga, who has a bunch of tutorials about anatomy, perspective, comic making, and other things.

Miyuli -- Miyuli is an artist who posts tutorials on their Twitter. Their tutorials range from anatomy to clothing to other things. They even have a few books of art tips. Currently (as of the time of posting this), their 2018 version is free for download, so I highly recommend you download that. Some tips may be outdated, but they should still be helpful.

Whyt Manga (Twitter/YouTube) -- Odunze is a comic artist, specializing in manga, that has a bunch of tutorials on manga making and drawing characters of color.

~Links to Free Programs~

Blender -- A free 3D program if you’re into 3D modeling and such. I also personally haven’t used Blender (I use Maya lol), but I know it’s a respectable program.

Krita -- A free painting program if you can’t afford Photoshop or Clip Studio Paint. I personally haven’t used Krita, but I have recommended it to a few friends and they have positive reviews about it.

Paint Tool SAI -- Okay, this one isn’t free, but it’s a significantly cheaper painting program where you don’t have to pay a subscription. It’s 5,500JPY (~50 USD). I’m not sure how well it still works on modern computers (the last update was 2016), but I still use it here and there because I love the pen tool feature it has, and it still works like a charm for me.

~General Tips From Raine~

Raine admits that she’s guilty of not following her own advice, but Raine hopes that the tips that she does know will be beneficial to someone who will follow them. She’s also going to keep all her tips under the cut so as to not make this post a huge wall of text (even though it technically already is lol)

Also, if you have some resources, tutorials, tips yourself, please feel free to send them to me and maybe I’ll make a part 2 to this post!

ALWAYS LOOK FOR REFERENCE. This should really go without saying. You can’t draw from life if you refuse to observe life itself.

If you can’t find the exact thing you need, MAKE YOUR OWN REFERENCE. Time and time again, I can’t find something exactly that I need. So instead, what I do is that I take pictures of my own reference. Sometimes I even grab a friend and take pictures of them doing whatever it is I need.

Have a mirror handy when you’re drawing. Sometimes what you need is actually right there in front of you.

Having trouble drawing something? Do some studies. Take the time to understand what it is you’re drawing. I can’t remember the exact story, but I heard that the people who were working on Tarzan were having a hard time drawing his hands. So, what they did was spend a few hours looking at hands to try and understand how they work.

IT’S OKAY TO STUDY THE ART OF OTHER ARTISTS. Just as we look to the old masters as a reference, it’s definitely okay to look at modern-day artists for reference. Just don’t go copying exactly everything that they do, or worse, trace what they do. Just don’t do it... at all.

Not every line needs to be realized. The viewer of your work will automatically connect the dots.

DO NOT TRASH YOUR OLD DRAWINGS. Please, never ever do this. Your old drawings have value to them, even if they look terrible to you. Old drawings may hold ideas for things you could do for the future. They also serve as a way to see how far you’ve come as an artist.

GETTING BETTER AT DRAWING TAKES TIME AND EFFORT. You’re not gonna get better overnight. It’ll take months, or even years, to feel like you’re a competent artist, and even then, you’ll still have room for improvement.

DON’T LOOK DOWN ON YOURSELF IF YOU’RE TAKING A LONG TIME TO GET BETTER. It’ll be better for your mental health in the long run.

Alternatively, DON'T LOOK DOWN ON OTHER ARTISTS EITHER, ESPECIALLY TO MAKE YOURSELF FEEL BETTER. You know the struggles it took for you to get where you are, so don’t go putting down other people when you’ve been in their shoes once.

KEEP DRAWING. If you’re not making an effort to get better, then you’re not going to be better. I get that it’s hard to find the inspiration to draw (I’m very guilty of this), but just keep trying. It doesn’t have to be big or spectacular. You don’t even have to post it if you’re the type who likes to post their art stuff.

Try to find references from real-life. It’ll help you better understand form, lighting, shadows, etc., especially if you’re going for a more realistic kind of art style. Otherwise, finding reference from things like cartoons, anime, comics, etc. are just as good.

Try new things. Try new art mediums. Try a different art style. Switch up the way you do things. Maybe you’ll hate it, maybe you’ll like it. Who knows if you don’t try.

Watch time-lapses (or speed draws/speed paints) of other artists!

Pinterest and Google are your friends if you need tutorials or references or whatever.

If you’re offering commissions, DO NOT WORK UNDER YOUR LOCAL MINIMUM WAGE. You are literally devaluing the work you actually put into a piece.

I like to think I’m an aficionado of Photoshop, so feel free to ask me questions on how to achieve something! I’ve used Photoshop for about 11 years now and know my way around the program. On another note, I do recommend setting custom keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop because the default shortcuts are terrible (in my opinion), and because having custom shortcuts increases the speed of your workflow.

Because I’ve been seeing this a lot lately in Twitter, you’re never too old to start in art. Art is just one of those things that anyone can pick up at any age because the only thing you really need to get good in art is time, diligence, and patience.

Try not to post hi-res images of your artwork to prevent art stealers from selling your artwork in high resolution.

Always, always, always add your signature and watermark on your artwork. I like to add my signatures and watermarks in places that’ll be hard to erase or crop out. I’ve also seen people add their signatures and watermarks in creative ways (ex. on a character’s shirt). You need to protect your work in an era where people will just blatantly steal it and make profit off your work.

Tag List

@reality-is-often-disappointing

#artists #artists on tumblr #artist tips #artist resources #art resources #artists of tumblr #art tips #art tutorial #raine rambles and muses #raine can art

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randomnameless · 3 years ago

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I write and write and make comparisons between a swimsuit and themes like tolerance and freedom,

But in this fandom, some people draw more dubious comparisons, especially ones regarding a certain game - and I warned (who?) at the beginning of the FE16 trend that while it wanted to have a Jugdral flair, it obviously failed. You have a sprinkle of Jugdral in FE16, but it’s only a surface image, or even a mirage.

“CrEsT SyStEM”? Holy Blood? No, those comparisons at least were made in good faith and had some merits.

One of the worst comparisons was noted by several friends, a certain someone, wanting to push a certain ship involving a certain character, managed to write :

“Every route makes one villain from Genealogy of the Holy War the hero, Edelgard being Arvis, Dimitri being Eldigan, Claude being Travant and Rhea being Manfroy”

This will not be a post about Manfroy’s hips, you are warned

Who is Eldigan (Eldie)?

A man who is the carrier of Hezul’s holy blood, Hezul being the founder of Augstria, a sovereign state. Everyone loves Eldie, he is good-looking, strong, kind, chivalrous and has the magic blood that makes him able to use his magic sword.

Is he the King of Agustria? No.

The King is a man named Chagall, who has an ugly sprite, doesn’t have Hezul’s magic blood and cannot use the magic sword. He also killed his father, and is really jealous of Eldie.

However, Eldie’s line (House Nodion) has sworn to support the royal line of Augustria (Chagall’s), so even if everyone wants Eldie to ascend to the throne, he will never accept it. Even if Chagall pisses on him, or imprisons him because he felt like it, Eldie will not rebel against his King. Eldie is seen as a Camus, because he will fight and die for Chagall, and his country, when Sigurd is... more or less attacking Chagall (because Sigurd’s forces are occupying Augstria and Sigurd’s orders are to bring peace to the land, Chagall doesn’t want peace and wants to fight to retake his throne). If everything ends well, Eldie will promise Sigurd he will try to talk one last time his king, try to convince him to accept a ceasefire and peace with Granvalle - but Chagall is an ass and beheads Eldie.

Dimitri... isn’t like Eldigan, at all. First of all, Dimitri is supposed to be the crown Prince, instead of being a mere knight sworn to serve the royal family. Secondly, Dimitri doesn’t die because his liege beheads him - Edelgard will never be his liege - he dies either by defending his borders against someone who is bringing war to his lands and wants his head, or he dies because he pursues Edelgard in a three way battle in Gronder.

We do not know what Rufus is like to his nephew, but I am pretty sure he is no Chagall.

The only common points Eldie and Dimitri have is their blond hair, and sometimes, their manner of death. there is also something about bonds with their sisters but we’re not here for that

Who is Travant?

Travant is the King of the Thracian Kingdom, a proto Nohr-like place, where farming is difficult, and the people living there are starving and often turn to banditry or become mercenaries to be able to earn some money.

Thracia’s neighbour, the Manster District (Manster) could export food to Thracia... but they do not, because, well, the people in charge of the Manster District do not like Thracians a lot (and use slurs to talk about them, but Quan is a special character). So Thracians raid the border, with hopes to reunite the peninsula, with the dream that, one day, they will seize the arable lands in the North.

Travant has an infamous line, which more or less went like “I will unite the peninsula for the sake of my people, and if that process dooms me to hell then so be it”.

And to hell he will go, because by Jugdral standards, ambushing Quan and his family in a desert (horses cannot move in sand, another example of gameplay and story integration!) with horseslayers, is despicable, especially since he leaves no one alive, even, apparently, killing Quan’s young daughter Altena.

(Travant ranks pretty high in the douchebag ladder).

With time, Altena grows, unaware that Travant, who adopted her, isn’t her real Father, Quan was. Things happen, Altena discovers the truth, and Travant finally achieves his dream by making a suicidal charge against Seliph’s forces (he doesn’t even bring his magic lance to the fight!), with him dead, finally, the peninsula can be united under one leader.

Claude? Also has a wyvern. And comes from another land than our hero (but which one?). And... that’s all.

If Almyra raids every sunday, it is not because they are starving, but because they are doing it, per Cyril, for funsies. Claude pretends to be a schemer and underhanded, but he never does something on the scale of the Yied Ambush (the moment where Travant pulled out the horseslayers against Quan). Claude never takes a child hostage, and never orders his daughter to punish civilians.

If Claude wants to unite the two countries, it is not because he wants his people to finally leave their life as mercenaries and bandits behind, but because he wants people to understand each other.

