#it feels like something needs to happen between the sisters some kind of reveal some kind of confrontation SOMETHING

[oblako]

249 episodes and we still know barely anything about shinhye

[ironinc]

Civil War.ᝰ.ᐟ 

Peter Parker x F!Black Reader. (Smut/NSFW)

˗ˏˋ You are a demi-god and the protector of earth, pitted against Spider-Man/Peter Parker during the Civil War. Despite your mutual ignorance of each other's identities, the heat and intensity of the battle build an overwhelming sexual tension between you, leaving both of you struggling to focus on the fight. As the battle progresses, a moment of distraction leads to Peter's mask slipping, revealing his true identity.

⤷ Oneshot, smut, very detailed so here’s the warning!

⤷ A/N: Me and my best friend aka sister worked on this idea. All I gotta say is someone cooked here- LIKE HOLD AWNNN!(( Peter Parker is aged up to 20 since they are in college! And I couldn't find a good picture for the description for how I see the character so just bare with me!

⤷ Word count: 2,856

⤷ Special song to add spice: All I Need by Lloyd

ᥫ᭡.

The air crackles with energy as the battlefield of the airport transforms into a chaotic symphony of shouts and explosions. You let loose a crackling ball of electricity from your hands, and in a swift movement, deflecting the web that streaks toward you. Spider-Man lands on a crumbling wall, his red and blue suit a blur against the smoke-filled sky. His voice, muffled by the mask, carries a playful edge."

"Hey, Guardian of Earth, you know this whole thing is a mess, right? Maybe we should just call it a day."

You smirk, your blonde bohemian braids swaying as you step forward, your earthy-toned outfit standing out from the chaos around you. "Funny, Spider-Boy. But I don’t think you’re in any position to make suggestions."

He flips backward, avoiding a lash of energy from your hands. "Ouch. Spider-Boy? That’s low. And here I was trying to keep this civil." "Civil War," you counter, lunging forward, your staff crackling. "Doesn’t exactly scream ‘let’s chat.’"

He shoots another web, this one aimed at your feet, but you leap into the air, twisting gracefully. Your powers hum through you, grounding you as you land. He’s fast—faster than you expected—but you’re not exactly slow. 

The two of you circle each other, the tension between you thickening with every move.

"Careful," he quips, dodging a blast of energy from your hands. "Someone might think you’re actually trying to hit me." "Oh, I’m not trying," you say, your voice low and deliberate. "I’m succeeding."

You press the attack, forcing him to retreat. But there’s something about the way he moves, the way he talks, that’s… distracting. His voice, even through the mask, sends a shiver down your spine. And the way his body twists and bends—it’s hypnotic. You shake your head, trying to focus. This is the last time you let a crush get in the way of your job.

He flips onto a nearby small pillar, crouching like a predator ready to pounce. 

"You’re good," he admits. "But are you good enough?"

"Guess you’ll find out," you say, raising your staff.

The fight intensifies, the two of you moving in a dangerous dance. His webs are everywhere, forcing you to stay on your toes, but you’re relentless. And then it happens—a moment of distraction. His foot slips, just slightly, and you seize the opportunity. Your energy blast connects with his chest, sending him tumbling backward. His mask slips, just enough to reveal his face. Peter Parker.

Everything stops.

The chaos around you fades into the background as you stare at him, your breath catching in your throat. Peter. The shy, awkward boy from school.

The one who always seemed to be looking at you when you weren’t looking at him. The one you’ve secretly been crushing on for months. He pulls the mask back up quickly, but it’s too late. You saw him. And you both know it.

"Peter," you say, your voice barely above a whisper.

He hesitates, his body tense. "Look, I…"

"You’re Spider-Man?"

"Yeah," he says, his voice heavy with resignation. "And you’re… what? Some kind of goddess?"

"Close enough," you reply, stepping closer. The staff in your hand feels heavier now, the weight of the moment pressing down on you.

"Peter, why didn’t you tell me?"

"Tell you?" he says, his voice rising. "How was I supposed to do that? ‘Hey, by the way, I’m Spider-Man. And you’re… what? The protector of Earth? Not exactly something you just drop in casual conversation."

The tension between you shifting from combat to something else entirely. The air feels charged, electric. Your heart races, not from the fight, but from the way he’s looking at you. Even through the mask, you can feel his eyes on you.

"Peter," you say, your voice soft. "I… I didn’t know."

"Neither did I," he admits, stepping closer. "At school, I… I always wanted to talk to you. But I never could."

"Why not?"

"Because you’re… amazing. And I’m just… me. I would always see you in the hallway. Talking to your friends and I would just.. get nervous and walk away.”

“But you’re more than that," you say, closing the distance between you. The world around you fades away, leaving only the two of you. You reach up, your fingers brushing against the edge of his mask. He doesn’t stop you as you pull it down, revealing his face. His brown eyes meet yours, filled with a mix of fear and longing.

"Peter," you whisper, your voice trembling.

He hesitates for a moment, then his hands are on your waist, pulling you closer. His lips crash into yours, the kiss explosive, filled with all the pent-up emotions you’ve both been hiding. His hand finding a way to your neck as you deepen the kiss, your body pressing against his. The heat between you is overwhelming, the tension from the fight morphing into something entirely different.

You break the kiss, gasping for air. "Peter," you say, your voice breathless. 

"We shouldn’t—"

"Shut up," he murmurs, cutting you off with another kiss. His hands roam your body, exploring every curve. You can feel the strength in his touch, the way his muscles tense as he holds you. He’s not just Spider-Man. He’s Peter. And he’s yours.

Peter quickly scans the area, his mind racing. His eyes fall upon a secluded “Quiet Room” nestled in the corner of the airport. The tinted glass of the room makes it impossible to see inside, offering a rare moment of privacy. Without hesitation, he scoops you up with ease, carrying you into the room as if you weigh nothing. The door automatically locks behind you both, securing your solitude.

He carefully lays you down on the luxurious L-shaped couch, ensuring your comfort as he lowers you onto the plush cushions. His gaze never leaves your form as he takes in the sight of you before him.

When he came closer your hands trembled as you struggled with the clasps of his suit, your body desperate to feel his skin against yours. He senses your urgency and helps you, pulling off his mask completely before gently placing his hand on his chest. With a swift quick motion, the suit slips off, leaving him standing in front of you.

His chest is toned, his body a testament to the life he leads. You trace your fingers over his skin, feeling the heat of him.

"You’re beautiful," he murmurs, his hands sliding under your top. His touch is electric, sending shivers through your body.

"So are you," you reply, your voice barely above a whisper.

He kisses you again, his hands moving lower, exploring every inch of you. His touch is tentative at first, but as the fire between you grows, so does his confidence. Your breath hitches as his fingers brush against the waistband of your suit, a silent question in his eyes.

His voice is low and commanding, but there’s a softness in it that makes your chest tighten. “Tell me what you want,” he murmurs, his lips brushing against your inner thigh.

“I want you to worship me,” you breathe, your voice trembling with need. The words hang in the air, heavy, and electric, and you can feel the way they ignite something in him. His eyes flash, and a slow, wicked grin spreads across his face.

“Your wish is my command,” he says, his voice dripping with promise.

He doesn’t waste another second. His hands glide up your thighs, spreading you wider, and then his mouth is on you, hot and demanding. 

His tongue drags a slow, torturous path up your core, and you gasp, your hips arching off the couch. God, he’s good at this.

“Fuck, Peter,” you moan, your fingers gripping his hair tightly. He hums against you, the vibrations sending shockwaves through your body, and you can’t help but squirm beneath him. His hands move to your hips, pinning you down, and he looks up at you, his eyes dark with desire.

“Stay still,” he commands, and the authority in his voice makes your legs tremble. He doesn’t wait for you to comply before diving back in, his tongue circling your clit with a precision that leaves you whimpering.

Your breath comes in short, uneven gasps as he works you over, his tongue flicking and teasing in ways that make your mind go blank. Every stroke is deliberate, every movement calculated to drive you closer to the edge. He’s relentless, and you can feel the pressure building, coiling tight in your core.

“Peter, I’m—” you start, but he pulls away, leaving you hovering on the edge of release.

“Not yet,” he says, his voice firm but soft. His lips brush against your inner thigh, and you can feel the smirk on his lips even before he looks up at you. “You’re not allowed to come yet.”

God, who knew Peter Parker could be so fucking infuriating? You let out a frustrated groan, your hips bucking up against him, but he holds you down easily, his strength surprising you.

“Peter, please,” you whimper, your voice breaking.

He looks up at you, his eyes blazing with a mix of desire and affection, and something in your chest tightens. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmurs, his voice low and reverent. “I could spend hours just like this.”

His words send a shiver down your spine, and you can feel the heat spreading through your body. His mouth is back on you in an instant, his tongue working you over with a fervor that leaves you gasping. 

He alternates between slow, deliberate strokes and quick, teasing flicks, and you can feel your control slipping with every passing second.

Your hands tighten in his hair, pulling him closer, and he groans against you, the sound vibrating through your core. His hands move to your thighs, gripping them tightly as he buries his face in you, his tongue delving deep.

“I can’t—I can’t help it,” you gasp, your hips bucking up against him. He chuckles, the sound low and warm, and then his mouth is back on you, his tongue swirling around your clit in slow, deliberate circles.

Your back arches off the ground, your hands gripping the pillow cushion beneath you as the pleasure builds, threatens to consume you.

“Peter, I’m—”

“Let go,” he commands, his voice soft but firm. And then his tongue flicks against you, and you shatter.

Your orgasm hits you like a tidal wave, your body trembling as pleasure crashes over you. Peter doesn’t stop, his tongue working you through it, drawing out every last second of your release until you’re boneless, your chest heaving as you come down from the high.

He pulls away slowly, his lips brushing against your inner thigh in a soft kiss, and you can’t help but smile at the affection in the gesture. You look down at him, your eyes soft but heavy with desire, and he smirks up at you, his lips glistening.

“You’re so fucking beautiful when you come,” he murmurs, his voice thick with need.

“Peter,” you whisper, your hand reaching out to cup his cheek. He leans into your touch, his eyes closing for a moment, and then he crawls up your body, his lips claiming yours in a heated kiss.

You can taste yourself on his tongue, and the thought sends a jolt of heat through you. His hands grip your hips, pulling you closer, and you can feel the hardness of his cock pressing against you, begging for release.

“Peter,” you gasp, breaking the kiss. “I need you inside me.”

He growls low in his throat, his eyes dark with desire, and then he’s fumbling with the waistband of his suit, his hands shaking with need.

“Tell me what you want,” he murmurs, his voice thick with desire.

“Tell me and it’s yours.”

“I want you to fuck me, Peter,” you breathe, your voice trembling. “I want to feel you inside me.”

Peter’s eyes darken, his breath hitching at your words. He lets out a low growl, his hands gripping your waist with a possessiveness that sends shivers down your spine. “You want me to fuck you?” he murmurs, his voice rough, almost feral. “Then say it again. Say it so I know you mean it.”

Your heart pounds as his eyes lock onto yours, the intensity of his gaze making you feel exposed, vulnerable, and completely consumed by him. “I want you to fuck me, Peter,” you repeat, your voice trembling but firm. “I want you to make me yours.”

His lips crash onto yours, hot and demanding, as his hands slide down to your thighs. You barely have time to register what’s happening before he’s lifting you effortlessly, your legs instinctively wrapping around his waist.

Your back presses against the cool wall behind you, the contrast of the hard surface and the heat of his body making you gasp into his mouth.

Peter breaks the kiss, his chest rising and falling as he looks down at you, his eyes blazing with need. “You’re so fucking beautiful,” he breathes, his voice raw with emotion. “I’ve wanted this—wanted you—for so long.”

You bite your lip, your fingers tangling in his hair as you pull him closer. “Then stop waiting,” you whisper, your voice trembling with anticipation.

He doesn’t need to be told twice.

One hand grips your hip, the other guiding himself to your entrance. You feel the tip of him press against you, and you moan softly, your body aching for him. “Peter,” you whimper, your voice desperate.

“Please—”

He thrusts into you in one smooth, powerful motion, filling you completely.

Your nails dig into his shoulders as a cry escapes your lips, the sensation overwhelming. “Oh, fuck,” you gasp, your head falling back against the wall. “Peter.”

He groans, his forehead resting against yours as he stills inside you, giving you a moment to adjust. “You feel so fucking good,” he murmurs, his voice strained. “I can’t—I can’t hold back.”

“Then don’t,” you breathe, your legs tightening around his waist. “Fuck me, Peter. Please.”

He moans your name before pulling back and thrusting into you again, harder this time. Your breath hitches as he sets a relentless pace, each thrust driving you higher and higher. The sounds of your bodies meeting, skin slapping against skin, echo in the small space, mixed with your moans and his growls of pleasure.

“God, you’re so fucking tight,” Peter growls, his hands gripping your hips as he drives into you. “I’ve never—never felt anything like this.”

You clutch onto him, your body moving in sync with his, every thrust sending waves of pleasure crashing through you. “Oh, Peter,” you moan, your voice breaking as he hits a particularly sensitive spot.

“Right there—don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”

“Fuck, I’m not gonna last,” he grits out, his pace faltering slightly.

“You’re too good—too fucking perfect.”

“Then let go,” you whisper, your lips brushing against his ear. “I want to feel you lose control.”

