#i stan protective brooke

[queenvernage]

Which rangers are the closest to being himbos in your opinion?

okay, i have given this much thought. arguably too much thought. these aren't in any real order besides to say danny is #1.

danny delgado: THIS IS THE HIMBO, EVERYONE! danny is the sweetest, kindest, gentlest man alive and he has absolutely no idea how big and strong he is. he's the st. bernard that thinks he's a lap dog. he's a little confused all the time, but he's got love in his heart. he apologizes to doorways when he bumps into them because he lacks the self-awareness of the broadness of his shoulders.

koda: he's not that stupid, but he's very silly and has his moments. he's a simple man. he just wants a burger, for the love of everything, GIVE HIM A BURGER SO WE CAN SEE HIM SMILE!! he's also so gosh darn strong... and we stan a king who's kind to everyone, especially kids and animals. koda basically has it all <3

rocky desantos: he's just here for a good time!! i trust him with my life, on the basis of… well, look at that smile :) he's also such a sweetheart… and don't even get me started on the golden retriever energy. he not only needs you to like him, but if you just met, you better believe you're one of his new best friends. i just feel like he's the type to have "volunteer firefighter and full time optimist" in his insta bio.

dominic hargan: dom tries really really hard and that's endearing. fran saw the vision, she saw it all! and she was so right!! yeah, maybe he does goof around! maybe he wouldn't know what an emotionally intelligent response was if it smacked him in the (very cute) face! but by god, he would (and did) physically throw himself in harm's way to protect someone who he just met and then totally miss the part where that person fell in love with him for just being him. himbo behavior.

conner mcknight: so here's the thing about conner... what he lacks in kindness on occasion (he has a character development arc!) and beefiness to an extent, he more than makes up for nearly in tallness alone. and that's not even to mention how silly dumb he can be... and that face?? there's not an ounce of self-awareness, except for about how pretty he is.

dustin brooks: no thoughts! just motocross, throwing an oily towel over his shoulder after a long day's work, and trying to make his friends happy!!! dustin is such a pure soul. he's not exactly beefy. but in his defense... it's hard to find a prettier, stupider boy that trusts everyone around him with absolutely no reason to do so. i love when he's saying something so ridiculous and everyone is just looking at him like "um what?" and he slowly picks up on the fact that they don't know what he's talking about... gets me everytime

wes collins: here we have a perfect specimen of the himbo subspecies, "rich boy himbo". his dumbness is mostly based on the fact that he's never really had to solve a problem in his life before the age of 20. what is laundry? you have to cook for yourself every day? there are problems money can't solve? but nevertheless, he is kind, he's generous, and maybe he's not maxed on all stats but!!! he's well rounded.

honorable mentions: xander bly, flynn mcallistair, troy burrows, leo corbett

[lil-ms-darkness]

We're Coming to You Live [Barnaby Brooks Jr. x Reader]

A/N: Tiger and Bunny is my favorite anime, and Barnaby is my comfort character. I'm sure I'm not the only one who is down bad for this man, so I chose to write something for him. This will be a little different, first will be some relationship headcanons followed by a short fanfiction I've had in my head for a while. I intentionally left it GN, because sunrise is pro LGBTQ+ (and lowkey, Bunny seems mildly queer coded. We stan fruitcups in this blog!)

Since there's not many Barnaby x readers on Tumblr (or anywhere, rather) I may post more Tiger and Bunny fanfictions.

(Oh, and if you like T&B fanart, I'd recommend lullakanart here on Tumblr. Their fanart is chefs kiss

- Lil_Ms_Darkness

WARNING: This post does contain some 18+ things, minors DNI

Barnaby Dating Headcanons:

Barnaby is very protective of you after losing his parents at such a young age.

He needs his privacy and space, so he is respectful of yours, as well. But, being as protective as he is, sometimes he can have his moments where he worries about you more than a healthy amount.

He has PTSD due to what he experienced as a child, believing to have witnessed his partner die in his arms, witnessing his parents work be disrespected, and more. You will need to be patient with him, and he will be just as patient with you (medical conditions, mental health, disabilities, etc.)

He is not an easy man to love, he is guarded and hurt, but he does have a heart of gold if you're patient and trust him.

As seen, trust is VERY important to him. Dating him means you have earned his trust completely, so he has no concerns about you cheating on him or betraying him. (If something does happen, though, don't expect him to be super forgiving. I'd imagine him letting someone into his heart in a romantic sense would be much deeper of a connection, imagine Kotetsu betraying his trust x100.)

Barnaby is EXTREMELY family oriented. He enjoys helping the orphans of Stern Bild, and values his parents in such high regards, it's only expected that he'd want a family. Either by adoption, or by traditional means. Of course, if you don't want children or can't conceive for whatever reason, he's open to a conversation about it.

He's happy to treat you to fancy dinners if you'd like, if you prefer more simple meals he'd be happy to accompany you as well. Or, if you'd like to stay in, he's okay with that, too.

Being a hero, he doesn't have much free time, as crimes are happening often. But what little time he does spend with you, he tries to make memorable.

After a few years into your relationship, he takes you to visit his parents grave. He brought flowers for them, and introduced you to them. He took your hand, and after a short time, he'd said, "They would have loved you."

He's not super comfortable with PDA and physical touch, for safety reasons (if Ourobouros finds out about you, you could be used as leverage. The last thing he'd want is for a criminal to use you for ransom, or to get to him) but in the privacy of your apartment or his, he craves your touch. Your hugs, the grazes of your hand, and the rare occasion you rub his shoulders and back.

When it comes to intimate times, Barnaby is very giving. He enjoys his own pleasures, but he's a giver when it comes to desires of the flesh. Being intimate with you is one of his favorite things, feeling your skin against his, the sounds you make, the closeness.

He is big into aftercare, and loves to hold you against him after you both finish. He has s t a m i n a, by the way, so be prepared for long sessions. Quickies aren't his thing, he likes to take his time and drink you in.

I don't imagine he's into many serious kinks, but I can see him being into mild shibari and I can see him having a praise kink.

In these intimate moments, he is incredibly vulnerable and these are the moments you can see the true, unguarded Barnaby. The man that isn't as aloof as he pretends to be, the man who's grown as a person thanks to his partner and you. The man who was broken and lost for so many years and has finally chosen to lead his life his own way, and has chosen you to share his life with.

We're Coming to You Live

The cab slows down, but before it comes to a complete stop, you throw the door open and dive out into the street. Justice Tower- it’s so big compared to how it looks on screen, and even larger than how it looks from far away. The wind breezes past you in gusts as you make it to the police line, keeping everyone back. You can hear the reporters in the distance, the helicopter of Hero TV looming over the top of the building a safe distance away. 

Your body trembles with adrenaline, the wind freezing the cold sweat that drips down the nape of your neck. You chew your lip in overwhelming stress and fear- 

“Please be okay.” You whisper to yourself. 

Earlier

“This Hero TV breaking news!” The TV yelled at you from the living room. You felt the familiar twinge of excitement and worry course through your body, hearing the familiar announcer's voice. You rushed to the couch, all but diving over it to sit and watch your boyfriend save many more lives. “At 7:15 this evening, a bomb threat was made to the recently completed Fortress Tower!”

Your heart sunk, immediately. Grabbing your phone from the table, bringing up your messages with the hero.

B: I’ll be by your place soon, one more stop and I’ll be free. Y/N: Where’s the last place? Maybe I can meet you at your apartment B: The Fortress Tower building. I’ll let you know when we’re wrapping up. See you tonight

Your gaze lifted to the TV again, watching as footage played of civilians being evacuated. 

“Reports say Wild Tiger and Barnaby Brooks Jr. are still inside, preparing to deal with the threat! How courageous of our heroes, braving this threat without the protection of their hero suits!” The world seemed to hum and you could hear your pulse in your ears as you shot to your feet. Running to the front door, you grabbed your coat and house keys, throwing the door open. You close the door, forgoing locking the door and choosing instead to rush down to catch a taxi to the Fortress Building.

Present

You can feel your neck begin to ache, craning your neck to look up towards the top of the tower, as if hoping you can see Barnaby and Tiger escape before the bomb explodes. The chaos of the police trying to push people further back, in case the building collapses is a distant hum until you feel hands on your arms. 

“Excuse me, please move back, we need to keep this area clear for your safety,” says the officer, firmly but somehow also politely. 

“No, no, please, I need to stay here.” you insist

“I’m sorry, I can’t let you,” he gently tries to guide you back, his arm coming around to force you to move backwards. You try to resist, the sound of an explosion and eruption of light above cause everyone to fall still. You look up, glimpsing a fading explosion from above the building and falling, fiery debris. The officer scoops you up and sprints out of the way, but you’re too busy staring at the fading light in the sky, feeling the tears threaten to spill over. When the officer finally sets you on your feet, again, he apologizes for laying hands on you, but he sounds so far away. 

Your eyes scan the top of the building, trying to find any damage, but you’re so low it’s impossible to see the top. The tears fall down your cheeks and your hand clutches your phone tightly. 

“He’s okay…” you whisper, desperately. “He has to be okay.” but as time drags on, the weight in your heart spreads to your body and limbs. You sniff as the tears blur your vision, lowering yourself to your knees as your throat becomes tight. You always knew dating a hero would be difficult, that his life would be in danger, yet you knew that Barnaby was always cautious, careful, methodical. He thinks everything through, he’s efficient at his job, and that’s why he’s quickly become a fan favorite. 

You choke on your breath and bring your jacket tighter around yourself. There’s been no confirmation of the heroes being injured, but somehow that’s worse. An image of Barnaby getting blasted back by the explosion crosses your mind and you double over, trying not to wretch. Your phone clatters against the ground. You feel a hand on your shoulder, hear the officer's voice as if through a fog. You can’t breathe, your chest feels tight and you can’t stop crying. 

The officer's hand moves and you feel two hands rest on each shoulder. You can see the tips of red boots. You choke and wheeze, your body stuck curled up. A hand rubs your back, soothingly and you can hear muffled voices.

“Breathe, it’s okay.”

In, out, in, out. Inoutinoutinout-

“Slower. In through your nose, out through your mouth,” you follow the instructions, a voice you trust, a voice that comforts. You look up, very slowly and emerald eyes capture yours. Your trembling hands move up to grasp his on your shoulders. He takes them, gently squeezing, continuing to breathe through his nose and out through his mouth in a steady rhythm for you to match. 

Slowly, the tears cease and your breathing becomes normal. The hand rubbing your back stops and you realize Barnaby is holding both of your hands, so who-? You look over and spot Wild Tiger examining you with concern in his amber eyes. He smiles lopsided, 

“You alright?” you nod, “alright, I’ll give you some space. Gotta get this camera to Agnes and the film crew.” he stands and walks off.