Edit because I’m sleeping : Travant will die for his dream. Claude... always survive. Always. I am not saying he doesn’t believe in it, but he is not as desperate as Travant is.

Comparing Claude to Travant is like comparing... Virion to Iago. They are both male with long hair, and pretend to scheme. Bar that? Well... they both have hands...? I guess?

Who is Manfroy?

Manfroy is... both a mastermind and a plothole.

Manfroy was the one in the shadows engineering a war in Jugdral, not because he likes wars, nope, but because he wanted political instability to recreate the Loptyr Empire.

He will help a douchebag to conquer the world, and use him to sire Julius, the only person in Jugdral who can become a host for the dark dragon Loptyr. The last time Loptyr was there... well, apparently it wasn’t roses and sunshines, slavery was rampant and citizens were pitted against each other to make sure the strongest ones would become citizens of the Empire.

Why Manfroy does this? It depends on the sources, but it is heavily implied Manfroy is part of a sect (sect as in group of people practicing a religion, here the Loptyr religion/cult) persecuted by a lot of people in Jugdral - to the point where Agustrians were having witches hunts to chase them. Manfroy and his followers escaped the the Yied desert, touted to be an inhospitable land. His people had no where and no one to turn to, so they prayed to their God Loptyr (who doesn’t give 3 figs about them).

Manfroy is thus the Archbishop of the Loptyr Church. He also killed his son in law, for some reason, and planned to turn his granddaughter in a zombie. Manfroy also supports (and conducts?) the child hunts, basically the plot in the second part of FE4 and FE5 where the Granvalle Empire and the members of the Loptyr Church round up children, take them from their families (sometimes by killing said families) to send them to Granvalle, with the highly suggested goal of sacrificing them one way or another to Loptyr.

On the not-so bright side, Manfroy doesn’t kill Julia - when Loptyr/Julius expressly asking him to do so, because Julia is the only person, story-wise, able to kill him.

What a guy!

Now, Rhea?

There are some comparisons to be made, unlike Claude and Dimitri, but again, it reinforces how they could be seen as foils.

Rhea? Yes, also engineers the birth of a vessel.

However, unlike Manfroy who “forced” Arvis and Deirdre to marry and have a baby, Byleth’s birth, born from the union of Jeralt and Sitri, was completely unexpected. There is no trace in canon of Rhea arranging Jeralt and Sitri’s meeting, and future wedding.

Rhea? Also wants her granddaughter to “die”?

Well, not this one, since Rhea thinks Billy is actually an amnesiac Sothis. Billy would just recover their memories.

Rhea? Doesn’t start a war to build her Sothis vessel. Hell, the DLC is about her previous experiment to resurrect her mother - it was a failure, but someone supposes she fails because she did not want to bleed dry the Four Apostles. Rhea wishes to resurrect a benevolent Goddess (when Manfroy knows Loptyr is... far from benevolent) but will not kill to do so.

Sitri? Asked her to save Billy, by offering her own life.

The most interesting foil though is... how Rhea and Manfroy both belong to a community that was persecuted by others, the people they are supposed to live with.

Manfroy? Went the “if the world hates me, then I will hate it and burn it down” route.

Rhea? Doesn’t want to kill humans, hell, she and her brother disagreed because she didn’t want to kill children of the people who wronged her! She opens a monastery and offers guidance to anyone who needs it, a shelter for the needy and tries her best to protect peace and the humans living under her care.

They could have followed the same path, but didn’t. Manfroy rounds children to kill them, Rhea offers a new home to children who lost theirs.

They can also be compared with their “welp” points, Rhea gave CF!Billy the means to destroy her, just like Manfroy “forgot” to kill Julia - and yet, again, it is different. Rhea trusted Billy and never wanted to use them as a tool, in the other routes, it is because she trusted Billy with “those means” that Billy is able to save the world. Manfroy? Berserks Julia, wishes to use her as a tool and suffers when she regains some agency and beats her brother. But even without Manfroy, Julia would have recovered the Book of Naga to end Loptyr.

Rhea and Manfroy are definitely not parallels, but foils.

And the best for the end...

Who is Arvis?

Well... to summarise Arvis in a few words...

it’s impossible.

So, Arvis is the descendant of one Jugdral’s God-Crusader, Fjalar. Arvis is very proud of his heritage, but he also bears Loptyr blood, through his Mother. And yet, since the Loptry blood exists thanks to Saint Maira - the brother of the Loptry Host of that time, Emperor Galle, who rebelled and helped the Crusaders - he is also very proud of this heritage and his two brands.

Arvis’s familial history is a mess, his father was a womanizer and his mother abandoned him (which might have fueled his Freudian complex?). When his Father died, he exiled all of his bastard siblings, bar Azelle (his bastard half-brother, sired to his mother’s favorite maid). Arvis apparently wasn’t interested in women before he met Deirdre and fell in love with her...

But he had time to sire a bastard (on his best friend and confidante).

Arvis wants to build a world free of prejudice and oppression, and wants to build it by... associating with Manfroy, who blackmails him about his Loptyr blood (if Arvis is proud of his Loptry blood, sadly the Agustrian witch hunts are still a thing, and it will not be well seen in Granvalle’s nobility); however, he made it clear, to Manfroy himself, that he will never allow another Loptry Empire to be reborn. Arvis thus uses hiw fellow Dukes Reptor and Langobalt to set up a coup against Prince Kurth (the Prince of Granvalle) to kill him. Arvis grows close to Kurth’s father, Azmur and more or lesses takes care of everything in Granvalle, since Kurth has no heir left.

And, by chance, Deirdre, Kurth’s bastard daughter, thus rightful Princess of Granvalle, appears at his door. She bears the mark of Naga (the special blood of the Crusader Heim), so they marry, and if they have a son, their son will rule over Granvalle, Arvis acts as a regent until then.

(women can’t rule shit in Jugdral)

Then what? His plan is set into motion, all Granvalle Dukes die, he and Sigurd (plus his pals) are the only ones left, Sigurd dies after being lured to a welcoming party, and Arvis becomes the last man standing able to rule Granvalle, who became, through his plans and treacheries through the 1st gen, an Empire.

(and then his son becomes a Loptyr host, vaporises his mom and makes his sister disappear, wrestles power from him and he is reduced to a sad state (oldvis). He makes a last stand against Seliph, after delivering him Sigurd’s magic sword, and dies.)

Okay.

So, now, Edel.

Arvis managed to become the ruling... person in Granvalle by eliminating all of his rivals, and securing a nice marriage. Edel becomes Emperor... because Ionius gave her his crown, as her father.

So they do not rise to power the same way.

Edel never talks about her brands, but Arvis is proud to bear them and proud of his ancestors. Judging by how Edel speaks of Wilhelm I as a traitor who sold humanity to creatures, I am not sure she is proud to bear his blood.

Also, while Edelgard is extremely prejudiced against Nabateans, Arvis wishes to create a world... free of prejudice (his actions though...). He does not mind Manfroy preaching his stuff, when Edelgard will not allow anyone to follow the Seiros faith (friends put it better, but in several routes, the people who were followers of the Church of Seiros are missing in Adrestia...).

While both Edel and Arvis think they are making “sacrifices” for the greater good, as pointed out earlier, this greater good is different. They both ally with a death cult, but Arvis is naive enough to think Manfroy will not backstab him - he even wishes for him to preach his nonsense freely. Edelgard has been hell bent since day 1 on getting rid of Thales and friends.

By the time Arvis learns of the child hunts and Julius’s nonsense... he wants to stop it. He is however powerless to do so (or so we think! Apparently he and Ishtar managed to hide every children captured in a castle!) but, at least, he tried to do something.

Crest Beasts... are still used, no matter the path, and even after Edelgard became Emperor.

Now, if Manfroy had to capture children and round them up for execution to make sure Arvis would become Emperor, would Arvis have supported him? I... don’t think so. If children were captured during Arvis’s conquest of the world and it was a “necessary evil”, would Arvis have accepted it? We don’t know. Prideful as he is, I don’t think he would have agreed.

(which is all kinds of wrong, the man can start wars and backstab friends, allies and turn his own brother to ashes, but hunting children is too much? Meh. And yet, Manfroy mentions something about his ways and his pride being an obstacle to the realisation of his dream).

Arvis is... a complicated character. A douchebag through and through, who tries to redeem himself at the end, but ultimately fails. He is rewarded for his actions in the 1st gen by the 2nd gen, where Julius becomes Loptyr and destroys his Empire. He had it coming? Yes. Is it painful to watch? Yes.

Edelgard... does not face any retribution for her actions.

Yes, she can also kill her (step) brother. But either she didn’t remember it, or only cries after it, and ultimately puts the blame on him - so it is not a sacrifice ?

People doubt her words? Well, it doesn’t matter, Linhardt, Yuri and Lysithea are still alive after their... interrogations. Reptor doubted Arvis’s words? Aida was sent as back-up (and... backstabbed him).

Ultimately, Arvis loses Deirdre (whose ghost chills with Sigurd’s), Julia and Julius, whom he loved dearly. Edel loses... Billy, and some randoms.

So, in a way, Edel feels like a discount Arvis, because she misses his ascension to power and his downfall. Arvis doesn’t mow down enemies on the front lines like she is doing, Arvis maneuvers to ensure victory.

Both fight for ideals, but Arvis seems to believe in them when I cannot believe a world for “humanity” involves continuous making of Crest Beasts.

Both betray the main character, but Edelgard is hit with the uwu hammer, thus cannot kill Billy - Thales does it in the non CF-routes.

So... short story, long story, Eldie is not Dimitri, Claude is not Travant, Rhea is a foil to Manfroy and Edelgard is a discount Arvis.