He groans, his hips slamming into yours with renewed intensity. You can feel the tension coiling in him, the way his body trembles as he gets closer and closer to the edge. “Come with me,” he rasps, his voice nearly pleading. “I want to feel you come with me.”

You nod, your own pleasure building to a crescendo as he hits that perfect spot again and again. “Fuck, I’m—” you gasp, your body tightening around him as the first wave of your orgasm crashes over you.

He growls your name, his hands gripping you tighter as he thrusts into you one last time, his release spilling deep inside you. You cling to him, your body trembling as you ride out the waves of pleasure together, the world around you fading away until it’s just the two of you, lost in each other.

For a long moment, neither of you moves, the only sounds in the room are your ragged breaths and the pounding of your heart. Peter rests his forehead against yours, his eyes closed as he tries to catch his breath. “That was…fuck,” he mutters, his voice shaking.

You laugh softly, your fingers brushing through his hair. “Yeah,” you agree, your voice just as unsteady. “It was.”

He pulls back slightly, his eyes meeting yours, and you can see the raw emotion in them, the vulnerability that makes your heartache. “I’ve wanted this for so long,” he admits, his voice barely above a whisper. “You have no idea how much.”

You smile, your hand cupping his cheek. 

── .✦

After the intimate moment shared between you, both of you got dressed and made your way back to Tony Stark. With a sly smile on his face, Peter had to make up an excuse to Tony as to why they had gone "idle" for a while.

Tony rolled his eyes in response, feigning annoyance. "You had one job, underoos…" But there was a hint of amusement in his voice as his gaze flicked between the two of you. Your fingers interlocked with Peter's, a silent signal of your connection. 

So he couldn't deny the truth in Peter's words.

This is SOOOO out of my usual context/concept but I wanted to go with it for the PLOT!!!!

(Credits: 6rceus on Tiktok)

[blouisparadise]

Here are some amazing bottom Louis fics that were posted or completed during the month of May. We really hope you enjoy this list. Happy reading!

1) Tied Up | Explicit | 2,377 words

Harry tries a cock cage. On Louis' cock, of course.

2) Save A Horse (Ride A Cowgirl) | Explicit | 4,166 words

Louise is horny, so she decides to leave the house to go to the stables with nothing but a nightgown on to tease her girlfriend. She gets exactly what she expects.

3) Don't Call Me Pet | Explicit | 4,505 words

Harry is a rich and powerful man, the kind you don’t want to find yourself in debt with. Unfortunately, Louis continuously finds himself owing Harry Styles money he simply can’t afford to pay back. So they have a different kind of arrangement. Louis repays Harry what he owes through his body and humiliation.

4) All I Need Tonight | Explicit | 6,033 words

He knows he’s got four alphas. He loves his alphas. He’s literally been knotted breathless in the last twenty-four hours. But something about the deep, lilting cadence of Blake’s accent makes his brain short-circuit just a little. It’s stupid. He’s stupid. But the man is hot, friendly, confident—not cocky—and has that whole surfer-meets-newscaster look that’s incredibly unfair. Or, based off that one day in 2014 at the ARIAs where Louis was being super flirty with all the male interviewers. You know the one.

5) Every Part Of You | Explicit | 7,987 words

They don’t talk about what it means. Not really. Louis thinks about it sometimes—how easily it’s all become second nature. How safe and wanted he feels. How his scent has changed just slightly, the way omegas’ scents do when they’re claimed regularly, even if not bonded. He catches the fans mentioning it sometimes, how “settled” he smells now when he signs autographs or walks past them. It makes something tight coil in his chest, something he doesn’t want to name yet. The atmosphere backstage is familiar and electric, but there’s an underlying edge of anticipation that none of them acknowledge directly. Not at first. Louis knows they’ve noticed—how could they not? His heat’s due in a few days, and his scent’s already starting to shift. It’s subtle now, just a little sweeter, a little more magnetic, but they’re alphas. Of course they know.

6) What Turns You On? | Explicit | 8,436 words

Note: The main pairing in this fic is Louis/Niall Horan .

Louis and Niall find themselves answering some rather revealing questions instead of watching the footie game. The questions get steamier and steamier until one thing leads to another.

7) Everything In Between | Mature | 9,125 words

Marchioness Louise, the eldest of the Tomlinson family, is ensuring that her sister Anita's wedding runs smoothly. She didn't expect to fall in love along the way, but Duchess Styles is eager to show her that she deserves to be pampered every day of her life.

8) Happy Chaos | Not Rated |10,451 words

“Seriously. Go ahead, breathe louder, Harry. Maybe alert the wildlife.” Harry’s grip on the steering wheel visibly tightened. “Next time we’re at the doctor’s, let’s ask if she’s ever delivered a baby that’s half human, half pure evil. Louis gasped and held his belly tighter. “It’s not my fault your Darth Vader lungs are disturbing the peace in this womb.”

9) What It Feels Like | Explicit | 11,086 words

Louise and her friend group go to Coachella every year, so she doesn’t expect anything other than get drunk, dance with her girlfriends and scream at the top of her lungs. What happens when the girl she’s had a crush on ever since she met her, gets very flirty with her? Will she get the hint or the fear of being just another girl will get the better of her? Tents are meant to be used, anyway.

10) Sand, Desire, And Love | Explicit | 11,249 words

Louis' older brother is getting married on the beach. Louis will have to travel for a week to the wedding venue, and the last thing he expects is to end up hooking up with his brother's best friend and best man. Maybe it will be fun, right?

11) Slow Dancing In The Dark | Explicit | 11,681 words

Harry and Louis used to be lovers, close, best friends. Then everything happened all at once until, well, nothing. Now Harry is sitting with Niall at Lottie's wedding and watching as Louis walks around with his boyfriend. Or the one where two idiots are so in love, they would do anything but admit it.

12) Tastes Like Strawberries (On a Summer Evening) | Explicit | 12,691 words

Going to the doctor is uncomfortable enough, but add in a rare male omega and a hot new young doctor? Louis finds himself in the most awkward situation when he slicks up during his first medical examination with a new doctor and even worse, he discovers that said hot doctor lives in his building. Within a few days, he's itchy and hot and way too excited about Dr. Styles' scent in the hallways. It's gotta be the new meds he's been prescribed, right?

13) Set Me Free | Explicit | 13,939 words

Because Harry isn’t just dancing anymore. He’s performing—and it’s for Louis. Those piercing green eyes lock on his like a challenge, like a dare, and Harry rolls his hips with slow, sensual precision, dragging his palm down the line of his abs, fingers grazing over his cock like he’s showing off just how good he knows he looks. His smirk deepens when he sees the way Louis stares, like he knows exactly what’s happening to the poor omega in the corner booth. Louis grips the edge of the table, knuckles white, legs squeezed together under it. Heat rushes over him, makes his skin feel too tight, too flushed. He should look away. He really, really should. But he doesn’t.

14) Whitby By The Sea | Explicit | 25,258 words

Forced to confront his past after losing everything, Harry returns home to the sleepy seaside town of Whitby and the boy he left behind all those years ago. He finds that sometimes, going back is the only way to move forward.

15) Tastes So Sweet, Looks So Real | Not Rated | 25,744 words

Harry gives him a cheeky grin, eyes fully scanning the disaster Louis just took out of his paper box. ”It’s cute, just like the guy who made it,” Harry breathes out finally, winking at Louis and oi the cheeky flirt! ”Stop, you!” ”Am I overstepping?” Louis uncovers his eyes, gaze meeting Harry’s soft one. And although he’s still gently smiling, Louis can feel the worry flowing out of him that he’s making Louis uncomfortable. When he’s doing the exact opposite. ”You aren’t, you goof.”

16) Mismatch In The Making | Explicit | 27,084 words

Harry Styles is the campus matchmaker. A psychology major, star swimmer, and a social butterfly, he’s set up countless couples—and he’s never once failed. Despite his beliefs that he would finally find the one in college, Louis has never dated before. But after seeing his best friend find their match through none other than Harry Styles, Louis gets an idea. Who better to find him a boyfriend than the campus matchmaker himself? But as one terrible date turns into another, Louis starts to wonder why Harry’s perfect track record seems to suddenly be slipping. And why, no matter how badly the night goes, Louis always finds himself looking forward to the part where he gets to tell Harry all about it.

17) Taste On My Tongue | Explicit | 29,648 words

The door barely clicks shut before Louis turns sharply in his chair. “I cannot believe I’m stuck planning this with a knothead bloodsucker who doesn’t know how to turn the arrogance off and the punctuality on.” Harry tilts his head, tongue flicking out just enough to wet his lips. His fangs are still out. “Well, I for one, couldn’t be more excited.”

18) Just Friends? | Mature | 31,429 words

Harry and Louis are best friends and college roommates. After Harry's brutal breakup, Louis makes a bold-and completely unexpected-offer to help him cope. It starts as a weird favor, but how far will they take it before everything changes?

19) Something Great | Mature | 37,163 words

Note: Please take note of any trigger warnings and tags.

In 2013, during the final stop on One Direction’s Take Me Home World Tour, Louis Tomlinson walks off the band’s tour bus late one night, and never comes back. The BAU (Behavioral Analysis Unit) is called in to investigate, quickly realizing that this is no ordinary disappearance- how could a member of the biggest boyband on the planet just vanish? As they dig deeper, lies are uncovered, secrets are revealed, and somebody knows something they aren’t telling- the team will stop at nothing to figure it out.

20) Figure You Out | Explicit | 85,782 words

He was meant to be a hostage. He became their worst nightmare. When Louis, spoiled and sharp-tongued Omega heir to a powerful dynasty, is kidnapped to settle an old pack debt, his captors expect him to break. To beg for mercy. But Louis doesn’t break. He bites. And at the centre of it all is Harry, the Alpha who wanted a bargaining chip. Instead, he got a storm in human form, a wild, unpredictable Omega who pushes every button, tests every boundary and somehow, buries himself under Harry’s skin. Some preys are not meant to be caged. And some predators are meant to fall.

21) Spreading You Open Is The Only Way Of Knowing You | Explicit | 99,432 words

Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson found themselves bound by an unwanted marriage. One they only agreed to due to their father's demand. Harry could not care less about his so called 'husband' whereas Louis wanted to give it an honest try. Things get complex when Harry finds himself slowly starting to care for Louis. Amidst this, a question lingers in the air like a haunting melody - can their union ever find harmony?

22) I Believe In Magic | Explicit | 115,265 words

Harry is the Crown Prince and the future king of Camelot. His sworn duty is to protect his kingdom from outside threats, especially from the dangers of magic. Louis is his best friend and, technically, his servant. And he has a secret.

23) Frat-ernally Fucked | Explicit | 139,611 words

Harry - Fraternities were meant for Alphas. Well, okay, alphas and the occasional beta. But there was certainly no place for an omega. Unfortunately, another fraternity at Oxford University didn’t seem to agree. Which meant Louis Tomlinson was free to slip into the fraternity world and foolishly pretend to ignore his omega status unless it gave him an advantage. It was dangerous, irresponsible and grinded Harry’s gears like the molars he’d sanded just by gritting his teeth about the problem alone. But Fraternities weren’t the only thing Louis was ruining for the alpha. Apparently, he was only just getting started. Louis - That alpha can suck his own knot for all Louis cares. Louis’ determined to write his own history. He gives no fuck about Harry Styles’ opinion. He can take his pretty little face and use it for sweet-talking all the other naive omega’s he wants to. Louis won’t be barking up that tree any longer. He promised himself he was done with that shit. Little did they know, that previous agreement they’d made, was all about to change.

24) Broken Soul | Explicit | 194,970 words

“What are you doing here?” Louis didn’t know what surprised him the most; the sharp tone Harry was using or the fact that he had talked to him. Regardless, he found himself blinking at the alpha. “Excuse me?” “You heard me,” Harry muttered, narrowing his cold, green eyes at him. Louis remained calm as he studied the alpha’s features. “Harry, is it? Nice to meet you. I’m Louis,” he said, sticking his hand out. He was positive Harry wouldn’t take it, but he wouldn’t come off as weak only because this was the most powerful alpha in town. Harry sent him an unimpressed look while eyeing Louis’ hand. “I know who you are,” he drawled, furrowing his brow. “Tell me what you were thinking when you decided to come here.” His words made Louis scoff. “I always knew you were an arse.”

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

You can find other monthly roundup fic rec lists here.

[jihyoruri]

❚ ❚ ❚ ❚ ❚ ❚ ❚ ❚ 𓍢 UNEXPECTED kim minjeong x reader

↳warnings: yn is a member of ive and is described as a loser a lot (like they keep coming for my girl)

for all the years that minjeong knew her ex girlfriend, she never knew the girl had a sister until after they broke up, which is insane when she thinks about it more and she still hasn’t met the girl till this day.

she remembers it like it was yesterday, on the first of december is when the hit girl group ive debuted, yes a lot of people raved about the two ex iz*one members debuting but what made more rave was the girl that looked almost identical to jimin and it wasn’t an exaggeration they had the same last name and some unreal similarities between the two girls that even had minjeong asking jimin as she seen the new idol but the only thing jimin responded with was a laugh.

it was later revealed that the girl was in fact jimin’s little sister which brought a lot of shock to the world including minjeong and a little bit of betrayal, it was weird that jimin never mentioned her little sister, even when they were dating but she never pushed on it not wanting things to become more awkward than it normally was with them lately.

it’s been almost three years and minjeong has had interactions with almost all of the ive members but she’s never had a single interaction with jimin’s sister who she learned name was yn, well not until today.

all four girls sat around each other in their own worlds with their faces in their phones, there’s comfortable silence in the room that jimin breaks.

