#i will rant and rave about these effects forever

[romanticnihilistforhire]

Yes yes yes yes yes. Oh my god everything about it was terrificly grotesque. SO many moments where you want to look away so bad but it's so disgusting and you have to watch because it's so wonderfully uncomfortable. Oh my god. Truly horror at it's finest

was alien romulus a retread of the first movie except with more explicit pregnancy/body horror yes. did it absolutely rip grossnasty style. yes

[hamausagi]

HELLO AND WELCOME to this episode of JAKES SOAPBOX !!! where i yap on and on abt things i care abt, but likely no one else does. todays episode i will be ranting and raving abt the highly anticipated (at least for me) OMORI official manga first chapter release !! below is my highly opinionated review <3 there are spoilers for the manga, and i do discuss the prologue and day one of the OMORI game so read this with caution. i added screenshots from the manga itself as well.

this is simply a critique from the point of view of a superfan who was hoping the manga would be suitable for both old fans, new fans, and people reading the manga with no prior knowledge of the game at all. this is simply my opinion. while i compare this manga to the game repeatedly, i want to make it clear upfront that i wasn't expecting this to be a cookie-cutter remake in manga form of the game. i believe that it's lacking some important story beats and pacing that makes the story as impactful as it is. enjoy

first of all, i was ECSTATIC when i saw the promo for this. i am OMORI's biggest fan forever and ever, so god knows i was sitting and (im)patiently waiting for this to come out. however, upon reading the first chapter, i can't say i'm a huge fan. i will say that i am the type of person to view content regarding my favorite things with the most insanely rose tinted glasses, however that wasn't going to save my first impressions of the manga from scrutiny. tl'dr, i was really disappointed.

now my first complaint: pacing. to start with the beginning, i do really like how it starts off with the same dialogue as the game does. the art is simple, yet extremely effective when it comes to portraying the overall "vibe" of OMORI, which is something that carries on throughout the first chapter and i'll talk about it more later. however, i'm really not a fan of how the story begins. the first three pages are showing this dream sunny is having, a contorted memory of a christmas spent with his friends, ending with a horrifying and distorted image of mari begging sunny to "tell her why".

now, my issue with this, is that the story is now lacking a very important aspect that made the original so much more impactful: a foundation. in the game prologue, we are introduced primarily to the whole group, all of the fun-loving and sweet characters all living happily in headspace- INCLUDING mari. it was meant to establish two very important things about sunny: A) headspace is a safe, fun place where all of his friends are, but something isnt right and B) the real world is NOT where he wants to be, it's scary and reminds him of something he doesn't want to remember. yet the way the manga is paced, it skips all of that. we are immediately thrust into the real world as sunny wakes up to get himself the steak from the fridge, where again, we are robbed of another crucial detail: sunny does NOT want to go down the stairs in the dark. in game, when sunny tries to leave his room, he doesn't allow himself down more than one step of the stairs. before i get ahead of myself, the artist did include this panel (right to left)

which i think wonderfully portrays sunny's fear of going down the stairs. the wobbly lines and darkness coming out of the piano room is great. however, this comes after sunny has already come down the stairs and eaten the steak, and seems to be more centered around him being afraid of who was at the door. which, in my opinion, also holds even less weight as the original mari door jumpscare wasn't included either (which is a whole other can of worms), which was an actual deterrent from the player opening the door for kel in game.

(this leads me to another, much more nit-picky complaint: but that is the specific pacing of this page specifically:

which occurs after sunny goes back upstairs to throw up the steak he ate in the bathroom. the panels, while aesthetically pleasing and visually descriptive towards sunny's paranoid thoughts, aren't really showing me what's going on. he slams the bathroom door shut, seemingly does nothing, and is suddenly back in the kitchen cleaning his knife. but for some reason, the kitchen is upstairs, rather than downstairs, which is where we get the panels of him being afraid of descending the stairs. i feel that this was an unnecessary change, and could have been avoided by sticking to the original planning of this segment. but again, this is just a small nitpick that doesn't really mean anything.)

speaking of kel at the door, this is another reason why the lack of a headspace prologue in the very beginning is frustrating. as of now, the reader has no idea who kel is, or what he really means to sunny. sure, we saw him briefly in the dream sunny has, but he says one thing, and that dream lasted 3 pages. two, of which, didn't show anyone besides mari or sunny at all. in the prologue, kel is shown to be very protective and caring towards sunny, notably staying by his side and making sure sunny isn't alone for too long when being "it" during the hide and seek minigame, and overall establishing that he (and the rest of the friendgroup, might i add) was an important person in sunny's life. knowing this, then hearing mom's voicemail about how kel has been trying to reach sunny all this time, and THEN hearing him call out to sunny at the door, makes seeing kel in the real world for the first time a meaningful experience. we understand why kel is so excited to see sunny come outside. but in the manga, to me, it feels so rushed. when playing through the story, you're in headspace for a good 3-5 hours before you even enter the real world, or have the chance to open the door for kel. in the manga, it feels lackluster.

this leads to the faraway town scenes. kel and omori make their way to faraway town, which is full of the typical headspace cameos that the reader won't understand due to the lack of the headspace storyline. when in hobeez, kel mentions how the store is the same, featuring "captain spaceboy games" and "sweetheart movies", which would mean a lot more to the reader if they saw the group dig through spaceboy's junkyard and battle him at the end, or sneak through sweetheart's castle and confront her on stage. these are small nitpicks, but the biggest issue for me is that during this segment, kei and sunny are going to hobeez to buy hero a gift. but yet, the reader doesn't know who hero is. there isn't that moment of realization that hero, alongside kel, is a real person in sunny's life, not just a figment of sunny's imagination, and he's old enough to be in college. there's no emotion there. they pick out the same cookbook, but the reader has no idea why this holds significance. in the game, we all know hero as the chef, the cook that heals the team with his snacks and his frying pan fighting skills- but the reader doesn't know why hero, mentioned as a pre-med student, would even want a cookbook. these details lose all meaning without being backed up by important scenes in the original prologue.

this leads to my personal least favorite moment of the whole chapter: the confrontation between basil and aubrey. i was so incredibly disappointed by the absolute assassination of her character, which is simply because there's more missing context left behind in the game prologue. aubrey is introduced as a sweet, silly girl in the game, who cares deeply for omori and her friends, which is supposed to shock the player when meeting her in the real world for the first time. aubrey's change is supposed to make the player really question what happened to these friends, what made these kids who clearly cared so deeply for one another behave this way, and wonder why sunny (and mari's death, along with why no one wants to talk about it) seems to be at the center of it all. there is none of this extremely necessary context here. what makes things worse is that the reader also has zero idea who aubrey or basil are. while yes, they too were mentioned in the 3-page dream at the beginning of the chapter, it was for one single page with one piece of dialogue each. these characters hold no meaning here. aubrey then hits basil with her nail-covered bat, which is NOT something that happens in game. its actually kim who pushes him away, NOT aubrey, which is an important detail as aubrey never meant to lay a hand on any of them originally. the manga just paints her out to be violent, angry, and in a rush to hurt people she used to care about. while her character is extremely detailed and nuanced, i won't get too into it here as the player wouldn't know at this point, and neither would the reader.

the altercation in the manga between sunny and aubrey continues as she mocks him for locking himself away after they supposedly "couldn't save mari". this sends sunny into a spiral, aubrey swings her bat at kel, and poises to hurt sunny as well when he swings his knife at her, slicing her shoulder. the choices the artist make here are astounding, in the most negative way possible. while yes, there is a fight scene with kel and sunny vs aubrey in game, it portrayed a lot differently. its made very clear in game that sunny is very seriously impacted by his inner world to the point where he sees apparitions of space bunnies or other creatures while walking down the streets, or even the "fight" between himself and the poster inside of hobeez. this is important to note, because the player can also see the RPG fighting menu, which is extremely important to display just how out of touch with reality sunny is. he can't grasp that there's a difference between reality and his dream world. inside headspace, fighting is extremely normal. combat is a huge part of the game and the story, where the player fights bosses, smaller enemies, and gathers weapons and even toys to use in battle. that normalization where the player is USED to battle in the dreamworld, where there are no real consequences, if a character dies they can be healed or revived, comes to a screeching halt when we realize that we, as sunny, just actually slashed aubrey. the battle comes to a screeching halt, aubrey collapses after just one hit, which again, the player AND sunny isn't used to after fighting so many hard battles, and displays real pain. this is a far contrast to the manga, where we just see sunny lash out at aubrey. while it can be argued that yes, the manga is a completely different medium of storytelling than the game where we have that fighting and battle UI aspect, there are a myriad of ways the creator could have given the same effect- which could have easily been achieved by including the headspace prologue instead of jumping immediately into the real world this way.

the creator then chooses this moment to send sunny back into white space, which completely removes the interaction sunny has with basil and kel after the scuffle with aubrey. there's no walking with basil home, theres no learning about the photo album- in fact, there's no mention of basil's album at ALL, which is incredibly strange not only due to its immense importance to showing the bond between the friends, but the fact that it's a huge plot point and storytelling device.

in conclusion, i sincerely believe that this manga is a poor presentation of OMORI's story, and an incredible disappointment. leaving out the hours and hours of content before the real world is even introduced robs the manga of any substance, as the whole point of the prologue being so incredibly long was to establish a baseline for the player to become comfortable with, to allow us to get to know the characters and see how they interact, and then have that all be contorted and changed when brought into the real world. there is no established connection to the characters, the plot is ridiculously rushed, and the story feels empty and disconnected. it truly feels like the author barely knew what the game was about. i also don't feel that the artstyle in general works either, as the characters look extremely young, while the real world characters are 15-16 and the way they are drawn makes them look 12. but, i will rest my case there. i completely disagree with the flip-flopping of the story, and my expectations for the rest of this manga have plummeted to insane depths.

[arlert-angel]

love fast, die young ☪

♡ jean x fem!reader

❥ you know that at any moment your life could be cut short as a scout, and the last thing you want is to die a virgin, so why not ask your best friend that you’re in love with for some help?

❥ wc: 5.8k

❥ cw: near death experience (reader), virgin!reader and virigin!jean, cannonverse but no plot, loss of virginity, slight size kink, cream pie, aftercare, fluff

❥ note: i was invested in the story of this one lol, it's a lot more romantic than i initially intended. they’re aged up, but the cannonverse details don’t make sense for the plot, so let’s pretend it does yay.

Arriving back from expeditions was always an exhausting feat within itself, sometimes more so than the actual expedition. 

Commanding officers had to count their losses, healers had to tend to the wounded, and everyone who was good enough to stand had to report their kills and assists. Of course that was the immediate tasks that needed to take place, but then came the grief. Friends looked for one another, many people cried, and names could be heard shouted all around as everyone arrived at headquarters. 

You weren't that different, but you were silent as you scanned the crowd looking for your tall best friend. You knew he was with the best of the best in Levi's squad, so you weren't too worried. However, you also knew the previous best had been wiped out before the new group came. 

Anything could happen which made you all the more anxious. 

You and Jean were not on the same squad. You first were offered a position on the Levi squad with the rest of your friends, but then Hange handed picked you to help them with their experiments, claiming they needed your mind to work with them. Hange is very likeable and now one of your closest friends, and at the time it seemed impossible to say no to them.

Hange's and Levi's squad tended to work together a lot and definitely trained together, so you didn't miss your friends too much. It was only when expeditions approached and new formations were made, when you had to be separated from the rest of your 104th pals. 

You never complained about the separation. It wouldn't last forever, maybe a couple days at most, and then you return to laughing and working with the rest of your friends. You had no complaints until this particular expedition.

You had a close call.

In fact, so close, you might as well have kissed Death on the lips while you were so close to the afterlife. 

The mission was going according to plan. It was a simple scouting mission in the mountains that were, for the most part, titan free. Your squad was on the left flank of the formation, near the edge of the mountains. The cliff sides surrounding you guys held a beautiful, yet slightly scary view. The drop had to be at least 300 feet.

You should've known something bad was going to happen as soon as Hange called out, "Hey, Y/N, check it out!" But you weren't thinking that hard, for the day had been so peaceful. 

The path you all had taken was so close to the cliffs that the squad was riding single file for safety. There was enough room to pass one another, but you had to do so very carefully. 

You rode ahead, passing Moblit. You sent him a questioning look as went by, but he only shrugged, not knowing what Hange was raving over. When you slid off your horse and next to Hange you saw what they did.

A very large cave.

"Should we go inside?" Hange looked at you, clearly excited, but it was an awful idea.

"No!" You tried to sound stern, knowing how they needed a firm rejection or they'd always get what they wanted, "Do you see the size of the thing? This looks like a comfy home for a 10 meter titan, maybe even 15 meter class if they hunched over."

"Do you think they'd crawl around in there?!" Their eyes widened and the familiar look that you've seen so many times on their face appeared. It was their usual expression they had when you conducted experiments with them. You swore to yourself how you fed their curiosity on accident.

"What's going on?" Moblit now arrived, wondering what the hold up was about.

"They want to go inside that death trap," You pointed at the ominous cavern in front of you all. 

"You cannot be serious!" Moblit exclaimed in surprise, the volume echoing down the stone and dirt walls. Moblit continued his rant, stating the obvious, but you tuned their debate out. You just stared into what looked like an abyss. 

There was no movement, no noise, not even the breeze seemed to reach here.

But for some reason you had a gut feeling. A gut feeling that saved all of your lives.

"Move!" You shoved Hange into Moblit which effectively knocked them both to the side of the cave and used your ODM gear to swing yourself to the opposite side. 

The large hand reached out as you tried to get out of the way, but because you helped the others you weren't quick enough.

Luckily, the titan's grasp only managed to get tangled in your ODM wire and couldn’t quite reach your actual body. 

Unluckily, the titan was managing to drag you like a ragdoll and if you didn't do anything quickly you would be engulfed in the darkness where it was hidden, and then probably engulfed in it’s stomach. 

You had to think quick on your feet and so you drew your blades and slashed the wire on your gear all together. You could've attempted to slash at it's hands, but that was no guarantee. The wire was sliced with a clean snip.

Now you were free, you stumbled back at the loss of momentum. You took one two many steps back, and that last step didn't hit the gravely earth that the others had. 

Your foot didn't hit anything at all. 

You were about to fall off a cliff. 

Ironic to escape death one way only to quite literally fall into its clutches another way. 

But, you didn't fall. 

Your eyes were squeezed shut in absolute terror, and when you opened them at the lack of free fall, you saw Hange.

They had managed to save you by the front of your shirt, yanking you back on solid ground. Moblit had been keeping the titan at bay, and continued to do so as you and everyone else turned their horses carefully around. 

Thanks were shared by yourself, Hange, and Moblit at the different lucky saves. They praised your quick thinking and response. None of you actually saw the titan coming. You just knew. You seemed to recognize the familiar feeling of dread from the presence of a titan that wanted to eat you. Even if you couldn’t see it. 

Hange continuously apologized on the way back, but it wasn’t really their fault. It’s not like you actually entered the cave like they wanted. And it was probably a good thing you guys stopped when you did. If the group rode past the cave something worse might have happened.  

After that close call you wanted nothing more to find your best friend and have his familiar comfort.

"Y/N? Whatcha still doing out here?" You spun around quickly and saw Connie. 

“Oh, hey! I’m just looking for Jean, have you seen him?” You didn’t want to panic, but it was weird to see Connie without Jean. 

“Yeah! Mikasa killed this titan that had snuck up right above us and it’s blood got all over Jean it was so funny he screamed like a girl. But yeah, he went to the showers immediately,” Connie explained laughing at the memory. You laughed along and wished you could see it yourself.

“That’s funny, I should probably shower too, this mission felt particularly long,” You grumbled more to yourself than Connie, but he picked up on your off tone.

“Did something happen?” He asked genuinely concerned. You might’ve been closest to Jean, but Connie and Sasha were also very close to you. The four you always had the most fun together, and got in the most trouble. 

“Kind of, a titan snuck up on us too, but we were near the cliffs so there wasn’t all lot of room to work with. I almost fell, but on the bright side I overcame my fear of heights,” You laughed, but it was more anxious than joyful.

“Oh shit, that’s awful!” Connie’s eyes widened in horror, “I'll tell Jean to come find you when I see him.”

“What why?”

“You were looking for him right? He’d definitely want to know that you’re okay after that. He worries a lot, you know? It’s always: I hope Y/N okay, where’s Hange’s squad again, I wish Y/N was here, Y/N would love this view. Someone has to tell him to shut up at least once every expedition.” Connie actually did an okay Jean impression as he ranted to you, but you didn’t comment on it. 

You were too surprised. You didn’t know Jean worried about you. He never once came to you with any fears about expeditions. He always asked you what happened, but that’s just a normal conversation. It wasn’t too strange for someone’s best friend to think about them when apart. What was strange was the happy feeling you got knowing that Jean couldn’t shut up about you. A weird fluttery feeling danced in your stomach and you felt almost giddy.  

Connie noticed your lack of response and noticeably paled. 

“Fuck, wait, I didn’t tell you that! Jean’s gonna kill me, Y/N please don’t tell him I told you!” He grabbed onto you, begging. He shook you enough that it got you out of your confusing thoughts.

“Um, okay? I don't see what the big deal is. I think about Jean on expeditions too, that’s not weird right?” You smiled reassuringly and Connie’s whole body sagged in relief.

“Not at all! Have a nice shower!” Connie ran away, actually ran, trying to separate himself from that conversation. He thanked the Walls that you couldn’t read between the lines. 

After that odd conversation you got a change of clothes and towel, and then headed towards the showers. You passed Sasha and Mikasa on the way in and they both gave you pleasant greetings, all parties glad to see each other alive and well.

You tried not to overthink, but the hot shower gave you all the time to do so.

Your thoughts jumped from almost dying, to Jean, to these overwhelming feelings you seemed to harbor.

You knew you loved Jean. You both even told each other sometimes. Your mind never wandered further than viewing Jean as your best friend only because you didn’t think that’s what he’d want. 

When you first met Jean you had a small crush on him, admiring him from afar until Marco introduced the two of you. Once you grew closer and noticed his infatuation with Mikasa your feelings sizzled out in a bitter simmer. Your bitterness didn’t last long though, you were happy you had someone to rely on no matter what. After Marco passed, Jean was your crutch and vise versa. Romance would only make things confusing and besides you didn’t have any experience in the matter. 

But now as you think more and more about him you wondered if those feelings ever went away. You thought about his laugh and stupid tone he gets when he tries to act cocky. You thought about his eyes and how pretty they look in the sunlight. You thought about his ability to read your mind without you having to tell him something’s wrong. He was your person. 

You came to the conclusion that there definitely was something more than platonic there, but there was no certainty he felt the same. He would’ve said something by now. When he liked Mikasa he was so obvious, openly talking about her to everyone. You would’ve known something by now if it were the case, right? You knew he didn’t like Mikasa now, he told you explicitly for some reason, stating you needed to know. He also didn’t talk about liking anybody new. 

Sighing in frustration, you turned off the shower, now squeaky clean. What was supposed to be a relaxing shower just stressed you out because of your stupid brain’s overthinking. 

And it didn’t stop. As you dropped your messy uniform in the laundry, it reminded you of the day.   

Today proved that any moment could be your last. Being in the scouts has always been dangerous, and you knew you were a disposable soldier. You didn’t mind it much, but now you realized how little you had experienced. You had never been drunk, your only kiss was with Marco in a game of truth or dare, and you were a virgin. 