Also, I don’t know what kind of weed the person who wrote this take had, but labeling Eldie as one of FE4′s villain is as dumb as labeling FE7 Karla a villain because she appears as a red unit you have to fight.

where is edel’s bastard son

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caranfindel · 4 years ago

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Take these broken wings and learn to fly (15.20 coda)

het, but Wincest-compatible | about 2300 words | PG-13 for language | characters: sam winchester, sam’s blurry wife |

Julia has been widowed (God, what an awful word, widowed) for three years when she meets Sam. It’s a work-based friendship at first. She’s kind of lonely and sad, he’s kind of lonely and sad, and they gravitate toward each other. And then one evening they’re at a bar, the last ones left from an after-work happy hour, both of them drinking more than they should, and she thinks he’s kind and thoughtful and smart and he may be 10 years older than me but he’s still hot as hell and I enjoy being with him and I look forward to seeing him and maybe I should just… and she kisses him. He’s shocked; shocked enough to confirm that he wasn’t just hanging around hoping to make it out of the friendzone. And then he’s holding her face in his hands and he’s kissing her too.

It’s good. They’re good together. It’s not the earth-shattering, all-encompassing romance she had with Shaun. Julia knows she’ll never have anything like that again. Most people don’t even get one soulmate in their lives; no one gets two. And she knows Sam doesn’t have that same desperate love that Shaun had for her; she knows she’ll never have his whole heart. (She knows the woman he intended to marry was killed in a fire, she knows another woman he loved went back to her ex. She doesn’t know which of these women still owns that last piece of Sam’s heart.) But she loves Sam, and he loves her, and they get married.

(The sex is amazing. Sometimes he’s gentle, almost reverent, as if he’s afraid he’ll break her, and other times he’s fierce and passionate and almost tries to break her, and she loves both ends of the spectrum.)

She suggests they melt down her old wedding band to make a new one. It was an heirloom from her grandmother, a plain wide band of yellow gold that she loves, that she thought she’d wear for the rest of her life. But Shaun is the one who put it on her finger the first time. It doesn’t seem right to ask Sam to accept it now. A new band from the old gold seems like a good compromise. No, Sam says, I couldn’t ask you to do that. I know a way we can make it ours. He has the inside of the band engraved with the same symbol he wears tattooed over his heart, and makes her promise to never take it off. Bad luck, he says.

He’s such a contradiction. Scary smart, but as superstitious as an Appalachian grandmother. Calm and unflappable, but with a weirdly hyperactive startle reflex. Kind and empathetic, but capable of extreme violence when pushed to his limits (seriously, don’t walk your drunk ass up to Sam Winchester’s wife and lay hands on her, and don’t get mouthy when she tells you to back off) and just really, frighteningly skilled at that violence.

(A little frightening and also very sexy. Julia’s always had a thing for the hero type.)

They both have nightmares. One night Julia watches Shaun’s face melting under his gear and wakes with a cry of horror. Sam holds her as she tearfully describes living on the knife edge of constant fear that comes with loving someone whose job is literally running into burning buildings. I know, he says, over and over, even though he can’t possibly know. The irony of their first loves both dying in flames is not lost on her, but it’s not like his college girlfriend was a firefighter. It’s not like he watched her go to work every day and prayed she’d make it home alive.

Julia’s pregnancy is a wonderful surprise. She and Shaun had tried for over a year before she was widowed, and she just didn’t count on it happening with Sam. They agree not to name the baby after anyone they’ve lost. Let’s not name him after our pain, she says, and Sam is okay with that. (Or he isn’t. But ever since she showed him the positive pregnancy test, she’s known she could ask him for anything. She’s known he would rip out his heart and serve it on a platter if she asked for it.)

But they haven’t decided on a name yet when her water breaks four weeks early. When their perfect baby boy is born at 12:10 a.m., the nurse announces the date and time and Sam looks up at her in shock and blinks away happy tears and says it’s the 24th. It’s my brother’s birthday. Julia is flying high on endorphins; she loves this baby and she loves this man and she even loves his dead brother she never got to meet, and she says it’s got to be a sign; let’s name him Dean.

She takes off her wedding ring, just this once, to have Dean’s birthdate engraved on the inside. Sam does the same with his own ring. He insists they go to a jeweler who will engrave while they wait, rather than leaving the rings there. She waves a hand at her lumpy postpartum body. You afraid someone’s gonna make a move on all this if you don’t keep a ring on it?

He laughs at her and says you’re onto me, even though he’s the one who needs to be locked away, still with that long lean runner’s body and the amazing shoulders and the goddamn dimples. I just don’t like us being without them, he says. He is a sweet, sentimental fool and she adores him. He bends down to kiss her, carefully maneuvering the baby he’s wearing in a sling, and Julia looks at this man and this baby and this life she didn’t think she was get to have and knows she’s happier than she has any right to be. And she’s relieved when Sam slips the ring back onto her finger, this ring imbued with the men she loves, so maybe he’s not the only sentimental fool.

(One thing she loves about Sam is that he understands why she feels guilty that Shaun didn’t get to share this life with her.)

In July they light a little candle for Dean’s six-month birthday. When Julia wakes the next morning, Sam’s side of the bed is empty and cold. She finds him cuddling their sleeping baby in the living room. I got up to give him a bottle, Sam says. I guess I just fell asleep out here. His red-rimmed eyes and empty coffee mug suggest he didn’t actually sleep at all, but, well. They’re both battling their own private demons. If a night cradling the baby gives Sam some peace for whatever reason, she’s glad of it.

Sam’s fierce love for their child takes her by surprise. If Julia has 90% of his heart, his son has 110%. He parents with a vengeance, is the only way she can think of to describe it. Like he’s making up for something. She doesn’t feel slighted, but it’s impossible to ignore that ever since Dean was born, Sam’s prime objective has been to make sure the boy is happy and safe. Everything else comes second.

(When she notices Sam has been carefully marking his tattoo symbol onto Dean’s clothing, hidden near seams and always in a color that almost matches the fabric, she decides not to say anything. He gets a little funny about his superstitions sometimes.)

Sam desperately wants Dean to have a sibling, and they try for another one, but it doesn’t happen. Julia reminds him that they’re lucky to have even one child. That having a sibling is not a lifetime guarantee of companionship and love. She should know, after all, since Stephanie cut her off after she married that asshole Scientologist and decided she couldn’t have a relationship with anyone who wasn’t also in their stupid cult.

Dean has plenty of friends and tons of activities, which Sam encourages with an almost religious fervor, but he never pulls away from his parents. They have so much in common, Sam and his son. Instead of rebelling as a teenager, Dean seems to grow even closer to his father. They spend hours together, paging through the ancient books in Sam’s study (she hates them, they smell musty and make her sneeze) or driving in the old Chevrolet. They even travel together sometimes, visiting those friends of Sam’s that live up north somewhere. Julia met them at the wedding and they were perfectly nice, thrilled to death that she and Sam had found each other. But she always feels like an outsider when they’re around, like they’re part of something she’ll never understand. So much history, with Sam and the brother she never got to meet. They absolutely dote on Dean though, and he seems to love them too, so the boys’ trip to Sioux Falls becomes an annual event.

(Dean is 14 years old when he comes home from one of these trips with his own version of the tattoo.)

When Julia is diagnosed with cancer, Dean is 16 years old. Sam does his best to ensure life goes on as normal for their son but somehow never neglects Julia’s needs. He throws himself into research and is always on top of the latest treatment, always at her elbow with the top internet-recommended remedy for her side effects, making sure both she and Dean have everything they want and need, all the attention and support they can tolerate. She doesn’t know when, or if, Sam actually sleeps. When she feels up for it, he arranges experiences for the three of them. A week lying on the beach, a weekend in New York City, a night in the mountains looking at the stars. When we look back on this time, he says, I don’t want us to only remember how much it sucked. I want us all to have good memories too.

(She doesn’t know why he’s concerned about her memories. There’s a good chance she won’t have much time to enjoy them. But it’s good for Dean. She doesn’t want this to ruin Dean’s childhood.)

Sam insists Dean go away to college as planned. Julia agrees, although she’s kind of surprised he’s willing to let the boy out of his sight. Aren’t you going to miss him? she asks.

So much, he answers. But this isn’t about me, and what I need. It’s about him. They drive Dean to school in the ancient Chevrolet. Supposedly because the trunk has room for all of his stuff, but Julia is pretty sure it’s just one last sentimental road trip in the old thing before Sam retires it. When they pick Dean up at the end of the school year, it’s in her SUV. Dean promises his father, more than once, that he’ll restore the Chevy someday.

Five years after Julia’s diagnosis, she’s sitting in the doctor’s office learning that her last remission was her last remission. There are no more options. She has months, not years. Sam clutches her hand and nods, once, as if to say I should have known this would happen; I should have expected something like this. Then he takes her home.

It’s a blessing in a way, he says late that night, after a little too much to drink. Knowing what’s coming. Having time to say goodbye. You don’t always get that. And yes, she knows this as well as anybody does.

Sam has always been supportive of her choice not to contact Stephanie, but one day he says Jules, I promise I’ll never bring it up again. It’s just that I don’t want you to have any regrets. I don’t want you miss the opportunity to say things that you’ll wish you’d said. Julia isn’t sure Steph will speak to her. She’s not even sure she’ll have the same phone number — they haven’t spoken since Dad’s funeral, a year after she was widowed — but she makes the call. And Steph answers. And cries. And comes to visit, where she hugs and cries some more. Sam watches it all with a sad smile for a while, then disappears into the garage to sit in the old Chevy.

When Julia takes her last conscious breaths, Dean is holding one hand and Sam is holding the other. She squeezes her son’s hand and thinks I love you, dear boy, and I’m sorry I have to leave you. She squeezes her husband’s hand and thinks thank you for giving me this, thank you for taking care of me, thank you for loving me and letting me love you. Then she closes her eyes and lets the soft, warm darkness take over.