“my sister is coming over to pick up something.” the leader says grabbing all of the girls attention, “she’ll probably stay for a couple minutes as well.” she says her eyes still on her phone while the other girls look at her like she told the most shocking news in the world.

“wait, we’re actually going to meet your precious little sister?” aeri asked, this was big news for the other girls, jimin never brought her sister around she never even talked about her, “are you being for real?”

“yeah… she should be here in like a minute.” jimin now looking up from her phone and looking at the rest of girls like they’ve grown two extra heads, “is that a problem?”

“no!” minjeong cuts in, “it’s just you never talk about her, you never even told me about her we were dating.” she says before wincing at her words both aeri and yizhuo cringing as well as awkward silence fills the word at the topic of the girls past relationship.

“well… who cares that’s the past.” jimin says looking off to the side, “just don’t jump on her guys, I know my sister and you guys are really intense sometimes.” she says and rolls her eyes at the offensive looks she gets from her members, “she’s quiet and shy and can be weird sometimes, she’s kind of a loser, like mega loser, so please give her some space when she comes in.”

loser? she doesn’t look like a loser from what ive seen minjeong says to herself, she was kind of nervous when jimin said yn was coming over but if yn really is how jimin is describing, then there’s no need.

the girls nod their heads at the leader and silence takes over the room again but not for long as a knock on the door interrupts the silence.

jimin jumps up from the couch she was on and walks over to the door opening it immediately, minjeong hears a soft voice and jimin’s laugh before the door closes.

jimin walks back to where the girls were sitting but this time with someone behind her, minjeong feels something happen in her stomach when she lays her eyes on the girl, she’s on the taller side and pretty lanky but her arms show a slight tone to them she watched as the girl she pushed up glasses up the bridge of her nose looking down at the ground not making any eye contact with girls.

“this is yn,” jimin says putting her hand on the taller girls shoulder pushing her slightly to showcase her to her members, “my baby sister.” she says teasingly patting yn who still looks at the floor.

“fix you posture and look up,” jimin says to yn who immediately straightens up and looks up at the rest of girl showcasing her heart stopping face, aeri whistles quietly earning a nudge from minjeong who can’t seem to take her eyes off the girls face as well.

“im gonna go find what you want, so just sit with them while you wait,” jimin says before sending the girls a warning look before heading to her room.

yn stands awkwardly, while aeri clears her throat, “you can sit between minjeong and I.” she says pushing minjeong over and patting the spot between them.

yn puts her hands in her jean pockets and slowly walks over to where minjeong and aeri are sitting and sits between them, she talks out her hands from her pants and plays with the rings on her fingers and looks down in her lap and minjeong can’t help but let her eyes travel down to the girls toned hands.

“so…yn.” aeri starts, “this is our first time meeting you isn’t that insane?.” the girl says trying to start a conversation but there wasn’t a single thought in her mind as well, just like minjeong her eyes are fixated on yn’s rings.

yn is silent for a second and minjeong shifted uncomfortably in her seat, feeling a strange mix of curiosity and nervousness as she stole glances at yn. despite jimin's description, there was an undeniable allure to yn's demeanor.

“uh, yeah.” yn responded, now getting bored of her rings, she focuses on a keychain of saturn on her pants playing with it, “jimin never talked about you guys much as well.”

“oh really?”yizhuo cuts in with a offended tone, “I’ll talk to her about that.” she says obviously just wanting to troll the leader she gets up, “you should come too aeri unnie,” she says grabbing the other girls attention that was still on the quiet girl.

“uh, sure…” she says getting up and leaving both yn and minjeong on the couch, “I’ll be back.” she says before walking off with yizhuo.

silence fills the room again and all minjeong can do is look at the girl who’s attention is still in her lap, losers shouldn’t be this attractive is the only thing she can say to herself, she’s happy that yn is so in her own world to not notice her staring.

at least that’s what she thought, minjeong quickly turned her head around when yn looked up and turned her head to make direct eye contact with her, she got that feeling in her stomach again, this is embarrassing.

yn stared at her for a second before turning her gaze back to the front and leaning her head back letting out a sigh, minjeong hears her mumbling to herself about how long jimin takes with things.

she awkwardly cleared her throat, “jimin unnie is always taking long right?” she says to the girl who just nods and brings an arm up to rest of the back of the couch.

“so um,” minjeong starts, “isn’t it weird how I was literally jimin’s girlfriend and still never knew about you.”

yn lifted her head back up and looked at minjeong, “jimin had a girlfriend?” she asks bluntly there’s silence before she quietly laughs at the look on minjeongs and it was the first time the other girl has seen her smile since she came in here, it was cute.

“I’m joking,” yn says now looking to side, her demeanor automatically going back to the way it was before, she scratches the back of her neck and angels it in a way that minjeong can see the tattoo that peaks out, “I knew about you, not much though.” “you like tattoos?” minjeong asks, causing the girl to look at her again, “sorry, I noticed the one on your neck.”

“uh, yeah.” yn responds looking down again, “I have more, I can strip and show you the rest.” she says causing minjeong’s face go red.

“sorry,” she laughs awkwardly, “that was a joke, a horrible joke to say to your sister ex.”

oh yeah, for a second minjeong forgot that yn was jimin’s sister, because of how hypnotized she was by the girl, “no, it was funny.” she says moving closer to yn who immediately noticed and tensed slightly.

minjeong felt more confidence, realizing that she was the one in control in this situation, “from the looks of you, somethings telling me you get a lot of girls and guys ”

“uh,” yn says glancing at minjeong before looking back down, “no, not really.”

now this shocked minjeong, why does nobody want the attractive losers? the quite ones are the best she’s never had one in her lifetime so far, but yn is making hard not to want one.

“so, you’ve never been in a relationship?” minjeong asks.

“nope.”

“unbelievable.” she says leaning closer to yn, who fidgets with anything she can at the girl’s closeness.

“I should give you my number.” the girl states which causes yn to just nod, “if that’s what you want, can I ask why? she responds.

minjeong holds her hand out and yn grabs her phone from her pocket and gave it to the girl who added her contact and gave it back, “making new friends is good, sometimes they can lead to more.”

yn awkwardly laughed at the last part and put her phone back in her pocket.

minjeong opens her mouth to say more but is cut off by the footsteps of her members.

“found it!” jimin says walking into the room and aeri and yizhuo trail behind her, it’s a old dsi animal crossings game. “why did you need this?”

yn gets up immediately and takes the game out of jimin’s hand, “I found my old dsi, and I want to play on it, for when yujin unnie yells at me for having my face in my other games for too long.” minjeong couldn’t help but frown realizing that this means that the girl is leaving now, she waves at yn along with the other girls.

“you’re such a dork,” jimin laughs while yn makes her way to the door, “you’re not gonna say bye to the girls?”

“oh yeah, bye.” she says before immediately leaving.

jimin closes the door and looks at the girls, “well, that’s my sister.”

your awfully attractive sister, minjeong says to herself, of course she would find herself being attracted to her exs sister, this was definitely unexpected.

she knew how messy a situation like this could be, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care.

[insidekatmind]

Meet my sister P.9-Jude Bellingham

plot: Federico Valverde wants to introduce his younger sister to Jude, his teammate. He hoped that something romantic would be born between them seeing that their characters were perfect together but things take a different turn

You took one last deep breath, trying to regain control, and then headed downstairs where everyone was. The music was louder, and the chaos of the party had intensified, but you couldn’t stop thinking about what had just happened with Jude. You saw him there, surrounded by his friends, laughing, talking with that typical arrogant expression on his face. There was something so satisfied about him, as if he had gotten exactly what he wanted.

His gaze met yours, and for a moment, it felt like time stopped. A mischievous, almost smug smile curved his lips, but you forced yourself not to react. You didn’t want to show him how much he was affecting you, even though deep down you hated him and desired him at the same time.

You decided to ignore him. You weren’t going to give in to his provocation. You turned away and moved toward your friend, trying to distract yourself from Jude and the scene that had just unfolded. Your friend immediately noticed, her curious gaze studying you as if she sensed something had happened.

"Are you okay?" she asked with a knowing smile, but you answered distractedly, trying to seem calm even though your heart was pounding.

"I’m fine, don’t worry," you replied with a nervous laugh, but your gaze betrayed the tension you felt.

Meanwhile, Jude kept watching you from afar, and you knew it would be hard to escape his presence for much longer. But for now, you needed some space, even though you could still feel that magnetic pull between the two of you, drawing you in stronger than ever.

Your friend looked at you with suspicion when she noticed the hickeys on your neck. "What’s this?" she asked, giving you a confused look. You felt your blood rush to your face, silently cursing Jude for what he had just done. But you weren’t going to let him win. You had to come up with something, and fast.

"Ah, it's... the flat iron," you replied, trying to sound convincing as you lowered your face to hide the obvious marks. Your friend glanced at you for a second longer, but then nodded, seemingly convinced by your explanation.

"Ah, okay," she said with a smile, not pushing it further. "Well, it actually looks kind of cute like that."

Meanwhile, Jude was standing a few steps away, sipping his drink. He wasn't even trying to hide that smug smile of his that always appeared when he got what he wanted. Every so often, he threw you a furtive glance, as if he wanted to see how you'd react, and the smile on his face grew wider.

His friends, noticing his behavior, couldn't help but ask him questions, laughing among themselves. "Hey, Jude, what's up?" one of them asked with a mischievous grin. "You look so satisfied... is there something you're hiding from us?"

Jude shrugged, acting as if he didn’t need to say anything to make himself understood. "Nothing special," he replied, but his smile betrayed a certain knowing, as if everything was obvious even without words.

His attitude continued to irritate you, but at the same time, you couldn't help but feel trapped by his magnetic presence. You tried to focus on something else, but every so often you couldn't help but glance at him, just to see his smug grin, which only made things worse.

---

Vinicius couldn't stop staring at Jude. His gaze grew more intense, trying to figure out what had happened between you two, but Jude didn't give any sign of wanting to speak. He kept chuckling, that mischievous smile only increasing Vinicius's frustration. Rodrygo and Mbappé seemed to be enjoying themselves, but there was a certain eerie curiosity in their eyes, as if they were waiting for Jude to finally reveal what had really happened.

Just as Rodrygo was about to make a sharp comment, Federico approached the group, interrupting the tense atmosphere. He turned to Jude with an easy smile, complimenting him for keeping calm and not fighting with you, but the words he used had a double meaning that only Jude fully understood.

Jude smiled, and with one of his usual arrogant grins, he said, "Well, I guess I handled the situation well." Federico, completely unaware of the underlying meaning, laughed, thinking it was just an innocent comment, but the other three didn't miss the double entendre. You could hear them chuckling under their breath, but no one dared to say anything, their eyes moving from Federico to Jude, watching the scene with astonishment.

Federico, oblivious to what was happening, walked away smiling, and as soon as he left, Jude felt free to reveal his true thoughts. With another arrogant smile, he took another sip of his drink, looking at his friends, who were still shocked by the remark.

Vinicius, however, had immediately understood the subtext. Jude's laugh, his way of speaking to you, and that look of pure confidence made him realize everything. "So that's what happened," Vinicius thought to himself, laughing quietly. He wasn't angry, but there was a spark of curiosity in his eyes. "So this is the game, huh?" he thought, amused by the situation. He never imagined Jude would go so far with you.

---

Kylian kept asking Jude questions, trying to figure out what had happened between him and you, but Jude didn’t answer, only smiling mischievously. "There’s nothing to say," he said, shrugging as if he had no intention of revealing any details.

Meanwhile, you were walking toward them because there were some people you knew behind them that you wanted to say hello to. You didn’t care too much about their conversation, but as you got closer, Jude noticed you and decided to stop you for a bit of fun.

He teased you with that usual arrogant smile and a mocking tone. "Where do you think you’re going, sweetheart?" he said with a mischievous smile, blocking your way.

Not being able to resist, you gave him the middle finger with a defiant look on your face. Jude raised an eyebrow, entertained by your reaction, and got up from his seat. "Oh, you think you can scare me?" he said, walking toward you slowly. "Come see what happens when you challenge me."

You felt frustrated and tried to back away, but Jude wasn’t letting you escape. He approached you further and, with a smile that sent chills down your spine, whispered in your ear, "Are you really sure you want to play with me, darling?"

His warm breath on your skin made you lose focus for a moment, but before you could respond, he silenced you with a single word. "Behave," he murmured, making you blush.

With one last satisfied smile, Jude stepped away, returning to his seat as if nothing had happened. But his mischievous grin never faded. You stood there, your heart pounding harder, feeling both confused and frustrated.

You sighed, trying to hide your annoyance, and walked away with a determined step, trying not to give him any more satisfaction. Jude's laughter followed you, accompanied by that of his friends, who seemed amused by your reaction. They had never seen you like this, and yet they knew that, in some way, they had gotten a reaction from you, which seemed to give them a certain pleasure.

As you moved further away, you could feel their eyes on you, their laughter, and the tone of complicity between them. Jude, with his usual mischievous smile, did nothing to hide the satisfaction of having shaken you, while his friends watched him with admiration, entertained by your response.

You felt confused, frustrated, but at the same time, you couldn’t help but think about how he made you feel. Jude knew exactly how to provoke you, and that thought lingered, tormenting you as you walked further and further away from the scene.