You didn’t want to die a virgin.

You thought of Jean. You wanted to be with him at least once before you died. You didn’t want to die without knowing how it felt to have everything with Jean. Your love for him definitely wasn’t platonic. You didn’t want to die without him knowing.

Your mind made up, you walked the halls with a little more determination than usual. You wandered around for only a couple minutes before running into Eren.

“Horseface is looking for you,” He pointed around the corner. You gave a quick thanks before quickly going in that direction only to collide with the person you were searching for.

“Y/N!” Jean surprised you by pulling you in a tight hug. As he pulled away he took note of the blush that was now on your cheeks, but didn’t comment. He also didn’t let you go completely, leaving his hands on your shoulders. Unable to help himself.

“Hey, I was looking for you,” You smiled genuinely, only slightly nervous now. Even with the giddiness he gave you, he still managed to calm you down.

“Me too, Connie said something happened with your squad, so I asked Hange about it and they told me everything,” His eyebrows were pulled into a worried furrow, “I wish you were in our squad.”

“Me too, but I like being with Hange too,” You stated honestly, “But it’s alright, everything worked out in the end.” 

“Yeah, but you almost fell off a cliff! Y/N if I lost you I’d…” He cleared his throat before shaking himself out of his thoughts, “I’m just glad you’re okay. You said you were looking for me, what for?”

“Oh! Um…” You looked around and saw Eren eavesdropping blatantly with a knowing look, causing you to quickly turn back around, “Can I talk to you in my room about something?” You shift your weight from side to side, visibly jittery. 

“Sure?” Jean was confused and noted you looked more flustered than before, but he couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong like he usually could. 

You walked side by side, passing Eren along the way who gave you both a smug wave. When Jean wasn’t looking you turned around and gave him the finger. The walk was silent and your hands brushed each other softly.

Once you were behind closed doors you felt yourself relax a little more. It was just Jean, you hyped yourself up. Even if he did reject you the worst thing that could happen is him make a stupid joke out of everything, but you doubt he would. You knew he at least respected you.

“So, what’s so serious that you needed to be away from nosy Yeager?” So he did see that ass listening, you thought. 

“Well… You know about my close call today… It got me thinking,” You started safely.

“You can think? Like, there’s a brain in there?” Jean acted surprised and grabbed your head teasingly.

“Shut up,” You laughed and slapped his hands away before adding, “It’s serious.”

“Okay,” He took a seat on your bed comfortably, an action that was not unusual, you hung out in each other’s room all the time. He gave you his full attention, no longer joking around.

“I thought about how at any moment we can die, that sounds morbid, but it’s true. And then I thought about all the stuff I haven’t done and all the things I haven’t said,” You explained further, still not getting to the point. 

“So, you want to make a bucket list?” Jean tilted his head, trying to follow, “That’d be fun.”

“No,” You rolled your eyes lovingly, “I, more specifically, thought about all the stuff we haven’t done together.” 

“Oh, you want to make a bucket list together!” Jean perked up.

“Jean stop trying to guess and let me explain,” You laughed and he complied, pretending to zip his lips shut.

“Jean,” You approached the man, invading his personal space, “I don’t want to die a virgin, do you?”

“No…” Jean blushed at the sudden topic change, wondering why on earth you were bringing that up right now.

“And…  I love you, and I know you'd treat me right,” You cupped his cheeks in your hands. You were standing in between his legs now, him leaning back on his hands looking up at you. He was tall, so he didn’t have to tilt his neck that much. 

“I love you too, what are you going on about?” His face was drawn in clear confusion, a cute expression, if he wasn’t being so frustrating. 

“No, Jean,” You leaned impossibly close, your face right in front of his, “I’m in love with you.” 

Then you boldly straddled him before you planted your lips on him.

You were shy, unsure if he would reciprocate the kiss, and it seemed like he wasn’t.  You panicked instantly. Your heart was pounding and you pulled away. You were terrified you screwed everything up. You looked at him and he seemed to be frozen.

“Jean?” You worriedly looked at your catatonic friend whose eyes were wide in shock, “I made you uncomfortable, I’m sorry! Please don’t hate me!” You began to try to climb off him, but his hands shot to your hips, holding you in place.

“Y/N, you’re in love with me?” He still seemed to be stunned, or maybe he didn’t believe you, but he held your gaze with serious eyes. 

“Yes,” You made sure to keep eye contact despite the heat that rose to your cheeks, to make sure he knew you were dead serious. 

“Good,” One of his hands left your hips to your cheek. He guided your mouth back to his.

He was kissing you. He was actually kissing you. It was slow and sweet at first. He stroked your cheek lovingly and your lips slowly moved in sync. It was when you repositioned yourself on his lap, accidently grinding into him, when the kisses started to become more feverish. He groaned into your mouth and the hand left your face and found it’s new home on your ass. He squeezed it harshly, making you gasp. He took the opportunity to introduce his tongue to yours. He surprised you when he sucked on your tongue, making a small whimper escape you. 

Jean pulled away, taking in your flustered state with blown pupils of his own. Both of your lips were swollen and you both needed to catch your breath. 

“I love you too, you know?” Jean pushed some of your hair out of your face with a soft smile, “I figured you didn’t feel the same and wanted to just be friends, so I didn’t say anything.”

“I thought the same, or that you might still like Mikasa,” You admitted shyly, looking down where your bodies met.

“Hey,” He tilted your chin so you held eye contact again, “That was a stupid crush when I was kid, and I told you that ended a long time ago, didn't I? I’m in love with you.”

“We were so stupid keeping it to ourselves,” You laughed and Jean openly admired you in what looked like awe. His gaze made you feel bashful, almost wanting to hide your face with your hands.

“We were, I could have been kissing you so much sooner,” Jean mumbled, already leaning back to you. This time when your lips met your tongues danced together immediately. You knew Jean also didn't have much experience, but with the way he kissed it seemed like he did. 

"Did you mean what you said?" Jean pulled away only for a moment to ask before returning right back to your lips. 

You pulled away, trying to decipher what he was referring to. "Wha–" Your breath hitched when you felt Jean kiss your pulse on your neck. He began sucking on a particular spot that made you moan, surprising both of you. 

"You're so beautiful," He commented then explained, "Did you mean what you said about that virgin stuff?" He seemed shy all of sudden, his hands were sliding from your hips to your thighs, almost like he was trying to soothe himself.

"I meant every word," You said honestly, "I want to experience all of you."

"God," Jean seemed to like that statement, "I don't know what I'm doing, so just know I'm learning as I go. Just tell me what you like and don't like."

"Of course," You gave him a reassuring smile, "I'm not worried, I trust you."

"Good," He said again before spinning you around and lightly throwing you on your bed. He hovered over you, not putting much, if any weight on you. He resumed the make out session, but this time letting his hands wander.

He first tugged at your shirt, which you helped him quickly pull over your head. You hadn't worn a bra, assuming your plans for this evening were eating then just passing out. 

Jean seemed to drink your body in, just staring in lust and awe. 

"You can touch me," You tried to sound reassuring, but it sounded more like a beg. 

Jean took your breasts in his large hands and just felt you. You almost laughed at how mesmerized he looked, but that was when he latched his mouth on your nipple. That action seemed to send a current of electricity straight to the heat in between your legs. You arched your back and let out a surprised moan which made Jean quickly pull away. 

"Did I hurt you?" He looked scared.

"No, it feels good," You murmured as you unconsciously rolled your hips wanting friction.

"Oh, that's good," He shot you a grin before throwing his own shirt to the side. He went back to kissing your chest, this time his hand tweaked the nipple he wasn't sucking on, causing even more pleasure. You bit your lip only letting out whimpers, a little embarrassed of moaning so loudly again. 

"J-Jean," You stuttered out, gripping his broad shoulders.

"Hmm?" He hummed, he had been having fun leaving purple marks across your tits.

"I-I need…" You didn't finish.

"What do you need, princess?" He asked genuinely, but his deep tone sent shivers down your spine.

"More, I don't know," You admitted.

"Okay, don't worry," He gave you a peck, "I'll take care of you."

He began taking off your pants, helping you get them off your ankles. He stood to take off his own pants as you admired him. His body was so toned from the life of being a soldier. As you took him all in your eyes landed on the bulge that was very prominent in his briefs and for the first time you felt nerves about having sex with him. 

"Jean, how the hell is that supposed to fit in me?" You didn't even see it out of it's cage, you couldn't imagine that monster in action. 

"It has to fit right? People have sex all the time," Jean looked down at his own dick before looking at your panties with a frown, "I'll make sure to stretch you out with my fingers to help."

"What do you mean?" You blushed as Jean returned his body on top of you, giving you warmth again. This time putting a little more weight than last time. You could feel his restrained cock against you this time. 

"You know, fingering, you've done it to yourself before right?" Jean asked curiously. 

"I've tried, but I couldn't reach any particular spots that made me feel good, so I mostly just got off with my clit," You explained, a little embarrassed. 

"Well, I have long fingers," Jean began to slip off your last item of clothing. You gulped nervously, you now were exposed completely to him.

"So pretty, and you're wet," He groaned and looked back up to you, "Open your mouth."

You almost asked why, but you didn't want to kill the mood, so you complied. Jean slid two fingers into your mouth and you got the message. You wrapped your lips around his fingers and hollowed your cheeks, sucking on them. 

"Fuck," He sighed out and you felt him twitch against you. 

He pulled his fingers out and moved them back between your legs. He first slowly thrusted one finger inside you, to get you used to the unfamiliar feeling. The stretch wasn't too painful, and he was definitely right. His fingers were longer. 

He moved the one finger in and out of you slowly at first, picking up the pace as he continued. When he felt you relax completely he added a second finger. This time the stretch was a little more, making you tense.

"You're so tight," Jean was watching your pussy in wonder and slid his body down, so his face was near it. 

"What are you– Oh my God," Jean's lips sucked on your clit softly, then continuously kitten licked it, all while maintaining his finger thrusts.

"You taste good," Jean said it so casually, you'd think he was talking about the weather. He removed his fingers for a moment to get a better taste. He kissed you directly on your cunt before penetrating you with his tongue. He moaned against you, sending vibrations into you. You tried to unconsciously escape the pleasure, your thighs attempting to close, but Jean's large hands held you down. 

He returned his fingers inside you and this time adding a third. It stung more than before, but Jean's mouth on your clit made you forget all about the uncomfortableness. He began curling his fingers inside you reaching a spot that instantly had a knot forming in your stomach. Your hands shot around you, one gripping the sheets and the other in Jean's hair. 

He latched onto clit again and you gave up on trying to quiet your moans, embarrassment be damned, it felt too good.

"Jean," You moaned his name, which only made him moan back in return, "I-I'm going to…" You whined a little, not quite there yet, but right on the edge.

"You're going to cum?" Jean asked, not even completely pulled away from your clit to do so, "Go ahead and cum on my fingers, baby." He quickened his strokes and returned to your clit. It was just enough to send you over.

You grinded into his hand and cried out. Jean moaned too as if he was being pleasured just at the sight of you or maybe it was because of the sensation of your tight pussy clamping around his fingers. He couldn't help himself and licked up some of your release, making you jump. 

He moved back up to you with a content smile, "Did that feel good?" 

"Yeah," You smiled back through half lidded eyes, still buzzing from the pleasure.

He gave you a deep kiss and you could taste yourself on him. Tasting your own saccharine flavor was strangely erotic. 

Jean pulled away, "Is it alright if I take my cock out?" He asked beforehand just in case you changed your mind. 

"Yeah, of course, I want to see the monster that's going to destroy me," You joked and earned yourself a cocky smirk.

Jean took off the only clothing that was separating the two of you. You glanced down and saw his size more visibly now. You were right to be intimidated before, he was huge. Jean seemed to take note of your apprehensive expression so he returned to giving you some kisses in order to soothe you. 

“We’ll take it slow and if it’s too much just tell me,” Jean assured you which helped calm you down. 

“Okay, I’m ready,” Your eyes met as he began to rub the head up and down between your folds, collecting its wetness. He rubbed it over your clit and back down, making you feel particularly tingly. When he started pushing the head inside you had to remind yourself to not tense up, but it was hard. He was stretching a lot more than his fingers did. His cock added an unfamiliar pressure inside you that his fingers didn’t.

“God, that’s just the head and you're already squeezing me,” Jean threw his head back trying to regain composure. It was also his first time and he did not want to embarrass himself by finishing quickly. Also the gentlemen inside him wanted to feel you cum around him first.

He slowly continued to push further in as you grabbed his arms to brace yourself. When he finally bottomed out you swore you could see the bulge on your tummy. He kept still and waited for you to give him the go ahead even though he had the incredible urge to just thrust forward.

“You alright?” Jean's voice was more strained than usual.

“Yeah, why the fuck you gotta be so big, Jean,” Which only made Jean smile and give an apology kiss. You took a few more moments getting used to the stretch when the pleasure overtook the pain. You felt the veins on his cock inside you. You felt so full, but so good. You grinded into him trying to feel more and Jean noticed.

“I’m going to start moving now,” Jean warned and began pulling back before snapping his hips forward. You both cried out how he filled you up, your walls fluttering around him.

The pace was unrushed and steady to begin with. He withdrew his cock only to plunge it back into you, hitting you deep, in a repetitive matter. You felt the pleasure everywhere, all the way in your toes. 

You started meeting his thrusts, moving your hips in order to do so. Jean hitched your leg higher which only made you feel him deeper, hitting a sweet spot that caused you to gasp.

“You can go faster,” You said breathlessly, “Please, Jean, it feels so good.”

“Fuck,” Jean moaned back, his slow deep thrusts turned into a quick pounding. He continuously hit that new spot every time. Your whimpers turned into uncontrollable moans. Not wanting to make too much noise you buried yourself into the crook of his neck, sucking and biting his skin. 

You briefly looked down where your bodies met and saw him pumping out of you, your slick covering his cock and your thighs. The sight made your eyes roll back into your head.

“Please,” You moaned into Jean who brought his hand to your chin, forcing you to look at him.

“Please, what? What do you want, princess?” He grunted a bit after, not once did he lose his pace.

“I want… Ah… Please, I don’t know,” You felt like you could cry, you were right on the edge. You didn’t know what you needed, but you felt too good to try to figure it out. You figured he was close too by the way he was twitching inside your pussy and his thrusts became a little more desperate. 

“Open,” Jean brought his fingers back to your mouth, groaning at the sensation. He kept them there for a few more moments than necessary, just enjoying the way you looked with your pretty lips wrapped around him. 

Then he brought them between your legs and began rubbing your clit at the same pace he was thrusting into you.

“J-Jean, I’m gonna cum,” You grabbed his wrist, almost overwhelmed by the feeling. 

You cried out his name as your pussy milked him, triggering his own release. He groaned your name as he came. You felt the warmth of him spill deep inside you and it made your pussy tremble all the more. He gave a few final thrusts before slumping on top of you.

“Look at me while you cum, princess, come on, cum on my cock,” He encouraged you. You held eye contact for as long as you could, but when that coil in your tummy snapped you had to squeeze your eyes shut in absolute bliss.

“We definitely should’ve done that sooner,” He mumbled into your hair, making you giggle.

“Definitely,” You echoed back.

He slid out of you after that, making both of your bodies shudder at the loss of connection. You pussy still trying to pulse around something.

“I just showered,” You commented with a frown, looking at the mess between your legs. 

“I’ll go get a towel?” Jean offered, and you gave him a nod. He redressed quickly, kissed you deeply, then stated he would be back soon.

You threw your shirt back on while you waited. You felt so sleepy after that. Even though you wanted to feel clean, you wished you cuddled with Jean some more, already missing him.

After a couple more minutes the silence was broken.

 “I knew it!” You heard Eren’s familiar voice shout from outside your door and you sat up confused.

“Shut the fuck up before I hit you!” You heard Jean’s voice shout back and then a few more quieter exchanges that you couldn’t make out from the two men. Then your door opened fast, Jean slipping quickly inside, locking it behind him. In one hand he had a warm towel and in the other he had a new set of sheets. 

“What happened?” You pointed at the door and Jean scowled.

“Apparently those assholes bet on when we’d finally hook up,” Jean explained before cleaning you up. You blushed as he took care of you. Despite what just took place you still felt embarrassed. Jean noticed and just pecked your cheeks.

“That’s kind of funny, we should’ve placed our own bets,” You hummed and stood shakily, grabbing a new pair of underwear as Jean changed your sheets for you. 

“I can’t believe Eren won,” Jean frowned, but when your arms wrapped around him from behind he couldn’t help but smile.

“Will you stay with me? I kind of want to nap,” You mumbled into his back.

“Of course,” You both returned to your bed this time with more innocent intentions.

Jean laid on his back and you threw your arm around his chest and your leg over his, snuggling up into his side.

“I don’t want to die,” You murmured sleepily.

“You won’t,” Jean stated firmly.

“How do you know?” You looked up at him.

“Because we both have something to live for,” He met your gaze softly, before kissing your head again.

You told each other you loved another once again before you both fell asleep. It was a sleep where neither of you had the common nightmare about your untimely deaths. 

Instead it was a sleep where you both dreamt of the future you now could have with one another.

[duskform64]

To the people being like 'oooh italy is fascist', 'oooh of course italy doesn't decline the opportunity to help fascist', let me tell you this..

You are ABSOLUTELY right, especially now that Italy is under the most far-right government since the time of Mussolini. You know, the OG fascist.

This is a government who once approved a decree that provides up to 6 years of imprisonment for 'illegal parties and rallies', which despite being presented as a measure against rave parties, could be applied to any gathering of more than 50 people that are deemed to be 'dangerous', so, you know, that's fun (I actually don't have a lot of info on whether or not this is still a thing).

This is the government who essentialy removed 'abuse of power' as a punishable crime.

This is the government who decided that the children of homosexual couples could only have one legal parent. You know, so that if that parent dies the child is officially an orphan, regardless of the other person who has been a parent figure for a substantial part of said child's life.

Like, I'm not even kidding when I'm saying that fascism in Italy has seemingly skyrocketed, there are people who go on pilgrimages to visit Mussolini's tomb. Which is a mausoleum. (WHY it's still standing is completely BEYOND me. Like, I get it, it's a piece of history, and it's important to remember history because the people who don't are doomed to repeat it, but at this point it's clear this tomb is having the EXACT OPPOSITE effect.)

So yeah, the situation in Italy isn't great. It's not as bad as the time of the fascist regime. Or as the Years of Lead, when fascist terrorism was rampant. But holy shit, that is some quality glow-in-the-dark paint they used to write on the wall.

Anyways, it is objectively unethical to support a government who has a hand in the massacre of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians. And if your government is taking your hard-earned money as tax, and using it to fund such disgusting acts, then let me tell you something; it would be objectively ethical for you to demand that this CHANGES, by any means possible. So, whatever you can do - spread awareness, protest, boycott, vote - just do it. Anything can make a difference. It's easy to fall prey to hopelessness, especially when watching news and broadcasts and Internet posts about all the powers that politicians and corporations have, to the point where people usually forget that the world IS a much better place than it was before. Average infant mortality has decreased, we have defeated an ENTIRE disease, the world is a HORRIBLE place, the world is BETTER than before, the world can be BETTER than it is now. But only if WE act together. For all their mighty armies, even kings couldn't hold on to their divine right to rule forever.

and sorry for the rant.

ISRAEL JUST BOMBED YEMEN!!