And then. Then she wakes to a cool breeze and the sound of chirping birds. She’s standing at a lake she recognizes. It’s Shaun’s favorite fishing spot. And Shaun is there, waiting for her. And everything is okay.

Sam does show up eventually. Julia’s sitting on the porch of the cabin with Shaun, enjoying the perpetual nice day (sometimes a spring morning, sometimes a fall afternoon, but always nice) when she hears the familiar rumble. It cant be, she thinks. It can’t be that old car. But it is.

I’m glad you found someone with good taste in cars, Shaun says, as Sam unfolds himself from the driver’s seat. He looks exactly as he did the day she met him; no glasses, only a little grey at his temples. Still tall and strong and beautiful. She runs to meet him and embraces him as Shaun watches from the porch.

You found Shaun, Sam says. I’m so happy for you, Jules. I really am. He doesn’t seem to have any intention of joining her (their) Heaven permanently, but he doesn’t seem to have anyone else with him either. Where is the dead girlfriend? How is this fair?

They talk about Dean, and Julia’s heart swells with pride over her strong, smart, kind, brave son. He’s like you, she says. He’s just like you.

Sam shrugs. He’s a Winchester.

But what about you? she says. You’re not — you’re not alone here, are you?

Nah, he says. I’m good. I promise.

(Eventually Julia meets the first Dean, and she understands.)

===

I know a lot of people have mocked Sam's blurry wife, but I actually have grown to love the concept. Because it means she can be anything we want her to be. And yeah, initially I liked the idea of her being Dr. Cara, or Eileen. But now I don't think that would happen. I think Sam would have to start fresh to have that kind of relationship. And I also like the idea of Sam's wife having her own soulmate somewhere, waiting for her, so she's not a huge part of Sam and Dean's shared Heaven. I mean, they're gonna visit, obviously. And then they'll go home to their soulmates.

The title is from "Blackbird" by the Beatles.

#spn #15.20 #my fic #episode coda #sam winchester

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total-drama-takes-takes-2 · 2 years ago

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tti episode 25 - version 2

“For the past eight weeks, you have been watching Fren, Joner, Peter, Kitty, Mal, O, Sha-Mod, Frollo, Caesar, Austin, Scruffy, Kelly, Courtney, Scary, Max, Staci, Patrick, Bonnie, Ass, and Julia compete in the most heinous, disgusting, dangerous challenges reality TV has seen since 2007. You have watched them laugh, cry, love and receive various injuries, and it’s all come down to this! Two campers remain, and by sundown, only one will be left standing! That winner will go home with a check for one million dollars and the pride of having survived this crummy camp. Our two final campers are about to fight it out in a battle of the exes here on Total! Takes! Island!”

“Welcome back to the island. It's been a grueling past two months for our finalists, so we asked them to record their thoughts before the final challenge,” Chris smiles, pacing around the currently-empty mess hall.

---

MCLOVIN: “I guess I had a good time. I made a lot of new friends,”

---

MICHAEL: “Now people hate my existence and want to kill me! Great job at making new friends, Michela!"

---

MCLOVIN: “I’m not too surprised I made it this far. It’s like my mom always says, a positive attitude can get you anywhere!”

---

MICHAEL: “I’m honestly shocked I haven’t given up yet. I mean, I was so sure I’d be a mid-season boot and now I’m a finalist!”

---

MCLOVIN: “The food? It was okay... when it wasn’t trying to kill me,”

---

MICHAEL: “Don’t even get me started on the supposed “food” we had to eat. It’d probably be inhumane to serve that stuff to dogs,”

---

MCLOVIN: “The rats in the kitchen wouldn’t even touch it,”

---

MICHAEL: “And the people?”

---

MCLOVIN: “The people were awesome! Sure, there were some fights, but I’ve never met so many amazing friends than on this island!”

---

MICHAEL: “-a bunch of lazy, stubborn, self-centered jerks who only cared about themselves,”

---

MCLOVIN: “Sha-Mod and I share a psychic bond! We’re soulmates- bromates! I meant bromates!”

---

MICHAEL: “Max is probably one of the most stubborn, rude, unapologetically mean people I’ve ever met, and… I am so glad I met him. I couldn’t have asked for anyone better.”

---

MCLOVIN: “Courtney has the coolest hair ever, Julia is super smart…”

---

MICHAEL: “I guess that’s about it, really,”

---

MCLOVIN: “What will I be remembered for?” he pauses to think. “My personality!”

---

MICHAEL: “Um… my hair?”

---

MCLOVIN: “Or maybe these!” he stands on the toilet and stomps, his light-up Sketchers blinking.

---

Chris leaves the mess hall after announcing the final curtain call will be in thirty minutes. Michael sighs and slumps forward.

“What’s the matter?” McLovin asks, spooning their final crummy camp meal.

“I guess I’m just kind of disappointed I didn’t accomplish anything I came here for,”

“What do you mean? We did lots of awesome stuff and met tons of awesome people!”

“No,” Michael frowns at him. “You did tons of awesome stuff and met tons of awesome people. I just made a bunch of enemies and humiliated myself on national television hundreds of times.”

McLovin’s smile drops and he looks at her. “That’s kind of a depressing way to look at it,”

“That’s reality, dude,”

A silence falls over the two McLovin sighs.

“Do you think anything’s gonna be the same after we go home?”

“Honestly? Not at all. I just don’t know if I can stay friends with you and Joner after everything. I’ll be alone, but maybe that won't be such a bad thing,” she says, kicking back and putting her feet on the table. “I’ll be putting myself first for once, anyway.”

“Well… I kinda understand. If that’s what you want, then that’s cool. I respect that,” McLovin says, saluting her. “I just wish we could’ve made up.”

“Sometimes that’s too much to ask. I wish you would’ve shown you’ve changed instead of just apologizing,” she stands, leaving her bowl behind half-empty and her former friend with a contemplative look on his face.

---

“Alright, campers!” Chris says, leading the two between a pair of wooden bleachers out in the forest. Michael and McLovin can see a track extending into the woods, and both know without saying that that’s where they’re heading next. “Time to welcome back the twenty losers who did not make it here with you today!”

The former competitors walk from the docks. McLovin waves to his friends, who merrily wave back. No one even looks at Michael as they pass to the bleachers.

“Everyone who is not competing, please take a seat in the peanut gallery of failure! The side you choose should represent who you’re rooting for in the finale,” Chris says, directing the crowd to the bleachers behind him. Each has a large banner with either contestant's face on it.

Sha-Mod and Courtney are the first to sit on McLovin’s side, followed shortly by just about everyone else. Only one person is sitting in Michael’s gallery.

Max waves from the empty bleachers. Michael smiles and waves back.

“Okay, a little surprising, but wow,” Chris says. “Can we get a few more volunteers to pity-join? Makes it more suspenseful.”

“Come on, guys!” McLovin yells to his supporters. “Michael is really… cool and nice and stuff!”

A few contestants raise eyebrows. He sighs. “Staci, Scruffy- um, the tall one- Peter, Kelly,”

Much to their annoyance (and McLovin’s surprise at having people actually listen to him) all of the selected losers get up and move without complaint. Michael rolls her eyes, but she still gives McLovin a slightly grateful look.

Max hops down from the bleachers and runs over to her, ducking under Chef before he can stop him. “You got this, okay?” he says, holding her hands.

Chris rolls his eyes and jabs a thumb in their direction, sending Chef over to collect him. Chef grabs Max by the back of his collar and drags him back to the stands. “I believe in you!” he yells before he’s promptly sat down.

Frollo sits in the middle space between the bleachers on the ground, eternally reading his Bible.

Chris walks over. “Um, dude, you gotta pick a side,”

He rolls his eyes. “Both of these players are sinners, and-”

Chef walks over, picks him up, and tosses him onto Michael’s side, the few losers already there ducking to avoid him as he shrieks and flies across the screen.

“Go, MC!” Courtney shouts.

“Yeah, go support the endless cog of capitalism!” Ass says sarcastically. Courtney smacks them upside the head.

“McLovin, this is your chance to tell the peanut gallery what you would do with the money if you won,” Chris says, pointing at him. He smiles.

“I’ve had a lot of time to think about it, and I finally chose just two things I’d want to do with the money,” he says. “First, I’d save half of it for art school and my future living expenses.”

Joner and Michael both raise an eyebrow.

“And then with everything I have left, I would give everyone who competed on this show an even portion of the money. Including Michael!”

Everyone aws at that, and everyone on Michael’s side aside from Max silently gets up and walks back over to McLovin’s. Even Frollo’s unconscious body slumps off the stands and rolls over to the other bleachers. Max groans and smacks his forehead.

“Michael?”

“I would probably save most of it in a secure bank account for my future. And maybe get new skates,”

Everyone stares at her blankly. She sighs.

“Alright, it’s time for the final challenge: the rejected Olympic relay race!” Chris shouts. “There are three parts: first, each of you has to put on one of these,” he smiles, holding a chicken hat in his right hand and a cow hat in his left. He hands one to each. “Dressed in your very special uniforms, you will run to the first location and shimmy up the pole to grab your flag. Next, you’ll cross a 300m balance beam suspended across a massive gorge while carrying an eagles egg. After is a long distance run back to this location. Whoever gets here first wins!”

The peanut galleries cheer as Michael and McLovin look at each other.

“Good luck,” he says, adjusting his chicken hat. “You deserve to win.”

Michael stares. “I don’t need your pity,”

“Go, McLovin!” Sha-Mod shouts from the stands.

“Kick her ass, MC!” Julia yells before a large rock from Michael’s bleachers hits her in the back of the head. She slumps onto Scruffy in the row below, unconscious.

“Anyone else?!” Max yells from offscreen.

“Ready!” Chris shouts, waving around a checkered flag. “Set? Go!”

McLovin and Michael start off, the latter in the lead. Michael reaches the flagpole first and takes a leaping jump to the base, scaling it with ease.