[separatist-apologist]

I think the Mor being gay was handled so fucking disrespectfully it would have been better had she just not made her gay at all at this point. Just introduce new characters instead. Azmor was cute to me and I would have liked at least one of the main ships to be similarly aged but even if that never happened why would Mor ever need to hide it from the night court? Her friends and family of centuries!

All my thoughts are under the cut because I think some of this could be perceived as anti IC (ITS NOT) or anti Azriel (not on purpose)

I get kind of frustrated with the Mor reveal because that came wildly out of left field to me. ACOMAF is so clearly setting up some kind of love triangle between Mor/Cassian/Azriel and I think that continues to linger even in ACOWAR/SF with how Cassian is around Mor. SJM can say all she wants that its just brother/sister love but some of Mor/Cassian's behavior is very romance coded in an undeniable way (and an annoying way for Nesta imo).

I have been told that people were pressuring SJM to be more diverse which is always so weird to me because why would you look to SJM for representation? Her niche is aggressive heterosexuality, it's clearly where she's comfortable and the little representation we've ever gotten has not been handled well. I think she just doesn't know how to do it, there's no shame in that. We should be uplifting and supporting diverse authors telling authentic stories, you know?

Regardless, back to Mor- I do wonder if SJM ever considered the implications of that reveal. It makes sense that Mor wouldn't want her father to know, but Rhys? Cassian? Azriel? Her found family for 500 years, who uplifted her and protected her, often at their own expense? She doesn't feel safe telling them? Again, SJM is a teller, not a shower but sometimes she accidentally shows us the wrong thing when she's telling us something, and what I think she inadvertently showed us was that the IC is not as close as they first appear.

Which COULD be such an interesting story IF she was interested in exploring it at all. But she told us they're an unshakable family, and so they are, regardless of the subtext that suggest there are DEEP foundational cracks there. Like Mor is SCARED of Azriel, we don't want to delve into that? Or Mor is Rhys' second in command, but he actively makes a deal with Eris, who she is genuinely afraid of, and tells her to suck it up? Is that role ceremonial then? What sort of family/friendship is this?

And finally- I have always kind of assumed Mor is bisexual given she has relationships with men. There is something deeply uncomfortable and almost coercive about the thought of sleeping with other men to get Azriel to leave her alone. Like if what SJM is telling us is true and she doesn't enjoy these intimate moments with Helion, for example, and is only doing it because Azriel can't take a hint, thats....right? Like, I'm not the only person who just decides not to think about it too closely because the implications are terrifying and gross?

Cassian and Rhys KNOW (that shes not into Azriel, not that she's sleeping with Helion even though it repulses her, to get Azriel to leave her alone) this, and they choose to look the other way- how much do they even love her? It's giving "oh, he'd never hurt her" but then they all know she has no interest in him and rather than taking Azriel aside and being like, "my man its time to move on" they all just do nothing because its none of their business. I have siblings, and once when a man wouldn't take the hint with my sister, he took it up with me in the hallway at high school when I shoved him into a locker and started yelling at him.

Again, I think this kind of comes down to SJMs tendency to lean toward telling us everything, including how we should feel, but not showing us stuff. So she can say until she's blue in the face that the IC is an unshakable friendship group with a love that moves mountains but then the reality is that one of them has been tormenting the other for CENTURIES, refusing to take what I consider a very obvious no as an answer- to the point she feels like she has to perform heterosexuality so he'll back off- and no one does anything about it.

And I think thats rough.

[neonzparkoflife]

Koyote sheet for Sunder (<- design lineup)

Would have done a masked+unhooded one but I don't know if that will happen in the story.

When Kenny was 11 years old he was really fed up with life. The only good thing in his life was his sister, Karen. He was all alone, and often looked to the stars at night, hoping there was something out there beyond this. Around this time there was an unnatural uptick in coyote attacks against humans in the area, none of them particularly lethal, but it was such a strange occurrence that folks began to suggest paranormal activity. The city hired hunters from the area to push the coyotes away, killing hundreds of them. They declared the area free of coyotes, so Kenny took this chance to run away. At some point he stopped to rest somewhere where the stars were visible, shining so brightly for him, and as he drifted off he was ripped to shreds by a pack of coyotes.

Weeks later his body was identified only for the orange parka he always wore. His sister lived on, keeping the memory of her brother alive for hundreds of years and passing it on for generations. She defied the city, who made a statement that Kenny's death was caused by a fall. Kenny's ancestors will always believe his death was misplaced karma.

Kenny becomes Koyote, spirit of death, and completely forgets his life as a human. Having never taken off his mask, he doesn't even know what he looks like. Koyote doesn't meet Kyle for over two hundred years when he ends up in the Sunder realm, a place between life and death. It's a place humans can't reside in, so Koyote pledges to get him home, as he knows how precious life is. At first, Kyle feels bad that Koyote dies so often and has been alone for decades and so he tries to keep him alive the best he can. This switches as Kyle gets weaker and Koyote must protect him. Along the way, Kyle is the first person to ever see Koyote's face.

He still has a connection to the stars, often sending his wishes to the spirit of the stars, thinking he isn't listening. When Kyle arrives, Stahre comes down from the sky to guide them to the ocean, the exit of the realm. He reveals that he heard all of Koyote's wishes and protects Koyote and Kyle as best as he can, which is difficult because he can only exist physically at night. Having no need for sleep, Koyote and Stahre often stay up talking while Kyle sleeps. After Kyle escapes, they stay in touch using Stahre's stardust, which Koyote keeps in a pocket over his heart so Stahre can always hear his heartbeat (when he's alive).

Koyote is the only spirit Endes can talk to, and his unique ability to control his kills with snake venom means Endes can control Koyote's past bodies. Neither of them mix well with the other spirits, so they are kind of stuck together, but Koyote puts this relationship aside when Endes decides he wants to keep Kyle under his control for eternity.

Over a hundred years before this, Koyote was best friends with Vlaum, the plant spirit, and Claire, the water spirit. Claire froze over, leaving Vlaum thirsty and sick. Koyote could not do anything to help and began to feel inferior as his two friends so clearly embodied life, and he was death itself. They split up and began to lead three very solitary lives for years. When Kyle arrives he needs a specific fruit to extend his life in the spirit realm since he is human, and they need Vlaum to obtain this. When they find Vlaum they are very sick and in need of water, so they then have to find Claire. The three of them promise to stick together again once Kyle is back to safety.

Koyote delivers Kyle home, where he discovers that he lives in the same town Kenny did over 200 years ago. At the site of Kenny's death is a very familiar skull mask.

I don't plan on ever actually writing this i'm kind of just worldbuilding for fun lol :))) for this main story Kyle, Stan, and Kenny are the main characters (more so Kyle and Kenny) aaaand Eric is the main antagonist. This one is Sunder: Cracks of the Dream but I am thinking about including two different side stories. The first one would explain how Claire was thawed when he met Tweek (who doesn't have a spirit name yet sorry) and probably include more characters :3 Clyde, Blazei, Endes, and Wyx would all be part of it. The second would be about Vlaum's experience with drying out in the desert and how she was saved by Wyx who loved seeing flowers bloom. I'd include characters like Tolkien, Nichole and Blazei.

Upcoming designs are: Clyde (air), Tweek (electricity), Tolkien and Nichole (time). I also want to include Jimmy and Heidi maybe but no ideas yet so :p

God I love talking. no one fucking asked for this shit. Bye chat.

[justporo]

A Scorching Letter

Brimsterton | A Staevstarion Regency AU

PREVIOUS PART | MASTERLIST | AO3

A/N: Yes hello, I know I haven't posted something I wrote in quite a while. Let's just say I've been busy, but mostly behind the scenes. This however I had written quite a while ago (end of June I think) and I need to get back into the saddle again with posting. So here we are, another trip into Regency AU with @velnna's beloved Staeve (thanks as always for letting me stick him in a costume) and Astarion. Picking off where we left off after the chaise longue incident.

Summary: With a lot mixed feelings after what almost happened between them, a scorching letter is written that reveals genuine truths and brilliant emotions. But the response might not have been what either of them had hoped for...

Pairing: Astarion/Staeve Wordcount: 5,1k Warnings: light implied nsfw

-----

Hands hastily tore open an envelope. On it, in elegant cursive handwriting that couldn’t be mistaken for anyone but Astarion’s, a name was written, boldly and with gold ink even: Staeve Brimstone.

Shivering fingers took several pages from the torn away paper and unfolded them. Immediately, it was visible that the letter had been written with a plethora of intense emotions: some parts seemed barely readable as if the pen had scarcely made its way across the paper in hesitancy. Others were quite obviously written with such vigour, that the sheets were almost torn and stained with blots of ink from a pen that had been pressed too harshly and hastily onto the paper - way too eager to get out the words.

The hands holding onto the letter kept trembling as the letter was studied. It read:

“My dearly beloved Staeve,

It seems we’ve gotten ourselves in quite the compromising position, haven’t we?Apparently, we do have a knack for this kind of thing, don’t you agree? It is nothing new for either of us, truly. How often have we gotten in trouble for something over the years? Quite frankly it might be a big part of the reason why my parents will finally be sending me off to the continent. I figure they fear what two - now grown - young men could get themselves into. And wouldn’t they be right?

A million times have we conspired together. A million plans. A million times it was us against the world. Together.

To our own surprise we haven’t always been discovered. But then again too often than we would have hoped. And yet we have always gotten out of a cornered situation.

This time it is different though.

I take it your sister hasn’t taken notice of what has happened that night. Or it might be that she doesn’t care - I was never able to read her well. And I do not dare to push her on the matter.

What could have happened had we been discovered in that moment? Truly discovered?

But to be quite frank that isn’t what I am concerned with. Not if I am being honest with myself.

You know I am a man of few regrets, Staeve. But I do regret having left like I did that fateful night. My mind kept whispering malicious things to me while my chest was burning, set ablaze by you and your lips. My heart was prepared to scream it all from the rooftops. But yet my anxious mind had me flee like lest we be found out.

But yet my heart keeps burning, the flames impossible to smother. I promise you I’ve tried. Only to find them flickering higher, brighter, hotter, whenever I tried.

And it has been hard to calm it for even just a moment since that fateful night on that chaise longue.

In the end, it has won over my mind even quicker than I thought as I still feel my chest burn with every single beat of my yearning heart. This is what my mind has been toiling with. This and the enticing idea of what would have happened had we not been disturbed, this impossible game of “what if”.

Would we have lost ourselves within each other, unravelled by our hands and touches. Would we have been void of words with only our bodies to speak the yet unspoken? Would we have gone all the way into oblivion together torn and then reformed together. And all to only be unravelled again and again until there had been nothing left but strings?

Strings we might have been able to have knitted into something new, something thoroughly intertwined?

Only the heavens may know.”

The words at the end of this page were thin; anxiously so. The author’s worries and fears clear already by how the words seemed to trail off at the bottom. In hopes perhaps, that they could just be shaken off the page lest they fall on deaf ears.

The next fresh page though started with bold writing again, even bolder than before. The written words proud, tall and unashamed:

“But I do know this: at night I lay unable to sleep with that blistering desire inside of me, slowly scorching me from the inside out. And when the heat becomes near unbearable, I lay there with nothing but the moon as a witness, touching myself while imagining - hoping - it was you. My hands wandering down over my own body and finding pleasure so easily and quickly - so intense - as they stroke and caress. Simply because it is you in my mind. The thought of you nearly enough to lose myself time and again.

I know I am a sinner for this, for my thoughts and my actions. But could a sin truly feel this heavenly? If this is what hell feels like, I will let it take me, gladly. I would welcome doom with open arms for just my actions, but truly, I’d much rather be doomed together with you, Staeve.

The feeling of your mouth on mine has been imprinted on me. I cannot forget it. I will die with the memory of your soft lips on mine on my mind as the last breath leaves my earthly body.

You've touched me a thousand times - a hug, a tap, a taunt - but not like this. Never like this. Not with that enticing intention, not with that need: giving, pleasing but also taking -  possibly all of me. And if I’m being true and honest to myself: I would give you all of myself - body, mind and soul. You may take it all!

Do you feel the same? Because even writing this letter I feel how restless my fingers are, how they itch to touch you again as well, how they need to feel you again: your lithe body, the skin of your face, your silken hair.

I just want to feel the warmth of you again, enveloping me, your body moving against mine as we fall together, endlessly.

And when your hands know me by heart, I want to feel your mouth all over my skin, tasting me before swallowing my confessions to you directly from my very own lips and tongue.

I want you to know me as deeply as no one has before. I fear no one else could ever understand me like you do anyways. And I hope, dearly, this is what you want too. I surely know it’s what I want with you: knowing you inside and out, better than myself.

Back in that moment it surely felt like that.

But memories are fleeting, fickle little things. Already I am questioning if I really saw the same yearning in your eyes I keep feeling in my very soul. But then again, it's not like this only transpired yesterday, hasn't it? Hasn’t this all been brewing for what feels like an eternity?”

Up until this paragraph the writing had been bold, the elegant cursive letters leaning so far it was easily distinguishable that they had been written without pause. Words that had  been too powerful to not let out.

But those next ones were more hesitant again. The pen had been pressed down to start many a time and then hastily taken off again, judging by how several blots and scratches of ink clouded the first letter of the next sentence.