Israeli airforces bombed Al-Hudayda city, igniting petroleum refinery facilities and killing almost 70 people so far! (X) (X) (X)

It is also said that they were aided by Italian airforce (X)

[fenristheorem]

Hi!! I love how you write Lance🥰! I'd like to request how he would react to the first hug Gardienne gives him. I feel he hasn't been touched in a while, so a cuddle could make his heart go pitter-patter🥺

It doesn't have to be when they're dating, just after a while she woke up, he saves her and she's thankful and hugs him out of the blue

Thank you so much! 😄

I agree, I don’t think Lance has had any kind of affectionate physical touch in a long while. I actually wrote another headcanon about Lance with a really touchy Guardienne where I talked a bit about how I thought Lance would react to the first time she touched him (in that case it wasn’t a hug - so while it’s a good description of how he’ll feel, it’s still a bit different). That one is written with them as a couple, but it doesn’t really effect too much in the beginning, so I would highly recommend checking that out as well!

Due to how specific this ask was (and because the other ask was in headcanon format) I decided to write this as a short-story/scenario.

~Under the cut~

Lance’s reaction to Guardienne suddenly hugging him after he saves her:

Huang Hua realized in time that, no matter who she sent with her on missions, Guardienne would still get hurt. Guardienne believes this is a curse - she’s forever deemed to go on a mission with hopes and ambitions, only to be sent back being carried on the shoulder of a friend and find herself re-awakening in the Infirmary. However, she still needs to go on missions. She was one of the two saviors of Eldarya, and a functioning member of the guard again - she can’t just sit around and do nothing every day.

So Huang Hua decided to send Lance with her. If anyone from the guard could keep her safe, it was Lance.

This, of course, was met with a bit of backlash by Guardienne, but it’s been a while since her reawakening and accepting that Lance is now working with the guard again, so she puts up minimal fight. That and the fact that she’s tired of being a human test dummy for the nurses to find new ways to heal her wounds (they don’t actually do this, but they might as well at this point).

And that’s how they find themselves in the middle of the woods together. Alone.

Lance knows that she’s still a bit uncomfortable with him around, and he doesn’t blame her, but he hopes that she’ll trust him to protect her if it comes down to that. He’s determined to not let anything threaten them in the first place; he’s keeping a sharp eye and ear out for their surroundings, but he’s aware that her track record shows that something always goes wrong eventually. Certainly all the members of the Obsidian guard couldn’t be that incompetent, not with Lance biting their heels when they slack off, so it’s just a matter of time...

“Take a left... by the curved tree... a trail in the mud...”

Lance’s ice blue eyes flick over to watch Guardienne as she mutters and treads her way along the forest path. She’s picking around carefully, searching for something on the ground, but Lance recognized immediately that the dirt here is far too hard to show any prints that she’s looking for. The proper landscape for that would still be another half hour’s walk if he remembers this part of the forest correctly.

“I should have asked Huang Hua for more specific directions...” Guardienne softly hisses her discontent as she stops walking and looks around for a moment.

Lance takes this moment to walk past her, setting a steady pace instead of her meandering as he follows the trail through the forest.

“Lance?” She asks as he passes by.

“You won’t find any tracks in the mud here.”

“What do you mean?”

“The ground here is too hard. If there are tracks in the mud then they’ll be in a muddy area, not here where the land is hard.”

Guardienne pauses for a moment.

“I don’t know, everything is sort of muddy after the rain.” She sighs, then screeches; “So wait, you knew the whole time that we weren’t in the right area!? What the hell, Lance!?”

Not again with this, Lance thinks. The last time she was angry at him he was punched in the face and gained a new scar on his hand.

“You told me you were sent to find tracks in the forest that may be from an animal from your world, you never told me that they were in the mud.” He did his best to keep his voice steady, but he doesn’t know how she expected him to help her in any way when she doesn’t explain the details.

“You could have asked for more detail...” She quickly simmered down to a prickly mutter. 

“True, however, Huang Hua only sent me to protect you considering your record-” “Don’t remind me of my record!” “-so I’m here to escort you, not help you. I’ve been too busy watching our surroundings to scour the ground looking for prints. Now please be quiet so I can listen for anything.”

Guardienne quiets and Lance wonders for a moment if he was too harsh; she was well aware of why he was sent with her, and it wouldn’t really hurt to help her a little bit... But I shouldn’t go asking to distract myself, my orders are to protect her, Lance thinks. Regardless, he was still a bit nippy at her. This was an uncomfortable situation for him, and although him and Guardienne can get along, they do have days where they can do nothing but feud, and in those days, feuding with each other can make up the whole day.

He stops in his tracks and sighs, turning around to face her. She nearly runs into him as she focuses on the ground, possibly lost in thought, but quickly comes back to and stops a foot away from Lance. Her eyes meet Lance’s cool gaze as he studies her.

“The tracks should be somewhere around here, the terrain here is soft enough so they could be easily seen by a passerby.” Lance says in a gentler tone, turning his gaze off of her to begin his watch of their surroundings.

She starts to walk past him and then stops for a moment, half turned back to him.

“Ehm... thanks.”

His gaze flicks to her for a moment and he nods his head before scanning the forest again.

Many minutes pass - a twig cracks somewhere deep in the forest. Lance snaps his head in the direction and focuses on the area it came from. Just a small creature scuttling around.

“Ah!” 

Lance nearly draws his sword as he turns and lunges in the direction Guardienne is in, only to nearly trip over her as she crouches to look at something.

“Would you mind making another noise of surprise next time!? I thought something was attacking you!” Lance hisses as he regains his balance.

Guardienne looks up at him, eyes wide in surprise as she wasn’t expecting him to be so jumpy.

“I’m sorry... you don’t need to be so tense though...”

“With your record? Yes, I do.”

“Stop talking about my record or I’ll give you a pretty scar on your other hand to match the first!”

“It’s more likely for a Boltue to sprout wings and fly.” Guardienne continues to curse at him as he carries on, crouching down next to her. “Are these the prints you’re looking for?”

She glares at him and huffs before turning her gaze back to the tracks.

“Yes, they look like prints from a dog, maybe a wolf.”

“Anything of concern?”

“If it’s a domesticated dog then probably no, they’re like the companions we have here. Wolves might be more of a concern. They’re predatory animals about the size of a Fenrisulfr but generally stay away from humans. Being in a different world could change their temperament though...” Guardienne traced the prints with her fingers, worry lacing the expression on her face.

“Let’s head back then, if it’s a possible concern we need to notify to guard as soon as possible.”

“You want to lead the way? If you’re so jumpy then maybe you can jump into a thorn bush on the way back-” But as Guardienne continues her rant, Lance tunes her out and raises his head, briskly scanning the forest around them with a cold, focused gaze. He could have sworn...

A thump of paws and a roar is all he has in warning as a Warrifang leaps from the bushes.

Guardienne’s rave is cut off by a short scream as it lunges for her, but just as it’s about to reach her Lance throws his weight against the feral creature and slams it to the ground with a grunt. It retaliates with a screech and snapping jaws at his throat, pushing against him with all it’s might and managing to loosen his hold enough to shove him off.

The Warrifang lunges for Lance this time, and he only has seconds to bring his forearm up so the Warrifang’s teeth can meet the metal guard on his arm instead of soft flesh. Lance reaches for his dagger and grips the hilt, slashing outward and catching the Warrifang’s shoulder. It yelps, flailing backwards before lunging for him again. However, Lance is already crouched, sword in hand, and charges the beast. He gets one more hit - a light wound across the top of it’s neck as it ducks it’s head - before it yelps again and flees back into the forest. 

Lance spares only a second’s glance at Guardienne to assure she’s alright before his gaze follows the Warrifang as it flees into the forest, straining to hear if there are any more signs of a possible threat that may try an ambush after the scuffle. After a good few moments with no other sounds, Lance turns to look at Guardienne’s condition, who’s staring at him from a few feet away with an astonished expression.

“You alright?” He needs to know if he managed to do his job properly. Surely she must be alright - he completely intercepted the Warrifang.

“Yea, I’m alright...” She murmurs. Lance begins to strap his sword and dagger back into their leather holds at his waist. “I’m sorry...”

He looks back up at her, minor confusion written on his face.

“I’m not being very pleasant... but you didn’t do anything to provoke me. And I ridiculed you for not helping me on my mission when you were told to watch my back. So thank you, and I’m sorry...” Guardienne spoke quietly as she averted her gaze.

Lance looks away from her as well, studying the arm guard that the Warrifang bit down on. Perhaps Ewelein could run a few tests on the saliva...

His thoughts scattered when he felt two arms wrap around his torso, pulling a soft, smaller figure into him. He jerked his head back a bit, looking at Guardienne in surprise as she rested her head lightly on his chest and leaned into him.

“Thank you...” It was spoken so soft he thought he’d imagined it.

Lance froze for a moment, awkwardly standing with his arms half-way raised as she settled in before he found her warmth to be... comforting. Slowly, hesitantly, he brought his arms down and around her shoulders and waist, pressing her just a bit closer.

He nearly cried at how welcoming it felt.

When was the last time he hugged someone? When was the last time someone actually touched him with non-violent intentions?

Lance bit his lip and held his breath for a moment, fighting every urge that told him to nuzzle into her shoulder and lean against her, and resigned to locking his muscles as to not move any further. The last thing he wanted to do was to upset her in this moment; not when she was gracing him with such a wonderful gesture that he hadn’t felt in years. In her arms, just for this moment, he felt truly calm and content. It felt like laying down for the night after a long day of labor that left him with aching muscles. 

Of course, this moment was also gone too soon. Within the same minute, Guardienne pulled away from him - he could swear that she was hesitant while doing so - and refused to meet his gaze and she turned and drifted down the trail back towards the guard.

“We should probably head back, Ewelein and Huang Hua will be thrilled to hear that everything went well.” Her voice was steady but the downturn in her tone told of dismay.

Lance wondered in minor panic, for a moment, if she could feel how strong his reaction to that hug was, but he couldn’t focus much on that with the loneliness that was creeping back into his heart again. Hollow... so, so hollow now that he’s alone again...

He started down the path after her, reminding himself to stay alert - the Warrifang could always come back - but he knew he wouldn’t stop thinking about that hug for weeks, months even. And as much as he enjoyed it, he almost wished it never happened. How can he return to the routine of his isolated life after being so wonderfully embraced?

~I hope you enjoyed! I’ll admit, I’m quite pleased with this one! I feel this is a good showcase of my writing. Perhaps I’ll work on writing a few un-asked short stories after the rest of the asks are done.

Have a request? Ask them here!

But first, please read the rules list for asks!

[megadifferentcupcakewriter]

I'm about to go on a little rant here (there may be some minor anime spoilers ahead), so bear with me but it's another thing that's been bothering me, and I figured I'd post it here cause why not *shrugs* XD

Here lately one of my brother's have been ranting and raving about how anime especially is extremely kid-like, stupid to be into, ridiculous, and how much he hates it and so on; and that's perfectly fine he's entitled to his viewpoint, but at the same time I wanna show him all the evidence that he's wrong about anime being "kid-like" and I point you to the example shown above.

Ya'll know Full Metal don't ya? XD and if you don't here's a little brief explanation as to what the anime is about, (minor spoilers ahead so be warned, it's nothing to big) in a world where Alchemy exists and is used to extremes brother's Ed (yellow-haired character) and his brother Al attempt to bring back the mother they lost some amount of years prior to the series, and that is a big NO NO for the world, the end result? wellllll not to spoil it to much, but things get pretty graphic for the brothers, and in turn it changes their lives forever, so right off the bat-- we've kind of treated to an extremely graphical attempt at the brother's trying to bring back their dead mom, Full Metal also includes "child soldiers" "abuse" "genocide of thousands" "murderers" and that's some of the minor plot points to the anime, my word does it get so much more insane (those of you who are into anime I'd certainly recommend it)

Now allow me to show a little more of what would be considered a "sillier" anime

Here we have bungou stray dogs, again it's a pretty basic premise-- in a world where people have certain abilities, a group of individuals form their own agency to try to stop evil around the world, and many of the character's are pretty goofy, and eccentric in their own ways (some of them like moaning and groaning about the most childish things) and or playing off stuff as comedic effect, but I ask you turn your attention to the character of the far left in the brown coat "Dazai" as he's known. (MILD SPOLIER ALERT, but this happens within like the first five minutes of the anime, so take it as you want XD)

Right off the bat, we meet Dazai in the anime when he's trying to drown himself, and we learn just as quickly he is a suicidal character, seeing no point and or reason to continue to live in a world to the point that many of the man character's just kind of brush it off as this point, he is a MAIN CHARACTER in the anime and thus is thrown in the audience's faces time and time again, the show itself has an overall more "cheerful" tone at times, but delves into topics such as the underground city, mob hits, kills, abuse, and so on-- AGAIN I SAY anime is meant for kids? I think not!~ (again I'd recommend this anime to other anime lovers btw!)

Need I say anything about this anime? XD

EVEN this one!

Looks all happy cheery joy joy right? haha, WRONG!

YES, it's a little more "kid-friendly" then others, but at the same time it still holds elements meant for OLDER AUDIENCES, the basic premise being Iruma (the blue-haired character in the center) is SOLD I repeat (not kidnapped er...not really at least?) SOLD by his parents to a DEMON LORD and forced away from his human life into a world filled with demons, now thankfully, said Demon Lord is very sweet with him, loves and or adores him; BUUUT

If any of the demons discovered that he is a human they will DEVOUR him alive, so he has to live out his new life in basically HELL under the guise of being a demon all because mom and dad were like "ehh fuck it let's sell him to a demon" not only that, but Iruma struggles with trying to fit into the new school he is forced to attend, and yes he makes friends along the way and does better himself with some classmates, but at the same time he finds himself on the business end of some nasty character's.

And take a look at this anime.

(SPOILERS AHEAD)

Teenager loner kid is transported to the world of his dreams in a fantastical wonderful world filled with hot elf girls, maids, dragon people, basically think gamer teen finds himself in a game-- overall he's pretty excited, given that his previous life, he was a shut-in loner, who didn't have any sort of friends and felt like a disappointment, his joy only increases when he meets the lovely elf girl on his right, all happy and cheerful, bright sunshine and rainbows! how is this an anime not suited for kids you may ask?

MAJOR SPOILER TERRITORY AHEAD *but you could always also read this info if you read the premise of the show*

well... cute elf girl is looking for something, and she asks the teen for help to find it; together they go on a search, and long story short; both find themselves brutally murdered by an unforeseen force, and just as the boy is dying, he holds the elf girl's hands, and

poof

he's back, he's standing at the marketplace he had found himself earlier, with everyone not having any sort of memory of what had happened, although he remembers it, he remembers the shear agonizing pain of getting his stomach slashed open, and the assailant playing with his innards as he slowly bled to death, he REMEMBERS each time he dies, and time and time again it begins to happen to him as he tries to make the lives of others around him better. SOME OF THEM IN EXTREMELY GRAPHICAL WAYS (again though one of my fave animes XD)

so I'll say it again

ANIME IS FOR KIDS? um...no.

Thanks for coming to my ted talk XD

[newtonsheffield]

And, because I am apparently needy AF, I’ve got another one: Can you indulge us with some moments of Anthony being vulnerable with Kate? I mean, you blessed us with Comforting and I think there have been a few more headcannons, but I’m trash for emotional Anthony, so I’d love pretty please Anthony either opening up to Kate or being emotionally vulnerable with her or both? Thank you for indulging us and for all our Bridgerton (and life) chats ❤️

Oh Heyyyyyy 

I have to say you, my friend, probably know comforting better than I do at this stage. Truly, the world’s biggest B&S fan and I’m not sure what I did not deserve it, but I am thankful for it! 

And so, here we go! Anthony + Kate + being Emosh.

Anthony Bridgerton had never been a particularly emotional person, he sometimes wondered if those nights he spent crying alone after his father died had dried his tears up forever. And then he met Kate Sheffield and everything about him seemed to bubble with emotion. From the very first moment he met her indignation and anger had swept over him the likes of which he’d never seen. He’d ranted and raved to his mother about how absolutely impossible she was and his mother had clicked her tongue and said Are you sure that’s what it is? Anthony had glared at his mother because Jesus had she not been listening at all?! And Violet Bridgerton had fixed him with a very stern glare over her tea cup and said Hatred isn’t the opposite of love Anthony, nonchalance is. And he’d left with as much dignity as he could muster, and a terrible nagging feeling that she wasn’t wrong. 

Anthony knew how to manage his stress. He was an adult, after all. And he’d managed perfectly well before he’d been in a relationship, he reasoned with himself. So why was the only thing he wanted now was for Kate to tuck his head against her chest, run her finger’s through his hair and tell him everything was going to be okay? He wondered as he loitered outside Kate’s office door one afternoon after a truly trying day. His client had told him some very sensitive information he’d rather not know, but now had to follow up with which would completely ruin his case, Hyacinth had told him she didn’t want him to go and see her debate at school tomorrow which had smarted a little, He had to organise his mother’s birthday party, and there just seemed to be a thousand other things he had to do and no time to do it in. He took a deep breath and knocked lightly on the door, before entering, peeking through it first to make sure she wasn’t busy first. Kate was looking up expectantly, a smile spreading across her face as soon as she saw him. Anthony felt himself relax slightly. Kate frowned What’s wrong? she said at the look on his face, instantly standing from her desk, and tugging him further into the room before closing the door behind him, her eyes searching his. Anthony felt himself crack sighing as his head dropped to her shoulder. Her hands immediately reached for him, pulling him tight against her, one hand rubbing soothing circles on his back the other twisting itself through his hair. He breathed slowly against her neck the scent that seemed to always cling to her soothing him. I’m just stressed I guess he mumbled, feeling a little ridiculous. Kate cooed in his ear. It’s going to be okay you know? And if it’s not we can run away together and live in Costa Rica. You would look so good in board shorts. Laughter bubbled in Anthony’s chest and he instantly felt better. Kate hummed Now, tell me which of these things I can help you with. She said, still not moving, And Anthony wondered how he ever managed before he had her

Most of the time Anthony finds it much easier to open up to Kate in the dark, especially in the very early stages of their relationship. He’s never considered himself a very chatty person but when she’s moving above him or beneath him, cushioned by his bedsheets he can’t seem to stop the words from falling from his mouth quicker than he can think them. Something about the look in her eyes, so open as she gasps his name makes him want to spill all of his secrets to her. The feel of her head against is chest in the after glow has the same effect and he finds himself whispering all of his worries into the darkness of their little bubble. I’m worried I’m not going to be good at this he’d said, his voice barely audible even to his own ears I’ve never really done this before and I think eventually you’ll get tired of having to push or I’ll tell you what I’m thinking and you’ll realise that I’m not worth it he’d said, not meeting her eyes. Her fingers had been on his chin within seconds tilting it down, forcing him to look at her, to feel the weight of her words as she said them I want to know everything about you. Especially the things you wouldn’t tell anyone else. He spends the rest of the night whispering his secrets to her and in the morning when she still kisses his cheek and tells him she loves him a weight finally gets lifted from his chest.              

[farawaystardust]

March 12, 2021, in a universe without the rona

Ryan feels his phone vibrate in his pocket, nearly completely distracting him from Lauren’s voice. He smiles easily when he is dismissed, never happier than when he gets to stop being on camera.

looked so good babe that fucking block i swear gotta let me take care of ur ribs tho !!