The pencil arrives next and attempts to inch his way up the pole like a worm. “Use your freakishly long limbs!” Ass yells from the stands, still dizzy from Courtney's blow.

McLovin whimpers and extends his arms higher, grabbing the flag at the same time Michael hops off.

“How do I get down?!” he yells.

“Figure it out! You got this!” Courtney yells back.

McLovin frowns and jumps down, landing on his butt. The crowd winces.

“Get up, dude!” Sha-Mod yells. “She’s not far ahead!”

Michael approaches the gorge and peers over the edge, where sharks are swimming in the water below the thin, rickety planks of wood. She swallows nervously but runs back around to the eagles nest behind her, grabbing an egg and hiding it in her parka before she begins to cross.

McLovin follows, snatching an egg and holding it above his head while closing his eyes and screaming, running across the thin plank of wood.

“You might wanna look where you’re going, dude!” Chris shouts. “Those eggs weren’t for nothing!”

A few campers catch up to the players, stopping behind Chris and looking around the skies nervously.

Scruffy yells from the edge of the gorge. “McLovin, there are eagles! Huge eagles! And-” another rock hits them square in the temple and they fall backwards. Max tosses another stone from one hand to the other while glaring at the other losers.

“What did they mean by-” Michael starts before a massive eagle swoops down and lunges for McLovin's exposed egg, talons extended.

He barely manages to duck, but is thrown off-balance and wobbles around on one foot. The peanut gallery (now on their feet) gasps and watches in terror as he falls to his butt on the plank, but manages to keep himself out of the shark infested waters.

Michael reaches the other side, pulling the egg out of its hiding place and setting in the nest on stable ground. She starts running again, McLovin (still shaking) not far behind.

The track takes the two right through camp. “Almost there!” Max yells, one of the campers running behind the contestants.

“Come on, MC, you got this!” Sha-Mod shouts, a few steps behind Max. “This part is the easiest!”

As he says that, McLovin steps over a suspiciously elevated dirt mound and a huge explosion lets off behind him.

“What was that?!” Michael shouts as another explosion sounds.

“Oh, yeah, we had some leftover landmines!” Chris shouts into his megaphone from a safe distance. “Enjoy!”

“Jerk!” Michael snaps, narrowly dodging another massive landmine explosion that takes out the confessional booth.

"Watch out!" McLovin yells, pointing out various lumps of dirt ahead of her.

"I don't need your help!" she snaps back. "I'm not your pity case!"

"What is it gonna take for you to forgive me?!"

"Move. ON!" she shouts, speeding up ahead and jumping over every landmine visible. Another one explodes, sending McLovin backwards.

He screams in terror, covering his eyes and running blindly when he gets up.

“Get a grip!” Ass yells from behind. “Stop being such a coward!”

“No!” he shouts back.

Scary scoffs. “Why don’t you just let her win then, nice guy?!”

McLovin frowns and whimpers, standing and stumbling forward. "I can do this!" he affirms himself, a few cheers sounding from the sidelines.

He runs up to Michael, shoving her out of the way as the finish line comes into sight. She falls on her butt and yelps.

"This is pointless!" she yells, refusing to stand. "Who even cares!"

A voice from the sidelines sounds out. "Chel!"

She turns. "Max?"

He waves from off the course, avoiding the landmine-covered track. "You can't give up! Remember what I told you! You didn't come here to make friends!"

Michael sighs. She closes her eyes and stands shakily, clenching her fists. "I want to win,"

"More enthusiasm!"

"I want to win!" she starts off running.

"Yes!"

"I WANT TO WIN!" she yells, catching up to McLovin and shoving him.

"There's my girl!"

His thin body shudders like a piece of paper in the wind and he flies backwards from the force of the push as she crosses the finish line seconds before him.

The peanut gallery cheers, abandoning McLovin on the dirt trail and surrounding Michael.

Max forces everyone in the crowd out of the way, throwing his arms around her and kissing her. The peanut gallery oohs and he glares.

"Mind your own business!"

"And Michael is the winner of Total Takes Island!" Chris says, walking over with a huge check. "Congratulations, camper!"

Chef nods. "Could've seen that one coming,"

Sha-Mod manages to squeeze through the crowd and run over to McLovin, still flat on the ground. He helps him up and hugs him.

"You did good!"

"Yeah, but not good enough," McLovin coughs, wiping the dirt off his pants.

Sha-Mod shrugs. "So? We'll have to work a little harder for our dream house. But we're still getting one, there's no way I'm giving up on a mansion with my boyfriend,"

McLovin blushes and looks over. “Did you mean bromate? Cause I made the same-”

“Nah,” Sha-Mod says, leaning on McLovin’s shoulder. “Bromate’s platonic.”

The crowd continues stirring with excitement as Michael walks past, hand-in-hand with Max. She smiles and gives one last wave to McLovin, who waves back, before the two part ways.

---

“Here we are at the last TTI bonfire ceremony ever,” Chris says, smiling at the entire cast as they sit around the pit. “After eight brutal weeks of torture, infections, and drama, our season winner is Michael!”

The campers cheer, congratulating Michael as she sits near the center of the group, Max leaning his head on her shoulder.

“Michael, the final marshmallow,” Chris grins, tossing her the treat. She catches it and smiles. “A symbol of prosperity. Treasure it for the rest of your life.”

“Sure," she says, tossing it into the fire seconds later. Max laughs.

The crowd returns to talking amongst each other as Chef comes out of the mess hall with more marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers for s'mores.

“I don't think I did so bad for last place,” Fren says, kicking back.

Staci (now bleach blonde, thanks to Kelly’s handiwork) shrugs as she sits between their two friends. “You survived, at least,”

“And we got a right groovy finale, baby!” Austin says, patting her on the back. “Great season, baby!”

“Thank you, Austin,” Chris says smugly. “And to all you viewers at home- thank you for supporting us here at Total Takes Island! We all hope you had a good time watching these teens fight to the death, and we can’t wait to see you next season!”

Everyone turns to him. “NEXT SEASON?!”

#tti #total takes island

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ellaenchanting · 4 years ago

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Hypnovember 2020 Master List

Now that I have awoken from my post-Hypnovember nap, it’s time to post my 2020 Master List! in comparison to last year’s entries, a lot of stories this year delved more into either more intense kinks or more of my intense personal feelings than my stories last year did. Sometimes writing stories is a bit like reading my own tarot cards in that way- letting an ambiguous prompt roll around in my subconscious and sometimes being surprised or amused or even slightly unsettled by what it turns into. I hope you will find something in this group of works that soothes you, that turns you on, that intrigues you, and that most of all provokes a response. If you do, I’d absolutely love to hear about it. :)

Copying one of my favorite @jukeboxemcsa ideas, I’ve also included a HypnoBS rating for every work about how realistic the hypnosis/mind control is in each work (IMHO). In this ranking, 1 means to is absolute bullshit and 5 is a normal Tuesday night (for someone).

Icons- 📰- story. 🔊- audio 💻- technology 😍- romantic 🌈- queer 😴- regular ole’ hypnosis 🛀- brainwashing and/or character in tub 👻- spooky 🐈- at least one happy pussy ❓- bad or reeeally questionable consent 👨‍🔬 -science! 🤪 -crackfic #-#sceneideas 😭-feeeels ⭐-author’s personal favorites

Day 1: Instant M/f 📰 😴🐈#😭

Choice quote: “Sean chuckled as he moved in closer. And closer. ‘I thought you wanted to know what it was like to be hypnotized, sweetheart. To follow suggestions? To have someone else take control? It’s not real control if I’m doing something you already wanted, now is it?”

HypnoBS- 5. Read the whole thing but- IMHO totally plausible.

Fun Fact- These are the same characters from last year’s Day 5: Poison.

Day 2: Coils F/m 📰 😴 💻 👨‍🔬

Choice quote: “Daniel rolled his eyes. ‘I bet you could hypnotize me with a bar of soap if you wanted to. That still doesn’t make me like spirals.’”

HypnoBS- 5. Maybe 4 because I don’t love the induction but- maybe you will? Also- oh no poor Daniel is so conditioned that he’ll go under to anything Jamie does! How hard for him. :(

Day 3: Staged Hypnosis (Stage) F/f 📰 😴 🌈 🛀 ❓

Choice quote: “No one needed to know she was a plant. A confederate. A stooge.”

HypnoBS- 1.5. This would collapse like a house of cards. It’s a fun concept though.

Day 4: Psychic F/nb 📰 😴 🌈 😍 👨‍🔬⭐

Choice quote: “Something about the hypnosis- being in and out of each other’s heads and in and out of each other’s bodies all weekend- made her feel like she and Tris had merged in some way. Like there was a new, deeper understanding between them now- a telepathic bond.”

HypnoBS- 5. Maybe a 4.5 if you’re recognizing some nre magical thinking here. But- I’ve definitely had this feeling and this kind of experience- and I hope some of you have had it/will have it as well. :)

Day 5: Visor F/multiple 📰 😴 🛀 💻 👨‍🔬 🤪#

Choice quote: “Besides, everyone knew stormtroopers were kinky.”

HypnoBS- 4.5. Some of the exact details would need to be changed and thought through more thoroughly, but I absolutely believe you could do something like this if you wanted to. (And if you do, you definitely have to let me know. I know some of y’all out there go to Dragoncon.)

Day 6: Pendulum F/y’all 🔊😴 👨‍🔬

Choice quote: This is a trick I first learned from a science book I read in 5th grade.

HypnoBS- 5. The real thing.

Day 7: Song Aliens/the human race 📰 💻 👻❓

Choice quote: “Anna didn’t know what she was singing.”

HypnoBS- 1. I hope. Why do the song based stories always turn out so creepy?