But in the end even these words had found their way - either way:

“I reckon you know the feeling in the atmosphere before a thunderstorm approaches - when the tension is so dense it makes your hairs rise up. When the whole world seems to hold its breath, awaiting the inevitable.

Aren’t we just like that? Awaiting what deep down we have known for so long?

Aren’t we inevitable?

How long have we been like this? In that terrible limbo of potential and not yet made resolution?

Only for it to unload in but a blink of an eye, lightning hitting us both, scorching us through and through, down to our furthest depths - setting us brightly ablaze where light has never even reached before.

There is no way in which we could ever proceed, pretending as if we both haven’t been changed forever in this moment, changed at our innermost core - wouldn’t you agree?

At times I fear that all it would have taken was that one night. One night of scorching flames to then see the fire smothered. This - us - nothing but a quick intermezzo, a short crescendo that is quickly muffled and not to be heard again.

But whenever I think I’ve forgotten about this, about you, for a just moment, there it is again: the thought of you, impossible to get out of my head.

You are always there with me, Staeve, with every breath and every step.

You didn’t just light a candle inside of me, you started a wildfire.

And I welcome it - with all the heat, all the power, all the destruction it might bring but also the all encompassing warmth it might spend. I welcome it to be consumed by it!”

Before the final words of the letter there was generous space left. Quite obviously the author felt the need to let his final words take up room. The final conclusion to the letter read:

“I am in love with you, Staeve Brimstone.

I am in love with you - and looking back it feels like I have always been in love with you. From the moment I first laid eyes upon you up to the my last moments on this earth.

And even more than that: I need you. I fear I cannot live without you.

And even though it might be selfish - but we both know that I am -: I hope you need me too.

I hope to love you, Staeve, forevermore. And if I’m fortunate enough, that you will love me too.

Forever yours,

Astarion”

As eyes ran over the last page, the hands holding the letter had begun to tremble. They were gripping the paper so hard by now that knuckles showed white.

Then when the end had been reached they were shaking so much no word could have been made out anymore. The grip was crinkling up the paper now. Up until the pages were deliberately being crumpled angrily, pressed into a ball of paper, letters and emotions alike forced into an indiscernible mess.

With a few steps only, the way was made to the lit fireplace and the pages were given to the flames. The fire eagerly licked at the papers, ate it up until there was nothing left of the words and the long suppressed feelings they had finally expressed.

~~~

The Brimstone family had sat down for dinner. Or at least for their approximation of it. Viscount and Viscountess Brimstone were idly enjoying their dinner talking a bit of business, politics and gossip. Meanwhile, their son Staeve was more enticed by the workings of a small golden mechanical beetle his father had brought him as a souvenir from one of his business trips than by the meagre meal of roasted pork and vegetables he’d thrown onto his plate as more of an afterthought. The sleeves of his white linen shirt were rolled up to his elbows as he had discarded his doublet long ago to be able to move better and one of his suspenders threatened to give up on its job as it was dropping off his shoulder in his hunched over position. He had wholly reengineered what dinner time meant for him, much to the grievance of his parents. But dozens of tries to change first the boy’s and then the young man’s behaviour had failed. So at some point they had given up as long as he knew to behave when guests were over and was still honouring the family gathering times.

That usually meant that he was at least present during family dinner times, physically at least. But he’d only eat later, once it had all gotten cold. And then would sneak into the kitchen to grab seconds when he would have realised once more that tinkering around didn’t sate his bodily hunger. At least not enough.

His mother had long given up on trying to teach Staeve manners. When he had been a child she had been sure he would grow out of it. But once she had realised that his quirks had only been growing with him, she’d come to realise that it was for the best to just leave him be and hope for the best.

Only occasionally did she still try to enforce his older sister Nita as a role model to him. It never worked.

So, as Staeve was fumbling with his current project and his parents were lost in conversation, his sister Nita - void of any option to make dinner time pass any faster with her parents talking and her brother with his mind elsewhere - moved around some asparagus on her gold rimmed plate and wished she could’ve found an excuse to go eat with her younger siblings in the kitchen. Even they would have been a more ample entertainment discussing their playtime or perhaps their current tutor lessons.

That was until she thought of a way of hopefully grabbing Staeve’s attention for more than a fleeting moment.

“So, Staeve, have you found something to do yet, something to cope?”

Her brother’s tuft of green hair lifted shortly from where it had been bent over the small, intricately built beetle and some similarly delicate tool with which Staeve meant to dismantle the small object - thereby probably irreparably destroying it.

But the younger Brimstone shortly looked at his sister in irritation. Then his gaze snapped back to his hands and his workings and he began tinkering again.

“What?”

Nita rolled her eyes. “You know you are supposed to use full sentences, right?”

“Whoever has the time for that?”

“Ah see, he does speak in full sentences.”

Staeve grunted at his sister’s sarcasm but didn’t reward her with another glance.

Nita tried again.

“So have you?”

“I don’t think that was a full sentence.”

She was about ready to throw her fork at him, hoping it would drive the audacity right out of him - or at least take an eye. For a moment she debated just letting the silence draw out. But honestly she hadn’t been the one starting to be petty.

“You know, Staeve, I really get why even Astarion has decided to suddenly leave town when you’re being such a prick!” Nita almost shouted. That even had caught her parents’ attention now who immediately scolded her for her unladylike demeanour and choice of words.

She pouted, annoyed at how she had been the one being called out now instead of her brother.

And when she turned her head around again to throw him an angry glare she suddenly found she had finally caught his attention. Maybe even a bit too much of it because Staeve was now staring at her, eyes wide, face void of colour.

“What do you mean Astarion is leaving?”

Nita was about to snap at him again. But something in her brother’s gaze and his sudden stillness made her abandon the thought immediately.

“Didn’t- didn’t he tell you? I thought you always knew everything about each other.”

Immediately hurt flashed through Staeve’s teal eyes, too irritated to even try to hide it.

“Leaving when? Why?” Staeve’s voice was nothing more but a croak. A strand of hair had fallen into his eyes. He didn’t even bother pushing it out of his face.

Suddenly Nita felt unsure of what to do. Unsettled by her brother’s sudden burst of emotions. The only thing she came up with was snapping at him again.

“The Grand Tour, you idiot, what else.”

Staeve’s eyes widened even more. He set the small golden beetle and his tool down with a distinct thud, so hard, it even made their parents become silent and turn to their children in irritation.

“When?” Staeve simply followed up again. His words were terribly silent all of a sudden. Nita didn’t have it in her anymore to try and purposefully try and upset her brother. She threw a glance at the big mechanical clock - one of the few Staeve hadn’t disassembled yet: “I think right about now. They’re probably going to travel all through the night to catch a ship in the morning at one of the great harbours.”

Staeve didn’t wait for Nita to finish her sentence. He jumped up, almost making his chair fall over, staring at the clock. Their parents’ heads swivelled around trying to understand the cause of the commotion. But their son was already storming out of the room, not even sparing their scolding and quizzical looks another thought.

Immediately, Staeve made his way through the manor and down to the stables. As he rushed along servants, through a plethora of rooms and finally got outside, he realised that the weather was about to turn: an early summer evening threatening to bring a foreshadowing of yet far away autumn. The oncoming storm, announcing itself with distant thunder and dramatically darkening clouds, though, only felt like a fitting backdrop for what was brewing inside of him.

Questions filled Staeve’s mind as he made his way, and worries - and memories.

Every moment for the last couple of weeks since that fateful night had he basically been thinking about what happened. It only ever took him a split second to conjure up the scene again in his head: the last couple of breaths in which he had stared into Astarion’s eyes and how it had felt like he could see through them right to the bottom of his friend’s heart, the burning feeling of Astarion’s lips against his own and this desiring ache within him, physically and emotionally, threatening to rip him apart from the inside out.

He had been so sure Astarion had felt the same. And hadn’t his friend been the one looking up at him with such pleading in his crimson eyes, lips already parted in anticipation before they had met halfway?

But maybe Staeve was remembering it all wrong. He certainly must be. Why else would his lifelong companion leave him now unannounced?

Loads of feelings were forming up inside his chest, waiting to burst - like thunder after lightning had struck in the far off distance.

Staeve made his way to the stables to grab Freckle while his mind was somewhere completely else. He didn’t even stop to put a saddle or reins on her. A terrible premonition told him he hadn’t any time to waste. And the mare was used to being ridden like this, after all they were a well-practised team.

The young Brimstone led his horse outside and immediately felt raindrops seeping through his thin linen shirt and trousers. He couldn’t have cared less. Wasting no more time he jumped onto his mare’s back and with a click of his tongue and soft nudge from his boots they were off in a dash, cutting through the oncoming rain.

As Staeve thundered down the small trodden out road from the Brimstone estate towards the Ancuníns’ residence the rain turned from just a trickle to a pour - the kind that would turn grasslands into swamps for a good while after and dust roads into murky rivers. His mind was racing at an even more outrageous speed as the gigantic manor of his friend’s family came into view.

Lifting his head while holding onto Freckle’s mane as the horse felt his owner’s urgency and gave him her all, Staeve searched for the familiar sight of that one particular window with a light on inside, hoping it would betray his sister’s words. The one where Astarion often already had been peeking out of in wait for his companion to come by. The one where they had sat countless of times, talking, laughing, smoking some stolen cigars and choking on the burning smoke when they had been only boys.

But the lights were off.

And Staeve’s fears turned into all encompassing panic as he closed in on the giant building as he didn’t dare to let himself hope anymore. The rain around him had him fully drenched by now, his loose shirt clinging wetly to his body. Already he felt hot tears adding to the uncomfortably cold rain running down his face.

When he finally came around the manor, he found nothing but an ill-fated stable hand rushing through the downpour, perhaps tasked with a few last things before being allowed to flee the bad weather. Not even hesitating Staeve rode up right next to him making the poor boy shriek and stumble back from the horse making the gravel fly with a sliding stop.

“Astarion Ancunín?” he only managed to scream against the rain.

The boy just stared up at him, obviously too startled at the sight of Staeve like this. He probably looked like a madman. And he felt like one: not properly dressed, drenched to the bone on his equally aggregated steed. Even more so the more time he spent chasing down a man in this storm who so obviously tried to get away from him without him knowing.

But he needed to see him, at least a final time. One more try.

“The Duke’s son?” Staeve shouted again at the stable hand. And finally the boy seemed to have recovered from his stupor.

“Left. With his father the Duke, in the fancy carriage,” the answer came back, shouted against another thunder in the distance - the heart of the storm was coming closer.

Staeve’s chest clenched. Freckle became nervous beneath him. Even a well trained horse like her didn’t want to be out longer than needed in this weather. But just a moment more.

“When?” he screamed.

“Dunno exactly, couple of minutes, just when the storm started.”

Staeve needn’t hear more. Time was of the essence now. He spurred on his horse once more and left the befuddled boy behind who even forgot to finally rush inside and instead stared after Staeve racing off again.

The roads were already muddy, an endless amount of puddles strewn across them while Staeve made the decision to go for the hill overlooking the Ancunín lands, the one with the weeping willow. There he’d be able to see how far out they were already on the country road leading away from town.

But when he arrived at the foot of said hill and dashed on with Freckle, his horse slipped and almost took a tumble. And since his or his horse’s broken neck surely wouldn’t make him be any faster, Staeve slid off his mare’s back and continued on foot.

The rain kept pouring onto him as he rushed up the hill, his booted feet sinking into the wet ground. Several times he almost took a tumble when his boots sank in too deep. Illustrious curses that would have made his mother blush and his father scold him, left Staeve’s lips as he ran up the grassy hill as fast as possible, barely able to see anything anymore with the rain slashing his face. He didn’t even notice how the freezing cold crept into his body, his limbs, how his fingers began to become stiff. His whole body was shaking, as much from the cold and the wet, as from the feelings still burning inside his chest - the only thing still spending a bit of warmth.

Staeve reached the top of the hill and the weeping willow atop of it - honouring its name as rain kept dripping generously off its tendrils. Trying to wipe at least some of the rain out of his face and panting heavily from running, Staeve’s eyes flew along the road leading out of town, willing the carriage to be there, so he’d know he could still catch them. Or at least a glimpse, of him. To at least wave a last goodbye. Because he didn’t know when - if - his friend would ever return.

And he spotted the carriage. Right there, at the very end of what Staeve could make out. Just before it disappeared around a final turn of the road - and out of sight.

~~~

Inside the carriage Astarion was craning his neck only a little to see Ancunín manor slowly disappear behind the lazily sloping hills of the countryside as the wagon rattled along the road leading away from town. Now the ancient weeping willow was the last familiar landmark before the road would lead them along faceless fields and forests rushing past them, only there to be forgotten again in an instance. The storm was doing its part to make Astarion’s last impression of his home even more dull: clouds and the rain almost washing all of the colours out of this final sight.

This might very well have been the only time in his life when his heart actually ached at the thought of leaving home - or rather him.

Only a few weeks ago had he hoped to spend an incredible last summer with Staeve, his childhood friend. Especially as he had been sure of something new budding between them, something that could have meant them being more than companions possibly. Something that either might have been honestly terrified to explore. They could have gone down this road together.

But it seemed that instead of choosing this final adventure and what treasures and secrets might have been ahead, Staeve had chosen utter and complete silence. To his letter as much as his departure. Astarion had been unable to figure out what to make of it.

However, wasn’t the absence of an answer a response of its own?