You don’t feel ready to speak, looking over at Barnaby again. In the reflection of his glasses, you can see your face. Puffy red eyes and tear stains. You frown at the image and look around at the crowd of people watching you with concern, some with jealousy. You cringe and pull the hood of your jacket up over your head before you move back. 

“[Y/N], are you alright?” he asks, quietly, his voice as level as ever. 

“I-I saw the Hero TV broadcast. I...normally I’m okay, but hearing you didn’t have your suit, I…expected the worst, I’m sorry. I should have trusted you to handle it,” you wipe your eyes. “I just…I didn’t think, I thought…I was afraid, that…” the words wouldn’t come. You look down, but strong arms wrap around you and bring you in. 

Your eyes widen at the very public display, before slowly wrapping your arms around him as well. You close your eyes and rest your head against his neck. He smells like dust, plaster, wet metal, and gunpowder. Your hands fist the back of his jacket.

“Easy,” he murmurs and you loosen your grip on the leather, settling on flat palms that try to bring him closer against you. His blonde curls tickle your cheeks and you sigh, feeling safe again in your hero's arms.

[paceypeternathanslawyer]

I made a similar post to this before about the Drama Queens podcast but full disclosure, when I wrote that post I had only listened to the podcast and I hadn’t seen One Tree Hill. I stand by everything I said but I feel that I can write better take on the situation now that i’ve seen the show.

I’ve seen way too many people attack Hilarie, Sophia, and Joy because they were hard on Lucas during S1 of the podcast/show. If anyone is allowed to speak their truth and critique a character.... it is the fucking actors who were in the show. I don’t care how much you love Lucas, the fact of the matter is he screwed over Brooke in S1. And sorta gaslit multiple characters. He was shitty to Haley a lot. These actors are understandably protective of their characters so they have every right to critique Lucas and they should critique him. Stanning a character becomes toxic when you can’t hear anything bad about them... even when they deserve it! I mean, I adore Nathan Scott. He became such a good man but I can also realize that he did some really shitty things in early S1. 

As consumers of TV, we should be able to voice our opinions of characters and call characters out when they are being shitty. Even teenagers. Calling out this behavior will hopefully teach real teenage girls what is right and wrong and what you shouldn’t have to deal with in a significant other. And we can be much more forgiving of teenage characters who are growing and changing and becoming better people but that is not always the case for characters *cough Dawson Leery *cough. 

This post isn’t necessarily anti Lucas because as I said, I can be much more forgiving towards a character that asks for forgiveness and tries to be a better person. And the Drama Queens have been much nicer to him in later seasons when he deserves it but they also weren’t gonna gloss over shitty behavior and they shouldn’t have to just to avoid haters on the internet.

Also a little off topic but if I hear one more person make snide comments about how they shouldn’t talk about the abuse they endured at the hands of M*** S****** so much I think i’m gonna throw my laptop out my window. Oh I’m sorry that them speaking up for themselves and speaking their truths is cramping your style but who fucking cares you piece of shit! Sexist, gross behavior. I cannot believe in the year 2023, i’m seeing people who claim to be feminists trying to make women feel bad for calling out their abusers! 

[nami-lvr]

Correct OP Headcannons

Ft: Luffy, Usopp, Nami, Robin, Zoro, Sanji, Chopper, Brook, and Franky!

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 |

A/N: Hey guys! First post YAYAYAYYAYAY 🔥🔥 I love love love the silly show smsmsm and the next part will include Mihawk, Doffy, Cora, Buggy, and Crocodile!

Luffy

Erm I don’t have much for him

SIKE

Bro smells

Does not wash his ass

Has those back pimple thingys and lets you pop them (GROSS!!!)

Band kid

For sure

100% a band kid

iPad kid as well

Can’t do anything without entertainment

Has autism

If you disagree you don’t like autistic ppl :/ (JOKING OFC!!)

I think his special interest would be pirates bc he thinks they’re cool

Has greasy hair

Smells bad (knows) doesn’t care

Doesn’t floss his damn teeth

HAS CROOKED TEETH FIGHT ME ON THIS

Needs braces

Doesn’t get them bc this fool won’t take care of them

Paints his nails

Extremely ugly and bright colors

Cat shit green

Dog puke brown

Effervescent Shitstain

Whatever he can find

Usopp

My bbg would also be a band kid

Would not do anything with his hair.

At all.

Not even pick through it.

Goddamn it Usopp YOUR SCALP IS FALLING. OUT.

WASHYOURFUCKINGHAIRBOY

I swear

He just lets that shit grow

Won’t even loc up.

Istg DO SOMETHINF WITH UR HAIR

Only pulls bitches in his late teens/early adulthood because he doesn’t look 5 anymore

I’m convinced he has a gyatdayum uhhh

Fat ass

HAD TO SAY IT

Im positive that if he was real he would have that THANG just THANGin up back there

Grabbable asf

Nami

Popular pretty nice girl

Pick me (sorry!)

Would smell like strawberries for sure

Would be the girl to always have lotion on her

Would willingly take Spanish and be invested in it

Would always have gum on her

Lie about having gum on her so people won’t ask

People ask anyways

Definitelyyyy is the girl who only hangs out with guys (no shade to girls who do)

Not bc she gets along better

But because of Sanji 🙁

Literally they’re there to protect her from him (can you tell I hate Sanji yet 😛)

Basic white girl BUT I STILL LOVE HER

Stan Nami ong

She would be so proud of her friends

“Nami I got a 90% on my tes-“

“YAYYY! WERE GOING OUT TO EAT!”

So supportive

Very erm

Tough love kinda gal

You definitely have to WORK to be her friend

Robin

I heavily headcannon that she speaks Russian. (I’m projecting 😊)

She would teach you Russian for sure

And be like

Super nice about it

I love Robin

She is so

🩷🩷

Guys hear me out

She is a cat person

Would always wear fuzzy socks

Prefers the cold

She is allergic to grass fight me

Does yoga I can feel it in my bones

Would do yoga with you

Definitely bakes

Her favorite show is something true crime related

Zoro

Cmon man

This guy is so likeable

Dyes his hair a different color every month depending on what the awareness for that month is

As in blue for child abuse awareness month and green for mental health awareness month and so on

But no one knows that that’s why

They just think its cool

But he knows

He knows.

And I just think he would be the kind of guy to help the teachers clean the classroom

Straight C student

Sleeps in class

Has neck problems

Complains about said neck problems

Cycle repeats

Everyones friend

Natural born leader fr

Every tía would pass him the baby

He’s incredibly good with kids and wants some of his own

BUT!!!!

He is asexual

DUN DUN DUNNNN

Makes fun one people to their face (me for real)

Sanji

I fucking hate Sanji. Not sorry! He is weird 😁🫶🏻

Would probably grab my ass

Would probably stare at my boobs

(I’m a well built gal)

Chopper

My son

I adopted him back in erm

1800

Yes

Mexicans existed in the 1800’s and I adopted him then so

Everything I say from now on is cannon bc he is my son :p

Paints his nails

Bites his nails

Has autism

Bc I said so

Definitely loves plain pasta

Like thats his favorite food

Brook

Erm

I don’t really like him either-

SIKE YOU THOUGHT

Bro is a stoner

No more questions

Tokes it up in the back of class

Gives no fucks if he gets caught

The kinda guy you wanna smoke your first joint with

Extremely good trip sitter

I feel like

I really feel like

I hope hope hope

He would dislike Sanji for being perverted and see that its bad and change his ways

💔💔💔💔

Brook recovery arc bc i say so

#brook redemption arc

Franky

The fun uncle

Everyone loves Franky

Loud drunk

Extremely loud drunk

Like

Noise complaint loud kinda drunk

Still funny as shit thought

[mariacallous]

The European Data Protection Board’s (EDPB) recent decision on Meta’s personalized ad practices might require social media companies and other online businesses to significantly revise their data-focused advertising business models if it is upheld by the European courts.

As I explained in a previous Brookings post, the EDPB’s decision is rooted in Article 6 of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which requires companies to have a lawful basis for their data practices. GDPR’s three main criteria for lawfulness are service necessity, consent, and legitimate interests. The EDPB rejected Meta’s claim that targeted ads were necessary to provide social media services, ruling that the ads were useful for Meta but not strictly necessary to provide the service.

Meta could now claim as an alternative legal basis that its users consent to personalized ads but, under the EDPB’s guidelines, consent must be freely given and this would be true only if users could receive social media services without being exposed to personalized ads.

Meta could claim instead that it has a legitimate business interest in serving personalized ads to its social media users, and this has some support in GDPR’s Recital 47, which says that direct marketing is a legitimate interest. However, under the absolute right to object to direct marketing in Article 21 of GDPR, Meta would then have to offer its users a personalized-ad-free social media service.

In the long run, without a court victory overturning the EDPB’s decision, Meta and other online companies relying on personalized ads will need to change their data practices.

As called for by President Biden in his recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece and again in his State of the Union address, the United States Congress is renewing its bipartisan push for national privacy legislation with a hearing on March 1, 2023 before the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce. The goal, announced Subcommittee leaders Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) is to get “a strong national standard across the finish line.”

U.S. policymakers seeking to establish new privacy law should consider carefully what lessons can be learned from a privacy regime that potentially has such a powerful impact on an established business practice in the name of protecting privacy. In this follow-up post, I’m going to argue that U.S. legislators should consider a modified version of the European approach of requiring a lawful basis for data processing as part of a new national privacy law. The wording of the U.S. version need not be the same as that in GDPR, but the key idea that companies must establish that their data practices satisfy one of several alternative standards of lawfulness—service necessity, consent, or legitimate interests—should be incorporated into U.S. law.

A Legal Basis Privacy Regime

A legal basis privacy regime sets out normative standards to determine whether a data practice is lawful. For GDPR, data processing is lawful when it is strictly necessary to provide a service, when the user has freely consented to it, or when it is necessary for the legitimate interests of the data processor or a third-party. The normative theory embedded in this approach is that data use is legitimate either because it preserves the autonomy of the user or because it serves the legitimate interests of the data processor or the public.

A legal basis regime, however, need not declare that certain enumerated concrete data practices are lawful. It does not have to say in statute, for instance, that it is lawful for companies to use personal data for information security purposes. Instead, it provides criteria for showing when specific data uses such as the use for information security would be considered lawful. Such a standard can be used by companies and regulators to treat a wide range of data practices as lawful.

An alternative approach would simply list approved or permissible uses without also incorporating a normative standard. This is embodied in perhaps the oldest privacy law in the United States, the Fair Credit Reporting Act from 1970. This law names specific data practices and it labels them as lawful. It allows consumer reporting agencies to collect and process personal information only for one of several listed permissible purposes including credit, insurance, and employment screening.