Day 8: Performance unknown/f 📰 👻❓😴# ⭐

Choice quote: “With each snap, the gears inside her doll body click click click clicked into action. She turned, jerky but graceful. She was determined to do well. “

HypnoBS- 5 (if part of a fearplay scene, which is my headcanon for this story)

Day 9: (Hot Under the) Collar F/f 📰 😴🛀🌈 🐈#⭐

Choice quote: “She was wearing her collar. She was aroused. It was as simple as that.“

HypnoBS- 5 With time, I think you could do this. Maybe a 4.5 for the 30 minutes thing- that might lead to a bit too much cramping.

Day 10: Gentle 🔊😴

Choice quote: “Just look into the spiral....”

HypnoBS- 5. I hope.

Day 11: Summoning Sappho (Summon) eventual F/f I hope 📰 😴🌈 🤪

Choice quote: “In fact, the only ideas left to try on their brainstorming board included ‘sexy alien invasion’, ‘sexy witches’, and this. Shockingly, at this point a sexy seance seemed the most practical.”

HypnoBS-1. Although stay tuned for Femme Flirt 2021.

Day 12: Plants unknown/m 📰 😴🛀#

Choice quote: “If he focused, Chris could feel that new suggestion also growing stronger and stronger, becoming more and more firmly rooted inside of him. “

HypnoBS- 5, with the right person

Day 13: Artifact F/f 📰 😴🛀🌈 👨‍🔬 ❓

Choice quote: “She fumbled through the contents when suddenly her hand found something unexpected from her past.A red lipstick tube. An artifact.”

HypnoBS- 4? There’s different ways of reading this story, but my headcanon is that the consent here is pretty dubious.

Day 14: Tail M/f 📰 😴🛀❓👻#

Choice quote: “It was no use. She could sense her tail was still behind her. She couldn’t shake him. She should have known he’d come for her.“

HypnoBS- Let’s say 2. Although I think this could work really well for a fearplay scene in an appropriate setting (where someone wasn’t actually left unmonitored with extreme paranoia).

Day 15: Serve F/m 📰 😴#⭐

Choice quote: “He had put his heart and soul into the dish.They were hers now.”

HypnoBS- As a scene? 5 (depending on the person). As a long term effect, much lower.

Day 16: Memory F/f 📰 😴 🛀🌈 😍

Choice quote: “Mesmera waited for Galaxy Girl at the door.”

HypnoBS- 4, you could do an induction along these lines but -1 for psychic powers

Fun Fact: These characters were originally featured in last year’s Day 19: Hideout.

Day 17: Toy F/f m/f 📰 😴 🛀🌈🐈 #

Choice quote: “Dolly hated to have Bad Manners. “

HypnoBS- 4.5. This is pretty deep into headspace, but I wouldn’t want to rule it out for the right person.

Day 18: Monster m/f 📰 😴 ❓😭⭐

Choice quote: “That kind of stuff wasn’t fair to think about here. It wasn’t everyone else’s fault that she was so warped.”

HypnoBS- 5. Ouch my heart. Poor young!Ella.

Day 19: Eyes M/m 📰 😴 🌈 😍

Choice quote: “Scott looked into his partner Brandon’s eyes. Brandon had hypnotized him so many times over the years in so many ways but- this was one of Scott’s favorites.”

HypnoBS- 5. Especially in a long term relationship like this. (In my pretend Hypnovember universe, these guys are some of the patriarchs of the hypnokinky convention scene and absolutely wonderful advice givers.)

Fun fact: The story of how these characters originally got together is in last year’s Day 12: Stage story.

Day 20: Possession F/f 📰 😴 🌈 😍😭

Choice Quote- “Things that were hard to do for herself during these times became easier to do as something owned by Thadra. Taking a shower. Getting up and going to bed at the right time. Making sure she ran once a day. Making sure she ate.”

HypnoBS- Errr....4 trending upwards. Although for this to be safe and healthy you’d really need to be checking in with a therapist and working on your continuing mental health at the same time (IMHO). Please do not get relationship advice from my porn.

Day 21: Snaps 🔊😴👨‍🔬

Choice Quote- “No, that one was up.”

HypnoBS- 5. I’m not sure quite how this translates to audio but this is the kind of shenanigans I pull with friends all of the time.

Day 22: Restrict F/f 📰 😴 🌈 🐈👨‍🔬

Choice quote: “’Hmm. By ‘weird’ do you mean ‘hot’?’ asked Zahara, lounging above her on the couch. Nikki nodded. She definitely meant hot. “

HypnoBS- 2. A month is a long time and this is a strong reaction. But- maaaaaybe would work for a bit, especially within these boundaries?

Day 23: Villain there’s a m and a f 📰 🛀👨‍🔬❓#

Choice quote: “They had been planning against that damned do-gooder reporter Lizzy Lampost for months and now they were about to finally have her in their clutches. “

HypnoBS-1. But you’re not reading this one for realism, are you?

Day 24: Drink F/f 📰 😴👨‍🔬🌈 😍

Choice quote: “’Leah,’ she said. ‘I’ve found a drinking game! This might be fun! Want to try it?’”

HypnoBs- 5. With the right person. (That part of the end might be a bit harder.)

Day 25:Worship: F/m 📰 🛀🌈

Choice quote: “After all, it wasn’t the time to work right now. It was time to worship his Mistress’s cock.”

HypnoBS- Someone on AO3 told me this fic just wrecked them. Lucky that person- this one’s a 5. Maybe not with everyone, but an awful lot of people should be able to do an awful lot of the activities in this story. :)

Day 26: Fey M/f 📰😴 😭⭐

Choice quote: “Humans do not know the spells they weave.”

HypnoBS- 1 Only true in that metaphorical way. (So- really, really true. But not factual.)

Day 27: Recording F./m 📰 🛀❓👻#

Choice quote: “It’s a recording, he reminded himself. “She’s not there. No one is there.”

HypnoBS- 2 At least, I don’t know how to make this happen (outside of a consensual scene).

Day 28: Obsession M/F 📰 🛀😍👨‍🔬

Choice quote: “Some guys had cars. Some had computer systems. Some had home brewing. But Mark’s obsession was Julia.“

HypnoBS- Oh gosh. Errr...2.5? Hard to say.

Fun Fact: This started as a one-sided scenario, then it changed, then it felt really hot, now it feels like a sweet silly sitcom premise. (If you want to read some episode synopses of this hypothetical sitcom, there are some brilliant ones here! Also- feel free to send me more!)

Day 29: Helpless F/m 📰😴😍

Choice quote: “’I want to be helpless,’ he replied. Juan felt his headspace changing. He threw himself into that feeling, trusting Josie to take the reins.“

HypnoBS- 5. Not a scene log, but pretty much How I Top.

Day 30: Awaken 🔊😴👨‍🔬

Choice quote: “Aaaaaand-awaken!”

HypnoBS- 5 Hypnotist BS- also a 5

Thank you all for reading these! Thank you especially to everyone who reblogged, wrote me comments, and generally supported me through this past month. I’m going to specifically single out @daja-the-hypnokitten, @wellgnawed, and @spiralturquoise for the encouragement- y’all are the best. :) I know this is a long post, but I’d really appreciate reblogs of it!

Also, I didn’t have time to contribute myself but- if you donate to Hypnokink for Trans Lives, let me know and I’ll write you an epilogue for any of these stories that you choose.

#Hypnovember 2020 #master post #me/my accomplishments #thank you all again for reading!#seeing people actually liking my stuff gives me a ton of energy to keep going #<3 #19746 words and almost an hour of audio #an entire month of my life :P #not a novel but definitely a novella

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trillian-anders · 5 years ago

Text

first blood

pairing: ransom drysdale x reader

warnings: angst, general asshole-ness.

word count: 4.6k

description: part 3 of 5. how did you become ransom’s glorified babysitter? and why the fuck are you keeping this job? who knows. you hate it, you hate him, but... the money.

note: tumblr is being super shitty rn so I can only post on mobile, but I really wanted to get this off my desk! will add a read more and properly link later 💕

prequel to the assistant && four christmases, spoiler free loves.

You have to do this.

You don’t think your eyes will ever feel normal again. They were dry and scratchy. There were no more tears to shed. You’d buried your Mom two months ago, but you didn’t know how it would ever feel okay. She did everything for you and Julia. Everything. She worked hard, made pretty good money, allowed you to have a part time job and just focus on school. Julia was in this really nice private school, she played the cello now for fucks sake. She had friends and was talking about maybe starting soccer soon, but after funeral costs and your sister’s tuition the life insurance money was running out.

You had to sell the house.

You’d moved the two of you into a small apartment right outside of Chinatown. Not the safest area, but not the most unsafe either. You’d be fine. You had each other, and she needed you to do this. You had to do this.

For her.

You sat uncomfortably in the cheap office chair, sitting across from a woman with too many papers on her desk, everything sloppily arranged around a couple of potted succulents and a framed picture of her and her three kids, no spouse.

“So your last job was in tutoring?” She asked you. You shifted nervously in your seat, nodding your head,

“Yeah, I tutored a high school student in English and Math.” You needed some water. The cheap pencil skirt and blouse you were wearing made your skin itch. She types into her computer some more.

“So why are you here?” She asked, “Why not continue tutoring?” A few more clicks and then more typing.

“The family I worked for paid me pretty well,” You admitted, “But she’s graduating this year and they didn’t need me anymore, I don’t really,” You cleared your throat, “I don’t really have much job experience outside of that and I need to start making money now… I’ve put out job applications but haven’t really gotten any luck.” Not with the income you needed anyway. The woman nodded. The plaque on her desk said her name is Stacy Chandler.

“Alright, here you are.” A printed page, address, date, and time. A job. Clerical work. Data entry. You have to do this...

“How was your last day of school?” Julia sat heavily at the kitchen table, backpack slumped on the floor next to her. She buried her face in her arms.