Questions, regrets, fear and hurt were all swirling around inside of Astarion’s chest as he feigned indifference staring out the small window the rain kept drumming on. He was covering most of his face with his hand turned away from the other passenger in hopes it would make him look bored and hide his frown - and more than anything, the tears burning dangerously in the corners of his eyes.

Writing that letter, taking a leap of faith had taken nearly all of his courage.

When that kiss had happened after that invaded soiree, it had been easy. Fueled by the evening, laughter and lots of liquid courage it had been easy to fall into Staeve’s arms. It had been easy to be open about what had been building up inside of him for so long.

But writing this letter stone cold sober had been near impossible: opening up about everything that, all his life, he had been taught to keep hidden behind his orderly closed button border, tugged away behind a starched collar closed so firmly it made one choke. Admitting to desires that would make him a wretched sinner in the eyes of his family and society. And finally confessing his feelings to his lifelong friend, risking everything they’ve had. It had been taxing, hard, painful.

And in the end, apparently, he had paid the price.

In front of him, the Duke Ancunín kept talking about their travelling plans while Astarion could feel his heart get torn into pieces the further away from home they travelled. A piece of it begging to be allowed to stay.

“Son, it is a great honour that Monsignore Constantin will take you in for a few extra weeks as his disciple. He is very strict but he is the best,” the Duke repeated his words in a sharper tone when he noticed his son not paying attention. “He will make an upright man out of you, Astarion, I know it.”

“Oh, will he? I can barely wait,” Astarion replied with bitter sarcasm in his voice. His father, in response, was near boiling with anger at his son’s insolent behaviour.

“He has his methods, son, you will see. He will let none of your nonsense slip, I will make sure of it!” The Duke’s words cracked like a whip. But the young man didn’t care, his eyes were still trained on the outside, on the weeping willow becoming smaller in the distance. He didn’t honour his father’s wrath with another response.

The carriage filled with nothing but the sound of drumming rain and thunder rolling ever closer. When the older Ancunín apparently realised his anger would get him nowhere he tried a different route of grasping his son’s attention.

“Hasn’t the young Brimstone come to say his goodbyes to you, my son? Is that why you keep brooding?”

Astarion’s gaze snapped to his father, immediately betraying that he had spoken the truth. He felt how his brows drew together as pain flared up in his chest even more. Trying to get it back under control quickly he looked back outside the window as the carriage shook along the road in worsening conditions.

But his father had cracked right open what had been bothering him and finally Astarion gave up on trying to hide. What did it matter now anyways? The cards had been dealt.

The young Ancunín let his hands fall into his lap but kept looking outside as he felt how the tears in his eyes threatened to become overbearing.

“He hasn’t actually,” Astarion admitted. “In fact, I haven’t seen him in a few weeks. Not since I’ve sent him a letter a while ago,” he continued, voice flat and emotionless.

“A letter? How uncommon for the two of you,” the Duke threw in with a tinge of irony coating his words like bile. In a knee jerk reaction Astarion’s crimson gaze burned in anger at his father’s vile words. But in the end he wasn’t wrong. The young noble resorted to throwing a last glance upon the willow up on the hill.

“Come to think of it though, my son, I do remember seeing the letter,” the Duke rambled on. “And I remember handing it over to the butler so it may get delivered quickly.” Astarion turned away a little further once more from his father as he felt his composure threatening to break fully. “A difference of opinions maybe?,” his father finished.

Astarion didn’t see the slight tilt of the corners of his father’s mouth as he let the words roll off his tongue, not hiding his distaste for the young Brimstone.

The young Ancunín only could feel the final nail being put into the coffin with his father’s final words. His last string of hope he had been holding onto snapped in two just like that.

“Possibly,” Astarion simply replied, kneading his hands in his lap, emotions threatening to overwhelm him fully.

“Maybe even more than that,” he added after a while as he finally let his gaze fall from the last sight of his hometown.

Had he averted his eyes just a moment later he would have made out the figure of a dark-skinned, green-haired young man appearing beneath the weeping willow in the storm. But like this, thunder cracked as the carriage took a turn and Astarion’s home and his lifelong friend went out of sight.

[dsireland86]

It's Folio Friday and My Birthday!

If you're the one who left the request/message in my inbox earlier in the week, I had a plan that day to work up something sweet and fluffy for you for your special day! Happy Birthday, friend! You share it with our favorite bassist as well 😊And, my favorite day of the week... Folio Friday! It's a 3 for 1 special today; A brand new Folio Fic, A Happy Birthday Message, And Folio Friday Honor.

Hope your day is wonderful! Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart

Tag list: @philomenie @supersquirrel1996 @foliosgirl @angelmarie89 @fadingintothegrey @thisbicc @lma1986 @dominuslunae @shayzillaaaa @mrsnoahsebastian @flowery-mess @iloveyoutodeathbutimdrowning @stardustsirenmelody @romanreigns-supreme @anything-more-than-human @into-the-grey @rumoured-whispers @myownthoughts12 @sister-sebastian @nyxthedestroyerofworlds-deactiv @missduffsblog @bngurngheart  @somebodyllelse @xxkittenkissesxx @fadingangelwisp 

He's never done this before. He's never had a need to. Past relationships have just been flings that never amounted to anything. But this, what Folio has with you, it's different. Completely different. The last few months with you have changed him, making him want to strive to be a better version of himself. You bring out the softer side of him and give him a reason to want to show it. Folio is head over heels in love with you, and today on your birthday, the very first birthday you're celebrating together, he's going to prove it.

"No, not that one. She hates pink and absolutely anything princess!" "Whoa, okay dude, chill," Nicholas mutters. "What kind of girl hates pink and princess stuff, anyway?"

Nicholas looks at Folio like he has two heads.

"The kind that isn't girly." "What's wrong with being a girly girl?"

Folio shrugs.

"I didn't say anything was wrong with it. I just said Y/N isn't one of them."

"Well," Ruffilo says, tossing the pink princess crown cake topper back on the shelf. "What does she like?"

He looks at Folio who stops to think for a moment, thinking of what it is that would make his girl really happy on her birthday. Then it hits him.

"Dude!" his eyes grow wide. "I know exactly what she'd like Come on." Folio rushes past Nicholas, betting feet out of the party store. "Finally," Nick groans, following his friend out the door.

Y/N gets out of the shower, wrapping the towel around her. Wiping the mirror to rid it of the moisture, she stares at herself. Another year older and she doesn't look any different, but man does she feel different. So much in her life has changed. New friends, new job, new house, and a new relationship. She smiles just thinking about him.

Folio fell into her lap months ago, by mere coincidence. They hit it off instantly, the connection between them being a first for both. Folio was the best thing to ever happen to her, and she never waisted a moment to make sure he knew it.

A subtle knock on the door and it opens, revealing the man who has stolen her heart. He looks delicious in his Harley hat, black t-shirt, jeans, and boots. His smile is infectious, bringing one to your lips.

"Happy birthday," Folio says, a small smirk lucking in the corner of his lips.

"Thank you," you bashfully reply, looking away from his intoxicating stare.

"You don't have any clothes under that towel," he observes, eyes etched on your body. "Yeah, no duh, Sherlock," you sarcastically reply, raising an eyebrow.

He moves in closer to you, pressing his body against yours, wrapping his arms around you. His soft kiss to your lips is enough to send your head spinning out of control, forcing you to suppress the impulses running through you.

"I have a surprise for you. But I need you to put some clothes on first." You chuckle, closing your eyes briefly. "I think that might be possible." "Good." He kisses you quickly again, patting your bottom before leaving the bathroom, leaving you to giggle and squeal to yourself like a teenager in love.

Folio helps you out of the car, a blindfold covering your eyes tightly. The smile that's been stuck to your lips since leaving the house has made his heart race, the anxiousness swelling up inside him making him shake a little.

"Nick, I'm scared," you giggle, gripping his hand tightly. "Why are you scared? Do you think I'm leading you out to the middle of nowhere to torture you and bury you alive?" You stop suddenly. "Sweetheart, I'm kidding."

Smacking his chest and hearing him laugh, you let him lead you to wherever it is he's planning, trusting him completely. "Alright, stop." "Nick, can I please take this stupid thing off now," you beg. "Yeah, yeah, okay," he mumbles, carefully removing the blindfold.

The light is bright, almost blinding. You squint trying to focus your yes and allow them to adjust. A national park sign stands before you, along with a visitors center building. You have no idea what is going on.

"Okay, I'm confused." Folio chuckles. "I figured. Come on," he says, kissing your forehead, and leading you up the hill.

You enter the building and you look around, trying to find any clue to lead you to an idea of where you are. The images you see are slowly registering with your brain the more you walk around. As the realization of where you are hits you, your eyes swell up with tears, forcing your hands to your face to hide your emotions.

"I'm really hoping those are happy tears, because if they're not, I'm going to feel like the worst boyfriend ever.” You silence Folio by pressing your lips to his and throwing your arms around his neck. He responds by wrapping his around your waist, hugging you tightly.

The Sequoia National Park visitors center is mostly empty, giving the two of you a little private time.

"I know it's not a lot, but I know how much you've been wanting to come here. You've talked about it a lot since we've been together, and I figured now would be a good time to bring you.

You stare at your boyfriend, absolutely starstruck at his thoughtfulness and kindness. It is one of the reasons you fell for him so easily.

"Nick, this is the best birthday gift ever!" "Really?" Folio gushes, a small smile breaking out over his face. "Really. I love it. And I love you," you reply, laying your hand on his cheek. "Thank you." Closing yours around his sweet face, you smother his smile with more of your kisses, which he gratefully accepts. Your words to him, the I love you, pierce his heart deeply, making his stomach flutter.

"You love me?" he replies, stunned. At first you think you've said the wrong thing to him. It's only been a few months. How could you possibly be in love with him enough to tell him that you love him. But looking at him right, so happy, you realize that it's not too soon. You are in love with him.

"Yeah, I do. I'm in love with you, Nick."

Slipping his hand behind your neck, he pulls you in and kisses you passionately, gently slipping his tongue in your mouth and tasting you. It makes you whimper as you cling to him, gripping the sides of his shirt in your hands.

When you part, Folio stares at you, but differently than a minute ago. His gaze is confident, strong, and on fire for you.It makes you weak, makes your heart race and the butterflies in your belly come alive. You're his now. And he's yours.

"I love you, too, Sweetheart. Happy birthday!"

[rafeysvenicebitch]

🔪012 masterlist

CW: Fluff

You sat at the kitchen table, hands trembling around the cup of tea that you’d barely touched. Your mind was a whirlwind, everything still feeling unreal, as if you were caught in a nightmare. You couldn’t stop thinking about Rafe—his words, his pain, his darkness. It was like you had uncovered a part of him that no one else could see, a part of him that might just be redeemable.

But how could you explain that to your sister? How could you possibly tell her about the man who had killed, stalked, and manipulated you, and then shed his mask to reveal a broken, tortured soul?

You took a deep breath, trying to gather your thoughts before you spoke. Your sister had to understand. She had to.

She was home when you walked through the door, already pacing the living room in that all-too-familiar frantic energy. The moment she saw you, her face fell. “Y/N, what happened?” she asked, voice full of concern, but a little too sharp, like she was bracing for something far worse than what you had prepared to say.

You didn’t waste time. “I need to talk to you about Rafe.”

Her eyes widened, and then, without hesitation, she grabbed you by the shoulders, shaking you violently. “THIS MAN IS A CREEPY STALKING MURDERER!” Her voice cracked with frustration and fear. “Y/N, YOU’VE GONE INSANE! WHAT DID HE GIVE YOU? WHAT KIND OF DRUGS HAS HE BEEN GIVING YOU?”

You shook your head, trying to calm her down, but your words felt empty in the air between you. “He’s not okay…” you trailed off, hoping she’d hear the desperation in your voice. “He’s miserable, he has no one. I think I’m the only one who can help him.”

She stopped shaking you but grabbed your wrists, gripping them like she was afraid you might run off. “DAMN RIGHT HE’S NOT OKAY! AND YOU—WHY? WHY would you want to help him? WHY would you even let him get this close to you?”

You closed your eyes, taking a shaky breath. This was harder than you had imagined, harder than you could ever explain. “He said things, sis. He said…” You swallowed hard. “My pain is constant and sharp, and I don’t hope for a better world for anyone. I want no one to escape… You’re my only hope.”

Your sister’s expression twisted with disbelief as you quoted Rafe’s words, her eyes wide in shock. She stepped back, shaking her head as if the air was suddenly suffocating her. “So… you love him?” she asked, voice quiet, as if the idea itself were something she couldn’t quite digest.

“No,” you replied quickly, but your words sounded hollow even to you. “No, I don’t love him. But he’s… he’s hurting. And I understand him. I feel what he feels.”

Her face twisted in disgust. “You’re feeling bad for him, Y/N. You’re indulging in his little fantasy he probably jacks off to at night! He’s trying to hurt you! He’s dangerous, and you’re letting him!”

You shook your head, trying to hold onto your own conviction. “Look, he may say some insane things. But it’s not really him… It’s just the pain. Just speak to him yourself. You don’t have to believe me. But I know there’s more to him. He’s not a monster—he just doesn’t know how to be anything else.”

She stood there, staring at you like you were losing your mind. You could see the fear in her eyes—the fear of losing you the way you’d lost your brother. That drive-by shooting… his name, his face, his absence—it still haunted you every day. It was the thing that made you understand Rafe’s pain so much better than you should have. The same pain that tore you apart inside.