Last year’s American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA), which passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee with an impressive bipartisan vote of 52-3, also takes a list approach. It says companies “may not collect, process, or transfer” personal information unless “reasonably necessary and proportionate” to provide a requested service or fulfill one of a list of “permissible purposes.” These permissible purposes include authenticating users, providing security, preventing fraud or physical harm, scientific research, communicating with users or delivering user communications to others, and first party or targeted advertising.  It names permissible data uses but, other than service necessity, it does not provide criteria whereby companies can demonstrate that other data uses are lawful.

The limitation in the enumeration approach is that it does not set out a standard of lawfulness, except that in some cases enumeration statutes allow the criterion of providing a service to serve as a standard of lawfulness. This means that if data use is not on the list of specific named practices and is not needed for providing a service, it is not allowed. Inevitably, such a static list will be underinclusive as business practices and technology evolve. Privacy law should incorporate some open-ended standard to allow the law to respond to innovative developments.

Legitimate Interests

The GDPR standard of legitimate interests is just such an open-ended standard. It says that any data processing whatsoever can be rendered lawful when it is “necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests” pursued by a company. GDPR even creates a balancing test where data processing in pursuit of a company’s legitimate interests still would not be lawful when these interests are “overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require protection of personal data.”

The language of legitimate interests contained in GDPR is not the only way to create a flexible standard of lawfulness, rather than a static list of permissible uses. But it might be a good place for Congressional drafters to begin with as they move forward with a new national privacy law.

A legitimate interests standard, or something similar, should be incorporated into privacy proposals such as ADPPA that currently rely on an enumeration approach. Of course, it would be prudent for privacy legislation to contain in addition a list of data processing activities that Congress finds to be lawful.  Companies should not have to prove, for instance, that data use for fraud prevention is legitimate. A list of approved uses would provide needed legal certainty for some obvious and agreed-upon data uses to satisfy the requirement of being lawful. But there should still be an additional opportunity for businesses to demonstrate, subject to regulatory approval, that a particular data use, which is not on the pre-approved list nevertheless, satisfies a standard of lawfulness. The legal basis of legitimate interests would do this.

Consent

Some privacy advocates are wary of including consent as a sufficient legal basis for data processing. Several years ago, Cameron Kerry said in a Brookings report, “Maybe informed consent was practical two decades ago, but it is a fantasy today.” A recent report from the Annenberg School of Communication demonstrates, again, that choice as currently practiced in today’s online world fails utterly to protect privacy. This ineffectiveness of the current notice and choice regime has led many advocates to agree with privacy scholar Ari Waldman who says, “Consent, opt in or opt out, should never be part of any privacy law.”

Clearly, businesses have abused the consent basis for data use and have bombarded users with uninformative and intrusive notices. Some constraints must be put on the ability of businesses to hound their users with repeated requests to consent to information processing that is not needed to provide service.

It is important for a privacy statute to avoid overreliance on consent as the sole or most important way to make a data practice legitimate.  But this should not mean abandoning consent entirely. A robust consent regime modeled after the GDPR’s is very different from the current U.S. notice and choice approach, which often relies on the weaker opt out form of choice. Consent under GDPR means “any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject’s wishes” and requires a “clear affirmative action” indicating agreement to the data collection and use. Importantly, refusing consent must be “without detriment” to the user, meaning the same service must be made available under the same terms and conditions if the user refuses consent, or the user must be offered reasonable incentives to induce consent. If data is really needed to provide the service, then the appropriate legal basis is service necessity and no form of choice, opt-in or opt-out is needed.

Consent can be a powerful way for consumers to block damaging data use. When Apple gave users a properly structured choice in connection with the ability of apps to track them for the purpose of advertising, users overwhelmingly responded that they did not want tracking.

ADPPA adopts this robust notion of consent and applies it at various points in the statute. For instance, in requiring consent to transfer information pertaining to a child. But the lack of consent in ADPPA’s list of permissible data uses is significant and damaging. It means that a company may not justify its data processing, regardless of its purpose, on the grounds of genuine user consent. And it means that users would not be able to protect themselves from damaging data practices by refusing to consent to them.

The Privacy Regulator

Interpreting and enforcing such a legal basis privacy regime will require an alert, flexible and well-funded privacy regulator staffed with knowledgeable technologists and industry experts. The statute should provide as much guidance as possible to guide the agency in this task, but substantial discretion and rulemaking authority will be needed for the agency to meet the demands of the future. Without this institutional support for implementation and enforcement, a new privacy law would be merely performative, the theatrical impersonation of privacy protection but not the real thing.

The work that European data protection authorities have done in interpreting their own statutory text relating to the key conditions of contractual necessity and consent provide some factors that could be incorporated into a new U.S. privacy statute. The statutory text would make it clear that service necessity is to be interpreted as strictly necessary for the provision of the service and not as merely useful for business purposes, and that affirmative consent applies in those circumstances where a business wants to collect and use personal data over and above what is needed to provide the service.

Unfortunately, the European interpretation of the legitimate interests standard is so narrow that it effectively removes legitimate interests as a practical way for businesses to establish a legal basis for their data use. But the United Kingdom has produced an especially helpful report on using the legitimate interests standard. If Congress wants to further constrain regulatory discretion and ensure some consistency of interpretation as agency officials change, it could incorporate directly into the statute some of the factors that have emerged in the UK legitimate interests guidelines.

For instance, the statute could require companies to conduct an impact study if they seek to use the legal basis of legitimate interests and to file that study with the privacy regulator within a fixed period of time. The statute could require the company to take into account the purpose and the necessity of the data processing and to conduct a balancing assessment weighing the purpose against the privacy rights of the data subjects. The statute could further require that the balancing assessment should take into account the nature of the personal data, the reasonable expectations of the data subjects, the likely impact of the processing on the data subjects, and whether any safeguards can be put in place to mitigate negative impacts.

The ADPPA requires the Federal Trade Commission to act as the nation’s digital privacy regulator with full funding, including the establishment of a separate Bureau of Privacy to implement the new law. Former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler and his colleagues at the Shorenstein Center would create a separate Digital Platform Agency with authority over both competition and privacy, as would Harold Feld at Public Knowledge in his proposed Digital Platform Act and Senator Michael Bennett with his proposed a Digital Platform Commission. I make the case for a digital regulator responsible for privacy, content moderation and competition policy in my forthcoming Brookings book on digital regulation.

Targeted Ads

The ADPPA treats targeted advertising as a permissible use of personal data, but it requires companies to offer users the ability to opt-out, a policy similar to the GDPR approach of treating direct marketing as a legitimate interest while giving consumers an absolute right to object to it.

But how to provide for such an opt-out from targeted ads is by no means obvious. A key issue will be the extent to which companies can offer incentives for allowing personalized ads. The California privacy law deals with a related issue of an opt out from data sharing by banning financial incentives for data sharing that are “unjust, unreasonable, coercive, or usurious in nature.” ADPPA might need to be clarified to provide for a similar standard in connection with its opt out from targeted ads, but the details cannot be incorporated in the statute itself. For businesses and consumers to understand which financial incentives are banned under such a statutory provision would require significant guidance from the enforcing privacy regulator.

Cameron Kerry and Mishaela Robison argue in a recent Brookings piece that the U.S. privacy legislation should clearly provide the implementing privacy agency with rulemaking authority to address this tangled targeted ad issue. This makes good sense.

In addition, there are similar issues of interpretation and implementation in connection with the legal bases of data processing. As the EDPB decision revealed, determining when data use is strictly necessary for providing a service requires privacy regulators to make informed and detailed decisions about business operations. Businesses and consumers need clarity on which data uses are strictly necessary for providing a service and which are merely useful. Ex ante rules might help provide this clarity. To deal with this and a host of similar issues, the new privacy statute should provide the agency with rulemaking authority to interpret and implement the legal standards of consent, contractual necessity, and legitimate interests.

Conclusion

As this week’s hearing on a national privacy standard indicates, Congress is again taking up the task of enacting a new national privacy law.  It should build upon the solid foundation in the ADPPA and require companies to have a legal basis for data processing. ADPPA effectively contains the service necessity standard of lawfulness already. It is not too late to add language relating to consent and legitimate interests to the ADPPA as additional standards of lawfulness. Such measures would enshrine in law a workable framework for evaluating whether business practices violate user privacy rights and would also powerfully express a national commitment to the primacy of privacy.

[house-of-slayterr]

🖊

Go ahead and ramble/lore dump/give some fun facts about any/all of your ocs!

Ok were just gonna pick out some of my favorites, because I've been writing since middle school, lol.

Oc's created with @vincent-sinclair-deserved-better @myers-meadow @animegoddexx @charliedawn @iloveslasher @howl-fantasies @keffirinne

Frances Lecter:

Frances is my self insert I’m writing with the lovely Meadow. It’s the first Poly relationship I’ve ever written and I’m obsessed with that. Who wouldn’t want to be married to Hannibal and this cutie? Frances was a professional Ballerina, but is now a humble dance teacher. But they love the job, and they love their partners. They’re a little accident prone, but they have people who protect them. Their friendship with William is everything!

Newton Lecter:

Newt was originally just a self insert because I was enjoying Charlie’s Hannibal series so much. But thanks to the encouragement of my followers they’ve become so much more. They’re slowly becoming a real part of the Hannibal activities and it’s so fun to watch. I love a corruption trope.

Blinky Firefly:

Blinky my sweet sweet baby! They’re easily my most fun OC. But also one of my saddest. Since they belong to the House of 1000 Corpses universe, I decided to challenge myself and cover darker topics in this series. Despite all the hard times though, they don’t let it get them down! They love clowns and circus stuff and little trinkets. But more importantly, they love their family. One of the only reasons they’ll life their knife to kill, is for them. They’re a sweet little thing and I love them.

Harmony Dwyer:

She was one of my first OC’s and for my very first special interest. She’s Bella swans younger half sibling and has autism. But she doesn’t know it yet. She’s super smart for her age, having moved up a grade in school. Harmony is very awkward, but she’s good company. Her best friends are a vampire and werewolf that are dating. And she’s the descendent of her vampire best friends soulmate who everyone thinks is dead. I love her so so much, and I need to write more for her.

Scorpius Brooks:

I’ve barely written for him yet but he’s my favourite in my Marvel series so far. He’s a vampire who’s also a vampire hunter. He loves morbid jokes and is hopeless at flirting. But he’s an excellent fighter and would kill for his loved ones. None of this stupid “hero’s aren’t killers shit” he’ll gladly claim the title Anti-hero!

Magnolia Blossom:

Maggie is my Gotham oc, from the Gotham TV series. She started as a way to appreciate Howl's OC, and slowly, well Blossomed. I adore her! She has a big heart and really just wants to help people, but she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty to get what she wants or protect her family. A very good girl! With so many secrets!