“I’m never going again.” Came muffled from her mouth. She lifted her head to look at you. The beginnings of puberty. You’d recently gone bra shopping for the first time. Real ones, no more training bras. You’d recently taken her to the dermatologist for her acne, but she’s not good at remembering to put on the expensive creams you bought. What a hard time. You don’t envy her.

“Luckily for you,” You smiled, placing a fudgy brownie in front of her, “You don’t have to go back for three whole months!” She rolled her eyes heavily, taking the brownie and disappearing into her room presumably to sit on her computer until dinner.

She was feeling the absence of your Mother just as you were. You weren’t sure what to do here. You loved your sister and you know she loves you too, but in the last few months it’s just been closed doors and a few parting sentences. Only because you had to work so much. Only because she spent a lot of time at friend’s houses where you’d think she would feel normal for a while. It would help ease the burden of being in your mid-twenties and suddenly feeling like a single mother. Of course you can sleep over at Mila’s house, her family is going to their cabin for the weekend of course you can go!

You didn’t know what to do other than keeping her in school and alive. You weren’t ready for this. But the only other option was your estranged aunt who reeked of mothballs and was constantly asking you if you were married, or dating, or ‘You’re Mother wouldn’t have wanted this’. No. It was very clear that your Mom wanted the two of you to stay together, and that’s how it’s going to be.

This summer she was going to spend with her friend Mila at their family’s lake house. Mila’s mother was a stay at home mom with six kids under the age of 12 and would be planning to spend the summer pintresting activities and projects with them while simultaneously getting out of her stuffy-old 10 bedroom, 8 bathroom mansion. Lucky her. Lucky Julia.

The apartment would be empty without the 12-year-old pre-teen for three months, but Julia has really been looking forward to it. Her bags were packed and ready by the door.

You hugged her tightly in front of Mila’s house, burying your face in her hair, partially not wanting her to go, but otherwise knowing that she’s going to have a better time than you could ever provide her. “Okay, you can let me go now.” She shifted in your arms, trying to pull away.

“Just another minute.” You mumbled, pulling her in tighter. “I’m gonna miss you.” She laughed,

“I’m gonna miss you too.” The two of you pulled apart and you tucked her hair behind her ears, cupping her sweet face.

“I love you,” You said very seriously, “If you ever want to come home just-”

“I’ll let you know.” She was getting impatient, the car Mila’s mom was taking to the lake house, a beautifully large black Range Rover sat packed next to you, they were waiting. “I love you too.” She slowly backed away towards the car.

“If she gets homesick, my husband still comes back every week for work so he can bring her home if need be,” Andrea was her name, Mila’s Mom. “She’ll be fine.” Andy was really nice. She made a lot of the food the two of you had eaten in the early days after your Mom’s death. Her gentle reassurance soothed you slightly. It made driving away a little easier, but it didn’t stop the tears that fell as you entered your apartment, alone. For the first time in a while. You didn’t have to hold it in anymore.

You sunk down against your front door, staring out into your living room, tears rolling down your cheeks in the silence of the home. Dirty shoes lined up against the wall, throw blanket hanging halfway off the couch, dirty dishes from breakfast still in the sink, and somewhere you’re sure under all of it was the will to pick yourself back up.

You just didn’t know if you were ready for that quite yet.

But you did it anyway.

More clerical work. More data entry. More bills going half paid and others being ignored all together. Student loans you didn’t even want to think about from a school where you hadn’t even graduated. Medical bills you didn’t even know where to begin paying back, itchy stockings, and uncomfortable shoes. With every day that passed you reexamined your life. How did you get here?

A new job, a new office. Temp assigned, but you knew who worked here. The building that housed it stood tall against the Boston skyline. Contemporary. You sat comfortably in a cushy office chair. The plaque on the desk read Linda Drysdale, CEO. And you waited.

You hadn’t seen the Thrombey’s, let alone the Drysdale branch of the family, for five months. Zero contact. Joni had talked to you last, thanking you for helping Meg, but also trying to sell you eye cream. “You really should invest in taking better care of yourself.” Which was her kind way of trying to tell you that you look old. Thanks.

You couldn’t imagine what Linda would want you for. You’d been doing some filing, they were transferring all of their documents to digital and hired extra help to do so, you were one of three hired from your particular temp agency, but yesterday she had called you personally and asked you to come in for an appointment today at 3 pm. And here you are.

Waiting.

There was a portrait of her family on the wall. Linda herself sitting in a high backed intricate chair, her husband Richard standing to her right, and to her left was her son, Hugh. He went by his middle name Ransom. They were stone faced, serious looking. This painting seemed ridiculous. If you didn’t know the Thrombey’s you’d think it was there to be ironic, as a joke, a play on what rich families were like.

But they were a rich family, and this is what they were like.

Linda was self-serving. She only ever talked to you when it suited her own interests and as soon as she was satisfied she would quickly direct her attention somewhere else, to someone more important. She used you to get what she wanted and when you served her purpose you were gone. She had no time for anyone, only her father. Anything for Harlan.

Richard was a predator. He was always making an uncomfortable comment about either your body or your face. He stood uncomfortably close at times and liked to settle a hand on the small of your back. He was a well kept man, throwing his wife’s money around like it was his own. He kept a money clip of hundreds in his pocket.

Ransom was a piece of shit. He was a self-centered egotistical asshole who was sure to make your life a living hell every time he saw you. There was always a comment, a jab at your clothes, your hair, the fact that you are poor. He once ‘accidentally’ threw your cardigan away because, “I thought it was one of those fucking rags you dust with, I didn’t want it touching my burberry.” He, like his father, felt predatory. Something about being a rich white man just really got them going, and the money clip with the hundreds… a learned habit.

“Alright,” Linda’s voice came from the doorway, you turned slightly in your seat. She was on the phone, “Well we will send Michael out to show them the properties instead, I’m sure we’ll find something they like.” She gave you a finger, hold on, even though you’d been sitting here patiently waiting for her for close to twenty minutes now. “Okay,” She continued, “Sounds good.” Sitting down in her chair, tapping a few keys to illuminate her computer screen. “Alright now, bye-bye.” She took her phone from her ear, looking down at the screen before placing it face down on the desk and smiling at you.

You knew that smile. She wanted something.

“So, Y/N right?” You nodded, “I see you’re looking for work.”

“Well, I’m with a temp agency right now but-”

“Would you like something a little more permanent?” A permanent job? The Thrombey’s had paid you very well to tutor Meg, better than you were making now. Granted you had only worked 15 hours a week when you were tutoring her, so $20 an hour didn’t seem like that big of a deal, but if they were looking for something, anything full time…

“Absolutely,” You smiled, shifting in your seat, “I’ve had trouble being hired because my-”

“Okay so you’re going to need Ransom’s number, and you’ll start tomorrow.” Your smile dropped.

“Ransom needs a tutor?” You asked skeptically. She laughed.

“No, he needs an assistant.” She gestured towards herself, “I can’t keep telling him when or where to be for family events and he has a fairly active social life so I’m gifting him an assistant for his birthday.” Oh.

“I uhm,” You really didn’t want to work for Ransom. You REALLY didn’t want to work for Ransom. “How much would it…?” You trailed off nervously.

“My father paid you $20 an hour to tutor Meg, yes?” She asked, typing something into her computer, no longer looking at you.

“Yes, he did.” You moved trying to see what she was typing without bringing too much attention to it. She was drafting an email.

“So I’ll pay you the same. Ransom will set hours for you and decide what days of the week he’ll need you and what else he wants you to do,” She waved her hand dismissively, “Cleaning, cooking, whatever.” She scribbled on a post-it before peeling and handing it to you. “Here’s his number and address, you can go over the particulars of your job tomorrow morning.” You opened your mouth to speak again, ask her the million and one questions you have but before you could say anything she dismissed you, “That is all.” She said. And she was done with you.

She got what she wanted. And now she wanted you to leave.

So you did.

“Well,” He grinned, “Linda really scooped you up from the bottom of the barrel, huh?” You stood on Ransom’s front porch. The only texts you sent and received last night were ‘What time do you need me to be there?’ and an hour later the reply of ‘11’. The scumbag was standing in the doorway, leant against the frame, looking down on you. In more than one way.

“Can I come in?” You asked. You really didn’t want to do this. But a $12 an hour temp job versus $20 hour stability… hard to beat. He smirked, pushing off the frame before looking you up and down, turning to disappear into the house.

“Take off your shoes.” What a fucking joke. His house was a mess. Clothes thrown haphazardly around, a pile of dishes not in the sink, but on the counter. Abandoned cups, tv was rolling on in the background, some political documentary. The house, while contemporary and clean, well kept on the outside. The inside looked like a frat house during rush week. You didn’t want to take off your shoes in fear that you’d step in vomit or something worse.

He grinned off to the side, “Had some people over last night.” He explained, drinking what looked like orange juice from a coffee mug. The vodka bottle that was capless on the counter led you to believe that orange juice wasn’t the only thing in the cup. “You can start by cleaning up.” He gestured around, sinking back down into the sofa. “I’m sure I’ll think of something else you can do when you’re done.” The fucking prick.

You shut the door a little heavier than intended, slipping your sneakers off and placing them by the door. “You’ve got a laundry room?” You asked, he didn’t look away from the television,

“Basement.” And he was done with you too. The tone was very, don’t talk to me. Which honestly you were grateful for.

You cleaned up his messes, the red solo cups that littered almost every surface in every room, laundry was running in the basement, dishwasher working hard to sanitize the first round of plates and cups that could fit, the others waiting patiently in the sink as you wipe counters and dusted picture frames, the thick film of unappreciation. He didn’t care about his house, his furniture, the art that cost more than your apartment that lined his walls. His clothes, while having an extensive closet, some were threadbare and with holes.

He didn’t care.

And it made you angry.

You thought of the furniture you were able to keep from your Mother’s house, well oiled and kept. No scratches. The fabrics of the couches and chairs carefully cleaned and maintained.