You closed your eyes and sighed, the weight of your words crashing over you like a flood. “I understand him. I am him. He is me. Except I don’t kill,” you whispered.

Your sister was quiet for a moment, her face paling as the truth settled in. “You do understand him,” she said, voice soft now. “But Y/N, he’s a killer. A real one. He doesn’t care. And you… you can’t fix him.”

You turned away from her, the sound of her voice still echoing in your mind. She was right. But he needed someone. And maybe you were the only person who could save him from himself.

The next day, you cooked a meal. Something simple, comforting. You didn’t even know if he’d accept it, but you had to try. You couldn’t stop the overwhelming urge to reach out to him, to show him that there was more than just death, just blood, just killing. There had to be something more.

You walked to his apartment, the weight of your decision heavy in your chest. The door clicked open when you knocked. Rafe stood there, eyes slightly more alert than usual, a tired but interested expression on his face. You didn’t know why, but you could see the slightest crack in his mask. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to make you believe.

“I made you something to eat,” you said, offering him the container with the food. “Can we talk?”

Rafe studied you for a moment, his gaze narrowing slightly before stepping aside and letting you enter. “What is it, sweet girl?” he asked, his voice low, curious.

“I—” You swallowed, gathering your courage. “I just wanted to know… how I can help. How can I fix what’s broken in you?”

Rafe chuckled softly, a dark, twisted sound. “You think you can fix me?” His smile grew wider, more dangerous. “I’m broken beyond repair, darling. But for you, maybe… just maybe, I’ll let you try.”

And in that moment, you knew you had crossed a line. There was no going back now.

Taglist: @strawberries-and-lots-of-kisses @memoirofasparklemuff1n @rafesbabygirlx @susanhill @slut4you @sarahsangelicdoll @moneybaby07 @iluvblue-blog1 @hnelizzie @st4rgirlmar1e

[hectsliveblogblog]

A few disorganized thoughts on theme, the supernatural, time travel, etc.

I think one of the central tensions of Misericorde on the whole is the question of "is this a supernatural story or not". I've seen some discussion about people being potentially disappointed if something like time travel is revealed to be the cause of much of the strangeness of the story. I even think that the story itself, in Tatiana's preface to the bonus chapter, acknowledges this:

I think this tension between wanting the story to be a straightforward mystery and it possibly being something much weirder is very deliberate.

If we look at the 1483 narrative, I think it's safe to assume that most readers are going to be skeptical, genre-savvy with regards to mystery, probably not religious types (when Tatiana reads Alex so thoroughly through her punk aesthetics, I couldn't help but feel like she was poking fun at the reader as well). We see a character who's highly superstitious like Hedwig and we think we know more than her. The devil? No, clearly that's political machinations at work. The humors? Don't be stupid, that stuff was discredited over a century ago. Ghosts? That's not appropriate to the genre, there's clearly people in disguise. The vomiting is probably related to being poisoned. Those aren't visions or doppelgangers, they're hallucinations and dissociation. I would even say that this is part of the pleasure in reading a work like this; being able to see past the biases of the time it's set and use our own, scientific biases. Dramatic irony through feeling smarter than the protagonist.

But then the 1983 material is introduced and things get a little topsy-turvy. The ground shifts underneath the reader's feet. At first, it's a question of what relevance this could possibly have. I'm invested in 1483, why should I care about these new characters that I can't even see most of the time? They're not even having any sexy adventures! And then it gets even more shaky: is the 1483 just historical fiction that Tatiana made up? Is 1983 historical fiction that Tatiana is making up on the fly, or knows how it happens in advance? And I think if a story is revealed to be just that within the fiction, there is a feeling of deflation, because not only did these characters not really exist, but they doubly did not exist. It's all fiction when you think about it logically, but that feeling of suspension of disbelief does sour things a bit. That's why Tatiana is there to reassure us that everything matters.

I suppose ghost stories and time travel are kind of similar. Ghost stories are typically presented as scary, but there is the thought that if ghosts did exist, it would be possible to contact lost loved ones. This was a major part of the 19th century spiritualism movement, for example. The 1483 narrative is very focused on the gap that Catherine left when she died, and Flora and Hedwig discuss the fear (hope?) that the attacker they saw was Sister Catherine.

Time travel stories exist these days in kind of a similar "well, it could happen, nobody's disproven it" sort of place, and they are about a similar sort of wish fulfillment. What if you could go back in time and ... baby Hitler? And if you really stretch to put the pieces together in Volume 2, what if you could ... Christopher Columbus?

Maybe I'm drawing a parallel here where there doesn't need to be one, but as much as I am invested in the story of Hedwig I think there's something very interesting going on with the metanarrative here. I think we're meant to bristle against it. It's meant to be a bit abrasive and rankling. But with everything else I've seen of Misericorde so far, I have very little doubt that Xeecee can pull it off.

[keepsmagnetoaway]

Uncanny X-Men 148 (August 1981)

Chris Claremont/Dave Cockrum & Joe Rubinstein

The soap-like, arc-driven storytelling of Uncanny X-Men occasionally necessitated an issue like this one, full of loose ends and plot threads that feel both like too much for a single issue and yet not enough like one satisfying story. There's some very gay sparring between Kurt and Logan...

...a baffling hissy fit from Angel, who maybe sort of quits (?)...

...an appearance from Piotr's little sister (who I'm vaguely aware will shortly become an important character)...

...and the extremely unexpected reveal that the recently introduced Siryn is actually Banshee's daughter. This is basically discussed and then concluded in these three panels, making this - presumably quite significant - revelation feel extremely rushed.

None of these, though, are either of the two main threads in this issue, somehow. Instead, we have one story that, while inevitably feeling rushed, I really like, and one I really don't. The former is the storyline that provides the fighting and action in this issue, although it's all squeezed into, like, eight pages, and includes the Mandatory Dazzler Appearance as well as - my god, as if this issue needed more characters - Spider-Woman.

Anyway, the party is crashed by a new bad guy who turns out not to be a bad guy at all: Caliban, the weird third-person-talking sewer mutant with the power to find others of his kind, driven by a terrible loneliness.

I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff and immediately love Caliban. Poor Caliban! It's also obviously a very fruitful angle for the comic to want to look at - the X-Men, after all, for all their troubles, are the privileged mutants, and what must life be like for the others?

It all ends amicably and although he appears to vanish, obviously he'll be back, and I look forward to it. I also just love his design, the appearance that he eventually reveals. We Calistan.

But all these storylines are bookended at the start and end of this issue by yet another one, answering the question: what the fuck is Scott up to with his weird sea captain girlfriend?

I don't know if the art for these bits was being farmed out to someone else - although the whole issue is credited to Cockrum, so officially it wasn't - but there's something very odd about the faces and figures of these two. It seems like Lee - the sea captain - was meant to have some very specific face, although she ends up always looking just...odd, with huge, exaggerated features atop a Barbie physique.

But the same strangeness also extends in these sections to Scott, who as we all know is meant to look like Mr Generico White Guy but here is a romance comic hero with constipation instead.

What the fuck was I talking about? Right, anyway, they got shipwrecked, they're on this island, castaways or whatever. Also the island is basically - not officially, but basically - R'lyeh.

I mean, that is a cool design. But again, look at those faces down in the corner. Why are they like this. Why is any of this plotline happening. But wait...

Yes! YES!

He's back, baby! I forgive this bizarre plotline everything if it gets us back to Magneto. And I hope you can forgive me this absurdly long post about a very forgettable issue.

[leighlew3]

Hi Leigh, hope you are doing well!

Maybe you have answered this question before: how would you have written the Supergirl reveal to Lena?

You still have the elements of it being so late in series and that Lena actually already knows.

I wonder how a good writer would approach this because in the show it was an actual train wreck- Lena wanting to expose Supergirl’s identity at the Pulitzer party before Kara actually said it?! So out of character. And all that stuff after? So stupid.

Anyway thanks for answering this question :)

Hi! Hangin' in there, thank you. 🤗

Well, it depends on what point the launch off was.

Let's say she learns via Lex, just like in the show (rather than rewrite the whole damn series in this post, haha).

Just thinking on the fly, here goes... I woulda just had her reeling, feeling betrayed, and isolating rather than putting on a front.

Kara doesn't understand what's happening, but wonders if maybe Lena is secretly angry with her for killing Lex (remember, Kara believed she took him down in that final fight at the end of S4). This is hammered in further after Alex plants the seed that, evil or not, Lex was still Lena's brother, and so some level of sadness is likely to still exist there. She advises Kara to give Lena time and space.

Kara, further worried by Lena's worsening isolation and mood, ignores her sister's advice and makes efforts to connect, but increasingly senses the distance and her guilt grows.

Meanwhile Lena -- between finding out the truth that Kara is Supergirl in such a terrible way, while also hiding that she killed Lex (to protect Kara, ironically) truly spirals and starts to think that Kara perhaps never was truly her friend at all, only using her to be able to eventually take down Lex. A means to an end. Feeling like that's all she's ever been to anybody, including her "best friend" who meant the world to her, Lena becomes darker and more cold, sure -- but never takes those ridiculous 'villainous' actions of any kind.

Alex pulls a typical Alex move and starts to suspect that Lena's isolation and darker vibes could mean trouble as "She is a Luthor." and she's worried she'll carry Lex's torch now that he's gone, and her isolation means she's up to something. Kara of course doesn't buy it -- much like in the show, defending Lena, rebelling against the notion.

After ramping the tension throughout Season 5A on these fronts, a dramatic series of events eventually leads Kara to go to Lena and try to have a much needed conversation. Lena thinks she's perhaps finally going to confess, and she allows herself to feel hopeful again -- alas that hope is dashed, when instead Kara simply apologizes for killing Lex (so she thinks she did), and not realizing how much doing so would cause Lena pain. Lena finds this ironic, Kara's concern for her pain, considering she's lied to her all this time and still won't be open with her. Lena then decides that if nothing else, she won't lie.

She tells Kara that Lex died at HER hand, not Kara's.

Kara is shocked. She's pulled away by an emergency before they can discuss this further. And thus, Kara now believes Lena's distance and darkness is driven by guilt over killing her own brother, and Kara now feels more guilty than ever that she went through that, and that she continues to keep Lena in the dark, even though Lena opened up to her. As we approach mid-season, the two have several 'almost' moments where it seems Kara might actually confess her identity. And we make it clear that she wants to. But the more she sees how hurt Lena is about having to kill Lex, to protect her no less, the worse she feels and the more she's terrified to tell Lena her secret, believing that Lena's done so much for her, meanwhile all she's done -- is lie. It wrecks Kara. And her anger issues start to rise up again, and that comes out a lot in Crisis crossover (in which our world's Lex is NOT yet present again btw), which is of increasing concern to everybody.

Post Crisis, in which Lena and Kara work together to save everybody even though they can barely even look at each other, we have these two idiots with their secrets, both struggling tremendously -- Kara with her anger and guilt, and Lena with her sadness and pain. And both with their regrets. And the rest of the group is noticing these tensions, between missions / various genre adventures.

It ramps up, until finally, shit hits the fan in a 100th episode. Lena is held hostage by someone threatening to kill her if Supergirl doesn't reveal her identity (similar to how it was in the show, but without the Mxy stuff, or at least using it better) -- Kara is fully willing to reveal herself to save Lena. She prepares to do just that, and even goes to the press conference, but just before she has to do it, her friends find a way to save Lena without the reveal needing to happen. But Kara is also nearly killed in the battle. The closest she's ever come to dying.

In the aftermath, Lena has now seen how far Kara would go to protect her -- both in terms of being willing to give up her life AND reveal her identity to the world. Lena of course forgives Kara (quietly, to herself) and decides to let Kara have her secret, even if it means they both pretend the other doesn't know, silly as it it. Alas, what she doesn't expect, at the end of the episode --

Kara reveals her identity to Lena (at Kara's place after everyone else goes home). Turns out almost losing her life made her realize she didn't want to die a coward and a liar on this front. And also, Lena not knowing put her at worse risk than knowing. And she deserves to know, so she can protect herself. So Kara can better protect her.

After/during her confession, Lena sheds a tear, and Kara starts to profusely apologize, thinking Lena is devastated by the revelation. But Lena confesses that it's tears of relief, because she's already known. She was just wondering if Kara would ever trust her enough to tell her the truth. Kara is shocked to know Lena knew, grateful she's kept the secret for her, and heartbroken to know she learned it from Lex, before killing him. She also makes it clear she didn't keep it from her because she didn't trust her, it was never about that. It was simply the belief that not telling her protected her somehow. But now she's seen that was foolish, in this case. Realizing now they've both been dumb and their secrets have done nothing but cause each other, and themselves, so much pain -- they agree: no more secrets.

And they hug it out -- because besties! Just gals being pals right?!

*eye roll*

Then the rest of 5B becomes all about Lex popping up alive, and being furious that Lena and Kara are closer than ever, and that his attempt to destroy their relatio- I mean "friendship" failed. And he comes at them harder than ever, with Lillian's help. And so on. And by the end of S5, in an epic battle, Lex is finally stopped and captured once and for all and hauled off to prison, but not before sending Kara to the phantom zone.

Lena is devastated, as she and Kara only recently had all cards on the table and were growing closer than ever, so S6A then becomes all about the super friends trying to find Kara in the Phantom Zone (with a LOT less cheesy stupidity, and a lot more focus on Kara's traumas and torture while in the PZ rather than any dumb filler crap with her dad being alive -- perhaps she sees him, but it's just a cruel illusion).