Ryan smiles and flicks his finger over the messages, dropping it back in his pocket when he sees Mikko grinning at him. Mikko’s always fired up after a night like tonight, his energy boisterous and almost childlike.

“Too busy on your phone eh Gravy? Well you won’t get out of it tonight, you have to celebrate your night.”

“Do I?” Ryan muses, heading straight to his stall.

“Yes!” Mikko cries, flinging his huge arms out. “Yes, you do. Gabe, tell him.”

Gabe smiles at him from under the blonde hair on his forehead, dark from the shower. “If we even get to play on Sunday, we certainly won’t be able to hang out after. Indulge him, please, before he starts crying.”

Ryan smirks, being more careful removing his shirt than he was with his shorts, the ache already settling in. “I feel like the guilt trip is having the opposite effect, Rants. Cool it with the eyes.”

“My eyes? You want to talk about my eyes?” Mikko tugs him into a headlock, apparently uncaring of Ryan’s state of undress and his own shirtlessness. “You little shit, we all know who’s got the big, sad eyes around here.”

Gabe steps in when the shoving gets too much, apparently paying more attention to Ryan’s sore ribs than Ryan himself is.

The hot water feels amazing and Ryan doesn’t hesitate to indulge under the spray. The noise of his team shouting at each other, pumped up from the win, teasing and jovial and soothing. He wants to soak it in forever. It will be twice as good when the rest of the boys are back with them; he’d heard EJ’s voice when he was sitting in media, he knows who will be there when he shows up at Grubi’s favorite spot for celebrating.

That thought gets him moving a little more quickly.

He thanks his Uber driver and hustles through the door, the frigid air already settling in as the city prepares for a massive amount of snow over the weekend. The warmth and the noise hit him immediately, crossing the main area to their usual side room, relieved to find his team already gathered.

Tyson’s sitting half in JT’s lap, his hair sticking straight up and a huge grin on his face. JT is wearing the equivalent of a beaming smile for him–his lips tilted up slightly–watching Tyson rave about something, arms waving around wildly. The Kids are hanging on his every word, holding beers that Ryan isn’t sure they’re allowed to have. EJ’s got Pateryn under his arm and who even knows what he’s talking about anymore but Nate is laughing and looks relaxed and happy for the first time in a minute. And Grubi has about the biggest, tallest, darkest beer Ryan’s ever seen sitting in front of him on the table.

“Hey stranger,” comes a familiar voice from behind him. Ryan turns around almost too fast, nearly stumbling into his absolute favorite person.

“Hi,” he greets him around a breath that’s something close to a laugh, or a sigh of relief, or something. God, when did he get so moonstruck?

“Was weird not seeing you earlier.” Cale ducks his head and nudges Ryan’s shoulder, both of them back in their suits and coats.

Ryan makes a noise of assent and then nods at the bar. “D’you want anything?”

Cale shakes his head. “No, I’ll go with you, though.” And so he follows him, the two of them leaning against the counter.

They wind up squeezed between Devon and a wall. Originally, it was Landy who sat down with them for a quick check in, but with his new baby at home, Gabe didn’t stick around for long. Brandon had begged off the outing entirely for the same reason. Something Mikko was bemoaning loudly but only from a place of affection.

“Sometimes I wonder who the biggest drama queen on our team is,” Cale observes with the same dry tone he puts on for these moments. Ryan giggles outright, trying to stifle it in his drink. Devon looks around at them but that only makes them laugh harder.

An hour on and people are tired, excusing themselves to get home safely to settle in before the actual apocalypse that’s been predicted for the entire state. Ryan keeps his hands in his pockets all the way out the door and into the small parking lot where Cale is parked. He smiles as he watches Cale struggle to unlock the doors but he slides into the passenger seat without a word.

“You brought your bag?” he asks.

“Yep.” Cale bobs his head toward the backseat, checking his mirrors and headlights. Before he puts his hand on the gear shift, though, he turns to Ryan. “You ready to be snowed in?”

Ryan smiles back at him, his heart rate kicking up a notch. He leans in, loving the way Cale’s cheeks turn a darker pink. Their lips meet once, twice before Cale looks back at the dashboard, clearing his throat, and just generally being the cutest fucking thing Ryan’s ever seen in his life.

“S’freezing,” he mutters, putting the car in reverse and easing them out to the road. Ryan hasn’t stopped looking at Cale. Beautiful, fierce, goofy, and all his for at least the next twenty-four hours.

[kingofthewilderwest]

Tagged by @writingstellar! Good to hear how life’s going and holy crap I was just thinking about how it’s coming up 10 years since we met.

Rules: answer 30 questions and tag blogs you are contractually obligated to know better.

name/nickname: Haddock. King. Against my will, every other variation of fish-like things you can think of. King Fishy, Fishy, Fishface, Fishyface, Fish, etc.

gender: enby

star sign: 🖕

height: 5′ 2″

time: 12:27 AM

birthday: October 19

favourite bands: Flatt & Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys, The Dead South, Old Man Markley

favourite solo artists: uhhhhhhhhmmmmmmm... get back to me on that. Can... can Beethoven count? C’mon I fucking have Beethoven music TATTOOED ON ME, we gonna make Beethoven count.

song stuck in my head: a combination of like six Flatt & Scruggs songs and covers rn, most prominently Colors. I have no idea why. I don’t listen to their late 1960s stuff as often, but I woke up and that song came to me with tenacity and wouldn’t let go.

last movie: What was the last movie I watched in my Bad Movie Night group? Was it Leo the Lion????? Oh gosh. That nightmare is the last movie I saw??? Dudes holy shit that movie was a special kind of awful, it was a horrible experience and it’s scarred me forever and [spoilers] why did you make the elephant canonically fuck the emaciated lion?!?!?!

last show: Flatt & Scruggs TV Show. Shut up. I like them. A lot. Hyperfixation gonna hyperfixate. And they’re actually really wonderful and personable to watch, in addition to making great music.

when did you create this blog? summer 2014

what do I post: on this blog? Well, it used to be an analysis blog for HTTYD and more. Now... whatever, but usually fandom-related materials for my favorite shows... Gravity Falls, Fullmetal Alchemist, etc.

last thing i googled: middle finger. to get that middle finger emote up there.

do i get asks? absolutely. sorry that I no longer respond to everything as I once did. I no longer have the time and presence of mind to get to all asks, and it’s no longer a priority in my life or major past-time. but I read all of them and appreciate all of them and really do try to answer peeps when I’m on here and in the mood! Thanks for talking with me so much!

why i chose my url: As a How to Train Your Dragon blog, I thought it would be the COOLEST thing to pick Hiccup’s title. I was in excited shock it wasn’t taken.

average hours of sleep: uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I’m sleeping a fuckton lately, like sometimes 10, but that’s not normal to me.

lucky number: 13, 19, 320.

Instruments: Yes. I have an entire sideblog dedicated to my banjo explorations and bluegrass/country music obsession, to rant and rave to like the 0.1 person who’ll see it. ;) Feel free to check it out... I try to make it accessible to like, anyone, even peeps with none music background left beef. Banjo is my latest instrument and I’m proud of how far I’ve come in less than a year and a half. Started on piano as a wee one, got good at it. Added flute and piccolo, got good at it, played semi-competitively at local/state events in high school. Added clarinet. Added viola and played that in college orchestra because it was the one thing I could get INTO orchestra on because they didn’t audition on it. Also own/play to varying degrees of skill or incompetence: pennywhistles, soprano recorder, khloy (Cambodian flute), khene (Southeast Asian pipe instrument), tro (Cambodian spiked fiddle), tro ou (Cambodian spiked fiddle), dizi (Chinese flute), shakuhachi, ukulele, guitar, fiddle, Irish flute, harmonica, didgeridoo, shit why do I feel like I’m forgetting some things. Uhhhhhh... in college I played some taiko, shamisen, and shinobue too? I dunno, just chuck a woodwind or a string instrument at me, and I’ll figure something out. Won’t necessarily be pleasant but there’ll be notes.

what i’m wearing: red pajamas. They have snowflakes on them. they are warm and comfy.

dream job: I know it’s hard work as hell, believe me, my fam’s been in it, but seriously? transitioning to agricultural work. I’m an old-fashioned ass at heart and, as much as my work has serious perks with a flexible schedule, I hate how much of my life is spent on a screen. I’m happiest working with my hands, and I’ve got a green thumb.

dream trip: Dammit, I have to pick ONE place??? fuck that shit, I want to go everywhere, I have bucket list countries in every continent. shit. uh. how about Norway because that’s the home of my ancestors.

last book i read: I’m currently reading three right now. the last one I finished is an obscure Country Music history picture book from the 1960s. Oh hey wow did the bluegrass hyperfixation appear again? WOW YOU BETCHA IT DID. Uff-dah.

favourite food: I’m going to just say a fucking cuisine rather than narrow it down to one dish. Thai food.

nationality: United States American.

favourite song: Foggy Mountain Breakdown. Yes. Flatt & Scruggs came up again. Get used to it. I have fucking had Flatt & Scruggs appear multiple times in my dreams. I have fucking had Flatt & Scruggs more in my dreams than some of my irl friends. 

top three fictional universes: Mass Effect, Fullmetal Alchemist, Gravity Falls

gonna gently tag (no pressure!):

Okay I am sleep loopy so I cannot think of names rn but I might reblog and tag later with peeps because I always like poking friends.

[moonstruckholland]

so i'm a sagittarius right, and some fanfic trope came up: coffee shop au. where this time, tom is the barista. and reader is a regular customer. how do you think it would entail? (thank youuuuu, darling💞)

A/N: Ahh! I’ve always wanted to do a coffeeshop au! I’m not super sure if it did this right, I hope you like it, honey! 💕 I kinda went a bit overboard 😅

Despite contrary belief, not every college student liked coffee

Well, at least you didn’t

Maybe you were a total weirdo but something about it just didn’t float your boat, preferring the taste of literally every other drink

Yet, somehow, you found yourself waiting in line at the Starbucks on your campus

Your favorite spot in the library was taken and seemingly so was just about every hang out place around

So, remembering how your friend had raved over a vanilla bean frappuccino, you figured it’d be a good day to try something new

You spent the few minutes waiting going over the weird names for the drink sizes, wondering who the hell decided to refer to a small drink as “tall”

You felt prepared when it was finally time for to order, until you saw the barista taking your order, all coherent thoughts leaving your brain

He had to be the prettiest guy you’d ever seen, brown curls just gently falling over his face, his chocolate colored eyes seemed to shine and gosh, his smile literally lit up the room

“What can I get for you, darling?”

Darling. One sentence and you practically in love with him already

“Um,” you blinked, trying to clear your head, “Could I get a small-I mean, tall? That’s the right one, right? I’m sorry, this is my first time coming here.”

The blood was rushing to your face as you stammered, sure you were making a fool out of yourself

“It’s alright, love, take your time,” he gave you a reassuring smile that brought butterflies to your stomach

“Okay, uh, can I get a tall vanilla bean frappuccino?”

“No problem, darling, and your name?”

“Oh, um, it’s y/n.”

He wrote your name down on the little plastic cup while you paid, handing you the receipt with another heart stopping smile.

When you got your drink about 10 minutes later (it was really crowded on this particular day) you weren’t sure if you liked which you liked more, the liquid vanilla ice cream or the cute boy who made it for you, but you did know you’d be back.

A few weeks later and Starbucks had become a huge part of your routine

What started off as once or twice a week became an almost daily occurrence

You’d get your vanilla bean and if you were lucky, see the pretty barista, who’s name you learned to be Tom, with the voice that made your knees weak

You couldn’t tell if he was just being polite, but as you showed up more and more, the more he talked to you

He would ask you about your day, make little jokes about you ordering the same thing everyday, if he was wiping down the tables around you he would ask about whatever assignment you were doing

You would happily respond and ask him questions back

That’s how you found out he was a theatre major with a soft spot for reading, despite never actually doing it and he had a deep hatred for math, specifically stats and anything related to it

Your conversations with him never went beyond the coffeeshop, you never asked for his social and he never asked for yours, but you didn’t mind, talking to him had become your favorite part of your day

If he ever wasn’t there, you’d be disappointed and in a slightly less cheery mood, though you’d always chalk it up to nothing, pretending Tom didn’t have as much as an effect on he actually did

Today happened to be one of those days

You were already upset after learning you failed the stats test you spent forever studying your ass off for, and all you wanted was to see his soft brown eyes and warm smile

When you didn’t see him there you almost left, considering leaving campus all together and just doing your studying at home

You decided against it and got your usual, hoping the sweet drink could lift your spirits

It did, just barely, a sigh escaping your lips as you sat at your usual table

You pushed away the thought of homework and pulled out the current book you were reading, figuring you deserved to treat yourself today

You were only a couple of pages in when you saw someone approach your table and heard a familiar voice shortly after

“Fancy seeing you here, darling.”

You’d be lying if you said your heart didn’t skip a beat

You looked up from your book, seeing Tom in front of you, his usual Starbucks apron replaced with a white t-shirt and a loose blue flannel on top, a one of the coffeeshop’s sandwich bags in his hand and his bookbag on his shoulder

“Oh, yeah, it’s not like I’m here everyday,” you smiled, feeling giddy.

“Everyday, huh? I don’t recall seeing you yesterday.”

You had to keep yourself from smiling at the fact he noticed you hadn’t come by

“I spent the day at the library with my head stuck in my stats book.”

“I have to admit, I was a little upset, I look forward to your visits.”

The breath was literally knocked out of you for a moment, your blood rushing to your face

“Well, um, you could join me right now if you’d like,” you stammered, motioning towards the chair in front of yours.

Tom smiled, taking a seat, “I’d love to.”

You were worried with it being the first time you could talk for more than 5 minutes, it would be awkward, but you found it easy talking to Tom

You ranted to him about your horrible test and listened to him describe his theatre classes, taking note of the way his eyes seemed to shine as he talked about the topic with such passion

You found out how funny he was, making you laugh probably more than anyone had before

Before you knew it, a little over an hour had passed and Tom checked his phone for the time with a frown

“I have to go, love, got class in 10 minutes.”

You wished more than anything he could stay, loving the extra time with him

You tried not to look sad as you smiled at him, telling him you hoped he had a good class

He stood up, picking up his bag with him, “I was thinking, maybe we could do this again sometime? Maybe on Friday night, around 7?”

If Tom wasn’t standing in front of you, you would’ve pinched yourself to make sure you weren’t dreaming

Tom, the cutest guy in the world, was asking you out

You reached into your bag, pulling out a piece of paper and a pencil, quickly writing your number on it

You handed it to him with a bright smile, practically glowing with excitement, “It’s a date.”

[mooncleo]

and we recover slowly, my love, but surely

Fandom: Harry Potter 

Main Pairing: Ron Weasley/Hermione Granger/Harry Potter 

Description:  Ron, Harry, and Hermione live together after the war. It seems like the logical choice, and the next step into comfortable domesticity seems logical as well. They learn and they love and they heal and cope and live and it’s beautiful and painful and perfect. 

Words: 6,893

Edited: Literally not at all sorry guys 

Author’s Note: Good morning to everyone who did not ask!!! I’m gonna double post my fic for all of my two followers, whom I love and cherish very much 🥰🥰

I honestly was not expecting this fic to end up being ot3, that kinda took me by surprise. So did my 2k turning into almost 7k, that was a little bit of fun. 

I’m going to try to put in a read more, if I fail PLEASE tell me I don’t want anyone to have to scroll through everything. 

Read it on Ao3 here. 

… 

It was the cool quiet of the evenings that kept him from even entertaining the thought of returning to London. Nights at the Dursley’s had never been this calm, always filled with Aunt Petunia or Vernon’s yelling, Dudley’s taunts, or the rumbling of an empty stomach, sent to bed without a bite of the dinner that he helped to cook. 

He never went to bed hungry anymore. It was one of his triggers, they found out one night when he’d spent all day working on one of his projects and forgotten to eat- laying in the dark with his stomach beginning to knaw on itself in protest had sent him spiralling nearly into a fully blown panic attack. The Dursley’s had fucked him up, for sure. 

It was not long that they’d been living together in their little cottage that Harry made a joke about cupboards and beds. It was bound to come up eventually, but he had hoped, somehow, to put the ensuing conversation off forever. 

Before they had even gotten into details, Hermione’s eyes had started to water in a way that made him, quite frankly, uncomfortable. “All these years, and we never even knew? You’ve gone home to them every summer! I knew they didn’t feed you very well, but God, Harry. I didn’t think it was this bad." 

He could tell that Ron felt the same way, but he’d never been particularly good at expressing it. Instead, Harry got twice the usual serving at dinner, and Ron’s grip was tight around him when they settled down to watch a movie later.

The next day at breakfast, Hermione brought it up again. She’d started by trying to convince him to file a court case against them. 

"It’s a serious case of child abuse, Harry. They were horrible to you, and they shouldn’t be able to get away with it.” That argument had not gone down well, as Harry had first denied that there was any child abuse involved, however horrible they’d been, and then added on that he had no idea where they’d ended up after the war. He also didn’t really ever want to see them again, though he left that part out. He had a feeling it might not help his case. 

“Well, you should at least go to therapy. It might help you process what they put you through.” She held up a finger when she saw him going to argue and said, “Listen, even if you don’t think the Dursley’s abused you, I still think you should go to therapy. Don’t pretend you haven’t stopped sleeping because of the nightmares, Harry Potter, so help me God. I know what you look like when you’re well-rested and this isn’t it. Those bags under your eyes could carry our groceries. Actually, I think we should all go. It’s not as though you’re the only one who went through a year on the run in addition to all the other fun trauma that comes with war." 

Ron was a little confused about what therapy was until they explained the concept to him and he shouted out, "Mind healers! Oh! Yeah, we have those.” This, thankfully, saved them from the ordeal of finding an either muggleborn or squib therapist so that they could talk about magic without being declared properly insane. 

Harry had been apprehensive about going to anyone who could claim to fix his mental issues- in part because he was half in denial about those mental issues to begin with. Yes, he had trouble sleeping most nights because of nightmares. Yes, he felt guilty about every single death that had happened during the war. Yes, the Dursley’s had treated him horribly for all of his life. But everyone had nightmares because of the war, those deaths really were his fault because they were all fighting for him, and the Dursley’s just hadn’t liked him that much on account of his parents. The hate was mutual, after all. 

It only took one session with his mind healer, Gertha, for him to begin to open up to the idea that maybe he was a little bit misguided. Gertha was an 80 year old witch with gray hair just beginning to pepper her bun, and she took no shit. Her age had given her the grace of being willing to properly fight him when he started to go into a spiral, and she had a dry wit that he appreciated. Halfway through the first time they met, he’d started talking about the war and how it was his fault. Her eagle-eyed stare had stopped him in his tracks, and he’d asked, “What?" 

"Boy, you are taking on far too much responsibility here. You think all those people died just for you? You think the war wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t been around? No! Voldemort was coming back, with or without you- he would have found a way. And just because you were the face of the war, that does not make you the war. A rallying point does not control those who gather around it, it simply exists as a marker, a way to say ‘we are here.’ Those people did not die just for you, you hear me? They were going to fight either way. People don’t like to lay down and give up when their loves and lives are threatened." 

At the time, he hadn’t believed a word she’d said, but he liked the way she said it. It wasn’t quite scolding, more disbelieving than anything else. She also had said that Voldemort was coming back with or without him, even without knowing about the horcruxes. He liked her wit and the easy way she had handled his self-pity. She reminded him a bit of Professor McGonagall, and that in and of itself was a recommendation to him. 