Morrigan West-Todd:

Little Mo is the best! She’s only 14 at the start of the series but she grows up so quickly. I guess anyone would living in Gotham. She’s actually from out universe, similar to my friends OC’s she randomly shifted to Gotham and now she’s stuck. But she didn’t really want to go home anyways. Why would she, she has a new family here that loves and adores her. And she has powers here, she’s much stronger than she ever would be in our world. She’s a tough cookie.

Macy Love-Hewitt:

Macy 😍 she’s just so good! She may be related to Thomas Hewitt, but she has Bo Sinclair’s personality, and the flirting skills of Jennifer Check. She a bad ass Cannibal Mechanic and we Stan. She hates everyone but her Girlfriend and her family, and won’t take shit from anyone. She may have a bit of a short temper, but she makes up for it by being tender to her loved ones.

[modgirlyreposts-revamped]

How bitchy can Brooke in A.I. get? I'm curious.

She can become the literal physical embodiment of “didn’t ask 😚💅💞” or simply just “no ❤” especially if someone says something bad about her boyfriends

[septembriseur]

@prettyboysdontlookatexplosions (re: women reading and writing slash fic): Interestingly, there was a very distinct point in my life when I shifted from stanning female characters to stanning male ones. As a child, I had clear fannish obsessions with female characters— when I was eight, I was so obsessed with Wren the Elf from Terry Brooks’s Shannara books that I spent weeks of recesses smoothing and shaping rocks into my own bag of Elfstones, and when I was nine, I was so obsessed with Polgara the Sorceress from the Belgariad that I would go through the books dogearing the best scenes with her. But when I hit eleven or twelve, there was this abrupt change. Suddenly it was all men— men that I wanted to be with the same kind of semi-romantic yearning that I had previously directed towards women.

I suspect that the reason for the shift might be at least partly due to the fact that prior to age ten I had an extremely isolated and unconventional childhood with almost no exposure to mainstream media of any kind. Right before I turned 10, I went to a mainstream school for the first time and interacted with other girls my age. I started watching TV. So: maybe a year or two of enculturation soured me on female characters? I had no conscious sense of it, but somehow the magic was gone.

I agree that there probably is a protective element involved in trying to play in a genderless world (that just coincidentally, you know, happens to default to the male!).

But what I think I didn’t succinctly say in that first post is that a large part of why women read and write slash fiction is that there is such a thing as “reading and writing slash fiction,” an ongoing cultural practice that can act to contain and shape and foster and validate certain needs and feelings for certain women. Sometimes when people talk about this issue, it’s as though every woman who reads and writes slash fiction has independently invented the practice. But they didn’t! A few women invented what we think of as contemporary Anglophone slash fiction, and other women were like, “Hey, I feel like what they’re doing really resonates with me,” and so they started doing it, and other women were like, “Hey, I too feel like this is something that speaks to some needs and desires that I have,” and it went on from there. That doesn’t actually mean that all of those women are doing it for the same reason. So.

[khaleesiofalicante]

Not exactly a quote but I think you would love it anyway: "A writer is just someone who forces what's living in their head to pay rent"

Do you think its ok to make me cry at 2 a.m with this??? 😭😭I told my family I had a headache and I wanted to go to sleep earlier, then I started reading this chapter and I didnt even think I would finish it bc I was actually sleepy...

And the last thing I knew was me crying at the end of this jdhdjdjdks

Dont worry, I didnt have classes today!! Yey!!

I kneel before one godness and that is Jia Penhallow 😌

"I’m here for you, Alec. Maybe not in all the ways you expect me. But I’m still here.” I mean it does feels great seeing him try..

And Alec is a fixer. He just needs to know what’s wrong so he can fix it. The parallel to this and Magnus saying he would hate if Alec thinks he needs to fix him... SCREAMING

The effortless love between them.💙💙💙

“Are you sure?” Magnus asks. “It worked on the senator’s son.” I mean... He is not wrong...

Jace is so in love kdhdkdjdodk

The florist be like: Something lgbt just happened to me...

I'm love my two in love dumbasses but the 'I’ll make it worth it. I promise' is just🥺🥺🥺

Because apparently, you can't just draw shapes and shit on their little faces. They want specific shit.  No shit Sherlock!!!

“You look like a butterfly.” She gasps at that. “Really?” “Really,” Alec grins. “You wanna fly?” NOT ME CRYING OVER THIS 😭😭 ITS SO ADORABLE BUT I ALSO FEEL SAD JDJDKDJK

“You are the opposite of manageable,” Shut up Alec, you love her!!!

Luca is so wise ngl. Also I love how, even tho it was really hard, Magnus did put his health first and knew that he wasn’t in the right headspace to get a baby. I will protect this man ok?!?

"The issue is not knowing where to draw the line. The issue is not understanding where they stop and where you begin.” THIS>>>

The reason of him wearing glasses😭😭

Clary 🤝 me.

Our love for wine :)

"We need to find a short lady! Like Aunt Clary." poor Clary putting up with all of their jokes jdhsjsj

“I like the name Brooke,” David smiles and then gasps dramatically. “What if she can’t pronounce the letter R and calls herself Book? We have a baby called Book!”

Max giggles at that. “You’re cute.”

David bops his nose. “You’re cuter.”

“You know,” Clary says. “If those two don’t get together when they are older, Jace might throw a fit.”

MY HEART CANT HANDLE THIS OK??? SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP😭

Clace rights only😎

I thought this was like when they were still kids but then the trip to South Africa was mentioned and I realized the were older and that the divorce is not so far away and I wanted to scream and-

"Do none of you know how genetics and reproduction work?” soryy Rafe, I skipped those classes... it wasn’t my fault!! they were boring!!

Mavid>>>>

“We tell them the truth,” Magnus replies. “And hope they understand. Otherwise, we have failed as parents.” EXACTLY THIS

I hate the damage control the have to do😭

They are not punishing them. They are mourning. Mourning someone who doesn’t exist. Mourning someone they never met. Am I crying? Yes. But I think we all did..

“Bapak is sorry." Holy shit this line was the one that hurted the most😭😭😭

All the videos he is watching are making me emo🥺🥺 the one with the water fight, THE ONE WITH MAX AND DAVID, THE TIKTOK CHALLENGE HOLY SHIT💙💙💙

We stan Elyaas. Just a friendly reminder

“Great,” Alec grins. “So, I thought I’d share some things with you that I find very sexy.”

“Magnus Bane!” someone yells.

“Magnus Lightwood-Bane,” Alec corrects with a wink. “And yes, my husband will always be on top of that list. But let’s talk about some other stuff.”

THIS MAN ISTG-

YES. WE NEED TO GIVE A FUCK!!!

Not him rewinding the video to Magnus Lightwood-Bane🥺🥺

Peter and Asmodeus are both pieces of shit!!!

It’s easier for him to love himself when he knows someone else is doing it too. I relate a little to much to this quote...

“Someone once told me the right man won’t care,” JEM AND TESSA, JEM AND TESSA, JEM-

The endless love they find within each other to give to their children. Why does this Timeline feels so nostalgic?? 🥺🥺

“There are parents who try to do better and there are parents who don’t. That’s it." Louder for everyone to hear!!!!

“Edom is my Alexander.” You really cant love more than this, huh??

“It wasn’t that bad,” she smiles. “I had a friend who came with me for moral support.”

“Ah,” Magnus says. “I hear he is dashing.”

“More like deranged,” she corrects.

Dont @ me but I love their dynamic ok?!?! Their friendship is kinda unique but it really is beautiful💙

Song rec: In The Stars by Benson Boone. Kinda tlnd Malec vibes but also lbaf malec vibes when Alec dies

Ilyy. Byeee💚

Lmao the song rec 😂😂😭😭😭😭😭 (literally)

Here is a tiktok for you. When Rafe finds out about mavid 🤭

[ever-is-typing]

listen here lady I would like eli hcs pls! I beg 😭😁😄🤩

note: beg and u shall receive 😌 here you go sweetie (also due to me stanning Gertrude we're not making her the villain in this. let's just pretend for the sake of the post that she maybe just died while Eli was in the manor?? and he got notified of this somehow?? lmao)

🗨🦉Eli (Seer)🦉🗨 Relationship Headcanons!

• he is such a gentleman oml-

• very traditional, loves to hold the door open for you and gently kiss your hand

•loves to call you pet names like darling, dearest, my love 🥺

• always seems to know exactly what you're going to say before you say it.

• magical seer powers?? he refuses to answer

• either way he's so wholesome it hurts

• and if you ever decide to confront him for his wholesomeness he'll just tilt his head to the side and give you an enigmatic smile

• HE KNOWS WHAT HE'S DOING TO YOU DOESN'T HE 😭

• also Brooke Rose is now your best friend No Questions Asked

• sometimes you'll gossip about the Manor residents with her when you two are alone

• you'll also gush to her about how much you love Eli!

• but uh you seem to have forgotten that Brooke is basically a magical service animal

• and that Eli has to see through Brooke's eyes-

• and hear through Brooke's ears-

• long story short he can never bring himself to face you ever again

• congrats Y/N, you got the cool, calm, collected Eli Clark all flustered 😏

• I would imagine that he's a somewhat clingy lover.

• Eli already lost his beloved fiance once when coming to Oletus Manor, he'd rather die than lose you too

• you'll have to comfort him while he works through those fears/feelings. reassuring him of your unwavering love and loyalty will always help him calm down

• he always has your back during matches!

• going back to the magical seer powers, he always seems to know exactly when to send Brooke to protect you

•behind the scenes though he's internally panicking when he realizes you're being chased

• what if he's not able to keep you safe? what if his visions lead him astray and you get hurt?!

• he is such a worrywart give him a hug please 🙄🙄

• all in all you guys are an adorable couple. you help each other through every hardship, and your love is as pure as they come ♡

"My dearest Y/N, you've seen me through every trial and every tribulation. Within this cursed game, should my sight serve to deceive me, please know that your love will always serve as my guide."

-Eli Clark 💙💙

[captainwholecake]

If it’s not too many, may I please have some hcs with the Straw Hats plus Law having a crush on a Mink? Please and thank you

A/n: behejejekrkeke YA’LL I SCREAMED WHEN I FIRST SAW THIS

warnings: uhhhh swearing, gender netural, also I mostly used the word ‘you’ and sometimes ‘them’ sorry

——

Monkey D. Luffy

Bro probably doesn’t even realize he likes you

At first he thinks you’re cool and asks you to join the crew

Homeboy is oblivious to it himself

Totally doesn’t get jealous seeing Sanji idk doing his Sanji thing at you

Doesn’t realize until Robin and Nami (even usopp and chopper realized before him) asked him if he liked you

FuCK HE WOULD BE SO CONFUSED FOR A SECOND

He’d be so awkward but also so open about it tbh

He wouldn’t even care if their a mink like come on hES LUFFY-

Do yall think Luffy would simp?