Meanwhile, Lena, at wits end, visits Lex in prison, hoping to get information out of him as to where and how they can find Kara in the PZ. But he taunts her, plays games with her, etc until finally, she tells him goodbye for good. He doesn't believe she'll be able to stay away forever, especially as long as he knows how to find Kara. But she finally sees through it all, basically tells him he's full of shit, that he has no idea how to reach Kara in the PZ, he's a liar, always has been, and his power over her is gone. She vows to find Kara on her own and to never be anything like him, as he's selfish and cruel and insane. And she finally walks away from him. And he can't believe it.

Now that she's found her inner strength, Lena is able to think more clearly, less out of anger and desperation, and thus she, Alex and the Superfriends eventually embark on an action-packed retrieval of Kara in the Phantom Zone, ultimately saving her in the mid-season finale.

The final half of the final season (6B) focuses on Kara's deep traumas experienced/re-lived in the phantom zone, as she struggles with doing her job as "perfect" Supergirl while mentally screwed up. No one really notices but Lena, because Kara hides it well. Alex is just happy her sister is back, busy planning a wedding, focusing on vigilante work, etc. And the Superfriends have lots of other issues to focus on as well. But Lena sees Kara's struggles because she knows a thing or two about trauma, and she's there for her. Especially after Alex and Kelly get married with a few episodes to go and Kara doesn't want to burden her sister, who is finally so happy.

The final episodes feature Kara facing her demons, internal and external (as villains from past seasons pop up to haunt her, as it turns out the events post Crisis brought them into this universe, and now they've come after her, and they've all got to take them down).

In the end, the show wraps up with Kara finding a level of peace she never had before, having faced the past and all she's gone through and lost, in great part thanks to having Lena by her side.

And the show ends focused on Kara, for an episode called KARA. Not focused on Lex, nor the supporting characters, not on shoe-horned cameos, nor other bs. But Kara herself, and her journey, her healing from a lifetime of loss and trauma, her relationships to her family and friends, and rediscovering that which is always going to rest deep within her soul, even if it gets a little lost sometimes...

Her unbreakable sense of HOPE.

The End.

[sugdendingle]

Since everyone is so up in arms over Ryan's recent interview I wanted to compile some of what he's said in other interviews this season. There are a lot of breadcrumbs here that show Eddie's sexuality storyline is in the works it's just going to take some time to get fleshed out especially since there has been so much focus on Buck and his coming out this season.

----

But what about Eddie and Buck? Is there still a chance for romance between them?

"As far as [Eddie's] sexuality, I think it's pretty clear that he's tried to fill in this motherly, this wife type role—that's all he knows," Guzman explained. "And he's a man [that] first off, he's Catholic. Second off, he's from the military. So those are very straight-edge kind of lifestyles that don't offer too much of exploring. But through the 118, he's had this epiphany each year, like, 'Well, maybe I don't know as much as I thought I did. And maybe I should be exploring a little bit more and maybe I should understand myself a little bit more and even seek a therapist,' which is something new for Eddie. So I feel the representation is reflective of the inclusivity that Ryan Murphy's show likes to have and Tim Minear likes to write."

Parade

----

Did you have a personal reaction when you found out about the reveal of this moment and the change in Buck's character? Was it something you saw coming, or was it a surprise?

GUZMAN: Since there's so much talk about our characters, it wasn't a shock to me. For Buck's character, I feel like it kind of tracks. And I think that we trust Tim [Minear], to be honest. He's such a great, incredible writer, and he's very inclusive in his writing. And it shows beyond the sexuality, beyond representation. It shows humanity, and that's what I love about these characters. You can do whatever you want in the bedroom, but at the end of the day, that love remains, brother-sister, intimate relationship, whatever that kind of connection is. We allow the audience to get a sense of the human side. And I think we explore that in new ways every single season. So, this season, getting that opportunity to see Buck evolve into who he is has been just a beautiful storyline.

You've mentioned it a little bit already, but I can't not talk about the potential of romance between these two characters. It's such a huge aspect of the fandom around this show and around the commentary of this show. Did the reveal make you consider a romance between these two characters? Have you considered it seriously before? Or was it always, "We'll see where it goes, we'll see where it takes us"?

GUZMAN: It's always kind of been a "we'll see where it goes, we'll see where it takes us." Because, at the end of the day, it's a fine line between giving the fans what they want and also staying true to the characters themselves. As an actor, your one job is to give your character truth. And what I love about this whole world that we play in 9-1-1 is that truth changes at a moment's notice. So, we allow ourselves to stay open to all possibilities. At this moment, Eddie's got so much going on in his life as far as his relationship with himself, and Marisol, and God, that he's got his plate full. And to take on anything else at this moment, I don't know, he might crack again! [Laughs] So, who knows what happens with him, and we're here for Buck and his relationship. And, again, I think that strengthening of that bond is crucial.

I don't think either of these characters are ready for this yet. They need to settle their own lives first before anything happens in that direction!

GUZMAN: Yeah.

Collider

----

Do you think it was the right decision for Marisol to move back out?

Eddie has shown himself to go from zero to 100 all the time. He finds one girl that checks off a couple boxes in his list and he's like, "Ah, that'd be good enough. Let's get married." This time, thank God, he didn't need a Carla in his life to say "Slow down." He did it himself. He had a conversation with Bobby, he had a conversation with Buck, he figures it out and he goes, "Okay, maybe it's time to have some growth on my end." He is doing a big thing for not only him, but for his son. He's not trying to fill in this space that was left open by Shannon and he's taking care of that relationship that [Gavin McHugh's] Christopher has with his mother that passed. He realizes he has to take it a lot slower. It seems like a step back, but it is so many steps forward for Eddie in what that means to him and his family dynamic.

How did you react when you found out Buck was going to explore his bisexuality? And what did you think when you first read the scene where he comes out to Eddie?

I think we felt this scene was coming one way or another — and we knew we had to handle this with care, because there are so many people who have attached themselves.... Oliver and I are so grateful for the people who have attached themselves to our characters, and what they do with it. And so we really wanted to give this scene a sense of groundedness. And luckily for me, I've had an experience in my life where a friend trusted me with their own coming out, and I got to understand first person that it wasn't so much about me accepting them, it was more about me allowing them to feel safe and loved. So I wanted to exemplify that in this scene. Like, "Hey man, you can say whatever you got. I'm not going anywhere. Okay? This connection remains." That was something that forever changed my life — in my personal life, with my friend — so this had to feel the same for the millions of people who are going to see it, because some may not be getting this from their friends. Some may be scared to do this in front of their friends, and maybe this gives them the opportunity to find their own bravery, as Buck did, and go to their closest friend and say, "Hey, this is how I feel nowadays. Can you explore this with me?" I love that scene.

What else can you tease for Eddie this season?

Now that Eddie's taken that step forward with Marisol, that offers a lot of new obstacles. This is unknown territory — much like Buck's character, it's unknown territory. And that is something to be a little bit more scared of, to be honest, because we have no clue how to handle the unknown. So I think with Marisol and Eddie, their relationship is strengthening, but there's so many traumatic moments that Eddie still has yet to answer for himself in his own past. So how that plays into this present moment is a balancing act. And what I'd like to see is him handle it with ease, but that doesn't offer great TV. So yeah, he's going to be a mess just as much as he was — as we all are, really.

EW

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

…..continue

SK: Is there a story about Sam that you’d like to share that stands out?

JB: We did an emotionally-charged scene in Season 4, where Ian reveals the details of what happened to him in Jamaica with Geilles. That day was incredibly challenging, emotionally, physically. It was my 20th birthday. I remember feeling so supported and encouraged by him. He’s a great encourager. So, if Caitríona is the facilitator, he’s the encourager. He will always tell you, “That was a great take there. Loved that right there.” As actors, we can get in our head a little bit. But he’s like, ‘No, you’re doing a fantastic job here, John, it’s an honor to be doing this scene with you.’ So yeah, that’s where it goes with Sammy.

SK: Like a cheerleader, till the end.

JB: Yes! A cheerleader, exactly!

SK: Tell me what’s it been like working with Sophie, your on-screen cousin, who you accidentally proposed to. Oops!

JB: [laughs] Sophie’s one of the most loving people I know. Whenever you’re with her, she’s like, “How are you doing, Baba? What’s going on? Where are you at emotionally today?” She is someone that you can’t help but trust and become immediately quite close with. Her contribution to this whole journey has felt like somebody who really is in my corner and is ready to, protect, fight, uplift me in whatever I’ve needed. She’s just that classic sister energy. She’s curious and listens to you really deeply. I really appreciate her kind of love. She’s got endless, endless love.

SK: What a great way to describe her. How about Richard?

JB: The Ricardo himself. I love that man dearly. He has been a rock for me, throughout this entire journey. Someone that I have leaned on a lot. He’s someone who I trust wholeheartedly. He has an energy that you feel very safe around. He’ll make the laughs happen. He’ll make you funnier just by being around him. He may come across as a little guarded or dry, but the drier he is, the more he loves you.

SK: Tell me, what do you carry in your wallet?

JB: I left my wallet back at a party we were having at his [place]. I went over, picked it up, gave him a cuddle, went off. I had to travel to New York. I go to pay for a bottle of water at the airport. And there’s so many tiny cutouts of Roger that he had snuck into my wallet. So, we’ve got the lover, the facilitator, the cheerleader… he’s the joker. They made me giggle so much that I can’t take them out of my wallet now. I love the fact that there’s a little Ricardorito in my wallet at all times.

SK: Caitríona described you as the light of the Outlander cast.

JB: Did she?

SK: She said really beautiful things, which you’ll read.

JB: I feel like Cynthia Erivo [wipes a tear] and Ariana Grande.

Ed: This Wicked meets Outlander photo was taken before Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s viral moment… maybe they really are time travelers, how did they know?]

SK: Tell us about the fun things you’ve made the cast do that they have not wanted to do. You did manage to make all of them dance on set for TikTok. And then you peaced out of TikTok.

JB: I had a mission to get one with everybody. I don’t think I quite got Caitríona, though—

SK: You got Caitlin and Caitríona together.

JB: That’s right! I got Caitlin and Caitríona together dancing under a rainbow. I forgot about some of my greatest work. I haven’t gotten Caitríona on her own.

SK: There’s still time! You, Sam, and Caitríona have worked together so much over the years, how would you say that the three of you have impacted each other in a good way and not-good way?

JB: Am I the devil or the angel on the shoulder? We’ve impacted each other’s lives so beautifully through our performances together. It’s like people that sing together, something passes between you, right? They’ve taken on the responsibility to support all of the cast. They’ve shown us that when someone new is on set, you should be encouraging them, lifting them up. That lesson of ‘you’re no better than anyone else.’ That’s what they’ve taught me from such an early age.

SK: How about the bad? Or the evil?

JB: The bad! There’s no bad! Oh my gosh, the evil. I’m like, “Let’s go and have fun and party and be silly.” We’re like ships in the night. We just missed each other’s possibilities of being bad influences on each other. Caitríona and I often joke, “If I had just been in New York at the same time as you, we would have been absolute chaos together.”

SK: There’s still time!

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

———————————-

Posted 12th December 2024

[beanghostprincess]

I was also thinking during this whole thing of Robin taking care of usopp he learns how to read poneglyphs. This was not intentional and did not teach him how to read it. After the incident with the buster call, she probably wanted to write down some of the stuff she knows about poneglyphs including the alphabet. So she has it with her all times. Also just in case something does happen to her, the information is still out there to be learned . He taught himself while looking through Robin's journals and kind of watched her while she works.

He thought it was a word game trying to decipher the squiggles on the paper. Well she's working he curiously asks like what's It's an ancient weapon? She's freaking out asking him how much he knows and how he learned how to read it. After giving his explanation she firmly tells him not to tell anyone that he knows how to read poneglyphs not sanji not his dad no one this is a secret between him and Robin.

Robin feels terrified and also guilty knowing that if the world finds out that this little boy knows how to read them, everyone will be after him whether to use him or to kill him. She spent years running she doesn't want that for usopp, if yasopp finds out he'll be pissed and would probably kick her out or turn her into the marines. (He would never do that yasopp is a lot of things but he's not a monster.) also someone finds out that he knows then they'll find her and they'll do a buster call on syrup village and she can't go through that again and she won't let usopp go through that.

So they keep it a secret. When he's older he insists on learning more about it and asks Robin lights so important to keep it a secret. She reveals her past her real name and her history doubling down on why he needs to keep his information limited. He doesn't push her further after.

Years later Luffy gets a hold of them. Water 7 happens. It's very traumatic but you know everyone is okay now. Robin pulls usopp aside and decides to teach him everything she knows about them. Realizing that what happened during water 7 was a close call If everything didn't happen how it did she would have been dead and all that information would be gone. She doesn't want that to happen. Someone has to know about this, someone has to keep this knowledge alive and Usopp is the one to do it. If something happens to her, He has to carry on her legacy. So he gets her inherited will of knowledge and keeping history alive.

This is killing me because she's such an older sister/second mom to Usopp and it's just,,, So sweet,, I love Usopp finding out on his own and Robin protecting him at all costs. Robin telling him all she knows after Water 7? I love them. I can't stop thinking about the fear Usopp might've felt when Robin was taken away from them. The way he shows up as Sogeking and she just knows it's him because he used to do that as a kid too. And,, It's just so sweet, the way they love each other,,