He went back the next week, because she had told him to and he liked her. He felt lucky that he found someone he liked right away, because both Ron and Hermione didn’t like the first Healers they talked to. Hermione had not liked the bright, peppy young witch who was apparently entirely too optimistic. "Her office was covered in little paper flowers, as though she didn’t deal with grown adults. As soon as I mentioned the war she started patronising about how she felt there surely must have been a better option than fighting, like maybe talking. First of all, did she do literally any research before I walked into the room? Honestly, what if I had been just a mite more fragile? Or Harry?" 

"Hey! I resemble that remark!” A pillow found its way through the air in the direction of his face. 

“Don’t interrupt me when I’m ranting. Anyway, she was absolutely insane. 'Why did they have to fight?’ Because when another wizard throws a curse at you, you aren’t gonna just fucking stand there and take it! Good God, woman. I don’t know where she was during the war, but she clearly wasn’t paying any kind of attention to Britain. How did she even get her Healer’s license? Ridiculous.” Hermione took an angry sip of her tea and she and Harry both looked to Ron. 

“Yeah, mine wasn’t as bad as all that. I just didn’t really think he had the type of vibe I’m looking for. Kinda reminded me of my dad, actually. Not really what I wanted.” After sympathetic nods from the other two, Ron turned towards the TV. “What are we planning on tonight?" 

"Right! I forgot completely. The Princess Bride! The librarian was raving about it when I was checking it out, so hopefully it’ll be good.” As Ron was raised in a wizarding household, Harry hadn’t really had much of a childhood by way of movies, and Hermione’s parents had been very strict, the three of them had decided to work their way through iconic muggle films that they’d missed over the years. They’d all liked The Breakfast Club the week before, though they were postponing Star Wars from two weeks ago until they could get through the fight scenes without having semi-simultaneous panic attacks. 

The Princess Bride was a hit, and Hermione liked it enough that she put the VHS on her to-buy list. They wanted to build up their own collection of movies that they liked for rewatching purposes. Hermione had argued that going to the Blockbuster and renting a movie was much more cost effective that just buying all of them outright, since they were trying to get through at least a movie a week. The boys had decided not to argue, as she tended to be right about most things (and was also managing their finances). 

Three weeks later, Ron had found a mind healer he liked, and Hermione was still stuck. Ron never said much about the therapy sessions he went to, while Hermione preferred to rant after hers. “God, it’s like he wasn’t even listening! There has to be at least one healer out there that I can actually talk to with a modicum of intelligence." 

Ron and Harry traded glances. Harry’s look was quizzical, Ron’s was certain. It seemed that Harry would be the one to say it, then. ”'Mione, do you think that there’s a chance that maybe you’re having trouble finding a therapist because you don’t want to give any of them the chance to help?“ 

She was quiet for a moment. "I mean. I had considered it, but. Well. None of them- well. I suppose I may not have been entirely fair with all them. Although I stand by everything I’ve said." 

"Everything you’ve said? Your main complaint about the last one was that she wore a cardigan instead of doing warming charms on herself. You may want to rethink that, love.” Ron’s tone was gentle and amused. It was a good thing, because Harry was fairly certain she’d have bitten his head off if it’d been anything but. 

“Oh. Yes, well. Maybe a tad.” She coloured as she admitted it, and then added, “It was a truly hideous cardigan, though." 

"And warming charms are a rather simple.” Harry mimicked the arch way that Hermione said things of people she looked down on, a voice that only those close to her ever really got to hear. She never mocked people in polite company, but both Ron and Harry knew that she could be properly vicious when she felt like putting in effort. Ron laughed, and then Hermione did too, a second later. They descended into giggles for a few moments before subsiding. 

“Really, though. Your main complaints about her were her clothing, and not the soundness of her advice. Maybe try a second session with her, and see if it was a one off? If the only thing you could come up with was an ugly sweater then she must have been rather on the nose about everything else." 

"Hmmm. Maybe. She did seem reasonably intelligent, actually." 

The matter was concluded for the night, and they all went off to bed. After a night of rest, Hermione felt comfortable admitting that, looking back, it was rather obvious that she had been searching for faults as an excuse not to have to be vulnerable around people she didn’t know very well.

The solution to this, according to her mind healer, would be to get to know each other before starting. Hermione raved about how intelligent the woman was when she got home, and Ron and Harry once again traded glances. They didn’t say anything, but they were glad to have been able to help her find someone she actually liked. Neither was surprised that she was happy so quickly. It had been clear to them, before, that she was searching for faults. 

Their lives went on. Tuesdays became therapy days, and they’d all go out for ice cream afterwards. Eventually, Harry and Hermione ended up back in the workforce. Ron decided to stay home and take care of the house. (He referred to the two of them as his sugar parents, an idea that deeply offended Hermione. Harry thought it was hilarious.) 

Harry had toyed with the idea of going on to become an auror like he’d thought he wanted when he was 15. It did not take him very long to decide that he’d only really come up with the idea in the first place because he’d supposed that his life’s purpose was fighting Voldemort, and the aurors could have given him a leg up in that. With as long as it had taken him to accept that his life had meaning beyond fighting and defeating a dark lord, he wasn’t going to give that up now. 

They ended up spending the entire evening brainstorming when he brought up wanting to get a job. Even if he was never going to be an auror, he was still starting to get restless with all the free time they’d accrued living off the map together. 

"You could be a- a- um, fuck, what’re they called. Bus driver!! That’s a job.” Hermione, rather drunk on her fourth glass of wine, had taken to suggesting whatever came to mind. 

“I don’t drive, I’m gay." 

"Mmmm, you’re just as bi as the rest of us, darling. I bet we could figure it out. Actually, you know what, we should probably get a car.” She was starting to light up the way she did when she had a goal, and Ron groaned loudly. 

“God, I forgot we never even learned to drive. Do we have to? I can apparate half-decently, and so can Harry. We could just practice and then not drive." 

At Hermione’s put-out look, Harry interjected. "I’ll put bus driver on the list, but I don’t know that we need to drive. Where are we going? Half the shit we eat we grow ourselves." 

"That’s right! It’s sus- sustains- no, oh my god, I’m drunk- sustainsabilities. Fuck, I can’t speak. Sustainabilities. Yup, it’s sustainable! We’re helping the environment.” Hermione had, at some point during their conversation, migrated sideways so that she was leaning almost entirely on Harry. 

“'Mione, you have to move. You gotta- lean on Ron, I have to pee.” She snorted and nuzzled slightly further into his chest. 

“Hmmm, you do that." 

A few seconds later, there were snores coming from her frame, and Harry looked over at Ron, who was shaking with silent laughter. "Don’t laugh, I have to pee! Help me move her." 

Harry pushed at Hermione’s shoulder, and she flopped a little bit onto the back of the couch. Ron doubled over in another round of giggles, and Harry hissed, "Ron, I swear to god- if I start laughing I’m gonna piss! You gotta- oh my god- help!" 

At this point, Harry had started laughing and tried to slip out from under his girlfriend. Instead of quietly moving her without waking her, she fell and glanced her head off the arm of the couch. A brief moment of panic ensued, in which Harry and Ron both tried to check on her at once, and only succeeded in bonking their heads together. 

Ron was gasping through peals of laughter as he grabbed onto Harry to avoid falling off the couch. "Oh- oh shit, oh fuck, oh my god. Is- is she- fuck- is she okay? Harry, you fucking idiot, check her head." 

"She’s fine, dipshit. Fuck, that could have been so bad, shit.” Harry had sobered for the moment that it took to remember the diagnostic spell to make sure that Hermione was actually okay, and upon confirmation he sank back into the humor of the situation. 

“Goddamnit, I can’t believe that happened. Good god.” He wiped his eyes and then got up to actually use the bathroom. 

“Don’t get a concussion in there, Harry, the last thing we need is two of them.” Ron called after him, and he responded with a one fingered salute in the general direction of his boyfriend. He heard Ron’s collapse against the couch as he closed the bathroom door. 

It was as he was staring at the green tiling on the bathroom floor that he found himself reflecting on the fact that if that had happened a few months ago, it would have gone much worse. Any injuries sustained by the three of them were largely blind territory that brought back horrible memories for the worst of the months after the war. It was remarkable that they could laugh through it, now. 

When he came out to stick his still slightly damp hands under Ron’s jumper, he found Ron and Hermione curled up together, softly snoring. He smiled and climbed onto their couch next to them, levitating a blanket over the three of them as he went. It was a good night. 

The next morning, he woke up first. They’d ended up tangled closer together in sleep, but he was still on the edge and managed to slip out to start breakfast and find the paracetamol for the three of them. 

Breakfast was quieter than usual, with lots of gestures and grunts when someone wanted something. Wine hangovers were no joke. Later in the day, they went out to the garden together to weed, and Hermione suggested gardening as a potential profession. Harry vetoed, with the reasoning that he got to do it enough at home. 

Ron bounced off that logic to suggest Quidditch, and they had the first of what would end up as their two final options. The other was working as a professor, which Harry took a full week to warm up to the idea of. 

“I don’t know, becoming a professor seems like kind of a big deal. First of all, you’re shaping students’ whole lives, and second of all wouldn’t I need, like, higher education?" 

"Oooh, good point, actually. I believe you would need to get a mastery in the subject that you want to teach, which you can obtain by apprenticing under an expert in the field. I think that was in Hogwarts: A History? It might have come from somewhere else, I’m not sure. As for the other thing, I’ve seen you with kids, Harry. You’re brilliant. I don’t know that you even really need to worry about that quarter." 

"Mate, it might be good for you to get a mastery, actually. They usually discuss them with seventh years at Hogwarts, so I don’t really know much about them. Charlie’s was how he got started in Romania, actually." 

"Huh. That makes a lot of sense, actually. I always wondered if wizards had an equivalent to college, but I was a bit busy worrying about the dark wizard trying to kill me for most of my life, so I never got the chance to look it up.” Harry had actually considered asking McGonagall about it during his consultation on his future, but they’d started talking about Defense Against the Dark Arts exams before he could mention it. 

“Harry, you should write McGonagall about it. She’s always looking for new teachers, and even if you don’t end up wanting to do it, she can give you advice on how to start looking for a mastery, which you’ll pretty much need for most jobs, anyway." 

With that, they’d settled the matter. He wrote to McGonagall, and she replied promptly with an invitation to her office to discuss it in person. 

McGonagall had taken Dumbldore’s old office. Harry had known that she would, as Headmistress, but it still shocked him a little to see the space decorated so differently. Minerva McGonagall was a practical woman, and as such had no need for random devices scattered about the room. He walls were lined with shelves full of books of many kinds, and her fire was roaring. She and Harry sat across from each other in matching armchairs that Harry swore must have had some kind of charm on them, because they were the most comfortable chairs he’d ever sat in. 

"Professor-” Harry started, and then stopped. He wasn’t quite certain how to go about this meeting, on unfamiliar territory. She wasn’t quite his teacher anymore, and he didn’t know how to approach that. 

“You can call me Minerva, Harry. You are no longer my student.” The way she said it was not unkind, but he still felt lightly chastised. “I believe you wanted to discuss how to proceed in finding a career in the wizarding world?" 

"Um. Yes. Well. Minerva- hmmm, yeah that tastes strange. Minerva, I’ve been thinking that it would be a good idea to get myself back out into the world, starting with a job. Ron, Hermione, and I have been fine in our cottage, but sometimes it- I just feel like it’s time. I’m getting a bit restless, I think." 

Minerva looked amused at his rambling. "I know how that feels. Did you know that after Elphinstone and I got married, I took a break from teaching?" 

"Really?” Harry was genuinely surprised, because he couldn’t really imagine Minerva as a house wife. 

“Yes, really. I took a year off to take care of our home and try my hand at being a stay at home wife. A year was about all I could stand, honestly. I ended up going back to teaching the following September, I was lucky enough that Albus had been unable to fill my position beyond a temporary professor. I loved our house and I loved spending time with my husband, but I found it difficult to be alone all day and trying to productively fill my days. I also missed my students with no small amount of fierceness." 

"I definitely know how that feels. We have plenty of things to do but it’s so easy to get distracted without the structure of school." 

"Hmm. Speaking of which, how much do you know about masteries, Harry? I know that you and your peers all missed our usual talks about them, but you are also living with one Hermione Granger, who I am sure knows a fair amount about them through the pure virtue of planning three years ahead at least at all times." 

Minerva said it with humor and fondness in her voice, and Harry chuckled. "You’re not wrong. I know that it’s a bit like muggle college, and that it’s essentially an apprenticeship? I am a little bit confused about what one would do if they got to their mastery and found out that they’d picked something that they actually don’t like as much as they thought they did- for muggles they would just change their major, but if you’re working with one specific person because of their expertise in the subject that you’ve chosen, what do you do?" 

"That’s a good point. Most students have at least an idea of what they want to do based on what classes they liked while they were in school, but many don’t. Towards the end of seventh year, we allow students to start trying out different concentrations. Many will start to work with teachers in subjects that they like to see if they like the subject as much as they think they do. If we don’t have anyone specializing in the subject that they are thinking of, we can, more often than not, find someone who is willing to allow them to tail their work for a week or so to see if that’s something they like. We encourage students to look into at least three different masteries so that they can fully explore their options. This helps most students decide where they’ll end up, but even if you get to where you want to be and then decide that it actually isn’t for you, it’s not nearly as difficult to try something new as it would seem." 

"Good lord, that it a lot of information.” Minerva tilted her head slightly in acknowledgement. “So, if I start where I am now, without any weeks of tailing anyone and a bit beyond graduation, what do I do?" 

"Well, I might suggest taking remedial courses for the year that you missed, to start. It might help some with the boredom that you were talking about earlier, and you are a bright young man. I have no doubt that you will find you can complete the courses in far less time than it would take you to complete a full school year. We thought about offering students an option to complete an extra 'eighth’ year, but ultimately decided to keep Hogwarts at its usual seven years, and instead look into alternate options for them to finish. That September, most of our older students weren’t ready to return to the school anyway. War takes its tolls." 

"Isn’t that just ridiculously true? We were all wrecks for months, rather a bit. In the end Hermione pushed us to start going to therapy, and that helped loads. As for the completing the courses, I think that’s a good idea- I could probably do them with Hermione and Ron, Hermione’s been trying to figure out the logistics of finishing seventh year since it occurred to her that we never did, nevermind the fact that she’s performing spells of that level since fifth year." 

"I’ve been trying to remember that that is a letter I need to send out to everyone, though I keep forgetting. Even this far down the line, we’re still working through castle repairs and damages. There is always so much to do… well, that’s no excuse for slacking, regardless. I’ll have to add it to the list." 

She pulled out a piece of parchment from seemingly nowhere, and began to write on it with a quill also pulled from the ether. 

Harry was deservedly very impressed. "That was awesome, professor- what spell was that?" 

"I am no longer your professor, Harry. That is a useful little spell Filius taught me… " 

Their visit went on, with Minerva imparting far too much wisdom for Harry to ever be able to remember it all. They discussed a wide variety of topics, and McGonagall seriously considered all of the options that he had looked into, and was a particular fan of the quidditch idea. "Even if you don’t end up doing it as a career, it’s an excellent way to stay in shape. Far too many of my students simply stop playing when they decide on an office job, such a shame, and so much wasted potential as well." 

That particular comment sparked a long discussion about the merits of playing quidditch recreationally, which led to them talking about the professor’s league at the school. Harry was shocked that he hadn’t known about it as a student, had never heard it mentioned, and Minerva laughed at him for it. Apparently there were many secrets of the staff and school that students didn’t know about. 

When he left with several biscuits tucked away in a container for travel to bring to Ron and Hermione, he felt better. He was almost entirely decided on what to do for his apprenticeship, and he had a solid plan for his next few years. After the uncertainty of being on the run for a year combined with the certainty that he wouldn’t live past 17, it felt good to know what he was going to do, and additionally know that it had nothing to do with dark wizards. It was rare for him to be anything resembling normal. 

Ron and Hermione listened animatedly to his recollection of the meeting. Hermione was especially delighted to find that they’d have a way to complete their schooling, while Ron was relieved that it was from home. "Gotta be honest, I don’t want to go back to Hogwarts. It’s lovely, and in a special way it will always be home, but I think there are a tad too many memories lurking around corners for me to be completely comfortable there ever again." 

Harry nodded, though he wasn’t entirely certain he agreed. It was something he’d not considered, the memories contained within the school’s walls. Hogwarts was his home, and it likely would always be in his mind, the first place that he ever truly felt comfortable. But with how bad his PTSD had been, and still was on occasion, would he be able to live there? Walk its halls the way he had as a child? He wasn’t sure. 

They started their schooling a month, later, when it became widely available. The three of them were in some of the same core classes, as they’d always been, but they were all taking different paths and therefore most of the time they spent with papers spread out around them at the dinner table that they never ate at were for actual working, not talking. 

Ron was taking only what interested him, just enough courses to be able to get his degree. He tended to finish his work before the other three, and would go kiss the top of their heads as he got up to go start dinner. Hermione had taken as many courses as she could fit, as always. It was almost worse than third year, because the courses weren’t held in person. She had taken that to mean that if she could find the time for it in her personal schedule, she could fit it in. 

Ron and Harry had talked her down from taking all available courses. She’d ended up with a fairly large courseload regardless, but that was to be expected. 

Harry was, as ever, in the middle. He found himself with a courseload he was happy with, a few extra classes that he thought could be interesting, but not so many that he was constantly doing work. That worked out well for him, because he’d taken an herbology elective having to do with the growing of potions ingredients in the wild. It turned out that understanding the ingredients in a deeper sense than just their names was immensely helpful for potions. He’d never been doing better in a potions class without cheating, and he’d also begun to actually understand some of the notes Snape had left in the margins of the stolen book. 

They got through their class work and watched movies and made tea and went for walks and before they knew it, the holiday season was upon them. Their classes all had breaks for Christmas, and they took full advantage of that time. 

"What d'you think we should get Molly this year?” Harry through the question out from his position on the couch, draped across Ron and Hermione’s laps. 

“That’s gotta be some sign of adulthood, having to give your parents Christmas gifts.” Ron’s fingers paused their carding through his hair as he digested the question, and then he resumed. “I bet she’d like some of that cleaner we saw the other day, the one that changes scent." 

"Oooooh, good point. I was thinking maybe some new knitting patterns, actually- I found a bunch in the clearance section in the bookshop we went to the other day.” Hermione started diligently scribbling on the parchment in front of her under the “parents” section of her well-organized christmas shopping/gift ideas list. She turned to her boys to say something more, but as she opened her mouth the tinny sound o a timer going off filled the room “That;s your turn done then, Harry. Scoot." 

"Awww, but I’m so comfortable, 'Mione.” Harry pleaded to Hermione’s uncaring eyes as he heaved himself upwards out of Ron’s lap. Ron scooted down the couch to take Hermione’s place as she laid down to replace Harry. 

“Mhmmm. Well, it’s my turn to be comfortable.” Harry’s fingers found their way to her hair as her quill and parchment floated in the air by her head. “Alright, where was I? Okay. Ummmm, right! Under Molly, I want: "knitting needles, pattern books, and scent changing cleaning spray." 

The quill started scratching across the page as Hermione explained, "The other day over tea she mentioned to me that she hadn’t a good way to organize her needles, and usually has so many projects going that half the time she doesn’t know which ones are already in use and which aren’t. I think we should get her a new set so that she can have doubles AND an organizing system. I’m sure if we look hard enough we can find a case that has an extension charm on it, or we can do one ourselves." 