Roronoa Zoro

Zoro’s a different story to me

He’d just be like cool

Shdjej the imagery of him blushing hurts

He’d flirt when drunk tell me otherwise

Doesn’t he shares the same va as Yami so basically I feel like it would be like Yami and Charlotte tell me if im wrong

He offers you to drink with him and shit

BONDING TIME IS A DRINK COMPETITION TO HIM OKAY

He’d probably just go “you’re hot” while drunk once

I like to imagine a Charlotte freak out happening shejdj-

Nami

Nami having a crush is such cute idea to me??

IMMEDIATELY starts flirting

You being a mink doesn’t fucking matter to her

If theres anyone she would protect more then kids it would be you

Still would take you to whole cake island tho-

Dhhsje imagine she caught you staring at her in the outfit she changed into before talking to firetank pirates and teases you about

Be prepared for a lot of teasing btw

Nami would most likely be the only one who straight up goes “I like you” to you

The rest give me subtle vibes outside of sanji and zoro being a tease-

Usopp

Give him more love you fucks and his face-

In all honesty every straw hat probably wouldn’t care if they like a mink. Their the strawhats

Trys to impress you tell me otherwise

You being interested in what hes saying or laughing at random jokes warms his heart

I can see Sanji and Nami both mentioning how it’s different

He would be so awkward tho

He’s Usopp, would try to impress you while rubbing the back of his neck

Luffy and Chopper: 👁👄👁 (shdjdjks)

anyways, give him love

Vinsmoke Sanji

It’s sanji, it’s obvious

But but he would be so careful about it

almost how he was with pudding you know??

why do I feel like he would be so awkward/shy about it

He genuinely likes someone ofc he would treat this differently

Does that grachu thing and almost freak out getting to you

heheheje doesn’t matter your gender will freak out if you just say it to him

Sanji with a crush is just a soft concept to me

I like to imagine Sanji blushing okay-

Chopper

The mink in question is a reindeer mink

No more questions asked

Andjsjejejkeekks the idea of another reindeer just around his height gets me going

the way he would so shy

HE WOULD TOTALLY HIDE BEHIND ROBIN SNDNEJE NO MY HEART

ohshhsjeje Robin is such a supportive mom stfu

Say something nice about his nose please

It’s so adorable 🥺🥺

Anyway, Chopper with a crush is a concept that warms me

Nico Robin

Soft baby

She would be so soft with it tbh

Robin is just so soft in general

I don’t think she would be shy or awkward about it

She’d be the only person next to nami that would actually say they like you tell me otherwise

I will say this for one of the last time but Robin blushing is a sight okay

Tell me why I like to imagine her just being a tomato at a single smile? Lke bby 🥺🥺

Idk what else to put :(

Robin is just soft and her with a crush is just adorable tbh

Franky

This gif looks hella cool wtf

Franky what do I say about Franky

I can’t imagine him having a crush but I can imagine him freaking out after being smiled at by someone for some reason??

Franky having a freak out moment is adorable tell me otherwise

Does his ‘SUPER’ thing and hears a person giggling in a good way and he just confused because why is his heart warming

Yall Franky with a soft confused look hurts

Franky just needs some love tbh

what else do I put??

Brooke

Have I used this gif before??

Anyways, homeboy is a skeleton

And we already know whats gonna happen

I don’t know what to say

I love him but hes dead bro

Imagine him actually having a crush tho

Can a skeleton Brooke blush?

why I can imagine him actually having a crush?

Im sorry for anything who stans brooke reading this, love yall tho 💕💞

Trafalgar D. Water Law

BRO I FOUND A NEW PUNK HAZARD LAW GIF

Okay, so unlike the strawhats im going serious on this one because Imagine he’d be the only one to go “fuck”

You know, he has bepo on his crew. he’s used to being around at least one mink but TO HAVE A CRUSH ON ONE

why can I imagine him internally screaming when he realizes??

You and Bepo being buddies is his least fact about this all

he doesn’t hate it, he just doesn’t understand why he has a crush on you

he melts at a single giggle-

prepare for awkward Law tell me otherwise

Law having a crush is concept im getting btw, Law being all awkward and blushing is 👌🏻

——

a/n: sorry, if this is trouble

[thorniest-rose]

Hey Brooke if the Losers had superpowers, what kind do you think would best suit each loser? I love reading your takes!

Hi love, I had a good think about this at the weekend, and these are the powers I would give the Losers based on their personalities.

Bill would have super-strength. As the courageous leader of the Loser’s Club, I feel like this is the ability Bill would manifest. An important part of Bill’s arc is how brave he is and how he never gives up against all odds. So I can see his inner strength manifesting physically. Plus strength is something Bill covets, especially after Georgie’s death and how powerless it makes him feel. Because of this, I can see Bill’s strength also making him volatile, where his anger over Georgie makes him dangerous and unpredictable to be around. Also the juxtaposition between being this stuttering, softly spoken boy and doing clumsy things like ripping handles off doors and breaking cups when he picks them up so funny. It would just make him more awkward!

Bev would be a firestarter. This is a popular depiction of Bev but I really see her having the ability to start fires. Fire is so often associated with unbridled rage, and I feel like Bev would manifest these powers as a psychological response to her father’s abuse. And like Bill, I think she’d be really volatile with it at first, so things would be bursting into flames around her when she’s angry. But fire is associated with warmth too, and I think Bev would use her flames down in the sewers to light the way for the other Losers and also to keep them warm when they’re at the club house and it’s cold and dark outside. And when Bev does manage to harness this power, she would be so lethal, and would use it to destroy anyone who’s hurt her friends.

Richie would be a wolf boy. I love the idea of Richie being a shape-shifter and being able to transform into a wolf. In the book he’s scared of werewolves, which implies a fear of the hidden self or an inner violence he wants to keep at bay. So Richie having the ability to transform into a wolf brings both sides of his personality together: the boy and the animal, the civilised and the feral. Maybe physical aspects of the wolf remain even when he’s human, like thick dark hair, sharp canine teeth and a great sense of smell. And it’s not governed by the moon, but by his emotions. So Richie turns into a wolf when he’s feeling threatened or protective of the others, and maybe Eddie’s the only one who can calm him down and turn him back.

Eddie would have healing abilities. Eddie cares a huge deal for his friends and one of the most important scenes in Chapter One is when he patches up Ben after he’s attacked by Bowers. So I see Eddie having healing abilities and being able to heal someone as soon as he lays his hands on them. Which is good as the Losers get into so many scrapes! Maybe the irony too is that Eddie can’t heal himself, so when Pennywise breaks his arm he can’t mend it. It would also be very sweet if Eddie was able to make wilted flowers bloom again, and maybe flowers bloom around his feet whenever he walks through fields or the woods. And maybe Eddie’s abilities extend to emotions too, like helping people through grief and heartache.

Stan would have the ability to turn invisible. Stan's arc in the book and films is defined by insecurity and self-loathing. And when he’s scared, he doesn’t lash out like some of the others. Instead he turns inward. He’s very fragile. So I can see him manifesting the power to turn invisible as a way of protecting himself. He doesn’t have a loud or aggressive power like some of the other Losers, or one that can be used to hurt people. Instead it’s a defensive power. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t come in handy. Stan uses invisibility to eavesdrop on conversations for the Losers and to slip away if they’re ever in trouble and get help. It’s really useful, but it also means Richie teases him about it and asks him if he uses it to sneak into the girls' locker room at school which of course Stan never does!

Mike would have the ability to communicate with animals. Because Mike grew up on a farm and is a gentle soul, I think this power would really suit him. Mike can communicate with animals big and small, from mice to dogs to horses, and they all love him too. Animals gravitated to Mike from a very young age, but as he gets older he realises he can talk to them and that they can understand him. This leads him to being a protector of all creatures, from alley cats which follow him home and butterflies which flutter down and rest on his fingertips. And they come to his aid when he needs it too. If the Losers are ever in big trouble, Mike can call out and any animals in the vicinity will come to their aid. Like one day the Bowers Gang are messing with them and suddenly a pack of wild dogs are storming around the corner and chasing them away. Afterwards they come back for strokes and the Losers get to play with them all afternoon.

Ben would be an empath. Ben is such a sweet person, both as a child and as a man, and is also extremely insightful. So I think Ben would become an empath and be able to feel people’s thoughts and emotions. This takes a toll on him sometimes, and he can feel easily drained, especially if he’s experienced negative emotions like rage or fear. But it also means he has a direct window into everyone he meets: into their fears and dreams and hopes, and is the best person to talk to if you ever need advice. Ben tries not to exploit his power; he doesn’t ever want to feel someone’s emotions without having permission, but the Losers wear their feelings so openly and shine so brightly, it’s impossible for Ben not to. But it also means they have to be very careful with their empath friend and treat him gently, because he experiences everything so intensely!

[bucksblr]

tagged by @leonzhng​ thanks for making me dig through my most embarrassing crushes 😭✋

i’ll tag @highwarlockkareena​ @yibobibo​ @lan-xichens​ @purplexedhuman​ @aheartfullofjolllly​ @lanzhansmiles​ @nyx4​ i feel like i tag you guys in everything i am so sorry please ignore this if u don’t wanna do it !!

putting this under a read more for reasons

MEN 2010 – 2016

literally nothing more embarrassing than falling on the same type of white man over and over again (with the exception of minho from shinee bless his heart)

tommy joe ratliff → he was the bass player for adam lambert during his glamnation era (think of songs like for your entertainment and if i had you) idk why exactly i liked him so much but i just did.... however i searched him up again quite recently and found out he’s one of those republicans that says the dumbest shit on twitter so Big Yikes

harry styles → “baby you light up my world like nobody else, the way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed, and when you smile at the ground it ain’t hard to tell...” and BOOM 13-year-old me was sold for well over two years

louis tomlinson → basically i liked harry most until around 2013 when for some reason i started to like him a little less, and i got more focused on louis tomlinson, and although i didn’t like one direction anymore louis tomlinson always had a special place in my heart

ashton irwin → so ashton is 5sos’ drummer, i discovered 5sos through one direction & i stanned them until late 2014

harries twins → the harries twins (jack & finn) are basically the reason i started spending a lot of time on youtube, they were funny and pretty and they just had good videos in general, so for almost two years i’d watch their content regularly

choi minho → my first steps into kpop happened bc i was watching videos on youtube (most probably the harries twins) and suddenly i saw the sherlock mv in my recommended videos so i clicked on it and then 14-year-old me proceeded to fall for minho like an idiot

brooks twins → still youtubers, the brooks twins were 3/5 of the janoskians (jai & luke brooks, beau brooks, daniel sahyounie, & james yammouni), an australian youtube comedy group that was active from 2011-2018 though i was only around from 2012-2014 (when jai brooks was dating ariana grande)

jc caylen → surprise! another youtuber! jc caylen was part of o2l (our2ndlife) a youtube collaboration channel on which each of the 6 members posted videos on a certain day in the week (mondays with connor, tuesdays with ricky, wednesdays with sam, thursdays with jc, fridays with trevi (my 2nd favorite member bc she participated on the x factor), saturdays with ricardo, and then they had surprise sundays every week) and i remember how much joy jc & the others always brought me with their silly videos

misha collins → up next, you might know him as the gay angel that was sent to superhell after confessing his love to the homophobic hunter on supernatural, it’s misha collins! basically misha was a huge source of comfort for me, and i even went around calling myself emmisha for almost two full years (cringe)

henrik holm → he played even bech naesheim in skam and my crush on him reached that level of ridiculousness where i actually tried my hand at learning norwegian (i can only remember how to introduce myself and some curse words i would make a great first impression on him)