His sheets were stained and you were unsure when the last time he had washed them actually was. The dampness made you gag. It wasn’t long before you were cleaning under his feet. His ankles crossed and feet resting on the coffee table as you straightened the area around him. You felt his eyes on you, briefly, but ignored it.

“Do you have any real clothes?” He asked suddenly. He stood from the sofa, rounding it to pull the vodka bottle back out from the cabinet you’d placed it in, pouring heavily into the coffee mug before leaving the bottle and the orange juice carton he followed with next to it.

“These are real clothes.” You stated, coming behind him to put the items away. He scoffed,

“I’m important,” He claimed, “I go to parties, events.” He took a large mouthful of the screwdriver he’d just made, “You can’t wear clothes like that if you’re gonna be babysitting me the whole time.” You rolled your eyes,

“I don’t have to go. You set my hours, I don’t-”

“As much as I love the whole, ‘I’m poor and don’t care what I look like’, thing you have going on,” Ransom laughed, “You’re gonna be around me, and as a reflection of me, you need to look presentable.” He gestured to the demin shorts a t-shirt you were currently wearing, mismatched socks on your feet. You felt your face flush. “And slap a little makeup on.” You rolled your eyes at that. Fucking dick. He smirked when you didn’t reply, turning back around to leave you and disappeared upstairs.

He didn’t come down for a while. In that time you’d finished cleaning the living area, the house looking a complete 180 from where it had been when you’d originally entered, it was nearing dinner time. Your stomach was growling and you’d realized you had been cleaning for five hours without stopping.

You didn’t get to enjoy the sense of accomplishment because Ransom came down the stairs not a moment later, dressed for his evening. If you didn’t hate him so much you’d drool. He looked good. Patterned slacks, chelsea boots, a lightweight white button down, blazer over one arm. “Let’s go.” He said, not stopping on his way towards the front door.

“Where are we going?” You felt gross, covered in grime from cleaning, sweat dried on your skin you knew you probably didn’t smell amazing, hair frizzed up in a bun. He didn’t answer you, continuing outside. You sighed heavily, throwing the pair of socks you’d just matched back into the laundry basket before slipping your shoes on and following him outside.

“C’mon!” He yelled from the front seat of his beamer, sunglasses on his nose, he was annoyed with you. Whatever. You sat heavily in his passenger seat, the dickwad not even giving you time to close the door before he was speeding down the driveway.

“Where are we going?” You asked again. One hand on the wheel, the other’s fingertips brushing against his lower lip he looked at you from behind his sunglasses.

“To dinner.” He smirked, looking back towards the road as you merged onto the interstate.

He was a fucking asshole. If you hadn’t thought he was before you definitely knew now. You were surprised the hostess even let you into this place. It was expensive, and you were very, very underdressed. Point taken Ransom. Thank you. Fucking prick.

He took glances at you ever so often, seated a few feet away from him at the long banquet style table that housed all of his ‘friends.’ Gorgeous women and equally as gorgeous men who had money to burn. You weren’t sure any of these people have ever worked a day in their life, much like Ransom himself. You’d met a few of them before, briefly, when Ransom would show up and ask Harlan for money before disappearing for a week, one or two of them would be in tow bragging about going on some guy’s yacht or flying out to some private island.

Regardless, they weren’t talking to you. You were a strange interloper, easily ignored, but only after a few poked fun at the stray dog at Ransom’s heels. It only stung a little bit when he laughed with them. You were wildly uncomfortable. You poked at your deconstructed salad, the little bits lined neatly up on the plate, a smear of salad dressing beside it. This menu was ridiculous. Why were you here again? You were so hungry and this was not your speed at all. Ransom’s booming laugh met your ears and you could feel the anger rising in your chest.

Fucking asshole. You hoped he would choke on one of the olives in his martini. His eyes met yours momentarily and he smirked. He fucking smirked, cheersing you with his martini before it met his lips again. You could kill him right now.

The money.

Technically you were still working. As the sun set behind the horizon. You’d been at work, technically, for about 10 hours. That’s $200. Okay, you can do this. You can do this.

You know he did this to embarass you. He made it clear when you’d pull up to the restaurant to give you a taunting look. Whether the dinner was already planned or he had planned it after the conversation about clothes and makeup earlier was anyone’s guess. You had the feeling it was the latter.

He’d paid the bill after all.

The entirety of it.

You’d wished you’d ordered more.

Afterward a giggling girl took your place in the front seat, you glared at the back of her head from the back seat,

“Ransom.” She whined, leaning over in her seat to press her lips to his neck, “I want you to fuck me.” Lips around his ear, sucking the lobe into her mouth. You shifted your gaze to the window, the city landscape passing your eyes as you’d pulled into another valet parking, a bar this time. A nice one.

Ransom and the bubbly girl from the car ride over slipped hastily into the bathroom, he’d sent you a dark look before leaving you to your own devices. Looking over the cocktail list while sitting uncomfortably on a bar stool while your boss was fucking a girl who’d laughed at you for being a ‘dog’ earlier in the bathroom of a bar that had a $20 old fashioned and their most expensive wine came with a thousand dollar price tag.

“You lost?” Another smirking asshole, sidled up next to you at the bar as you took a sip from the beautifully balanced old fashioned you’d tacked onto Ransom’s tab. He was handsome, the guy bothering you, almost everyone in this room was handsome. The lights low and romantic, candles on every table and across the bar, soft music played from the piano across the room where a man sat gently stroking the melodies to create the ambiance of the room. Close, cozy, romantic, and dark enough to forget yourself in.

“Oh c’mon honey.” The man slipped onto the barstool, thighs spread wide around you as you face away from him, his hand meeting your back. “I can help you find what you’re looking for.” His breath reeked of alcohol. You glanced over at him,

“I’m fine thank you.” Another sip, damn this drink was good. He chuckled, moving in closer, drifting a hand down to your thigh.

“Don’t be like that.” He laughed, “You obviously don’t belong here honey.” His hand traced your bare thigh, “You’ve gotta be wanting some company.”

Ransom had returned face flushed and you could almost see a tiny bit of white on his nose, but it was quickly rubbed away. He sat on the opposite end of the bar, the girl from earlier taking his lap. He looked down at you briefly, he had to have seen how uncomfortable you were, how this guy was breathing down your neck. He ignored it, ordering a drink from the bartender.

“I don’t want any company,” You shoved the man’s hand away, “Have a great night.” He leaned back in his seat, downing his drink before leaning back over to put his face in yours.

“Fucking ugly bitch.” He spat, standing from the stool, “Tryna give you a little charity here, you could've at least been grateful.” You wanted to leave. He shoved your shoulder slightly as he walked away from you, no doubt going to bother some other unsuspecting woman in his radius.

You needed some air, taking the last sip of your drink you’d scooted back from the bar, walking by Ransom to take your exit, walking out into the summer night. It was early summer. It was still only 60 at night. A chill went through you. You hadn’t expected to be out so late, the comfortable denim shorts and old ratty t shirt you’d chosen to wear had obviously been a mistake for this day. Ransom made sure to make you see that.

The bar was on the harbor, and it brought in a breeze that caused goosebumps to rise on your skin. You checked your phone, the battery almost dead. Julia had been texting you periodically, but not as much as you would have liked. You scrolled through the most recent messages, you asking how her trip was going and what she was up to and her stilted replies. She was busy you supposed. She didn’t need you, but right now you really needed her.

This night has been a massive blow to your self-esteem. You’d never felt more ugly and unwanted in your life. You just wanted to go home, but Ransom wasn’t done yet. You looked at him from the window, his fingers were gone between that girl’s thighs, they were both drinking expensive cocktails, completely oblivious to you.

He’d watched you exit, not giving it much thought it seemed, because he hadn’t made any motion to bring the night to a close, but you weren’t really expecting him to. It was Ransom’s world and you were just living in it. You worked for him. And you wondered if this is how every day is going to be from here on out. You really don’t know if you could do this forever, but you knew you didn’t want to go back inside.

So you didn’t.

Thankfully Ransom stumbled out about thirty minutes later, girl from earlier on his arm. “Let’s go.” He said. Valet pulling the beamer around he threw you the keys, “Take me home.”

He sunk down in the back seat, high and drunk. His words almost incoherent. Her’s were no better. They sloppily attacked each other in the back seat, indecently. And you were pointedly looking anywhere but in the rearview. Soft grunts and moans made you uncomfortable for the fourth time that night. Your skin crawling in unease as the girl’s giggles turned into breathy moans. Your foot sunk against the gas pedal in hopes you’d get back to his home faster, tears welling up in your eyes. The cry on the way home was going to be so good. So cathartic.

The gravel crunching against the wheels of the car was a sweet relief, so was the haste in which you left the keys in the car, running and skipped to your own car. His eyes met yours through the darkness as he was leant up against his car door, slacks loose around his hips, the girl’s lips attached to his neck as her hand worked quickly between his thighs. He smirked, waving a sarcastic ‘good-bye’. You turned your eyes to the road, cranking up the radio as you began to cry.

You didn’t want to do this anymore.

A text came through right as you finally laid down in your own bed, snuggling into the covers, ready to forget the night.

See you at 9.

taglist // @littlechillies @hellizhelusive2 @notbexmader @marvelouspottering @whitequeenasitbgan @Thegraylaway @readermia @i-believe-in-unicorns-and-you @princess-evans-addict @perplexed3001 @Diedrashouseofpain @hailmary-yramliah @sleepycvpid @joannaliceevans-fanficblog @starlywars @gifsbysimplysonia @rocknbasil @imnotelasticheart @wannabegonnie @d1sconnect3d @heyguyz13 @unimomajo @this-is-serenaa @steviemae @bemysugarbean @truefangirlheart @babiiface95 @mydarlingharry @elzzin @bookish-shristi @saturnki @jennmurawski13 @geeksareunique

#ransom drysdale #ransom drysdale x reader #knives out #chris evans

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