Ron looked down at Hermione with a smile on his face. "Brilliant. Alright, who’s next?" 

Harry glanced at the parchment hanging in the air to see which space was blank. "Looks like we don’t have anything for Ginny, which should be easy enough. She was complaining about her broom the other day, but I know she likes the model too well to want a new one. I was thinking a broom servicing kit?”

The evening went on like that, and they eventually had at least a rough sketch of what they would be looking for when they went out to do Christmas shopping. They found a fair amount of the things actually on the list, and were able to get suitable substitutes where they couldn’t. 

Their Christmas plans were this: they spent Christmas Eve at Hermione’s aunt’s house. She explained to them that her mother’s siblings had a rotation going, and that next year the three of them would likely be required to come to her parents’ aid with hosting. Her family was surprisingly large, and she told them that they tended not to gather for anything other than holidays. She never talked about them because there weren’t any other wizards in the family. 

They found out that this was not actually true on Christmas Eve, when Ron walked in on one of the cousins changing her kid’s diaper with a spell. It was a rather awkward conversation, while Ron tried to explain that he was a wizard and she tried to obliviate him. Eventually, the truth came out: her cousins were American, and hadn’t been particularly affected by the war. They, in all honesty, had been remarking to each other all night that Harry looked oddly familiar to them, but had been unable to parse out exactly what it was. 

They ended up setting up a lunch date for all of them for later that week before they apparated back to Minnesota. The cousins were very excited to find that there was another wizard in the family, and Hermione was similarly vibrating. 

“I can’t believe, all this time, and I didn’t even know! I knew it would make sense that some of my relatives would be magical, but I didn’t think it would actually happen. I obviously wasn’t going to sniff around and risk them finding out just to see if they really were muggles or not. Oh my goodness, this is amazing. I wonder what schooling looks like in America? I mean, I know the basic principles, of course, but I would love specifics. It’s such a big country, and Ilvermorny is the main school that we hear of, but I’m certain they wouldn’t have travelled that far just for school, that doesn’t make sense, does it?" 

”'Mione, we’re having lunch with them later this week. I’m sure they’ll be happy enough to answer your questions. We certainly don’t know the answers.“ 

Ron nodded as he hoisted the backpack holding their gifts in it higher on his shoulders. They were walking to the closest apparition point. According to Harry, who was using google maps, they were about 5 minutes away. 

"Turn left here. For tonight we should just focus on trying to get ourselves home, I think. Did we end up finishing the wrapping for tomorrow?" 

"Oh shit, I forgot, actually. We ran out of wrapping paper. We only have a few left, but still. Should we find a Tesco and stop in? It’s not too late, is it?" 

"They’re open til 10.” Ron stopped walking for a moment to consult his watch on the time, which read out 9:37 p.m. 

“Alright, let’s go then." 

The tesco had one roll of wrapping paper with lumberjack Santa Claus’s dancing across it with axes. They were not literally dancing of course- there was a Tesco in London with a wizard section where they might have found something similar, but they hadn’t the time to go to it. 

The next day, George refolded his "hot santa claus” wrapping paper into a hat and wore it all through dinner. Molly was too happy that he was smiling to scold him about it, although she did have to excuse herself at one point. When Harry came in to check on her, she was crying lightly into a handkerchief. 

“Oh, don’t worry about me, dear. I’ll be alright- he just- oh, for the love of- he looks very much like his brother.” She blew her nose and took a deep breath. A weak smile graced her face as she looked up at Harry. “It’s hard, still. It’s been getting better, but- well, I didn’t think they could even survive without each other. I used to look at the two of them, always together, always finishing each other’s sentences, and think, god, they’re just like my brother’s, and oh, thank goodness they’ll never have to be apart. I just- I just wish I’d been right.” Her voice broke a little bit on the last word, and she started dabbing at her eyes again. 

“I know. I remember in school, they were always together. No one thought they should ever be apart, but. I don’t know. George is doing- not well, but- he’s surviving. That’s all we can ask of him. That’s all we can ask of any of us, really. I think he’s being happy in Fred’s memory, instead of in spite of it, you know?" 

"Oh, I know, dear, I know. It’s just difficult. I’ll get over myself, I just needed a moment. I love seeing him smile again, it’s like Fred’s back, just for a little. Fetch me a glass of water?" 

Harry nodded and swiftly vacated the room. Even after all his therapy, he was still shit with emotions. He found Arthur and informed him of the situation, sending him back to his wife with the water she requested. He knew that was the right decision when he saw Molly again, tears dried, laughing at something Arthur was saying. Her arm was laced through his, a glass of wine in her hand as she leaned against him on the couch. 

He took a minute to reflect that he rarely saw Molly so relaxed, and especially not since the war. He was glad that they’d healed enough at this point that they could, at the very least, enjoy Christmas. His musing were interrupted when Ron came up to him from behind and hugged him. "We’re going to play pick-up, you’re on my team. Ginny’s pissed about it, come on." 

He turned into his boyfriend with a smile on his face and give him a peck. "Excellent, let’s go crush her." 

Ginny, who was training to be a professional quidditch player, soundly kicked their asses. George and Bill helped too. 

As punishment for losing, Ron, Harry, and Charlie went skinny dipping into the pond on the property, but ended up just getting everyone else wet until they all went swimming together, whooping and laughing. 

It was a good night, and Harry woke up sandwiched between Ron and Hermione. He was content to lay there and wait for them to wake up, listening to their breathing and looking at the rise and fall of their chests. They were here, and they’d made it through- he hadn’t thought they would. In the deepest recesses of his mind, he’d done out the math and he had been so certain that they wouldn’t make it through the war all together- something would have to give. Thank god he was wrong, pseudo death or no. He wanted to be nowhere else than where he was, listening to the Weasley household wake up on a Christmas morning. 

They all got up eventually, slowly stumbling their way into the kitchen as the lure of coffee and sausages called to them. Mrs. Weasley seemed happy to have all of her birds back in the nest. Percy kissed her cheek as he left for work, the only one who hadn’t been able to get the day off. The rest of them sat down to eat. 

Overall, it was one of the best Christmases he’d had in a long time, one of the few that he’d truly been able to enjoy. It was reminiscent of some of his first Christmases at Hogwarts, the first ones that he’d ever known what it was like to get presents that weren’t hand-me-downs or worthless garbage. 

He thought about that feeling of being new to a world of literal magic, and the fact that the most magical part of it all had been that he’d had an out, that he’d been able to get far away from the Dursleys for 9 months. He liked this feeling better. Contentedly settled into his skin, with a wide and bright future set out in front of him. He couldn’t help but think that just maybe, there was nowhere better to be. 

[eyeslikefoxglove]

Episode 8 - WangXian go on a date & DON’T BLINK

Hello there, welcome to another Untamed commentary. To put everyone in the mood, it is Friday evening, one of those grey rainy days interrupted briefly by by brilliant burst of sunlight. I’m having a snack (chopped mango with yoghurt and a homemade matcha latte with honey), I just washed my hair, I’ve exfoliated, masked and moisturised. And everyone in this household is doing their own thing (napping, watching tv shows, more napping), I’m in a very good mood, so let’s go ahead with episode 8.

I think I’ve never commented on the intro credits before, I’ve seen people say they prefer to skip them because they find them spoilery, which they undoubtedly are. However, besides the absolutely stunning cinematography what I feel they aimed for is confusion. You’ve got this guy who’s kind of dark, but he’s crying and playing the flute, then some people are trying to kill him in some scenes, but in others he’s fighting back to back with the same guys and then there’s black smoke everywhere... I feel that, if I saw the credits I’d be intrigued enough to actively look for the drama and find out what the deal with the guy with the flute is.

And let me repeat something from the previous episode:

BUNBUNS. LOOK AT THE BUNBUNS

HOW’S WWX CUTER THAN THE BUNBUNS. THEY’RE BUNBUNS.

DONT FUCKING DO IT. Oh but these three with the bunbuns just melt my heart. STAY WITH THE BUNBUNS FOREVER AND NOTHING BAD WILL HAPPEN.

JC: gentlemen’s don’t hold bunbuns.

JC: *proceeds to be soft and cute and gentle with the bunbun he’s holding*

Ok but stoic serious no-nonsense LWJ stopping to say goodbye to the bunbuns? That’s fucking adorable.

FR tho, people who are “tough/cold/unapproachable” being super soft with tiny creatures is my damn kryptonite. It’s like, Ben Solo, being a super-beefcake with a lightsaber, a terrible past, too much attitude... and a kitten on his shoulder, I would 100000% ignore the bit where he was a super effective killing machine and go “aww. you like cats!”

As a lover or thunderstorms at night when everything is still and quiet I would’ve stabbed WC up a nostril just on principle, so props to LXC for not murdering that clown. Never mind threatening his baby brother.

I LOVE SHIJIE’S UNWAVERING FAITH IN HER XIANXIAN.

Aaaaaand let’s have a moment to admire LWJ/Wang YiBo in blue.

Ok, done.

OH MY GOD. I’d forgotten this bit was in here. So you know when WWX has just caught up with LWJ and he throws him a loquat and complains about LWJ leaving him behind? I love the bit when he’s calling the Lans petty, and LWJ just goes “boring” and sweeps past him with this tiny sassy smirk and leaves WWX fucking processing for a second. I live for that kind of LWJ and that’s partly what my TimeTraveling!LWJ was based on.

WWX: *ties them with magic* isn’t this neat?

LWJ, internally: so he’s a genius dumbass, I’m fucked.

Ok now that we are a bit in I can safely say this is one of my favourite episodes. No, it is not because it is pretty much an episode-long WangXian date. How dare you.

LWJ’s internal monologue: I can’t believe in so in love with this dumbass. I’m moron-sexual the gods help me.

JC being a good bro and JYL being the fucking queen of the universe like she always is.

(Another moment to appreciate LWJ/Wang YiBo in blue)

I feel LWJ’s aversión to crowds on a spiritual level.

I also feel NHS excelling just in what he likes so much. I mean, I was never a terrible student, but looking back at just the last six years in Med School my marks skyrocketed from a passing grade in stuff like physics and biophysics to top marks in things like neurosurgery; just due to the fact that I find neurosurgery way more interesting than physics.

THE PETAL SHOWER SCENE IS STUNNING. Also, if you don’t think WWX already had a crush on LWJ (and I am talking in The Untamed/CQL verse, I know that in the books he still thought he was straight) I’m pretty sure this is filmed just so we’d have visual confirmation that he is indeed crushing so hard. And I still don’t know if NHS is wingmaning or third wheeling. (Both? Both? Both? Both is good.)

I mean, NHS goes onto his “LWJ is stunning” monologue, and then WWX gives him kind of a disbelieving look. BUT THEN, he glances at LWJ (again being showered in flowers bc he wasn’t gorgeous enough on his own) and his face turns considering, he makes a stupid joke, and he goes back to looking at LWJ with the softest smile. I will fight anyone that dares tell me CQL!WWX hasn’t been crushing on LWJ since the Cloud Recesses.

//Sidebar LWJ’s looks adorably in awe at the petal shower this whole time.

Aaaaaand plot happens.

Oooof! The contrast between all the colourful flowers before and the burned blackened garden now. Ooooof.

Ok but that shadow bird is fucking cool and I want one.

WC’s head piece (guan?) makes me think of the Disney designs for Pain and Panic.

I know is wishful thinking, but if I wonder how different things would’ve been if WQ had snapped and offed WC when he was taunting her with the safety of her family.

Can I take a moment to rave about how clever WQ is? I mean, she’s already worried and scared for her family, she had absolutely no warning before JC ran into her and yet she managed to pull off that ruse to warn him about WangXian and NHS being in trouble in what, a few minutes? She’s so cool.

Ok, full disclosure here, I can’t see elderly people being sad, scared or worried, it reminds me of my maternal grandparents whom I adored and I get super sad.

(My dad still has his parents but they are terrible to my mum, dad and me, so they get no sympathy)

Funny story: I almost fell backwards the first time I heard “grandmother” used as a respectful term to an elderly lady back when I was living in Bulgaria (I moved back to Spain like a week ago, I’m over the moon to be home y’all). You don’t do that in Spain, calling someone who’s not your grandma “grandma” is really fucking rude.

Aaaaaand none of these knuckleheads know how to speak with a person in shock. They get a pass because all teens are knuckleheads in some measure but...

But if I heard a terrified lady muttering about soul snatching I’d fuck right off that village tbh. I’d take my chances sleeping in the woods with the roaming serial killers.

[it just started storming, I love this!]

Sure! Let’s stay the night in a cave with a creepy anthropomorphic statue that’s supposed to snatch souls. I’m sure it’ll be ok.

NHS is the only one with a Braincell here. (NHS is my adorable Slytherin son and I love him)

Y’all might not have noticed but I have not I’m not going to comment on the quality of the CGI/special effects/monsters. I’m aware this is a tv show and it doesn’t have the same budget as idk, a Marvel movie. I’m ok with them not being that believable. Same with unbelievable sword moves, I know shit all about sword fighting and even less about xianxia. Y’all might even be lucky enough to avoid my “bodies don’t work that way” rants, because again, everyone has magic, why would medicine be any different.

[brief interlude here, I had to go cat-hunting because we couldn’t find one of the cats, she likes to make a break for it sometimes, it’s a full on thunderstorm outside, almost sundown and she’s solid black. We found her in the basement exploring. Two of the other ones are in the kitchen with my mum and my big scaredy boi is under my bed. Also, this storm just reminded me that my dad is fixing the attic so I can have a “loft” next year when I start my residency and I can’t wait to fall asleep to rain up there.]

NOT THE TIME TO FLIRT WWX. NOT THE FUCKING TIME.

What LWJ says: stay alert (in case the statue moves again)

What I hear: Don’t Blink!

Oh come on! Zombies now? Fuck right off, let them sleep!

And that was episode 8! Thank you for reading.

[ghostofviperwrites]

Bargain

Requested by anonymous

Pairing:  Kazuchika Okada/FC

Category:  Angstish

Warnings:    Manipulation, coercion, asshole Okada

“I got you figured out, you need to have control” Yes Girl by Bea Miller

It had taken you a while, but you had Kazuchika Okada figured out.  He was a control freak, plain and simple.   If things didn’t go his way, he tended to pout.   He had a bit of a temper, and when things were out of his control, he was out of his element.  

I got you figured out, you need to have control

You think I don’t know you, I know you, I know

Trying to tell you now, I’ve been doing what you want

But I won’t be your yes girl, no, not anymore

That was why your role as his assistant was so vital.   He was demanding.   Almost overbearingly so.   You had to be meticulous with his schedule, making sure everything lined up perfectly, that he had his required down time, and an exact amount of travel time between each destination.   Kazuchika detested being late, so you had to make sure he had plenty of time to get from point A to point B.  

All in all working for the man was quite taxing and beyond stressful. You honestly weren’t sure how much longer you could continue working directly under him.   If he was a nice guy it may make it a little more bearable, but he was pretty much an ass 90% of the time.   If the pay wasn’t so good, you would have hit the road long ago.   Now you were getting to the point you weren’t sure the money was worth it.  

It hadn’t been like that when you first started.   He had been the consummate gentleman to you, treated you nicely, took you to lunch and confided in you.   All that changed once he realized there wasn’t a chance in hell of you sleeping with him.   When you had made it abundantly clear that you relationship was professional only and that you were madly in love with your fiancé.   It was like taking a toy away from a child.   Kazuchika did not like hearing the word no, was unaccustomed to it, and therefore was striking out at you for daring to deny him.

But I won’t be your yes girl, no, not anymore

Just let me go, just let me go

Won’t be your yes girl, no, not anymore

Just let me go, just let me go

It was complicated to say the least and you were honestly fed up with toeing the careful line of his temper.   Tired of getting chewed out for non-existent mistakes and being held to impossible standards.   After yet another rough morning you had decided this was it.  You were putting in your notice.  With a determined set to your shoulders you headed into Kazu’s office, slamming your hands down on the desk surface when he ignored you. Raising his eyes from the stack of 8x10s he was autographing Kazu looked up at the resounding noise, arching his perfect eyebrow high as he stared at you.  

“I quit.”  You said firmly.  “Two weeks from today I am done working for you.”   Piece said you turned on your heel heading out of his office feeling like a weight had been lifted of your shoulders.  Only to stop dead in your tracks at Kazu’s response.

“No.”  He said simply before returning his attention back to the task at hand.  

Unable to believe you had heard him correctly you turned right back around and stood over his desk, glaring at him.  

“What do you mean no?” You asked shrilly.  “You can’t just force me to work for you.”  

“Actually I can.”  He said simply.  “Maybe you should read your employment contract.”  

“There is nothing in my contract that says I can’t quit.”  You argued as you tried to remember exactly what you had signed.  

“You would be right.  After a year.   You’ve been here three months.” Kazu shrugged unrepentantly.  “For the next nine months the only way you can walk away is with my approval.  Or paying the penalty.  Which, I’m rather confident you can’t afford.”  

With a strangled shriek you rushed from his office and to your computer, frantically pulling up the PDF of the contract you signed when you came to work for New Japan as Okada’s assistant.  You remembered being so nervous that day.  You had read the contract, thoroughly you thought, but apparently certain things hadn’t been retained.   Your mouth dropped as you read the provision on resignation, unable to believe you didn’t remember that.  

“I’m right aren’t I?”  You startled as Okada’s voice appeared at your ear and you cringed from him as he leaned over your shoulder and read the paragraph aloud adding a whistle at the end for dramatic effect.  “Wow that is a pretty steep penalty.”  He said pursing his lips.  “Shame you can’t afford to pay that.”   Okada straightened and walked towards the door to leave for his next appointment.

“Kazuchika, you can’t be serious. Are you really going to make me continue working with you?”  You called after him. “We can’t stand each other.  Why would you want to keep me around?”  

“It’s quite simple really.”  He replied glancing over his shoulder to respond.  “You don’t want to be here, so I’m going to keep you.”   He flashed a grin at you.  “But I’ll tell you what, I’m in a rather generous mood today and am willing to extend a proposition to end your employment.”  

“I don’t want anything to do with any of your propositions.”  You spat with narrowed eyes.  You wanted to scream when he shrugged.

“Suit yourself.”  He said before disappearing out the doors.  

With Kazuchika scheduled to be out of the office for the remainder of the day you had been looking forward to some downtime without his overbearing presence.   Of course that wasn’t meant to be, as Okada spent the entire day shooting you obscure tasks through text.   You spent an hour alone hunting through stacks of papers and file trying to find a piece of paper he insisted he needed for his afternoon interview.   You had been near tears when you couldn’t find it, despite his insistence it was on his desk.  You had gone through every single paper on that damn desk twice and couldn’t find it only for him to text you to abandon your search as he actually did have the paper on him.   He made you reschedule an entire day’s worth of interviews and appearances only to decide as soon as you were done that he liked the original line up better.  So you had to get back on the phone with everyone to undo what you had just done, making you look like a fool in the process.   If you had thought he was bad before, he now seemed intent on making your life a living hell.  