MEN 2016 – 2021

min yoongi → okay so my baby steps into kpop happened through shinee’s sherlock, but i only got really invested when yoongi dropped agust d 1 because Holy Fuck y’know??

kim namjoon → oh man i remember thinking namjoon was cute and a very good leader and then BAM he dressed like THAT at the 2016 mma’s and i fell in love. hard

park seojoon → i started liking park seojoon whilst i was watching hwarang (you guessed it, i watched it bc of taehyung), although he wasn’t my favorite character by far, but he was very silly off camera & i liked that (i’m not that into him anymore tho </3)

kim seokjin → OH BOY LET ME TELL U i liked seokjin from the very beginning (i got to know bts in late 2014) and i always liked seeing him perform and be himself and god once i realized i had a crush on him it just hit me like a mf truck, and he’s still one of my favorite people to this day

jung hoseok → god fake love era hoseok really hits different.... also yes i know i have all of bts’ hyung line on my list BUT bts was a really big part of my life for almost 6 years soooo honestly they deserve it i still think they’re great guys

choi san → when ateez made their debut in 2018 i immediately fell in love with san, he was such an amazing dancer and he captivated me right from the very beginning, to this day he’s still my bias in ateez uwu

xiao zhan → AND THEN, OCTOBER OF 2019 HAPPENS AND I WATCH CQL AND... i fall in love with xiao zhan, something i’d never expected would happen bc when i watched cql for the first time i wasn’t as invested in the story, but i really really really liked xiao zhan and one thing led to another and now here i am as a xfx

wang yibo → the thing is, i’ve known yibo since eoeo except i didn’t know cql yibo was uniq yibo (bc i’d forgotten his name) and when i looked it up i can tell you my jaw dropped to the floor bc holy shit????? also he is very silly and i love him loads ok

lee minho → ah, the man who has been my skz bias since 2018, not only is minho my bias i also kin him (there’s a lot of aspects of myself that i see in minho and vice versa) and he’s very comforting to me

bang chan → honestly, it was only a matter of time before i’d fall for bang chan, i knew the moment i got into skz again that i’d start biasing him and, well, here i am, double biasing chan & minho

WOMEN

this list is shorter bc i’ve in general always had less crushes on women than on men??? blame society forcing me into thinking i was straight for a LONG time

ariana grande → remember the 2011 layout of twitter?? where u could not only have an icon and a header, but also a background and ur twitter page was smack in the center of ur screen with the big ugly menu bar at the top??? yeah ariana grande was always my background for my l*rr* st*l*n*s*n layouts

perrie edwards → this was right around the time she was dating zayn & little mix was breaking out into the spotlight, yeah i just really loved her

andrea russett → okay so remember o2l?? andrea russett was kian’s girlfriend for a pretty long time and they always did videos together and i always thought she was super pretty

lily collins → maybe i don’t like clary in tmi all that much but i sure liked the way lily collins looked

alona tal → MY BISEXUAL AWAKENING, it’s only when i saw alona tal in spn that i realized, fuck i might be gay

park jihyo → i discovered twice (my 2nd jype group after day6) through the like ooh-ahh mv and red-haired jihyo really did something to my heart (i just rewatched it and god zombie bang chan is so mf cute)

kim jisoo → when bp made their square two comeback i was immediately smitten for red-haired jisoo in playing with fire, it’s also when i realized she was my bias out of the four members

shin ryujin → the reason that i have blue hair is partially bc of ryujin and her amazing intro in wannabe :D

xuan lu → her portrayal of jiang yanli was SO ON POINT and she’s just such a kindhearted wonderful person wow i want her hand in marriage

lee yoobin → god i’ve known dreamcatcher from back when they were still called minx and ever since i’ve always looked at dami that bit more than the rest, i was also able to see dreamcatcher live in october of 2019 and the whole experience was just so amazing !!

FICTIONAL CHARACTERS

there’s a whole lot more than just these 10 but i wanted to fit the evolution into one (1) slide as best as i could lmao

peter pan → this movie came out in 2003 (?) and he’s honestly the first fictional character i remember ever having a crush on

legolas → i was really doubting between placing haldir or legolas here but i only really got a vague haldir obsession when i was like 14

zuko → LOOK. ZUKO IN ATLA? HOT. ZUKO IN LOK? HOT EVEN IF HE’S AN OLD MAN.

will turner → man was annoying sometimes but i really liked him and his relationship with elizabeth was cute

jo harvelle → gosh i can’t believe she’s the only female character in here???? yeah she was one of my two spn faves and i’ll never forgive the screenwriters for the way they killed her off

castiel → does your fave ever get sent to super hell for being gay? no? well. mine did

kili → fili and kili’s storyline tore my heart out, spit on it, and then laughed straight in my face, KILI WAS LITERALLY MY FAVORITE DWARF

howl → i only watched this movie for the first time in 2020 so i kinda fucked up the tl cause i watched cql in 2019 but shh, anyways howl with his blonde hair was good looking but howl with his black hair just hits differently. i want a howl

lan jingyi → MY BABY BOY, TINIE LITTLE BABIE WHOMST I MUST PROTECT ok no but seriously this kid. i love him a lot

mu qing → BARK BARK. that’s all (that’s not all i love him a whole lot and it hurts me to see so many people misunderstand his character and only see the bad parts of him when they can forgive others for fucking up (eg. xie lian himself & feng xin) but bc mu qing doesn’t deal well with emotions suddenly he’s the bad guy??? i s2g if ppl are gonna do to him what they did to jiang cheng in the tgcf la i will RIOT)

[sifflylepoulpe]

Roronoa Zoro being the aro mess he is

Ok so my first post’s gonna be about this moron and his different relationships because I love him SO MUCH

(Just for the record : I started One Piece in January so I obviously haven’t finish it yet) (I’m currently reading Marineford) (yeah, it hurts)

Ok so : I got his huge headcanon that Zoro is both gay and aro. This guy cares for his nakama. He cares a lot. But he has such unique relationships with each one of them and it covers the entire spectrum of aromantism and that’s so amazing.

Take Luffy. He and Zoro have a true and perfect QPR. They both are aro messes and they can’t live without each other. They love each other, they give their lives for each other, they are so, SO dumb together. And it’s obvious. They don’t need big PDA and they don’t need to talk about it (bc they don’t talk about their feelings) (and they don’t think, like, ever). Zoro is dedicated to Luffy since the beginning and nothing can change that. They know they can’t live without each other but that’s not a flaw, that’s their biggest strength. Luffy needs Zoro because his right hand man will support him no matter what, and Zoro needs Luffy because he’s living for him. They don’t even need to put a word on it. They can’t even explain it. That’s the biggest aro love I saw in my entire life. That’s non-romantic soulmates

Just. Just imagine them taking a bath together. Just that. No kisses, no sex, just them being close and hugging (Zoro is not a big fan of hugs, he doesn’t care, but sometimes Luffy wraps himself around him and it feels natural, it feels like home. I’m SOFT)

So he has Luffy and he will always have Luffy. BUT he still can fall in love (you know where I’m going) (in this house we stan multiple ships). SO HERE COMES BLACKLEG SANJI

Loving Sanji is not as obvious as Luffy because Sanji is a pain in the ass. He’s loud, he’s misogynist, he’s too proud. But.

But thanks to Sanji, Zoro becomes stronger and stronger. He’s the only one that can fight him on a daily basis (Luffy doesn’t count, because Luffy doesn’t fight his nakama without a solid reason). Sanji is a constant challenge for Zoro and that’s exactly what he needs. A challenger whom he doesn’t have to hold back against.

They know each other. They know how they fight, how they move, how they think. They know every scar on the other. And this knowledge is their best asset on a battlefield. They don’t need to talk, they can predict each other’s moves. That’s a all level on intimacy they didn’t realize they built.

Sanji is the only one Zoro trusts enough to take care of Luffy. Not because he doesn’t trust the others, but because he knows him enough. He knows his qualities, his flaws, his limits. He trusts him.

Oh and: sex with him is good. Zoro doesn’t really need sex but he likes the intimacy. Then again, their relation is built on trust and knowledge

Zoro cannot not fall in love with him at some point. It’s slow, it’s long, but it will certainly come. It doesn’t take the lead on his love for Luffy because he doesn’t love them for the same reasons.

Do I need to talk about his friendship with Nami? True mlm/wlw solidarity. They were the first, they will always share something special and precious. Nami has the braincells Zoro truly needs and he knows he can trust her about Luffy. She irritates him every single day but he can’t live without her jokes.

Same with Robin. They both are the parents of their crew. They are the adults, the pillars, they can’t be broken anymore (please Oda don’t hurt Robin, ever again). They protect their stupid captain and their stupid crew. I don’t ship them in a romantic way because they both are way too gay for that, but they share something special too.

And I could talk about the other ones during hours. Chopper? He loves him like a little brother, he will protect him at all costs. Usopp? Yeah he’s been mad about him, but now he knows he can trust him again. Brook? They are swordmen and they have the same vision of honor and dedication.

And you know what I’m waiting? I’m waiting for any interaction between Zoro and Law. Their power? Their strenght? Their love for Luffy? That will be awesome, I know it, I can’t wait

(Side node: Zoro’s types are “men that can kill him” and “lesbians”. That’s it.) (Pretty sure it’s because of Kuina and Mihawk)

Zoro has enough love for all of his nakama. Every relationship can cohabit in his heart because he loves every single one in a different way. But he loves them, so, so much

I love Zoro bc he’s the aro representation I crave my all life and I think it’s beautiful. So, happy pride month everyone 💚🤍🖤

[fyrecatpickles]

Strawhats in order of favourite to least favourite!