By the end of the day you were ready to yank your hair out at the roots. You had lost track of how many times you had cried throughout the day.   You didn’t understand how someone could convey such hurt through a simple text message, but Okada managed to rip you to shreds with just a few well-placed words.   He completely ignored you when he arrived back at the office just before 5:00pm, heading straight to his desk without any acknowledgement and you knew you couldn’t do this anymore.  You had to get out of this job or you were going to lose your mind.   For the sake of your mental wellbeing you drew in a deep breath and walked into his office standing silently at the head of his desk while he shuffled through his drawers, leaving you standing awkwardly.

“Can I help you?”  He finally asked leaning back in his chair and staring challengingly at you.  

“I want to discuss your…proposition.” You said quietly, forcing yourself to swallow back your pride.   You needed to know what his offer was, what the price of your freedom would entail.   Then you would have to decide if you were willing to pay that price.      

“I’m not quite sure it’s still on the table.”   Okada said after a moment of silence.

Your heart sank and you had to fight for tears not to fill your eyes all while Okada watched you unerringly with a smirk on his face that said he knew exactly how much you were struggling.  

“It has to be.  Please.” You forced the word out, hoping to make Okada see reason.  

“Convince me.”  He said flashing his teeth in a predatory grin as he waved his hand indicating you should kneel.   You glanced over your shoulder at the door, wanting nothing more in that moment than to run home to your fiancé and disappear forever.   Telling yourself you were doing this for your future you knelt down and bowed your head.  

“Please Okada-sama.  Please tell me your proposition.  I’m sorry I was rude earlier.  I should have listened to your proposal and not treated you with such disrespect.”   You said.  

“I’m going to make this offer once and only once.  If the word no crosses your lips I will throw you out of here and you will continue to work for me until your contract expires in nine months.   Do you understand?”  Okada asked. You nodded your agreement and bit your tongue to stop yourself from saying anything that could ruin an opportunity for you to escape.  “One day. 24 hours you belong to me.  You will do anything I say, do anything I want, however I want you to. Without question.  At the end of that time period I will release you from your contract without penalty and you can go on your way.”

It was a struggle to not call him out.  Tell him what an asshole he was and to rant and rave about how this wasn’t ethical. That he was crossing so many lines with his little proposition.   You kept all those words to yourself, thinking of his proposal and wondering if you could live with yourself if you accepted it.   Wondered if you could survive another nine months like today in his employment.  Because you knew without him needing to speak it that your remaining days in his employ would be a living hell if you rejected his offer.  

“I accept.”  You said in defeat, hanging your head as you caught the satisfaction bright in his eyes and you wondered if you had just made the biggest mistake of your life. 

[cloudchaserandflitterexplain]

Cloudchaser and Flitter Explain: Top 10 Friends Forever Cards

But you said—

Hi everypony! Are you ready for the next set to drop? Because Cici and I sure are!

When Cici isn’t freaking out about what deck to run for continentals, that is.

I’m not freaking out. I’m deliberately taking my time analyzing my choices so I can pick the deck that’ll let me win continentals this year.

Got it narrowed down yet?

...No.

That’s our Cici, always worrying until the last possible moment.

But anyway, as much as I’d love to tease Cici about her deck, we just don’t have the time! Leaders and Legends is right around the corner, and we’ve not given you all our top 10 lists for Friends Forever yet.

So let’s get right to it! Cici?

Oh, right!

What do you call a Pegasus wearing a—

I said we have no time for jokes, Cici! I mean what’s your first card?

Oh, okay.

So I wasn’t ever sure when we’d get to this, so I’d been kind of updating my list throughout the year. And, uh, there have definitely been a lot of changes… And not just because of the Banlist. My original #1, for example, is much lower…

But the actual ten cards haven’t changed much. They honestly weren’t that hard to figure out.

Well, top 11 if you count Old Money. But banned cards don’t really count anymore…

Anyway, my top 10 card is Lacking Lesson Plans

Huh. WIth how much you’d been ranting and raving about that card when the set first came out, I’d have thought it’d be much higher.

Well it was! Originally, anyway.

The fact that it let so many Manes flip through Tempest seemed great at first. I was looking forward to breaking in some new Manes and see what they could do!

But in practice, it’s not really enough. Tempest’s opening Grubber: Minion play can still slow them down enough to where they’re not flipping early, or still deny req, or what have you. So it’s really only helpful for the absolute most aggressive confront to flip Manes.

I just wanted more, you know?

If you don’t think it does enough, why’s it on your list, then?

Huh? No, it’s amazing.

I basically include it in all my decks nowadays!

But you said—

While, yeah, it doesn’t really enable many more confront to Flip Manes, it’s still incredibly valuable for decks that confront a lot, just because being able to ignore Troublemakers is really good.

It’s basically to the point where as long as strong Troublemaker control decks are in the meta, you basically have to run 2 of these!

It’s a problem the game’s needed for awhile now, and it’s great to see it in action. So yeah, not as high as I originally thought, but still an easy number 10.

So unlike silly old Cici, I had a lot more trouble narrowing down my top 10 cards! There’s so many fun arts and flavour texts and I love the set for that!

But on the other hoof, there weren’t actually a lot of silly fun build around cards in the set. So there’s not a lot of those my list.

But that’s okay, because the art is just so fun and I love it, hehe. And let’s start with Skipping Class!

Uhh, what’s fun about that?

Oh come on, Cici. It’s six best friends just hanging out together and having fun in the sun, relaxing without a care in the world.

So ditching school is something you endorse then?

Well, no…

But it’s still nice seeing them enjoying each other’s company. It’s very relaxing!

It was a tough call between this and another similar art, but I just had to go with this in the end. Paving the way for a new generation!

Which other card?

I can’t tell you that, Cici! These are top ten lists, not top eleven lists!

There’s no harm in mentioning your runner ups, though.

Top. Ten.

Okay, okay, sheesh.

Moving on, my number 9 will likely surprise no pony for being on this list: The Fire of Friendship.

Oooh, that’s a good one!

The Fire of Friendship lives in our hands! As long as it’s there, we foil Grubber’s plans!

Uhh, yeah, actually. Basically exactly that.

When Tempest fist hit the scene, she was infamous for locking ponies out of Entry thanks to Grubber frequently showing up turn 1. Now there’s a card that helps fight that, thanks to Fire of Friendship, being Entry that protects your entire hand.

It even works against other discard effects like Rarity: Soprano and can work with your own discard synergies like Tank: Burrower.

Not costs, though. If you want to exhaust Apple Bloom: Re-Markable to reduce the cost of a card, you can still discard Fire of Friendship to do it, but you can’t put it into play. Since costs can’t be replaced.

Sure, but that’s not the worst thing ever.

It’s still incredibly versatile while still being helpful Entry that does double duty for protecting your hand.

It does only provide 2 req unlike Singing Barrel and Motivational Speech, which is a notable downside. But if you build your deck accounting for that, it shouldn’t be a major issue.

So, yeah. Good card. Goes in a lot of decks. Highly recommend it.

It’s my number nine.

Or is it five or seven?

Kettle Corn’s so cute!

What was that all about.

Silly Cloudchaser!

Everypony else get it.

Check her cutie mark.

Okay...

Anyway, Kettle Corn is just absolutely precious! The haikus, the circles, the combinations of the two. She’s also one of Rumble’s new friends! What’s not to love?

I suppose she’s not bad entry either. Not amazing, but, you know. Respectable.

Whatever makes you recognize she’s amazing!

...That it?

That’s it! Kettle Corn’s just fun is all!

Uhh, guess I’ll move on, then?

So these next three are all pretty similar cards. Just a bit different in application each. But they’re all on the list for the same reason, more or less.

I was originally going to put them all as a tie, but Flitter said my list had to be exactly ten cards...

Top. Ten. It’s not that hard, Cici!

So here we are with Daring Do: Crafty Collector as my number 7.

Did you know A.K. Yearling was secretly Daring Do this whole time? I was so surprised!

Nah, it was definitely obvious. I knew all along.

Hehe, sure you did Cici.

I did!

Anyway, Daring Do is… kind of nuts. The amount of AT value she can provide you is just incredibly high. An AT every time you can confront with her, and saving an AT every time you need to move her to a problem.

Which, if you confront that turn, gets you the AT you spent on moving her right back.

The only reason she’s the lowest of these three is because if you can’t confront with her, due to eccentric or a TM or whatever, she’s not doing much for you. You can’t just exhaust her for AT like most other common AT gens. So she definitely has the worst floor...

But when she’s at full capacity, she’s just fantastic, and definitely worth a slot on the list.

So, to properly introduce the next card on my list, we’ll need an expert on fashion.

Gee, where could we find one of those in this town?

Well, Cici, you’re in luck! Since, as everypony knows, I happen to be a fashion expert!

You are?

Of course I am, Cici! That’s why you always see me in this bow! It’s the absolute pinnacle of fashionably cute.

...I genuinely have no idea if you’re making this up or not.

So, as a pony who knows all things fashionable, I am proud to present to you my next card, Rarity: Shine on the Inside.

...Another Eccentric 1 entry?

Yup! Quite the coincidence, don’t you think?

No. I’m pretty sure you’re doing this just to mess with me.

An added bonus!

But no, I just really like the art they got for these cards!

Plus, you’ve gotta admit Rarity looks fantastic with a three colour mane. And she just rocks that jacket!

If you say so…

I do say so! Your turn!

Hold on, let me just brace myself for the oncoming onslaught.

Onslaught?

You’ll see.

So, uh, my next card is, uh, us.

Eeeeeeeee!

Hug. Too. Tight.

Just look at how adorable we were back then! And that flavour text is so us! Right down to you being moody about not coming in first place, hehe.

I don’t get moody…

Yeah, just like that!

Anyway, uh, this card is pretty good.

Eh, who am I kidding. We’re amazing.

And you’re not just saying that cause it’s us, are you?

Nope. I looked at every card in the set and decided this legitimately deserved to be included. It’d have the same position even if it were Gyro on the art.

You shouldn’t joke about that, Cici. He’s been complaining again lately he still only has one card...

But yeah, this is basically everything I wanted in a Blue Yellow card! Saving AT, giving extra power to confront, 1 play reqriement so you can play it early with Trading Traditions. What more could a girl want?

It’s even an Immediate ability, allowing you to combo with Hasty Friends, or even just exhaust on the opponent’s turn to avoid a single problem faceoff. It’s just a great card!

That being said, unlike Daring Do and the next card, this doesn’t actually give you AT. If you don’t have Friends to play, you’re not getting as much value as you’d like.

But on the other hoof, you can get value out of us basically every turn so long as you can play Friends. Unlike Daring Do, who needs a free problem. And it’s in a colour combination that kind of needed it more. So despite not giving actual AT, I think overall we’re the better card.

So it gets your stamp of approval?

Absolutely!

Know what gets my stamp of approval?

Uhhh, cakes?

Uh, sure, but not what I was getting at?

Pancakes?

Are you hungry Cici?

A little.

Anyway, what I was trying to get at is that Sorry Stamp gets my stamp of approval!

Didn’t we just talk about that the other day?

Sure did! Aren’t you sorry I didn’t stamp your forehead back then?

This better not go where I think it’s going.

I wouldn’t dream of it!

Anyway, despite the sad nature of the stamp itself, this art just makes me smile! It’s just kind of ridiculous going around with a stamp like that on your head, you know?

Plus, just look at Princess Twilight’s face! It’s just wonderful!

Shouldn’t you, you know, be sad that she’s sad or something?

Well, I am! A little bit. Twilight is genuinely very sorry about the situation she found herself in...

But the whole thing is also pretty ridiculous, so it makes me smile a little too. And I think a card that can evoke both emotions at once is pretty amazing, don’t you?

Sure, I guess.

Well, I like it a lot, and that’s good enough for my list.

Yeah, for sure. Your list is your list.

As for my list, well, I’m sure everypony’s already guessed my number 6 card based on what I’ve said in my picks for the 7 and 8 spots. Starlight Glimmer Guidance Counselor.

Which is honestly kind of surprising. At first, ponies thought she was only going to be so-so since there were already a ton of good AT generator options out there, like Princess Twilight Sparkle: Cover to Cover. Plus she costs 3, which means it takes a long time for her to pay for herself.

But in practice, she’s definitely proven to be an absolute all star.

I think you mean an “All Starlight”, Cici!

Sure...

So, to explain why people weren’t that excited about her at first… In the Seaquestria and Beyond Meta, ponies had the mentality that 5-6 AT generators was usually enough. More than that and you were diluting your deck with too many AT gens and not enough other cards that do other things.

Turns out, uhhh, that was just plain wrong. And in the Friends Forever Meta, we’ve seen decks with 8, 12, and even 18 AT generators! And almost every one of those decks was running Starlight here.

So what changed? Well I’ll get to one of those reasons later in the list, but the other thing is just there are so many good AT gens now, that running as many as you can just means you can have a tremendous advantage over your opponent.

I mean, which pony’s more likely to win? The one getting 3 AT a turn or the one getting 9?

Probably the one getting 9, yeah… You can’t catch up if you’re doing only a third of what the opponent’s doing.

Basically, yeah. Once you’re generating at least 2 more AT than the opponent, chances are you’re a mile ahead. At 3, it’d take a miracle for the opponent to beat you.

Anything past that and you’ve basically already won the game, regardless of what the scores are.

Unless it’s 14-0! Then they might still have a chance! Hehe.

Okay, in the vast majority of circumstances.

Anyway, Glimmer is incredibly key in these strategies for two reasons. First is her 1 req, allowing her to be played early even without flipping your Mane. So you can get her out turn 2 and start getting an influx of AT ASAP.

Second, turns out that 3 power is really helpful. Like Filly Racers, you get the benefit of a lot of power to confront in addition to increasing your AT economy. This has actually sped up a lot of slower Purple strategies. Cover to Cover’s 0 power doesn’t help confront, but Glimmer absolute does.

Also, being mono-coloured means she’s a lot easier to play than Filly Racers or Daring Do, giving her that much more utility. And, well, that goes a long way towards making it on my list, really.

So would you say she guides people to victory?

Hey, yeah! I get that one.

Hehe. Way to go Cici! Rah rah!

“Rah rah?”

Cici, Cici, she’s our Mare! Her deck will take Continentals unawares.

Why thank you!

Though I’m not sure it will. I mean, Nothing I’m considering is really that out of the ordinary…

Wait… you’re doing something weird to set up the next card, aren’t you?

Is it that weird for me to be my besty’s cheer squad?

...No? But I can’t shake this feeling...

Maybe I should wear a mask of you at Continentals like Rainbow Dash’s Parents in Cheering Section?

Please don’t…

But look at them! They’re so happy! Giving their daughter their full support, 110%! 220% even!

That makes even less than 110%.

Don’t be silly, Cici. There’s two of them, so of course it’s 220%.

You might even say it’s 20%—

Don’t.

Spoilsport.

But no, seriously, I love seeing Rainbow’s parent so into supporting her. It’s all sorts of heartwarming, and just fun! Such an easy inclusion for my list, hehe.

Yeah… I guess that would be nice.

Oh no, Cici. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.

No, no. It’s fine. You didn’t do anything wrong. I just miss them sometimes, you know?

Of course.

But now’s no time to worry about that. We’ve got our top 10 lists to complete, and I’m finally done with the AT gens.

And next up’s an absolute juggernaut! Daybreaker: Blinding Light!

Oooh, she’s a fun one, yeah.

I’m not sure I like the idea of Princess Celestia going evil at all...

But it’s just pretend, so it’s okay, right?

I’m sure no matter what happens, Celestia’d never turn her back on us.

But anyway, this card is just fantastic.

While you don’t get as many points from a single faceoff as you would from a Night Glider: Overpowering, you also don’t need to win by any threshold. Plus she works in any faceoff, meaning she can score you points off of Troublemakers, or any other faceoff she finds herself in.

And of course, she brings a lot more power to those faceoffs, due to her extra base power and extra point of Competitive. 6 is a lot of power for a 3 cost Friend.

She does cost more, though, and, again, gives fewer points. So there are definitely reasons to use Night Glider over her.

But all in all, she’s different enough to be a great option for different kinds of decks. And a very solid number 5 pick for me.

My number 5 pick also also very competitive.

Huh, really? You tend to pick build arounds or just flavourful stuff.

I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s the most competitive card in the set?

Heh, we’ll see about that.

I mean, just look at the fierce competition going on in Smolder & Sandbar: Pillow FIght!

I… should have seen this coming.

Probably.

But just look at how much fun they’re having! Whap! Pow! Hehehehe.

Hey Cici! Think fast!

Gah!

You almost hit me.

Well, yeah! That is the point of a pillow fight, silly.

Great reflexes, though.

Thanks! We’ve been training a lot lately, and—

Ow.

You shouldn’t close your eyes in a pillow fight, silly!

Oh it’s on now, Flitter! Come here!

Don’t you have a list to finish?

Oh, right. I guess I’ll have to get you later.

I look forward to it.

So this next one, when she was spoiled, I could have sworn was going to be the top of my list. She seemed insane, and exactly what the game needed. And, well, she is. Mage Meadowbrook: Pillar of Healing is the answer a lot of decks were looking for.

Which is why it’s a shame she’s only number 4.

Which isn’t to say she’s not as good as I thought. It’s just, well, other cards wound up being a bit better than I expected. Cause Meadowbrook is absolutely insane.

There are a ton of great Resources out there right now. And Troublemakers have basically always been a problem for aggro decks. It’s kind of what they’re for. And while there have been a few cards that can deal with one or the other before, there’s never been one that deals with both.

And definitely not one that just deals with them all. Unless the opponent has a Desert Road, Meadowbrook just answers everything, no questions asked. And she even comes with a 3 power body to help you confront that turn. She’s amazing.

Plus, just look at that action pose!

Resources and Troublemakers beware, Mage Meadowbrook is coming for you!

Now she is a bit expensive, and she’s not all that great against decks that don’t rely on resources or TMs, so not every deck’s going to want her. But if you’re in Yellow, you should definitely consider her. Nopony does what she does nearly as effectively.

She may not be an all star, but what she does do, she excels at.

Well your number 4 may be a specialist, but mine’s a generalist: Ocellus: Master of Disguise.

She does a little bit of everything!

Sure, but why’s that fun?

Cause mix and matching abilities is just super fun! And you get a different combo of abilities every time, or at least in a different order, hehe.

Agile and Swift and Showy and Dilligent and Eccentric. There’s a lot of fun possibilities!

Kind of disappointed Purple’s is just Meticulous cause it doesn’t really synergize with the other 5 as well, but it’s not bad, I guess.

Plus they brought Transform back just for her and Silverstream! That’s one of my favourite mechanics!

Yeah, it’s not bad.

and for maximum fun, just stick an Alicorn Costume on her. Then she’s automatically fully enabled!

So long as you don’t put any resources on anypony else, of course.

Since when do you suggest not putting resources on Friends?

Not every silly strategy works with every other silly Strategy, Cici.

Alternatively, you could just put all the hats on Ocellus. That way you won’t have a problem!

Uh huh. No way that could go wrong.

Are you doubting the power of my hats, Cici?

Anyway, moving on to the top 3. And, considering how good my top 4 card was, you know the rest have got to be pretty amazing. Pony of Shadows: Pure Darkness is no exception.

The sheer raw value you get out of this card is insane. That’s 1 AT for a Friend. 1! By passing all colour req and everything. And it doesn’t even matter who beats the Pony of Shadows.

Sure, it does need to be beaten, but if you build your deck right, that’s not too hard. And if the opponent beats it, they only get 1 point while you get what’s likely to be an incredibly powerful Friend.

Now I’ve seen some ponies try and use this to put some of the 5 cost tri-colour alicorns into play…

Like me! I’ve done that!