😜

Aaa! I’ve been trying to put them in order for so long! >//< But I shall try, just for you~!

1. Sanji: Are you really surprised? This noodle is baby. As much as he’s an idiot in canon he’s also has so much character and life inside of him. Tragic backstory is also a plus XD We stan Genderfluid Bi Sanji in this house! I love him, and want only good things and more terrible things to happen for him. He’s such a complex character, and I just have so many feelings for him. So SO many feelings. I could talk for hours about how much I love Sanji. Don’t even get me started. XD

2. Luffy: I. Love. Luffy! This motherfucker is SO GOOD. He would be number one if I wasn’t such a simp for tragic backstoried blonds with daddy issues. Luffy is sunshine and chaos. He would end the world for his family. He’s selfish, feral, and such a moron. Luffy is the hype. He’s also hysterical! I just, I love Luffy. I want to see him reach his dream so goddamn badly.

3. Zoro: I mean, c’mon! It’s the Moss head. Directionally challenged, sword obsessed, bit titties, shares a brain cell with Luffy Marimo. He loves his crew, and is an amazing First mate to the future Pirate King. This bad boy can fit so many head canons it’s unreal! He’s also just as feral as Luffy. They are like two peas in a pod. Also he’s Sanji’s husband.

4. Robin: Robin is Queen! She’s so mysterious, but once you really get to know her she’s just as quirky as the rest of the Strawhats. Her comedic timing with Sanji in Skypei always had me dying. Her and Chopper’s friendship? Best. Top Tier. Get those nerds together and they will talk for hours. I love how she plays board games with him, and just really loves her found family. Robin coming out of the wood works to say something creepy and smiling? I love it. Give me more. Step on my face queen.

5. Chopper: I am a sucker for cute, but it’s more than that. Chopper wants to prove himself So Much. He’s a reindeer who braved the desert for his new friends, watched over the Merry Go and tried to protect her from fire, is strong as hell and he’s a genius! This little nugget has to deal with the Monster Trio’s stupidity constantly when they get hurt. Do you realize how much shit he has to put up with those morons? He may be part of the Coward Trio, but he’s honestly the bravest of them. He may cry as he’s doing it, but he will stand up to enemies a lot faster than Usopp will.

6. Usopp: Yo, okay. Real talk. I slept on this man when I first started. I was wrong. Usopp is bae. His growth from his introduction to now is MASSIVE! His comedic timing and out right determination is so perfect. He’s smart af and stood up to Luffy. Luffy! He knew he would loose, but he tried so damn hard and made Luffy work for that win. He cares about his friends, and when push comes to shove he will always be there for his friends. And Haki. Yo. Usopp has the most growth out of all the Strawhats, and I love him for it.

7. Nami: Don’t get me wrong, I love my girl. It was hard to figure out where to put her. She keeps her beloved morons in line as best she can. She knows her boys share one brain cell, and works with it the best she can. I only put her here because after awhile her obsession with money gets a little stale? I understand why, and it’s hard to make that gag fresh I guess you could say? She’s smart as all hell, and I love me some Nami, but her growth seemed to have stagnated, or more so slowed down, for a bit there.

8. Brook: His panty obsession aside, Brook is a dork. He just wants to be with his friends and be included. Underdog of WCI and standing up to Big Mom? Fuckin’ savage! Brook’s backstory huuurts, and I just want good things for him. When Laboon’s name came back I lost my shit the first time. Like, calling back to something that early in their journey? I loved that! I can’t wait to see their reunion. I will cry. There will be tears.

9. Franky: He would have been 8, but I just prefer his pre-TS design more. He’s a nerd, and I love him and Robin’s dynamic. Franky is great, but the speedo bro. I’m currently rewatching Water 7 right now, and I love how eccentric he is. Super smart and talented. A+ nerd.

10. Jimbei: Don’t get me wrong, I love fish dad! I just haven’t gotten to really get to know him as much as I have the rest of the crew. The East Blue crew holds a special place in my heart, and I will always go back and watch those early seasons. I’m learning to love the newer characters just as much them. Fish dad loves Luffy and I love his dedication to the Strawhats. Jimbei is badass! The relationships he will get to create with the rest of the crew? I am stoked for more!

11. Vivi: I just...I love Vivi. I do. She’s Nami’s future wife. We all know, but I guess the extent she went to for peace was hard for me to watch. I was with Luffy in the house of ‘Let’s punch Crocodile!’ Her dedication was admirable, and I do like her but she didn’t resonate with me as much as the others.

That was SO DIFFICULT! Oh man. I love all the Strawhats! I want them to achieve their dreams and reign chaos upon the world. Thank you for the ask! asljdfs <3 <3 <3

[msjr0119]

A Second Chance

Prologue

Book: The Royal Romance

Series Pairings: Liam x Riley (Flashbacks), Drake x Hana (Flashbacks), Drake x Riley (Present Time- Friendship?).

*All characters belong to Pixelberry apart from Bethany Hughes-Rhys*

Please do not read this series if you are under 18 or if you are affected by any of the below trigger warnings. By doing so, you are consenting that you are over 18.

Warnings: Mention of suicide (past tense), Grief, Depression, Mention of two characters death. Slight adult language.

A/N: So this is a follow up to my ‘Hold On’ series. I was really confused when @kacie-0156 requested for me to do this as she is a Liam Stan. I still don’t understand 🤷‍♀️ but I’ll try my best! Thank you Kacie for the moodboard that you have provided. 💕❤️ The series takes part over two decades after ‘Hold On’ finished.

Song Inspiration: One Sweet Day, Mariah Carey Ft Boyz II Men

Word Count: 3,200

Tags, off the top of my head- as always if you want to be removed/added don’t hestitate in asking me: @pedudley @kacie-0156 @annekebbphotography @yukinagato2012 @i-bloody-love-drake-walker @kimmiedoo5 @bascmve01 @kingliam2019 @texaskitten30 @lodberg @cmestrella @axwalker @hopefulmoonobject @notoriouscs @rafasgirl23415 @walker7519 @drakewalker04

*****

It had been six months since that day. The day that the Queen of Cordonia realised that her fairytale life had been snatched away from her in an instant. Today was the first day in which she had made an effort with her appearance. Upon her arrival she could sense that all her friends were eager to pounce on her, demanding to know that she was okay. Interrogate her. Keeping that stoic expression, she avoided conversations with her close friends- instead just remained civil with her children and people such as Francesco. Keeping a speech minimal, she thanked everyone for coming before returning to her quarters. Alone. This had been a common occurrence- keeping herself guarded. Not allowing anyone to break down the walls that she had built up.

Jackson noticed that his Auntie had been specifically quiet since that day six months ago. Walking over towards Princess Ayah and Prince Louis, they both smiled softly - however provided sorrow in their eyes.

“Is your Mom okay?” Ayah shook her head. Not really knowing how to explain the mask that Riley was wearing to hide her true feelings.

“She’s not coping, Jackson. I’m scared that she’s going to do something stupid. Before we existed, she tried to end her life in New York. My Father didn’t want to tell us about it, but he did one night to explain how much of a fighter our Mom is. She isn’t talking to anyone apart from us and her Godchildren. Whenever any of her friends try to talk to her, she shuns them away. Maybe Uncle Drake could try and talk to her again? Because you know....” Jackson didn’t need Ayah to continue that sentence, he knew full well what she was about to say.

“I’ll go and mention it to him. Don’t worry about Aunt Ri. She has everyone here, supporting her.” Kissing the Princess on the cheek, he scrutinised the room for his father. Jackson Walker adored his ‘cousins’ and ‘Auntie’- even though they wasn’t blood, he felt as if they were.

******

“Brooks....” Feeling like this was a waste of time, Drake decided that the best option was to walk away, as she wasn’t responding. Jackson placed a comforting hand onto his father’s shoulder, suggesting that Drake should leave. Feeling like a failure, to Ayah who believed that they would get her Mom to open up to them- Jackson decided to try himself. Listening to his son’s advise, Drake left in a swift motion- frustrated that he couldn’t persuade her to come out of her hovel and just talk.

“Aunt Ri?” Jackson said softly as he knocked on the door. Riley knew she was being stubborn whenever a visitor would knock on the door- but for some reason she could never ignore her children, or her friends children.

“Jackson.” Smiling at his Auntie, he pulled her in for a tight hug. “What can I do for you?”

“Have a walk? Or just a little talk with me? We all miss you, and we want to help you through it. Dad just wants to help too. You could help each other?”

“You’re only twenty one Jackson, you should be out with your friends- enjoying life. Don’t take a minute for granted. You should be living each day as if it’s your last.” Listening to her words, he knew what she was referring to. His heart sunk, the usual poised Queen stood in front of him was absolutely broken even if she tried to conceal it. “I miss him so much Jackson, and I miss your Mom too. Each day that goes by, doesn’t get any easier. I need to be strong for Ayah, Louis and Ellie but truth be told- they are so much stronger than I am.”

“Aunt Ri, everything will get better in time. Uncle Liam loved you- as did my Mom. They would both want you to be happy, being the strong woman that you are. Please don’t stay up here on your own. If you need anything, dont hesistate to let anyone know. Whether that’s to watch a film, or to go for a cronut, a walk in the maze? It’s Dad’s birthday party tomorrow night- fifty. The old fart. It would be good to see you there. Ayah is going with Louis, El, Uncle Leo and Aunt Beth.”

“I’ll see how I feel. Thank you for the talk Jackson. You remind me so much of your Mom, caring- thinking about everyone.”

“Shame I look like my Dad then.” Riley laughed as the young man winked at her. “I love you, Aunt Ri.”

*****

Drake woke up the following morning, not really in the mood to celebrate his fiftieth birthday. However he knew that he needed to make the effort. Mainly due to the blood, sweat and guts that Maxwell had put in to organising it. It had been six months since he had said goodbye to his wife and best friend- the King. The traumatic events from that night still haunted him- the grief was still lingering every second of each day that went by. But what was also breaking his heart was how Riley was coping with the loss of her husband and her friend. Ever since the funeral, the Queen had ignored her friends, barely acknowledged their existence- keeping herself to herself.

Making himself look presentable, he headed over to Ramsford with Jackson.

*****

“Speech, speech, speech....” Maxwell shouted, peer pressuring Drake to make a speech. The last speech was the eulogy he spoke at Hana’s funeral. He wasn’t confident when it came to speaking in front of crowds, but he believed the sooner he did it the sooner it would be over and done with.

“Well what can I say? I’m an old man now. I’d like to thank you all for coming today, drinking whiskey in honour of me... you all know me too well. I know it’s been six months, they say that time gets easier but it really doesn’t. I wish that three other people could be here by my side celebrating this milestone with me; my wife Hana, my best friend Liam and our Queen.” Lifting his tumbler of whiskey up into the air, the others followed suit. Drake closed his eyes for a brief second, imagining the happier times with Liam, Riley and Hana- imagining that this was just some awful nightmare that he couldn’t escape or wake up from. But no this was reality. He had lost his best friend and wife to a successful assassination. Opening his eyes, the room was mute- all eyes focusing towards the doorway.

“Brooks?” Riley raised her drink in to the air as she smiled softly towards him. Placing the empty glass on the table next to her, she turned around and headed towards the balcony needing a bit of fresh air. Following her, he just wanted to make sure that she was okay- that she was coping. Even though he knew that she wasn’t. He never imagined that she would turn up, due to her personality recently.

“Hey.” Drake nervously said, as he watched her staring up to the starry sky- her eyes fixated on the brightest one.

“Hey, old man. Happy birthday!”

“Less with the old man cheeky... you’ll be catching up soon...”

“Maybe, but you’ll still be older than me. I got you a present, I wasn’t sure if I was coming or not- it’s too predictable but I’m sure you’ll make use of it.” Handing him the bag, he shook his head whilst laughing. “I’m far too predictable, I’m going to be turning into whiskey with the amount that people have bought me. Thank you, Riley.”

“No need to thank me. Enjoy the rest of your party.”

“Are you leaving?”

“I’m going to mingle with everyone, I’ve not been myself- hiding away from everyone. Seen as though I’ve made the effort, I may as well make the most of it.” Drake smiled at her. Their past was complicated to say the least- but they had put that behind them. But now he felt the need to protect her, something that he didn’t do when they was together- he owed it to himself as well as to Liam.

“It’s good to see you out and about. If you need anything- just let me know.”

“I just need my friends and children. Which I already have. I needed my husband. I still do. I miss him so much.”

“So do I. You’re not alone. I miss Hana, I know you do too. You have myself and Jackson, your children- who aren’t children anymore. You know what I mean. Leo, Beth, the Beaumont’s, Liv.”

*****

Jackson, Ayah, Louis and Ellie all walked towards the balcony- Jackson put his arm in front of them all to prevent them going any further, noticing that his Dad and Aunt was too close.

“And what are you all doing?”

“Aunt Liv! You made us jump.” Ayah said, as she tried to catch her breath.

“Oh hell no.” Leo commented as he joined in spying on Drake and Riley. “Do you think they are going to grieve together and do more?”

“Uncle Leo! That’s our Mom and our Uncle that you’re talking about.”

“Oh kids, they were together well before they married their spouses. They were even due to have a baby until this jerk called Nate beat myself and Riley to a pulp.” Shrugging his shoulders, the young adults looked at other confused as to why this was such a big secret kept from them.

*****

“I know I have you all. I am grateful for that.” Pulling her closer to him, he held her in his embrace. Hearing her whimpers, and feeling the tears drip onto him- his grip became tight. Not in a hurtful way, more of a protective type of way.

“You are an amazing Queen, you are doing a fabulous job.”

“I’m stepping down, Drake. Louis is taking over from me.”

“Louis? Ayah is the Crown Princess. She’s the eldest.”

“History is repeating itself. She abdicated from her duties last week. Louis’s social season begins at the end of the week.”

“You’re putting him through a social season. Jesus Brooks why?”

“He decided it, not me. I didn’t want my children to go through what Liam- What we all went through. I can’t rule without Liam, and I’m not remarrying. Don’t tell anyone that I told you, I’m going to do a statement. I can trust you, right? You’re one of my closest friends.” What we went through. The social season of hell.

“Of course you can trust me.” Cupping her cheeks, he said this with sincerity surrounding his eyes.

“I.. I should go.” Kissing her softly on the cheek, she inhaled sharply. Her heart began to flutter, Drake wasn’t Liam- but having someone this close to her for the first time in months felt unusual. Someone who she loved once upon a time.

“Look after yourself, Brooks. We are all here for you. Always.”

****

Riley did Drake’s usual trick throughout the party- ‘people watching’. She had some conversations with her friends but kept it minimal. The common questions and phrases spoken in these conversations included Liam. Deep down she knew that it was good to talk about him, but for her it was still so raw.

Maxwell bounded up towards her, very intoxicated. “Your majesty. You look absolutely beautiful. I’ve missed you.”

“Thank you. I’ve missed you too. I’m sorry.”

“Blossom, don’t apologise.”

“I have to. I haven’t been myself since I - we lost Liam. And Hana.”

“Come on, lets get out of here for a bit...” Holding his hand out towards her, she remained standing dormant.

“I’m actually going to head to Valtoria.”

“Stay here. You still have a room here. It’s yours...” Pausing for a second, she couldn’t help but smile at the man stood in front of her with the goofy smile. “How is Drake coping?” Maxwell was unsure as to why she asked this.

“Erm, he has a few quiet days. The therapy is helping him though. He blames himself for what happened that night... but you know Drake, he always wears that scowl to cover his true emotions. I know you’ve probably heard this a million times, but Liam and Hana wouldn’t want either of you to be unhappy. A little birdy told me that Louis is beginning a social season. Why didn’t you tell me? I’d have supported you!”

“DRAKE TOLD YOU?” Not realising how loud she was, Drake made his way over to them. Wondering why his name was mentioned. Wondering why Riley’s quiet tone of voice had raised all of a sudden.

“No, Louis did. Drake knew?”

“I knew what? Brooks, are you okay?”

“About Louis becoming King... I assumed you told Max. I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.” The two men pulled her in for a hug, as she eventually broke down uncontrollably crying. “Don’t apologise blossom. For anything.” Maxwell whispered.

“I’m going to go to my room. Thank you for inviting me, both of you.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” After Maxwell asked this, Drake decided to leave the two of them. Before he could escape, Riley grabbed his hand- forcing him to turn to face her.

“Drake?”

“Yeah?”

“Can we talk upstairs? Alone. I have realised that I should talk to someone. Someone who is going through the same emotions... I won’t keep you for too long, it’s your party. I just feel if I don’t do this now, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to do it.”

“Of course we can talk. For as long as you need to.” The friends all overheard Riley’s request including her children. All smiling softly, knowing that this was the first step she was taking to get out of the depression. To grieve with some support. To move on from her husbands death but to keep his memory alive. Baby steps.

****

Drake sat down on the edge of the bed as Riley poured him a whiskey.

“Who’d have imagined we’d have been here, in this situation. Didn’t Kiara and Nate put us through enough shit?” Laughing nervously, she wasn’t sure how to begin this difficult conversation.

“But that shit, led us both to begin families with our loved ones. You have to think of it that way..”

“True.” There was an awkward silence due to Riley’s lack of response.

“Why have you been avoiding us all?” Not wanting to sound harsh, but he needed to know. Deep down he had an inkling as to why. He just needed this confirmation, so everybody could help in the best possible way.

“I couldn’t cope. I lost the love of my life unexpectedly. Seeing you all reminded me of him. I’d go to bed, holding my wedding photo- snuggling into Liam’s clothes. It still hasn’t sunk in. I’m so sorry that I’ve ignored you all...”

“We understand, we had just hoped that you would have let us help you. I’ve been the same. If it wasn’t for those morons downstairs, I think I’d have drunk whiskey all day every day to blank the pain.. we both loved Liam and Hana, and they both loved us dearly.” In sync, the two of them briefly closed their eyes- images of their spouses flashing through their mind.

“Louis suggested starting the social season to keep my mind off of things. But it’s just going to bring memories back. Of us. Of everybody.”

“It may be a good thing? We are all going to support you both.” Snuggling close to him, she felt his arm go around her waist. “Why did Ayah abdicate?”

“She’s... she’s... oh god, Drake... this is so embarrassing...”

“What?”

“She’s her father’s double. Insisting that she doesn’t want a political marriage, that she wants to marry for love. Ayah started a relationship with.....” Drake’s brain began functioning. His first thought was his son, Jackson. If it was Jackson, he knew that people would criticise her choice- due to his commoner blood that ran through his veins.

“Who?” He eventually questioned, not quite knowing if he wanted to hear the answer or not.

“Theo...” Riley shrugged her shoulders as his jaw practically hit the floor.

“You’re having me on... aren’t you?”

“No. I wish I was... honestly... I’m hoping it’s just a fling. But you can’t help who you fall in love with.” Looking down towards the floor, she bit her lip as she was referring to him. Referring to their past. Hoping that he wouldn’t realise.

“No you can’t help who you fall in love with..” Pausing, he decided to make a joke out of it. “You know if he hurts her- her Uncle’s won’t hold back. I’m pretty sure Liam’s spirit won’t either.”

“None of you will touch him. I’ll beat you all to it!” Providing that infamous cocky smirk, Drake shook his head- he hadn’t seen it painted on her face in what seemed like an eternity. Caressing her cheek, they both locked eyes.

“Of course you will... it’s good to see you smile.”

“I agree. Thank you. I should let you get back to your party.”

“I’m ready for bed, I can’t hack it anymore. I’m not a spring chicken anymore.” Standing up, he mimicked walking with an invisible walking stick- causing her to throw her head back laughing.

“No, you’re an old grumpy marshmallow now.”

“Queen bossy pants. Night, Brooks.” Turning to leave, it was a brief conversation- a conversation that everyone had wanted to start with all those months ago. Finally she had opened up, even if it wasn’t much. Hoping that this was the first move to gaining closure on Liam’s death.

“Drake, wait!”

“What?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Thank you for the talk.”

“No worries. You know where to find me or any of us for that matter. I love you, Ri.”

“I love you, too.”

****

Once Drake had left, she got under the duvet- making a quick phone call. As soon as the voicemail message began, tears ran down her cheek like a waterfall. Unable to stop.

Hello. You have reached Liam, but I am unavailable at the moment. Sorry for my beautiful wife, my Queen- giggling in the background. If you need me, leave a message and I’ll get back to you soon.

Even though she was crying, she still managed to let out a little laugh- this was his personal phone for his friends, but now it was a regular call she made on a daily basis.

“Hey, handsome. It’s me again. The giggling wife. I’ve actually laughed for the first time today, Drake the old man turned fifty. Of course he was drinking whiskey. I know I say this everytime I ring you, but I miss you so fucking much Li. I love you so much. My biggest regret was not telling you that the day you left us. So I’m making up for it now. Now it's too late to hold you 'Cause you've flown away. But that doesn’t stop my imagination from believing that you are here. Never had I imagined living without your smile, and I know you're shining down on me from heaven. I hope you and Hana are celebrating up there. I know eventually we'll be together. One sweet day. Until we meet again. I love you, my King.”