...but it’s honestly not really worth it. They tend to be difficult to play if ever drawn, and usually you don’t have a guarantee you’ll even hit one.

The better way to use it, honestly, is to just include a bunch of medium-cost friends that you’re okay with drawing or with playing for free. This way you’re happy if you draw them or if you get them off of Pony of Shadows.

Farming decks particularly get a lot of usage from this as they can defeat it, then put a large friend into play at another problem with an epic and have a good chance at beating that too. Plus farm decks don’t tend to run all that many friends, so you increase the odds of getting what you want.

I’ve even seen some farm decks run exactly one kind of friend to guarantee hitting it. The results can be a bit scary.

I like using Purple effects like Scope Things Out to stack my deck so I know what Friend I’m getting!

Yeah, that’s not a bad plan either. Though usually you don’t have to. It’s just handy.

Anyway, give it a try. It seriously does a lot more than you might think at first glance. And you probably think it does a lot. I’ve seriously been incredibly impressed with how good it is.

My number three pick is also great value at 1 AT! Rockhoof: Pillar of Strength

Want to guess how many coutners I’ve put on him, Cici?

Nah. I’m going to guess some big number and you’re just going to top it with some ludicrously large number like eighty trillion or something.

Oh, Cici. You always think so small.

Eighty trillion is a lot!

Sure, but we got him to eighty trillion and one

...You’re kidding me.

Of course, that’s when we were just doing silly things to see how big we could get him, hehe. And we kinda just started rounding once it got too big, hehe.

In a normal match, I think it was maybe 100 or so?

That’s still way bigger than you need…

Well, yeah, Cici! That’s what makes him so fun! Rockhoof just refuses to not be the biggest pony around, it’s great!

But what’s even better than just growing Rockhoof yourself is dueling Rockhoofs! You have one at 2 power and have your opponent have one at 3 power and they’ll never stop trying to best each other. It’s great!

“I’m the biggest pony around!” “No, I’m the biggest pony!” hehehe.

Are you quite done?

Yup! I have more power than you, so I’m not growing anymore this turn.

Wah?

Just go, Cici!

So I think a lot of ponies underestimated this next card at first. A couple other cards did a pretty similar thing, and so it was a lot easier to dismiss.

But then ponies started using it and found out, wow, it was absolutely the real deal. And now School Shut Down is a staple in basically any Purple control deck.

So the cards it was being compared too, obviously, were Party of One and Applejack: Captain of the Seven Seas, being the previous board wipes. Each of which was, and still is, very good, but left you with something, while School Shut Down does not.

But the thing is, it gets rid of everything. Nothing stays behind, short of Persistent Friends. Not even discard piles! And that can matter a lot too. It’s definitely not as great as Party of One if your only goal is to get rid of Friends. But that’s not its only purpose.

It’s almost like different cards can have different strengths and weaknesses!

Heh, yeah, exactly.

Being in the colour that gains lots of AT certainly helps as well. Especially in the current meta with basically all the AT Gens. It may be more Expensive than Party of One, but that’s not always a factor when you’re getting extra AT.

And I guess that’s it. It’s a board wipe. It gets rid of everything. That’s all you need to be a super strong card, really.

Well, we’re at the third and last card on my list because it’s just pure fun: Silverstream: Fish out of Water!

Nopony else in the game does what she does, hehe.

Huh. I wouldn’t have even begun to assume that Silverstream would have made your list, let alone as your number 2. She seems kind of… tame.

Are you kidding? Silverstream is insane!

With the right deck, she’s an invitation to put whatever problem you want into play! Or even all of them!

Please tell me you didn’t put all 20 problems at once.

Oh, Cloudchaser. Still thinking so, so small.

We worked together to put all 116 problems in play at once!

116?

Yup! 3 copies each of all sixteen dilemmas for each player. Plus both players 10 problems, of course. That makes 116!

It was the biggest multi problem faceoff ever!

Whatever makes you happy, I guess.

Of course, that’s not the best thing you can do with Silverstream. But I’ll tell you about dismissing problems and uniqueness later, hehe. It’s a whole lot of nonsense.

Wha?

Basically, Sivlerstream lets you do a lot of fun and silly things that couldn’t be done before. And, well, Cici, you may not know this… but I just love fun and silly things!

I think I may have heard that once or twice.

Cici, you made a joke! I’m so proud of you!

Gah! No hugs while we’re doing top 10 lists!

All the hugs while we’re doing top 10 lists!

So we’re finally at my last card and, uh... yeah. All of you probably guessed it’s Mistmane: Pillar of Beauty.

Now, I wasn’t sure she was all that great at first, but the fact she does four different things across two abilities is what makes her absolutely insane. Four. That’s a lot of things for one card to do, and they’re all notable.

Sure, she’s primarily used for her ability to get you a card back while also getting you a point, but that’s only half of what she can do. She also can get herself out from the discard pile while filling it with stuff you might want to get back. Not to mention also filling the opponent’s discard pile.

This makes it incredibly difficult to get rid of her short of banishing her.

Most of you are also probably aware of the fact that being Unique lets you use two of them to just score a point for every 3 AT you spend. Having 2 in play means one is dsimissed immediately due to Uniqueness, and then can be gotten back thanks to her Trigger.

Then, since you’re back where you started just with 3 less AT and 1 more point, you can do it again. And again. And again.

Put simply, she is a finisher, and very effective at it in this meta of a million AT gens. 3 AT per point is kind of expensive, but if you can stall the game long enough to be able to do it 8 or 10 times in one turn, the cost begins to not matter much anymore.

How often does that happen? Seems unlikely.

More often than you’d think or I’d like…

Now she does come with the drawback of letting the opponent get a card back as well, but…

It usually doesn’t matter. Ponies tend not to play Mistmane if the opponent can get something important back, unless they don’t care. It’s mostly meaningless. Kind of disappointing, really.

Long story short, she is incredibly versatile while also being exceptionally good at a single thing, which isn’t a combination you see very frequently. She’s trivially the best card in the set, even more so than Old Money, who got banned.

Which isn’t to say I think she should necessarily be banned…

But I wouldn’t mind it.

Cici!

I just don’t find her very fun to play against.

But that’s just me. I’ve actually heard a lot of ponies talking about wanting to ban her... But I don’t think it’s necessary. At least not yet since rotation is right around the corner. Which isn’t something we need to get into today.

We’ll just have to wait and see, I guess. And it’s not like every powerful card needs to be something I like specifically or anything.

Different cards appeal to different ponies.

Exactly! Part of what makes a card game great.

I do hope she’s being watched for the possibility of banning, if only because a lot of ponies think it might be necessary. But I doubt it’ll need to happen any time soon.

And that’s my whole list. Lots of powerful stuff this time around. Mostly good stuff too.

Well, my last card’s one we don’t even need to talk about…

Wah?

...Since Cici already did that for me!

Look! it’s us again!

Heh, yeah, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.

It’s always nice seeing us on a card, and this one’s particularly nice.

Plus we’re just so gosh darn cute! Filly us is the best!

Shame I was wearing the bow that day and not you. That was back when we were taking turns, remember?

Flitterrrrrrr.

But yeah, I don’t really have much more to say that I didn’t already say when Cici talked about us! We’re adorable, we work great together, and we’re the perfect team. Always!

Always and always.

So, that’s our lists! Now if you’ll excuse us, Cloudchaser’s got a lot of freaking out to do now that there’s nothing else to do between now and Contientals.

I do not freak ou—

Gah, Continentals is like 2 days away and I have so much playtesting I need to do! Why did I let you waste so much time trying to teach me how to tell dumb jokes? I’ve got to go now! Later Flits.

That’s our Cloudchaser, hehe.

Bye everypony! See you all at Continetals!

[unpopularly-opinionated]

Go figure, the comments on this are atrocious. Just people whinging about “oh so we should change the rules to help one candidate??” and “we all knew the rules going in, this isn’t new” because the grand ol’ argument of “it’s been like this forever so it’s not a problem” never gets old.

Not to mention the rules aren’t explicit. We know the basics of them, but not the specifics.

To put it simply, think of it like a game of “guess what number I’m thinking of” only, I’m the one thinking of the number and I hate you. Oh rats, you guessed the number I was thinking of. But hang on a second, well now, I can just change the number, can’t I? No one but me knows it was the number I was thinking of. Yeah, I’ll do just that.

Why do we even have the DNC? It’s an utterly useless organization that does nothing but cheat the people out of the candidates they actually voted for. Get rid of it entirely or at the very least get rid of the asinine 2% in the polls bullshit. We don’t need some, at this point, 4th-party organizations narrowing the candidates down for the 3rd-party DNC to exclude them from the debates, effectively killing their campaigns. Get rid of the DNC entirely, and let the people do what they’re supposed to do; what they are legally and constitutionally entitled to do which is to vote for who they want to represent them.

Look, at the end of the day, of course I’m ranting and raving about this because Tulsi Gabbard was cheated out of the third debate, and I want her to win, and I am furious about it. But I also just want, quite literally, to feel like we actually have any semblance of an impact whatsoever on who runs this shit show of a country. At this point, who fucking cares if Socialist Bernie wins, or fuck it, bring back Gillibrand, the fucking nutcase that she is, I don’t care. At least if either of them won I will be able to rest easy knowing it’s what the people chose.

Because no one, not any of the media outlets running these ‘totally accurate’ polls, is going to make me believe that any sane individual actually voted Biden or Harris into office. No one. Yup, I’m calling it here, folks. Y’all remember how the Left acted when Trump won? Y’all remember the video? I know you fucking do. ACTUAL PICTURE OF ME IF BIDEN OR HARRIS ACTUALLY WINS:

[theycallmebeccawrites]

Chris & Ellie Series: Episode 8

With Tumblr holding my original writing blog @beccaheartschrisevans captive (aka flagged as explicit), I have made a secondary writing blog and may end up closing the other all together. In the meantime, I am reposting all of my stories on my new blog.

Pairing: Chris Evans x Ellie Spencer (OFC)

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: language

Episode Summary: This episode takes place in August 2013 and features Ellie, Chris, Scott and one of Scott’s friends going to the Dodger’s game vs the Red Sox.

Disclaimer: This work of fiction is not to be reposted, used or translated without my permission.

The Chris and Ellie series is primarily chronological.  It begins with a flash forward to 2016 and has a few other scenes in the future.  However, the majority of their story is told in chronological order starting in 2013 and going through 2017. Each episode starts with a date to help you place it within the story.

The Chris & Ellie Series Masterlist | Chris & Ellie Masterlist

Episode 7.5

Episode 8:  A Day at the Ball Park

August 25, 2013

Chris and Ellie were in the kitchen eating lunch when they heard Scott thundering down the stairs at top speed. They both looked up as at the younger Evans brother came skidding into the kitchen.

"Chris, your role as Ellie's favorite Evans' brother is about to be overtaken!" Scott declared with a grin on his face.

"I'm her favorite?" Chris responded as the same time Ellie said, "I have a favorite Evans' brother?"

"Yes and it was Chris," Scott said, waving off their comments. "But today, I'm the favorite, because I got us three tickets to the Red Sox game today against the Dodgers!"

"You are my favorite," Ellie declared with a laugh.

"Told you," Scott smirked.

"How'd you get tickets?" Chris asked his brother.

"My friend James was supposed to go with some friends, but they backed out at the last minute," Scott explained. "He remembered I'm from Boston and asked if I wanted to go and if I knew anyone else who'd want to go. I told him about you two and now we're going to see the Red Sox, bitches!"

---

Two hours later, they took a cab to Dodger Stadium and waited for Scott's friend James to show up. Chris and Ellie found a quiet, shaded area in hopes of not attracting attention, while Scott went to the spot he and James had arranged to meet.

Ellie was the first to spot Scott returning with his polo and golf shorts wearing friend. The closer they got, the more she liked what she saw of his tall, golden-skinned friend. His hair was cut short and spiky, but there was a surfer edge to the otherwise preppy looking male. She found he was even cuter when he was standing right in front of her and he had a charming smile, too.

"James, I'd like you to meet my brother Chris," Scott said, making introductions. "And our friend Ellie."

"Nice to meet you," James said shaking both of their hands. "Obviously, I missed the Red Sox hat memo." He let out a melodic laugh. "But maybe I'll buy a Dodger hat inside, just to spice things up a bit."

"We should go into the park," Chris said in a monotone voice.

"Great idea," James nodded. "We'll want to get drinks and food before we take our seats." He handed them their tickets and they headed for the gates.

With James and Chris walking in front of them, Ellie nudged Scott. "He's a good looking guy," she whispered.

"He is," Scott agreed with a sigh. "Sadly, he likes your type and not mine."

"His loss," Ellie replied as she slipped her arm through Scott's. "You're the greatest."

They stood in line to get into the ballpark and then Chris headed down to their seats while the other three went to get food and drinks, Scott and Ellie promising to grab stuff for him.

Chris kept his head down as he waited for the others to arrive and he was slightly disgruntled to hear Ellie laughing as she, Scott and James got to their row. They took their seats according to the seat number on their tickets which meant that Ellie sat between him and James while Scott sat on Chris's other side.

"They've been laughing since we got in line," Scott whispered to Chris as he settled into his aisle seat. "It's adorable."

Chris grunted in response then took a long drag of his beer. Then he turned his attention to his hot dog while he tried to tune out Ellie and James' voices. There was something about the guy that he didn't like, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

The game started after the singing of the national anthem and the ceremonial first pitch.

"GO ELLSBURY!" Ellie yelled as her fellow Oregonian stepped up to the plate. It was followed a few moments later with a "Damnit!" when he struck out.

"You like baseball?" James asked Ellie.

"I love it," Ellie replied and then cheered loudly as Victorino hit a double.

"She loves football, too," Chris offered. "She's a big sports fan."

"I am," Ellie agreed. "COME ON PEDORIA!"

"That's cool," James said. "I -"

"YES! SAFE!" Ellie, Chris and Scott cheered as Pedoria was called safe at first.

"I don't follow many sports," James continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "I prefer to surf."

The other three cheered again as the Red Sox scored the first run of the game after a hit from Napoli.

It took James a couple more interrupted attempts to realize that he had to wait until between batters to talk to Ellie without her being distracted. As soon as the top of the inning ended, he had her laughing again.

"I can't believe how well they're hitting it off," Scott whispered to him. "I love hearing her laugh like that."

"She laughs with us that way," Chris muttered. He wouldn't admit that he'd much rather be back at the house sitting on the couch next to Ellie watching the game. He heard Ellie let out a snort of laughter and frowned. "I'm going to the bathroom."

The bathroom trip took longer than he'd planned after he stopped to buy a beer and then met a dozen or so fans. It was only thanks to a security guard that he got away from the fans and made his way back to their seats.

His spirits were lifted when he saw Ellie and Scott both standing up as if looking for him. He gave a slight wave and saw relief spread across their faces.

"We weren't sure what had happened to you," Ellie said as he sat down.

"I got spotted," Chris replied with a shrug. "What did I miss?"

"The entire third and fourth innings," Ellie replied. "We're up 3 to 1."

A shout went up around them and Ellie turned to see the guy in front of them jumping in the air with his beer in one hand as he tried to grab the foul ball that had come their way.

Ellie squealed as warm, sticky beer rained down on her. The brim of her hat kept the liquid from hitting her in the face but it created a waterfall effect that made the liquid cascade down onto her shirt.

"Oh my god," the guy said as he realized what had happened. "I am so -"

"YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!" James shouted interrupting the guy. He too had gotten hit by the beer, but nothing like the dousing that Ellie had gotten. "YOU FUCKING RUINED MY $500 LOAFERS, YOU COMPLETE CU-"

"JAMES!" Ellie exclaimed over his vulgar word choice.

"I HOPE YOU HAVE YOUR GOD DAMN CHECKBOOK," James continued his rant at the fan in front of them.

The rant continued until a security guard arrived to intervene. They took in the situation and then told James to grab his stuff so he could be escorted from the premises. The fans around them cheered as James continued to rant and rave as three security guards led him up the stairs to the main concourse.

"Scott, I'm sorry, but your friend is a complete douche bag," Ellie said as she tugged on her rapidly drying, sticky clothes. "God, what did I even see in him?" She shuddered. "No wonder I'm freaking single if I'm attracted to assholes like that."

"I had no idea," Scott said, still in shock himself.

"At least you know now," the fan said from in front of them. "I'd feel sorry for ruining your date, but given what just happened, I think I did you a favor."

"It wasn't a date, but I agree!" Ellie laughed. "And honestly, it's ok, it's baseball. I'm just surprised I'm not covered in crackerjacks, too."

"You should probably go try and clean up," Chris told her. He kept his face somber even though he felt like tap dancing inside. "Use the credit card I gave you to buy yourself a new shirt."

"Are you sure?" Ellie asked him.

"Absolutely," Chris nodded.

"Thanks Chris," Ellie smiled. She scrunched up her face as she stood up. "God, I feel disgusting." She inched past them and then headed up the stairs.

Chris fought back a smile as he brought his beer to his lips and took a sip.

"Are you smiling right now?" his brother asked.

Chris lowered his beer and shrugged.

Scott shook his head while smiling to himself in his head.

Ellie returned fifteen minutes later looking more comfortable in a hot pink Dodger's shirt.

"They didn't have anything Red Sox," she explained to the brothers at their shocked faces. She pulled out some Wet Ones and quickly wiped down her seat to get the beer off of it before she sat back down. "So what did I miss?"

"We scored twice," Chris told her.

"Excellent," Ellie smiled at him. "Ok, next time the beer guy comes, I so need one."

They had a couple more beers each as the late afternoon became evening.

When the top of the eighth ended, Ellie leaned back in her seat and sighed. "I want to go to Fenway someday," she said. "I loved 'Sweet Carolina' long before I was a Red Sox fan, but I want to be in the stands and single along with everyone."

"We'll get you out there someday," Chris promised her. "And you know Ma won't let you stay anywhere but with her."

"That would be awesome," Ellie said with a smile.

The game ended an inning and a half later with the Red Sox winning 8 to 1. They stayed in their seats for a while to let everyone else rush out of the ball park before they made their way out of the stadium.

Knowing that it would take them forever to get a cab after the game, Chris had arranged for a car to pick them up. It took them a few minutes to find it, but they were inside and on the way home in no time.

"You guys are the best," Ellie yawned as she leaned back in her seat. "Gah, it feels so much later than 8:30."

"It's the sun," Chris said. "It takes a lot out of you. You can rest your head on my shoulder, if you'd like."

"Thanks," Ellie smiled. She nestled up against his side and laid her head on his shoulder. "You smell way better than that jackass did. He smelled like he bathed in his cologne, but I like the way you put yours on. I can smell only smell it now that I'm super close to you."

"How many beers did you have today, Ellie?" Scott chuckled.

Ellie opened her eyes and stared at him in horror. "Oh my god, please tell me I did not just say all that out loud."

"You did," Chris told her. "But I've sniffed you before, so I guess we're even."

"Wait, you've what?" Scott asked.

"Nothing," Chris and Ellie said together.

"You had to be there," Chris told his brother. He yawned. "I think Ellie has the right idea though, I'm exhausted."

Scott watched as his brother closed his eyes and Ellie followed suit. He took his phone out of his pocket and sent Isabelle a text with a 'thumbs up' emoji.

Episode 9

Want to find me off tumblr? I’m @beccatheycallme on twitter. I also post my stories on AO3.

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